We have to confess that nobody suggested this recipe - to be honest, we aren't quite sure how we found it. We think it might be because of the recipe from the Dominican Republic, which had plantains in it, and Toby wanted to know about plantains. Then we read that it was a staple in lots of recipes from Africa, as well as Central and South America, and so we stumbled across Matoke. We made this in our slow cooker, and it was delicious - but we learnt that the plantains need to be fully covered in sauce - otherwise, they dry out and aren't nearly as nice!.

Every now and again, we have quite a few recipes, and sometimes, we forget one! We just realised that we never made Mónica's great recipe! Today, we did - and we are so glad we did! These are delicious! We only made about half the recipe, because we couldn't imagine we'd eat 30 fritters between the three of us. They were delicious!

When we asked for a Japanese recipe for Toby's Japan day, several people suggested Katsudon - a breaded pork chop cooked in egg, on a bed of rice. It was easier to make than it looks, and very, very tasty!

We don't always make desserts, honest!! Tanja sent us this blueberry pie recipe from the Savo region in Finland - we had just found a lovely pie dish in the local second-hand shop, and the pie worked beautifully with it. We ate it warm with ice cream, just as recommended, and we had enough left over for another couple of days - this recipe made lots! 

Okay, yes, this is recipe no. 3 from the Netherlands...we couldn't resist! Yael mentioned oranjetompoucen in her letter, and when we looked for a recipe, we could only find one in Dutch. So, we became language detectives, and Toby did a brilliant job, using his English and his German to work out much of it. Our filling was more of a thick custard than a cream, but we didn't let that stop us - it tasted delicious!

Carol sent us this recipe, together with an amazing letter, outlining customs and culture. It took us a while to get round to making it, because it coincided with a super-busy time - but we are so glad we did! Toby stayed away from the hot oil, but helped with all the other steps...including the eating...especially the eating!

Not since the "Blueberry grunt" has a recipe's *name* been this much fun. I think we dragged out making this dish, simply because we enjoyed talking about it. "Are we making Shakshuka this week-end?" "Hopefully, what do we need for Shakshuka?" "The Shakshuka recipe says..." - you get the picture. When we told Rotem of our love for the word, she laughed and told us another Israeli word - "Sababa", which means "cool", "everything's great", etc. We can see that one becoming a family favourite, too :)

We have to admit that this recipe is cheating a little, because it didn't come from a penpal, a friend shared it with us! Still, after last week's nests, this looked such fun, we just had to try it! The recipe can be found here, if you'd like a go: ​http://www.homecookingadventure.com/recipes/estonian-kringle-cinnamon-braid-bread