Fried tarantulas are a delicacy in Cambodia. For 8 cents a spider, you can eat your very own. But watch out for funky spider breath (they cook it with garlic)! (Source: Woman’s Day). Photo courtesy of Paul Mannix via Flickr. If you aren’t into spiders, you might prefer Amok – a cooking method common in Cambodia, specifically food steamed in banana leaves. Mmm, now that sounds more like it! 🙂 . Feel like taking a quiz all about Cambodia? National Geographic has one! Have fun! 🙂
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While you are reading this, I’m on a plane. Flying to Virginia. On Friday the 13th. The flight left at 6 am. Yes, I made the reservations. Who knows what I was thinking. All I can hope for is a little relaxation. I bet I could find some at this beach, in Burundi… For today’s FFF,I thought it would be fun to share 4 first hand accounts of meals in Burundi, followed by our weekly poll: Lunch at the Market restaurant A heaping plate of rice and peas in tomato and onion sauce, fried bananas, a piece of beef (having lived a long and toil-filled life before landing on the plate), accompanied by slices of fresh pineapple, by bananas, peanuts, and a soft drink, cost $1.50 each. Move over McDonald’s. Burundian Delicacies …gorging ourselves on a number of Burundian delicacies – many different cooked vegetables, fried plantains, rice, sauce with beef (none of which was all that unusual to our American palates – though we think the cheese in one of the salads may have …
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Happy Friday! I’m craving a giant slice of chocolate cake. But enough about me, let’s talk about Burkina Faso! Most meals in the villages are shared out of a single pot (true family style) and the right hand is used to scoop up the food. The cities eat European style – fork, knife, spoon, plate. Frog and toad meat is eaten “dried or fried” in Burkina Faso, with hundreds of frogs laid out to dry in the hot African sun (Photographs are available to view on National Geographic, Fried or dried, frogs are popular food in African Markets) Part of the country was colonized by France, therefore many French foods and techniques have made their way into Burkinabe tradition, such as the ubiquitous green bean. Bissap, Roselle, sorrel, and Hibiscus are all names for the plant leaves that flavor Bissap Tea, high in vitamin C and believed to help reduce cholesterol
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It’s a beautiful morning here in Tulsa. The birds are chirping, the sky is blue, and Keith got up with the baby last night! Here’s a few fun facts … Bulgarian Rose oil Bulgaria is one of the world’s largest producers of rose oil. This liquid gold is used to flavor chocolates, liqueurs, and jams. Oh, and rose scented perfume, but you shouldn’t eat that. The primary producer is called the Valley of the Roses (located in central Bulgaria, in the town of Kazanluk). Hidden treasures in Bulgaria In 1985, a villager from Rogozen was digging a well in his vegetable garden and unearthed 165 silver and gold vessels. The loot is now on display in Bulgaria. This is just one of several similar stories! What would you do if you found treasure in your garden? Turn it in, sell it, or keep it? Yogurt & cheese are staples Cheese and yogurt are extremely popular in Bulgaria. Sirene cheese is salty, crumbly, and firm – much like feta. Kashkaval is technically the Bulgarian term for any …
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I don’t think I told you. Keith’s been out of town all week so my mom’s been helping me and Ava pass the time. An extended pajama party, really. We’ve been to the water park, played with dollies, cooked, cleaned, torn apart my closets and made mounds of donations. We’ve been really busy and had tons of fun, but today I’m just counting the hours until I see my sweetie. He’ll be home at five. Tick. Tick. Tick. Is it five yet? What are you counting down to? Help pass a little time with these fun facts (and poll) from Brunei. Happy Friday! Brunei Fun Facts: Brunei is in both the northern and western hemispheres. I guess that technically makes Brunei a country with “food around the world” within its own borders. 😀 Relative humidity is high throughout the year, averaging 93%. That’s so humid, it might as well rain! Food is passed and eaten with the right hand only. The left hand is considered unclean. One exception – when holding a heavy plate with …
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Honeybees fight cavities? Brazilian honeybees make a sticky substance called propolis to patch up their hives. This mixture of beeswax and local tree secretions has the potential to reduce cavities in humans up to 60%. A sweet invention… The sweet, seedless navel orange was first recorded in the mid-1800’s on a sour orange tree in a Brazilian monastery (according to National Geographic). This happy accident was then developed and bred into the sweet navel orange we enjoy today. The “navel” on the orange is actually a second, underdeveloped orange (pictured bottom right). World-class diversity Brazil claims the greatest diversity of primates, amphibians and plants in the world. Additionally, Brazil is in the top five in the world for birds and reptile species. Incredible biodiversity of plants means great things for the juice and wine world. Road side juice bars are bursting with all sorts of fresh squeezed tropical fruit such as pineapple, guava, soursop, papaya, passionfruit, mango, and cupuaçu. In the south, wine is the “next big thing.” According to the New York Times, 300 days …
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Aren’t Friday’s are just … the best? A day of completion – the week’s end – on the eve of renewal! I hope your Friday is wonderful. For a little entertainment, check out these factoids about Botswana… On the dry side… Two thirds of Botswana is covered by the sands of the Kalahari desert. In these parched areas, a variety of wild melon supply water and nutrition to inhabitants. Vegetables are often salted and dried for preservation. The marama bean, encased in a hard shell and high in protein and oil, is one of the most important sources of nutrition in the Kalahari. When roasted the rich, soft, nutty flavor is a cross between cashew and chestnut. On the wet side… Botswana is home to the sprawling Okavango Delta (also nicknamed the Okavango Swamp), the largest inland delta in the world (17,000 square miles). This area is a critical supplier of water to Botswana and neighboring countries. Okavango is home to big game safaris, where visitors can observe zebras, buffalo, giraffe, lions, and wildebeest. I love …
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Yes, you read that right… loofah. I had no idea that when I began eating food from all around the world, I would end up running across loofah. Turns out, in Botswana, as well as many, many other countries, Loofah is common eats. The more I read about it, the more I realize that Loofah is not so “exotic” as I originally thought. Whoa, now. Before you run off to your bathroom to slice and dice and cook up your loofah, let me explain. When I say loofah is common eats, I don’t mean the dry, hay colored, scratchy, back and callous scrubber… like the one you have next to your bathtub: I don’t think any amount of steaming, boiling, frying, or beating could make those loofahs tender. They come from the old, crusty loofah plant, the one that’s toughened up with age. What they actually eat is the tender, young loofah. When picked fresh, the green loofah plant is slightly softer than a cucumber and slightly crispier than a zucchini. When cooked, the flavor is mild …
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We’ve made it to another Friday! If you live in the United States, have a wonderful holiday weekend! We’ll be celebrating Miss Ava’s first birthday on Sunday…. 🙂 Here are our fun facts for Bosnia & Herzegovina: Have a heart! Bosnia and Herzegovina is nicknamed the “Heart Shaped Land” due to the country’s slight heart shape. What’s in a name? The name “Bosnia” comes from an Indo-European word, “Bosana.” Bosana means”water.” Bosnia is full of beautiful rivers, lakes, waterfalls (one is well over 3oo feet high), and a strip of the Adriatic sea. Herzegovina is named for Herceg Stjepan, an ancient ruler. Culinary Traditions There are three culinary traditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croatian, Serbian and Boshniakian. Forget fast food! Try a Bosnian “hamburger” The meat for Cevapi sausages (a recipe will be provided on Monday) can also be used to make Pljeskavice. Just add peppers and onion to the ground mixture! Although difficult to pronounce, they are easy to eat! Simply put the patties in a thick Bosnian Pita with some onion and tomato! Agriculture …
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Good morning! Let’s wake up, Bosnian style, and sip a shot of robust, Bosnian coffee. What is Bosnian Coffee? When someone says they had Bosnian coffee, they are referring to the method of preparation. This method (also referred to as Turkish coffee) is used all over the Middle East, the Balkans, and North Africa. Although there are many steps, each one is critical to making a good cup. And by good cup I mean a GOOD cup. The effort is worth it! The coffee beans for Bosnian coffee must be ground into a superfine powder. So fine, in fact, that it looks a lot like hot cocoa. You may purchase “Turkish Coffee” for this purpose at any Middle Eastern grocer. (Tulsa, here’s your local connection: Middle Eastern Market). If you have Colombian espresso, you can use it as long as you grind it super duper fine – until it disintegrates into a fluffy powder. The coffee cups: Bosnian coffee is served in small, espresso cups (also referred to as demi-tasse). Sounds fancy, but you can just …
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The highs and lows of Bolivian cuisine In the highlands the people enjoy potato, corn, cheese, and spicy hot food. In the lowlands, they navigate towards bananas, maize, rice, and cassava. Mama Spud… The domestic potato, known to the Incans as Mama Jatha (“Mother of Growth”), was first cultivated high in the Andes mountains near Lake Titicaca about 7,000 years ago. Today this area straddles Bolivia and Peru. It’s Potato O’clock! The ancient Inca used the potato to measure time. Boy: How long does it take to walk to the post office? Girl: 1/2 as long as boiling a potato. Boy: Great! I’ll be there in no time 🙂 Homemade beverages If you see a white flag outside a home in Bolivia, its beckoning wave means there is chicha for sale. Chica is a South American home brew that can be made from a number of ingredients, but fermented cassava and maize are most common in Bolivia. The flavor has been compared to hard cider, although this varies greatly depending on the main ingredient and brewing process. Flatter than a …
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Happy Friday everyone! My Bhutanese Fun Facts got a little … er … racy this week. My apologies, in advance. I made every effort to keep things PG 13. Enjoy! When falling of a cliff is a good thing… In parts of eastern Bhutan it is forbidden to kill an animal. However, if the animal falls of a cliff and dies, then the meat can be consumed. Cooking is simple when the main ingredient is always the same… Most meals have chili peppers in them, which can be bought in abundance at the markets. You can’t smoke, but you can still get cancer… The sale of tobacco is banned in Bhutan (no other country in the world has done this). Instead they chew Doma (this is a blend of areca nut on a betel leaf with a sprinkle of tsune/lime – or calcium carbonate). Doma is chewed after eating to freshen breath. The crunchy concoction is often offered to guests and is considered an ice-breaker. Unfortunately, the blood-red juices cause cancer and other ailments. Want …
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