Posts | Global Table Adventure

About the food of Peru

The dream was born in seventh grade geography class; I had to feel the sunrise in Machu Picchu. One photo of that misty, lush mountain topped with ancient Inca ruins was all I needed. I was in love. Sure, there were snow capped mountains, modern cities, sashaying rivers, and lush, green jungles to explore… but I wanted to teleport straight into the incredible mountain city that’d been mysteriously abandoned so many years ago. All these years later and I still haven’t reached Peru. Thank goodness for stovetop travel; this week’s Global Table will pacify me a little longer. The funny thing is, for all my passionate dreaming as a child, Machu Picchu didn’t come up during my initial research. My exploration of this ocean-front South American country started rather simply with a restaurant here in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Mia Tierra recommended by long time reader Brian Schwartz. It was in this little restaurant that I got a first hand sampling of authentic dishes from a Peruvian woman. She insisted we try ceviche [Recipe], a natural dish found on Peru’s long coastline. …

Monday Meal Review: Paraguay

“Here at last,” I think, as we pull up to our cabin at Beaver’s Bend State Park. I gaze up at the tall, skinny trees and then down to the sturdy stilts which keep the cabin from falling into the river below. They are the same circumference. A familiar smile curls my lips and I look back at Ava. She’s staring out the window in awe. Here is our little house on the water. A space to listen to the birds, feel the breeze, and watch the seasons change. For four days, at least, until the next family comes to call it home. The cabin reminds me so much of the house we almost bought two years ago. The house that “got away” from us (due to failed inspections). They look nothing alike, but feel the same. The spirit of a house on the water is so different from a landlocked house; the water sliding past your window can easily trick you into thinking you’re continually traveling, exploring, moving. I’m still entranced by the view when …

Menu: Paraguay (& Giveaway)

Let’s talk enlightenment. When it comes to packing up the family, driving deep into the woods, and taking a little time to “get away from it all,” there’s still good reason to set a Global Table. In fact, when there’s nothing but you, trees, and a few muffin tins worth of family members, it’s the perfect time to try out something new. That’s what we did this week, when we ate Paraguay … in Beaver’s Bend State Park (way, way Southeast Oklahoma). There aren’t as many distractions when you’re stuck in the woods. There is definitely no safety net… your snacks and zappable meals will be nowhere in sight. Call it a captive audience, if you will. Perfect for picky eaters. What sounds good to you? All recipes and the meal review will be posted throughout the week. Barbecued Meat | Carne Asada [Recipe] Finger-licking grilled meat, seasoned with bright lime juice, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Delicioso. Paraguayan Cheesy Cornbread | Sopa Paraguaya [Recipe] This cornbread is so filled with goodies, it is practically a …

About the food of Paraguay

Paraguay (pronounced parag-why) is the first landlocked country we’ve cooked in a long, long while. To celebrate, we’re going to hang out in a local swamp. Appropriately dubbed “The Great Swamp,” this wet expanse stretches through Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia, and is home to more than 10,000 species of birds, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates, according to Environmental Graffiti. It’s gigantic. P.S. The Great Swamp is considered by Environmental Graffiti to be one of the top ten swamps in the world. So there’s that. While there, let’s sip on yerba mate – a bitter, hyper-caffienated tea served in a “mate” container and drunk through a bombilla (a straw with a built-in strainer. Brilliant invention, right?). In the summer, try chilled yerba tea mixed with herbs. This is called terere, a wildly popular Paraguayan drink. Speaking of summer – if the sun gets in your eyes, feel free to throw on a a carved leather hat – something local artisans produce (you might find them tucked away between pottery, jewelry, and wooden sculpture vendors). When hunger strikes, there’s everything from carne …

Monday Meal Review: Papua New Guinea

I hover over the dining table, scooping the tapioca and banana mush onto banana leaves to make saksak. The deep green leaves are soft and supple – completely relaxed from a pass over the licking blue flames on my range. I work slowly, eventually rolling each leaf into a rectangle shape, taking care not to spill any filling. I tuck each bundle securely in the steamer and, when I’m done, I click on the burner. A few moments later, vapors slip out between the pot lid and the pot. Little wisps of banana scented air. The house smells beautiful. Real life: later that night no one would eat these little rectangles of chewy, slippery banana tapioca dumplings. No. One. I had retreated to work on my speech for the Tulsa Global Alliance’s Global Vision Dinner (350 attendees – eek!) and left them to eat this Global Table alone. When I check the fridge the next morning, the little green packets are still there. Forlorn. With shifty eyes, Keith claims he didn’t see them. Later, I …

Menu: Papua New Guinea (& Giveaway)

“How can a country of 800 plus languages and 700 plus ethnic groups unite to form a country, impossible but possible for PNG” – Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. (Source) Sir Michael Somare has a great point. How exactly does a group of people so diverse remain unified as a country? From what I’ve read, PNG’s success has a great deal to do with the freedom it allows these 700 ethnic groups to express themselves, whether by wearing unique clothing, performing culture-specific rituals, or enjoying local music. PNG makes room for it all. That being said, the peoples are surely united by one food in particular: the coconut. Every single dish on this week’s Global Table celebrates coconut for one simple reason – PNG loves the coconut. In my research I found it shows up in almost every recipe. (Update: turns out Brian S.’s trip to the interior of PNG did not feature the coconut, so perhaps this is just a coastal thing). Considering I can’t get my family to agree …

About the food of Papua New Guinea

Few sentences succeed at stopping me in my tracks, however last night’s research on Papua New Guinea made me blush and chuckle. I can’t help but share the line that made me react so strongly, as it sums up the culture more succinctly than three pages worth of blabber I could offer: A young bare-breasted woman recently bought as a bride for five pigs may be wearing a digital wristwatch. (1000 Places to See Before You Die) Knock that image around your brain a while. As far as mental images go, the digital wristwatch really is the cherry on top – a snapshot of a bygone era in American style, circa 1980, which is now firmly lodged in the “outdated” category this side of the Pacific. I love every bit of it. As for the pigs – yes, they are so valuable that many tribes use them as currency. The book goes on to describe several regions of Papua New Guinea celebrated for even more dramatic isolation. So untouched by modern influence, these communities remain submerged …

Monday Meal Review: Panama

A canal cuts straight through Panama, dividing the skinny country and two great continents. Ships no longer have to pass around the southern-most tip of South America to circumnavigate the globe as they once did. They just slip right on through her middle. Each time a ship passes, 200 million liters of water slosh and gush through the opening. Incredible, the effect of a “little divider” like the Panama canal. Keith’s new job means he’s traveling a lot. One week of every month he just … vanishes, while Ava and I muddle through our “normal.” I spend the time he’s gone a little divided, like the canal, trying not to let all my energy rush out with his ship… trying ever so hard not to miss him (I’m a Cancer, need I say more?). It’s always hard to be the one left behind – the one not on adventure. The one living the normal, everyday, here I am, still hanging out life. Yet, after spending a week so divided, there is nothing better than coming back together. For …

Menu: Panama (& Giveaway)

I’m happy. Not only did I get to dig into an amazing rum cake this week, I also get to give one of you beautiful readers a nice treat. (More on that in a moment.) For now, I need to focus on one very special man – my husband. This week’s Global Table was Mr. Picky’s birthday luncheon. Happy Birthday, my love! The meal was hearty, delicious and, as always, a bit challenging for him. I must apologize for the fact that his birthday plate included such offenders as cilantro, olives, capers, plantains, rum, and coffee. He really dislikes all of those things. I promise, it wasn’t on purpose. At least there was chocolate. And cake! (Not every country serves cake, ya know…) Right? All recipes and the meal review will be posted throughout the week. Plantain Chips with Sea Salt [Recipe] Long slices of green plantain deep fried and sprinkled with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Finger lickin’ and totally craveable. Make a believer out of your picky eater. Arroz con Pollo [Recipe] A hearty helping of annato-seasoned …

About the food of Panama

The skinny squiggle in Central America is Panama. Her spine crackles with mountains, while her shores undulate with soft, green hills. This is the tropics and, even in the winter, skirts and flowers flow freely, rum punch spills willy nilly, and banana leaf tamales make an all-star appearance with the likes of arroz con pollo (spiced rice with chicken and olives) [Recipe]. But it’s the butterflies that catch my attention. With more than 1500 species in this tiny country, Panama has the “winged workforce” to fly our dreams into the hills for safe keeping. These butterflies are as plain as can be when resting, but their wings unfold into an electric rainbow of glory in flight. Some say Panama’s namesake is in reference to this “abundance of butterflies.” Friends of ours are potentially moving to Panama, so of course they had lots to say about this week at the Global Table. They assert that ceviche, or fish chemically “cooked” in lime juice is a grand way to spend an afternoon by the seashore. For those who want …

Monday Meal Review: Palau

Keith left me last week. He didn’t leave-leave me, but he went away for an extended business trip that meant he’d be at a motel in Vermont for his birthday. If that isn’t wretched enough, in an unfortunate twist of fate, I came down with an incredible self-induced illness caused by accidentally inhaling an aleve pill into my lungs. Ka-plunk. (That’s the sound it made as it plopped into the soft tissue normally dedicated to taking oxygen to my bloodstream). To give you an idea of how inhaling an aleve pill affected my body: I lost 6 pounds in 2 days and within four days developed aspiration pneumonia. This is the kind of miserable illness that makes you wonder if you’re going to make it to see another day, let alone make it long enough for your sweetheart to come home a week later. I don’t know about you, but when my snuggle buddy is nowhere in sight and my three year old still needs lots of active play, despite me being nauseous, sweaty, and full of …

Menu: Palau (with $150 Giveaway)

My door handle stopped working the other day. The one in my car that lets me get out. It just snapped off. Around the same time I inhaled a pill into my lungs. Yesterday the doctor told me I have aspiration pneumonia. All this has happened in the week that Keith’s been away on business. It’s a bit much. I’m hoping that’s it for now. Luckily I cooked all this food before the drama rolled in, so I have plenty of good eats for you… but Panama? Well, I might be in bed for most of that meal. And rather light on recipes. I hope you’ll forgive me. To make it up to you, this giveaway is extra epic (see after our yummy Palauan menu) All recipes and meal review will be posted throughout the week Grilled Mussels Dabbed with Barbecue Sauce [Recipe] One of the most elegant dishes to serve but so, so simple. I had no idea. Fire up the grill, friends. We’re eatin’ island style. Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce [Recipe] A little …