Discover | Global Table Adventure

About the food of Senegal

Today’s daydream takes us to Senegal… a land of alluring contrast. One, long finger of Senegal fades into the Atlantic ocean, the westernmost point of Africa. As you wander inland, past the subtropical streets paved with the catch of the day, still fresh from the ocean, you will see as many collard shirts and slacks as you do bright tunics and robes. Three quarters of the population lives in cities on the coast. Once past the bustle (where buses noisily bump past rickety carts), the roads slowly turn to dust and the Savannah takes over. Here, the people’s bright clothing stands out against the golden grasses, thatched roofs, and earthen walls. The flicker of fires in outdoor kitchens makes for a spark of natural color. This former French colony still has traces of French culture in the food. Baguettes can be found under arm, but more popular than that is rice and millet. Rice is increasingly popular thanks to the ease of preparation although there’s old love for couscous made from millet. With lakes …

Monday Meal Review: Saudi Arabia

“If I am a prince and you are a prince, then who will lead the donkeys?” – Saudi Proverb We sat in the middle of the tight, woolen rug, cross legged, our toes bumping the edge of the soft cotton table cloth. Without a table to drape upon, the cloth looked like a slack sail, hungry for the wind. Sunlight streamed through the windows, massaging our backs. It felt good. If I shut my eyes, the windy, freezing day that clattered against our window almost disappeared. In fact, if it weren’t for the glittering Christmas tree at our side, there’d be no sign this was winter. The scent of black cardamom and fennel in our Saudi pizza dough made the room smell sweet and woodsy, while the ground lamb and green onion topping felt like an early spring. My friend Becky and her mom joined us for lunch. I hadn’t seen Becky in more than a year and I hiccuped a tiny laugh, despite myself, when I opened the door to find the entire door frame full of …

About the food of Saudi Arabia

Let’s rub the glitter of the New Year out of our eyes and spend this week feasting on Saudi Arabia. If, perhaps, you over-indulged during the evening’s festivities, this alcohol-free country will be apropos. Dotted along her sandy slopes and rubble-tumble mountains, from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, we find groups of people sipping on hot tea, enjoying richly spiced lamb stews, and riding camels. But let’s not stop there… My friends, we also find groups of people zooming along in cars, processing petroleum fields, and eating pizza. Or shall I say… “pizza”… This is a land of duality. Take this “pizza,” for example. Otherwise known as Aysh abu Laham, we’re talking spiced flatbread topped with lamb, spring leeks, and lemon-tahini sauce. This dish, like much of Saudi Arabia, has elements of the familiar (hello, pizza shape), but taste entirely different to a westerner (goodbye tomato sauce; this is all about fennel, black cardamom, and tahini). Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still find Domino’s in Saudi Arabia… but in people’s homes, it’s all about …

Merry Gingerbread Winners!

Ho, ho, ho! The time has finally come! We’re beyond excited to announce the winners of this year’s Gingerbread for Peace Competition. Every year I love looking at your beautiful creations. You and your power over icing never cease to amaze me… which is why, if it were up to me, you’d all win. Truly, truly. And that, my friends, is why I enlist the help of an amazing panel of judges. With that said, I’d like to thank our sweet judges, who have the tough (impossible!) job of rating the contestants on the following criteria: – Overall design – Creativity – Difficulty & Technique – Neatness & Precision – Adherence to theme of Gingerbread for Peace and Globally inspired structure – How much does the essay relate to the theme.. So THANK YOU to Jenny Buccos from ProjectExplorer.org for who is a powerhouse of energy, bringing the world into the heart of the classroom. Her virtual field trips make it possible for children to not just “see” the world, but to learn about it in the context of math, …

Monday Meal Review: São Tomé and Príncipe

Our children grow up frittata fast. They start out little bitty eggs, get whipped up into a froth (by our mad parenting skills, no doubt), and then poured into a pan… ready for the oven (a.k.a. the world). We turn around for ten minutes, and when our gaze next falls upon them, they are a … frittata… nothing like the little round egg we started out with. Our hearts break a little (partly because we’re proud of how far they’ve come, and partly because we’ll always miss the baby they once were). This week I turned around for ten minutes and my daughter was no longer a toddler. She was a full-fledged little girl. For the last year Ava’s been sleeping in a crib with several slats hacked out. We called it her toddler bed (considering the drop-side crib is no longer safe nor salable) , but we all know it’s just her old crib, hacked up. Well, this creative solution is no more: this week we finally moved Ava to a big girl bed, complete …

About the food of São Tomé and Príncipe

Are you slightly offbeat? Do you prefer to stand out from the crowd, preferably while eating chocolate? São Tomé and Príncipe is just the place for you. These two tropical islands, just over 372 square miles combined, are home to an amazing amount of plants and animals that have developed into their own, exotic form. These spectacular critters are literally found nowhere else in the world. The cocoa covered islands have guaranteed that they evolve in isolation – think of it as a tropical petri dish with azure beaches. Yes, there are spiders, but they have their own… shall we say… crabby sort of look. Definitely a tad bit offbeat, eh? As for the food, it’s an amazing blend of traditional, sub-Saharan African foods with a strong blast of Portuguese influence. You’re as likely to find a simple sweet potato/pumpkin and egg dish [Recipe], goat or cassava… as you are a hearty plate of Feijoada (bean stew with pork or fish) [Recipe] with rice (or better yet, riz creole – seasoned rice). That being said, there’s nothing like …

Monday Meal Review: San Marino

Neighbors. I’d already planned on talking about neighbors last week, but when the grief of Newtown, Connecticut struck, I realized how much more urgently this message needs to be said. Abe Lincoln called the people of San Marino his “Great and Good Friends,” despite being separated by an entire continent. There was such tenderness in his words, but this particular weekend they struck me hard. Why? Because so few of us know anything about the people who live in our very neighborhoods, let alone an ocean away. Did you know, neighbor Sandeep Kapur, who lived two doors down from the killer (who I shall not name out of respect for the grieving), stated that he had never met the family, despite the fact that he’d lived there for three years? Three years, without so much as a hello. Unfortunately, this is not unusual. Listen, friends: my only platform is love. Love, love, love. Always more love. Do you know who lives near you? Are situations like these keeping you from finding out? Listen. We can’t …

About the food of San Marino

Let’s dive into Italy, right over the mountains, into the tiny 24 square mile country of San Marino. In this small enclave, there is no level ground. Indeed, every sunny vista is filled with the jawdropping scenery of a life “away from it all.” In this land, tenacity is the name of the game. Whenever San Marino comes up in conversation people like to ask how they managed to stay independent within Italy all these years. Why aren’t they just a part of Italy, they ask. For one, I think the difficult mountain terrain has provide a natural barrier (both physical and somewhat cultural), but also the people seem to be filled with good ol’ tenacity. One simply has to look at their determination to grow food in the rubble-like soil. Almost miraculously, they manage to produce a bounty of chestnuts, barley, fruit, and wheat in this small land. The food is typical of Northeastern Italy, with specialties like Swallow’s Nests, spirals of filled noodles coated in bechamel and Parmesan [Recipe]… and then there’s pork slow cooked in milk and …

Monday Meal Review: Samoa

There’s a Samoan proverb which reads “Ua iloa i vaʻa lelea,” or we are one family. I love this proverb. I spent most of my topsy turvy childhood figuring out what love means. What family means. And then, one day, those grace-filled words dawned on me … We are one family. The Samoans knew it all along. Blood bonds and geographic bonds are just the wonderful beginning. We can find love whenever and wherever we open our hearts. We are all one family. Sometimes it’s a bit messy. Sometimes it’s not how we pictured it. Sometimes we disagree and sometimes we cry. Sometimes we need a break. But sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes we laugh and see eye to eye. Sometimes we can’t get enough of each other’s smiles. We are one family. How my life changed when I began to look at the world through this lens. Sure, I still mess up (all the time, actually… and I’m sorry for that), but reminding myself of these words helps me to slow down and “think kinder,” with more love, …

Gifts for the Stovetop Traveler

Hi, friends. Here’s a lip-smacking collection of gifts with the stovetop traveler in mind. You’ll find everything from kids chopsticks to a boozy liquor cabinet of global proportions. All of it will help you eat the world better than ever. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! xo 1. Cookie cutter shaped like the world (I hope you’re hungry) 2. Tapas Fondue Set (Retro fun. Love the star cutouts on the candle base) 3. Tunisian Hand Painted Tagine (I own & love a version of this!) 4. Buddy Trainer Chopsticks (Set of 2 in orange and blue.. I’m getting these for Ava.) 5. Bamboo Steamer (10-inch) 6. Blue Koi Fish Teapot (Pretty, pretty) 7. Turkish Ibrik Coffee Maker (Coffee? Yes. Plus, who needs a microwave, when you can heat everything up in an Ibrik). 8. “Snow Globe” Spice Shaker Set (seriously!) 9. Ebelskiver Pan & Mix Set (something I’ve always wanted to try) 10. Fish Chopstick Rests (Set of 4) 11. Let’s Make a Date Line Bulletin Board (keep track of your global menus) 12. Ceramic Potlluck Roaster (want!) 13. Global Placecard Holders (ditto!) 14. La Chamba Comal (simply beautiful way to char …

About the food of samoa

Mom was the ultimate “drop everything and go” traveler at a time when not many people, let alone pregnant women, did that sort of thing. She was in Samoa in 1979 – just months before I was born. P.S. In case that wasn’t tough enough for ya, she also had a (very energetic) toddler in tow – my brother Damien. Amaz. ing. I know, I know, I know. You’re thinking things have changed since then – and to some extent they have (although much is still the same, like the fact that this tiny Polynesian nation is made up of a few islands totaling just over 1,000 square miles ). But I had to get her report of the place and what I heard was too good not to share. Here’s just an excerpt of her letter dated April 16, 1979 (just 3 months and 2 days before I was born), where she talks about the singing, the food, and the children. For starters her “condition” as a single mom just about to pop raised many questions. “Where’s your …

Monday Meal Review: Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

This week we brought our Global Table to Keith’s parents’ house in southwest Oklahoma, where we ate with his mom, his aunt, and his uncle. His childhood home sits under the glinting autumn sun, surrounded by dusty golden grasses and emerald green wheat. There’s a half mile (or more) in all directions between the house and any other structure, at least that’s the way it seems to me. At night the stars act as streetlights. It’s quite the retreat. Keith’s mom was able to use some of her family china to set the mood and I brought some rust-orange leaf place mats that my mother gave me. The warm autumn colors went perfectly with the pumpkin and coconut cream soup. Eating our meal off of plates and mats which have cycled through dozens of special meals made me feel connected to the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving… the importance of family. I loved seeing the three siblings come together from miles apart for this meal. While we ate the Global Table the Friday after Thanksgiving, injecting the …