Welcome to comfort food, Mauritania-style. Apparently this is exactly what my spirit needs. Remember yesterday, when I told you it had been raining for 24 hours? Well, the rain continued to fall all day and most of the night (and even this morning). This “popcorn in the sky,” as Ava calls it, is greening up the grass, feeding our trees, and preparing seeds to shoot up in time for spring. These are all good things. But, I’m feeling a little sleepy, a little bluesy, and, if you don’t mind, I simply need a few recipes to take the chill out of the air. Ironically, this menu is enjoyed in the hot sands of Mauritania. Let’s not question my logic. Let’s just make our tummies happy. Mechoui (Leg of Lamb stuffed with Dried Fruit) [Recipe] Roast lamb stuffed with rice, sweet figs, dates, and raisins. Rainy Day Cous Cous [Recipe] This vegan side dish is my take on authentic twice-steamed couscous. For all the complicated recipes out there, it is not as scary as it sounds. I even tossed a few …
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This is the time of year, as the seasons change, that I feel the “tradewinds” of life blowing me in new directions. I have more energy, but am also filled with more frenzy. Spring fever. This is what the Marshall Islands does for those familiar ingredients we all know and love – bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, macadamia nuts. She shakes them up, makes new combinations (to me at least), and serves up a hearty platter of “good.” I find myself gravitating towards this type of food – simple, yet big on flavor. Decadent but uncomplicated. Now, if I could just bring the ocean to Tulsa, Oklahoma, I’d be all set. But I wonder if Ava would agree. What Ava’s thinking (above)? Any caption ideas? Sweet Potatoes & Fried Bananas [Recipe] Bolster up your next barbecue or roast with this sweet and savory concoction. This is simple as it sounds – cubed sweet potatoes tossed with crispy, fried bananas. Baked Papaya with Coconut Cream [Recipe] This is warm dessert goodness, baked until happy and served …
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Look at Mr Picky. Specifically, look at his eyebrows. They’re practically touching his hair line. That, my friends, is sugar going straight to his brain.. any ideas for a caption? As for the menu, I think you’re going to do summersaults. Or, at least, squiggly noodle-saults. Every single dish is fun for the whole family. If, when you nibble these treats, you can’t taste Malta’s ocean breeze, then something’s gone terribly wrong. Vermicelli Fritatta (Froga tat-Tarja) [Recipe] Eggs + Angel Hair = a hearty brunch. Our version has ricotta, parmesan and parsley as well. Maltese Stuffed Artichokes (Qaqoċċ Mimli) [Recipe] The bold flavor of garlic, anchovies, and olives in a sourdough breadcrumb stuffing… pressed into artichokes and steamed until tender. Marzipan Easter Cookies (Figolla) [Recipe] Lemon sugar cookies filled with almond paste and frosted until giddy. Traditionally served at Easter. Huzzah! *All recipes and Meal review will be posted by Monday morning
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Question: What does Supergirl, a tea party, and gluten free food all have in common? They all make an appearance during this week’s Malian Global Table. That’s pretty epic. And oddball. The perfect combination, if you ask me. I kept things simple this week, as I’m still recovering from last week’s surprise birthday celebration for my mom. What sounds good to you? Recipe: Mali’s Gluten-free “Pancake Donuts” (Maasa) [Recipe] Made with millet and rice flours and topped with a flurry of powdered sugar, this addictive snack comes from Mali’s street vendors. To be honest, I couldn’t decide what to call it. I finally settled on Pancake Donuts. I don’t know what else to say. The name speaks for itself. Mega. Vanilla Ginger Bissap [Recipe] Hibiscus tea with smooth vanilla undertones and a bit of snap from fresh, grated ginger. Sweetened to taste, this will take you to your happy place. *All recipes and the meal review will be posted by Monday morning.
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My mother’s surprise 70th birthday party has been in the works since this fall, maybe even as early as this summer. Well, it finally happened … and thank goodness because none of us could stand to keep the secret one second longer. We all flew to Florida, at my brother’s house. There was cake. There were cookies. And, under the palm trees, there was a spread from Maldives. All week I felt as though I was in the real place, soaking up the sun, sand between my toes, and smiling all the way from sunset to sunset. Stovetop travel has never felt so real. What sounds good to you? Fihunu Mas [Recipe] Fresh whole fish rubbed in a blend of coconut milk, chilies, curry leaves, onion, cumin and chili powder. The fish is then roasted on the grill or in the oven until moist and flaky on the inside, and crusty-good on the outside. Maldivian Sliced Custard [Recipe] Just three ingredients make this sweet treat: eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and ghee. Lomi Lomi [Recipe] Sip your way to the …
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First of all, I hope you had a fantastic Valentine’s Day. I wish there were a way to capture the sweetness of yesterday. Ava thinks, despite my best efforts to explain otherwise, that Valentine’s Day is a destination, not an event. So, of course, she had to ask me if I was going “to” Valentine’s Day with her and papa. I, of course, said yes. While I’m thinking of it, here’s a Valentine that Ava got from a friend at little school. It’s a crayon! What a great global Valentine’s Day project. As for our Malaysian menu? The ingredients might sound strange and the shapes might be new to you, but this is a menu easy enough for little Miss Ava to make. Maybe not by herself, but pretty close! I think you’ll find the food of Malaysia definitely worth loving. What sounds good to you? Coconut Sticky Rice in banana leaves (lemang) [Recipe] Glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk and steamed inside banana leaves. The result? Epic, edible towers. P.S. This has 4 ingredients, including …
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When I looked at the calendar and realized Malawi week at the Global Table led right up to Valentine’s Day, I thought how ironic. Surely Malawi’s only exposure, if any, to Valentine’s Day comes from tourists and international volunteers. I’ll never be able to find any food to fit this romantic season we’re in. Boy, was I wrong. A quick peek online showed me that, in fact, many Malawians do know and think about Valentine’s Day. This video exploring the topic made me smile. So get ready for an African/Malawian Valentine’s Day menu… cobbled together by yours truly. All the recipes come together very quickly, so you can spend more time loving the one you’re with. What sounds good to you? Sunrise Biscuits (Mbatata) [Recipe] Spend a quiet morning eating these sweet potato biscuits seasoned with the slightest hint of ginger. If you dare to be super cutesy (do it!), use cookie cutters to shape the biscuits into puffy hearts. Dipping sauce for Chippies (Tsabola) [Recipe] A simple concoction for dipping potato wedges, very similar to salsa. The main …
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Today I sit at the dining table, the door open and a breeze coming it. Its 70 degrees. I shut my eyes and imagine I’m sitting on a beach in Madagascar – overlooking the wide, blue ocean. The last weeks have been busy. I did four interviews in half as many days, including one with Parenting Magazine. I spoke on KRMG all about the Chinese New Year. Today and tomorrow I will be speaking at Rosa Parks Elementary School about bringing the world together around a Global Table. On Friday I’ll be filmed by the Oklahoma Center for Community Justice for a special presentation on food culture. And somehow, in the midst of all this I have had a sick toddler who I can’t seem to make better with extra hugs and kisses. All this and I’m hungry. Really hungry. Madagascar Chicken (Akoho sy Sakamalao) [Recipe] Chicken slowly simmered in aromatic ginger, garlic and lemon zest, surrounded with sweet peppers and onion. The secret? Beautiful coconut oil gives this chicken tropical flavor. Burnt Rice Tea (Ranovola) [Recipe] The …
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Global Table Adventure has a weird way of knitting bits and pieces of my life together. For example, today my best friend from my college years, upon seeing we were cooking Macedonia, wrote to inform me that her first marriage proposal was from a Macedonian man. This would be altogether unremarkable, except for the fact that, despite keeping in touch here and there over the years, I knew nothing of any marriage proposals, let alone a “first.” Had I never cooked Macedonia, I might never have found out. And now I am left to wonder… Who is this mysterious Macedonian? How did it happen? Was she in Macedonia, or was she at home in NYC? Were they star-crossed lovers, or was the entire affair simply a flash in the pan? I eagerly await her reply although, as with all mysteries, it’s also fun to imagine the answers on my own. Today, in honor of learning new things about old friends, here’s our Macedonian menu… full of easy comfort food and a lot of love. What …
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In the gift shops of Luxembourg, right next to the key chains and novelty mugs, you will find postcards that read “Sunny Luxembourg.” A casual tourist might not think twice, but live in Luxembourg for longer than a week and you’ll realize this couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s just put it this way: the landscape is lush green for a reason. Loads of rain and gauzy cloud cover persist throughout the year. When faced with what to make this week for “sunny” Luxembourg, a country I spent more than three years in, I went back to memories. I decided to relive, via Stovetop Travel, two of the very dishes that I enjoyed while living there. These recipes include my weak spot as a teenager – fair food – and a big bowl of country cookin.’ Of course, it wouldn’t be an Adventure without trying new food, so I added a traditional apple cake to the mix that I am pretty sure I’ve never had. The good news? With Stovetop Travel, you never need an …
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The holidays are over. We stuffed our wrapping paper back into the closet and swept the confetti into the trash, right on top of the party hats that say 2012. The cookies and the friendly buffets of family favorites are long since gone, replaced by soulless detoxes and way-too-skinny drinks. I know some of us are even thinking about spring – scanning the frozen ground, vainly hoping to see some stray spot of green, willing a warm gust of air to come our way, instead of a moveable wall of ice. But can we just… pause for a second, in the interest of good planning? Would you be very mad if I asked you to make a few presents for next year? Right… now? Hear me out. They say Lithuania has the largest collection of amber in the world – known as the gold of the baltics – but I uncovered a far more enticing “gold” in their liquor cabinets: Krupnikas, or Honey Spirits. This boozy drink tastes like heaven on fire – a sweet, fragrant blend that …
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