This is from my father-in-law, Michel:

“de ochtendstond heeft goud in de mond”

Flemish saying

“the morning has gold in its mouth”

translated Flemish saying

I love this saying – I’m thinking about the potential of each day, the ‘morning’ as an all-knowing god to which we are mere little beings in its universe, and the beauty of a sunrise.

Check out his website, bourgondier.ca, to see the market schedule and learn more about his pâtés. I’ll also be there, sending out smiles, chatting up the people, and selling some yummy goods.

And now for the Flenglish lesson …

The word Bourgondier is traced back from the old families and dukes of Burgundy in the early medieval times. In Belgium, it stands for a person who generally enjoys life to its fullest. Someone who feasts on delicious foods without guilt, doesn’t mind a drink, and shares these with the people surrounding them.

Although the original Burgundians were rich aristocrats, the current Belgian Bourgondier enjoys that rich food in a simple, no fuss manner. All the fantastic food of the French, without any of the stuffiness.

We are unabashed bourgondiers in our little family and anyone who’s had supper at our house or vacationed with us can attest to that.

Here’s a little comic of what he had on sale for our first market. It was such a fun day! To see the photos, follow Bourgondier on Instagram.

She’s a hele grote madam.

I’m due for another Flenglish lesson, where I explain some cool things I’ve learned from the Flemish language and applied them to my english vocabulary.

The first time I visited Belgium in 2011, I was astounded by how ‘female-friendly’ it is. I felt the women had a lot of opportunity and power in their lives, both in personal relationships as well as professionally. I met women who were the breadwinners in their household, had great degrees, and seemed to have the pick of the litter of whom to choose a partner. In fact, while I was in Leuven, I read a news article that the sperm donor clinic was asking the young men of the University of Leuven to donate their sperm because there were more lesbian couples looking for a sperm donor than donors themselves.

Of course, the longer you live somewhere the more complex gender cultural standards begin to emerge (and I’m not well versed enough to elaborate on them in this simple blog post and do it justice). However, I still feel that Alberta could learn some gender neutrality from Belgium.

In the first month of being in Leuven in 2011, I was walking with Billy to catch a meal in the cozy Muntstraat, a tiny street lined with cozy bistros. We came across the statue of Friere Margreite and Billy told me the story. I’ll never forget that moment because I thought, “I would never see a statue like that in Alberta.” The tale dates back to 15th century and goes like this…

Young Margreite worked in an traveller’s inn located on the Munstraat in Leuven, which was owned by her relatives. She was known to be a hard worker and well-behaved. One day, a group of pilgrims came into the inn. Margreite was sent out to get more wine for the pilgrims and while she was gone the pilgrims, who were actually a gang of robbers, murdered her relatives. When she returned to find the massacre, she was kidnapped, taken outside of the city, and gang raped. She was then tossed in the Dyle river to be forgotten.

But her body did not sink. The fish of the river carried her body upsteam. The tale goes that her body was surrounded by a beautiful light as it drifted back to Leuven. She was discovered by the Duke of Brabant and the robbers were convicted and sent to jail because of their heinous crime. Her name Friere Margreite means Proud Margaret because of her defiance to her rape and murder.

Below is a really neat 3D art installation that was done in in Leuven.

I’ve linked the tale of Friere Margreite and the idea behind the expression ‘hele groote madam’ because they were both ‘ah ha!’ moments regarding Belgium’s progression towards gender equality. This past summer I was back in Belgium at Rock Werchter, a massive music festival, where I had the pleasure of seeing Patti Smith and Alabama Shakes perform. It was during this festival that Billy taught me the Flemish saying hele grote madam and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Watching these women perform their craft and be acknowledged for their hard work and talent by women and men alike sparked an idea in me of how to pursue creativity and challenges in life.

As a personal goal, as I get older, I’m striving to become a hele grote madam. The larger than life woman who’s lived her life and ruffled some feathers. She’s driven by her craft/passion/art/cause and pushes for innovation. She capitivates people with her strength and demeanour.

My list of hele groote madams (in Meredith speak, “Badass ladies who are living for themselves”):

1. Patti Smith (artist)
2. JK Rowling (writer)
3. Brittany Howard (musician)
4. Diane Keaton (actor)
5. Alison Mosshart (artist/musician)
6. Toni Morrison (writer)
7. Elizabeth Gilbert (writer)
8. Gabrielle Hamilton (writer/chef)
9. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (writer)

Well then, I guess by reading this list it’s easy to tell what my passions in life are: writing, art, music, design, and cooking. Next post like this I’ll talk about inspiring men because Equality.

What women leave you inspired? Reading your list will make me as happy as this llama over here…

Plus, the thought of using some of these words in Edmonton during hazy nights out on Whyte Avenue fills me with delight.

Many of these words will tip off my Belgian fans where my stomping ground is in Belgium – the words are very “Leuven-esque.” The thing with Belgians is that they can hear different accents of those who are from a village 15 minutes away. Language varies quite a bit in the different regions of this small country. One of these slang terms is from Billy’s 75 year old Oma from Oostende. She has more energy than some 20-somethings I know.

So my intention in this post is to highlight the pronunciation of these words, give the definition, and use some FLENGLISH, English with a splash of Flemish, to show how the word is used in a sentence.

Verdomme – (swear) “Damn!”
Often yelled at Belgian football matches during bad plays or calls by the ref. Don’t confuse with Vertonghen, a player on the Belgian National Team, which is exactly what I did when I saw the Red Devils play Scotland in 2012.

“Verdomme! I stubbed my toe!”

Allee – (verb) “Come on!” or “Let’s go!” in frustration. Taken from French. As you likely know, half of Belgium is the French speaking Wallonia.

“Allee jongen” translates to “Come on son/dude.”

Zoezo – (expression) “For sure”

Lunch with family and Oma Rosette

Balen – (expression) “Bummer” or “Major bummer”

Fondke – (noun) Literally means “the bottom.” Used in the context of putting a nice bottom layer in your belly to pour liquor on.

“We need to put down the fondke before going out tonight. It’s going to get heavy. Let’s pick up a durum/kebab.”

Koeketiene – (noun) A term from West Flanders meaning someones girlfriend. Those not from West Flanders or Oma Rosette’s generation will likely not recognize this term or be confused that the conversation has turned to someone’s ‘small chickie.”

Naar de klote – (expression) “To the balls” or “gone to hell”

“My love life has gone naar de klote.”

Poulainke – (noun) “a little chick” or “a little favourite” used in terms of lady friends.

There are many ways to incorporate language learning into your everyday life, especially with cooking. I have a friend who once labelled most of her kitchen with the Spanish terms. She saw them while doing everyday tasks and soon memorized them.

Ingredients lists are fun to translate and I love watching video tutorials because it gives me a chance for ‘active’ language learning instead of just pen to paper. Cooking is essential in Belgian culture and I find that I learn a lot about the history and practices of the Flemish from watching cooking shows. Plus, while the chefs are often making jokes and using everyday language, I’m also listening for tone, pitch, and rhythm in the sentences.

I’ve been in the mood for pancakes. After searching for Belgian cooking shows, I found a video on how to make Pannenkoeken, which are pancakes that are thin like crepes. They are so delicious with a bit of butter and powdered sugar. I like to add a little Canadian flavour to mine and pour chokecherry or saskatoon syrup on them. The show’s host, Chef Piet, is from West Flanders so he uses a lot of slang typical to that region, like “allez!” I think it means, “Come on,” but it’s used in many situations from telling stories at the cafe or when someone is annoyed.

Pannenkoeken – SOS Piet

To give you some idea of what’s going on here, Chef Piet is teaching some university students how to make the BEST pannenkoeken. He’s in a studentenkot (student dorm) kitchen. From the four hotplates to the party decorations, it looks like a typical kot. My first 3 months living in Belgium was in a place very similar – notice the group cooking and beer atmosphere. So much fun!

Ingredients
2 el arachideolie (Vegetable Oil)
70 gr suiker (sugar)
½ litre melk (milk – I’ve used both almond or coconut milk and it worked fine)
4 eieren (eggs)
200 gr bloem (flour)
20 gr boter (butter)

Instructions
First, try to follow along in the video clip because there are some tricky Belgian cookery tips that add a bit of finesse.

1. Measure out your milk. In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Whisk and make a ‘nest’ for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the flour nest and lightly whisk. Add the milk. Whisk until smooth.
2. Add a dash of vegetable oil to the batter (about 1 tsp or so) and whisk into batter. Melt butter in frying pan. Pour into batter. Whisk.
3. Ladle batter on to nonstick pan. Wait until bubbles form. Slightly lift with a silcone spatuala and flip.

Learning a language has to be fun when it involves cooking, beer, and jokes, eh?

It’s a fast and furious race, typically one hour long plus 1 lap. It requires endurance, cycling technique, strong running, and mental strategy. A lap is typically 2.5 to 3.5 km long featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount. The sport is most popular in road racing countries like Belgium (especially Flanders), the Netherlands, and France. Flanders is considered the motherland of cyclocross because this is where the highest level of competition can be found, as well as it’s huge base of supporters and challenging courses.

The whole experience really tapped into my Canadian ‘outdoor’ mentality. Bundled up in scarves, jackets, and mittens, outside in the fresh air, enjoying some extreme sport. Me and the boys were stomping through the mud walking through the woods around the track with the rest of the folks. The spectators were jovial. There were quite a few families around, many with little boys running up and down hills and jumping off rocks. The mood was so exciting and fun that it was easy to forget about the impending rain, and the fact it was coming didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

The winner of the race, Niels Albert, had a commanding lead on the rest of the pack. I was told this race in Leuven was only the 2nd edition and so the crowd was relatively ‘small’. It didn’t seem that small to me under the big party tent after the race, but I guess these races can attract up to 30,000 people! I was happy the race I went to was small because it was easy to get a front row spot beside the track in various locations.

After the race had finished, everyone made their way to the big party tent. This is where things got a bit crazy and I got to see the ‘hick’ side of the Flanders. We were all packed under the tent like sardines. It was clear most people had drank a fair amount by this point. There was a live marching band on stage. To our left was an aggressive love-triangle soap opera of young gay men playing out. On the right was a dance party with a full-grown man sitting on his friends shoulders and then a little boy sitting on his father’s shoulder having some sort of singing match. In general, the people watching was fantastic.

Until the mood took a sharp turn, from jovial drunkenness to aggressive brawling. One man decided it would be a good idea to climb the pole that was holding up the tent. His tomfoolery was not appreciated by many, and beers were hurled at him in large quantities. Suddenly a HUGE fight erupted beside us after a drunken idiot threw a glass bottle at the man climbing the pole. In the process, he narrowly missed hitting the head of the little boy sitting on his father’s shoulders. After the brawl broke up a bit, we skid-addled out of there because it was getting weird in a hurry.

Since my first race, I’ve done a bit of research on cyclocross because I can’t stop thinking about it! I’ve tried to follow various European sports since I moved to Belgium. I’m still trying to understand the team mentality and strategy of road racing. I finally learned what offside is in football. The effort was there but nothing had sparked my enthusiasm yet. However, something about cyclocross spoke to me immediately. It’s rough, it’s tough, and I wish I was badass enough to do it myself. Lucky for me, there are lots of opportunities to watch cyclocross right now. It’s the high point of the season – the World Cup Tour leading up to the Championships in February.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJdFHTT4C1E]

Men to follow:
Niels Albert – the guy to beat right now.

Sven Nys – Belgian champion and veteran cyclist – 36 years old and races like a young dude. Recently, had a quarrel with a fan who chucked a beer at him. Here’s the footage below! He’s been praised by fans and the press about how he’s handled the situation afterwards.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GS6_mU47TE]

Zdenek Stybar – A Czech cyclist who can be pretty cutthroat. Here is the race where he was disqualified from first place by pushing Albert of his bike just before the finish line (fast forward to 1:15:00 in the clip)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6oPp-wzHoM]

From his last interview, sounds like he is making a move to compete in road cycling.

Lars Boom – Dutch cyclist who won the world championships in 2008. Just returned to cyclocross after a brief hiatis.

Bart Wellens – Belgian cyclist who was also the start of his own reality TV-series. He’s been described to me as “the guy you want to have a beer with after the race”.

Women to follow: There are a lot of women from North America who are coming over to compete in the World Tour in Europe.

Marianne Vos – has been described as the “best cyclist of her generation”. At London 2012, she won the gold medal in the Women’s road race.

Katherine Compton – American cyclist. In the past, she biked in tandem with blind partner, Karissa Whitsell in the Paralympics. Here’s a good interview with her via Cyclocross Magazine

Amy Dombroski – American cyclist who just made the podium at the Leuven race. Here is a Rider Diary article of her moment.

Meredith Miller – American rider, performs great. From her website she looks a bit cray … in a good way.

Nicki Harris – British cyclist and mountain bike champion.

And we have a big Canadian Team we’re sending to Louisville 2013! Here’s an article of who’s on the roster complete with twitter accounts to follow.

A glass of Rosé in France. Photo complements of JDR

You’ve just been handed a glass of wine at a fancy vineyard on your trip abroad. You can’t wait to wrap your lips around the glass and taste that liquid gold dance over your taste buds and tease your cheeks. But wait, what are you going to say when the host when she asks your opinion?

“Mmm, tasty! I’d definitely drink this while sitting on the couch in my pajama’s with my cat!” NO! We’ve all been there; I enjoy wine but I don’t feel confident enough to make a specific comment on the quality because of my lack of wine knowledge.

Well that is about to stop right now because I’ve asked wine expert and blogger, Jelle de Roeck for the secret tips to impress any wine snob.

There are four important categories to consider when tasting wine:

1. Appearance The wine should look healthy and alive; like ‘love at first sight’ it should elicit a feeling of anticipation or excitement.

2. Nose According to Jelle, you must look for energy. If the wine screams to be drunk, it will probably be a good wine. If the wine is saggy, boring, and has no mystery it is called “aromatically challenged” amongst the wine snobs. If you can smell the sea, hot stones, lava fumes or firecrackers, you are allowed to say that the wine is “mineral”. If you smell mushrooms, dirt, mud or the butthole of a donkey, the wine should be described as “earthy”.

3. Mouth All the flavours of wine are in the nose but there must be a pleasant ‘mouth-feel’ to the wine in order to be great. This tells you if the wine was made properly. Jelle suggests approaching the mouth aspect in two stages, the attack and the feel. The ‘attack’ is your first impression, pay attention to where you feel the wine touch first. Then ‘feel’ the wine for a balance and how it coats the inside of your mouth.

4. Finish This is the holy grail of wine because not many achieve it. The finish unveils flavours you have not yet discovered. If the wine has a finish, it is of high quality.

Now it’s time to give your opinion. Here are some keywords to throw down:

Acidity – Makes the wine expressive in the nose and the mouth. It will also make your mouth feel very juicy. Too much acidity however can overpower the wine and your palate so you cannot taste what’s underneath.

Alcohol – Is the hot feeling in the back of your throat when tasting the wine.

Energy – “If you are really into the wine, but don’t know how to express your enthusiasm, energy is “the” word to use. Easy and universal,” says Jelle.

Tannins – Only applies to red wines; tannins dry out your mouth much like sucking on a bag of tea. Hard tannins are very unpleasant but soft tannins make a red wine boring. A good red wine has the perfect acidity-tannin balance so your mouth feels both juicy and dry simultaneously.

If you are interested in learning about wine, Jelle’s blog “Wine of the Week” is a must-read! Each week he discovers a new bottle and gives his impressions in order to show that wine isn’t an “old boy’s club”. He proves that everyone can enjoy wine like a pro with a bit of practice.

Or chat to him about wine via Twitter @jellederoeck

The deep fryer’s kick into high gear during festive season to includes sweet treats. The result is a myriad of delicious warm and gooey sweets that must be tried on a visit to the Christmas Market.

Brussels Christmas Market 2012

Smoutebollen

Smoutebollen, or ‘fat balls’, are a gooey dough balls that fried until golden brown and then covered in powdered sugar. They are served warm, often in a paper cone.

As tradition goes, Germanic tribes in the Netherlands made smoutebollen during Yule, which is between December 26 and January 6. According to myth, eating smoutebollen was said to protect people against the wrath of Germanic goddess Perchta. She would fly across the sky and cut open the bellies of the people she met, however her sword would slide off of those who had ate the ‘fat balls’.

Keep in mind that although smoutebollen is melt-in-your-mouth good, many of these festive treats are laden with calories.

I found this out the hard way after an evening of jolly company, beer, and smoutebollen, which resulted in a serious sugar hangover. After some quick calculations, I found out that every smoutebollen I stuffed into my mouth was actually 250 calories each! Since serving cones usually have 9 to 12 of these little (fat) monsters, it’s a good idea to share with a friend.

Beignets

Beignets are similar to smoutebollen in that they are made of the same dough recipe but they have a tasty twist! They are stuffed with a wide variety of goodies such as apple, pineapple, banana, or speculoos paste.

Surprisingly, because of the extra filling, they are less calorific than smoutebollen coming in at 190 calories per beignet. Of course, one moment of indulgence isn’t the end of the world!

During the season, it’s almost a sin not to wash down these tasty treats with a decadent hot drink such as mulled wine or hot chocolate with a splash of Gran Marnier.

Shockingly, Belgium’s obesity rate is a low 13% compared to the UK’s 25%. How do they manage to stay healthy with all the beer, wine, and smoutebollen? This is a mystery that I hope to solve during my stay in Belgium.

My last smoutebollen indulgence… mmm, so much powdered sugar!

Chef Jeroen Meus

I’ve found the Jamie Oliver of Belgium and it’s Jeroen Meus! He’s young, wears cool sneakers, has funky hair, and approaches cooking in a casual way. Oh, and he is an amazing chef! He has his own cooking show called Dagelijkse Kost( or in English “Daily Grub”) and a great website full of recipes. His descriptions of cooking are lively and sprinkled with Leuven slang that make him very fun to watch. Lately, Billy and I have been turning to Jeroen’s website and cooking tutorials when we are out of our own ideas. He has an array of recipes that range between 15th century Belgian classics to Thai Green Curries.

Celeriac… ugly but tasty.

This week, Billy and I were looking to make a dish with a Belgian winter veggie. Belgium has a WIDE array of winter vegetables. Sure, Belgium is wet and cold in the winter but it only occasionally frosts therefore the growing season is much longer here compared to that of Canada’s. Belgian endives (witloof), parsnips, and celeriac are popular vegetables for Belgian winter dishes. Yesterday, we decided to try a dish with celeriac and found Jeroen’s recipe for Knolseldersoep met witbier, cheddar, en geroosterde pancetta. It is such a great recipe that I have to share it with my English-speaking friends. This is also good opportunity for me to work on translating Dutch text to English. See, everybody is learning!

Cream of Celeriac Soup with Wheat Beer, Cheddar, and Smoked Pancetta
A warming autumn soup that tastes rich but will only cost around €2 per bowl! This recipe is huge and will easily serve 6 people. See his video tutorial here.

Ingredients
Soup:
2 1/2 litres of Chicken Broth
1 Celeriac
3 big Onions
1 small clove of Garlic
2 cans of Hoegaarden (Wheat Beer)
1 squirt of olive oil
Couple of Bay Leaves
Couple sprigs of Thyme (dried Thyme works too for those who don’t have fresh herbs growing)
Couple of Parsley Stems

Garnish:
6 slices of pancetta (spanish smoked ham) or smoked bacon
150 grams of cheddar
A bit of Thyme

Finishing Touch:
200 g Cream
Pepper
Salt
Nutmeg

How To Make It
1. Make chicken broth and pour into a large pot over medium heat.
2. In a separate deep-frying pan, heat up olive oil and toss in your chopped onion and garlic. Be sure to stir frequently here, so the onions do not brown because then you will lose the pale velvety colour of your soup.
3. Wash the celeriac and then peel the outside. Dice into pieces and toss them in with the simmering onions. The the vegetables simmer here for 5 minutes.
4. If you have fresh herbs on hand, gather the thyme and parsley into a bouquet by tying them together with some twine, and toss it in the pot. If not, add your onions and celeriac to the chicken broth in the big pot and then add your dried spices.
5. Add the beer to the big pot and bring to a boil for 10 minutes (this removes the alcohol from the beer).
6. Turn the heat down to low heat, put the lid on, and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes.
7. To make your garnish, grill the pancetta or the smoked bacon, chop up thyme, and grate the cheddar cheese. Set aside.
8. After 20 minutes are up, its time to blend the soup with a mixer. Remove from heat and slowly add cream in between mixing to get a velvety and smooth soup. Taste your soup and add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.
9. Serve in bowls garnished with grated cheddar cheese, bacon (or pancetta), and thyme. Enjoy!

Belgium’s national team has a long history that dates back to 1904 with their first official game against France. Since then, Belgium has earned itself a reputation as a strong second tier team. While they don’t often win major championships, they are a challenging team to meet during competition. The Red Devils had an excellent track record in the 1980’s and throughout the 90’s. Then, the team didn’t qualify for two consecutive World Cups, once in 2006 and then again in 2010. Belgians have been frustrated with the team’s progress but remained loyal and hopeful.

2011 offered a bright spot for the Red Devil’s chances to make it to the world stage once more. Young, hotshot Belgian footballers started to make a big name for themselves in the English Premier League. There’s Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany, Tottenham’s mid-fielder Moussa Dembélé, Everton’s mid-fielder Marouane Fellaini, and Chelsea’s temperamental forward Eden Hazard. Kevin de Bruyne, a hardworking ginger kid, is another favourite who has had two amazing performances in the past two games.

My personal favourite is forward Romelu Lukaku, a giant at 6’4″ with dreadlocks, who has been a phenomenon in the Belgian league since he was 16. When he started playing for Anderlecht at 16 he finished as the league’s top scorer. At 18 years old he was then bought by Chelsea, fulfilling his lifelong dream, but is currently on loan to West Bromwich Albion. To sum it up in two succinct words, he’s dreamy.

Recently, me and a couple of the boys went to the Belgium vs. Scotland game in Brussels. This was an important game for the Devils to win in order to keep their high ranking in their pool. Belgium stomped Scotland, who played like a bunch of wussies, with a score of 2-0. Seeing a game live really increased my interest in football and I would definitely go to another game. Sadly, the next one isn’t until March when Belgium will play Macedonia.

Since I’m finally beginning to understand football rules, club politics, and player gossip the game has become a nice substitute for watching hockey or CFL games at the pub. Plus, the atmosphere at the live game is so fun! People are dressed up, drinking beer, and feeling jolly. Then again, I haven’t witnessed a loss yet…

Is anyone else in Canada starting to warm up to European Football in light of the NHL lockout?

Crowd Control – This is the section of Scottish fans, clearly separated from the rest of the stadium. Wise planning…