Posts | Global Table Adventure

Menu: Bhutan

I’m not sure I stand a chance with Bhutanese food. You may find me with my head in a bucket of ice before this week is over. I’m originally from New England where we don’t “do” spicy. In fact, my strapping Oklahoman husband is the only reason I can eat anything remotely spicy. Just looking at him down so-called “hot” buffalo chicken makes me sweat (although some of that is because of the crush I had – and continue to have – on him). Year after year of his teasing has worn me down and I’ve graduated from mild to medium. Let’s just say I’m nervous. NOTE: This week’s Global Table is completely vegetarian. Recipes and photos will be up on Monday, as usual. Butter Grilled Poblanos [Recipe] Poblano’s stuffed with a generous pat of butter and grilled until soft and smoky Ema Datshi (chili pepper and cheese stew/curry) [Recipe] Firey hot chilies and cheese melt together in the beloved national dish of Bhutan Cracked Red Rice [Recipe] Himalayan rice with a reddish/pink hue and …

About the food of Bhutan

The rugged mountain-country of Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas, between India and China. This largely vegetarian country is known for eating chili peppers (called ema) and rice in abundance. Just reading about their food made me break into a sweat. They actually treat the chili pepper as a vegetable, instead of a minor spice component to a larger dish. In other words, in many cases, the chili pepper is the meal. To a Bhutanese, however, ema (chilli) enjoys an exalted culinary position. It isn’t just a food or a fad. It is the stuff of life. It is integral Bhutanese heritage and culture. It’s not just the vegetable; it’s the taste. A bowl of black dhal or a cauliflower sabzi in a diner in India is likely to contain some chillies, and would be considered very hot by most people there. But that, as every Bhutanese who has studied in India would vouch, is piddling compared with the blistering fury of a highland Bhutanese chilli. But it is not raw heat that makes Bhutanese …

Monday Meal Review: Benin

In my humble opinion, the highs and lows of life are equally worthy of a great meal. Highs are cause for pompous, celebratory food that leaps, dancing into your mouth, while lows beg for rich, fattening foods that slide in softly and ground you (and your belly). It is therefore fitting that this week of highs (seeing Anthony Bourdain live at the Tulsa PAC) and lows (a miserable husband with a giant kidney stone that just won’t pass) be acknowledged with a special feast. As chance would have it, Benin is perfectly suited to this split-personality of a week, with an interesting blend of celebratory food (crab and bananas in orange sauce) and rich food (pureed black-eyed peas and coconut rice). Enjoy! PS – I’m not sure what happened, but this week’s Global Table is in varying shades of cream and brown. Not very visually exciting, but the flavors were good all the same. Crabs from Benin (Crabe Beninoise) [Recipe] What I liked most about this dish Crab is a real treat, classy enough for any …

Listen to a complicated love song from Benin

The first three and a half minutes of this video tell the story of a couple who are engaged. In the story the man’s friend makes a pass on the woman. She refuses his advances and tells her fiancé what happened. The fiance then goes to confront him, but the friend says that he was just testing the woman’s fidelity. The singer says for us to judge for ourselves. Then the chorus says that the friendship is true. After 3’30 the people start dancing a really interesting local dance.

Eating Out in Benin (with poll)

Because there is a shortage of information on Benin, I had to dig really deep to find some fun facts. In my search I happened upon a lovely blog by a young woman named Jen. Jen is an American who spent 2 years in Benin for the Peace Corps. I enjoyed reading through her experiences (although I am sad to report that they end mid-trip, suddenly and without explanation). First, I want to share a picture I found of her cooking class in Benin. You will see the lengths Jen and the other students are going to to get the food mashed and ready to eat. Makes you appreciate blenders, food processors, immersion blenders, and power gadgets in general. AND it makes me not feel so bad for having to peel 1,000,000 beans the other day. Upon reading some more of Jen’s blog, I learned that food service is typically very slow (in this entry she was visiting an area called Grand Po Po). In fact, some restaurants take 1-2 hours to prepare the food. Why, you …

Menu: Benin

Although Benin is an impoverished country with many people living off a simple diet of fufu, yam, rice, and beans, the cuisine also offers upscale, global flavors, most notably influenced by French flavors and techniques. For example, this menu features crab, an commonly fished for in the south of Benin, prepared in a simplified French manner with eggs and vegetables. Crabs from Benin [Recipe] Lump crabmeat baked with egg, onion, garlic, tomato, and hot chili peppers Pureed Black-eyed Peas [Recipe] Steaming hot black-eyed peas are pureed and beaten with butter Coconut Rice [Recipe] White rice simmered in rich coconut milk Green Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce [Recipe] Bananas baked in orange juice and brown sugar. Serve hot as is, over plain cake, or with ice cream.

About the food of Benin

Tall, thin, and irregular, Benin juts deep into the African continent, resembling a smoked turkey leg (which just happens to be my favorite fair food here in Oklahoma). Thanks to this unusual geography there is a notable difference between the food in the semi-arid north and the tropical south. Traditional Cuisine: Corn is the starch of choice in the more fertile south, whereas yams are more popular in the dry north. In both cases, the starch is cooked down into a mush-like consistency and eaten with the fingers. This traditional preparation is called fufu. The entire country also eats white rice cooked in rich, fatty coconut milk, when affordable. This tradition spread to the Caribbean where it remains popular. Peanuts are also traditional and are used many ways in Benin, the most prevalent of which is called kuli kuli. Kuli kuli are ground peanuts bound together to create balls which are then deep-fried. This rich treat is essentially deep-fried peanut butter. Mmm, sounds heart-stoppingly good. Culinary Favorites: Spicy peanut sauce is the ketchup of Benin. …

Monday Meal Review: Belize

I just did a big kitchen clean-up to get rid of the cluster of stuff I thought I had to have. One big item I got rid of was my bread machine. Although I use it all the time to mix and keep my dough warm, I have never once baked in it. Seems silly, really. I have a beautiful standing mixer that can mix bread dough just fine (even better, actually), so I’m taking my precious counter space back and tossing the bread machine! (giving it to a friend, actually) I’m generally a fan of the simple life. This Belizean saying underscores what happens when you try to “keep up with the Joneses” and the latest fashions: “Falla-fashin monkey cahn buy good soup guh dung a gully go eat dutty soup” Translation: “Follow-fashion monkey cannot buy good soup, so he goes down to the gully to eat dirty soup.” I’d much rather have good soup than dirty soup, so I guess I’ll never be a fashion monkey! Speaking of which, we had some mighty good …

Ogle delicious BBQ & a Belizean fertility dance

A happy man cooking BBQ in Belize talks about cooking on coconut husks: Belizean Fertility Dance:

The One of a Kind Flag of Belize (with poll)

Bamboo Chicken Locals call the native Belizean iguana “Bamboo Chicken.” Considered a delicacy, the meat is stewed and served with white rice, vegetables, and fried plantains. The iguana egg is also enjoyed as a special food. Dügü (Feeding of the dead) Dügü is a Garifuna feast held to appease dead spirits and bring healing to the living. Families gather together to celebrate and show respect to the spirits of their ancestors. Mangoes Over 20 types of mangoes grow in Belize with such favorites as Julie, Number Eleven, Slippery, Bellyfull, Blue and Hairy mango. The Universe The Maya, a prevalent indigenous culture in Belize, perceived their universe to be quadripartite. They thought the earth was four-sided, like a crocodile or turtle, and floated in primordial sea. Cow-foot Soup Feel sick after a night of partying? Try cow-foot soup. Made with cow’s hoof that has been stewed and seasoned with local herbs and spices, this hearty soup is served hot with white rice cooked in coconut milk. Hurricanes The capital, Belize City, was moved to Belmopan in 1970 after …

Menu: Belize

Special thanks to those of you on our Facebook fan page who voted for this week’s Global Table dessert. Although my husband is sad because he voted for Lemon Meringue pie, I’m thrilled because I am super curious how pone tastes. Since I love sweet potatoes, I’m guessing this dessert will be right up my alley. On another note, this week is also interesting because we’ll learn how to make red recado seasoning (see Stew Chicken). I am always looking for new seasoning ideas; I hope that this pungent spice paste becomes a “go to” for our meals in the future. Stew Chicken [Recipe] Chicken thighs stewed in with peppers and red recado (a seasoning paste made from a blend of annato seed, ancho chili powder, Mexican oregano, vinegar, orange juice, garlic, onion and other spices). Johnny Cakes [Recipe] Johnny cakes are somewhat like a biscuit. In Belize they are often eaten for breakfast with refried beans, sausage, and eggs. Here, we serve them sliced open and piled high with stewed chicken. Fried Plantains [Recipe] …

About the Food of Belize

I hope you had a splendid Memorial Day weekend. As for myself? Well. When it comes to long weekends I over-book and under-accomplish. After creating a ten-item honey-do list, I typically only manage to “check off” half of one item. The reason I didn’t get anything done? We went out and had fun splashing at the water park, romancing on a dinner date, rummaging at yard-sales, swimming with a friend, and more! There’s worse things than undone chores, let me tell you. All that running around did get me a bit frazzled. I needed something familiar, yet a little exotic, to soothe my brain after a hectic holiday weekend … which is why I’m happy to dive into the cuisine of Belize. For those of you who have been following along, you’ll see that their food is somewhat similar to the Caribbean food we’ve explored in past weeks, with the common overlapping of flavors from Europe, Spain, South America, India, and Africa. However, Belize is unique in the number of Mexican inspired dishes they enjoy. …