Travel - Kazakhstan

Statue of Vladimir Lenin, Semey, Kazakhstan

In 2005 my husband Chris and I received the invitation to travel to Kazakhstan in order to adopt our two children Michael and Grace. Kazakhstan is located in central Asia with the major border countries being that of Russia, China and Uzbekistan.  Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country by land mass in the world and it is the largest land locked country in the world. Since Kazakhstan is land locked its weather consists of extreme winters and summers. We flew in November so the weather in Kazakhstan had already started to take a downward plunge. We were slated to stay in the country for four full weeks. During the four weeks the first two were spent meeting our new children and bonding with them. Then we were to have a week in which we had our court date and finalize any paperwork that needed to be completed in the region where we adopted. The final week was spent in one of the country’s major cities, Almaty, to have the children’s required physicals done and again complete more paperwork at the US embassy.

The Wishing Tree, Semey, Kazakhstan

Small pieces of material are tied to the tree's branches and a wish is to be made while doing so. We did put a piece of material on the tree and made our wish!!!

During our time in Kazakhstan we had the chance to sample some of the native cuisine. Traditional Kazakh includes mostly milk products, mutton and horse meat. Yes horse meat. The early Kazakh people were nomads who relied heavily on camel and horses for transportation as well as for food. While in Kazakhstan many of the eateries were more Western in food choices, but our wonderful translator Rashaun took us to a restaurant where traditional Kazakh dishes were served. Chris was adventurous enough to try the horse meat and said that although it was a little more gamey than what he is use to, it tasted pretty good. I sadly enough wasn’t willing to try the horse meat but I did sample a number of other Kazakh dishes.

Monument built as a tribute to all those who suffered during the above ground nuclear bomb testing from the late 40's until the late 70's. The open area is in the shape of a mushroom cloud...in the center of the cloud is an atom...at the bottom of the structure is a mother and child.

One of my favorite dishes is adopted from Russian fare and it is called Piroshki. Piroshkis are similar to Eastern Europe’s Pierogies only they are filled with ground meat and onion seasoned with garlic and herbs which give it a unique flavor. I like them sautéed in butter and served with sour cream. They are, without a doubt, my daughter’s absolute favorite dish!

Statue in Victory Park right across from our hotel in Semey, Kazakhstan

If you would like more information about our time in Kazakhstan and our adoption experience, please go to www.curranco.blogspot.com.

Grace and Michael in the orphanage in Semey Kazakhstan

Grace 3 years

Michael 15 months

Easy Peasy Coffee Trifle

This trifle is so easy to make and the taste is unbelievable given the small list of ingredients needed to make it. And this can be made low calorie by using low fat pound cake, low sugar syrup and and a sugar substitute like Stevia. If you love coffee you will love this dessert and if you are not a coffee lover, you will still love this treat!

Ingredients:

1 pound cake cut into 1 - 2 inch cubes

1 cup strong coffee (I like to use a flavored coffee)

8 oz of Neufchatel cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. chocolate syrup

1/2 c. sugar

8 oz. tub of Cool Whip minus 2 T.

3 T toasted almonds

sprinkle of powdered cocoa optional

Method:

Blend the softened cream cheese with the syrup and sugar using a hand mixer. Then gently fold in the Cool Whip by hand. Remember to keep 2 full tablespoons of Cool Whip to the side to use for topping. Place half of the cake in the bottom of a trifle dish or large bowl. Drizzle 1/2 of the coffee over top of the cake. Then add half of the Cool Whip mixture and then repeat the layer one more time. Add the dollop of whipped topping to the top and sprinkle a dusting of the cocoa powder and top with the toasted almonds. Refrigerate before serving and enjoy because this is a real crowd pleaser!

 

Simply Delicious!!!

Apple, Grape and Bacon Salad with a Strawberry Vinaigrette

The fresh fruit is coming in and now is the time to take advantage of it and start whipping up some interesting new salad combos. I first had this salad when I moved to central Jersey except it had a raspberry dressing on top. I happen to only have strawberries in the house so I decided to switch it up and make a strawberry vinaigrette. The apples with the bacon and blue cheese add a little extra punch of flavor to this salad and the sweetness of the dressing adds another flavor dimension.

Ingredients:

Spring salad mix

Red grapes

Granny smith apple sliced

Bacon cooked crisp

Blue cheese crumbled

Nuts such as pecans or walnuts

Vinaigrette:

1/2 pint of strawberries sliced in half

1/4 cup olive oil

3T white balsamic vinegar

1 level T. sugar

salt and black pepper to taste

(Yields 8 servings of dressing)

Method:

Toss the salad ingredients together and set aside. In blender or food processor blend together the ingredients to make the vinaigrette. Pour over salad, toss and serve!

Very Easy and Quick Pasta Salad

The nice weather is now here and it's time to move outside for picnics and barbecues. This pasta salad is my dad's easy recipe but I added Parmesan cheese and olives to the finished product. It can be made in literally 15 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. tri-colored spiral pasta

1/2 cucumber cubed

1/2 pt grape tomatoes halved or quartered

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 pkg. Good Seasons zesty Italian dressing

1 small bottle of your favorite Italian dressing

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

*olives optional

Method:

Boil pasta until it is cooked al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss in the vegetables and mix in salad dressings. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and mix all ingredients together. Chill for 2 hours. 

My Own Mac-N-Cheese

This recipe I started making when I was in the 6th grade. I like the idea of homemade mac-n-cheese better than the boxed version even as a kid. This recipe calls for sauteed celery and onion and then I make a white sauce and add the cheese. Typically I will use American cheese, but if it is available I will use a combo of American and Swiss or cheddar or a combination of all three!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion chopped

2-3 stalks of celery chopped

2 T butter

2 T. flour

2 1/2 c. milk

5-6 slices of American cheese

4 oz. cheddar cheese

10 oz elbow pasta cooked al deante and drained

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c.seasoned bread crumbs

2 T melted butter

Method:

Melt butter in sausepan and saute the onion and celery until onion is transparent and the celery is soft. Add the flour to make a roux, then add the milk and stir continually until the liquid become thick and bubbly. Add your cheese and melt, season with salt and pepper. Pour in the pasta and mix, then pour mixture into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs and sprinkle onto of the pasta. Bake in oven set at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Peppery Seared Salmon with a Cucumber Dill Sauce

Salmon is one of my favorite fishes and this dish is very simple to execute. The salmon is seasoned with Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning then seared in a cast iron skillet and baked in the oven. The cool dill sauce is a great contrast to the peppery seasoning of the salmon. Remember, you will know when the salmon is done if when you poke a fork into the fish and then touch it to your lip, the fork should be just warm.

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets

2-3 T olive oil for searing

Grill Mate's Montreal Steak seasoning

Half of one cucumber, peeled and seeded

1/2 c sour cream

2 T mayonnaise

1/2c fresh dill chopped

season with salt and pepper



Method:

The dill sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Put the cucumber, sour cream, mayonnaise, dill salt and pepper in blender and blend until mixture is smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Season fillets and sear in 2-3 T olive oil. Sear fish for 2-3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of each piece. Place fish in baking dish and then place in preheated oven of 350 degrees. Bake the salmon for about 5 minutes. Remove and serve with the chilled cucumber sauce.

Enjoy!!

A Wrap for All Seasons...Flavorful Vegetable Wrap

I made this wrap for breakfast today but you can have it anytime. I simply sauteed leftover vegetable's I had in my frig with a little Lowry's seasoned salt and placed them on my Flatout which I had spread hummus on. Then I added fresh basil, some sliced avocado and a little bit of blue cheese crumbles and it came out delicious!!! Very easy and quick to make and it is very low calories because I sauteed the vegetables in a cooking spray.and the Flatouts are only 90 calories each. In this wrap I used eggplant and red onion but you can use any combination of veggies like asparagus, red pepper, mushrooms and so on

Restaraunt Review

55 Main
55 Main Street
Flemington, NJ 08822-1489
(908) 284-1551

Open Mon-Tue 11:30am-3pm; Wed-Fri 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm;Sat 5pm-10pm

This past Saturday evening my husband and I were joined for dinner by a couple we have been friends with since Grace and Michael came home from Kazakhstan. We had dinner at a contemporary restaurant in downtown Flemington NJ. Its street address is actually the name of the establishment, 55 Main.

I had made a dinner reservation for 6:30 and had absolutely no problem in getting in at that time. When we arrived there were only a handful of people dining so I began to get a little nervous over my choice of dining spots for the evening. Upon entering, our dinner companions were very impressed with the decor of the restaurant for it is very sleek in style with low lighting. The restaurant itself is long and narrow with booth seating along the walls in the back part of the space. Up front there are smaller tables scattered about the wider area of the restaurant.  We were met by our server and promptly asking if we had brought wine, and if so was it red or white so she could bring the proper glasses to the table. I didn’t realize it was a B.Y.O.B establishment but luckily enough we had a bottle of Smoking Loon Cabernet in the car.

There were a few specials that evening and one of the choices was a butter fish served in a crab and lobster risotto served on top of a butter sauce. I had the butter fish and Chris ordered the yellow fin tuna with wasabi on sticky ginger rice and Asian vegetable sauté topped with wasabi aioli. Our dinner companions also ordered the butter fish and a sweet sausage and pasta dish with peas and tomatoes and a touch of cream and Parmesan cheese. Both of which they enjoyed very much. The butter fish had a fantastic flavor and it was seasoned perfectly. To be honest I really didn’t even need the risotto and it was a bit bland in comparison to the fish. I also had a salad of dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and crumbled goat cheese on a bed of mixed greens, tomato and red onion with honey truffle oil vinaigrette. This was very enjoyable although I did have to ask for more of the dressing to accompany my salad.

Service was excellent, the price was a bit on the higher side but it did reflect well the quality of the food and service. And the fact that the restaurant doesn’t have a liquor license actually brings down the cost of dining at 55 Main. So for two soups and two salads, an excellent set of entrees and 3 desserts with one cappuccino, including any tax and tip, our cost for a night out with friends totaled $90 per couple. I think this is a very reasonable amount and we all agreed that it is a spot in which we would definitely dine again.

Oh and by the way, from the time we were seated for our 6:30 reservation to the time we departed at 8:45 the restaurant was buzzing with activity and diners. So my recommendation would be the 6:30 time slot on a Saturday evening at 55 Main!

Rating...****1/2 out of 5!

Spanakopita - Spinach Pie

I love this dish made with fresh spinach, dill and parsley all tossed with  feta cheese and nestled between layers and layers of crisp filo dough. The trick to working with the filo is to keep it moist and cover it completely with olive oil after each layer is placed. This dish also has a bit of an earthy flavor because of the hint of nutmeg in the spinach mixture. Make sure your dough is completely thawed before using.

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs of fresh spinach

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 c. onion chopped

2 T olive oil for sauteing

6 scallions sliced

1/2 c.  fresh dill chopped

1 c. fresh flat leafed parsley chopped

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of crumbled feta cheese

Filo dough thawed

olive oil for spreading on the filo dough during the layering process

 

In a large pot sauté the garlic and onion in the 2 T of olive oil until soft and onion is transparent. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Place the wilted spinach in a colander and press out any excess liquid. Once all the spinach is wilted toss with the parsley dill and scallions then go ahead and add the egg and seasonings and toss again. (It may actually be easier to use your hands to toss.) Finally add the cheese and mix again, set aside.

In a 13 X9 inch glass baking dish, spread olive oil on the bottom to cover and lay down your first sheet of filo dough. While working with the dough dampen a paper towel and lay over the top of the open dough to prevent drying. Spread olive oil on the top of the sheet and then place another sheet on top and spread on olive oil. Repeat 5-6 more times. Then spread the spinach mixture on top. Make sure to again squeeze out any water which may have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl while it was sitting. This will prevent the bottom of the pie from becoming soggy when cooking. Then go on and repeat the filo dough layering process 7-8 more times. Cover the top sheet with olive oil and place into a hot oven heated to 375 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes until the top of the pie is a golden brown. Then remove from the oven and let the spinach pie cool slightly before slicing.

Enjoy this dish with grilled chicken legs and thighs which were marinated in a combination of Miracle Whip and Greek salad dressing. (I prefer Gazebo Room Greek Dressing & Marinade) Whisk the two together and marinate the chicken for 2 hours. (You can also par boil the chicken before marinating to cut down on the grilling time.)

Menu for Grace’s First Holy Communion Party

 Entrees

Lemony Chicken Piccata

Chicken breast lightly floured and sautéed and then baked in a lemon,, white wine and butter sauce with capers and fresh flat leaf parsley.

Homemade Lasagna

Lasagna made with a creamy white sauce in the center, 3  kinds of cheese and a meaty tomato sauce.

Cheese Ravioli in a Pink Vodka Sauce

Cheese ravioli bathing in a creamy pink sauce of fresh basil,, tomatoes, vodka and a heavy cream along with parmesan cheese.

Accompaniments

Antipasti

Roasted eggplant and red peppers,, sautéed asparagus and fresh mozzarella.

Spinach Salad

Fresh spinach tossed with strawberries,, scallions, toasted sliced almonds, goat cheese with a white balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.