Global Table Adventure | Travel Tuesday

About the food of Maldives

February 21, 2012 By Sasha Martin 4 Comments

Male, the capital of Maldives. Photo by Shahee Ilyas.

The Republic of Maldives is a sunbathed group of islands southwest of India, dotted along the Indian ocean. Fish - specifically tuna - coconut, rice, and fresh fruit are the most popular tidbits from the region. Want some dried, crusty fish? They have it! Maldives Fish is a regional specialty of boiled tuna which is then sun-dried until rock hard. This sort of fish is often pounded and then integrated into coconut fish balls, curries, and sauces. Other fish, as well as with most meats, are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Maldives, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Malaysia

February 14, 2012 By Sasha Martin 4 Comments

Merdeka Day Parade (Independence day), photo by Amrufm

I'll be honest with you. I did my research for Malaysia backwards. Well, backwards from what I usually do. What I usually do is crack open the books, absorb as much information as I can, before writing all about the country. This week, I simply popped in on my old college friend MC from Malaysia, via Facebook, and grilled him with 20 questions. What should I make? I asked him. And, then, on cooking day, I popped in with even more questions. He was very gracious and answered my questions … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Malaysia, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Malawi

February 7, 2012 By Sasha Martin 3 Comments

Malawi undulates and ambles along eastern Africa - a collection of soft rolling hills and glistening lake waters, dotted with thatched villages, dusty courtyards, and a healthy array of vivid, green trees. The land is striking and, yet, completely new to me. When it comes to mealtime, I was immediately intrigued by the street food. First, there's grilled mice, boiled goat liver, banana fritters (zitumbuwa) and chippies. The first two I witnessed in travel videos. I read about chippies on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Malawi, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Madagascar

January 31, 2012 By Sasha Martin 6 Comments

A lake at Sambava, Madagascar. Photo by WRI Staff.

Watching Andrew Zimmern's Bizzare Foods episode on Madagascar, I was amazed by some of the shocking foods he ate. On this island nation roughly the size of Texas, you can find everything on the dinner platter from bugs to - get ready for it - circumcision ceremony remnants. Ahem. I'm not going to clarify that one. (Remember, I'm here to bring us together over simple foods, not shocking foods, so we won't be going down any of those roads. I will say, however, if you get a chance and are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Madagascar, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Macedonia

January 24, 2012 By Sasha Martin 15 Comments

Lake Ohrid, in the Republic of Macedonia. Photo by Markus Bernet.

Mmmm... M! We're finally here. Yesterday, when I told my husband Keith (a.k.a. Mr Picky) that we were about to launch into the M's with this week's Macedonian Global Table, he was surprised. I'm pretty sure he never thought we'd make it. And to be honest, I'm not sure I did either. Every letter until now has seemed like the beginning of the alphabet - the beginning of the Adventure. The thing about M is how much it sounds like progress - like we're going places. Then Keith calculated that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Macedonia, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Luxembourg

January 17, 2012 By Sasha Martin 15 Comments

My first afternoon in Luxembourg, my family took me on a tour. "There's downtown" my foster dad said. "Where?" I asked, spinning my head around. I looked just in time to see a street blur by. "You missed it," he deadpanned. It wasn't until he said, "I'll turn around" and actually did that I realized he wasn't kidding. Luxembourg is tiny, yet still ranks as "only" the 24th smallest country in the world. We could cross the entire country in about 45 minutes (the long … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Luxembourg, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Lithuania

January 10, 2012 By Sasha Martin 25 Comments

Every country is special. And I don't mean that in a trite way. Time and time again, this Adventure has shown me how every country has it's bragging rights. Well, it turns out lil' ol' Lithuania is literally the center of Europe. Not too shabby. Some French researchers figured it out (read more about how they determined this). So, this week, while we dive into the food of Lithuania, let's imagine ourselves perched atop a picnic blanket on that grey compass which marks this nexus of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Lithuania, Travel Tuesday

About the food of Liechtenstein

January 3, 2012 By Sasha Martin 9 Comments

What's 16 miles away from you right now? The grocery store? Your favorite museum? Perhaps the beach you like to splash around in during the summer? What about your mother's house? Or the mountains? Now imagine this: Liechtenstein is exactly 16 miles long (and 4 miles wide). No more, no less. You could cross the entire country in the time it takes you to go to that special place. She's teeny weeny and, yet, there are still five other countries in the world smaller than … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Liechtenstein, Travel Tuesday