We had a wonderful time learning about Belgium over the last 2 weeks.
My side of the family is from Belgium. My dad is the first generation to be born in America. As I was growing up, my dad, being a single dad, relied a lot on help from my great grandma. So she was pretty influential to me. I grew up hearing about her perspective on WW2, which she lived through as a young mother in Belgium. I grew up eating wonderful foods, that I was reminded of while working on this research project. Turns out a lot of my favorite foods that she made, were not just recipes she found, but are considered "national foods" in Belgium! And this week I learned that a lot of the habits she had were very cultural, not just personal preferences. My boys were blessed to know her as well, since she died while I was pregnant with Abigail, so while we were learning there were lots of memories shared too.
My side of the family is from Belgium. My dad is the first generation to be born in America. As I was growing up, my dad, being a single dad, relied a lot on help from my great grandma. So she was pretty influential to me. I grew up hearing about her perspective on WW2, which she lived through as a young mother in Belgium. I grew up eating wonderful foods, that I was reminded of while working on this research project. Turns out a lot of my favorite foods that she made, were not just recipes she found, but are considered "national foods" in Belgium! And this week I learned that a lot of the habits she had were very cultural, not just personal preferences. My boys were blessed to know her as well, since she died while I was pregnant with Abigail, so while we were learning there were lots of memories shared too.
I made her waffles, which I had been afraid to make before now. I had copied the recipe from her while she was still living, but I had to translate it from french myself, and wasn’t sure if I had done it correctly. Real Belgian waffles are NOTHING like the ones you find here in America. They are a dessert, not a breakfast. Belgians would never think of putting syrup on them, in fact my great grandma used to get so offended if someone mentioned syrup on her waffles! We eat them with just butter, and I personally love them cold.
She also always had these Le Petit Ecolier cookies in the house, so while they are technically from France, I bought some anyways! And of course I served them on her dishes!
She also always had these Le Petit Ecolier cookies in the house, so while they are technically from France, I bought some anyways! And of course I served them on her dishes!
And for the last 5 years or so I’ve been looking online to try and get some Cote d’Or Belgian chocolate. My great grandma used to get a box of them every year from her brother who lived in Belgium, and there is seriously no chocolate on earth that even comes close! Those little elephants are one of the highlights of my childhood! About 8 years back, my husband found them in Australia during a deployment and bought the entire stock the store had. They are seriously THAT good! But I’ve had no luck.
Recipe for Bobone’s Belgian Waffles:
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
2 teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup white sugar
In a bowl, mix eggs, milk and butter. Add yeast and sugar, then stir in flour. Mix well, until batter is between pancake batter and bread dough. Let rest for an hour on a warm counter, then cook on a waffle iron.
Wow I love Belgium waffles at the hotel (and I do put syrup on them) but I am gonna try this recipe except I'll have to leave out the eggs and substitute flaxseed for my son's allergy =)
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