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.