Global Table Adventure

Recipe: Grilled Sweet Potato & Bacon Salad | Kumara

July 8, 2012 By Sasha Martin 9 Comments

When I read that New Zealander's love "kumara," I wondered what this dreamy word could mean. When I found out kumara are simply a variety of New Zealand "sweet potatoes," I was thrilled. Sweet potatoes are on my "will-eat-any-time-of-day-for-any-reason-especially-for-my-last-meal" food list. Not many foods make that cut. Today's salad takes inspiration from New Zealand's love of barbecue. For color I combined two kinds of sweet potatoes on the grill before tossing them with bacon, green … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grilling, International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, New Zealand, Oceania, Potatoes, Salads, Sasha's Favorite Recipes

Recipe: Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

July 6, 2012 By Sasha Martin 4 Comments

Hokey Pokey, it would seem, is not just a toddler's dance. Down Under, it's a beautiful, fluffy, yet crispy piece of confectionery delight enjoyed from New Zealand to England. Even Nigella Lawson loves a good nibble of this treat - straight out of a gift box, in the car - from time to time. Traditional recipes use golden syrup, but since I don't have any of that, I used honey which gave the hokey pokey the most incredible, buzz-worthy flavor and just about turned me into a honey bee. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fun Friday, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, New Zealand, Oceania, Potluck Friendly, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian

Recipe: Pavlova with Summer Berries & Kiwifruit

July 5, 2012 By Sasha Martin 13 Comments

Summertime means running barefoot through sprinklers, nibbling fresh fruit, and shining your smile all the time, even when you're sleeping. It means laying your back, watching bubbles of clouds dot through the sky. And today we're eating one such cloud. Pavlova. Named after a Russian ballet dancer, this meringue "cake" takes center stage, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, like berries, kiwifruit, mango, or even passionfruit. Both New Zealand and Australia lay claim to inventing this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fruit, Independence Day, International Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, New Zealand, Oceania, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Technique Thursday, Vegetarian

Menu: New Zealand

July 4, 2012 By Sasha Martin 10 Comments

Here are three food tips I learned from New Zealand, inspired by our thoroughly delicious Global Table. 1. All desserts are 100% better whipped up and inflated, whether done with air or chemical leavening. 2. Everything tastes better grilled. While I didn't think sweet potatoes could rock my world much more, I was wrong. Grill 'em. Just grill 'em. 3. Don't say you're going to eat a kiwi. A Kiwi is an endangered bird - the national chirper of New Zealand. Kiwi is also a nickname for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Menu Wednesday, New Zealand, Oceania

About the food of New Zealand

July 3, 2012 By Sasha Martin 11 Comments

Beach at Punakaiki, New Zealand. Photo by Ville Miettinen.

With her long line of rugged, scraggly mountains, New Zealand looks like the backbone of the world. Perhaps this is why she was chosen as Middle Earth for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and continues to capture the imagination of people all over the world. If I were a hobbit New Zealand is definitely where I'd choose to live. Even if I were not a hobbit (which I'm not), I'd love to explore this beautiful land. Of course, I might have to wait a few months as it is winter Down Under right now … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Global Table, New Zealand, Oceania, Travel Tuesday

Monday Meal Review: Nauru

June 25, 2012 By Sasha Martin 3 Comments

After a few minutes of rummaging through the kitchen, I find a plastic bottle in the refrigerator door, half full of water. The bottle is from Ava's trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago and is covered with tigers, zebras, and lions. Apparently, it's the only bottle in the house. I remove the lid and slowly begin to fill it with iced coffee. For an odd, fleeting moment, I find myself wishing I had more plastic bottles laying around to use. I shake my head at the silliness. "What are you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Monday Meal Review, Nauru, Oceania

Recipe: Coconut Crusted Fish

June 24, 2012 By Sasha Martin 9 Comments

I like to do what makes sense. And in Nauru fish is the natural meal, considering beautiful, fresh fish can be found just two steps outside of most people's doors. People love to eat it any which way - particularly on the grill, deep fried and pan fried. Today we're doing a crispy coconut crusted rockfish - a fish native to the Pacific waters as a nod to our Nauruan friends. This fish is light, flaky and has a wonderful mild flavor, rather like cod. After gentle panfrying, squeeze on fresh … [Read more...]

Filed Under: International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Nauru, Oceania, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Seafood

Recipe: Nauru’s “Recycled” Iced Coffee (with poll)

June 21, 2012 By Sasha Martin 14 Comments

Iced coffee doesn't sound very exotic until you realize that it isn't so much the coffee that is totally Nauru, but how they drink it. If you pull up to a roadside shack and order an iced coffee you won't have to ... ... say tall, venti, or grande ... worry about what syrups, double whips, or skinnies you need to specify ... spend half a fortune, before tax You will, however have a choice of ... ... sugar or more sugar ... milk or more milk ... and, of course, whether you'd like your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alcohol-Free, Cold, Fun Friday, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Nauru, Oceania, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegetarian