Letters C and D

Even though things have been kind of crazy with the move and the new baby we've still been trying to talk about a country every week. Most weeks we've just read a few books, colored the flag, and had some food that's somewhat related to the country we're talking about. So far the kids are still having fun and they really like learning new things.

Canada: I wasn't really sure what to cook for Canada, so we ended up having baked salmon with rice pilaf. The kids really liked the salmon and they liked learning about the fact that Canada is close to the United States and that they have two official languages.

China: I found a bunch of different books about China at the library and we found some coloring pages about Chinese animals as well. For our dinner I made these noodles as well as some stir-fried tofu with veggies and rice. The kids really wanted to try chopsticks, so they didn't end up eating much of their dinner because it was too hard. We also checked out a book about Mulan and then watched the Disney movie for movie night. I made some almond cookies for our treat; they're not super authentic, but they were tasty (I didn't use lard--I used half butter and half Crisco).

Colombia: We read some books and colored the flag. This week's food was one of our most popular to date. I made these beans with coconut rice and everyone loved them. We will definitely make them again!

Cuba: We also read some books, colored the flag, and listened to some music from the Buena Vista Social Club soundtrack. This week's food didn't go so well; sometimes recipes just don't turn out like we think they will. I made some mojo marinade and used it on pork chops, but they ended up being too tough because I grilled them too long. I also tried this potato recipe but didn't cook the potatoes long enough. Maybe some other time will try it again.

Dominican Republic: This ended up being our third Hispanic country in a row, but the kids didn't mind. We had rice and beans again, and they were pretty popular. I think we'll make this recipe again (I used kidney beans and didn't put any tomatoes in it). I also bought some plantains and made tostones; S-Boogie loved them and Little Dude didn't really eat very many.

Denmark: We also read some books and colored the flag, plus we talked about how some of our ancestors come from Denmark. I found a recipe in my 'international cookbook' that was similar to Swedish meatballs, with an onion cream sauce. They were very tasty meatballs, and we ate them with boiled new potatoes, rolls, steamed veggies, and berries. We also checked out a book of stories by Hans Christian Andersen and read some of them, plus we watched the Disney version of The Little Mermaid to see how it compared to the original.