Monday, June 13, 2016

Chips, frites, et poutine

Salut!  I am currently in la belle province de Quebec.   If you don’t know Canada, it’s hard to explain Quebec and its relation to the rest of Canada.   Think of Scotland and England, or Texas and the rest of the US, and you have the general idea.   Quebecois, like Scots and Texans, speak their own language and think of themselves as a nation within a nation.   

Quebecers also like chips, or, as they call them, les frites, and they like their frites drowned in gravy and cheese curds, which they call poutine.  It looks like this.

I had some at a baseball game this weekend.   I’m not sure I would rush to have it again, but it was, as they say here, delicieux.      

I brought some painting stuff to pass the time on course, but since I am teaching the course, I have less temps libre than I would like.  I have however been working on my own chips, for the new edition of Sharp Practice from Too Fat Lardies.  I think you can guess which period I am painting them for.

I would like to post more photos of La Base des Forces canadiennes Valcartier, because there is some cool hardware here.   Sadly, I had to take this photo by turning my Macbook upside down and using the Photo Booth app, since Madame Padre has the family iPhone in my absence. It’s rather sad that there isn’t a military museum here, as Valcartier is an essential part of our army’s history.   Today it’s a vast base, home to a Canadian Army brigade and the famous Vandoos (the Royal 22nd Regiment) but in 1914 it was a sprawling field of mud and bell tents, where the Canadian Expeditionary Force trained in 1914 before leaving for Europe.   More here.

Home this weekend.  Hurrah!

MP

17 comments:

  1. The only time I had poutine was also at a baseball game, in the Olympic stadium in Montreal. I never bothered with it again, either!

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  2. Sweet lord, that looks like heart attack on a plate. It also looks very, very tasty.
    Oh, Padre, I was so happy with the way my SP2 chips turned out and then you come along and show me that I need to buy another set to paint the flags. Well, at least I will be able to reuse the numbered chips I already have.

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  3. We have a food van here in sunny Wollongong that does poutine, with a selection of gravies, as well as other French-Canadian delights. The advantage of living in a multi-cultural city :)

    Cheesy chips are the best, and are extra classy for having a French name :)

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  4. My guess is that the counters are for the RPG, "Dukes of Hazzard through the Looking Glass", which is much neglected these days.

    The food specimen looks heart-stoppingly good - I'm surprised they haven't introduced this dish into Scotland - we like to be able to hear our blood moving about.

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  5. Very nice counters and a nice looking poutine. Di you follow it up with a Jos Louis and a Pepsi? ;)

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  6. Sounds like tbe stadium doesnt fo poutine well, they aren't all equal. Poutine didn't appear until I left my home province but not before I was home often enough to be hooked. Poutine, donair, hard to pick a favourite.

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  7. Nice chips, both lots,good for counting the days till you get home!
    Best Iain

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  8. Enjoy the sites and tastes of la Belle Province. I( like your Sp chips. Have some more poutine, your arteries can recover later!
    Cheers, PD

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  9. Good work on the flags mate.
    I would need to buy 5 different sets for all the periods I might potentially play SP in!
    Poutine, you either love it or hate it. I'm a salt and vinegar guy myself.

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  10. Bienvenue à Québec!

    Like us Scots, they like their chips and cheese, or chips and gravy. Unlike the Scots, they eat it all on one plate!

    Unfortunately, Valcartier is a bit too far for me to come give you a game of something (in Montréal).

    I'm pretty sure there was a group from Québec City that used to hold a minis con in Valcartier base too!

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  11. Chips and gravy is yum. Chips and gravy and poutine.... does not sound so yum.

    Am interested to hear your thoughts on SP2.

    Have fun in Quebec sir.

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  12. Sweet mother of jaysus. Would you look at that?

    I hope the base isn't proving too isolated. Nice work on the ACW counters. When do you forsee your next game of SP?

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  13. Thanks all. No more poutine since I've been here. Arteries can't take it
    Home tomorrow.
    CK, I am hoping beaucoup to get a game of SP in next week. More to follow.

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  14. Very nice to see, I always think some homemade cards or counters add your own stamp to a game.

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  15. Great idea with the SP counters for the ACW period.

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