Eat your way around the world
I was an hour into researching the food of Seychelles when it hit me - hadn't there been someone in my writer's group who went to these amazing islands a year or so back? Images of suggestive two-lobed coconuts and pirate stories popped into my brain. Yep. That's right. Barry had been there. Barry who lives the life of a wandering bachelor, who jets off at the drop of a hat to see this place or that, and who loves to tell the tales almost as much as going. Barry who might be in … [Read more...]
The spice drawer is the most sensual part of any kitchen. On the inside seemingly innocuous dry, brittle seeds rattle around, each with the power to take our minds from continent to content, country to country. All we need is a little warmth to coax their magic out and something like a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Today's daydream takes us the Seychelles where they enjoy this haunting spice blend called "massalé" (a variation on Indian garam masala) in coconut fish curries. The … [Read more...]
Imagine sitting by the sea one lazy afternoon, focused on the tattered nets of nearby fishing boats, when something big and hard bumps against your foot. When you look down, you see a giant, two lobed coconut has washed up, onto the sand. From end to end, this coconut is as long as your forearm, with tufts of hair poking out between the brown, oblong lobes. She would have traveled hundreds (thousands!) of miles to reach you, all the way from the Seychelles. And you'd know she came from … [Read more...]
When the sun dips low and spreads her rouge all over the sky, I enjoy knowing that this glorious watercolor of light travels around the world like a comet, leaving behind a glowing trail for all to see. No matter where they are from, or where they are going. The sun has universal beauty. It makes me smile to know that, somewhere in the Seychelles - half a world away - they, too, see her rose and curried colors curl through the clouds, right before bedtime. And I imagine that maybe, … [Read more...]
Mr Picky flew to Washington D.C. for work, so Ava and I are spending this week "mother-daughter" style. We've already made banana muffins, hot cocoa (Guatemalan-style), and stuffed artichokes (my mother's recipe from Italy). And there's the coconuts. Coconut milk. Shredded coconut. Toasted coconut. We're surrounded, thanks to our stovetop travels to the Seychelles. While we ate this particular menu before Keith left, I'm considering recreating it one more time since I still have plenty … [Read more...]
"Water, water, every where. But not a drop to drink." This week we're stovetop traveling through the lush, greenery of 115 African islands, whose soft sands and coral beds peep out between the waves of the Indian Ocean. This is the Seychelles. In this tree carpeted and sand brushed landscape, fresh water is so scarce, it's presence is officially designated as "negligible." Looking outward towards the turquoise ocean, there's a sense of calm. Looking inwards towards the granite … [Read more...]
