Sumakh (Sumac) for Salt in Armenia (POLLS)

There are weeks I spend 10 hours grocery shopping. Take week 5, for example. Angola. I ran around to the fish market, the latino market, the african market, the health food store… and, just when I thought I was done, I realized I forgot something on the list and I had to head out again. With a baby, no less. A baby with needs. For example, Ava likes to eat once in a while. And sleep. And poop. She’s like a ticking time bomb; do too many errands, and she goes off. Well, this week I did not have to make ANY special trips. Hurrah! Thank goodness because it was raining cats and dogs when I got up the gumption to go. I’ll admit, I am pleasantly surprised at how simple Armenian food is.  It turns out Armenians love hungarian paprika and parsley. They use lemon juice, yogurt, and honey. And they like stuffed vegetables.  Incidentally, this is exactly how my mom cooks. Which is weird.  But also, very comforting. Ground Sumac/Sumakh The “strangest” ingredient on my shopping list was ground sumac. I’ll be …

Read More

Menu: Armenia

Nom, nom. I’m in the grazing mood. Solution? An Armenian Meza buffet for this weekend’s Global Table. Meza buffets are typically served cold or room temperature. Most of the dishes can be wrapped up or dipped in flatbread, making Meza great picnic food. This meal is vegetarian; add seasoned grilled chicken, beef, or lamb, if desired. Lavash Armenian flatbread Spiced Feta [Recipe] Feta seasoned with paprika, tarragon, oregano, and sumakh (tart berry powder available at middle eastern stores) Jajik (Cucumber Yogurt Dip) [Recipe] A refreshing blend of cucumbers, yogurt, mint and garlic Yalanchi Sarma (Stuffed Grape Leaves) [Recipe] Grape leaves stuffed with rice, onion, currants, pine nuts, and parsley Lupia Plaki (Stewed White Beans) [Recipe] Great Northern Beans  stewed with carrots, celery, onion, tomato, and garlic. Seasoned with Hungarian paprika and fresh parsley Itch (Bulgur Pilaf Salad) [Recipe] Bulgur with bell pepper, onion, scallions, fresh parsley, and lemon juice Revani (Hazelnut Cake in Honey Syrup) [Recipe] A sponge cake made with ground hazelnut and walnut soaks overnight in honey-brandy-cinnamon syrup.

Read More

About Armenian Food: where friendships are… salty?

Sayings stab the truth right in the eye – with just a few simple words they gracefully reveal local culture. For example, when an Armenian is in the company of good friends they say “We have bread and salt among us.” Why? Bread is an Armenian staple. The most popular flatbread is lavash, while the most popular leavened bread is Pideh. Comparing friendship to bread shows how both are basic sustenance to Armenians. Salt is an essential part of all diets because it is required for basic body function. “Without sodium, which the body cannot manufacture, the body would be unable to transport nutrients or oxygen, transmit nerve impulses, or move muscles, including the heart.” – Kurlansky, Salt On top of this, getting sea salt was historically challenging in landlocked Armenia.  Thus, comparing a friendship to salt is a high honor in Armenia. Ok. Let’s talk Armenian food. Armenians are known for lush markets filled with endless supplies of dried fruits, vegetables, olives, nuts, spices, and meats (check out the wonderful photos at Uncornered Market). Traditional meals include a healthy balance of fruit, vegetables, and meats, however tourists often don’t stray beyond the popular meat …

Read More

Monday Meal Review: Argentina

This is meal #7 in my personal challenge to eat one meal from every country in the world. This week I used my Great Aunt’s dishes for the first time. Her name was Caterina, but we called her Lulla Rina. Lulla Rina made two of my favorite childhood treats: spaghetti tossed with boiled potatoes and marinara, and braided challah with whole eggs baked inside. She’s been gone a long time now but I still smile when I think of those unusual treats. The day of our Argentine feast, I carefully unpacked the dishes. Many were missing or chipped, but I pulled out what I could and rinsed them under hot, soapy water. My fingers traced along the hundreds of harmless fractures that spidered across the old china, telltale signs of decades of use. She must have served thousands of meals on those beautiful dishes. I drank Yerba Mate tea from a teacup she’d once drank from and my heart was with her. Roasted Seasonal Pumpkin Salad with Arugula and Chevre [Recipe] What I like most about this dish: Imagine, if you will… aged goat cheese melts like butter into steaming roasted squash. Baby arugula …

Read More

More on Argentinian Empanadas and Dulce de Leche (poll)

Uggg. Empanadas are hard to make. Well, to be specific, they’re hard to “repulgue.” Watching the videos in yesterday’s post made me think “Wow, this is going to be a breeze.” So naive. So VERY naive. The videos made it look easy breezy because those people had probably repulgued (can you say that?) thousands of empanadas. When you have made zero, repulging (probably can’t say that) is not easy at all. So, I hope you’ll cut me some slack when you see what I made for this weekend. At least I didn’t resort to the fork (although I thought about it). Although the empanadas look like the product of a kindergarten craft project, lots of love and effort went into their making. My friend and I spent the better part of the day making dough, cooking the filling, cooling the filling, filling the filling into the filling… huh? what? Sorry, I had some sangria in there somewhere, too. Now that you’ve been updated, let’s talk dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is made by cooking sweetened condensed milk for several hours until …

Read More

Menu: Argentina

I am sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea and cookbooks strewn about me. This is a normal Tuesday night. I spend as much time looking at random recipes as I do Argentinian recipes. I realize I am happy. Thank you, Food, for all your incarnations. Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Arugula and Chevre [Recipe] The cavity of a steaming, roasted pumpkin is filled with goat cheese, arugula and mint vinaigrette. Any pumpkin variety is acceptable, depending on seasonal availability. Beef Empanadas [Recipe] A savory beef filling is wrapped in pastry and baked. Traditional recipes include hard-boiled egg and green onion. Chimichurri Dipping Sauce [Recipe] This garlicky dipping sauce made with fresh parsley has the consistency of a loose salsa. Pastel de Papa con Elote (Potato and Corn Pie) [Recipe] Mashed potatoes topped with pureed corn and baked. Crepes with Dulce de Leche [Recipe] Crepes are spread with a thin layer of milk fudge, rolled, and served warm from the oven.

Read More

About the food of Argentina – Beef, it’s what’s from Argentina

My mom tells me I didn’t like meat when I was a baby. My little chubby fingers pushed past the pot roast to get to the potatoes. To this day, I’ll almost always pick a black bean burger (or turkey burger) over a regular, beef burger. In fact, we eat vegetarian most nights. Well, here we are in Argentina. Land of Beef. Think Americans like their moo? Check this out… the average Argentinian consumes 2-4 servings of beef per meal, making their per capita beef consumption double America’s. (Source) brb… … Sorry, I had to go get some of my husband’s blood pressure medicine. My heart hurts. Let’s move on. Despite their obsession with red meat, Argentinians eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and grains. In fact they grow a healthy supply of wheat, corn, potatoes, and grapes. These staples make their way into many popular dishes and Argentina is known for great wine. (For those that do not consume alcohol, you might enjoy the popular tea, Mate, drunk throughout Argentina.) While they may be using local crops in their cooking, many Argentinian …

Read More

Monday Meal Review: Antigua and Barbuda

This is meal #6 in my personal challenge to eat one meal from every country in the world. Sea, salt, sand, balmy, breezy, beautiful. Nope. I woke up to 40F and overcast (with the closest beach a full day’s drive away). Not exactly the best weather or locale for Caribbean picnic food. And, just think, we had had 70 degree weather a few days earlier. Darn. Refusing to be brought down by ol’ man winter, I got dressed up to my smile and chanted the old mantra “mind over matter, mind over matter.” By meal time I was still dragging a little (I kept glancing out at the clouds, looking for some piece of blue sky – only to be dissapointed). I’ll tell you what – one bite into my sandwich and the dreary weather was far from my mind. The delicious flavors of the Caribbean uplifted me! (Perhaps I should be chanting “food over mood, food over mood” from now on). The meal just oozed spring sunshine (coconut rum, anyone???).  So much so that, after eating, I invited our guests to bring their daughter Abigail out back …

Read More

The National Weed of Antigua & Barbuda (poll)

Although I could not find a lot of information on Antigua and Barbuda, I still learned many interesting things this week (and had particular fun learning about Rodonda). 1. The National Fruit is the black pineapple, a small sweet pineapple that is grown on the main island. 2. The National Weed is the “widdy widdy.” The widdy widdy was eaten by slaves in a dish called Popololo. The high protein weed becomes slimy when cooked and is a known laxative. 3. Antigua was used for sugar cane cultivation, while soil impoverished Barbuda was used for cattle rearing. 4. The two main islands are a few hours apart by boat. 5. Theycall bananas… figs 6. Food related sayings from Antigua Museums: Back can wait, but not belly. Bellyful bruk pot. Bellyful man tell hungry man ‘Keep heart buddy’ Better man belly bus’ than good food waste. Buy you’ own n’yam (food), n’yam according to you’ pocket. Every day a fishing day,but no other day a catching day(Tings not always bright) Every good fungi no meet good pepperpot (Not every person meets a …

Read More

Menu: Antigua and Barbuda

Since Oklahoma is experiencing spring (hurrah!), this week’s Global Table is Antiguan inspired picnic fare. Still stuck in winter? Lay out your blanket indoors and bask in sunny smiles! Sparkling Grapefruit Breeze [Recipe] Mixed drink made with Jamaican Ting soda, fresh grapefruit and pineapple juices. So good the rum is optional. Tropical Curried Chicken on Baguette [Recipe] Curry, mango chutney, pineapple, and raisins make this chicken sandwich a refreshing treat. Spicy Mango and Avocado Salad [Recipe] Mango and avocado bite back when tossed with thinly sliced red onion and jalapeno. Baked Brown Sugar Bananas with Vanilla Ice Cream  [Recipe] Light these bananas on fire with coconut rum and your stomach will smile.

Read More

About the food of Antigua & Barbuda: 3 Caribbean Islands?

Call me a sucker, but I like to root for the underdog. This week her name is Redonda. That’s right. The microstate “Antigua and Barbuda” is actually made up of three islands: Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda.  The combined population is nearly 86,000, with Redonda contributing zero. I guess this is why Redonda gets left out of the name. Since I feel bad for Redonda I spent an inordinate amount of time looking up information on her. First fact: Redonda is about 500 hundred acres large. That’s less than a square mile. Here’s a picture: As you can see, the island is totally uninhabitable. The steep cliffs and total lack of freshwater make that a done deal. But… can’t you just see the Little Prince vacationing here with his rose? What I find incredibly funny is that Redonda, population zero, is under dispute by at least four kings who claim the island as their own.  The story is summarized in Wikipedia for anyone who is interested in the silly details. I guess I am not the only one who wished more for Redonda. With some regret, I will …

Read More