Albania Despite none of us really being sure exactly where Albania is, we thoroughly enjoyed our Byrek me Spinaq- spinach pie made with filo and feta. Yum! Add to that the new season's asparagus and delicious green salad and we were feeling positively spring-like. Now we know that Albania borders Greece (which explains the flavours in the pie; very Greek), Macedonia (damn, haven't done that country yet!) and Serbia. We are about to have our Sheqerpare, cookies in syrup for dessert. Thanks for dining with us tonight, Aunty Rake.

Kazakstan We had to look quite hard for a recipe that didn't include horse meat or pickled something or other from this country. We eventually found a recipe for pelmeni, a kind of boiled meat dumpling. It was actually a little like ravioli but heavier. We all loved it yumm! All excepting Niamh we served it with sour cream. We found that it was very similar to momos from Tibet and they were yummy too. But we liked the momos the Best. By Niamh.

Costa Rica While Mum was reading the newspaper this morning, Carter spotted a travel article about Costa Rica. We read all about the country and decided to go there for dinner tonight. We found a recipe called Chilasquiles and thought that they sounded pretty good. We took tortillas, filled them with a mince mixture, dipped them in egg, fried them on both sides, then baked them with tomato topping and grated cheese. Was this ever going to be anything but yum? We all loved it! For dessert, we baked Costa Rican meringues, called Suspiros. We reckon these are nicer than kiwi meringues, although the only difference is the addition of vinegar and cream of tartar. We enjoyed the strong beats of the Costa Rican music. Sorry, we meant to post a photo but forgot to take one...

Norway Alot of what's eaten in Norway is pickled or preserved because of their long, cold winters. They also seem to eat a lot of potatoes and fish. We managed to find a recipe for fish balls, made from fresh white fish and boiled in fish stock. Served with a white sauce, these were actually really good. We had potato noisettes, which were an absolute hit. We made potato balls with a melon baller, soaked them in salted cold water, boiled them, then fried them in a little butter. Yum! We will make these for any visitors who request them. Carter liked it all, and thinks Grandma would like the fish balls. Niamh liked the potatoes the most. We also discovered that they listen to American music in Norway. How boring!

Hi Folks Grant here. It was my turn to cook tonight after an extended break. I decided to put some more effort into the Afican continent as I do like their love affair with meat. I found a recipe from the Nation of Western Saharans. I good meal: chicken, artichokes, couscous, chickpeas and other nicities. However, not a roaring sucess, even though a wonderful meal, the reason being Niamh had just finished her Ballet show and is coming down with a cold. Carter and I had to sit through 2.1/2 hours of prancing around, which was entertaining but rather stretched our attention spans by about an hour. Grandad came along and watched too, thanks Grandad (you were spotted sleeping but fortunatly not heard). This was a great meal that under normal circumstances would have gone down a treat. Well it did with me as my tummy hurts. Hope all is well out there in Blogger land. Prendergasts. Grant

Portugal We enjoyed a chicken, bean and bacon soup from Portugal tonight. The cannelini beans and bacon were simmered with onions and garlic in chicken stock with a bouquet garni, then cooked chicken was added. It was very tasty, and we served it with cheese and crusty ciabatta bread. We enjoyed listening to rustic Portugese music.

Syria We have been away from our adventures for the last few nights as we have had birthdays, birthday parties and general mayhem in our house! We were back on track with a lentil dish from Syria. Yes, that's right; lentils, simmered with onions, garlic, spices and spaghetti. We all loved it, and Niamh even had a second helping! For such a simple dish, this was really tasty.We served it with a traditional Syrian bean dish which was also very yummy. We think there wouldn't be too many kids who are happy to munch on a bowl full of lentils (buttons as Carter calls them), so big ups Niamh and Carter. Syrian music is cool too-we loved grooving to it.

Nigeria We had a traditional Nigerian beef and spinach stew called Efo Egusi. It was slow cooked all day and served with couscous, and it was beautiful! We followed it up with a real Nigerian recipe for mango and banana sundae (how they make vanilla ice-cream in the desert of Nigeria I don't wish to ask, but it was in a Nigerian cookbook so we'll go with it). The computer was on the blink so we listened to Paul Simon's Graceland c.d, which I thought was very resourceful given the circumstances! We could sure do with some more comments to revive our enthusiasm...

Paraguay We ate the delicious Tallarines Chalacos from Paraguay tonight. It is spaghetti, with a fish and vegetable sauce (we used Hoki) and cheese, baked until the cheese bubbles. Obviously the kids loved it! The music was pretty funky too.

Samoa Talofa! We had the ubiqutous Chop Suey (properly known as Sapasui) from Samoa tonight. Grant and Jo remember this from school fundraisers and church fairs, although we have had it with tinned corned beef and mince, and mostly noodles. We cooked it with lots of fresh veges and a little bit of steak, along with vermicelli noodles and sauce. It was really good, and a great way of eating fresh veges in a different way. We listened to some beautiful Samoan music and imagined sitting in the sun!

Nicaragua We ate pork cooked with banana and pinepple tonight, which was very tasty. The Nicaraguan radio station was interesting; spanish speaking dj's but American music (The Eagles, Tom Petty etc).

Pakistan We enjoyed a chicken kurma and rice from Pakistan tonight. Grant says it was a good curry; the kids had a watered down version. They really liked the ginger lassi drink, made from yogurt, water, sugar and ginger powder. It was pretty refreshing actually. We've just about knocked Asia off!

Venezuela We cooked Carne Mechada, a soft meat sauce. It was yuum! We rolled it up in a tortilla. We also had bean sprouts, carrot,cheese sprinkled over the top. carter ate two! More than mum! We especially loved the music. by niamh.

Spain If you're going to eat from Spain of course you have Paella! We had ours with shrimps, chorizo and ham, with veges. It was yum. We liked the Crema Catalina for dessert, although found it a bit too rich. The Spanish music was cool.

Poland Polish food is quite similar to Czech food; lots of meat and potatoes in very filling guises. We cooked Zraziki po Krakowsku which are pieces of beef, rolled up around a savoury filling, browned then simmered in water. They were quite nice. We also had these "Polish Potato Fingers" which were basically potato dumplings, boiled and served with the meat and gravy. these were also quite nice, but we really felt that we needed to have done a day's hard physical labour to need them (or be able to work them off!). Tomorrow we might have crocodile steaks in memory of Steve Irwin...