Only 2 days left!

Well, as tired as I am, I'm actually a little dissapointed that it's ending so soon! I feel very adventurous, and proud that (so far) there has been no major bombs, or disasters (okay, the kung pao came close...)
Last night was "Middle East", here is the menu we did:
India - Somosas
Iran - Hummus (sooooo delicious: I usually find Hummus quite bland, but this had 3 lemons to 1 can of chick peas, so it was tart and yummy)
Kazakstan - Homemade Jam (with the Nan - Nan, yes, not Naan, because it was from Turkey)
Pakistan - Chicken Curry (mmmm...)
Tajikstan - Qutab (rice side dish)
Turkey - Nan
Uzbekistan - Shakarap (tomato and onion salad)

there was at least one more, but I can't remember right now.
Going to watch the Canadians win the hockey game, now!

Getting pretty tired...

Well, I'm the first to admit that this is a lot more work than I was anticipating... but last night was totally worth it! We did another 5 Countries, and mmmm.... it was sooooo good.
Here was the menu: (take this, Anna and Christina!)
Bulgaria: Mineral Water (okay, so not really a recipe... but apparently they drink this more than even water because it's cheaper and more available to them: thanks, wikipedia)
Serbia: Tzaziki (homemade, of course... awesome!)
Greece: Lamb Gyro (I think I may have just said Lamb Lamb... not totally sure) in a Pita with seasoned fries (like Opas! but honestly, I think ours was better! We used a Rachael Ray recipe for the Gyro, and Heidi has perfected the fries)
Macedonia: Shopska Salad (similar to Greek Salad... but you roast the red peppers, and the dressing is a little simpler)
Bosnia: Sutlijach (a fancy way of saying Rice Pudding: which unfortunately, only Audrey, Ava (my 2 year old niece) and I liked!

This morning we had Banana Bread with a Dollop of Whip Cream (if you ever want an amazing banana bread recipe, it's in the "Best of the Best" of Bridge... to DIE for, and are having Irish Tea from Ireland (non-alcoholic, actually came from Ireland).

Tonight is Middle Eastern night... getting geared up for Somosas (homemade, what else?), Curry, Naan, and a ton else.

Whew, only 3 days left after this!

6 Countries on the menu tonight!

Tonight is going to be really fun, pretty low key, despite there being 6 Countries to do...
We're doing:

Cranberry Sauce - Czech Rebuplic
Honey Onion Salad - Andorra
Pork - Slovakia
Saurkraut - Latvia
Mashed Potatos - Finland
Lithuanian apple crumb cake - Lithuania


The pork, saurkraut and mashed potatos we're doing all together, it's a wonderful meal I learned from my grandma... you stack pork, cooked saurkraut and mashed potatos together with gravy, it's sooooo yummy!
The cranberry sauce is orange, cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, super easy... the recipe I'm worried about is the Andorrian Salad... it's black olives, red onion, then a vinegar/ honey salad dressing... we'll see!
I have really enjoyed finding recipes that are truly authentic to the Countries.

Kung Pao Chicken without the Kung Pao...

Another busy weekend in the Jones' house!  Saturday was our "Asian Cuisine" night, and it almost killed me!

We made:
Moo Shu Pork & Kung Pao Chicken (China)
Mongolian Stir Fry (Mongolia)
Homemade Dipping Sauce (N. Korea)
Eggrolls (S. Korea)
Brown Sugar Red Bean Cakes (Taiwan)
Fortune Cookies (Hong Kong)

It was delicious, but sooooo much work... we started at 4:30, and finished around 7:15... the biggest dissapointment was that we thought the Kung pao Chicken tasted pretty bland... and on Sunday Morning, I noticed a whole cup of sauce on the counter... which would be the Kung Pao part of the Kung Pao Chicken.  But the Mongolian Stir Fry was good... it surprisingly has only 4 ingredients to make the sauce: Curry, Ginger, Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar.  Delicious!

Sunday we took it a little easier, we had Homemade Cinnamon Buns from Sweden for Breakfast, and homemade mac and cheese for lunch... from the good 'ol USA!

Tonight we're making sushi, to finish up the Asian Contenant, and Cucumber Salad from Poland, which I was suppost to make on Friday, but ran out of time.

We're probably not going to make it to all 82 Countries... but it's been really fun trying!

Up to 29 Countries!

Here's the menu we had last night, and what we're having tonight:

Thursday, Feb 18th: GREAT BRITAIN (Fried fish)
                                 CANADA (Poutine)
                                 ALBANIA (Bakllava- very different than I expected)                                                AZERBAIJAN (Black Tea - national beverage)
                                 SLOVAKIA (Cabbage Coleslaw)
                                 JAPAN (beef lettuce wraps)

Friday, Feb 19th:     UKRAINE (Farmer Sausage)
                                 RUSSIA (perogies)
                                 POLAND (cucumber salad)

 So we've done a total of 29 Countries, and we're just under half the Olympics.  Tomorrow Night is Asian Night, we'll knock down at least 8 more Countries just for dinner.  So fun!

Mmm... Street Tacos!

Africa Night went really well!  Who would've thought to put raisins, mint and saffron with cumin, tameric, chickpeas and zucchini... but it was delicious! 
Tonight we are having my inlaws over, and my husbands sister, Leah, and having Mexican Street Tacos!  This is a recipe that closely resembles the tacos you buy on the streets of Mexico... authentic and oh so yummy!  We are having Soda Water and flavors from Georgia, and for Dessert.... Hokey Pokey ice cream from New Zealand!  (Vanilla ice cream and Sponge Toffee).... so excited!
I've taken a picture of our wall, again, we've done 19 Countries, there are now 82 participating Countries... which means we are 1/4 done in 6 days... right on track!

16 down.... 66 to go!

It was a busy weekend at my house... we had the Opening Ceremonies on Friday Night, and Audrey and I were home sick...
Saturday I made my husband a meal of Mahi-Mahi, it was just delicious... and we managed to sneak in Focaccia Bread from France and Asparagus from Liechtenstein that night.
Sunday was Valentine's Day, we started the day off with Sweet Buns from Denmark (that my mother lovingly made... they were heart shaped with pink icing) and had heart shaped pizzas for lunch, with Italian Sausage (Italy) and Jerk Ribs (Jamaica) and for a light snack, a sweet Kiwi Salsa with homemade Cinnamon Chips from Australia!
We had a busy day yesterday, we went downtown to take part in the festivities of the Olympics... and after 25,000 steps and being 30 weeks pregnant, I whipped up a quick Bowtie Pasta, with homemade Alfredo Mushroom Sauce from Croatia.
Today we're being a little more adventurous... it's African Night!
The menu is:
Ghana: Mango and Guava Juice
Algeria: Saffron and Raisin Couscous
Morocco: Moroccan Chicken
Senegal: Green Bean Salad
South Africa: Chocolate Fondue with fresh fruit.
Should be delicious!  I'll take a picture of our wall tomorrow, it's getting very full!

Welcome, World!

I am so excited about the Olympics... and it's even more exciting that it's here in Vancouver!  We are doing some special things this year, like I mentioned in a previous post.  We are attempting to make a meal or dish for every Country represented in the Olympics... that's 81 Countries!
Last night for dinner, we had Mushroom Stroganoff from Belarus, over Rice from Uzbekistan, and German Chocolate Cupcakes for dessert. 
This morning we made Belguim waffles... 4 Countries down, 77 to go!
The flags you see in the picture are the Countries we've done food for so far.... Audrey, who is two and a half, helped color them (as I'm sure you can tell!)
We are also going to keep a daily tally on the medal count of Canada... which I did with the daycare kids I worked with 4 years ago.

Here's a close up of the poster: 
To make the poster, I used the inside of the gumball machine from the stamp set "Something Sweet".  The words are from "Whimsical Alphabet", which is unfortunately retired.
I'll keep you posted on our progress!

Black and White Inspiration

I'm doing a workshop next week, and the hostess asked to do a 6 x 6 Scrapbook page as our make and take...
she loves music and black and white and asked me to work with that theme.  This is what I came up with... hope you enjoy!

February Club Card

This Saturday is my monthly club meeting... I always really enjoy it!  Here's the card I created for club... it's a "spinner" card... which means that the flower on the top spins from one end to the other when you tilt the card... hours of entertainment for children! (and maybe husbands, too!)
I used the stamp set "Eastern Blooms", which is so versatile, and "for you" is from "Fresh Cuts".
The color palatte is Elegant Eggplant, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal and Creamy Caramel.
Love this card!
For a tutorial on spinner cards, go to http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/spinner_card/

For more info on joining a monthly club, and getting free hostess benefits, email me at yummy_starbucks@yahoo.ca

The Olympics

Well, I haven't been stamping very much in the last few days, which means I've had nothing special to write about...
So, I thought I'd share an idea my mom came up with that she did with us when we were kids, and I've decided to carry on the tradition.
Each night that the Olympics are happening, we will be making at least one dish from a country participating in the Winter Games.  The country (or countries) that we will be sampling each day, we will color the flag from that country, and learn as much as we can.  It makes it even more exciting that our city just happens to be hosting the games!
I have been spending countless hours trying to squeeze in as many of the 81 Countries as possible! We will be having an Asian night, with home made somosas, Kung Pow Chicken, and more, Belgium Waffles for breakfast, and lots of fun treats like Banana Bread with a dollop of whip cream, and Hokey Pokey Ice Cream from New Zealand!
So, while I'll still be sampling my workshop and club projects, I'll also be updating you on my successes in the kitchen this month!