Thighland?

That's right.  Thighland.  At least according to Ayden.  We corrected him the first few times and then realized that saying Thighland is much more fun then saying Thailand.  Plus, you can make much better jokes with it.  

 

As you can see, we took our little family food challenge on a road trip!  It was a place right by my salon that I knew was good and the decor is so "Thai".  Obviously I wanted to document our first challenge field trip so I brought my camera and was snapping away like crazy.  I think I officially embarrassed all of them.  I tried explaining to our super sweet waitress what I was doing but there was a bit of a language barrier and I am fairly certain she just thought I was nuts.  And, she's kinda right.  We had great food, tried new things and I even found a Thailand-Esq dress buried deep within my closet.  Fun stuff!

I forced him to put his arm around her, see how thrilled he is about it?  Don't worry, I will totally pay for his therapy.

Love this picture!

We brought along our facts and learned that Bangkok is the hottest capital city in the world and that Thailand is responsible for exporting more then $250 million worth of Orchids worldwide.

Up Next?  Spain!

Polska Noc...aka...Polish Night

I love that our family and friends are starting to get in on our fun!  Especially when they give me facts and recipes.  It was actually Adam's Grandmother Barbara that suggested we do Poland since it is part of her heritage.  She told me that her mother used to make something called a Paczki (polish doughnut) and that we should give them a try.  It helps to know that I LOVE to cook.  But I HATE to bake.  Not only do I hate it, I am not very good at it either.  I don't like all the precise measurements, patience it takes to flour boards, roll out dough, and let things rise.  These Paczkis weren't messing around, it was some serious baking.  I had to make a "sponge" and let it rise, mix in more ingredients and let it rise, cut out the doughnuts and let them rise.  It took me all day.  Worth it?  Totally.  They were amazing.  So thank you Barb for you great idea, even if I was cursing you halfway through the 3rd rising session ;)  We love you!

Here they are!

The kids gobbled them up, Ayden even had the few that were left over for breakfast the next day.

My beautiful babies on a little bit of a sugar high

Also on our menu:

• Polish Sausage - we will totally be having these again!  
• Mizeria  - went great with the Sausage.

The name day in Poland is more important then the birthday.  They celebrate their name and it's association with saints and martyrs.  The name Adam is celebrated on April 6 in Poland.  I couldn't find the rest of our names, I guess we we will just have to stick with our birthdays.

Next week:  Thailand!

Sweet Home America

America.  Easy, right?  Not really.  The problem with this wonderful melting pot that we live in is that not very much of what we eat is actually "American".  I wanted to find food that was original to America.  As it turns out, most of what we think is American cuisine originated in another country.  

For Example:

Hot dogs-"frankfurter" came from Frankfurt, Germany.

Hamburgers- Hamburg, Germany.

Mac & Cheese- Italy.

Apple pie- England.

Do you know what is American?  The Reuben Sandwich.  Seems foreign, doesn't it?  It isn't, it's actually about as American as it gets.  It was created by a man named Reuben Kulakofsky in Omaha, Nebraska.  It also happens to be one of Adam's faves and super easy to make!  Chicken wings are also authentic American cuisine and since my hubby makes the most amazing wings on the planet, we threw that on the menu as well.  I also made my dads famous homemade cilantro ranch dressing to dip them in.  Then we cooled our mouths down with a Coca Cola (created by John Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia)and some Cookie Dough ice cream (invented my Ben and Jerry's in 1984)

We learned that is cost more to buy a new car today in the United States then in cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake 3 voyages to the New World.  We also learned that George Washington was deathly afraid of being buried alive and requested that his body be laid out for 3 days just to be sure he was dead.  Yuck!

Cheers to America! 

Dad's Pick!  He is getting in touch with his heritage and pleasing his grandmother by choosing Poland!