Week 5: Spain

What I've learned after doing this for the last five weeks is that this is the one day each week that I completely look forward to!  I always knew that I enjoyed cooking, but having this project that involves the kids and gets everyone excited about what ends up on the dinner table makes it so much more than just trying some random new recipe that I hope everyone enjoys.  I love doing the research into the region-specific cuisine and figuring out how best to represent that at home.  I love shopping for these items that I wouldn't be buying except for these recipes.  And best of all, I love making and creating and trying all these wonderful new foods.  Truly the best thing I've done as a mom, as a homemaker, for me... in a long time.

So... onto Espana!  The kids have been speaking in only their broken, limited Spanish vocabulary all week.  I have loved every interesting conversation.

la cena

Dinner:  Gazpacho, Tortilla de Potatas, Paella
Dessert:  Flan

I attempted a gazpacho nearly 14 years ago.  It was so terrible that it took until now for me to attempt it again.  I don't really know what I did especially wrong back then, but this time around, I did it especially right!  I made the gazpacho two days ahead so that it could sit in the fridge and let flavors mingle.  So how did it go over?  My husband, the littlest and I loved it.  The other two rated it on a scale of 1 to 100 at right around 48.  Not really sure what they didn't like about it... I'm already looking forward to the leftovers!

Gazpacho

The paella was maybe the most expensive dinner that I've ever prepared, thanks to the hugely elevated price of Spanish saffron... holy cow!!  Was it worth it?  Oh yeah.  It had such a unique and lovely flavor.  It was a hit with everyone.

Paella

As much as everyone liked the paella, it couldn't even come close to the tortilla de patatas.  Seconds and even thirds were consumed by some.  It was the obvious favorite of our Spain meal and so simple... potatoes and eggs.

Tortilla de Patatas

What was left.

I was also looking forward to finally trying flan.  I have wanted to try it for years, but have been afraid based on certain other's opinions.  Yes, I was absolutely afraid that I would mess it up!  It was perfect... perfect spongy goodness.  The eldest seemed fixated on it's spongy texture, but never stopped eating it. 

The finished flan... perfectly lovely.

My slice.

Interesting Facts:
- Spain's king is Juan Carlos.
- The population of Spain is 40,397,842.
- Spain did not participate in either the first or second world war.
- In Spain's universities, there are more women than men.
- The people of Spain eat lunch at 2pm and dinner at 9-10pm.
- Madrid is the capital of Spain.
- Spain's currency is the Euro.
- In Spain, hot chocolate is thick like pudding.
- They have a tooth mouse instead of a tooth fairy in Spain.
- The area of Spain is 194,898 square miles - slightly more than twice the size of Oregon.
- The languages of Spain are Castilian and Spanish.

Week 4: Argentina

A quick interlude to China made it's way into our journey thanks to our friend who is visiting from across the country.  He treated our family to Chinese takeout and the littles were ecstatic.  They even created a China flag to add to our wall.

But let's get back to Argentina.

Argentinean Delight

This dinner really tested my commitment to the project.  The result:  I'm definitely committed!

I had actually been looking forward to Argentina since we started this project... empanadas!  Of course, according to the self-imposed "rules" for this project, everything has to be from scratch... hence, the "committed" part.  What I proved to myself is that I can do it... and even enjoy doing it.

I came across this website when looking for empanada recipes.  Her recipes are wonderful and easy to follow AND she had a recipe for each of the items that I was planning to make.  It was an incredibly wonderful find!  Now I can't say that what I made looks or even tastes like the items that I tried to copy, but I can tell you that everything I made was extremely well received.  This may have been the best dinner yet!

And as a special treat, we were able to share tonight's dinner with our friend.

Dinner:  Empanadas, Humita, and Ensalada
Dessert:  Alfajores with Dulce de Leche

Empanadas

I made the empanadas using this dough recipe.  I opted for baking instead of frying and made them a few days in advance and froze them.  I also made humita, which is a corn pudding wrapped in corn husks and baked.  This was my first time doing anything with corn husks other than ripping them off the cob and tossing them in the trash.  I was apprehensive that it would all go wrong, but it wasn't bad at all... and they even looked appetizing.

Humita

All wrapped up and ready to go in the oven

Right out of the oven

Every web page I visited wrote of the sensationalism that is the alfajor, so I couldn't resist.  Making the dulce de leche was a moment of pride!  To start with milk and sugar and end up with milky caramel goodness or "milk jam"... mmm.  And now allow me to add to all those other web pages, and say that the alfajor is just as sensational as they all say it is.  Simply put, it is two shortbread cookies sandwiched together with dulce de leche.  And it is pure heaven to your mouth!

Alfajores

A highly successful visit to the wonderful country of Argentina.  Highly successful.  And then the littles finished off the night with a bit of Copa America, Argentina vs. Uruguay.  Why not?  Soccer is in fact the most popular sport in Argentina!

Interesting Facts:
- The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires.
- 39,009,833 people live in Argentina.
- Argentina's money is the peso.
- The tallest mountain in Argentina is Aconcagua.
- Iguazu Falls in Argentina is bigger than Niagara Falls.
- The language of Argentina is Spanish.
- Roman Catholicism is the religion most practiced in Argentina.
- The area of Argentina is 1,073,518 sq. miles - slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US.
- The "Tango" dance comes from Argentina.
- Argentina has 23 provinces.
- Argentina means "land of silver."
- Argentina declared independence from Spain in 1816.
- Argentina's Independence Day is July 9.
- Argentina is the 3rd biggest producer of beef and the 5th largest producer of wine.

Week 3: Netherlands

My middle little chose the country for this week.  His sole basis for choosing Netherlands:  the color jersey of their national soccer team - orange, his favorite color. 

The book that we've been using as our reference guide for the meals said that the national food was risjstafel.  So I started to look up recipes, only to discover that risjstafel is actually an Indonesian feast of many (one site said that it could be up to 40) side dishes accompanied by different rice dishes.  I felt like a banquet feast was a bit over the top for our little project.  So I talked to a friend of mine who actually grew up in the Netherlands and she steered me in a different direction.  She told me of a popular dish that she grew up eating.  I looked it up and found it here, where I also learned that traditional dutch food consists of a lot of potatoes. 

I opted for a very traditional dutch meal of soup, a stamppot, and a sweet dessert.  

Dinner:  Boerenkool Stamppot and Zaanse Mosterdsoep
Dessert:  Vla

Our starter, zaanse mosterdsoep, was a uniquely dutch soup.  I decided to make it even though I knew that the elder little wouldn't like it... she can't even stand the smell of mustard.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a "uniquely dutch soup" though.  And I'm so glad that I did, it was delicious!  And the elder little even tried it, which surprised me, though as expected didn't like it.

Dutch Mustard Soup

A stamppot is a typical dutch dinner of mashed potatoes mixed with other mashed vegetables.  Boerenkool stamppot was a kale hash.  I wasn't sure how the littles would like the kale, but all three cleaned their plates.

Boerenkoot Stamppot

Dinner is served.

Vla is a vanilla custard.

Interesting Facts:
-  Another name for the Netherlands is Holland.
-  Netherland's national soccer team came in 2nd in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
-  It's landscape is dotted with windmills.
-  Orange is the national color of the Netherlands and is why their national soccer team wears an orange jersey.
-  Netherlands borders Germany and Belgium.
-  Dutch people like to eat pancakes.
-  The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, ruled by Queen Beatrix.
-  Netherlands gained independence in 1579 from Spain.
-  The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam.
-  Languages spoken in the Netherlands are Dutch and Frisian.
-  16,491,461 people live in the Netherlands.
-  Netherland's currency is the euro.
-  The area of the Netherlands is 16,033 sq. mi., which is slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey.

Week 2: South Korea

After the success of last week's dinner, I was really excited and looking forward to this week.  I did a bit of research trying to find a recipe for Kimchi and found many.  I was then faced with the question of do I use an authentic, traditional recipe... or do a follow a more updated one that uses ingredients that are more common to our Western culture?  I posed this question to my husband for a nice second opinion.  His input was that it depends on if I want our kids to eat it or not.  Good point... so we opted for the more updated recipe, which after reading the recipe website is still made in the traditional way.  Now here's hoping that our kids eat it, because it made a ton!

Dinner:  Tak Toritang with Kimchi
Dessert:  Maejakgwa

This dinner required a bit of preplanning as the Kimchi has to marinate/ferment for 2 days before eating.  The recipe I followed said that it should be refrigerated, whereas other recipes specifically say that fermentation needs to be done at room temperature for the first 24 hours.  Well, after 2 days, it didn't really look any different at all, and traditional kimchi should be almost soupy.  So my chance at making a traditional South Korean staple went awry.  The silver lining:  it tasted good (at least to the majority).  Did I mention that it made a TON!

Kimchi

The tak toritang is spicy chicken and potato served over rice.  Yum!  Let me add another "Yum!" for emphasis!  I think we all could have handled it being a little bit spicier, but what a treat.  This is exactly why our Around the World Tasting project will be a success.  I will definitely be making this dish again!

Tak Toritang on rice

The maejakgwa are crispy ginger cookies, or "pretzel cookies" as the littlest called them.  They were such a nice compliment to the spiciness of the dinner.

Dessert

Interesting Facts:
- 48,846,823 people live in South Korea.
- South Korea is 38,375 sq. miles, which is roughly the size of Indiana.
- The South Korean coin is the won.
- The people of South Korea speak Korean.
- Seoul is the capital of South Korea.
- Hyundai and Kia are South Korean cars.
- Tae Kwon Do is the national sport.
- The lines on the flag are trigrams and represent harmony.
- South Korea time is 13 hours ahead of the US.
- South Korea is the largest shipbuilder in the world.
- South Korea is one of the 5 most poplular automobile makers in the world.
- The emigration rate of the South Koreans is one of the highest in the world, with Koreans migrating to China, the US, Japan, and the former Soviet Union.
- South Korea has a republican form of government (representative democracy) like the US.
- The nickname of the South Korean flag is Tae-Gheuk-Ghi meaning "great extreme flag."

And so it begins... in Romania!

So without further ado, let's begin our journey! With a short stop in Brazil for Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk (yummy!!), we headed straight for Romania.

Week 1: Romania

Dinner:    Ardei Umpluti de Post and Salata Vitamina
Dessert:  Walnut Crescents

So the dinner is what we know as Stuffed Bell Peppers with Vegetarian Stuffing... and it was delicious!

The stuffing for the peppers.

The finished meal.

I need to learn how to photograph food better. Let me assure you, the time and effort was completely worth it. The walnut crescents were so addicting, just sweet enough without being too sweet or too rich. And the whole dinner was a hit with the oldest! The boys not so much. The middle little liked the rice stuffing and the littlest liked the salad.

Interesting Facts:
- 22.303,552 people live in Romania
- The size of Romania is 91,699 sq. mi., which is slightly smaller than Oregon.
- Romania's currency is the Leu.
- Hora is a ring dance of Romania
- The Romanian flag was flown briefly with a hole in the middle because the communist crest was cut out.
- Romania has a representative democracy like the US.
- Romania has a moderate climate.
- Romania is 5 hours ahead of the US.
- Romanians speak Romanian, Hungarian, and German.
- Bucharest is the capital of Romania.
- Transylvania is the largest province in Romania.
- Piatra Craiului National Park is the home to bears, lynxes, beavers and wolves.
- A professor, Gheorghe Marinescu, in Bucharest, was the first person to see living nervous cells with a microscope.

Looking forward to next week... South Korea.