Posts | Global Table Adventure

About the food of Malaysia

I’ll be honest with you. I did my research for Malaysia backwards. Well, backwards from what I usually do. What I usually do is crack open the books, absorb as much information as I can, before writing all about the country. This week, I simply popped in on my old college friend MC from Malaysia, via Facebook, and grilled him with 20 questions. What should I make? I asked him. And, then, on cooking day, I popped in with even more questions. He was very gracious and answered my questions for two days straight. Thanks to him, I ended up with a scrumptious menu (which you’ll see tomorrow, as usual). But, only after my head hit the pillow, did I realize that I knew almost nothing about Malaysian food except for what he told me. So let’s start there. Beef Rendang [Recipe] is pretty much the national dish. He told me so, just as others have before him. As with so many other foods, rendang is popular all over the region, not just in Malaysia. The curry, …

Monday Meal Review: Malawi

THE SCENE I look at the cooled, heart-shaped biscuits from Malawi. The electric, sunny color stuns me. But there is no time to dilly dally. I am late. Quickly, I tuck two of the hearts into a ziplock baggie and pour Ava into her oversized winter coat. The fur lining makes her look like a little lion. I roar at her as we jog to the car. She giggles. When I walk into the Global Garden classroom at Rosa Parks Elementary school twenty minutes later, a dozen 3rd and 4th graders look over. They are seated in a circle on the floor, shoes off. One student shows me to my seat – the furthest away from the exits. They’ve done their homework. We are about to sample Japanese “espresso jello drink” (from back when I cooked Japan), except their version is kid-friendly (a.k.a. caffeine free), made with mocha flavored cocoa. I spend the next hour answering their questions about the blog and my family. I am moved and honored by their interest. The most touching part …

Menu: Malawi

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 …

About the food of Malawi

Malawi undulates and ambles along eastern Africa – a collection of soft rolling hills and glistening lake waters, dotted with thatched villages, dusty courtyards, and a healthy array of vivid, green trees. The land is striking and, yet, completely new to me. When it comes to mealtime, I was immediately intrigued by the street food. First, there’s grilled mice, boiled goat liver, banana fritters (zitumbuwa) and chippies. The first two I witnessed in travel videos. I read about chippies on Be-ing Brittany. Brittany is a Community Health Advisor in Malawi. We emailed back and forth, during which time I learned that chippies are simply crisp, deep-fried potoato wedges, served with tsabola [Recipe], a firey dipping sauce (most street food is served with tsabola). Here is a typical chippies stand in action: While (select) street food is enough to make me board the first plane to Malawi, most people eat a simple diet of boiled maize called Nsima or Ufa (not unlike the papa we made for Lesotho), sometimes with peanuts added, beans, or fish from the giant lake. The …

Monday Meal Review: Madagascar

THE SCENE I click through my email, waiting for the smoke. The burning. Before long, I’m elbows deep in an email from a woman who just started reading our blog. She asks “Do you ever not like the food of a particular country? Do you ever get tired of cooking food from other places?” I sit back, thinking… not because I don’t know the answer, but to mull over – to savor – the hundreds of dishes we’ve eaten over the last two years (I started this blog in February 2010). So many wonderful meals. So much goodness in the world. So much I could have never imagined until I began eating my way around the world. My tummy growls and I glance at the clock. Oops! I say to Malky, the cat, and pop up to give the rice a stir. A nutty, toasted smell fills the kitchen. Looking good. A moment later I am back at my computer. “Nope.” I write the woman, “Every week is like a gift, waiting to be unwrapped. Even …

Menu: Madagascar

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 …

About the food of Madagascar

Watching Andrew Zimmern‘s Bizzare Foods episode on Madagascar, I was amazed by some of the shocking foods he ate. On this island nation roughly the size of Texas, you can find everything on the dinner platter from bugs to – get ready for it – circumcision ceremony remnants. Ahem. I’m not going to clarify that one. (Remember, I’m here to bring us together over simple foods, not shocking foods, so we won’t be going down any of those roads. I will say, however, if you get a chance and are curious, Zimmern never disappoints when it comes to the Bizarre). Even though Madagascar is about as remote as it gets – 200 miles away from Africa and populated with plants and animals that have continued to evolve on their own for thousands of years – there are some things you’ll recognize. For starters there’s rice – a staple from which nothing goes to waste. Even the scrapings off the bottom of the rice pot are burned until toasty, then mixed with water to make “Burnt …

Monday Meal Review: Macedonia

THE SCENE It took four batches of dough. Eight pizzas… I think. Honestly, I can’t be sure. I lost count. There were many casualties. First, my fingers, from impatiently grabbing hot crust. Then the tip of my tongue, from greedily tasting the pizza too soon. And, of course, my clothes, the counters, and even the cat all groaned under a thick coating of flour. Even Ava was out of sorts on our first tasting, throwing an all out temper tantrum on the floor before begrudgingly sampling half a tiny bite of pizza. Hoping to get the recipe right, I persevered. Over and over again I made the dough, diced the pork, and popped Macedonian pizzas onto the searingly hot baking stone. Sometimes the egg didn’t cook. Sometimes the dough didn’t rise (one batch, a bit too stiff, was simply too dry to puff up). Sometimes the egg slid off the pizza completely. And one time, it seemed the oven was 100 degrees hotter than expected. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, but the result …

Menu: Macedonia

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 …

About the food of Macedonia

Mmmm… M! We’re finally here. Yesterday, when I told my husband Keith (a.k.a. Mr Picky) that we were about to launch into the M’s with this week’s Macedonian Global Table, he was surprised. I’m pretty sure he never thought we’d make it. And to be honest, I’m not sure I did either. Every letter until now has seemed like the beginning of the alphabet – the beginning of the Adventure. The thing about M is how much it sounds like progress – like we’re going places. Then Keith calculated that we’d be here for the next five months or so. Hmmm. Time to get comfortable. So, M… Macedonia. Let’s go and say hello… (Just be sure to look up while we do. Literally. Macedonia roughly translates to “tall ones” … most likely in reference to the ancient people’s height and to the mountainous terrain). In fact, everything seems to be scaled up… and way up high. To say that she’s studded with mountains is an understatement. In fact, most likely thanks to her gritty geography, Macedonia lays claim …

Monday Meal Review: Luxembourg

THE SCENE I slowly make my way to the table, balancing the heavy, ceramic tureen as I go. For twenty dollars at the local flea market my soup plays dress up, looking quite fancy as she swims in the tureen’s old-fashioned angles. I feel like Martha Stewart for a moment, as I lift off the creamy white lid with a flourish. Still… Luxembourg’s famous Green Bean Soup, now steaming and beckoning, barely makes an impression on me. Sure – it’s good. I know that because I snuck a taste five minutes ago in the kitchen. But my mind, ever restless, rattles on, past dinner, to the upcoming Apple Cake. They are going to love it, I tell myself proudly as I ladle the soup into Ava’s bowl. I’m thinking of the powdered sugar and cinnamon when I instruct her to put a few sausage slices and crumbles of bacon in her soup. As her little hands begin the process of garnishing her bowl, I’m dreaming of the cake’s delicate, moist crumb and sweet apples. I eat my …

Menu: Luxembourg

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 …