Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

I remember the first time I ever heard of Azerbaijan.  It was the answer to a Jeopardy question about countries that started with the letter "A."  My guess is that is was to name one of them that starts with an "A" but doesn't end with one, since I remember there being two possible answers.  From that time, I thought that it was a really pretty word, and haven't never forgotten it since.  Also interesting that the A's start and end with this...Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.  That's right, this is the last A!  Quite a while for just one letter, no? Azerbaijan Some history : Was briefly independent from 1918 to 1920, then regained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union Location : Southwest Asia, a part (referenced in the Armenia post) in Europe Area : 87,000 sq km, slightly smaller than Maine Bordering nations : Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey Coastline : Technically landlocked, although they border the Caspian Sea Elevation :...

An interim update... I apologize for no cooking entry this week.  Last week was Alexandria Restaurant Week, so Kevin and I went out to eat more often than normal.  The $35 deals made me miss Madison... Instead, I thought I would right about something else related.  A while ago, I said that I was kinda sad to find out I wasn't the only person doing this.  I was hoping that I was unique, but that wasn't the case.  Finally, I commented on the blog of the one that comes up the most often in my searches: MyHungryTum. He sent me a very nice message back, talking about Yeungling and when the cooking gets hard.  I would still like to be unique, but it is good to know there is a "support group" out there too.  Also, from what I have seen, everyone's is a little different.  People are doing this for different reasons and in different ways.  Most importantly, I started this to learn, not just to blog. And learn I have.  Last time I said tha...

Area : About 83,000 sq km, slightly smaller than Maine Location : Central Europe, borders 8 countries, and is landlocked Population : 8.2 million, 92nd in the world Suffrage : 16, lowered from 18 in 2007 International disputes : A large number of Austrians petitioned the government to try to block the Czech Republic's entry into the EU unless a nuclear power plant near the mutual border was closed Official language : Germany Austrian cuisine : Mostly taken from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  According to Wikipedia, they borrow from so many other countries as well that their cuisine is some of the most international in Europe Some famous Austrians : Wolfgang Mozart, Sigmund Freud, Arnold Schwazenegger Lately, I have just been getting my country facts from the CIA Factbook, but I have decided to put some Wikipedia stuff back in.  It gives some more personal and interesting information, and has more freedom to talk on topics that don't fall under the standard CIA headings...