Global Table Adventure

Menu: Mauritania

March 21, 2012 By Sasha Martin 6 Comments

Welcome to comfort food, Mauritania-style. Apparently this is exactly what my spirit needs. Remember yesterday, when I told you it had been raining for 24 hours? Well, the rain continued to fall all day and most of the night (and even this morning). This "popcorn in the sky," as Ava calls it, is greening up the grass, feeding our trees, and preparing seeds to shoot up in time for spring. These are all good things. But, I'm feeling a little sleepy, a little bluesy, and, if you don't mind, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Mauritania, Menu Wednesday

About the food of Mauritania

March 20, 2012 By Sasha Martin 10 Comments

Oasis of Varesse (Adrar, Mauritania). Photo by Ji-Elle

It's been raining in Tulsa for the last 24 hours. I am surrounded by a constant drip drop, dreaming of dryness. How often I find myself pulled away from the beauty of what I have to what I wish I had. It is in this state of insatiable hunger that I begin the week's work. It is in this mood that Mauritania enters my line of vision. Ah, Mauritania - how little I knew about you until this moment. This imposing hunk of land flanks northwest Africa and stretches from barmy ocean to windswept … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Mauritania, Travel Tuesday

Monday Meal Review: Marshall Islands

March 19, 2012 By Sasha Martin 23 Comments

Michelle and Alan join us to try the papaya.

THE SCENE Things are getting a bit hairy on this Adventure. I've tried not to mention it - to just carry on as if everything is ship-shape, flowing easily. Unfortunately, it's not. Somehow, over the last month or two, I find myself buried in an avalanche of unfortunate circumstances. I already told you about when I burned my hand, which thereby postponed the making of the Maltese cookies. But there's been more drama that I've shared here, if only because I thought it was all just a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marshall Islands, Monday Meal Review, Oceania

Recipe: Baked Papaya with Sweet Coconut Cream

March 18, 2012 By Sasha Martin 9 Comments

When Ava says it, Keith comes running. "Pa pa pa pa yapa" Even for me, papaya is fun to say. Beautiful to behold. But here the thing. I never, ever buy this tropical fruit because I cannot figure out what on earth to do with it, aside from enjoying fresh, cool slices. Preferably poolside. Enter our week at the Marshallese Global Table, where I learned that these easy, breezy, island people bake papaya with a bit of sugar and enjoy with warm coconut milk. Hello. Okay. Let's just say … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fruit, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Marshall Islands, Oceania, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Recipe: Sweet Potatoes & Fried Bananas (with poll)

March 16, 2012 By Sasha Martin 13 Comments

The thing about eating our way around the world is that it makes me realize how very similar we all are. I don't mean the little things. I mean at our core. We all want to be happy. We all want love. We all get tired and we all get silly. I've even come to learn that we eat mostly the same foods, just in different combinations. Take today's recipe, for example... I've spent most of my life eating bananas in cereal and sweet potatoes with butter and chives. But today ... today we're … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fun Friday, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Marshall Islands, Oceania, Potatoes, Potluck Friendly, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables/Pulses, Vegetarian

Recipe: Sweet Macadamia Pie

March 15, 2012 By Sasha Martin 7 Comments

For some reason I'm having a hard time telling you about this pie. It's so familiar and yet so exotic. So comforting, yet so classy. Something so obvious and lovely, yet nothing I'd ever heard of before. . Think pecan pie, but more toothsome. Think honey sweetened, and coconut enriched. Think clouds of whipped cream spiked with coconut milk. Think tropical elegance. . I take a bite. I shut my eyes and feel a breeze. And, just like that, I'm in the Marshall Islands. . Like most … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Recipes, Marshall Islands, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Oceania, Potluck Friendly, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Sweets, Technique Thursday, Vegetarian

Menu: Marshall Islands

March 14, 2012 By Sasha Martin Leave a Comment

This is the time of year, as the seasons change, that I feel the "tradewinds" of life blowing me in new directions. I have more energy, but am also filled with more frenzy. Spring fever. This is what the Marshall Islands does for those familiar ingredients we all know and love - bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, macadamia nuts. She shakes them up, makes new combinations (to me at least), and serves up a hearty platter of "good." I find myself gravitating towards this type of food - simple, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marshall Islands, Menu Wednesday, Oceania

About the food of the Marshall Islands

March 13, 2012 By Sasha Martin 5 Comments

The Marshall Islands, Majuro, Photo by Stefan Lins.

When I first read about the Marshall Islands, my mind immediately went to Lost, the epic television series that most people started watching almost a decade ago. We started watching it last month on Netflix. Please excuse me for being a little out of date, but in all honesty, thinking about these hundreds of tiny, tropical islands floating in the vast Pacific Ocean, I can't help but think how easy it would be to get Lost there - hidden away forever. Part of me desperately clings to the idea … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marshall Islands, Oceania, Travel Tuesday