Other Areas And your country of origin is?

[Jon Goodman]

Tejas...which is the same as Texas. Before that, Wales...but that was in the 1600s. I was pretty young and hardly remember the place.
Jon

 

[Hlynur]

Hi everyone! I am Icelandic, live in Reykjavik, Iceland.

 

[ricpr]

I am from Puerto Rico, thus my handle. I am now in a small Texas town.

 

[peter_n]

Born and raised in Manchester, England but I'm not an Anglo-Saxon. I have a completely Irish background and lived in Dublin for 8 years, my sister lives there and I still think of Ireland as my home. I've also lived in the Netherlands but now I live in the U.S. Some day I plan to go home. 🙂

 

[ch1]

I'm most curious about the grilled beef hearts. What kind of marinade do you use? Also, do you grill them whole or split (and if split - what cut)?

Years ago, as a "poor" student I used to make a mean spaghetti sauce with chicken hearts and loved the "firm" texture. Imagine beef hearts would have a similar texture but can see where grilling them would be a better dish....

Of course, living in "squemish USA" finding beef hearts is going to be a challenge.....

 

[chenick]

None taken Bill!
I've never heard the expression 'Sombrero Irish', and know very little about the Irish in Mexico. There was a batallion in the US-Mexican war was which switched sides and was referred to as Saint Patrick's Battalion (or Batallón de San Patricio)
See: Saint Patrick's Battalion

And in Argentina I believe about 600,000 people can claim Irish ancestry, it's not unusual to see names like Rodolfo Walsh (author, father of politician Patricia Walsh), or one time presidential candidate Ricardo Lopez-Murphy.

-Nick

No insult intended, Nick, but is that the club they refer to as "Sombrero Irish?" I spent some time in Mexico City and was surprised by the large Irish contingent I found there.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[JimG]

I'm most curious about the grilled beef hearts. What kind of marinade do you use? Also, do you grill them whole or split (and if split - what cut)?

Years ago, as a "poor" student I used to make a mean spaghetti sauce with chicken hearts and loved the "firm" texture. Imagine beef hearts would have a similar texture but can see where grilling them would be a better dish....

Of course, living in "squemish USA" finding beef hearts is going to be a challenge.....

The meat is cut into strips, like jerky but shorter. The marinate I don't know, I'll have to ask my mother. Or it may be on line somewhere. There are recipes out there for anything you can think of. Of course the best way is when it's cooked at any Native American market day over a hibachi with some German beer. When I lived in Cuzco all the breweries were owned by German families. The best.

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I'm in the Republic of California.

But I'm originally from the Dominion of Virginia.

 

[DougK]

I've always known we were quite the international group, but sometimes it's fun seeing it in black and white, so to speak.

I'm USA born and bred, born and raised in Spokane, Washington and now I live just east of Cleveland, Ohio. I've spent a fair bit of time in Texas, Florida, and California. I also have quite the soft spot for British Columbia, simply love that province. Mexico was fabulous as well, at least the small part I was able to see while I was there.

I love to travel anywhere whenever money allows but of the countries mentioned so far, I'd really love to see Iceland (great Flickr gallery, Hlynur!).

 

[dadsm3]

Hlynur, apparently we have here in Canada the largest Icelandic community outside of Iceland itself. It's called Gimli, Manitoba, and it's on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. It's a windswept god-forsaken piece of property....apparently the original settlers stopped there after their boats broke down, they were actually on their way farther NORTH!! Every year there's a huge festival celebrating their heritage, looks like a huge party.
Gimli is also the name of the famous dwarf in the Lord of the Rings, and I know that Tolkien borrowed some Norse mythology for his trilogy, so I often wondered if there was a connection....
Me, born in Hamilton, Ontario of Ukrainian-Sicilian descent....part of that huge cacophany of immigrants that came for the steelwork 1900-1950. Because of Canada's 'mosaic' style society there is a little less assimilation than the US (which is more of a 'melting pot'), with the result of most major Canadian cities being mini-New Yorks; Greektowns, Little Italys, Chinatowns, and of course Irish, Jewish, German, Polish and Yugoslavian areas as well. Later the Portuguese, Indian/Pakistani, Vietnamese, Jamaican, South American, and new waves of post communist Eastern Europeans have all added to the mix.
Being so diverse hurts our cohesion as a country sometimes.....most Canadians won't admit it but secretly envy American and British patriotism. It's tough to get a concensus from such a diverse crowd, but growing up here instills a sense of cultural and social tolerance, which is a strength in today's world.
And the ethnic restaurants are incredible......
Mike

 

[monaho]

I am IRISH but I don't live there no more.

 

[back alley]

i spent the first 21 years of my life living in new york after having been born in brooklyn.
i lived a few short years in pennsylvania and i think the warrants must be void by now😉

moved here (western canada), followed a woman.

i have relatives in n.y. still, atlanta, california...mostly in the witness protection program🙂

done very little world travel but did ride my motorcycle across america a few times and drove across canada once or twice too.

 

[Ken F.]

Hi everyone! I am Icelandic, live in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Hello Hlynur,

All of my favourite bands are from Reykjavic, I must pay a visit to Iceland someday!

Cheers,
kf

 

[monaho]

Back Alley did you run away from going to Vietnam war?

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

Dude? Are you serious?

 

[monaho]

My first name is Mickey and it is short for something else.

 

[traveller]

Oh, but I would! I do like the crunchy machitos as we call them, but there's a German dish that I like a lot and I always forget what it's called: it's kidneys on some kind of sauce, served with a kind of potato serving. Mmmmmmm!!!

Have you been to southern part of Germany? Could be you mean "Saure Nieren" (Sour Kidneys), done right a real delicacy. Has there been some juniper and laurel in the sauce?

 

[traveller]

Born, raised, and still residing in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. I did spend 4 years in the Navy visiting various european ports including a year and a half in Greece.

Best way to see the world when young, even better when in the merchant navy and not shipping containers. I have been visiting the ports from Argentina down to New Orleans. Has been a great time

 

[oftheherd]

The meat is cut into strips, like jerky but shorter. The marinate I don't know, I'll have to ask my mother. Or it may be on line somewhere. There are recipes out there for anything you can think of. Of course the best way is when it's cooked at any Native American market day over a hibachi with some German beer. When I lived in Cuzco all the breweries were owned by German families. The best.

Heart isn't bad. Used to eat it as a kid back home. Also tongue, sweet breads, and other beef parts.

Lamb guts? Hadn't heard that one but it doesn't surprise me. My first time in Korea I was introduced to intestine soup, don't remember if it was beef or pork, but I think beef. Then grilled pork intestines in a soju (an alcoholic drink that kicks butt and doesn't worry about names) house in Pyongtaek, although it was for lunch and we weren't drinking.

Today if we can make it, the wife and I will stop in a favorite Korean specialty restaurant that serves a kind of Korean sausage, made from blood and rice. It is eaten hot as is, dipped in salt, or in a soup with cabbage, and pig parts such as ear, jowls, heart and liver in the soup. Of course two or three types of Kimchi are on the table. I have eaten local foods in Okinawa, Vietnam, Korea, and of course, home. Love trying new local foods. So many pleasant surprises.

Was the Quechuan drink mentioned above originally chewed as the Anasazi are reported to have done? The Koreans also have a milky colored drink, but not chewed for sugar. It is made from rice using a fermentation agent, yeast as far as I know. It is brewed(?) for a week or so in dark places and then poured off the rice. Locally you get a lot of impurities in it. From comercial places not so.

Many Americans are turned off by the color, but I find it a rather pleasant drink from time to time. Don't really drink any more though. It used to be a joke about Korean women keeping their husbands high while they worked. Of couse it would be safer than rice paddy water for drinking. Sort of like I understand Europe once was with beer and gin due to bad water.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Have you been to southern part of Germany? Could be you mean "Saure Nieren" (Sour Kidneys), done right a real delicacy. Has there been some juniper and laurel in the sauce?

Yes, that's it! Oh, with a good dark ale, mmmm. Never been to southern Germany, but to Dresden, Meissen and Berlin.

The first time I had that, believe it or not, was in Mexico. My mom got the recipe from a family friend who was German, who lived in Scotland for a while. As a little boy, believe it or not, I would ask for that. Sometimes she would make it in a mustard sauce.

Anyway, when I was in Vienna I had the opportunity to have it again...followed by saker torte. Viennese coffee and saker torte... ::sigh::

Don't get me wrong, I can settle for a Twix bar. 🙂