The Ford Family gets a BRAZILIAN....(Written by husband Adam)

Hey all!  So at the conclusion of our Spain-ish night I was offered the wonderful opportunity to take over the whole process from Kara and do my own thing, since it was my choice for the country this week.  I figured we had yet to venture the continent of South America.  So of course, I chose the biggest country on the continent....BRAZIL! I was in charge of finding the recipes, doing the shopping, cooking, and the infamous writing of the blog.  I picked one of the first and easiest(of course) recipes I could find.  I picked a entree called PicadinhoA-Brasiliera , ya, easy for you to say. 

It was very yummy; beef, veggies, rice, the works!

Ayden and Zoie loved it so much they devoured their whole plates.

Then I was in the process of making a decision on my Brazilian desert..when I found out Kara and Ayden had made a cake when I was gone today so we already had something for desert, but not Brazilian, so I went with an authentic Brazilian beverage called Caipirinha.  It was delicious made with a Brazilian rum called Cachaca, lime, and brown sugar....mmmmmmm.  Unfortunately when I went to the store they did not carry Cachaca but here is what I found:

(You can't see it in the picture but it says smooth Brazilian Rum in the middle)

Pretty much the same thing right? Anyway, I made the alcoholic concoction all by myself:

YUM!!!!!!

We did learn some pretty interesting facts about Brazil:

Ayden remembered in particular that 0.5%(1 million) of the Brazilian population are Asian.

Kara recalled that Brazil is the largest Catholic nation in the world.

I mentioned that Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world in terms of population.

So in conclusion I have learned that my wife works a lot harder then I give her credit for on our country challenge.  You work hard baby and I love you for that..plus I look forward to the benefits of eating your wonderful ethnic foods once a week.  Love you baby! 

Adam OUT!

SPAIN-ish

For some reason in my brain I have a hard time separating Spain from Mexico.  I mean they do speak SPAINish in Mexico, right?  I found that although the language is similar (do to Spain having colonial possession of Mexico for 300 years) the food can be pretty different.  Not only is it different, it was probably our favorite thus far.  The kids loved it and it made me happy to be sneaking some veggies in those cute little mouths of theirs.  Dad had seconds...and thirds.  I tucked this recipe in my favorite recipe book, its defiantly a do-over.  If you have never had Paella (pa-el-la) you have got to try it.  Best part is the whole delicious meal is cooked in one pan so clean up was a breeze!  Thanks babe ;)

Our Menu:

• Sangria- I made it the night before and thought about it all day at work. I couldn't wait to get home and try it!

•  Paella- Sausage, Chicken and Shrimp.  This is our recipe.

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• And Churros!  Okay full disclosure, the churros are totally from Filiburto's. 

 

Spain had so many interesting facts.  These are some of our faves.

• Accepting a second serving is one of the best ways to show appreciation to the cook :).
• About 40% of Spaniards between the ages of 17 and 24 are smokers.
• More women then men are currently enrolled in Spain's universities.
• Rather then pick a girl up at her parents house for a date, teenage boys usually meet a girl at a prearranged site. (Adam thought this was a grand idea.)

Coming up next week:  Dad's Choice.  Brazil.  This is our 12th country and our first visit to South America!

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!

Big Fat Greek Night!

Zoie helped us mark Greece off the map.

We may have gone a little longer then a week this time but we are officially back in the swing of things.  Adam and I were seriously considering taking our challenge on a little field trip to My Big Fat Greek restaurant since we sooooo love that place.  But because we learned last week that veal is in fact NOT lamb and I still have this lamb in my freezer we decided to get all 4 of us into the kitchen and cook up some authentic recipes from Greece.  

On the menu:

• Lamb Ragout -Lamb and onions sauteed in tomatoes and Cinnamon.

• Spinach pie  - Spinach, feta, garlic in a filo dough pie crust...Delicious!  
•  Baklava 

Adam rocked the spinach pie, it was amazing!  Fox and I cooked the lamb together, Adam loved it, Fox and I were not so fond.  Baklava seems to be authentic to a few countries, Greece included.  But hey, who wouldn't want to claim layers of buttery pastry filled with sweet honey sauce and toasted nuts?  We certainly enjoyed it!  I think Zoie had a little too much!

FACT:  Every citizen of Greece is required by law to vote.  What a great law!!

It is once again Mr. Ayden Fox's turn to pick the country.   He picked a good one!

AMERICA!

"Austria, well then....."

Adam and Zoie mark Austria off our map! 

You may be wondering how we decide which country to visit each week.  We started by going from youngest to oldest but I think each of  us has a different way that we choose. For Ayden I think he wants the country that is the biggest, smallest, or most oddly shaped, he wants to really study the map before choosing.  I pick countries that I have always thought were interesting or ones that I think would have yummy food.  Adam, well he has an entirely different process, and this is it....

 

I am finding that a lot of the countries we have picked lately eat very similar.  Austria is famous for its wiener schnitzel.  We kind of already did that for German night.  We ended up making something called Zwiebelrostbraten, Ayden and I have fun trying to pronounce that one!  It is made with veal, I have never had veal.  I asked Adam what it was and very matter of factually, he said "oh its lamb".  So after visiting many stores and being unable to find anything named veal I bought some lamb.  I called my personal recipe encyclopedia and the best cook I know, my Grams, she said that veal was VERY different from lamb.  I then googled veal, don't EVER do that. Ever.  Needless to say, we didn't use veal.  I switched up the recipe and made it with chicken and chicken stock.  The best part were the homemade onion rings! 

Of coarse we had to have cheese danish!!

We learned that Hitler, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the inventor of the sewing machine were all from Austria (thanks Aunt Jen!!!)

It's my turn!  It's my turn!  Since I now have lamb in my freezer,  Greece!