La Mitraillette

So, I have never personally eaten one of these, but they are a specialty in the kebab places here.

Its basically a heart attack sandwich. A baguette with sauce of choice-almost always mayonnaise based, some sort of meat-chicken or the kebab of the day, sundry salad toppings, and the whole thing is topped off with french fries.

As if french fries dipped in mayonnaise weren't enough...

Breakfast of Champions...

Lazy sundays are my favorite. My roommate, A. and I made 2am plans to make brunch today, and so this morning, I headed to the market right on my doorstep to buy provisions. And so, around 12 we sat down to a table piled with bacon strips, an omelette, smoked salmon, raisin bread, and of course the staple of brunch, mimosas.



It was all relatively simple to make. I never fry my bacon, figuring that there's enough fat on each strip that merely placing it in a hot pan is enough. The omelette was eggs and some milk with salt and pepper, let to sit in a pan covered until the eggs are cooked. Toasted raisin bread with butter and fresh smoked salmon finished off the plate. Accompanied by some fresh squeezed orange juice mixed with a bottle of champagne, this was a beautiful lazy sunday meal.

Doesn't this sizzling bacon look delicious? I know I know, not so healthy, but boy was it worth it.

Goodbyes

It's fall, coming into winter, and its time for soups and hearty meals when the wind blows through the trees. As it's also nearing the end of a year of living new adventures, its also time for goodbyes. I don't like goodbyes, but being used to them, I don't get so emotional anymore. I know if we work at it and both parties find it important, then we will keep in touch. It might be for a month, or a year, or a couple years; we might lose sight of each other and then find each other again through a moving announcement, a wedding notice, or another graduation. Just recently, I have been in touch with my grade four teacher. He got engaged when I was in his class, married the next year, and with a child by the time I was in year six. Now, his kids are 12 and 9, and I'm also all grown up I guess. Since may, I have said goodbye to at least a dozen friends and acquaintances from this past year studying in Brussels, and in the next few weeks, I'm going to meet hundreds of new people. And so, for once, I'm the one staying, and it's a nice feeling.


But, as winter is coming, and comfort food is needed, here is a great vegetable soup recipe, as made by my wonderful Italian friend, C.

Minestrone:

Ingredients:
1 onion
3 carrots
3 small-medium potatoes peeled
1 cup white beans, pre-cooked
3 tomatoes, peeled
4-6 stalks celery
2 cups uncooked spinach
1 zucchini
2 cubes bouillon

Peel and chop all of the vegetables. Fill a pot with water and heat until simmering. Add bouillon cubes and vegetables in order of cooking time; potatoes and carrots first, then zucchini and onion, and finally celery and tomatoes. Cook on low heat for 30-40 minutes or until cooked. Add pre-cooked beans. Take aside about 2-3 cups of broth. Blend the remaining liquid with now cooked vegetables. Add some of the set-aside broth until you get the right thickness. Serve with a dollop of cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Never Forget

So, yesterday was the decennial of September 11, 2001. Someone posted that "Never Forget" means more than remembering once a year. This is why I am posting today, September 12, 2011.


September 11, 2001 was one of those days that will be in your memory forever. For me, it was the first of those events, but there is one for every generation: The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the Iranian Revolution in February of 1979, the assassinations of Jack Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy on November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968, and June 6, 1968 respectively, the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the invasion of Normandie on June 6, 1944...well as you can see, we could go backwards approximately every decade and find a date which will be remembered throughout history.
But really, I also want to highlight the fact that even though a decade has past since the terror attacks of 9/11, the repercussions of the decisions taken shortly after are still being felt around the world and the actions of a nation are continuing to affect the world atmosphere.
The USA was not the first nor the last to be victims of terrorism. In the last decade, victims of terrorism have included people from all over the world and in many places.

October 1 2001: Kashmir 30 dead, 45 injured
November 11 2001: Macedonia 66 casualties
April 11 2002: Tunisia 50 casualties
October 12 2002: Bali 202 casualties
October 23 2002: Moscow 170 casualties
April 10 2003: Palestine 30 casualties
May 16 2003: Casablanca 150 casualties
February 7 2004: Manila 116 casualties
March 11 2004: Madrid 191 dead, 1000+ injured
September 1 2004: Beslan 334 dead, 700+ injured
July 7 2005: London 52 dead, 700+ injured
July 23 2005: Sharm el-Sheikh 90 casualties
November 9 2005: Amman 60 dead, 120 injured
July 11 2006: Mumbai 209 dead, 714 injured
August 14 2007: Qahtaniya, Iraq 796 casualties
July 27 2008: Istanbul 17 dead, 150 injured
November 26 2008: Mumbai 175 dead, 300+ injured
February 13 2009: Mogadishu 32 casualties
March 8 2010: Lahore 72 dead, 150+ injured
July 22 2011: Oslo 77 dead, 96 injured
August 26 2011: Abuja 23+ casualties

This is only a sampling, and added to this are tens of thousands of people killed and injured in attacks in Israel, Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

So, I guess, all I'm trying to say is please remember all of the other victims of attacks. We cannot be insular in the fight against terror because we are not the only victims.

My last request would be to also send up a prayer for victims and families affected by war, natural disasters and famine.

God bless you all.

Mussels in Brussels

Les Moules Marinières:


Ingredients:
1kg mussels, very fresh
olive oil
salt
pepper
1 onion
1 bunch parsley
1 bottle white wine

Heat 1T olive oil and add minced onions. Cook until the onions are see-through but not browned. Add the mussels and the bottle of wine. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Take out the mussels that have not opened and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Serve in a bowl and pour over the wine reduction.
Serve with either frites or a warm baguette depending on whether you feel Belgian or French.

Balinese Cooking

If you remember, we ate locally cooked Balinese food with a friend of our tour guide in Bali. The next day, I returned to Wayan's house for her to teach me some secrets.  

Gado-Gado (Vegetables in Peanut Sauce)
 

 











 Ingredients:

2 handfuls green beans, chopped into 2 cm sections
1 cup soy sprouts
3/4 c. peanuts
1 small chili
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
1 clove garlic
2 T sweet soya sauce (basically a soy sauce reduction)
lemongrass
water   

First, fry the peanuts for 2-5 minutes until they are lightly browned. If you have coconut oil available, it's the traditional cooking oil. Then, in a blender (or with a mortar and pestle if you prefer) blend the peanuts, the garlic, the sweet soya sauce, the sugar, salt, chili, and lemongrass. Add water as needed until it becomes a sauce rather than a paste. Finally, boil the green beans and blanch the soy sprouts and mix them into the peanut sauce. Should you wish, feel free to add other vegetables. I've found that lightly cooked carrots or zucchini works well.

Rudiah (Green Mango Salad)
 

Ingredients:

1 green (unripe) mango sliced
1/2 spicy chili
dehydrated fish sauce (or just regular fish sauce, adjust proportions, you do not want an overwhelming taste)
coconut sugar (can potentially be replaced by brown sugar mixed with coconut oil and ground coconut)

Mix together crushed chili, fish sauce, and coconut sugar. Add water if needed. Toss together with green mango until coated.

Enjoy! This is particularly good with sweet iced lemon tea.