Saturday, October 08, 2005

BBM2

Well, I still haven't managed to get a digimatized camera. So, unfortunately, I will be unable to show what any of the items looked like. But I received a very awesome package from Eileen in Belgium. (And now that I think about it, I've already eaten a lot of what she sent...so the pictures would have been of empty packages!)

Anyway, it turns out Eileen did a little homework and snooped around my blog. So she included some tasty Japanese treats (because of my trip to Japan). She sent a little variety pack of wasabi treats: peas, lima beans (I think), almonds and peanuts. All coated in tasty wasabi goodness! Also included was a package of okazu nori, or "side seaweed". These are the little sheets of nori seaweed that usually accompany rice. They make a nice texture and taste contrast to rice.

She also noted that I am a number cruncher (both by trade and by hobby). So she included some statistics about the eating and drinking habits of Belgians. The average Belgian drinks 15 cups of coffee per week!! And 1 restaurant per 460 inhabitants! Dallas has a lot of restaurants, but I'm pretty sure we can't match that statistic.

And of course, some fabulous Belgian chocolate was included. She even tried to appeal to my Texan tastes by making one of them a chocolate bar with pink peppercorns! I haven't tried this one yet (I'm trying to be good and not eat everything at once!), but have great expectations for it! And also along the Texan theme were some "homemade" (presumably by Eileen. - if so, then very well done!) chocolates that have chili in them. Some chocolates shaped as diamonds, that were made in the diamond district of Antwerp. And finally a "typical Belgian cookie", that has already been consumed!

And finally, perhaps the most interesting item was the mix CD that Eileen made me. She stuck to a food theme, with the exception of "Come on Eileen" - which is more than understandable since it was Eileen who went to the trouble of making the CD. There were other various food related songs (some of which I didn't know), but I must say that any CD with a Jeff Buckley song ("Lilac Wine") is an instant hit with me!

So, Eileen, thank you very much for the unforgettable package! I'm trying to ration the goodies, but I have a feeling they will not see the end of the weekend!

Eet smakelijk, indeed!!