Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

via the Wikimedia Commons Location : Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Seas; between Albania and Turkey Capital : Athens Area : Over 130,000 sq km; 97th biggest in the world           Slightly smaller than Alabama Highest poin t: Mount Olympus Religion : 98% Greek Orthodox Population : Just over 10.75 million; 81st largest in the world Names of Some of Their Political Parties :     Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow     Golden Dawn     Popular Orthodox Rally Three Main Foreign Relations Issues, according to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs :        Turkish challenges to Greek sovereignty in the Aegean Sea        Legitimacy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus        Naming dispute of Macedonia ( see more here ) Sources: CIA World Factbook , Wikipedia Within the last two year or so, it seems like...

(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. Th...

Photo Courtesy of User didkovskaya on Flickr   Background : Gained independence in 1918 before being forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940. Currency : Adopted the Euro in January 2011.  Bad timing... Location : Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea Area : Over 45,000 sq km; 133rd biggest in the world          Slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined Official Language : Estonian Population : Almost 1.3 million; 156th biggest in the world Capital : Tallinn Economy : Very pro-business, free market government National Anthem : My Native Land, My Pride and Joy; same melody but different lyrics from the Finnish national anthem Source: CIA Factbook I did not e-mail the Estonian embassy for an Estonian recipe.  I didn't even look in my international cookbooks.  Instead, I turned to the one and only Boris.  He is a friend from Madison, aspiring comedian , and his family was from Estonia (videos may not be ...

Photo courtesy of user --Tom S-- on Flickr Background : This section in the CIA Factbook mentions the word "Viking."  Can't fail to mention that. Location : Northern Europe, on a peninsula north of Germany plus several major islands Area : Over 43,000 sq km; 134th largest in the world          Slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts Borders : Germany Natural hazards : Flooding in some areas of the country Nationality : Dane Population : Over 5.5 million; 110th largest in the world         Note : About 25% of the population lives in the capital Capital : Copenhagen Government : Constitutional monarchy Chief of State : Queen Margrethe II Source:  CIA Factbook It is usually a good sign that there will be plenty of recipes out there for a country if their cuisine has  a Wikipedia page.   Sometimes, it also makes it a little overwhelming.  There were so many options out there for Denmark! ...

History : Gained independence from Britain in 1960.  Continued division between the Greek Cypriot areas and the Turkish Cypriot areas. Capital : Nicosia Location : Island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey Area : Little over 9250 sq km; 171st largest in the world (Note: these rankings go up to 251 because they include autonomous regions like Bermuda)          About 60% the size of Connecticut Highest point : Mount Olympus Geography : Third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea Nationality : Cypriot Ethnic Groups : 77% Greek, 18% Turkish, 5% Other Population : Over 1.1 million; 160th largest in the world Government : Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; There is a Turkish Cypriot president and a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" that is only recognized by Turkey Source:  CIA Factbook As another note, Cyprus is considered to be in Asia, not Europe.  I had always assumed it the other way, pr...