Global Table Adventure

Recipe: Glorious Beef Rendang

February 19, 2012 By Sasha Martin 7 Comments

Beef Rendang is an art. And I could eat it every single day of my life. While there are many ways to make this flavorful curry, there are two things for certain - the dish must be slow-cooked until the flavor absorbs completely into the meat, and - secondly - the curry must explode with flavor. In a good way. The flavor part is the easiest. In fact, there are so many amazing ingredients - galangal, ginger, lemongrass, keffir lime leaves to name a few - that you can't help but make an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Malaysia, Meat, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes

Recipe: Malawi Peanut Balls (Mtedza)

February 12, 2012 By Sasha Martin 7 Comments

I adore when this around the world culinary journey takes me by surprise. Here we are, the week of Valentine's day, and I'm in Malawi - practically the heart of Africa. I had it in my head that I probably wouldn't find anything particularly appropriate for Valentine's Day. Turns out I was wrong. While I didn't dig up any chocolate kisses or champagne mixers, I did find the lovely Sunrise Biscuits and today's addictive groundnut cookie (that's what Africans call peanuts). Thank goodness, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Malawi, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Potluck Friendly, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Sweets, Valentine's Day

Recipe: Dipping sauce with Chippies (Tsabola) (w/ poll)

February 10, 2012 By Sasha Martin Leave a Comment

Today's fun recipe is a 5 minute African salsa. You'll need two accessories to make this snack completely Malawi, however: blue pastic bags and your most favorite potato wedges. Here's how it works: simply chop up onions, tomatoes, hot peri peri peppers (I used Thai bird chilies). Mix it all around with loads of salt. While I normally go light on the salt, you need to use a heavy hand when making Tsabola ... as Brittany (Be-ing Brittany), a Community Health Advisor in Malawi, tells … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Dips, Gluten Free Adaptable, Malawi, Potatoes, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Recipe: Madagascar Chicken (Akoho sy Sakamalao)

February 5, 2012 By Sasha Martin 8 Comments

There are times when I need a little bit of sunshine. A smattering of happy. A bouquet of deliciousness. Today I found exactly what I was looking for in this Malagasy chicken. One of the most unusual things about the food of Madagascar is how much it pulls from different traditions. In today's chicken dish, we see traces of mainland Africa, Asia and Polynesia. The coconut oil gives the chicken just a hint of Polynesian tradition, while the garlic, and ginger play into Asian flavors. Finally, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Madagascar, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Potluck Friendly, Poultry, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes

Recipe: Vanilla Bean n’ Tropical Fruit (w/ poll)

February 3, 2012 By Sasha Martin 8 Comments

Vanilla beans might as well be jewels. The insides are full of teeny, tiny black caviar - the likes of which I can't help but want all over my ice cream and baked goods... I even like to dab vanilla extract on my wrists when baking. Suffice it to say, I'm a fan. Now, imagine yourself in a country like Madagascar, where there are enough vanilla beans to pave the streets. There, thanks to such quantity, the people use vanilla bean caviar much more whimsically than I can ($8 per bean, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Finger Food, Fruit, Fun Friday, Gluten Free Adaptable, Madagascar, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Potluck Friendly, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Recipe: Burnt Rice Tea (Ranovola) w/ poll

February 2, 2012 By Sasha Martin 15 Comments

I can't believe I'm going to do this, but here we are: I'm going to show you how to burn rice. It's for a perfectly good cause: a cool, refreshing glass of ranovola, or burnt rice tea. This toasty-tasting drink is popular in Madagascar, where the bottom of the rice pot is reserved to flavor the local river water. It's super easy to do, as long as you don't burn the rice too fast. You have to do it just right. Ahem. Start with a cup of cooked rice spread on the bottom of a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Alcohol-Free, Cold, Madagascar, Recipes, Rice, Technique Thursday

Recipe: Rice Pudding (Sutlijash)

January 29, 2012 By Sasha Martin 5 Comments

Looking back, I'm not sure how I resisted for so long. Honestly. We're more that halfway done eating the world and, yet, I haven't made regular ol', plain Jane, rice pudding (something altogether different than the exotic sticky rice coconut pudding I made for Laos). I find this fact is so surprising because, whenever I crack open my cookbooks to research the food of another country, I run into rice pudding. Rice pudding iseverywhere, on every continent, in all forms. Since globalization … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Macedonia, Recipes, Rice, Sweets, Vegetarian

Recipe: Cozy Roasted Pepper & Eggplant Salad

January 27, 2012 By Sasha Martin 5 Comments

While I've always loved a good ratatouille, there's something so ... soft about it. While that's fine for a cloudy sort of day, on bright, cheery days, I'm in the mood for definition. Clear edges. Decisiveness. Which brings us to today's roasted salad, from the Macedonian Global Table. She's all of those things while still being easy-breezy. The reason she's so defined? The eggplant and peppers are pre-cut and roasted, which gives good browning and clean edges. Once tossed with fresh … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Gluten Free Adaptable, Macedonia, Potluck Friendly, Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables/Pulses, Vegetarian