The End

Taking the time to look back, I'm actually amazed by what I accomplished.  I can actually see the progression from simple ethnic meals to full blown feasts.  I made more desserts in one summer than I typically make in an entire year.  I was able to get my littles to try a vast assortment of new and interesting foods without any prodding.  I discovered a few recipe gems that were easy enough to incorporate into our hectic fall schedule.  These few things are what I came away with from our summer project.  My disappointment was huge, though, when asking the littles to summarize their summer and our Around the World Tasting project didn't even register, even while standing next to the huge wall map covered with flags!

Speaking of flags... it occurred to me after I was done posting our last meal, that I should have included a picture of the flags that the middle little created with each countries post.  Instead... I'll post them here... all 15 of them, created (some with a little help) by my 6-year old middle little.

Brazil

Romania

South Korea

Netherlands

Argentina

Spain

China

Morocco

Russia

France

Costa Rica

Saudi Arabia

Albania

Liberia

India

Our flag wall

 And here is our wall map with the eldest's thumbnail-sized flags.

I also asked the littles and husband to tell me their favorites from the summer.  Some of the responses were pretty predictable based on their reactions during the actual meal... a few other responses were a little surprising.

- The middle little said that Netherlands was his favorite "because it was food that I liked" and also liked South Korea because of it's flag.
- The eldest's favorites were Costa Rica, Albania, India (chutneys), and Brazil.
- The littlest didn't really give me any responses, but my guess would be Argentina's empanadas, Russia's piroszkis and borscht, and Costa Rica's hearts of palm salad.
- The husband said Costa Rica's fried plantains, France's boeuf bourguignon, Albania's lamb with yogurt, India's mango chutney and aloo gobi, and Russia's borscht.
- My favorites included Argentina, Spain, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, India.  For me, the experience is a little different, because my measurement is based on how much I enjoyed making the meal as well as how much I enjoyed eating the meal.

Of course, China, Argentina, Russia, Costa Rica, Albania and India will stand out as the meals I enjoyed the most as we were able to share them with friends.  Though of these, Albania may very well be the highlight, with the introduction of the Yeni Raki to the table, no matter how horrid the drink actually was.

Some parts of the project stand out for negative reasons, too.  Liberia's sweet potato pone was the consensus for the worst new taste experience.  The middle little did not like South Korea's kimchi even a little.

Though the project covered more than just the food/meals.  We learned a lot of interesting facts about each country, thanks to the two older littles doing some simple research.  However, sometimes the littles weren't so excited about looking up information, so there was a lot of pushing and nagging to encourage them to do their part of the project.  I would say that was the part that I disliked the most.  I just really wanted them to be as excited as I was.  The flags always were the first thing completed... as they loved the creativity involved with that part... but looking facts up on the computer wasn't as appealing.  I thought that Russia had the most interesting facts, but that is just my opinion.

As far as moving forward... there is no plan at this time.  I know that littles have already started a list for next summer, but maybe next summer, we can actually take a real vacation.  Or I'll take a friend's suggestion and keep the cooking a little closer to home by taking a culinary tour of our own country.

Week 10: India

The eldest and her beautiful headband.

It's always a mix of emotions when something good comes to an end.  This project has been such a good thing for me and the kids and for that I'm really sad to see the end.  However, it has been a huge amount of work, planning and prepping the meals and encouraging the kids to do their part, and for that I'm happy to see the end.  No matter what, though... what a fantastic cuisine to end on!  Indian cuisine is definitely one of my favorites.

I learned so much reading up for this meal.  The plethora of different cuisines within India's borders was astounding.  I was worried how to best represent this all in one dinner.  And before I even started thinking about what dishes I would make, I read this blog, which spelled out that the meal should consist of rice and/or Indian bread, one or more main dishes (meat dish and a lentil dish), a chutney, usually two vegetables (one ‘wet’ and one ‘dry’).  And then I was confronted with not just finding the right foods, now I needed to be concerned about 'wet' and 'dry'.  Thankfully this blog proved helpful, not just on the wet/dry issue, but I also ended up getting a lot of my ideas for the specific dishes to fix from the sample menus.

Once the ideas of the individual dishes started coming, I was on a roll and I probably went a little crazy.  I even ended up with two chicken dishes that I wanted to try... so just like Albania, we delved into India a few days early.  The Spicy Chicken Dry was amazing... and so fast and easy.  I have included the recipe below as an extra... and you really should try it!  It was a hit with everyone... and as it cooked, it filled the house with such a mouth-watering smell that the eldest kept asking to try a little bite before it was fully cooked. 

I knew ahead of time that I knew I wanted this meal to be our big blowout/celebration to wrap up this summer project... so I was prepared to fix a feast that would feed more than just us.  Luckily, we did have another family join us, but as much food as there was, we could have easily fed more... if only our house would accommodate that many people.

So back to the idea of how best to represent all the different Indian cuisines in one meal... I didn't.  It was totally coincidental, but all the dishes that I chose were from Northern India.

Starters:  Mango Chutney, Mint Chutney, Vegetable Pakoras and Naan
Dinner:  Aloo Gobi, Chana Saag, Dal Makhani and Tandoori Chicken
Dessert:  Kulfi
Extra:  Spicy Chicken Dry

Originally, I was only going to make the mango chutney to have with our meal.  Then I came across the idea to make the crispy vegetable pakora, and I read how good they are dipped in the mint chutney... so I caved and made both.  The mango chutney was goose bump good.  It was sweet, but had a bit of a kick from the red pepper.  I knew that it would be that good while it was cooking though... anything that smells that good cooking has to taste good, right?  The mint chutney was good, but maybe needed to be mintier?  I don't know... I guess anything that has to compete with the mango chutney doesn't stand much of a chance.

Mango Chutney

Mint Chutney

The vegetable pakora did not turn out like I was expecting they would.  I followed the recipe and tried frying them in the oil and ended up with grease soaked mush that looked inedible.  If the husband hadn't tried the batter prior to my attempting to fry them and exclaimed how tasty it was, I would have just given up right then and there, considering the pakora was the last thing I was making (and our guests had arrived).  Though knowing it had a good flavor, I just started over, eliminating the oil and just pan frying them in a little bit of Pam spray.  It didn't really turn out like the picture, but more like breaded vegetable crumbles... thank goodness the flavor was so good.  The littlest kept asking for more "salad". 

My version of Crispy Vegetable Pakora

The main dishes that I wanted to make came so easily.  I knew that I wanted to make the national dish of India, Dal Makhani (Spicy Black Lentils).  And when I read that I could make Tandoori Chicken without a traditional clay oven, I added that to my list as well.  The dal was really spicy... really really good spicy.  It may have been a might too spicy for some, especially the littles... all who tried hard to eat it, but no amount of milk quelled the fire.  Maybe I shouldn't have added that last chili pepper? 

Spicy Black Lentil (Dal Makhani)

The Tandoori Chicken looked just like the dish at the restaurant!  It was good... I think it would have been better cooked out on the grill instead of in the oven, but even so it was tasty.  The flavor was much more subtle compared to the spiciness of the dal.  The color seemed to be an issue for the littlest, but for once the color didn't affect whether the middle little ate it or not... he ate it!  We did get lots of questions about the color and why it was red and why it wasn't red on the inside... but he ate it!

Tandoori Chicken

Two vegetable dishes shouldn't be hard to come up with... right?  I think it was more a struggle of narrowing it down to just two and finding the perfect two that I thought would be best received by the littles as well as our guests.  So I stuck with two that I knew and love... spinach and cauliflower.  The aloo gobi (spiced cauliflower and potatoes) was the husband's favorite (after the mango chutney).  As an aside, the photo keeps distracting me... the turmeric colors everything orange and I keep looking at that photo thinking the color needs some adjustment... but no.

Aloo Gobi

The chana saag (spiced spinach with chickpeas) didn't seem to go over.  All the littles ate the chickpeas out of the spinach and left a little puddle of spinach on their plates.  I thought it was really good... I could make a meal out of just the saag with naan... yum.

Chana Saag

The dinner plate minus the aloo gobi... I just want to dig in!  So who wants to join us for leftovers?

भोजनोत्सव (bhojanotsav) = dinner in Hindi

The desert I chose was Kulfi, which is an Indian ice cream.  I thought it would be a nice soothing end to the meal... a nice counter-balance to the spice of dinner.  It was absolutely delicious.  It tasted and had the consistency of real ice cream, which I was concerned about since I didn't really truly make ice cream... but no one was the wiser!  I sprinkled some ground cinnamon and ground cardamom in it before freezing and just so good.  The littles all wanted seconds... and so did the adults.

Kulfi

For all the food that I made for this feast... I spent less time actually in the kitchen than I did for Argentina!  I think it's because Indian dishes are relatively easy and fast prep... they just have to simmer for a long time.  I need to incorporate more Indian cuisine into my normal cooking routine... just so so tasty! 

Interesting Facts:
- India has the largest number of post offices in the world, yet it could take 2 weeks for a letter to travel 30 miles.
- Games such as Chess and Snakes and Ladders were invented in India.
- Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus originated in India.
- India has not participated in the FIFA World Cup, but has been the runner-up in the Asian Nations Cup.
- The national fruit is the mango, the national animal is the Bengal Tiger, and the national bird is the peacock (originally raised for food).
- The capital of India is New Delhi, but Bombay is the biggest city.
- India's population is 1,095,351,995, and is the 2nd most populous country in the world.
- The area of India is 222,243 square miles - one-third of the size of the US.  It is the seventh largest country in the world.
- Hindi and English are the official languages of India, but there are 17 other Indian languages.
- Indian currency is the rupee, and it is illegal to take rupees out of the country.
- India recognizes six season:  fall, winter monsoon, winter, summer, summer monsoon and spring.
- India has the largest democracy in the world.
- The Ganges river in India is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, yet Indians still bathe in it, as it is thought to wash away their sins.
- In India's 100,000 year history, it has never invaded another country.
- The world's first university was established in India in 700 BC at Takshila.
- The official country name in Sanskrit is Bharat.
- Toilet paper is repellent to most Indians.  They prefer to splash water with the left hand, which is considered unclean and is never used for eating.
- Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of cities in India, they are considered sacred.
- It is a sign of disrespect to say one's husband's name aloud.
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are Indian religions though all major religions are represented in India.
- All of India is in one time zone.
- On India's Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan.

Week 9 1/2: Liberia

Tonight's dinner was a disappointment.  Yes, we enjoyed a couple of the dishes, but overall, just a disappointment.  And I had such hopes for our penultimate dinner!  I guess I should figure that out of 13 meals thus far, this had to happen at least once... and should feel good that this is the first time.  Still... I had such hopes!  Of course, I should count myself very lucky that Hurricane Irene didn't cause us to lose power while I was in the midst of cooking all this food.

Dinner:  Peanut Soup, Fufu, Sweet Potato Pone, Jollof Rice
Dessert:  Ricebread

Once I read this recipe and all the comments associated with it, I knew I had to make it.  I haven't used peanut butter for cooking in over ten years... the last thing being a peanut sauce for noodles that turned out disgusting.  If I have a bad experience cooking, I am prone not to want to repeat it.  For some reason I was swayed with this... a peanut soup with a kick of spice.  The soup was actually good... and all the littles finished off their bowls with the eldest asking for seconds.

African Peanut Soup

I really wanted to try the fufu once I read that the way to eat it is to tear a little piece off, roll it into a ball, and then make it into a little bowl to use to scoop up your soup.  My littles enjoy playing with their food anyway... and here's a food that is meant to be 'played' with at the dinner table!  In theory, it was perfect, both for the littles and a great way to try yuca!  Fufu is a sort of dough made from mashed yuca root and plantains.  The fufu turned out to be a disappointment.  First of all, not being familiar with the yuca root, I didn't know the tips to treat it properly... I didn't even know how to pick it out until I watched the lady next to me.  The recipe stated to peel and slice the yuca and then boil until soft.  I did exactly as the recipe stated and it came out lumpy and nearly impossible to mash.  For those of you who want to try it (because I really feel like it could be an interesting thing to try with young kids), follow the tips listed here, where it talks about removing the core and other helpful ideas.  I plan on trying out some of his ideas for leftover fufu.  I was right, though.  My littles LOVED playing with the fufu and making little balls.  Apparently when they can play with the food, they eat the food.  All the fufu was gone off of their plates.  As far as the taste... it was ok.  My guess is that it's supposed to have a very subtle flavor as to not overpower whatever is being scooped.

Fufu

The sweet potato pone was a last minute addition... only because it looked like it would be so scrumptious and simple.  And it still may prove to be... once I purchase the proper ingredients.  The recipe calls for molasses and we had molasses.  I didn't realize there were different types of molasses.  We had blackstrap molasses, which turned my sweet potato pudding into an impossible to eat mess.  I made all the littles take one bite... only one bite... and then watched as each one gagged while trying to swallow it.  My eldest, always trying to be my encouragement, told me that she really REALLY liked it.  I also saw the expression on her face as she ate each bite.  I didn't make her finish it... in fact, I threw the entire quantity that I made in the trash.  I do plan to make it again, though.  Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.  I will buy the proper molasses this time.  I just really think it will be that good!

Sweet Potato Pone - the picture doesn't even make it look appetizing.

The jollof rice was quite tasty... and I think everyone agreed to that.  I guess maybe I should have just stopped after making the rice dish.  This is a very common dish for West Africa, each country putting their own twist on it.  The only thing that I did different from the recipe was omit the shrimp, which disappointed my eldest to an extreme.

Jollof Rice

The ricebread is a traditional Liberian bread, most often eaten as a dessert.  It tasted very similar to banana bread, which I had already assumed it would.  It had a slightly different texture and not quite as sweet.  The littles kept calling it cake and loved every bite.  I think for the husband and myself, the ricebread not really being a sweet treat after that disappointing meal ended up being just that much more of a disappointment.  Yes, it was good... and it will not be wasted, but I may have to make brownies tomorrow, just to even things out!  As an afternote:  I had some of the ricebread for breakfast, warmed with a small pat of butter and it was a perfect breakfast bread!  And somehow knowing this, makes the disappointment from last night just a little less.

Ricebread

Interesting Facts:
- Monrovia is the capital of Liberia, named after President Monroe.
- Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847.
- More than 70% of Liberia's trade is shared with South Korea, Japan, Belgium and the US.
- Liberia serves as one of the biggest exporters of iron ore in Africa.
- The pygmy hippo is the national symbol of Liberia.
- English is Liberia's official language.
- Liberia means "land of the free" in Latin.
- Liberia was originally founded as a land for repatriated slaves.
- Liberia has more female leaders than Norway, Sweden and South Korea combined.
- Joseph Jenkins Roberts was the first Liberian president.  He was born in Virginia.
- Liberia is 43,000 square miles - slightly larger than Tennessee.
- The annual rainfall in Monrovia is 200 inches.
- Liberia borders Sierra Leone, the Guinea Republic and Ivory Coast.
- The population of Liberia is 3,195,931.
- Liberia has never participated in a FIFA World Cup and has never progressed further than Round 1 in the Africa Cup.

Week 9: Albania

One 'problem' I've discovered through this project is that sometimes it is really tough to narrow down the selection of wonderful new foods to just those dishes that I need for one dinner.  This week was one of those times.  Albania has a rather surprising selection of interesting dishes... more than I needed for my dinner... so I expanded and tried Albania a little early, just so that I could fit in one extra dish.  The fried meatballs (or Qofte të fërguara) were so good that I'll go ahead and include the recipe here as an extra.

Dinner:  Tarator, Salad, Byrek Mi Spinaq, Gjellë me Arra të Ellit, and Tavë Kosi
Dessert:  Halva
Extra:  Qofte të fërguara

Tarator, or cold Cucumber Soup, is a staple among that area of the world... from Greece, where it's called Tzatziki to Iran, where it's called Ab-Doogh-Khiar, to Bulgaria where again, it's called Tarator.  Simply, it's yogurt, garlic and cucumbers, though I added dill and ground walnuts.  It is perfect for a summer dinner.  Though the littlest did eat all of his, I'm not sure that I would say it was a hit with any of the littles.  The husband really liked it and for that I am grateful.

Tatator

Our book listed a spinach pie called "pieta" as Albania's most traditional dish.  I actually have been looking forward to our Albania dinner, because I imagined that pieta would be very similar to spanikopita.  And just thinking about spanikopita makes my mouth water just a little.  When I started researching Albania cuisine online, I had some difficulty finding an acceptable recipe for pieta... come to discover that the Albanian spinach pie is actually called "byrek".  All the littles claimed the byrek to be their favorite and with the eldest eating three helpings, I can't help but believe them.  How did it compare to spanikopita?  Well, the byrek had a much creamier spinach filling.  When asked which he preferred, the husband actually liked the byrek.

Byrek... or as we like to call it, Pieta

My slice

I read that Gjellë me Arra means dish with nuts and is traditionally made with veal or chicken and walnuts in Albania.  While Chicken with Walnuts may not be the national dish of Albania, it is the most typical dish.  It was a popular dish at the dinner table.  While some of the littles ate the chicken and left the walnuts, the eldest kept asking for more topping.

Gjellë me Arra

As I was putting together my menu, I started questioning the completeness of it.  When I asked the husband for input, he thought maybe adding a little lamb into the meal would be a good representation of the region... and of course, he's right.  It wasn't exactly what I was thinking, I was trying to come up with another vegetable dish!  Anyway, reading that the Tavë Kosi (or Lamb with Yogurt) is the national dish of Albania, I conceded and added it to the menu.  My extra vegetable dish that I was searching for?  Salad!  Both were well received.  The lamb and yogurt was the husband's favorite and the eldest's second favorite (after the byrek).  I didn't try it, but heard that the yogurt had a very nice flavor.  The salad with it's feta cheese and kalamata olives... who could resist?

Tavë Kosi

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

I can still remember the first time that I ever tried Halva.  It was back in the summer of 1996 when a friend of mine came back from a trip to Turkey, with souvenirs.  It was so different and yet, divine.  I looked for it anytime I was in an international store, but didn't get the opportunity to try it again until November of 2000, when the husband and I were in Turkey on vacation.  We bought a huge block of it and brought it home and then it was gone.  Eleven years later and I finally attempted to make it!  Ironically, it took me this long to look up a recipe and make it... and recently I've found that they sell it at my local international market!  Anyway... there are many different types of halvas.  The Turkish halva that we tried had a tahini (or sesame paste) base, while Albanian halva has a flour base.  And apparently the base makes all the difference!  The Albanian halva was stickier... really trying hard to come up with a good analogy... more like the consistency of peanut butter or really thick butter cream frosting with the grainy texture of cream of wheat.  I know... that doesn't sound very appetizing.  In fact, other than just being super sweet, it really didn't have much of a flavor, even after adding rose water and saffron.  As a comparison, the Turkish halva is more like the consistency of maple candy, but not even close to that sweet.  I absolutely prefer the Turkish halva.

Halva

We've been so lucky to be able to share these last few meals with friends. Though this time, our friends decided to share a little something with us... sticking with our theme.  We were surprised with a little Raki (in a not so little bottle)!  Raki is an anise-flavored spirit that is a popular apéritif in Albania and other Balkan countries.  When it is mixed with chilled water, it turns milky white and is commonly referred to as 'lion's milk'.  Let me assure you... it was terrible!  We all tried it and none of us could take more than a few sips before giving up.  But no matter how terrible the Raki was... it was an incredible experience that we were able to share with great friends!

A popular drink in Albania

Let's toast to Albania!

Interesting Facts:
- Albania borders Greece, Montenegro, Kosovo, and the Republic of Macedonia
- The language of Albania is Albanian
- Albania's capital, Tirana, is its largest city
- The Albanian currency is the Lek
- Albania is 27,898 square miles - about the size of Maryland
- The population of Albania is 3,155,271
- Albania gained independence in 1912, though it was not recognized by other countries until 1913.
- Albania was a part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries.
- Albania is called "Republika e Shqiperia" in its native language
- The official motto of Albania is "the faith of Albanians is Albanism"
- Greeks make up 1.2% of the total population of Albania
- In Albania, nodding the head means no and shaking the head means yes
- Albania has never participated in the FIFA World Cup, however have continuously placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the Balkan Cup.

Week 8 1/2: Saudi Arabia

I didn't miscalculate, but here we are squeezing in the last four countries into the last two weeks of summer.  There were 10 weeks of summer, but I had the eldest choose 12 countries as a 'just-in-case'... just in case I felt like doing two countries in a week... just in case I couldn't find any good dishes for the chosen country... etc.  However... now I am on this compulsive track to finish our list.  It's definitely not a bad thing, it'll keep me busy now that we have all our back-to-school shopping completed.  Also for those of you actually keeping track... we will finish this project with 15 dinners:  Brazil, China and Morocco were unexpected.

So our extra dinner this week is Saudi Arabia, which was nice as it was a fairly easy meal to fix.  In researching the meals for both Saudi Arabia and Albania (which is our official meal this week), I came across a website for someone who is taking this idea to the extreme... he is fixing the national meal for each country on the globe!  I was so impressed that I wanted to include the link here.  For those of you following my little project and getting ideas of doing this on your own... you should definitely use this as a resource... recipes are included!!

Dinner:  Kabsa, Cauliflower with Cilantro and Jarjeer
Dessert:  Baklava

Kabsa is the national dish of Saudi Arabia... and can be made with all different kinds of meat.  I, of course, chose chicken.  For those of you who don't know me... I'm sure you've latched onto a running theme with my dinners.  The kabsa was definitely yummy, how could it not with cinnamon and cardamom?  I made the mistake of not taking out the whole cloves and cardamom pods prior to cooking the rice and then telling the kids not to eat them.  The middle little was so worried about finding something in his rice that he wouldn't even try it!  Once I eased his concerns and he realized there would be no dessert if he didn't eat, then he conceded and tried the rice.  Next thing I knew, he was delivering an empty plate... but had filled up and had no room for dessert... poor guy.  Needless to say, my middle little is sort of my barometer to measure the success of a dinner.  Even when it's a hit with everyone else, I always look to him to see how it "really" turned out.

In my rush to get things finished, I did forget to top the rice with raisins and almonds.

Kabsa with Chicken

I added the Cauliflower with Cilantro last minute... as I picked up a head of cauliflower and needed an interesting way to fix it.  I think I've worn my family out on roasted veggies.  This was perfect!  It had such a different flavor.  I didn't add in the red pepper... mainly because I didn't have any, but I ran out of time to find a decent substitute.  The littlest loved the cauliflower... it was the first thing gone from his plate... before I had even taken my first bite.

Cauliflower with Fresh Cilantro

Jarjeer is a simple salad with arugula and mushrooms.  It was good, but I think the onions overpowered the subtleness that the dressing offered.

Jarjeer

Delving into the middle east, I just HAD to choose baklava for a dessert.  And this is the perfect chance to prove to myself that I can make it.  It turned out that the hardest part of making the baklava, aside from dealing with phyllo dough, was shelling the pistachios.  I got the eldest to help me, and we both had sore (and salty) fingertips by the end.  And it was delicious!  I, literally, swooned at every bite.  Even now thinking about it makes me want a piece!

Baklava with Pistachios

Interesting Facts:
- Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East.
- Saudi Arabians do not raise cows.
- Riyadh is the capital and largest city in Saudi Arabia.
- Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy.
- Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia.
- ARAMCO, a Saudi Arabian company, is the world's largest oil producer.
- Saudi Arabia is one of the driest countries.
- The currency of Saudi Arabia is the riyal.
- The population of Saudi Arabia is 27,019,731.
- Saudi Arabia is 756,984 square miles - roughly one-fourth the size of the continental United States, and about the same size as all of Western Europe.
- Saudi Arabia has appeared four times in the FIFA World Cup (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) with no victories.

Week 8: Costa Rica

Coming down from France, I was expecting to feel some relief at the simplistic nature of the Costa Rican cuisine.  I was actually surprised to find myself looking for ways to 'complicate' things... so I ended up adding an extra dessert.  From my reading I discovered that lunch is the Costa Rican meal of the day, consisting of a salad, gallo pinto, meat, and fried plantains.  So we are having lunch for dinner!

Dinner:  Ensalada Palmito, Platanos Maduros, Gallo Pinto, and Marinated Chicken
Dessert:  Cajeta De Coco and Pastel de Tres Leche

I was a little sneaky tonight.  The eldest was so interested in all the food, most especially the plantains and the hearts of palm.  The hearts of palm salad has a dressing with Dijon mustard in it... and I didn't tell her.  Not only did she eat all that I gave her, she raved about how much she liked it.  The littlest also really enjoyed the salad, but that's not so much of a surprise as he really just loves salad.

Ensalada Palmito

And then we come to the plantains.  I gave each of the littles one to try initially.  As curious as the eldest was about the plantains before I cooked them maybe equalled her enjoyment eating them.  She kept taking one more and then one more.  My guess... the fried plantains were her favorite of the night.  The other littles liked them, too, but not nearly as much as the eldest.  Thinking back, the husband and I had tried fried plantains once before, years and years ago, and didn't really care for them.  After eating them tonight, I'm trying to figure out how we could not have like them.  From my reading, I learned that there are two types of fried plantains:  ripe plantains (which are sweet) and green plantains (which are more of a snack to eat with refried beans).  I have to wonder which one we had.  I used the ripe plantains, thinking that the kids would like the sweetness... and they did. 

Platanos Maduros

Our reference book guided us to gallo pinto.  What I didn't realize was that residents of Costa Rica eat gallo pinto for any meal of the day.  A typical breakfast could consist of gallo pinto, eggs and a breakfast meat.  It's a simple rice and beans, but the Salsa Lizano gave it a very different and interesting flavor.  Apparently, the translation is literally "spotted rooster" which doesn't make sense as there is no rooster or any other type of meat in the dish.  I made a ton (I know... that seems to be a recurring theme with these dinners), but this time I don't mind as I'm actually looking forward to snacking on the leftovers.

Gallo Pinto

For the chicken, I just marinated it.  I found a recipe for a Costa Rican marinade, which ended up being perfect.  The chicken had a great flavor, with lime being the prominent.

Chicken

In fact, there wasn't anything about this dinner that I heard complaints about.  The littles ate pretty much all that they were given.  And I felt pretty lucky that it was such a successful dinner since we had a family join us for dinner that has never eaten with us before.  I have really enjoyed sharing these meals with friends.

And that brings us to the desserts.  First, the coconut fudge.  I don't know what I did wrong, but it would not form into balls like the recipe said it would, so I just dropped a small amount into each paper cup.  I think I may have made a mistake using the sweetened coconut, because it was VERY sweet.  It was also very rich... and VERY good.

Cajeta De Coco

And then the tres leche cake, or 'three milk' cake.  I've read some compare the flavor of this cake to ice cream, but I'm not sure that really fits.  Of course, I have no better description.  It was just so moist and decadent...mmm.

Pastel de Tres Leche

We are starting to wind down from this project, we only have a few countries left and two weeks before school starts.  I think I will be a little sad when this project officially comes to an end, but with soccer starting up, I'm sure my focus will be diverted.

Interesting Facts:
- Monkeys are one of the most common animals in Costa Rica.
- The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose.
- Costa Rica's currency is the colon.
- Costa Rica is spanish for "Rich Coast".
- Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica.
- Costa Ricans call speed bumps "dead persons".
- Costa Rica has only made 3 appearances in the World Cup, with no victories.
- Costa Rica declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Spain did not recognize their independence until May 10, 1850.
- Costa Rica has a population of 4,075,261.
- Costa Rica is 19,730 square miles - approximately the size of West Virginia.