Mother's Day: Belgium

We've been trying to get to as many countries as humanly possible this month, so I was happy to give up my mother's day choice for dinner if it meant I could pick the country. 

Enter Belgium: because french fries, hamburgers, chocolate and waffles. 

It did mean teaching a quick lesson on mother's day, but the boys were cooperative, so I didn't mind. So, we're going to do a quick blog for you too. 

Located in the middle of Western Europe, Belgium is home to the European Union Headquarters. 

They are at a crossroads, and their official languages tell you as much: they speak Dutch, French and German. Belgium's linguistic divide  even has an official line carved in stone between French speaking Wallonia and Dutch speaking Flanders. 

It's a country known for it's beer and mussels (and as we previously discussed waffles, chocolates- you know, various junk foods). And unlike German chocolate cake (which isn't German) and Russian Dressing (which isn't Russian), Brussel Sprouts ARE actually from Brussels! 

But in keeping with that, it might also be the home of French Fries! The debate rages on between the Belgians and the French on who actually invented the French Fry. (People say that it was soldiers who caused the confusion. They supposedly had fries while thinking they were in France, but they were actually in Belgium. 

It's also home to the first spa- and the reason spa's are called 'spas'! The town of Spa, Belgium has been visited as far back as the 14th century when people came to bathe in the cold, natural mineral springs for health and healing purposes. 

Belgium is full of cathedrals, castles and quirky traditions including a giant omelet festival, fishing for shrimp on horseback, or going to the cat parades. 

Belgians aren't just weird (in an awesome way, of course). They're smart too. 

It was a Belgian physicist who came up with the Cosmic Egg Theory. What's that you ask? Well, it's the Big Bang Theory. Someone made fun of  George Lematre's idea  of 'the Cosmic Egg exploding at the moment of creation', calling it 'the big bang'. The insult stuck. 

Flander's Field, from the famous poem is the only American World War I cemetery in Belgium - which we had already covered during Woodrow Wilson's birthday a couple of years ago, and it was our landmark for the day. 

The boys made their postcards. 

Calib's featured the Atomium, a monument in Brussels that was originally constructed for the World's Fair in 1958. It is now considered a symbol of peace. The Atomium is the shape of an iron crystal. Also featured: the world record holder for frying the most fries (the guy spent 83 hours frying 3,300 pounds of them!) 

Belgium is a rather wet place, so Peyton put some rain in his postcard- along with SinterKlaas (their Santa Claus), the EU headquarters and the town of Spa. 

But Hayden's was my FAVORITE, because he put the grocery store 'Sprouts' on his postcard. We don't eat Brussel Sprouts a lot here, so when we were talking about it, he thought the grocery store 'Sprouts' was Belgian. AMAZING. (We corrected him of course, in the name of education- but we all got a good laugh out of that one). 

I have been eyeing these waffles at Costco for months, so I was excited to finally pick them up for Belgium Day. 

For dinner we had Belgian Burgers. Flemish Frites with Andalouse Sauce, Belgian Carrots, strawberries, and those waffles.We could have had Brussels sprouts, But, we all hate those, and it was mothers day.

This dinner earned 5 spoons up, because obviously.

What makes Belgian fries so great is the way they double fry them. It took forever for Asa to do that, but they were the best fries I've ever had. SO good.

The Burger was good, it had this apple topping that I was a fan of (but I love sweet and savory together).

And those waffles, well they did not disappoint. I'm happy to say we only needed half the package for dinner, so we still have some left! 

Now usually I'm totally Asa's sous chef, and I pick up after him, plate the food and cut up the fruit. But it was mother's day, so I didn't have to help at all. 

The result: A Cat 5. (In case you miss it, the boys and I grade 'Hurricane Dad's kitchen mess) 

We colored Belgium in yellow, since it's my favorite color! 

77 down, 116 to go!

Next Up: Trinidad and Tobago