Discover | Global Table Adventure

About the food of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Let’s meet up in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Really. Wouldn’t it be great to carve out a sweet little spot for ourselves. A place where time can stop for a while? I love that, now that we’ve hit a cold snap here in Tulsa, our minds have been cruising through the “Saint” countries – all of which nestle cozy and warm in the balmy Caribbean seas. We’ve done two already and this week we continue to the 11-mile long, 6.8 miles wide “main island” called Saint Vincent and about a hundred scattered islands of the Grenadines. Those 100 or so other islands? Apparently the whole shebang only adds up to 17 square miles. Quaint. Neighborly. Exactly how you’d like it if you lived in the hurricane belt, which they do. But, then, where there are storms there are rainbows. Even though the weather is warm there, the islands continue with much the same traditions found throughout the Caribbean. The holidays (and every day) can be celebrated with Rum, Black Cake [Recipe] (which is, essentially, rum …

Monday Meal Review: Saint Lucia

“I don’t like nutmeg,” a willowy, blond girl of about ten whined. Her mother looked reproachfully at her. “Have you ever tried it?” I asked with what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “No,” she quietly replied, eyes downcast. She stood with one hip turned away from me, as if my slightest move would send her scampering away. “Well, here, smell it,” I said as I picked up the whole nutmeg and passed it to her. “Isn’t it amazing?” The nut was about one inch in diameter and was round except for a flat spot where it had been grated by dozens of kids throughout the afternoon. The girl jerked back her head and furrowed her brow at the prospect, but after a particularly stern look from her mother, she dipped her head close to the nutmeg and gave a tentative whiff. She scrunched up her nose distastefully. The mother seemed bothered, but I simply said “Good for you. Now whaddya think about grating some of that nutmeg on your Cocoa Tea?” and added “This is …

About the food of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia pops out of the Caribbean Sea like a coy mountain range. She’s partially submerged in the deep blue, yet her curves peek out randomly in greeting. Her deep green foliage (oftentimes thick and tropical) and her dusty, tan soil gives the island a “land before time” feel. The occasional free-wandering chicken and the featured “drive-in volcano,” where one can drive right up to a bubbling crater, only add to the illusion. (Don’t let the threat of lava scare you; Saint Lucia hasn’t had an eruption since the 1700’s.) Interesting “point” though, are the two peaks you see below. They are called pitons: two volcanic plugs (towering masses of rock formed in the craters of ancient volcanoes). As night falls, people dance, sing, and eat under Saint Lucia’s brilliant street lights. Thanks to a long history with France and Britain, a little French will likely fall upon your ear and French-Creole on your taste buds This is a draw for locals and tourists alike: a Fish Fry – where anything goes, as long as it can …

Monday Meal Review: Saint Kitts and Nevis

Do you ever wonder if you need to get out more? While I keep stumbling into serendipitous connections in Tulsa, like the young book salesman from Bulgaria who knocked on my door the same week I cooked his country and the Finnish mother I ran into the same day I was to cook Finland, I didn’t really expect to find the same thing during our brief 4 night stay in New York City. Who was I kidding? I should have known better. It is New York City, after all. On our first bleary eyed morning in New York I asked Keith’s cousin, Kelly, about where I could go grocery shopping. I told her our meal was from Saint Kitts and Nevis, in the Caribbean. She glanced out her tall, sunny windows, over the shimmering city below and laughed. She cocked her chin to the side, and added “Every other shop around here is Caribbean.” I searched her eyes, looking for a twinkle of mischief but there was none. That afternoon, as we walked through the blustery …

About the food of Saint Kitts & Nevis

I love the Caribbean. Seems like she always shows up when I need her most. Case in point? I spent the last week in NYC under rain, sleet, and snow. While I relished each snowflake through Ava’s eyes, the air was coat-clenching chilly. By the end of the week, we all huddled together around a table in Brooklyn while eating Saint Kitts & Nevis. And we were all warmed. From the inside out. Only after our feast, did I learn that Christopher Columbus named Nevis after our Lady of the Snows. Apparently her mountain peak is often shrouded in fluffy white clouds, giving the allusion of a true snow-capped mountain. Perfect. Just perfect. This enchanting name is just the beginning of St. Kitts & Nevis’ charm. With cheerful festivals and sunny days, the islands seem to float along as if in a dream. When it comes to food, here’s what you can expect from this beautiful pair of islands… Let’s start with the obvious – fish. Lots and lots of fish, like coconut crusted mahi-mahi …

Monday Meal Review: Rwanda

We officially have less than a year remaining in this Adventure. Unbelievable. In the very beginning (February 2010), our Global Table Adventure was about eating a better, more varied diet, especially for our then seven-month old baby, Ava. Cooking the world was also about making life in Tulsa a little more tolerable, while daydreaming about other places. I was escaping. Hard. Now? Well the name is the same, but the Adventure has evolved in ways I could have never anticipated. Izína sí lyó muntu. This Rwandan saying means that “the name doesn’t make the man.” Or in this case, the “Adventure.” Case in point, Global Table Adventure is a nice name, but it doesn’t reveal much about the long years we’ve lived with this challenge. It doesn’t say anything, for example, about how appreciating the rest of the world has really made us appreciate our home more. Sometimes you have to look far to find the treasure on your own doorstep. Nor does the name hint at the community we enjoy around us. We learned an especially …

About the food of Rwanda

I’m writing about Rwanda while sitting in the airport, on my way to New York City. Big things are in the works, and I can’t wait to tell you all about them. This is a fertile time for creativity, which makes Rwanda the perfect week to accompany me on this journey. The earth in this small, but sprawling country is so fertile, I’ve read you can stick a carrot top in the ground and carrots will grow. That’s the kind of good, growing energy I need right now. This is the center of Africa, along the rippling waters of Lake Kivu. Everyone, everywhere in Rwanda, seems to love the sweet potato [Recipe]and that’s a lot of people. Rwanda is one of the most crowded places in Africa. Avocados hang heavy on the trees, and cassava grows strong in the soil. Beans are the go-to, as is umutsima (cassava and corn porridge), fish from the lakes (like tilapia), and plantains. Very little meat is eaten, although what is enjoyed includes chicken, beef, and goat, and may be stewed …

Monday Meal Review: Russia

This week we took the Russian Potato Salad to a potluck event in downtown Tulsa called “Open Tables” where individuals of different religions and belief systems gather to share food and company. It was my first time. While the discussion would have been fascinating (we were encouraged to talk about our differences), my table – through a series of prior commitments, baby bedtimes, and no shows – had completely vacated by the time discussion started. And so it came to be that, while the room chattered on, I sat alone at my table, thinking about the evening, staring at my empty plate. I briefly considered switching tables to join another group but the longer I sat there, the more I realized that the food had already done the job – no words were necessary to learn about our differences. Earlier that evening I had slipped our potato salad into the mix between a giant steaming bowl of biryani, spicy chickpeas, cinnamon-laced kugel, and goat stew. The variety was intoxicating. As I filled my plate, a casserole of neon green lime …

About the food of Russia

Ava’s been pointing to the giant orange mass on our world map lately and asking “are we eating that country tonight?” Each time I know without looking that she’s pointing to Russia. She always is. To her little three year-old mind, there’s nothing more enticing than the biggest country on the map (Russia is literally 1/8th of the world’s landmass!). This week I can finally tell her “yes.” Russian food is simplicity itself. We’re talking cozy staples designed to get people through long tough winters, like beef stroganoff and princess pink borscht, that traditional beet soup we tried with Belarus [Recipe] (Russia is home to a dizzying array of borscht. Want it hot? No problem. Chilled? Sure thing. Inside a carnival colored cathedral? If you promise not to spill.) Then there’s the pickles. Pickles were a great way to preserve food in harsh weather, so it’s a standby from the old days. Pickles in Russia are not limited to cucumbers – you’ll find pickled garlic, tomatoes… even garlic shoots. I know, because I saw it on Andrew Zimmern’s show …

Monday Meal Review: Romania

THE SCENE Pleasure is spread throughout the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find. (William Wordsworth) I spend hours daydreaming about other countries – about how beautiful they are, about the incredible food they eat. Every week I take my family to one of these countries via stovetop travel and we imagine the joy we’d have living life in those countries. But I’m increasingly uneasy with this set up. I’ve had trouble pinpointing my discomfort, until the other day when my issue hit me like a ton of bricks. Part of loving the world we are in… well… it’s loving the world right where we are, right now. To quote a lobster I know: The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else’s lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things surround you, what more are you looking for? (“The Little Mermaid”) Truth is, I’m a lot like Ariel, more focused on …

About the food of Romania

Just two weeks ago our friend Marlin went to Romania, in a little spot near Transylvania. He came back with stories of a beautiful country working on unification. His words conjured up images of wagons, cobblestones, mud, and villages lost in time. In this country, one family might eat completely differently than another (surprisingly, there was no mention of vampire eating habits). Of course, it’s not all countryside – there are also stone cities which look out sternly upon the streets. Regardless of where you are, there are cultures from different backgrounds living side by side… trying to figure it all out. Later that night, as I lay in bed, it occurred to me that Romania is no different from the rest of us. From the smallest family, to the entire human race, this is our quest: how can we all come together peacefully? Some days go better than others. So let’s sit around the Romanian Global Table and see what we can learn. For starters, I noticed an old friend from our time cooking …

Monday Meal Review: Qatar

This week we hosted a Fairies around the World party. There were two main reasons, only one of which had anything to do with fairies. First of all, the party was a way to quell my motherly distress over the fact that my husband, my daughter, and I all have birthdays in the middle of summer (which, in Oklahoma means suffering through 112 degree days). In other words, we have no other option than to spend our birthdays submerged in water (or suffer in air conditioning, which I have little interest in). As a result, I’ve not been able to provide theme birthday parties for any of us. Don’t get me wrong – at one time a regular birthday party with a few stray balloons seemed perfectly normal… but something changed post-Pinterest. Now everything must have a theme, even pencil holders. And the litter box (yes, really)… oh, and don’t forget about the cat bed. (p.s. none of these pins actually made it into my house). I’m so entrenched, I now create Pinterest boards like “rainbow birthday parties” …