Posts

Showing posts from 2014

Ghana

Image
" Flag of Ghana ". Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons . Background : First sub-Saharan African country in colonial Africa to gain independence Location : West African, bordering Cote d'Ivoire and Togo Size : Almost 240,000 sq km; 82nd largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Oregon Population : About 25.75 million; 49th largest in the world Source: CIA Worldfactbook This one was a while ago, so bear with my memory.  This was during that glorious time where first-trimester wooziness was gone and third-trimester oh-my-god-I-only-want-to-sleep hadn't started.  What better to do with that time than cook African food? As always, there was a lot of searching involved.  It was a bit easier to find Ghanaian recipes than many other countries.  There were lists like the 10 Ghanaian Foods You Must Eat Before You Die .  Fact: I found this list after I did this cooking and picked some different foods because I couldn't remember that I h

Germany: The Failure

First, a note.  The following happened over the winter, but I am writing this in the fall.  Ridiculous, yes?  You want to know what is harder than having time and energy to cook and write while having three kids two and under?  Having the time and energy to cook and write while having a toddler and being pregnant with twins.  It laid me out.  I could barely make dinner every day, nonetheless something special. But - despite lack of sleep, lots of nursing, and more diaper changes, I feel much better now.  So let's get back to this, okay?  Starting with writing about the things I did a while ago. Anyway, Germany.  My international cookbook had a recipe the really appealed to me: Schweinelendchen im Schwarzbratmantel (Pork Tenderloin in a Dark Bread Crust).  You take a seared pork loin and wrap it in a crust of rye bread crumbs, ground pork, and eggs.  You then poach it.  Delicious, no?  Worth coming back to Germany even after already doing one day of it ! This was suppose

Germany

Image
Flag courtesy of Wikipedia Location : Central Europe, between the Netherlands and Poland Area : Over 350,000 sq km; 63rd biggest in the world          Slightly smaller than Montana Population : Almost 81,000,000; 18th largest in the world           Second largest in Europe after Russia Capital : Berlin Economy : Based on GDP per capita the 5th biggest in the world and the biggest in Europe Source: CIA World Factbook Next up in fast-forwarding through Danielle's life is...Germany!  And not only Germany, but Germany in Colorado at Christmas. Why such time travel?  Sickness, tiredness, general lack of time.  What does that sound like?  Yep, that's right, time to have another baby!  And this time, although we didn't know it when I cooked this food, there were twins.  Turns out that makes things a lot more interesting.  There were a lot of foods I had aversions to, and just making a shopping list was difficult sometimes.  So bear with me. Anyway, Germany!  As

More Georgia (But still not the state)

Image
(Note, I am posting this without my "editor" Kevin looking it over.  I finally decided if I didn't post it I never would, so I'm just going with it.  Welcome back to blogging?) As I was looking for something to make for Georgia, I decided I couldn't stop at one dish. Sometimes certain countries just have foods that speak to me and I want to keep trying.   Khinkalis came up repeatedly in my searches as definitively Georgian.  Plus they sounded good.  Meat dumplings?  I am in!  After looking at a number of recipes I went with this one .  The directions made sense and there were pictures! I'm pretty sure I halved the recipe, although I could be wrong.  But at least this one is halve-able, unlike last time! With some fancy Google converting, 1.1 kilos equals 2.4 pounds.  Yay internet!  And food scales! The dough, which was just flour, egg, and water was pretty sticky, but not the worst thing with which I have worked. Then there was a lot of kneadi

Georgia

Image
Image from Marco Petrovic found on Wikipedia Background : Received most recent independence in 1991 from the USSR Location : Southwestern Asia between Turkey and Russia                Georgia views itself as part of Europe Area : Almost 70,000 sq km; 121st largest in the world          Slightly smaller than South Carolina Population : Over 4.5 million; 122nd largest in the world Capital : Tblisi Disputes : Contains two areas, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, that claim they are independent.  Russia recognizes them as separate from Georgia. Etymology : The name Georgia appears in numerous early medieval annals, but it is unsure where it is from Sources: CIA Factbook , Wikipedia I believe the first time I realized there was a country named Georgia was the geography bee in grade school.  The person who answered the question got it right.  I would not have.  Who knew that a US state shared a name with a country on the other side of the world? Google searches, the start of mo