Global Table Adventure | Miss Ava’s Favorite Recipes

Recipe: Potato Musaka

January 18, 2013 By Sasha Martin 11 Comments

Every once in a while we need chow down on good, ol' fashioned home cooking. The kind that reminds us of mom, checkered aprons, and creaky kitchen chairs. We all need this edible comfort, especially when the wind chill drops down into the single digits. Keith informed me that, against all odds, I happened upon one such recipe when I selected Potato Musaka for our Serbian Global Table. "This is kind of like my mom's 'Hobo dinner,'" Mr Picky said, after his first taste. "Hobo what?" I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, Fun Friday, International Recipes, Meat, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Potatoes, Potluck Friendly, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Serbia

Recipe: Chicken Yassa

January 13, 2013 By Sasha Martin 5 Comments

In Senegal's villages, which dot lazily between scrubby fields, life is slower. People gather barefoot on stoops, pounding millet or boiling rice. Talk and dance reverberate in rhythm with hide-covered drums, around outdoor fires, as though there were nothing more to do with the day than to live. There's a popular proverb: Yarude seesa haɗtaa yettaade* or Going slowly does not prevent you from arriving. The words make me wince a little. Even with this Adventure I'm often in a hurry, … [Read more...]

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

Recipe: Senegal’s Black-eyed Pea Salad | Saladu Ñebbe

January 9, 2013 By Sasha Martin 4 Comments

This New Year, I'm making room for sunlight to lay across the floor. No more discarded shoes to trip over. No more stacks of books or useless tchotchkes. Senegal inspired me. I saw photo after photo of her beautiful waters... vast expanses where sunlight runs free, unhampered by clutter. Less stuff in general, with more of the right stuff - friendship, laughter, love. This is how I want my home and my life to be. I want to eat fresh and right. I want sunlight in my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, New Year's, Potluck Friendly, Salads, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Senegal, Technique Thursday, Vegan, Vegetables/Pulses, Vegetarian

Recipe: Saudi Lamb “Pizza” | Aysh abu Laham

January 4, 2013 By Sasha Martin 6 Comments

In Saudi Arabia, there's an old saying "A friend is known when needed." In other words, when you need help, true friends show up. They might ask "Can I do anything?", but more than likely they'll simply roll up their sleeves and get to work. Because the answer is clear, yes, you need them. A true friend quietly brings over a covered casserole after you've given birth to your first child. They take your child to the park so you can sleep off a fever. They silence their phone and hold your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Breads, Finger Food, Fun Friday, International Recipes, Meat, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Saudi Arabia

Recipe: Easy Banana Mousse with Chocolate Curls

December 21, 2012 By Sasha Martin 13 Comments

When I first read that bananas are popular in West Africa's island country São Tomé and Príncipe, I envisioned them eaten raw on the surf-swept beaches... or perhaps sold battered and fried with a cloud of powdered sugar. While all this certainly does happen, I never imagined I'd see them folded inside of a fluffy mousse, decked out with indulgent curls of dark chocolate. But I'm sure glad I did. In my reading I learned that this mousse could be made any number of ways - with or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Fruit, Fun Friday, International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, São Tomé and Príncipe

Recipe: Sweet Potato Frittata

December 20, 2012 By Sasha Martin 17 Comments

Ava grabbed the small, purple step stool and placed it squarely in front of the kitchen counter. She's gone through a growth spurt lately and yet my little girl still stands on her tippy toes to see into the mixing bowl. On days like today, when I see her eyes peep over the top of the bowl and grow wide with delight, I hope she never grows up. With quick jabs of her whisk, she pops the yolks and helps stir together the frittata mixture. In the background we hear the delicous sizzle of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa, Breakfast, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Potatoes, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Technique Thursday, Vegetables/Pulses, Vegetarian

Recipe: Swallow’s Nests | Nidi di Rondine

December 13, 2012 By Sasha Martin 28 Comments

What being a grown up has taught me: There's no way to turn couch surfing into exercise. I cannot be a mermaid for a day, no matter how hard I will myself to grow a tail. Superman isn't going to swoop down out of the sky and carry me away with him. Heck, he can't even find a phone booth these days. That being said, there are lots of good things I've learned as a grownup. Making my daughter guffaw makes my heart happy Eating around the table with loved ones is worth a pile of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe, International Recipes, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Pasta, Potluck Friendly, San Marino, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Technique Thursday

Recipe: Cocoa Tea

November 23, 2012 By Sasha Martin 21 Comments

When I told Ava that the fine people of Saint Lucia like to wake up in the morning and drink Cocoa Tea, she squinted her eyes, titled her head, and said "what mama?" "It's like hot cocoa," I smiled, "but richer, and seasoned with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg." Her eyes instantly popped open in recognition and the corners of her lips curled impishly. I showed her my mound of chocolate chips and added that in Saint Lucia they use cocoa sticks and balls to make their Cocoa Tea, but we'd … [Read more...]