Monday, November 14, 2011

Multi-Cultural Night

Last week (before the arrival of TK -- more on his visit later, and yes, he's still here), Didz's school hosted a Multi-Cultural Night. Every student (or group of students from the same country) brought in traditional foods to share a bit of their homeland. There was a stocked bar of various unknown (in some cases homemade) liquors. We ate, drank and travelled the world without having to get on a plane.

The Bar - stocked and ready

Sampling Greek bites

Some people dressed in traditional costumes, and some prepared presentations, songs and dances. Didz and the Canadians contributed Poutine (a somewhat noble attempt at it, at least) and Rye & Gingers (which were a big hit - probably because the Canadian bartender was pouring them for everyone). 

Didz preparing the poutine

Lovely Marcia from Mexico

Kirsten and Christian ready to dig in

By the end of the night, everyone was dancing and taking shots from around the world... 





It was a huge success, a lot of fun, and made me want to travel to all of these places and experience them fully.... though the homemade plum liquor (some might call it gasoline) is something I hope I never have to experience again. 


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Lucky in love

I've never been superstitious (having a little black cat will attest to that), but Didz and I recently received an incredible gift that I am fairly convinced is a sign of only good things to come in our marriage.

A four leaf clover was found on our wedding day by a little boy who gave it to a friend of mine saying it's a gift for the bride. I was so touched when it was passed on to me - but was so frantically scattered (it was my wedding day after all) that I handed it off to Deana (my best friend and bridesmaid) asking her to keep it safe... then promptly forgot about it.

Imagine my surprise when a package arrived in the mail - a simple silver frame, and pressed between the glass sits the four leaf clover...


Magical.

We'll treasure it forever. Thank you, D!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Dinner Party


Friday evening, we hosted our first dinner party here in Belgium. It was small, intimate, and a very welcome change of pace from the usual nights out we've been so accustomed to here.

I kept the menu quite simple - a roast beef, pan roasted root vegetables with thyme (fresh from my little window sill herb garden) and a green salad. Because my oven here is still a mystery to me, and doesn't work like the one back home, I had to adjust my usual roast recipe - essentially combining two different recipes and adjusting the cooking time (luckily, it worked out fine and we didn't have to order pizza). For dessert, I threw together the Pear Almond Tart that has become a household favorite around here.



Christian and Anna are from Germany, Vickie and Chris are from South Africa... We've all grown up worlds apart, yet over a wonderful meal, and (several) bottles of wine, we spent the evening chatting as though we were lifelong friends... 



We're already making plans to visit South Africa for Chris and Vickie's wedding (he just has to propose first... minor detail), and we're heading to Germany in December to check out Christian and Anna's hometown, Cologne. 


But before we get ahead of ourselves planning big trips, we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our good buddy TommyK this week! (TK, baked goods and lots of beer await! Hurry up!)



Friday, November 4, 2011

Refined Tastes



We drink a lot of beer here in Belgium - Belgian beer is delicious! and cheap! I'm certainly not complaining - however, there are times when it's nice to sip on something a little more... refined.

Didz takes after my father - they're Scotch men. The good stuff. The best. Like a 16 year old Lagavulin, or Macallan 25. Didz has been spoiled, and he crossed over to the dark side and now won't drink just any ol' whisky. Me? I have a varied palette - a fine tequila (La Reserva de la Familia, please), a nice cognac, or a vintage port...

So last night we decided to treat ourselves - a bottle of scotch for Didz, and a bottle of port for me:





It's the little things in life... sharing a glass of something special with someone special, because every day should be an occasion.



Thursday, November 3, 2011

New Obsession

I couldn't resist. It was calling to me. Begging me to wear it all winter, paired with a chunky sweater and a glass of mulled wine....




So I splurged, and treated myself to Chanel's Rouge Noir nail polish... and it's every bit as sexy as I imagined.


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Fall Cooking: Koldunai

Sometimes, especially on chilly, rainy, fall evenings, you just need some Dunes. Koldunai, (or "dunes" as we affectionately call them) are Lithuanian dumplings. Just as gyoza, ravioli, pierogi, and pelmeni fill their cultural comfort food duty, dunes fill our Lithuanian bellies to the point of utter-contentment.

Yesterday, Didz was craving dunes... and even though it's a tremendous amount of work, the craving was too much to resist.

We mixed our dough and rolled it out (not an easy feat without a proper rolling pin!), prepared the meat, and assembled our little dunes, one by one....




Once we got going, it went a lot faster than I expected (as my old roommate Vanessa used to say, "teamwork makes the dream work!")... And soon enough we were boiling them up, and sitting down to feast. They're typically served with sauteed onions and bacon bits, with a hearty dollop of sour cream (or in our case, greek yogurt). 



While they weren't as good as Mociute (grandma) used to make, they were pretty darn awesome, and I'm sure she'd be happy to know we've kept the dune making tradition alive in our family. 



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Long Weekend at Home




We've just finished off a rather uneventful long weekend. Our plans to take a weekend trip fell through when I caught a nasty stomach bug Saturday and remained bed-ridden. But with Nurse Didz by my side taking care of me, I was up and able to enjoy a beautiful Monday. While I wasn't up for doing much, we strolled through the park (the colors were spectacular!) and enjoyed a long leisurely afternoon at an outdoor cafe, serenaded by the sweet sounds of the accordion...






Hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

ps Can you believe it's already November?? Crazy!