My chat with Boris got me thinking about my own visit to Belgium. 

I spent a week in Ghent with my lifelong friend and travel buddy, Lisa. We had been overseas for not even two weeks, unaware of the new adventures and life changes that, over the years, would come from our jaunt around Europe. We took a train from Amsterdam; watched the countryside, drew little pictures  of our adventures, ate some hastily purchased bitterballen. 

Then, we were in Belgium. We were set to meet our Couchsurfing host at the train station, so we chatted with a sausage vendor, who sang us an aria from his favourite opera. 

Our host was a wry young woman with blonde dreadlocks and bright, colourful clothing. We spent many happy evenings with her.  On our first night, we accompanied her to a local taverne, where her friends held an underground "pay what you can" dinner party. We dropped some euros into a jar next to an enormous pot of stew, and sat at a big, crowded table.  We clinked glasses of beer, and tucked into deep bowls of lentil soup as wisps of smoke and the snippets of Flemish floated around us. 
We chatted with many people that night, and though we'd just eaten, we of course we began asking about food. Lisa and I had spent a good portion of our train journey discussing how excited we were to try frieten, which are Belgian style chips, served hot in a paper cone. When we asked our new friends about where to get the best ones, they all agreed on one thing; no matter where we go, we must get speciaalsaus. It was, of course, the first thing we did when we were on our own in the city the next day.

So, what is speciaalsaus? It's a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, and curry, with a bit of chopped onion. It's easy to make and absolutely delicious on chips. I'm sure this would also be good with sausages, burgers, or pretty much anything fried.
In my interview with Boris, he says he prefers his fries late at night, with "just salt", but  the mention of Belgian frieten evoked such fond memories. The other day, it was really slow in the restaurant where I cook, so I made myself some fries and decided to try and make some sauce.
One taste, and I was transported right back to Ghent, sitting in a little shop with my best friend, giggling over our travels, wondering what was ahead, and dipping hot frites into speciaalsaus.

Belgian Speciaalsaus

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 1/2 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 of an onion, diced

Combine ingredients.  Enjoy.

I know this isn't much of a recipe, but hopefully it will be of good use to you. 

Lisa. Ghent. Adventure awaits.

"Breakfast is my favourite moment of the day."

Boris Gronemberger, the drummer of Belgian band Girls in Hawaii was such a delight to interview. He even provided his recipe for ham quiche, which I will be posting later this week!

If you'd like to see Boris and his bandmates in action, Girls in Hawaii are playing at a variety of music festivals in Europe over the summer. And definitely give their newest video, Rorschach, a watch.  

There will be recipes inspired by this interview coming soon. Enjoy! 

Patchwork Tablecloth: What are your favourite foods?

Boris Gronemberger: Beside French or Belgian traditional food, I love Italian, Lebanese, Indian and Mexican food.

PT:  What sort of food do you like to cook?

BG: Any kind of pastas but I also like to make quiche.  My favourite is leeks, carrots and ham quiche. I do the pastry myself, using olive oil, flour, water and salt.  

PT: What are your favourite holidays or celebrations? What foods do you associate with them?

BG: Summer holidays are my favourite because of the barbecues. I love salads, grilled meat and vegetables and bananas as desert.

PT: What are your favourite fruits and vegetables?

BG: Pears, apples, strawberries, prunes, leek,  carrot, endives, pumpkins.

PT: What did you eat as a child? 

BG: Mainly pancakes, fish sticks, pastas with tomato sauce, meat, and of course, chocolate.

PT: Imagine your refrigerator. What do you see inside?

BG: I see some seasonal vegetables; for now leeks, carrots, parsnips, parsley. Cheese; Comté, goat cheese. Eggs from the countryside, bacon, tofu, rice milk, yoghurt... 

PT: Are there any foods you dislike? What are they?

BG: Seafood, all of it. I'm definitely not a seafood fan. 

PT: Where do you consider yourself to be "from"? Please tell me a bit about the food in the place where you grew up, the place you live now, and, if you'd like, anywhere else that is important to you.

BG: I usually say that I come from the woods. I'm coming from a small town located in the Ardenne, a region in the south of Belgium.  It's called Bouillon. It has a very nice middle age castle and it's surrounded by the Semois river- famous for its tobacco and its trouts.

The town of Bouillon. Photo by Boris Gronemberger.

I don't really see any specific meal. We love meat as it's mainly a hunting area.  Maybe the most specific thing would be the sauce we use. It's called sauce Ardennaise or 'à l'Ardennaise. 

It's mainly made of cream, butter and slices of bacon and maybe some parsley.You can find any meat, or fish or even mussels à l'Ardennaise. Even Salad. All you need is to put that creamy sauce on top of anything or just some slices of bacon.

Now I'm living in Brussels and pretty much ironically I got to know about vegetables here... It's much easier to find vegetarian restaurants here and I was part of a local farming support group. That helped me a lot discovering lots of unknown or forgotten vegetables. 

PT: What is your typical breakfast?

BG: Breakfast is my favourite moment of the day.
I mainly eat toasts and jam but when I have time, I have my two favourites that are extremely opposite:

One;  Eggs, bacon, beans, toast.

Kousmine Budwig Cream.  Photo by Boris Gronemberger.

Two; the Kousmine Budwig Cream. It just helps me feel better sometime. It's like a magic potion! 

When you have this in the morning you can be sure it's gonna stick to your body for half a day. 

PT: What are your favourite beverages?

BG: Japanese green tea; genmaicha. Coffee.

Beer. We have thousands of them in Belgium but for now it's Guldenberg.  Whisky...I like Singleton pretty much.

PT: Which sweets and desserts do you like best?

BG: Chocolate cake is my favourite ever. 

PT: What is your favourite combination of flavours?

BG: I recently went to a Cuban restaurant and had what they called El Nacional. It's made of pork meat, plantains , rice, black beans and a creamy peanut sauce. That was a real kick for me.

PT: What is something interesting that you've eaten during your travels?

BG: Pollo mole in Tucson, Arizona. Chicken breast with beans, rice and spicy chocolate sauce. Simply amazing.

PT: What is the best thing you can remember eating?

BG: This pollo mole in Tucson is probably one of my best. 

PT:  Do you have any food-related family traditions? What are they? 

BG: For my birthday, I used to ask my mother to cook roasted pork topped with a tomato, wine and bacon sauce. Another variation of the Ardennaise sauce but without cream.

PT: Are there certain foods you like to cook or eat during certain seasons? What are they?

BG: I love barbcues but I also like winter courses. Any simmered course is welcome. like blanquette of veal with rice. 

PT: What is your favourite food related smell? 

BG: Toast and coffee in the morning.

PT: What do you like best on pizza?

BG: I like pretty much ham, cheese, tomato, pineapples. We call it the pizza Hawaii.

But there is one place in Brussels where they serve pizza with potatoes and a creamy truffle sauce. That's what I have every time I go there.

PT: You're throwing a party. What are you serving?

BG: Some cheese, crisps and guacamole, dried sausages. White pudding and some raw vegetable; carrots, zucchinis.

PT: It's 2 am and you're making your way home after a big night out. What are you eating?

BG: If i'm on my way home, I'll definitely go for some fries... only with salt.
But if I'm home, I might make myself a big sandwich with ham and cheese. 

PT:  Please tell me about a memory- any memory- that somehow relates to food.

BG: It was in Beiruit. I was on tour and we had dinner in a small restaurant where two guys were playing traditional music and there were only local people, no tourists.

After a while, everybody was singing and smoking narghile, men and women together.
It was just after the civil war and everybody was laughing. Such a wonderful experience and the food was excellent.
Lebanese food is one of the finest in the Mediterranean Sea and also one of my favourite. 

"I can cook curry! Curry rice...and I can make very easy cake... Noodles, noodle soup..."

Ming

Curry rice

This sweet and spicy "curry rice" is from Japan, but has become popular in Taiwan as well. I used a recipe from a blog called Taiwanxifu, with only a few changes made. It was a different way of preparing curry than I'd made before; by making a tomato and curry based roux and thickening it with chicken stock.

This is such a delicious dish, and it goes a long way!

1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 large clove garlic, chopped
4-5 cups chicken stock
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp Japanese curry powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and in chunks

3 small potatoes, in cubes

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 red apple, peeled and grated

1 tbsp soy sauce (or sweet soy)

Rice, to serve

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat a knob of butter with a good splash of oil. Add the ginger and garlic and cook briefly, until aromatic.  Meanwhile, bring a pot of your  chicken stock to boil.

2. Add flour and cook for a bit, stirring frequently. Once it's gotten a bit of colour, add curry and tomato paste. Heat through.

3. Add a small amount of hot stock and stir to incorporate. Ladle by ladle, add hot stock to the pot, stirring constantly. 

4. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about a half hour, stirring occasionally.

5. Serve with rice.

"i eat at my market."

© Jcwait | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Ming
Tapei, Taiwan

I met Ming while picking grapes on a small vineyard in Australia's lovely Barossa Valley. She was one of the 4 other young backpackers volunteering on the farm, and I liked her immediately. 
After two days of rain preventing us from picking, we spent this particular night amongst the vines until the sun went down. 
A caravan filled with French backpackers had shown up that morning, asking to work for the day in exchange for a few bottles of the vineyard's wine. Our host, Sabine, agreed, and as the day got longer, she offered them to stay the night and to have some dinner with us.
Ming and I prepared dinner for everybody that night. I believe it was sausages with tomatoes. While we sat in the kitchen together, tired but accomplished, I spoke to her about food.

Patchwork Tablecloth: What are your favourite foods?

Ming: Seafood. But a lot. I eat everything. Seafood is my best one and I like rice. Curry. Desserts! Cookies, chocolate, all fruit.

PT: Do you like to cook at all? What sort of things do you make? 

M: I can cook curry! Curry rice… and I can make very easy cake. Noodles, noodle soup.

PT: What are your favourite holidays or festivals? Do you eat anything special for them?

M: Usually Christmas, but only I celebrate with friends. Chinese New Year;  you cook some traditional food. A child will have a red envelope. Everyone comes back and we will have some gamble; mahjong. It’s traditional. Rice cakes. Fish. A lot of vegetables. And dumplings! Eating dumplings bring a lot of money for the new year. And fish, we will cook fish, but we will not finish the whole fish. You don’t eat the head and tail so you make a lot of money in the year. If you finish it, it means you will have nothing. You must leave the head and tail.

There are three important festivals. Rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival; triangle shaped, use a leaf to make it. We put some sticky rice and some mushrooms, egg, meat, and we make and boil it. In Dragon Boat Festival, we will have activities.  Boat on a river and a game; different boats, one flag in a river and all boats race to grab flag. All family will get together. 5 May on lunar calander. 
The other one is 15 August; Mid-Autumn Festival. We will eat mung cake! And pomelo. And barbecue. Every family barbecues. And we will sit outside and see the moon. Family will get together. 
These three are the most important in Taiwan.

PT: What's your favourite vegetable?

M: I think cabbage.

PT: Fruit?

M: Cherry.

PT: What did you eat when you were a little girl? 

M: All fruit and cookies, chocolate, yoghurt. Pudding. Ice cream. Chocolate.

PT: What do you keep in your fridge?

M: Fruit, vegetables, seafood. Milk and yogurt.

PT: Do you dislike any foods?

M: I like everything! 

PT: What is the food like in Taiwan? What do you associate with home?

M: Night markets. Stinky tofu! The smell is not good but it tastes really good. Blood rice cake. Oyster pancake. We will put egg, oyster and some vegetables and put some flour and some sweet sauce or spicy sauce. Very delicious; traditional food in Taiwan. Offal; stomach, heart.

PT: What do you eat for breakfast?

M: Oats. And sandwich. But I usually eat oats at home first and then when I go to the office, on the way, I will buy a sandwich. Tuna.

PT: How about lunch?

M: I always eat lunch box. And sometimes it’s dumpling, sometimes its noodle soup.

PT: What's a typical dinner?

M: Sometimes I eat at home…my mom will cook rice and some vegetables or fried fish….I think similar to lunch. Sometimes I eat outside; noodle soup and lunch box. Snacks. I eat at my market. Or hot pot! 

PT: What do you like to drink?

M: I like water. I don’t like too sweet beverage. Tea; green tea, no sugar!

PT: What's your favourite dessert?

M: Red bean soup.

PT: It's 2 am and you're drunkenly heading home. What are you eating?

M: I eat fried chips! And some fried…we also eat fried…stewed seafood or shrimp and we will drink beer.

PT: What is the most important thing for a person to have in a kitchen?

M: I think a pot.

PT: If you were making dinner for just yourself, what would make?

M: I think just noodle soup for myself…its easy!

PT: What's your favourite combination of flavours? 

M: Avocado with honey! It’s the best one! And you put in the toaster. It’s very very delicious. I like it. It really tastes good. 

PT: What's your favourite ingredient?

M: Seafood!

PT: What is the best thing you've ever eaten?

M: Butter, cheese, lobster. In Taiwan. In a steak restaurant. I think it’s your country’s food.

PT: Do you have any family traditions or recipes?

M: At home, my mother cooks very simple food. Just stews, some vegetables and fried eggs. Fried rice. Chicken soup.

PT: What do you eat in the winter?

M: Hot pot. 

PT: Autumn?

M: Sesame oil noodles.

PT: Summer?

M: Sushi. Mung bean soup. Bamboo shoots with mayonnaise- after being in fridge. Like a salad. Only in summer.

PT: What is your favourite food smell?

M: Baked cheese. Garlic and ginger. Kimchi.

PT: You walk into the party and are delighted to see this on the table:

M: Dessert! Cheesecake…chocolate cake…pudding…ice cream.

PT: What do you like to eat on your pizza?

M: Seafood.

PT: Finally, please share a food-related memory with me.

M: I made cookies; chocolate cookies and coffee cookies. The first time I make coffee cookie and I put too much coffee and everyone eats just maybe two or three piece and they can’t sleep at night! It’s too strong! So everyone can’t sleep! But it smelled really good...but too much coffee.

"Then there are the things I rarely ever say no to: spicy pasta; fresh seafood; moules marinières; fresh bread and olives; French black pudding and apple; roast lamb with garlic and rosemary; grilled goat’s cheese salad." 

Joanne Harris

Food styling and photographs by Annalise Muller

 When I travel long-term, I try to spend a bit of time helpx-ing wherever I go. It allows me to spend time in the countryside, learn new skills, and meet amazing people. 

While in France a few years back, I spent a couple of weeks in the Pyrenees, helping an English couple renovate an old bergerie into a bed and breakfast. They were such a cool couple, and my time with them was so enjoyable and educational! If you are thinking of a trip to France in the future, I recommend staying at their B&B. I can only imagine how lovely the final product is, and they are truly magnificent hosts.

The bergerie was located just outside of a tiny village called Galey.

I tried black pudding on the bergerie, served crumbled and hot with apples and cabbages fresh from their garden. It was perfect. I was hooked. 

When I saw black pudding mentioned with apples again, I knew one thing I'd be cooking this week. I also included rhubarb, because it's tangy and cuts through the richness of the pudding, but also because it's finally spring and I freaked out when I saw it at the market.

Black pudding with apples, rhubarb, and spiced cabbage

1/2 a red cabbage, chopped or shredded

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup red wine

1 tsp lemon juice

2 eating apples, peeled and thickly sliced
1 stalk rhubarb, sliced

1 tsp sugar

8 oz boudin, or black pudding, sliced

1. In a large pan, heat some oil or butter. Add cabbage and cook for a couple of minutes.

2. Add wine and spices. Stir and cook until liquid has evaporated. Stir through lemon juice, and remove from heat.

3. In another, medium pan, heat a large knob of butter with a bit of oil. Add apples, rhubarb and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent any burning, until apples are soft but not mushy.

4. Meanwhile, heat a fair amount of oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Cook the black pudding on both sides, in batches if you need. Transfer to a lined plate to drain.

5. Serve all three together, perhaps with a bit of bread.

"Right now, I'm craving spicy chickpea curry...."

Food styling and photography: Annalise Muller

I was excited to try this dish out, because I have relatively little experience with cooking curries. I've made some kormas and laksas from shop-bought pastes, that's really it. 

 Upon a bit of research on chickpea curries, I came up with chana masala, a tomato based dry curry (meaning most of the liquid has evaporated, not that it's dry like a cracker). 

This dish did involve a trip to my favourite Indian market, where I bought amchoor (dried, powdered green mango) powder for the dish. It adds a sour, bright flavour to the dish. If you can't find it, use more citrus instead!

I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe for chana masala, which was adapted from one of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes.  I made a few  slight changes, but nothing major. 

I am always wary of giving measurements of chile peppers, since people buy all sorts of them. I used a green Jwala chili, which is common in Indian cooking and quite hot. I only used half. You may want more. 
I would recommend serving this with yoghurt or a raita of some sort. 

Chana Masala

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 onions, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
1 thumb sized knob of ginger, grated
1/2 hot chile pepper, chopped (can less or more to your taste)
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tbsp amchoor powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas
The juice of half a lemon or lime.


1.  In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat a bit of oil. Add onions, garlic, ginger and chile pepper and cook for about five minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add all the dry spices, lower the heat as not to burn, and stir to incorporate with the onion mixture. Sautee over low heat for a couple of minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, water and chickpeas. Stir to incorporate. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, until most liquid has evaporated.
4. Stir through citrus juice and season with salt.
5. Serve hot with rice or a fluffy flatbread such as naan.