KUWAIT

Hello readers, food-lovers, and THM followers! We apologize for having you all wait a whopping 12 days before this next post, but we were just blown away by all the feedback on this blog, and therefore a bit intimidated! As of right now, there have been over 5,400 views! When we started out, we seriously only expected family and close friends to be reading this, but we are so excited to share our love of culture and healthy eating with all of you!

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Get out your passports, we're going to Kuwait!

Kuwait, officially called the "State of Kuwait," is roughly the size of New Jersey. It is settled in the Middle East on the coast of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

This is an Arab country with a population size of roughly 2.8 million people. Despite being so small, Kuwait is a prosperous nation. As of this year, it is the tenth wealthiest country in the world! It owes its wealth to its petroleum, which make up nearly 85% of export revenues, and 80% of government income.

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy. This, according to royal.gov, is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State. The ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament, not with the Monarch. 

Kuwait City

The capital is Kuwait City.

The official religion is Islam. Other religions practiced, however, are Christianity, Hinduism, and Parsi.

The people primarily speak Arabic, but English is also widely spoken.




About 75% of the Kuwaiti people over the age of 15 are overweight, making Kuwait the eighth fattest country in the world.

On November 12 2012, Kuwait celebrated its Constitution's 50th Anniversary with fireworks! With over 77,000 fireworks, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Kuwait with "The largest fireworks display."

Last, but certainly not least, Kuwait has become famous for its camel races. But what makes these races infamous, is the fact that they are run by remote-controlled robot jockeys. We're not kidding.



World Human Rights organizations have consistently condemned human jockeys in camel racing, and so keeping its heritage, camel races still continue, but with robot jockeys. The race track has an area where the camel trainers drive small pick-up trucks from which they shout orders and use remotes to whip the camels using the robots.

This is real.



The country's national dish are machboos. Machboos is a rice dish cooked with meat-- traditionally lamb, but also chicken, beef, or fish.

For our recipe we used chicken, cauliflower in the place of basmati rice, and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. We combined recipes from three websites: daringgourmet.com, yourabudhabiguide.com, and whats4eats.com.

This is an E meal!!!!
(From Lisa: Using a whole chicken (dark meat) may have pushed this closer to an S meal.  Use chicken breasts only to keep it an E.  From the THM book, p. 313, one of the crockpot chicken recipes uses breasts, onions and cauliflower)

Warning: This recipe calls for a lot of spices! We are a spice-loving family and so we were not daunted by this. The Middle East is a spice-filled world-- what even are bland meals?

If you've read all these Kuwaiti facts and your heart is yearning to get a taste of the culture, have no fear! We're going to take you on our machboos journey!

Ingredients: 

1 whole chicken-- cut up

Not pictured: nutmeg

2 onions-- chopped
5 large garlic cloves-- minced
1 Tbs ginger-- grated or chopped
1 jalapeno pepper-- seeded and chopped
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 head cauliflower
1 tsp tumeric
pinch of salt
14 oz diced tomatoes-- drained
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamon seeds
3 Tbs cilantro
2 Tbs parsley

For the baharat spice:

Whole spices:
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole cloves
1/4 tsp green cardamon seeds (about 4-5)

Powdered spices:
1 Tbs paprika
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbs ground cumin


There are many variations to how machboos are prepared. Because of this, I was very frantic and stressed on how we were going to pull this meal off. I hadn't prepared much for this meal, and I am a girl who loves preparation, steps to follow, and order, which this night definitely didn't have! But nevertheless, my mom swooped in and wrote the recipe effortlessly, and the meal turned out to be much easier than I expected.

Cook time? Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.


Steps:

First, make the baharat spice. This will be used much later in the recipe.

Put whole spices in skillet over medium/high heat. Cook, tossing frequently to prevent scorching, about 3-4 minutes.

Set aside to cool. When cool, combine with powdered spices in coffee grinder. Grind to powder.

Next! Place cut up chicken in 4 cups water with pinch of salt over high heat. 

(We used a whole chicken which we then proceeded to cut ourselves. We definitely recommend buying cut up chicken.) 

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken and set aside.

Reserve 2 1/2 cups of liquid for later.

In large skillet, melt 1 Tbs coconut oil over medium/high heat. Sauté onions until browned and soft. 

Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeño. Sauté for 2 minutes. 

Transfer onion mixture to dutch oven (or other cooking pot). 

Add 1 Tbs of baharat spice, turmeric, chicken pieces, drained tomatoes, 1 cinnamon stick, 5 cardamon seeds, ground cloves, and reserved chicken stock. Stir to combine.

Bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat to low. Simmer 1 hour. 

After 45 minutes, add cilantro and parsley. Cook for remaining 15 minutes. 

While the chicken is cooking, cook the cauliflower. 

Chop up 1 head of cauliflower. Pulse in food processor until it reaches a fine, rice-like texture. 

Melt 1 Tbs. coconut oil in large skillet. Sauté cauliflower 10-15 minutes. 

Can you believe this isn't rice?!

Once chicken is cooked, remove cinnamon stick and 5 cardamon seeds (if you can find them) and discard. 

Serve chicken and sauce over cauliflower rice. 

Kaboom! Kuwaiti machboos! 

(Of course, after these photos were taken, we sloshed on as much chicken and sauce as we wanted. It got messy in the best possible way.)

Thoughts and Comments:

Madeline: This was the first time I had the cauliflower rice, and was completely surprised by it. It tasted just. like. rice. So crazy! The machboos were, wow, so amazingly flavorful. I had a cold while making this dish, and could STILL taste waves of spices from this meal. In Little Rock, Arkansas (our hometown) there are not many places where you can find Middle Eastern food, and so my tastebuds aren't BFFs with the Arabic flavors. That made this meal so much better. Thank you Kuwait for your great food!

Lisa:  The night we cooked this was my Mom's birthday.  She passed away this past December - just 5 short months ago - at the age of 87.  Mom LOVED to try new recipies so I felt this was a fitting way to celebrate her first birthday without us. Madeline even wore one of her aprons while cooking the machboos.  I too was not quite sure if I would like this recipe - at Disney World, my least favorite restaurant that we've eaten at is Marrakesh in Morocco at Epcot.  Blech!  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this!  There was a hint of sweetness and several spices that blended into a flavor I've never experienced before!  And that cauliflower "rice" - WOW!  I want to make that all the time now.  It was excellent!  We had my sister Carol come over and she liked it too!  Hey Mikey!  She likes it!  (Those of you in your 50's will know what this means!)

The THM lifestyle gives you grace when you mess up or cheat.  Using a whole chicken probably made this closer to an S.  Live and learn.  I've lost 16 pounds in 9 weeks so even not doing THM perfectly, it has still worked for me!

Wearing my grandmother's apron

Here's some traditional Kuwaiti music. We listened to different Kuwaiti music as we ate and didn't resist the urge to dance a bit in our chairs.

Up Next: Chile! 

For all you "serious cookers," my mom insists on having the full list of steps to be posted without the pictures in between, to make it easier when actually cooking. After reading this post, we know you're just dying to cook machboos, right? Here are the steps again:

To make the baharat spice, put the whole spices (1 Tbs black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp whole cloves, and 1/4 tsp green cardamon seeds) in skillet over medium/high heat.
Cook, tossing frequently to prevent scorching, 3-4 minutes.
Set aside to cool.
When cool, combine with 1 Tbs paprika, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 Tbs cumin in coffee grinder.
Grind to a powder.

Place cut up chicken in 4 cups water with pinch of salt over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Reserve 2 1/2 cups of liquid for later.

In large skillet, melt 1 Tbs coconut oil over medium/high heat. Sauté 2 chopped onions until browned and soft.
Add 5 large garlic cloves, 1 Tbs ginger, and 1 chopped jalapeño.  Stir to mix.
Transfer onion mixture to dutch oven (or other cooking pot).
Add in chicken pieces, 14 oz drained tomatoes, 1 cinnamon stick, 5 cardamon seeds, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, and 2 1/2 cups reserved chicken stock. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.
After 45 minutes, add cilantro and parsley, cook remaining 15 minutes.

Chop up 1 head of cauliflower. Pulse in food processor until it is a fine, rice-like texture.
Melt 1 Tbs coconut oil in large skillet and sauté cauliflower 10-15 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick and 5 cardamon seeds from chicken mixture and discard.
Serve chicken and sauce over cauliflower.

ROMANIA

First stop: Romania!!

We chose this country by alphebetizing all the countries on a Microsoft excel spreadsheet, and then used a random number generator to select the first country. The number was 143, and so Romania it was!

Romania is located in East Europe, it's neighbors being Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria. It's a little bit smaller than the state of Oregon.

There's about 21 million people living in Romania.

Romania is a Republic, the people speak Romanian, and the dominant religion is Orthodox Christianity.

Sibiu

There are still several medieval cities and towns in Romania with the Gothic feel.

In 2007, this city of Sibiu was elected the cultural capital of Europe.

Romania was the first country lit by electric street lamps in continental Europe.

Bucharest's Palace of Parliament

Romania boasts the largest administrative building in the world!!!

The country was a source of inspiration for two famous novels: "The Castle in the Carpathians" by Jules Verne, and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker.

Romania is Europe's richest country in gold resources. 

The gypsies, which form a good population in Romania, have their own representatives in Romanian Parliament. 

And finally, the best-known dish in Romania is sarmale. 

Sarmale is a stuffed cabbage roll, pronounced "sar-mal-e".

And so, Lisa and I swallowed a bit of fear, and set to work on cooking this dish. 

We combined three recipes to make our own! We used worldcupoffood.wordpress.com , romanianfood.wordpress.com , and the THM stuffed cabbage rolls recipe. 

Ingredients: 

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

Not pictured: white vinegar, parsley, sauerkraut juice, lemon juice.

1 head of cabbage

4 bacon slices-- chopped 

1 medium onion-- chopped

1 small handful of dry parsley

1 Tbs. coconut oil

3 garlic cloves-- minced

2 eggs

1 tsp. Thyme

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

3/4 cup white vinegar

3 cups water

1/3 cup sauerkraut juice

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs. lemon juice

8 oz. tomato sauce

Few fresh sprigs of dill 

Our recipe is THM adapted by substituting a couple ingredients. We used coconut oil instead of olive/vegetable oil and used the two eggs instead of rice. When you get to the "S-helper stage" in THM, you can add quinoa into the beef mixture instead of the eggs. 

So how do you turn these ingredients into a heavenly Romanian feast? Let's get started.

Steps:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil. 

Use a pairing knife to cut the center core out of the cabbage.

Gently peel the cabbage leaves off one at a time until you have 12-15 leaves. 

Once the water in the pot comes to a boil, drop the cabbage leaves into the water. 

Cook about five minutes or until tender.

While the leaves cook, in a large skillet, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until brown. Add chopped onion. Cook until onion turns brown/translucent. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mix vinegar and water. Using tongs, remove cabbage leaves from boiling water and place into vinegar mixture. Cover the bowl and let sit. 

In a separate large bowl combine pork, beef, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, crushed red pepper, parsley, and eggs. Mix by hand, then add bacon-onion mixture and mix thoroughly.

In a medium saucepan, combine tomato sauce, sauerkraut juice, lemon juice, about a tsp. of dill, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer while preparing cabbage rolls.

Remove the cabbage leaves from the vinegar mixture. Cut the center rib in a triangle shape and discard.

Divide each leaf into two by cutting down the middle, creating two separate pieces of cabbage.

Place one to two tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of each piece of cabbage.

 Roll the cabbage: Tuck the thicker side of the cabbage up first.

Fold the right side over. 

Then fold the left side over. 

Finally, tuck the loose ends of the cabbage into the roll. 

Lay each cabbage roll into a large baking dish. (any leftover meat can be placed in between rolls)

Pour tomato sauce mixture over all of the rolls in the dish. Place dill sprigs on top. 

Cover with aluminum foil. 

Place dish in heated oven. Reduce heat to 350. 

Bake for 1 hour, removing foil for the last 15 minutes. 

Out of the oven and ready to eat

And you have Romanian sarmale!! We garnished ours with sour cream and it was de-lic-ous!

Thoughts and Comments: 

Madeline: Honestly, I was pretty scared going into this meal. I had no idea what to expect, didn't know it would take so long to cook, and was afraid that I wouldn't like it even after all of the work put into it. However, I had so much fun and the sarmale was, no joke, one of the best things I have eaten in a long time, and I just came back from the beach! While eating, we played some traditional/classic Romanian music we found on Spotify to get us in the cultural mood. Overall, I would give the sarmale a solid 10/10. Would definitely eat again. 

Lisa: I have been trying new foods/vegetables since starting THM so I wasn't as doubtful whether I would like this or not.  I mean, I have been eating BRUSSELS SPROUTS and loving them!  Being a mom, I was so excited that my daughter wanted to spend time with me this summer cooking together and writing this blog!  What a wonderful start we had with this dish.  It really was SO TASTY!  Want further proof on how amazing it was?  Catherine (my youngest daughter) took leftovers to school the next day for lunch!  I just love discovering how tasty healthy food can be, spending time with Madeline and learning the joys of cooking.  Oh - and don't let Madeline's line about how long it took to make this dish dissuade you from trying it!  We had to wait for my husband to bring home regular cabbage since Madeline bought Chinese cabbage. AND, we had to write down everything we did and take pictures along the way.  I estimate it would take about 30 - 40 minutes of prep time and 1 hour of cooking.  Sometimes, it's worth a little extra effort to prepare a tremendous, tasty meal!

Thanks so much for reading! We can't wait to continue this fun cooking trip around the world and to share it with all of you! 

Bonus: Classic Romanian music: 

So What's This All About?

Everyone wants to lose weight, right? Or be their healthiest selves. That's why my mother, Lisa, started the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. So far, it's been a great success. She's lost weight, feels full and satisfied after all the meals, and has fun with it. So why not take this eating lifestyle blanket and spread it out to encompass all of the world? That's exactly what we plan to do! With this fun project we're going to take all 197 national dishes, cook them, and transform them to fit the THM guidelines.

How long will the project take? We have no idea. It could be years, really. But that's the fun of it: not knowing. This is a fun mother/daughter project that won't just be over after one sitting, but one that will go on, and be something to always look forward to. I've always been one to be very interested in world cultures and countries. For fun, I have memorized all 197 countries and where they are on a map. I feel that it's important to learn about who you are sharing this planet with and one way is to look into each culture's cuisine. Although not every country has a "national" dish, every country does have a native dish. By making these meals, we are getting a glimpse of another culture even if we aren't actually there. 

But what is Trim Healthy Mama? Why not just make these dishes the way they were meant to be made? My mother is going to briefly explain what THM is and why we love it so much. 

Trim Healthy Mama (THM) is a way of life developed by two sisters, Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett.  After years of experimenting with fad diets and other eating plans, they have developed a way of eating that eliminates sugar and separates fats from carbs in your diet, by at least 3 hours.  Protein is always a part of each meal, and that meal can either concentrate on healthy fats, or it can have more carbs - but not both.  This helps our bodies to not have blood sugar spikes and to help use EITHER the carbs OR the fats in that meal for energy.  It does not concentrate on what you CAN'T eat, but rather teaches you what you CAN eat, and HOW to eat it the right way for your body to utilize the food most effectively.

I have struggled with trying to achieve, or maintain, a healthy weight most of my adult life.  I have tried low carb (or NO carb) diets, Weight Watchers, and simply trying to rely on portion control and self-control. (Ha!)  Although on most plans I would lose the weight, I would always gain it back once I had gotten to where I wanted to be.  I always went back to eating the way I used to eat, which is how I got to be overweight in the first place!  ANYONE can do THM and then maintain this lifestyle for a lifetime.  It's not about depriving yourself.  Steak and salad with ranch dressing with broccoli covered in butter?  Yes!  Baked oatmeal with fruit for breakfast?  Yes!   This is why I love THM.  

So there you have it. We don't know how often we will post but we will try for at least once a week. But hopefully many more. Each post will include the native country of the dish, interesting facts about that country, how to make the dish according to THM, and what we thought of it. 

We hope you enjoy this blog and that you might be inspired to make these dishes as well!