Monday Meal Review: Belgium

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Please be safe and smart whilst celebrating … I like you and want you to stick around for a while longer 🙂 In the spirit of taking the holiday off, I’ll get to the point and jump right into the reviews. Enjoy! Vlaamse Asperges (White Asparagus a la Flammande) [Recipe] What I liked most about this dish: Vlaamse Asperges has three things going for it: the dish is elegant, the flavor is good, and there is next to no skill required to make it. This was my first time trying white asparagus and I was surprised to find them mildly sweet, with a slightly bitter undertone. Overally, I found the flavor to be remarkably less “asparagusy” than the green variety. If you struggle to get yourself or your family to like asparagus, white asparagus might be the way to go. Ever since I met my husband he’s claimed an innate hatred for hard boiled eggs. He even gagged once when I asked him try one to “prove it.” Little did he know the …

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You’ll Never Go Hungry in Belgium (with polls)

Photo is courtesy of the CIA World Factbook. This stunning art-nouveau home was built between 1901 and 1903 for painter Georges de Saint-Cyr. There are over 400 kinds of beers in Belgium. Most are made from barley, although some are made from wheat. When a baby is born, the Godparents give out white Jordan almonds to family and friends. Chocolates are popular. One kind, called Fruits de Mer (fruit of the sea) is a seashell shaped mixture of chocolate and ground hazelnuts. Brussels has more than 2000 restaurants. The Belgian pieman, Noel Godin (a.k.a. George the Glooper), throws pies in the faces of people who take themselves too seriously. In 1998 he hit his 50th victim when he creamed Bill Gates! Belgium is home to the largest aviary (bird zoo) in Europe. The Parc Paradisio houses over 2,500 birds. Belgium uses about 46% percent of its land for farming and livestock. The country grows about 80% of what they need. …

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Menu: Belgium

When I had trouble deciding which dishes to make (big surprise), you guys helped me out on our Facebook page by suggesting I make it all! Yikes!  Although I’ll be busy, I am happy to oblige… I mean who wouldn’t love a menu like this… Vlaamse Asperges (White Asparagus a la Flammande) [Recipe] White asparagus cooked until tender with a chunky sauce made with hard-boiled eggs, butter, lemon juice, and parsley. Baked Belgian Endive with ham & cheese [Recipe] Barely bitter endive, wrapped with ham and topped with grated Gruyère. If you’re looking for a quick, yet impressive side dish, this will do the trick! Stoofvlees (Flemish Stew) [Recipe] Stew meat is slow cooked in beer, beef stock and a mixture of mustard, thyme, vinegar, garlic, onion, paprika and a few other goodies. The longer stoofvlees cooks, the better the flavor. Pommes Frites (French Fries) [Recipe] Belgians love this popular street (and restaurant) food with mayonnaise, steak, or Stoofvlees. Homemade fries are also wonderful plain, with a dusting of coarse ground sea salt. Waffles from Liege [Recipe] …

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About Belgian Food

In general, Belgian food is a balancing act between the rustic and the exotic. Belgians love most any kind of meat, not limited to chicken, beef, ham, and veal, but including specialties like pate, goose, duck, boar, partridge, and any kind of sausage. Escargots, or snails are also popular, as are mussels, trout, perch, turbot, shrimp, and eel. Even with such an extensive list, many Belgians claim steak and French Fries their most beloved dish. Still others enjoy Stoofvlees (meat stew) with the French fries, or Waterzooi, a soup made with fish or chicken and vegetables Anyone in a noshing mood during happy hour will be happy to learn that Belgians are known for making hundreds of cheeses and beers. I wish I had the time to try them all. Oh, to dream. My stomach just smiled.

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Monday Meal Review: Belarus

I cannot lie. Sure, I’ve tried. But I learned early on that lying is much more humiliating than the truth. No matter how bad the truth seems to be. Of course, not being able to lie has its distinct disadvantages. Like having to admit embarrassing things, like how I got stood up this week. No, not by my husband (he knows better than to do that – love the sweet man). Remember the lightening bolt of good fortune I had a few days ago? When I ran into a real, live Belorussian (at Dillard’s), the week I was cooking Belorussian? And I invited her to come show me her country’s cooking traditions? And she said yes, she’d be “happy to”? Yeah. That’s who stood me up. I wish I could tell you something much cooler.  That she turned out to be a spy and was sent back to the motherland. How, on her way, she managed to send me a telegram (delivered by white doves) apologizing for missing our dinner date. Included with the telegram, of course, were …

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Raspberries for What Ails You in Belarus (Poll)

At traditional Belorussian weddings guests chant “Gozko” after the groom drinks from his glass. “Gozko” means bitter. The chanting urges the groom to kiss the bride, an act which should make his drink sweeter. If you catch a cold in Belarus, they might offer you any of these remedies: – vodka with salt and pepper – milk blended with raw egg yolk and honey – raspberry jelly – raspberry tea Much of Belarus cannot be farmed because of falloff from Chernobyl (70% of the contaminants landed in Belarus, even though the explosion was in Ukraine). Still, Belarus  is a major producer of potatoes, buckwheat, rye, beets, flax, and dairy products. Many families grow their own produce and have their own livestock (mainly chickens, pigs, and cows). Belarus is the 3rd largest producer of tractors in the world. Easter eggs are dyed with red onions (they are boiled together) and then taken to church to be blessed. To celebrate Kaliady, winter solstice, children wear masks and dress up as animals. They parade through the town, stopping at …

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Menu: Belarus

I went to the mall yesterday for mixing bowls and came out with a Belorussian! Yes, you read me right! One of the lovely women who work in Dillard’s home department hails from Belarus. In fact, she only got to the United States 8 months ago! After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I invited her to come over, cook, and share her secrets with me. She said yes! Now if that’s not a lightning bolt of good fortune, I don’t know what is! Anyway, this menu is heavily influenced by her recommendations. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together! NOTE: should she suggest modifications as we cook, I’ll come back and update this. I’m sure you understand. Borshch Soup from Belarus (Beet Soup with potatoes) [Recipe] Borshch is popular throughout the Slavic region, however in Belarus they enjoy a special version of this beet soup – chunky, with potatoes and cabbage. Mushroom stuffed Draniki (Potato Pancakes/hash browns stuffed with mushrooms) [Recipe] Draniki (also spelled Deruni) are grated potatoes mixed with onion, …

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About the food of Belarus

This week is going to be interesting. Simply put, my husband hates mushrooms, rye bread, sour cream, beets, and cabbage… which puts his taste buds in direct opposition to the lovely people of Belarus. Not one to be beat down by pickiness, I’ve resolved myself to be the cheerful, but broken record: “Honey, if an entire country eats it, then it can’t be that bad!” And I’m going to ask (beg) him to eat his entire meal. We’ll see. Located in eastern Europe, Belarusian culture blends Russian, Ukranian, Lithuanian, Tartar, and Polish traditions with its own. The typical Belarusian table is hearty. Potatoes are known as the “bread” of this people. Rumor has it, there are even restaurants that dedicate their entire menu to the potato. They put spuds in anything, from pancakes, dumplings, and soups, to pies, casseroles and salads. In the home, too, families are happy to eat potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (Source: Please to the Table). This is not to say they don’t eat bread, too. They do. In fact, …

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Monday Meal Review: Barbados

5 a.m. The tornado sirens sound. I bolt up in bed and stare, bug-eyed out the window. The trees are sideways. Sideways. Side. Ways. Practically laying over, playing dead. “This is it. I’m going to die,” I mutter. My husband wakes up and groggily wanders out of the bedroom. I’m still frozen in bed. “Where are you going?” I whisper-yell, barely audible over the wailing wind and sirens. “I’m checking the weather on the computer,” he says. I can barely hear him. I run into the bathroom, hoping the shower stall will hold together, even if my paper house blows down. But I’m all alone and I feel silly. I stick my head out of the door. My husband is no where in sight. Again I whisper-yell, afraid of drawing the storms closer. “Come! Here!” Finally he comes, we turn on the radio and listen to the weatherman. We’re told the winds are 90 miles an hour. But even violent storms pass. After a few minutes the sirens wind down, the trees ascend to their …

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The Concord of Barbados

TGIF everyone! – Barbados is tiny at only 430 square kilometers. The island was uninhabited when the British moved in to make sugar plantations. As a result there is not much that can be grown commercially on the island, aside from sugarcane, some vegetables, and cotton (Source: CIA World Factbook). – Although the supersonic Concorde planes have been permanently grounded, one was retired to Barbados to serve as a museum for tourists and locals. http://www.barbadosconcorde.com/ – Flying Fish and cou cou is the national dish of Barbados. Cou cou is a smooth puree of cornmeal peppered with okra. – I’ve asked around. Rumor has it there’s not a whole lot of veggies being eaten in Barbados. The veggie-type foods they do eat include sweet potato, asparagus, plantains, okra, and cucumber. – Bakes, made of flour, water, and sugar, are considered the most basic food in Barbados. According to Totally Barbados: Bakes are affectionately known as “survival food”, and rightfully so because when cupboards are bare, you can almost always find these three ingredients somewhere. – Jimmy Buffett …

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