Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. But what about those who live in wood, bamboo, and palm leaf houses? In the 80 islands that make up Vanuatu, the hot, humid weather makes for an entirely different living experience, one where – traditionally speaking – thatched roofs keep out the rain instead of tile. While stones aren’t exactly thrown, in Vanuatu they are heated and piled on top of food. This traditional method is typical of Oceania. Lap lap the most notable of dishes, made with either yam, cassava, plantain, or sweet potato that has been grated, wrapped in banana leaves (with coconut milk), then roasted under hot stones. Reader, Benjamin, who spent some time in Vanuatu, told me more about the dish, how they add chicken on top of the grated starch: …they take a couple of the hot rocks, each about the size of a baseball, rinse them of ashes and then place them in the center of the Laplap. During cooking this creates a well like crater in the center. They …
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Stirring, stirring, stirring. Uzbekistan requires no stirring. Just a layering of this vegetable, then that… a stuffed quince and few chopped nuts. But no stirring. Definitely nothing of the sort. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to just wait? To wait and do nothing? To wait and trust that everything will come out okay, no burning, no overcooking, no drying out? How hard it is to not stir the pot? With just three weeks until our big event at Philbrook and two months until the end of our Global Table Adventure, this message feels particularly apropos. I feel like there should be something I should be doing. But sometimes we just need to wait, and savor the results when the time comes. THIS WEEK’s FOOD Harvest Stew | Dimlama [Recipe] What I loved most about this dish: The key to dimlama is browning the onion and meat, so it’s no coincidence that the resulting brown gravy is also my favorite part of the stew. The hint of cumin and cilantro gives the dish the characteristic Uzbek edge, making it …
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Say “Quince” to an Uzbek lady, and you just might see her flush with delight. Though they aren’t eaten raw, baked quince are soft and tender, like a pear. The taste is mild, something like an apple, but with traces of pear, too. Uzbekistan is the third greatest producer of quince, after Turkey and China. They include the fruit in plov, stir it into preserves, and they bake it up with honey, and sometimes even stuff it nuts… as we’re doing today. How to choose a quince: – look for white fuzzies on the stem end, which indicate freshness – a ripe quince is yellow, although slightly green fruit can be used for this recipe – it can be bumpy and odd-shaped, but there should be no scarring or other markings. Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 2-3 quince (or 3 large apples) 1/2 cup pistachios 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (or substitute more pistachios) 1/2 tsp cinnamon honey, to taste (1-2 Tbsp per person) For the baking dish: 1 cup water 2-3 slices lemon Method: Let’s go to …
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If it were up to me, every gardener would know about Dimlama, the Uzbek one-pot answer to harvest-time (no canning required). While every Uzbek family makes it a little differently, potatoes, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes are standard fare, as is a hearty sprinkling of whole cumin seeds. The key to dimlama rests in the layering. First of all, lamb is browned, then onions are added in the mix. One they submit to browning, the remaining vegetables are layered (and, once they’re added, you never stir the pot!). The final layer is always cabbage, which helps seal in the moisture. When the vegetables release their juices, they drip down to the bottom of the pan and deglaze all those nummy browned bits. The result? A luscious brown gravy worthy of being sopped up by a nice piece of Central Asian Yogurt Naan. Serves 6 Ingredients: 1/2-1 lb cubed lamb or beef 1 large onion, sliced in quarter moons 5 small yellow potatoes cut in half 2-3 large carrots, peeled & sliced 2 red peppers, sliced in strips 2 …
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“Don’t choose a house—choose neighbors. Don’t choose a path—choose traveling companions.” Uzbek Proverb This week we’re going to Uzbekistan via stovetop travel and the timing couldn’t be better: September is harvest time. Right on cue, my tomato plants recently produced dozens of cherry tomatoes. The look like bright like jewels against the green landscape. In Uzbekistan, when it’s harvest time, the people gather up their bountiful produce and make Dimlama. Then they follow it up with stuffed apples or quince. Delicious. Both recipes and the meal review will be posted throughout the week. Lamb & Vegetable Pot | Dimlama [Recipe] Enjoy the garden’s bounty with this layered pot of tender lamb, potato, onion, carrot, pepper, cabbage, and more, seasoned with cumin and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro. Honey & Pistachio Stuffed Quince [Recipe] An easy combination of honey, cinnamon, pistachios, walnuts, and roasted quince. Great with a (non-traditional) scoop of ice cream. For those looking for a simpler option, try just adding honey and cinnamon to the quince. Also, apples may be substituted for the quince. …
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Upon our friends, Our strength depends. Uzbek Proverb Before this adventure, it often took a personal connection to help me tune into another part of the world, and such was the case with Uzbekistan. I never gave much thought to the long central Asian country, until college, when I became friends with a girl named Marina. She moved to the states from Uzbekistan when she was a girl. We jogged together, 3 miles a day, 6 days a week. We never ran so hard that we couldn’t talk. And boy did we ever talk. She stood with me at my wedding in 2008, along with my sister and my friend Becky. Speaking of weddings, here’s a photo of an Uzbek bride I found… look at her dress! Amazing. (As are the other women’s dresses!) Marina tells me Plov is the most traditional Uzbek food – the giant, communal pot of rice cooked with lamb and a few vegetables, rather like the Plov Recipe we tried for Turkmenistan. Unlike the plov we made for Tajikistan, however, Uzbek …
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Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz. If the noise meant honey was on the way, that’d be one thing. But that’s not the case this week. Our annual Crow/Martin family vacation to Beaver’s Bend wouldn’t be complete without bees. And by bees, I mean hundreds upon hundreds of bees. It’s really hard to tell in the video, but as soon as I set out our spread from Uruguay, we were as good as swarmed. Let’s just say, we could have never gathered for this photo if food was anywhere nearby: After ten minutes? The leftover Martin Fierro treats were covered with the yellow and black buzzers. One was swimming in the salsa. Another stung my husband and Grandma Martin, though the children, thankfully, were left unharmed. Before the bees could claim any more victims, we retreated into our cabin. I take the over-enthusiastic bees as a happy omen. You see, in Uruguay, the bees do a lot better than North American ones. They aren’t dying off in mysterious numbers. They live long and prosper. Maybe the secret is the …
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Recipes usually evolve over a long period of time, but today we explore a recipe that one man changed forever. In the late 19th century, José Hernández wrote stories about gauchos, freedom, and love from his home, in Argentina. Gauchos are like the equivalent of the American cowboy: men who’s spirits are forever roaming. His most famous character was Martin Fierro (so famous, in fact, that when the author, Hernández, died, the people announced that Martin Fierro had died, too). Though his stories spoke to the people, he spent much of his life as an exile in Uruguay. As much a creature of habit as any other man, the author became known for ordering the same dessert – one that reminded him of home, but that also celebrated the local ingredients in Uruguay: He always ordered a certain dessert modeled on the popular Argentinian sweet known as Vigilante, which consisted of slices of cheese and sweet-potato paste. The dessert’s curious name derived from the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century policemen who ate cheese with sweet- potato paste because …
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Yes, that’s corn on a hot dog. Listen, friends: if you’re going to have a hot dog, you might as well have a Uruguayan one. Sure, it might just cost a buck or two, but… They’re amazing. Dramatic. Game changers. If this seems like a lot of responsibility for a hot dog, that’s because it is. The pancho’s success is not so much about the meat, though it’s true: the “dog” is usually bigger and better than your average hot dog (it sticks out a good inch or two on either side of the bun). But when it comes down to it, the pancho is all about the toppings. At many pancho stands, you’ll find some combination of corn, melted cheese, relish, salsa, and especially “salsa golf,” which is a blend of mayo and ketchup. You can eyeball the salsa golf: aim for half of each… and it’ll be pale pink. There’s not much of a recipe…. simply grill a batch of extra-long hot dogs, provide a small bowl of each topping, and let your guests …
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Ah, Uruguay. I kept this menu nice and simple for two reasons. First, we’re only a few weeks away from our #GlobalTableExperience on October 12, 2013, where we’ll serve food from more than 160 countries on a single string of tables. I’m spending every ounce of free time getting the details ready, so that you and your loved ones can enjoy a bite of the world. Even if you can’t make it, make sure you read about how you can be involved in spreading our message of peace and understanding through food from wherever you are! Second, we were on a little family vacation in Southeast Oklahoma when I cooked this meal, so I wanted everything to be easily prepared (with a minimum of equipment). The results? Simple & tasty. Two of my favorite words. All recipes and the meal review will be posted throughout the week. Uruguayan Hot Dog | Pancho [Recipe] There’s nothing extraordinary about a hot dog, unless you consider the toppings on this one, particularly the sauce. This one recipe will keep your BBQ’s …
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[Recipe] I’ve been saying “Uruguay” wrong my entire life. Apparently, it’s “oooo-rah-gway,” as in, “oooo” that food looks good. Located in South America, Uruguay is made of gentle hills and a glistening coastline. As with much of South America, this is a meat-lover’s paradise. Beef is the specialty of choice, though blood sausages and other offal are included as well. In this, it reminds me of Argentina (which we cooked three and a half years ago!). More mainstream choices include BBQ, like carne asada… though, even a good hot dog (called pancho)[Recipe], is worthy of the hungriest stovetop travelers. The cattle are raised in the heart of the country, while produce like corn and tomatoes grow on the coastal plains. For dessert, there’s no stopping their love of flan, alfajores, and a layered cheese and fruit paste treat, called Martin Fierro [Recipe]. Wash it all down with a strong cup of yerbe mate tea or clericó, which is like a white sangria, made with fruit juice and wine. Then, when all is said and done, perhaps …
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Friends, we are here. After three and a half years, we’ve come to the first ending. With the United States of America, North America is officially done. The continent is “cooked,” as it were. I can’t help but notice the irony: the first country to begin the end of our Global Table Adventure is my own country. Perhaps this is a bit of alphabetical nonsense, and nothing more. But I like to find meaning in my life. I choose to dig deeper. I see it as a two-part message. First, we need to understand our home before we can understand anything beyond it. Second, the world can help us understand our home better than anything else. There are lessons out there that can enlighten us. That can clarify our own situations. Only once we love and appreciate our own home, can we fly from the nest and explore the world with love. We celebrated in style: this week we hosted an All-American potluck with our friends. I’ve never done such a thing. With my eyes so …
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