Global Cuisine - China

Ok.....so I truly hope not to offend anyone, but I attempted to write "Chinese Menu" in Chinese.  I think it looks pretty good, but I also think my Swahili is pretty good when we go to Kenya and my husband's relatives either laugh or just smile (knowing that I sound like a redneck from Oklahoma)!  DJ stayed busy today and didn't get all of his dishes done.  He had an eggplant and sesame noodle dish that we will probably just have later in the week.  I keep telling him to whittle down his menu, but I guess all of the food looks so good he can't choose wisely!  That being said, this is our last Sunday meal without meat!!!  Hooray, next week is Easter and Lent is over. 

Bubs wanted to get in on the action of the "fun to operate" kitchen gadgets before Mass.  I have to admit that I secretly didn't want him to help because I love turning that crank and watching those beautiful zucchini noodles come out of the other end too! Ha  We helped DJ out while he was away in the morning.

Momos with spinach and ricotta

This picture is a bit hard to tell, but this is essentially a wonton wrapper stuffed with goodness and drizzled with Kung Pao sauce.  There was a lot of kung pao going on in the kitchen today!  Mumbs, who is usually pretty picky, ate about 5 of these.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ooohhhh a man after my own heart.  Mama's favorite.  This was Belle's favorite too.  I think she ate three bowls worth.  What is a Chinese meal without it?!

Zucchini noodle lo mein

Many, or shall I dare to say all, of the kids highly dislike mushrooms.  This dish had quite a bit, but the kids were told they had to eat three each.  The backstory of this is that since everyone has been quarantined and DJ has been working from home, there has been a daily basketball game.  DJ vs. the kids.  There is a daily bet and today the kids bet on mushrooms (because they saw them in the fridge).  Unfortunately, DJ crushed them today 15-0.  They have actually never lost so bad since they started playing!  To top it off, they only have to make 5 shots to win and he has to make 15, solo.

Kung Pao Lentils, White Rice, and Sticky Sesame Cauliflower

These lentils definitely had a kick to them, but were quite tasty.  He added roasted, salted cashews which brought an unexpected crunch element.  The cauliflower was sticky, but sweet and combined nicely with the lentils.

Chinese Banana Fritters and Chinese New Year's Cake

So, for anyone who has any culinary skills whatsoever, you are probably cracking up right now.  We tried so hard for this presentation it ended up looking like we just threw a bunch of chocolate on the plate.  We couldn't get it to drizzle any way we tried so this is what you get.  Globs of chocolate!  On the bright side, the banana fritters were good.  I wasn't sure how they would taste, but the crunchy outside went well with the soft sweet inside.  As for the New Year's Cake, let's just say it was keto friendly.  He used rice flour and added almonds to give it a bit more flavor.  Overall, they both paired nicely with our tea tonight.

Stay tuned for our next Global Cuisine dinner: EASTER from around the world.  Our traditional Easter plans have been changed due to the quarantine, so we are doing our own spin on an Easter menu this year.  

Global Cuisine - Ecuador

So, Ecuador ended up being a family affair.  A few kiddos helped out in the prep and I was in the kitchen with DJ most of the day.  It was actually nice to be in there with him, but I told him that if the weather was warmer, I would have bailed on him!  I also secretly wanted to eat at a decent time and get ahead of the mountain of dishes that are always staring at me at the end of the night.

Here is Belle rolling out the dough to make the sweet rolls.  However, when I wasn't looking, half of the dough was missing and she was eating it!  #whereweretheparents

Kui and Belle helped shuck the corn.

Kui was in charge of flipping the corn on the grill.

So, I had to take a picture of this because I was laughing so hard when I turned around and saw this!  Now, I have seen it all.  He was trying to melt the sugar for the suspiros.  

Here is the menu.  Wow, my handwriting looks a bit terrible and slanted.  I decided to use the markerboard side of the easel this time.  We also found the flag downstairs.  The kids ended up spending too much time outside and didn't dress up or prepare any song/play.

Arvejas con guineo

This is traditionally supposed to be split pea and green banana soup, but DJ couldn't find split peas.  He used black eyed peas instead with the green bananas.  I have to admit that this soup doesn't look very appetizing, but it is a very hearty soup, especially good for our meatless Lenten dinners.

Pan dulce de Ecuador

I ended up helping my boo with these sweet rolls.  Don't mind the crazy distorted shapes.  They went a little crazy in the oven.  These were scrumptious.  After they came out of the oven, I slathered them in melted butter and sprinkled them with sugar!  I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to double the recipe.  It made 30 rolls!  Enough to feed our large family.

Llapingachos con ensalada de tomate y cebolla con aquacate

This Ecuadorian salad was a little iffy for me at first.  It called for avocados.  I wasn't sure how those would do with the tomato and onions.  I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was and it paired great with the potato cakes (Llapingachos) that are seen in the picture below.

Maiz a la parrilla con cilantro queso fresco salsa

This picture has a few things, but I spoke about the top two above.  The grilled corn was absolutely delicious.  It was a special treat to have grilled corn so early in the year.  DJ made this delicious sauce for it that had garlic, cilantro, and sour cream I think.  Either way, I could have eaten 3 ears of corn, pregnant or not!

Empanadas de verde con queso

Ok.  So these are empanadas made out of green plantain dough stuffed with cheese.  OMG!  I'm not sure what this man of mine was thinking, but these were an absolute disaster.  He was putting raw hunks of plantain into the food processor mixed with grated plantains.  The food processor didn't know what the heck was going on and just started making this horrible noise, stinking up the joint, and I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you could have seen smoke coming from the motor!  Disaster, disaster, disaster!  He added water and oil I think to make it into a mush he called dough.  Then he bailed on it and gave it over to me to try and salvage it.  I added almost 3 cups of flour to make it into something I could work with and then spent another 30 minutes picking out hunks of raw plantains.  I mean how can you roll out your dough with huge hunks.  Anyway....I was polite about the matter and just did my best.  I managed to be able to roll them out a bit, stuff them with beans, cheese, and green onions, and fry them.  We had to improvise and pour some of the sauce from the corn on them because they had an indescribable flavor.  Yikes!

Suspiros

Ahhh.....dessert.  DJ decided to make two for this country.  He said that's how much he loves me.  Ha! I made the cake below and he made these.  P. U. R. E. sugar is all I have to say.  These were delicious straight from the oven.  They tasted like cotton candy.  They hardened a bit and became a little less chewy the next day, but equally delicious.

Tres Leche Cake

So, don't laugh at this picture.  DJ said that we need to spiffy up our pictures so he told me to take it next to the flowers (as if I'm going to become some professional food blogger or something!)  Anyway, at least you can see the cake.  It was very interesting to make.  I wasn't sure what to think when I poured my milk mixture over the cake and it started to float in the casserole dish!  After quite a few hours, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the milk had soaked into the cake leaving it very spongy.  I toasted some coconut to go on top of the delicious whipped icing.

Mumbs has the next choice of country and guess what she chose?!?!  CHINA!  Stay tuned.

Global Cuisine - Portugal

Portugal!

The kids were excited that we were doing Portugal because the Fatima children are from there.  This picture has Our Lady of Fatima and the three children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta.  Hopefully one day, we will be able to visit the city of Fatima.  Until then, let us experience Portugal through the hands of DJ!

Ok, so I apologize for the pretty lame pictures since I don't show my kids faces.  The girls ended up looking more Jamaican than Portuguese, so I just included a few boys!   Nito has really been playing his guitar more and wanted to include it.  Since we had dinner guests, their song, "Palma, palma, palma" was forgotten!  It was a repeat from when we did Brazil anyway.  Perhaps, if they ever end up doing a song, I will record it and post it to the blog.

Here is our menu for this week.  I have to say that my hubby is quite ambitious every week.  I wouldn't dream of cooking so many things, but I cook almost everyday so that could be why.  However, it is smart in the sense that I never have to cook on Mondays since we usually have leftovers, even after feeding our army of children. 

Massa Sovada

My husband knows that I'm a carboholic and always makes a point to get some sort of bread into the menu.  This is a Portuguese sweet bread.  They came out nicely, but I found them a bit dry.  Although, that can easily be resolved with a little butter!  

Bacalhau com Natas

I believe this was the most popular dish and there were very little leftovers.  This is salted cod that is baked and mixed with fried onions, potatoes, and other goodness.  We had some friends over for dinner and one of them gave it away that this was fish.  I actually would have tried it on my own thinking it was gooey potatoes.  Now, I have to admit, I was eventually FORCED to try this.  I fell into the peer pressure of the whole table telling me that I had to try it.  Gag!  I am not a fan by any means of fish and I mixed it with every carb on my plate!  I was still traumatized from the weekend before when DJ and I went out for our anniversary. He told me that if I tried a fried oyster that he would get me an order of mozzarella sticks!  If anyone knows me, they know how much I absolutely love mozzarella sticks.  So......I agreed.  Well, when the order came, he cut me off a piece of the fried oyster and black stuff started to ooze out of it!  I said, "What the heck is that?!"  He said just eat it!!!!  I literally almost threw up on my plate.  So, needless to say that I was a bit skeptical to eat this fish.

Batatas a Murro

These were a huge hit.  Portuguese smashed potatoes.  They were covered with fried onions and blue cheese.  Now, the moldy cheese could have been switched for a better one, but they were still good nonetheless.

Salada de feijao garbanzo com alino assade

I was very thankful for this fresh element of the dinner.  It is a fresh salad with tomatoes, chickpeas, and fresh herbs.  It was definitely different, but very tasty.

Caldo Verde

Portuguese kale soup.  This soup had great flavor, but I am not a fan of kale, collard greens, or spinach in soup.  It's just weird!  And our darling baby, Belle, calls everything like that a leaf!  She screams and says "Weaf, weaf, weaf" and refuses to eat it.  However, the other children enjoyed it. 

Mistura Vegetariana

Ok.....I just have to say what everyone else is thinking for this picture.  It looks like cat throw up!  DJ said that I need to get better at taking pictures and I agree!  I'm clearly an amateur.  Even though this would not pass the presentation part on Chopped, his flavor was still there.  It is a vegetable hash with cabbage, potatoes, herbs, and olives.  T-Man devoured almost all of the olives before DJ could add them to the dish!

Arroz de Tomate

Portuguese Tomato Rice.  This was a simple nice side dish to compliment the meal.  It is essentially rice and beans with tomatoes.

Bolo de Amendoa

OMG!  This was I think one of my favorite desserts.  I think it might actually trump the Italian Pear Cake he made for Italy.  Portugueses Almond Torte.  I recently got him some new spring form pans and he was excited to use them.  I made the syrup for this cake and it smelled so delicious.  Plus, we had it on Sunday so I was able to enjoy this with tea.  Soo good.

Global Cuisine - Israel

Mmmmm.....it all started in the early morning with Sufganiyot stuffed with dulce la leche and delicious tea.  DJ managed to whip out some Israeli donuts before Mass today.  I'm not sure how he manages to pull all of these things off, but he did and they were delicious.  

Kui wrote down all of the menu items for us this week.  Time was not on DJ's side by late afternoon for all of these and the cauliflower didn't make an appearance.  The baba ganoush made a late appearance very close to dessert and I actually don't have a picture.  It resembles a hummus that you can eat with pita bread for those who are interested.  It is made out of eggplant.  Interesting.... is really the only word I have to describe it!

Israeli Salad

I was put on a few tasks this Sunday since some last minute things popped up at church for DJ.  This was one of them.  Lots and lots of chopping, but it was well worth it.  This salad had tomatoes, cucumber, red and yellow bell pepper, red onion, fresh mint and parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice.  A great fresh element to the dinner for sure.  Kui, who would rather eat a snake than tomatoes, said she actually liked this.  Woohoo!!

Squash Gallette

Another task I was put on.  Let's say that this was definitely a first for me.  I have never made a dough using coconut oil and I think I never will again.  It was not the consistency I was expecting and very hard to work with.  I think I sort of pulled off what the pictures look like online!  Don't mind the hunk missing in the crust at the top of the picture.  DJ tore off a hunk to taste it and I said, "Seriously, I didn't get a pic first!"  This gallette has butternut squash, carrots, apple, and red onion.  It has a maple syrup and lemon drizzle.  

 

Falafel on pita with tahini sauce

Here is a picture with everything mixed together.  The way my hubby likes to eat it.  There is falafel made from chickpeas, tahini sauce made from sesame seeds, the salad, and some filling from the gallette.  

DJ showing you how to eat it (or perhaps he was just about to take a bite and I thought he was posing for me!)

Marzipan Chocolate Rugelach

Hmmm....as I'm writing this, I'm sensing a pattern.  This was also one of my tasks.  Now what did DJ actually make for Israel one might ask?!  Apparently it was the falafel and tahini sauce.  But hey, that's how it goes some weekends depending on what is going on.  We are all part of a family and many of the children pitched in to help cook or clean the dishes.  Ok back to the yummy dessert.  This was very time intensive and I would have preferred it been made with milk chocolate rather than dark, but very good though.  

The children had costumes and a play all ready, but then a certain child decided to cause drama for everyone and everything was called off by the head honcho in charge, Kui!  She called it off once one of the cast members left and so we have no pictures or a play to show for Israel.  However, the kids did have a surprise visitor, their pediatrician made a house call!  Mumbs has not been feeling well so her doctor stopped by after Mass and it ended up being perfect timing for dinner.  She joined us for dinner and made our night special.  They shared all about our tradition and the previous countries that we have done. 

Next week, Portugal!  Stay tuned.

Global Cuisine - Venezuela

Here is our menu for our Venezuelan Cuisine.

Ok, so since I don't take pics of my kids faces (see why here), I had to figure out a creative way to get a picture of their costume.  I tried a profile pic here.  I only captured the boys for this meal because the girls were still showering and getting dressed and then our guests arrived.  For their costumes, we used kangas from Kenya, a sombrero from Mexico, and for some reason, my daughter chose to get T-Man an Australian outback hat.  I didn't say anything though because she tried! HA.

Ok, so before we delve too deep into this global cuisine tradition, I would like to throw out a disclaimer that we usually don't buy any clothes/accessories for our dinners.  We simply use what we have at home to try to recreate the outfits the best we can.  So, I hope we don't offend anyone that may be reading from a particular country!  That is not our intention.

The table is a great example of how we improvise.  A lady I used to work with is from Guatemala and gave me this table runner.  I decided to use it for Venezuela since it looked close enough!

 Our dinner started with Venezuelan Pan de Jamon as an appetizer.  My husband knows that I'm not a fan of olives, so he left those out of this.  He only put raisins and ham.  He also burned the palm sugar and opted to use maple syrup as a substitute.  The kids came running into the kitchen and told him enthusiastically that something was burning!  It was his palm sugar!!  He still pulled it off and it was a huge hit!

 

Our really good friends and our son, Bubs' Godparents, came over for dinner.  They brought the traditional Venezuelan rice drink called Chicha.  It was delicious.  She added ice, the drink, cinnamon, and a cinnamon stick for added flavor and for stirring.  Apparently, this drink was made by mothers and given to their kids after school to hold them over until dinnertime.  

Here is a picture of the rest of the meal.  It included Venezuelan Sweet Plantains, Pabellon Criollo (shredded skirt steak), Bollos Pelones (ground beef dumpling with leeks, olives, capers, and many other ingredients), Venezuelan beans and rice, and a cilantro mojo sauce to put on pretty much anything.

Dessert was a Chocolate Marquesa.  It is a layered cake with maria cookies and premium baking chocolate.  Let me just tell you that my darling husband makes great desserts, but the kitchen looked like a bomb went off after this.  My kitchen aid mixer was covered with cocoa powder, smeared butter residue, drippings of dried sweet condensed milk, and a dusting of powdered sugar!  I guess it was worth it in the end.  

I attempted to cut it nicely for a picture, but it sort of fell apart.  Not sure that it set for the 8 hr in the fridge.  It still tasted delicious.

The kids ran out of time to perform their song, but I did get books from the library and the older ones read about Venezuela.  Every week doesn't quite go as planned, but we always have a great time and love listening to the different music from each country.  The main point is that we are building a tradition of having dinner as a family on Sundays and exposing our children to different cultures.  

Rotation of the Earth

Ok so this presentation is a bit cray cray and hard to capture in pictures.  I tried my best!  I will continue to post as we work through the album on the subject.  I enjoyed doing this presentation with my boys, because......they are boys!  I asked them to gather the materials and they were giddy knowing that it involved bricks, a crazy lamp without its shade, string with a nut on one end and the best part which was so intriguing..........the BATHROOM!!!!  Well, I needed a dark place so what better place than that right?  I mean we are in the basement so it works perfectly since there are no windows.  That being said, don't mind the toilet, shower, whatever else crazy you might see in the background.  Focus on the materials! Ha.

I started off explaining how the Earth rotates around the sun on an invisible string, which is where the nut on a string came into play.  Now, when you are swinging this around your head for the visual, be sure not to whack someone or something in the process!  Pretty sure I hit my eye the first try.  Moving on......I told the boys that I would let them try under my supervision, but that it was not a toy and I wouldn't leave that on the shelf for them to "investigate further" with it.  We all know how that story would play out.  

I went on to explain that the Earth moves around the sun, but that it also turns on itself in the process.  In the picture above, Bubs is the sun and Nito is spinning himself dizzy while he is "trying" to circle Bubs without hitting the toilet or the shower at the same time.

Here is the fun part.  Turning off the bathroom light and turning on the lamp.  The lamp clearly represents the sun and we have the globe for our Earth.  The story continues to talk about how much of the sun's rays actually hit us and what would happen if the Earth did not turn on itself.  The lamp shines on one side of the Earth and then creates a shadow on the other side.  Bubs was quick to announce that this is how we have night and day (he clearly had this presentation with Kui when he was younger).  But for Nito and T-Man, they were just enjoying the presentation..

These charts help to show how large the sun is and how powerful the rays can be.  I don't believe you can see it in this picture, but there is a small circle on the bottom right hand side of the chart on the right.  It represents Earth.  This shows the child how small Earth is to the sun.  The chart on the left symbolizes what would happen to the Earth if it did not turn on itself.  The portion that was in the sun (the flames) would essentially burn up over time and would never be able to sustain any type of life.  The portion that was in the shade from the sun (the icicles) would freeze and also never be able to sustain any type of life.  

I basically stopped the presentation there on that day.  The boys wanted to play a game with the globe and we chose different countries.  They would make the country be sleeping, eating breakfast, taking a nap, etc.  For example, Bubs chose Japan.  He said he wanted to make Japan sleeping.  So, Nito found Japan on the globe and moved it into the shadow of the sun's rays.  Although this was a silly activity, it was a great impromptu geography lesson!