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 doing, mama?” Ava asks, standing on tiptoe to peer over the counter. Her head is now a good few inches above the counter, growing taller every day. “This is a grownup drink enjoyed in Nauru, made with coffee and milk,” I say, and offer her a tall glass of milk so she doesn’t feel left out. They drink their iced coffee out of old water bottles” I say. “It helps them make less trash.” Ava’s eyes gets big. “It’s good to use …
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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 lime juice and welcome to happy town. Ava can show you how it’s done. She was… … a fan! Ingredients: 6 fillets of Pacific Rockfish, or other fish of choice salt & pepper For the breading: 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 1 egg coconut oil, for pan frying (about 1/4 cup for an 1o inch pan) 1-2 limes, sliced Method: First, stir together soft mountains of breadcrumbs and snowy coconut. Next, whisk together an egg. Look at this pretty shell. This egg …
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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 coffee in a plastic bottle or plastic tub At only 8 square miles, Nauru uses a lot of bottles, mostly for drinking water – 20,000 per month (according to the Nauru Country Study Guide by Ibp USA). That’s 240,000 bottles a year. According to the same study, about 10% of the bottles are used to sell water or iced coffee in a localized recycling effort. So, in the spirit of Nauru, if you have some extra plastic bottles or tubs (yes, tubs) …
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Ok. So even in the summer I crave french fries. But I don’t crave heating up a big pot of oil inside the house. There’s a solution: grilled fries. The fine people of Nauru love their fries. While most of them enjoy deep-fried fries, we covered that with Belgium Pommes Frites. So, inspired by their island setting – where the fine people of Nauru love to grill – I thought it’d be fun to try grilled fries. And it was fun. In my research I found several ways to make these, including boiling the potatoes and then slicing (again, who wants to heat up the house with a big pot of bubbling water? Not me!). I decided to try something different. Something simpler. I crossed my fingers, shut my eyes, and hoped against hope that it would work. And it did. Here is how I did it. Serves up to 5 Ingredients: 5 large yukon gold potatoes, washed vegetable oil salt & pepper Method: First, find the largest yukon gold potatoes you can. You can …
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See the look on our faces? Yep. This week’s menu for Nauru reflects fun, easy breezy island fare – all you need is one bite to feel the joy. The only thing we’re missing is the ocean breeze. I can’t decide if the best part is making fries on a grill, the simplicity of fresh pan-fried fish, or drinking iced coffee out of plastic bottles. What!? What. Seriously. Stay tuned for more explanation on that. What sounds good to you? Grilled Island Fries [Recipe] This week the Nauruan love of all things grilled inspires me to toss French fries on the grill. It’s a little crazy and a lot delicious. Especially once you learn the secret to doing it right every single time. Coconut Crusted Fish [Recipe] A super simple way to cook fish, dipped in egg, then coated with a mixture of shredded coconut and breadcrumbs. The finishing touch? A hearty squeeze of fresh lime juice. “Recycled” Iced Coffee [Recipe] Come with me on an iced coffee journey which begins with a smooth pitcher of cold brewed grounds …
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If you’re the kind of lost soul who loves isolation, knowing your neighbors, and an ocean breeze, then Nauru is for you. Clocking in at just eight square miles, Nauru is the third smallest country in the world (and the smallest island nation). With more than three hundred miles between her and the closest piece of land, well, I can’t help but be amazed that anyone found their way to Nauru in the first place, let alone make their home there. I mean, what are the odds? So let’s figure out what’s for eats on this little island. As you can probably imagine based on the size of Nauru, not a lot of food grows here. Once host to lush forests, Nauru is now stripped almost bare with poor soil. Coconut and pandan fruit are about all you’ll find. Of course, off the island you’ll find a teeming buffet, filled with as much seafood as your net/rod/spear can capture. Coconut fish is on every menu [recipe]. The majority of the food in Nauru is shipped …
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