Poutine and identity

I don't know why I am writing this entry in English. Maybe because it sort of follows up this entry. Anyway, it seems that I am not the only Quebec expat who misses poutine. Ironic, since I talked about it recently. Anyway, Miss Paquin like me is dreaming of home (she will see it, lucky her) and, more importantly, associates this with poutine! Just like I have written recently: food is an important part of our identity. What makes poutine so important for Quebeckers like me? It's a recently recent addition to our gastronomy, it was non -existant before the 50s and I don't remember eating it until I was a preteen (and probably thank God for that). However, it fits our tradition of heavy food, generous in potatoes and gravy. The Brits and Americans have their share of disgusting yet delicious junkfood, but this one we can call our own. It has cheese curds, something we rarely see outside Québec nowadays and well the mix cheese-chips-gravy really makes it stand out. It is a waistline's nightmare, then again it's delicious, it works wonders if one's recovering from hangover or wants to avoid one in the morning. It's Quebecker all right.