Recipe: White Dal Curry

sri.lanka.food.recipe.img_0203

My friend Ruby grew up in Sri Lanka and spent the better part of her 40th birthday making sure I learned everything there is to know about the food. Here she is drinking Ceylon Tea, grown in ... you guessed it... Sri Lanka! Ruby isn't keen on cooking (or so she claims), so she supervised while her dear friend Iona showed me the ropes. Iona blew me away by whipping up not one, not two, but three curries. I fell in love each steaming, fragrant batch. There was everything from beef to … [Read more...]

Recipe: Weeknight Paella

spain.food.recipe.img_0219

Making Paella is quite the trick. Making authentic paella is even harder. My mission this week was to make a simple, yet flavorful paella for our Spanish Global Table. Something easy enough for a Monday, but special enough for a Friday. One that would be rather... well... business in front, party in the back. Or maybe not. Friends, I did my research. In fact, I spent a lot of time reading mediocre online reviews of what should have been amazing paella recipes. These … [Read more...]

Recipe: South Africa’s Bobotie

south.africa.food.recipe.img_9589

Are you ready for a big bite of everything, ever? South Africa's Bobotie (ba-boor-tea) reminds me of when I was a little girl, playing in the kitchen next to mom. I'd dump every possible ingredient into my little inventions, hoping they'd come out amazing. While chopped apples and pickles didn't pan out when I was a kid, bobotie most decidedly does. But don't worry - there's no apple or pickle in it. So what is in it? Some people call Bobotie South African Moussaka, but I'm … [Read more...]

Recipe: Coconut Curried Corn | Galey iyo Qumbo

somalia.food.recipe.img_9374

When I was a little girl, I'd sit on the back porch and shuck long ears of corn, the silk wrapping around my fingers, clinging to my dress, and falling onto my shoes. Similar scenes can be found throughout southern Somalia, where men, women, and children pull together to harvest their corn. To shuck the corn. And, eventually, to grind it in wide, stone bowls, to make porridge. If the kernels don't get ground, the whole cobs might be dressed up in curried coconut milk in a dish called … [Read more...]

Recipe: Beef Suqaar

somalia.food.recipe.img_9458

Sometimes we need a meal that can fill every corner of our heart, one that can bump out those rough and tumble emotions that bog us down... the ones that keep us from being happy. Carefree. Enter Suqaar, from Somalia. Suqaar (pronounced sooh-car) is one of Somalia's most beloved dishes and can be made with any meat, from lamb, to chicken, to beef. Generally the meat is cut into very small pieces, about 1/2" cube or smaller. The meal is then rounded out with an assortment of veggies … [Read more...]

Recipe: Green PawPaw Curry

solomon.islands.food.recipe.img_0632

It's just as important to be frugal in times of plenty as it is in times of hardship. As my mom likes to say "Waste not, want not." In the Solomon Islands, when Papaya trees hang heavy with more fruit than locals know what to do with, they don't let it rot and fall to the ground. They don't let the monsoons sweep the fruit away, either. Oh, no. Instead, they make use of the papaya at every stage of growth... ripe or unripe... which is how PawPaw Curry makes its way onto the dinner … [Read more...]

Recipe: Bean n’ Barley Soup | Ričet

slovenia.food.recipe.img_0572

Slovenia is known for her soups - each bite captures the taste of the earth and sky, rolling hills and grand mountains. They are the answer to frosted windows, the worst sort of bone-chill, and that scratchy feeling in the back of the throat. Slovenian soup is the sunshine to your snowy day. Today, in particular, we explore Ričet, one of the more beloved soups found throughout Slovenia. She's made with barley, a soft, earthy grain that reminds me faintly of pasta, but chewier … [Read more...]

Recipe: Slovak Sour Bean Soup

slovakia.food.recipe.img_9787

When winter raindrops slide down the glass... when the droplets are  so close to ice that they sting on my wind-chapped face... there's nothing better than a piping hot bowl of soup. Thankfully for me, Slovakia knows what's what in this department. The fine people of Slovakia could probably make this staple soup with their eyes shut, and - for the first part, at least - that's exactly what they do. While the house slumbers under the bright moon, a quiet bowl of bean sits in the … [Read more...]