Eat your way around the world
Serves 2-4 When I look at this photo, my tummy literally rumbles. My mouth opens a little in expectation. I actually find it as appealing as my Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Buttercream that I made for Ireland. Weird, but true. What can I say? Mom taught me to eat my veggies. I've been trying to convince Mr. Picky. I've been working on Ava. My enthusiasm hasn't started a wildfire. Yet. Still, I'm here to tell you what every Kenyan knows - the simple truth - green food … [Read more...]
"Let us see, then tell." This Kenyan saying speaks to the importance of experiencing something before you can actually speak about it. All too often on this Adventure I have seen entire countries jump to life in my mouth, simply by tasting their food. The joy that hits me when I "get" a country on the first bite - it's like going from black and white movies to color - or silent films to talkies. Stovetop travel really does let me "see." In lieu of plane tickets I have pots and pans. In lieu of … [Read more...]
The best way to get out of a rut is to let someone in. To let someone help you. Just the other morning a very nice gentleman emailed me. In beautiful English he explains that he is from Kenya and - hurrah- he would like to help me with my Kenyan Global Table. His email was complete with a four page document of recipes, photos, and details about the food of his beloved homeland. Did he know that I was having a tough week? Did he know the wind had left my sails? No. He was simply … [Read more...]
THE SCENE Today is a tribute to my cat who died last week. To non-cat lovers, my apologies. Please return tomorrow for regularly scheduled programming. This week's comfort food was exactly what I needed. You see, when we finally decided to put Cabo to sleep I was a red faced, crying mess. I didn't want to be. I wanted to be sure of my decision. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be free of "what if's." Instead I felt horrendous for having such power over life. I didn't want to … [Read more...]
If you want to make noodles like a kazakh, you just need a bit of pasta dough, a rolling pin, and a cutter or knife. An egg pasta recipe, like the one we made for Italy, will work beautifully in central Asia as well. You can make the noodles as thick or thin as you'd like. In Kazakhstan they generally like them pretty thick, like lo mein or udon. For this style, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch or just under. Then cut in thin strips. Finally, toss them with plenty of flour to … [Read more...]
Serves 4 Chak Chak is the rice krispie treat of Kazakhstan. Totally irresistible and finger-licking good. Fry up a batch of fresh noodles in an entire stick of butter and coat with sweet honey goodness - you'll see what I mean. How could it not be? Plus, with Halloween around the corner, the time couldn't be better to make chak chak.... after all, there's nothing like putting a little international spin to your spooky dessert table... a spin that looks rather like … [Read more...]
Every time I sip a cup of tea, my lips naturally curl up into a smile. It's the world's best mood enhancer. Chai tea is particularly warming. In Kazakhstan people like to add salt, pepper, butter, and even sour cream (Kalmak) to their tea. It's a whole new world of flavor. If you're feeling adventurous add a few salty shakes, buttery tabs, or sour cream plops into our homemade chai. You can also try it with plain black tea - like we did with our butter tea from … [Read more...]
Serves 4 Are you in need of some revitalization? A breath of fresh air? Are you worn out, tired, or just plain sad? Are you cold? I'm with you. I'm all of the above. When I feel like this I just don't know what I want. I want everything. And nothing. All at once. I want to sleep. I want to watch movie after movie. I want soup. I want lots and lots of noodles. And then I feel guilty and want some veggies. But not the crunchy, raw kind. Nope, the cozy cooked … [Read more...]
