Quirky Neighbors and Charming Friends

Spoiler Alert:  I seem to remember all these people through my recipe box.  Beware!

Think what a spark from the chimney would do to this roof.

Our neighborhood in Waterloo was a mix of Belgian natives and Expats.  I'm reporting to you on the most salient memories of my neighbors.  You probably could come up with an interesting or quirky fact about your neighbors.

Next door was a Belgian family with teenage boys and a large extended family. They were busy bees with relatives coming and going.  Their cozy house resembled an English cottage with its thatched roof.  Apparently the insurance on such an abode is no laughing matter. The wife and I had coffee a couple of times but our relationship boiled down to waving and smiles.

Down the street and around the corner lived Marie-Juliette’s friend Angela whose mother always cleaned the house in the nude in order to cut down on laundry.  Speaking of nudity, there was a Canadian couple down the way who once gave a rip-roaring party.  I learned that the skinny husband liked a cold bedroom with all the windows open.  In defense his rotund wife went to bed wearing a flannel night gown, bed socks and a wool cap. Picture that?

A cute little poltergeist.

Next door to Angela was another American family.  They had recently moved from England where they had lived in a haunted house.  Apparently when they arrived in Belgium and unpacked, they discovered that their British poltergeists had snuck into one of the boxes and continued to wreak havoc in their new abode.  Mary Jo, the lovely, soft-spoken Texan, told me she often found her kitchen in disarray.  So did I…but it wasn’t poltergeists.  I still have Mary Jo’s delicious brownie recipe.

Next door lived Christina, her husband and little boy Andreas.  They were Swedish and decorated their house with bright red hearts at Christmas time.  Christina made a delicious almond cake that we enjoyed with coffee.

Then there was Margaret and Phil and their two children, Richard and Karen.  Margaret and I became good friends because Richard was at the local francophone school with Christopher.  We walked the children back and forth to school each day.

Back row: Marie-Juliette, Me, Phil, Margaret, Margaret's sister and husband.  Front row: Charles, Richard and Karen.

Margaret was a wonderful, “warm” person in more ways than one.  She was Welsh and grew up in a home without central heating.  She kept their house at about 55° F and wore a short-sleeved cotton blouse.  She was oblivious to the cold. Her husband Phil was often out-of-town and Vincent was never there, so we often had dinner together with all the children.  Margaret was quite the cook, I still have her recipes for Raspberry Cheesecake, Barbecued Lamb Riblets and Whole Wheat Bread to name a few.  I’m still in touch with Margaret at Christmas time.  The family moved to Germany and are active in a German Evangelical  ministry.

Lamb Riblets

For some reason, I joined a Belgian choral group.  I'm not much of a singer but I enjoyed the comraderie.  The oldest member of the choristers was an octogenarian who lived down the street.  Monsieur offered to drive me to practice each week and his wife would babysit the children.  This turned out to be a perfect solution.  Madame was also in her eighties.  With a stout figure, bright blue eyes and white hair in an untidy bun, she was a fairytale grandmother personified.  Madame was unable to climb the stairs but that wasn’t a problem.  The children loved her so much that they put themselves to bed without a whimper.  When I came home, the house would be dark except for one lamp in the living room illuminating Madame bent over her knitting.

A Chocolatier

One week they arrived with a box of chocolates.  What a treat!  It was explained to me that you couldn’t keep chocolates more than a week or two and the big box was too much for the two of them. Belgian chocolates are not made with preservatives nor fortified with paraffin to inhibit melting.  That’s probably why they’re so good!

I'm including the recipes for Christina's cake and Margaret's Riblets.  You probably already have a good recipe for brownies or a convenient box of Ghirardelli's.

Christina’s Almond Cake

This is a very easy recipe!

Heat oven to 350°.  Butter an 8” round springform pan.  Sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs.

Cake:

7 Tablespoons butter

3 Eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

Melt butter.  Whip egg with sugar until light.  Add flour.  Add lukewarm butter.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Meanwhile prepare topping.

Topping

3 1/2 Tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

1 Tablespoon milk

1/2 cup almond slices.

Melt butter, add sugar, flour and milk.  Mix well.  Add almond slices.

Remove cake from oven after 30 minutes.  Spread topping on cake.  Put cake back in oven for another 5 minutes or so until light brown.  Remove cake and cool.

Barbecued Lamb Riblets

Don’t confuse “riblets" with Rack of Lamb.  Riblets are the spareribs that come from the breast of the lamb.  They are much less meaty.  The sauce might be good with pork spareribs.  

Simmer 4 pounds of riblets in boiling water and vinegar to cover. (2 Tbsp vinegar per quart)

Cool and trim fat.

Place in roasting pan

Blend sauce ingredients over low heat.

Brush sauce over riblets.

Bake at 400° for 30-40 minutes.

Sauce:

6 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. honey

3 Tbsp. plum jam

3 Tbsp. white vinegar

3  Tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3  Tsp. dry mustard

6  Tbsp. ketchup

Juice of 1/2 a lemon