Bangladesh - weddings

This was the week that Julia and I went to Chicago for my cousin Christy’s wedding. We left Thursday. I had three days to cram in a week’s worth of work. Of course this was the week Kevin was out of town on business. And, of course, I had a dinner to go to on Wednesday night. And, of course, I just had to cook a world cuisine before we headed off for Chicago.

On Wednesday afternoon I made the Bangladesh meal. In retrospect I should have made a traditional Bengali wedding dish. I’m sorry I didn’t. But when I was looking at recipes I wanted something vegetarian. Ever since we’ve started this project we’ve eaten so much meat, and we’re not big meat eaters. While the kids were in school I made Masoor Daal and Fulkopir Baati Jhaal while watching The View.

Masoor Daal is mashed lentil with fried onions, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and green chili. The Fulkopir Baati Jhaal is a potato and cauliflower dish mixed with ground mustard paste, tomato, green chili and turmeric powder. Both dishes were tasty and made a healthy lunch. I love lentils and I cook them often, but I never thought to mash them. A flat bread is the perfect accompaniment. You can use the bread to scoop up the masoor daal. After I was done eating I wrapped up the two dishes and put them in the refrigerator for the kids. They would eat the Bengali dishes for supper.

When I left for the evening to go out to dinner, I put John in charge. “The Bangladesh meal is in the frig,” I told him. “Heat it up and remember to take pictures!”

At a Thai restaurant a couple of women and I surprised our pregnant friend with a card and gift. She’s ready to pop and we gladly shared with her our own labor stories. We shamelessly went into morbid details about our cervixes and episiotomies. After our birthing horror stories we smiled and reassured our soon-to-be mother friend that she was going to do just great.

Early the next morning, Julia and I were off to Chicago to celebrate yet another life-changing milestone. (Kevin arrived back home late the night before and he and John stayed behind since John had a football game on Sunday).

Julia and I had a fabulous time at the wedding despite the fact that I’m not one for formal ceremonies and traditions. But I do admit that it is interesting to study the wedding ceremonies of different cultures.

In Bangladesh, a Muslim country located in Southern Asia between Burma and India, the weddings are colorful celebrations. They include many rituals and ceremonies that can span for several days such as turmeric ceremonies or gaye holud. It means “yellowing the body." Turmeric paste is rubbed on the skin of the bride and groom. At the wedding the guests wear colorful clothes and the bride wears red with heavy gold ornaments. The reception party is the next day and arranged by the groom’s family.

No matter the culture, weddings are about celebrating with family and food. Christy’s wedding was no exception. It was fun dancing and drinking with the people I have known all my life. I told everyone about my blog and how I had cooked a Bangladesh meal. I mentioned that in Dhaka, Bangladesh a poultry farmer won a 14 inch T.V for killing 83,450 rats and collected their tails for proof. I now know all kinds of weird world information, which makes great conversation starters.

I watched Julia play with little Joey, my cousin Joe’s son. It was striking how Joey looked like Joe when he was a boy. Julia could have been my double when I was a little girl. The two children laughed and danced together, bouncing and twirling, their age difference about the same as Joe and I - he being a few years younger. Everyone exclaimed how adorable they looked. It made me smile. The only thing missing was our grandmother who died just last April. It would have brought tears to her eyes to have seen them. I could almost hear grandma say, “I can remember how you and Joe used to play. You two were so cute together.”

When the party was over we all said good-bye with hugs and kisses. Joe and I acknowledged that our children were the younger version of us and we marveled at how quickly time passes. “I’ve missed you,” I said to him and we promised we’d see each other soon.


Fulkopir Baati Jhaal

1 cup potato, diced
1 cup cauliflower flowerets
2 tsp freshly ground mustard paste
1 med. tomato, quartered
1 green chili
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and add a cup of water. Cook covered, on low heat until vegetables are done. Serve at room temperature.

Masoor Daal

1 cup of masoor daal (red spilt lentils)
1 med. onion
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 green chili

Wash and boil lentils in 2 1/2 cup of water. Mash the lentils. Heat 3 TBSP of oil. Rast cumin seeds until red. Add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Pour the mashed lentils into a wok and add turmeric powder, salt and green chili. Let the lentil mixture simmer for at least 10-15 minutes.

Bahrain - spice

Bahrain is called the “kingdom of the two seas” and it’s an Arab island country in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain is a famous tourist destination – 3.5 million tourists visit Bahrain each year. Who knew? And why not? One of their main attractions is the Museum of Oil. You can’t tell me that’s not on your bucket list.

Okay, all kidding aside, Bahrain has island resorts that look quite heavenly – hotels with sea views, swaying palm trees, calm waters and untouched desert sands. You can jet ski, snorkel, dolphin watch, fish, you name it. Sign me up!

On the day of the Bahrain meal I had a full schedule. John had a football game in the morning, and afterwards, Julia and I went shopping at – what we call – the big mall in Toronto. The mall in Oakville is quite pathetic which doesn’t make any sense to me since Oakville is supposed to be “stuck up” because of all the money in this town. But anyway, Julia and I had to go shopping because we’re going to my cousin’s wedding in Chicago this week and there were some things we just had to get. – like shoes. But really, it’s crazy to shop till you drop here in Canada before you go to the U.S. You will almost always find things cheaper in the U.S. and, truth be known, I am biting at the bit to shop in downtown Chicago along magnificent mile. It’ll beat shopping at a mall – that’s for sure! When I’m in a mall, especially if it’s crowded, I get what my mother termed “mallitis.” You know you’ve got this affliction when you become increasingly irritable and impatient and you find yourself sighing and rolling your eyes and walking faster than everyone else (in fact cursing those who are walking so damn slow because they’re just there to stroll and God knows why??). You also get snappy with the sales people and your daughter is saying, “take a deep breath, mom.”

After hitting two malls and the grocery store we finally came home where I set about cooking our Bahrain meal. I cooked traditional Bahraini chicken machboos. It was a recipe that was supposed to take a couple of hours – at least. I did it in an hour so you could say I made the Bahraini chicken Machboos express. I wasn’t in the mood to piddle around. And anyway, it had taken me long enough to find the spices for this recipe and I didn’t even find them all. The recipe called for black dried limes and I went to two Middle Eastern grocery stores and they didn’t know what I was talking about. One woman suggested it was a Chinese thing. I don’t think so, but what do I know. I then couldn’t find a buharat spice mix that's a main ingredient in chicken machboos and so I ended up making it myself by mixing all these spices together.

While I was stirring my chicken mixture over the stove, Julia thought I said I was cooking brains. She told John and Kevin we were having brains for dinner. The funny thing was, they just shrugged their shoulders like oh, brains for dinner.

“No,” I said, “We’re having BAH-RAIN for dinner!”

By 8 o’clock I was so damn tired I was close to tears. I wanted to relax. Go to bed. I needed a vacation, to anywhere. Bahrain was looking pretty good.

Traditional Bahraini Chicken Machboos

4 1/2 cups water
650g basmati rice
3 tomatoes
1 chicken
3 onions
1/4 cup coriander ( cilantro), chopped
1 green hot pepper, as desired
2 tsp buharat spice mix
1 1/2 tsp turmeric spice
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamon powder
2 garlic cloves
1 slice ginger root
3 TBSP butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 TBSP rose water
3 TBSP oil
3 tsp salt

Cut chicken in half ( or, if you want it express, buy pieces of chicken and cut it up in small pieces). Heat water and leave aside. In a small bowl, mix the buharat, turmeric, cumin and Cardamon together and add to the mixture 1 tsp of salt. Sprinkle half the spice mixture on the chicken.

Heat oil in large pan, fry onions, then add the pepper and black limes - you must make a hole in each lime. Add the chicken to the onion mixture and stir a few times. Sprinkle a tsp of cinnamon on the chicken and the rest of the spice mix. Cover the pan and cook for 3 min.

Add the garlic, chopped ginger, and tomato cubes to the pan and cover again for 3 min. Sprinkle the rest of the salt and pepper and pour in the water.

Cover the pan and let cook for about an hour or until the chicken is done (my chicken was already done by this point). Add coriander 5 min before you remove the chicken from the stock in the pan. While the chicken is cooking rinse rice and soak for 10 min in cold water. Remove chicken from the pan, put on a tray, brush it with oil and cinnamon and grill (or broil) until chicken in golden brown. Add rice to stack, stir, and cook on low heat until rice is done. Sprinkle rice with rose water and lemon juice and place butter pieces on top. Cover pan and cook for 30 min. Serve rice on serving plate and place chicken on top.

Buharart spice mix

2 TBSP ground black pepper
2 TBSP paprika
2 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP ground coriander
1 TBSP ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamon

The Bahamas - Lobster

Even though I am a world traveler, and have been to some pretty exotic far away places, I have never been to the Bahamas. Honestly, it never really interested me that much, but perhaps I should give it a chance. The history is certainly interesting.

We all know that Christopher Columbus first discovered the new world in the Bahamas. At the time, the people living there were known as the Lucayans – who originally came from South America. Columbus made contact with them and exchanged goods. Then the Spaniards came in and carried the people off to slavery, and the rest of the natives , were wiped out by diseases that the Europeans brought with them. Later, the Bahamas became a place pirates liked to hang out, including the infamous Blackbeard.

English Settlers from Bermuda, looking for religious freedom, formed the first British colony on the Island of Eleuthera and became quite prosperous through agriculture. After the American Revolution, southern loyalist and their slaves moved to the Bahamas so they could be under the protection of the crown. The population became mostly African from that point on.

When Cuba was closed to U.S. tourists in the 1950s, the Bahamas became one of the world’s most popular tourists destinations.

By 1973, the Bahamas was fully independent.

The Bahamas is an English speaking country consisting of 29 islands. It’s located in the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 330,000. The Bahamas cuisine – that is influenced by the American South - has fresh seafood, spice and coconut. Yes, coconut! Coconut trees are in abundance and are common in dishes, especially desserts.

For our meal, we had Nassau Lobster Thermidor, okra salad and fresh coconut cake. I know I said I never wanted to have anything to do with fresh coconut, and so Kevin was kind enough to spilt and cut the coconut for me. After using a screwdriver and a hammer he got the coconut open. That was only half the battle. He now needed to scrap out the flesh. I suggested he look up how to get out that stubborn flesh on the internet. He did, and came back in the kitchen to announce that one must first let it dry out for a few days and then scrape it out when it’s dry. Well, we didn’t have a few days. Oops.

Kevin worked very had scraping out the coconut flesh, and the cake turned out just so-so. We haven’t had much luck with the desserts since the baklava. But anyway, back to the main course.

In the grocery store I picked out two live lobsters in the tank. I told the meat counter guy which lobsters I wanted. I don’t like picking out the ones that are going to die. I can’t help but feel sorry for the little guys. It’s like dead man walking. But then I figure that the lobsters at the store are already doomed, their fate has been sealed. Maybe I’m doing them a favor. I mean, what kind of life is it for them in a cold tank with nothing to look at except other lobsters with their claws tied with rubber bands. It’s about quality of life, right? And then I try not to think of them going into the boiling water. But the truth be known, I love lobster and so I shamelessly look the other way.

At home, I made the Nassau lobster Thermidor – delish! You take the meat out and mix it with cheese, flour and butter and then put the mixture back in the shell to be broiled. We also had an okra salad with lime juice, garlic and hot pepper sauce. It was fabulous. The only problem was there wasn’t much food. I had only gotten two lobsters because I honestly didn’t know how it was going to turn out, and so we had to just savor what we had, appreciate every bite. Which is a good lesson to learn if you think about it. I mean, how many times do we just inhale our food and don’t even taste it?

So don’t feel too sorry for the lobsters. They are genuinely appreciated. They make our quality of life so much better. It’s about the finer things in life after all. It’s not enough to just be alive, waiting to die.


Nassau Lobster Thermidor

1 med. Lobster (I did two)
2 TBSP flour
1 cup of milk
pinch of salt
2 TBSP sherry
1 package of shredded cheese (I used a three cheese blend)
2 oz. Butter
1 small onion, finely chopped.
Pepper to taste

Cook lobster in boiling salted water until red, remove from water and cool (or have the fish counter person steam it for you). Cut lobster in half and remove meat from the shell but save the shell for stiffing. Heat milk in a saucepan and set aside. Melt butter in small saucepan on low flame. Add onion and simmer until tender. Add chopped cheese and flour and stir continuously. Pour in hot milk and stiff until mixture is smooth and thick. Add salt and pepper and sherry. Remove from fire. Cut lobster meat into small pieces. Add lobster to sauce and stuff in shell. Garnish with parmesan cheese, paprika and melted butter. Place under grill (or broiler) until golden brown. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.



Okra Salad

2 TBSP oil
1 lb Okra, rinsed and caps snipped
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cup water
2 TBSP lime juice
2 finely minced garlic cloves
few drops of hot pepper sauce.

In a frying pan, heat 1 TBSP oil. Add okra and saute for 3 min. Add salt and pepper. Add water, cover and simmer on low heat for 5 min or until okra is tender. If needed, add more water. Pour onto serving plate. Mix remaining 1 TBSP oil, lime juice, garlic, and hot pepper sauce. Pour this mixture over okra.


Fresh Coconut Cake
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cup, fresh, finely chopped coconut
3/4 cup coconut milk

Stir dry ingredients together. Cream shortening; add sugar gradually; cream together until light and fluffy. Add un beaten eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and coconut. Add dry ingredients alternately with coconut milk, stirring only to blend. Bake in 2 8” cake pans at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

Frost layers with confectioner’s powdered sugar creamed with margarine or butter, dash of salt and vanilla, thinned with more coconut milk and generously toss in chopped or grated coconut. Also, sprinkle coconut on top and sides of cake.

Azerbaijan - chestnuts

I don’t know anything about Azerbaijan. I don’t even know how to pronounce it.

After researching it, I found it is surrounded by Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and has a long coastline on the Caspian Sea. It has a majority Turkic and Shi’ite Muslim population and it was the first country in the Muslim world to establish a democratic and secular republic. Because the country is an eclectic blend of different traditions and flavors, Azeri cuisine combines Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia.

For our Azeri meal, I decided on cooking a layered rice pilaf with dried fruits and chestnuts. It was either that or khash, an oily soup made of boiled cow feet. Laugh now, but it is said that the Azeri people owe their legendary long lifespan to this soup. I suppose I could have tried making it and it would have been amusing. But then I found this rice pilaf dish, and, I don’t know, it sounded like something we’d actually want to eat. Given that I am cramming all these ethnic dishes down my kid’s throats (okay - not really they dig this project), and then when I’m not cooking lu lu kabobs and Algerian couscous, I’m ordering pizza and running to fast food because I can’t bring myself to cook (how is it that I’m supposed to cook something normal now? I mean, how boring!), and then, can you imagine, I serve them pig's feet?

I know I must get a bit more exotic and daring – that’s where the mopane worms come in handy – but I remind you – I am still in the A’s. I will have plenty of chances to eat pig feet, worms, and exotic meats (maybe even balut). But for our Azerbaijan meal, it’s rice pilaf.

So you think I had it easy? Wrong! Try finding chestnuts when it’s not the Christmas season (though the stores are already sending out Christmas catalogues and it’s only September, so go figure). I also had a bit of trouble finding saffron, but I did find it at the third store I went to. But I was running all over trying to find chestnuts, and I hate running around to different grocery stores trying to find stuff. That’s why I am not a bargain shopper. When I’m at a store and I see what I want I get it. I don’t even want to know that I could get the same thing for two dollars cheaper at a store across town. For me, my time is valuable and it’s not worth it.

Now, here is where I’m feeling like an idiot (as you’ll learn that feeling comes around quite often). After many tries to find chestnuts (and feeling pretty damn desperate) I went into this grocery store and I found a SIGN in the produce section that said chestnuts! I almost cried when I saw it. I love this store. I love this store, I kept saying to myself. But then I looked under the sign and all I saw were these little round things that sort of looked like chestnuts if you got creative about it. I must of known these were not chestnuts, but I so badly wanted them to be that I literally tricked myself into thinking they were. I grabbed a plastic bag and greedily fill it up. But my delusion (or whatever it was) came crashing down at the cashier’s line.

“What are these?” the cashier asked.
Gulp. “Chestnuts?”
“I don’t think so…”
“They’ re chestnuts. There was a sign right above these and they said chestnuts!”

The cashier eyed my find suspiciously. She held up my plastic bag and yelled across several aisles, “Jan, aren’t these lychees?” The cashier turned back to me. “These are lychees. Chestnuts are darker and have a harder shell.”
Yes, I know that, I thought. Why can’t you just play along?
The woman in line behind me chimed in, “Lychees are really great in martinis.”
“But are they at least like chestnuts?”
“No, dear,” the woman behind me said. “They’re a fruit, not a nut.”

I ended up going back to the produce section believing that there must be chestnuts, and lo and behold, I did find some – they were in a bag and already peeled. This made cooking the rice pilaf easier, but I really did want to learn how to peel a chestnut. I guess I’ll have to wait until Christmas.

Side note: I looked up lychee on the internet, and honestly, I’m not sure I had lychees either.

While I made our Azerbaijan meal John had three boys over so that that they could, supposedly, do a school project. It was a bit of a mad house while I stir-fried dried fruits and chestnuts and cooked rice. The dish was not bad – it was a one-pot meal sort of thing. It also had chicken and onions. I served black tea with the rice pilaf because I read that the Azeri people drink a lot of black tea.

The kids said they liked it – Julia took a couple of helpings. John ate it but he is not a fan of dried fruit. I wonder if he'd preferred pig feet?

Now at last, I am officially done with the A’s!


Layered Rice Pilaf With Dried Fruits and Chestnuts (Parcha - Dosheme Plov)

3 cups white Basmati rice
4 TBSP butter, melted
1 cup peeled chestnuts
1/2 cup pitted dried apricots
1 cup dried sour plum, pitted
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken cut into cubes
1 med. onion, sliced in half circles
1/3 tsp ground saffron dissolved in 3 TBSP hot water
Salt and pepper

RInse the rice. Soak the rice in a container filled with lukewarm water mixed with 1 TBSP of salt. While the rice is soaking, prepare the fruits and chestnuts. In a pan, heat 2 TBSP butter over med. heat. Add peeed chestnuts and fry for 3 min. Add dried apricots, plums and dates and stir-fry for 3 min. Add raisins and fry for 1 min.

In a large sauce pan, combine 10 cups of water and 2 TBSP salt. Bring to a boil. Drain the soaked rice and add it, in batches, to the pot. Boil for about 7 to 10 min, stirring occasionally. The rice is ready when it surfaces to the top. The rice should be barely done - not soft. Drain rice and set aside.

Melt 1 TBSP butter in a pot over med. heat. Arrange meat in one layer at the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Follow with a layer of sliced onions. Simmer over med. heat uncovered, without stirring, for about 3 min.

Place half of the rice in the pot over the onion. Arrange the dried fruits and chestnuts in one layer on top of the rice. Pile the rest of the rice on top of the fruits. Pour 1 TBSP melted butter over rice. Place a clean dish towel over the pot and cover firmly with a lid to absorb the steam. Lift the corners of the towel over the lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 min. Then open the lid and sprinkle the saffron water on top of rice. Cover again and simmer for another 30 min. When ready, meat should be cooked and lightly golden on the bottom.

Austria - Black Forest Inn

Last December I took John and Julia to the production of Sound of Music. They loved it, especially Julia. I bought her the sound track and the movie and she learned how to play “My Favorite Things” and “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” on the piano. My favorite song from the Sound of Music was “Edelweiss.” At the end of the story, at the talent show before they escaped German occupied Austria, the Captain sings “Edelweiss.” The song is about Austria’s national flower. It symbolized loyalty of Austria . The words are beautiful and sad.

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and White, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever.

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever.

For our Austrian dinner we decided to go to a restaurant called “Black Forest Inn”. It’s located in Hamilton, about 30 minutes away, and when we got there the place was busy – not just with people, but busy with decorative things everywhere, including coo-coo clocks and oil paintings of landscapes on the walls. There was flowered wallpaper and flowers painted on the booths and doors, wooden chairs with heart shapes cut out of the backs, and figurines on shelves. The restaurant was casual and filled with families; the patrons were an odd mix of older grandparent-types and young people with tattoos
“It’ll be a 45 minute wait,” the hostess told us.
Kevin and the kids went back to the car to watch a movie while I stayed at the restaurant with my cell phone in hand to call them when our table was ready. I didn’t mind the wait. I was glad to sit and relax. John and I had played tennis right before we ventured out to dinner. I reflected on how competitive I get when I play him. He quite often beats me, which is pathetic, really. I have years more experience playing the game. I even had tennis lessons when I was a kid, for God’s sake, and he hasn’t had one formal lesson. He’s naturally athletic and I’m not – that’s what it boils down to. Still, when we play it’s war – at least in my mind. I curse like a sailor and I mumble things under my breath that no mother should mumble about her child. Hell if I’m going to let this little sucker beat me! I’ll say to myself. Then WHAM – I’ll miss another shot.
Rght now, John and I are basically at the same skill level. Our games are very much neck and neck. Many times our games go like this: Duce. Mom’s advantage. Duce. John’s advantage. Duce. Mom’s advantage and it will go back and forth like this in what seems an eternity. I’ll be exhausted and want the damn game to end – but the hell if I’m going to let him win. So I fight, struggle and sweat, even if it means prolonging the game for God knows how long. And the whole time we’re playing I’m thinking next summer or the summer after he’s going to kick my ass at this game. I’m going to be humiliated! It’s only enviable, and he’ll no longer say, “Hey mom, let’s go play some tennis.”

It wasn’t until eight o’clock when we finally sat down to eat. A waitress dressed in a German/Austrian costume of a blue dress with a white apron, her hair haphazardly pulled back behind her head, gave us a friendly, if not, tired hello. She handed us each a menu and I told her that we wanted strictly Austrian food. Her expression didn’t change when I said this making me wonder if she got that a lot, or she was thinking, duh!
John ordered Rindsrouladen (Beef Rolls). Tender beef stuffed with bacon, carrots, onions and pickles, braised in a brown sauce served with potatoes and red cabbage and soup. Julia and I each got the Vienna Schnitzel ( Julia kept calling it shit-zel) except she got a side of bread dumpling with mushroom gravy and I got, what looked like pasta, with mushroom gravy. Kevin got the Vienna sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes. For all of us, our favorite part of the meal was the soup – a meatball and dumpling soup, is what they called it, but it had one big meatball and a bunch of noodles. The food was all good but my stomach was suffering from the heavy, greasy food I’ve been eating – the Australian beer battered fish the night before and now the fried schnitzel and then that dough and gravy.
During our meal I told the kids some things about Austria. It’s a landlocked country in central Europe. Its terrain is very mountainous and 90 percent of the population speaks German – which is the country’s official language. Austria made a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably music. For example, Austria is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
On the way home I felt tired from all that heavy food and the tennis game John and I played. It suddenly dawned on me that when I play tennis with John it’s not about beating him, it’s about keeping him, keeping him my little boy. When he beats me at games that only means he’s growing up and away from me. By me being a competitive player in tennis, it makes me still some-what cool. But later when I’m too easy to beat, then what?
I remembered when John was three and I checked on him while he was sleeping. He looked so cute and sweet and I broke down crying. I realized that my little three year old was not going to stay my little three year old for long. Some day I would no longer be the center of his world.
In the car, I turned around and said to the kids, “When we do the Philippines maybe we can eat balut!” John and Julia used to be captivated when I told them about the Filipino delicacy – a 24-day old duck embryo hard-boiled in the shell. John made a face and rolled his eyes. “Eating balut is stupid,” he said.
I turned back around and sighed. Maybe so, I thought, But you didn’t used to think so!
I tried to remember the words of the song Edelweiss.

Edelweis, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me.
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever.

I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed.

Australia - Beer, fun and beautiful accents

I’ve never been to Australia and I don’t know much about it other than they have kangaroos and koalas. My step-father was there recently and he said the women are hot, and my friend from South Africa said a lot of South Africans immigrate there. For me, oddly, most of my encounters with Australians came from Burma. My parents lived in Burma when I was in college and my friends and I would go to the Australian Club in Rangoon on Friday nights. The Aussies didn’t seem to mind that we were underaged. It was there that I drank too much and jumped into their pool forgetting that I was wearing my new watch that my mother gave me – and it wasn’t water proof.
I remember a crazy party at the house of an Australian Embassy secretary. There were lots of boozes, dancing and games. We danced in a darkened room, that had been cleared of furniture, until someone screamed because they spotted a scorpian under our bare feet. That was the night I hooked up with a handsome young American doctor who was passing through Burma. He was with the Doctors Without Borders Program, or something like it. The Australian secretary was not pleased as she had had her eye on him too.
And I will never forget one particular Aussie – a man with a large gut – who volunteered to dress up as Santa Claus for the Christmas party, at the American Ambassador’s residence, and he arrived on an elephant smelling like beer.
Beer. Fun. Beautiful accents. That’s what I think of when I imagine Australians.

Australia is the world’s 6th largest country and its largest island. It is the only island that is also a continent. It's the home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef.
Between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago, the Aborigines arrived. Their presence in Australia is not easily explained as they have no evident racial or linguistic kinship to the countries in the region. But, unfairly, history rarely starts until a European has discovered it. For many, that came with the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1770 - even though he is wrongly credited with discovering Australia (Asians were there hundreds of years before and a couple of Dutch seamen stumbled across it). But Cook claimed it in the name of the British. Cook, known as one of the greatest explorers, died in Hawaii in a fight with Hawaiians in 1779.
One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony because their correctional facilities back home were overcrowded. Australia may be the only country that started out as a prison.
Australia also has some interesting creatures (besides kangaroos and koalas). Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are from Australia ( A fact my son John appreciates. He loves snakes and if he finds one he will pick it up, and he has brought snakes home on several occasions. He even got bit once and we had to rush him to the hospital). This certain past time of my son’s would be unwise if we lived in Australia.
It would be unwise for him to pick up most creatures in Australia, as the paralysis tick and the tunnel web spider, are just a couple of examples of Australian’s lethal critters. Another interesting fact: Eighty percent of all the plants and animals that live in Australia exists nowhere else.

Dinner tonight was Beer Batter Fish and Chips and Pavlova for dessert. Let me just start out by saying that I hate frying food. Every time I do, grease flies everywhere and I always get burned, and at the end of it, I always feel like a big greasy blob. Well, tonight was no exception. And while I was making this beer batter fried fish I was watching Dr. Oz’s show about what to eat to live longer. I’ll be willing to bet that eating beer batter fish is not one on his list. All of us liked the fish except for John. I thought that was a bit amusing. He loved the Armenian whole fish (with head and all) with mint and parsley, but I fry him up some fish and he doesn’t like it.
The Pavlova was beautiful, though a bit too sweet. I asked Julia what she thought of it and she said, “Let’s just say it’s different.” She’s so diplomatic.

AUSSIE BEER BATTER FISH AND CHIPS

4 fish fillets
cornflour
2 cups plain flour
salt and pepper
10 1/2 fl oz beer
oil for deep frying

Dust fish fillets with corn flour. MIx flour, salt and pepper, add beer gradually, stirring well until smooth. Dip the fish fillets into batter. Cook in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve with lemon, tartare sauce and hot chips.


PAVLOVA

4 egg whites
1 cup super fine sugar
2 tsp vinegar
1 TBSP corn starch
half-pint whipped cream
Fruit - kiwi, strawberries, blueberries

Place egg whites in a bowl. Beat slowly until frothy, then increase the speed and beat until stiff. Gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition. (When all the sugar has been added, the mixture should be shiny, very stiff and should stand in peaks). Gently fold in the vinegar and corn starch with a spoon.

LIne a cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease it lightly. Pile the meringue mixture to form a cylinder. Preheat the overn to just under 300 degrees. Bake the Pavlova between 90 and 105 minutes. When done, cool, and top with whipped cream and fruit.

Armenia - Come on a my house

Do you remember the song recorded by Rosemary Clooney called Come on a my house ? The first line goes, Come on – a my house, my house, I’m gonna give you candy… It was composed by two Armenian Americans, Ross Bagdasarian (who later created the children’s favorite Alvin and the Chipmunks) and his cousin William Saroyan. They’re not the only famous Armenians, there’s also Andre Agassi, Cher, Jack Kevorkian, and the children’s song writer Raffi. I even read that Princess Diana was 1/64th Armenian!

The Republic of Armenia, is a land locked mountainous country that is bordered by Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The former Republic of the Soviet Union is now a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state. Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world and it prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity in the early 4th century. In fact, the country once included Mount Ararat, which is the mountain that Noah’s Ark rested on after the flood.

For our Armenian dinner we had Lulu Kebobs, Armenian baked fish, roasted eggplant, hummus, and Shakarishee – Armenian sugar cookies. I had a hard time finding some of the meat for my recipes such as the ground lamb and the whole fish. After going to several stores I finally found whole fish at our butchery in downtown Oakville. I wanted a whole Tilapia or haddock but they didn’t have that. Instead they had red snapper or sea bream. I went with the sea bream. It ended up being an excellent choice. It has a mild, white meat and a bit oily. I mentioned to the fish vendor that it is hard to find whole fish and he said, “It’s hard to sell it.” I think it’s a shame. Fish tastes so much better when cooked whole with the bones (but I do realize it's a pain to eat that way). The Armenian baked fish was excellent covered in tomatoes, onion, parsley and mint.

The Lulu kebobs were also good. They were like little hamburgers on a stick. The meat was a mixture of ground sirloin and ground lamb mixed with vegetables and red wine. The roasted eggplant was a different story. I don’t think I’ll be doing that again – even though I love eggplant. After roasting the eggplant I removed the skins and processed it and then mixed with onions, parsley and olive oil. When I read the recipe I thought it sounded good.

Lastly, Julia and I cooked the Armenian sugar cookies (shakarishee). It was very easy to make and had a melt-in-your-mouth texture.


LULU KEBOBS

1 lb ground sirloin
1 lb ground lamb
2 med. Yellow or red onions
1/4 cup green bell pepper –chopped
1/2 cup red wine
8 oz. Tomato sauce
1/4 cup parsley
1 tsp fresh basil
salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp cumin

Combine the above ingredients and then chill to firm up. Press onto wooded skewers, make into oblong patties, or treat just as you would hamburger patties. Barbeque.

AMENIAN BAKED FISH

2 lbs fish – whole or fillet
3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water

Brush fish with oil on both sides and broil on high in oven for 3 minutes on each side. Lay fish in the bottom of the baking pan and spread remaining ingredients on top. Pour olive oil and water over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


ROASTED EGGPLANT

Japanese eggplant
Onions
Parsley
Olive oil
Vinegar

On a barbeque place the whole eggplants on the grill and roast – turning occasionally – until the skins are blackened. Remove from the grill and let cool until they can be handled for peeling off the blackened skin. Process in a food processor or blender. Mix with chopped onions and parsley mixed with olive oil and vinegar for a chilled salad.

SHAKARISHEE (Armenian sugar cookies)

2 1/4 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup soften unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, egg yolk and sugar until smooth and almost white in color. Add flour and blend well. If you are using the nuts, add them in as well. Shape into small rectangles. Bake in a 250 degree oven on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 35 – 45 minutes.