Eat your way around the world
If you wander through the deserts and hot winds of Sudan, you'll be rewarded with a collection of richly spiced and lemon-laced foods, and even cooling cucumber and yogurt salads [Recipe]. You'll recognize many dishes traditionally enjoyed by the Sudanese from our previous Global Table meals, such as ful medames (also enjoyed in Egypt), kofta, and basboosa (beloved throughout the Middle East). That basboosa cake? It's soaked with lemon and rosewater syrup. I could eat that … [Read more...]
httpv://youtu.be/nvo6WeVckBQ It all started about a month ago. While watching our new Sri Lankan friend, Iyona, prepare a dozen or so platters for Ruby's 40th birthday party, I noticed how little she measured. Anything. Nothing. Ruby seemed completely relaxed. Un-phased. (P.S. I'm pretty sure she'd pass for 22, right?!) Anyway. Back to the cooking. It was a dash of this. A heap of that. Cook it a while. Don't forget to stir. That was the extent of her … [Read more...]
After you make this recipe, you will be haunted. Your home will blossom with the tropical scents of Sri Lanka. And your mouth will beg to remember each bite: the slightly toasted note from the curry leaves, the vanilla-like pandan, and the ultra creamy coconut milk. Not to forget the cinnamon, because.. well, how could we? This sweet, sweet earthiness pulls the rice together. Yes. When it comes to this rice, it's all good. Now, there's nothing simpler than this rice. This is an … [Read more...]
I always know when it's Easter. My daughter is surrounded by a sea of plastic eggs. Jelly beans and skittles show up in the oddest places. But sometimes I want something a little less commercial. A little more homemade. And a whole lot delicious. Here are my three favorite Easter recipes from our Global Table Adventure... they are perfect for a fun afternoon of baking with your family, or go fancy and make them for brunch. 1. Easter Cookies, a.k.a. Figolla from Malta … [Read more...]
The best thing about thinking I don't like something, is finding out how wrong I am. I've always operated under the assumption that flaked coconut is much too squeaky between my teeth. Sri Lanka and these Coconut Roti proved me wrong. There's something so refreshing about dumping three ingredients in a bowl and emerging with warm, doughy flatbread that smells like a day in the tropics. Or Sri Lanka, to be specific. In fact, I did an entire post cataloging the best recipes with three … [Read more...]
My friend Ruby grew up in Sri Lanka and spent the better part of her 40th birthday making sure I learned everything there is to know about the food. Here she is drinking Ceylon Tea, grown in ... you guessed it... Sri Lanka! Ruby isn't keen on cooking (or so she claims), so she supervised while her dear friend Iona showed me the ropes. Iona blew me away by whipping up not one, not two, but three curries. I fell in love each steaming, fragrant batch. There was everything from beef to … [Read more...]
"When the dogs bark at the moon, the moon is not brought down because of it. " Sri Lankan Proverb I love this proverb. Sometimes we forget how much we shine, because of the "barking" all around us. Sometimes we listen to that barking, rather than listen to the truth of our own reality. The fact is: a little barking can't bring you and me down, no more than it can bring the moon down. Remember that, friends... you are beautiful. Keep on shining. The noise can't drown you out. And while … [Read more...]
This week our kitchens take us to the small, pear-shaped island country called Sri Lanka. She's just southeast of India, loaded with tropical hills, mountains, and a fresh, dreamy sort of ocean breeze. She was once known as "Ceylon," a name which can still be found in the tea that grows abundantly on her slopes. Between the crocodiles, monkeys, and elephants, her lush forests hide coconut trees, one of the staple ingredients in Sri Lanka. So beautiful... My friend Ruby's … [Read more...]
httpv://youtu.be/GhewyOidN8w The more I need to laugh, the more I hole myself up in solitude. Does that make me an introvert? This week I holed up... major. I watched my paella turn canary yellow while my husband and daughter played in the yard. The trees were budding. The birds were singing. But I stood in my windowless kitchen. I stared into the paella as it plumped up. I wondered if I could drink in the steam coming off the rice, and whether or not it would conjure up the most honest sort … [Read more...]
Much to my husband's dismay, I am not well acquainted with deep-fried desserts. There is one exception: the apple cider doughnuts mom made when I was little. She'd set up a giant pot of bubbling oil and we'd cut and drop discs of cider dough into the shimmering oil, waiting with glee until tiny donuts bobbed up to the surface, golden brown and irresistible. Then we rolled the puffy rounds in cinnamon sugar. But then... this week... Spain introduced me to Churros... and the words "deep … [Read more...]
