Vanilla beans might as well be jewels. The insides are full of teeny, tiny black caviar – the likes of which I can’t help but want all over my ice cream and baked goods… I even like to dab vanilla extract on my wrists when baking. Suffice it to say, I’m a fan. Now, imagine yourself in a country like Madagascar, where there are enough vanilla beans to pave the streets. There, thanks to such quantity, the people use vanilla bean caviar much more whimsically than I can ($8 per bean, anyone?). Even just this little bit easily perfumes my entire home… Can you imagine how intoxicating the air must smell in Madagascar, where clumps of vanilla beans hang heavy in the humid air? So what about today’s fun recipe? Well, we’re following the Malagasy style, and using the bean used in it’s most pure form, tossed with fresh, tropical fruit. The juices become infused with the most amazing, haunting vanilla flavor. While I thought I was going to make a mixed fruit salad (hello, did …
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Looking back, I’m not sure how I resisted for so long. Honestly. We’re more that halfway done eating the world and, yet, I haven’t made regular ol’, plain Jane, rice pudding (something altogether different than the exotic sticky rice coconut pudding I made for Laos). I find this fact is so surprising because, whenever I crack open my cookbooks to research the food of another country, I run into rice pudding. Rice pudding iseverywhere, on every continent, in all forms. Since globalization has made rice easily available to most peoples, this basic dish continues to spread throughout the world like wildfire. The dessert is a staple on our world “menu,” especially for the tropical countries, along with anything plantain, avocado, or banana. So, here we are. I’m giving in. I’m going for it! You can thank Macedonia, where they enjoy a version called Sutlijash. The simple recipe brings a happy stick of cinnamon and fresh lemon peel to the pot, which adds a subtle, sunshiny note to an otherwise sweet, hearty pudding. As for my delay? Perhaps I didn’t broach …
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In the southern reaches of Luxembourg, in an area called Gutland, live a happy collection of orchards where apples, plums, cherries and berries ripen in the sun. Now… I knew, without a doubt, that I absolutely, positively wanted to make a plum cake when we got to Luxembourg, however the seasons were against me. Since it is January and not a plum in sight, I somewhat grumpily resigned myself to making a traditional apple cake, a.k.a. Plan B. One bite in and I knew this was a fantastic choice. Made with a buttery dough and a wet custard, the two layers literally combine in the oven, creating a moist, incredibly delicious cake. When topped with a heavy dusting of cinnamon and confectioner’s sugar, all feels right with the world. Right… and very apple-tastic. NOTES: Use a 8″ cake pan with standard 2″ inch sides (no shorter). Do not use a springform pan, as the milk mixture will certainly leak out. The easiest way to remove the cake from cake pan is to let cool until …
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Epiphany. People use the word to say they had a great idea. Like the proverbial lightbulb going off over one’s head. But we’re not going to eat lighbulbs today. Nope. Epiphany is the time of year that Liechtenstein, as well as many other countries around the world, celebrate “little Christmas.” This national holiday is celebrated on January 6 and is a nod to the late arrival of the 3 kings to the very first Christmas party… afterall, they did hike quite a ways to get to Bethlehem. Calling the Dreikönigskuchen a cake is somewhat a misnomer as it is really more of a sweet roll. You can find it fresh in bakeries all over Liechtenstein. Filled with fresh citrus rind, sweet raisins and bound with the richness of milk and butter, it’s a fantastic treat on a cold winter’s day. The best part? A single almond is hidden inside one of the rolls. Whoever finds it gets to be King (or Queen) for the day. It’s a beautiful and fun game for kids. Once the winner is …
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Every day should be special. A day to use fancy napkins. A day to nibble cookies with tea. A day to smile more than you did the entire year before. This cookie is for such a day. Say hello to the ghraiba, or Libya’s answer to crispy, buttery shortbread. They aren’t super sweet, but they have a tender crumb, perfect for teatime. Two things make these cookies unique. First, they are made with ghee, a.k.a. cooked, clarified butter. Second, they are studded with whole cloves, which can be eaten in their entirety. The quick bake in the oven mellows the flavor enough to make the experience bearable. I made half of the cookies plain and half of them with a hit of cocoa. Decorated with whole cloves (yes, eat the whole thing!) and pine nuts, they make for a delightful giftbox for a hostess gift. The funny thing about these cookies is that they do not spread. At all. And they cook very quickly, so plan accordingly Makes several dozen 1 inch balls. Ingredients: 7.5 ounces ghee, room temperature (about a …
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Welcome to my weakness. The mango. If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed I make a lot of recipes with this heavenly fruit. Quite possibly I’ve made more mango recipes than anything else. Everything about the mango is perfect. Sweet. Golden. Juicy. And, right now, totally in season. So, go find one (or five hundred). Rain or shine. In Liberia they like to chop them up and cook them with cloves. About four cloves will give the mango an alluring, but not overpowering flavor – reminiscent of pie filling. If the mangoes are perfectly ripe, they don’t even need sugar. Otherwise, a spoonful should do you. Cook for just ten minutes and serve this as-good-as-pie-filling with a big dollop of whipped cream. The whipped cream melts just a little from the heat of the snuggly-warm mangoes… Good luck sharing this with anyone else. I ate the whole thing by myself. Ava was napping. Keith was working. And I, … well, I have no regrets. Here’s how you do it: Serves 1-2 Ingredients: 2 cups …
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Birthdays are fun but birth days are even more so. Family and friends hugging, smiling, crying – everyone in wide eyed at the wonder of a new child’s most innocent gaze. Since Keith’s grandson was born last week, I thought it appropriate to make a birthday cake in his honor. I sought out such a thing in Latvia,only to find something very unexpected. Latvians have a tradition of baking pretzel-shaped sweet bread – not exactly cake – and topping it with candles. The Klingeris, as its called, can be used to celebrate birthdays and name days – which, as it sounds, is the day dedicated to celebrating your particular name. From what I’ve read, Latvians celebrate name days with gifts and parties, and often these celebrations are even larger than their standard birthday celebrations. So let’s get to celebrating, Latvian-style. Welcome to the world, little Kaiden Ray. Recipe inspired by Latvia (Cultures of the World, Second), in which this treat is called by the more Scandinavian name Kringel) Makes 1 large pretzel Ingredients: 2 tsp yeast 1/2 …
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I have a problem. Mangoes. I ate an entire crate of mangoes when I was pregnant with Ava. Ten mangoes in less than a week. Or was it twenty? Mangoes are so outrageously good right now. I can barely stop eating them long enough to let them soften up on the counter. I have trouble sharing. Thankfully Laos has a dessert that showcases this crazy fruit in a fun and simple way. Remember that sticky, sticky rice? The staple of Laos? That’s your ticket. Let’s whip up a heaping bowl of warm coconut rice pudding topped with soft, sweet mango. I’m already dancing a Golden Coconut Dream. Ingredients: 4 cups cooked sticky rice (2 cups uncooked) 1 15 oz can light coconut milk 1/4 cup brown sugar, or more to taste milk for thinning, as desired 1-2 small, ripe mangoes, cubed Method: On a sweet sort of day, with just the right sort of bite in the air, when your mangoes are perfectly – tenderly – soft, cook your way to a lovely dream. Simply add the …
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Flija, flija, flija… Have you ever loved someone so impossible that they made you want to tear your hair out? Have you ever known someone who seemed really complicated at the time, but when you really, really think back, you realize they were about simple as it gets – that just maybe you were the complicated one? Have you known someone whose company turns minutes into hours, until you forget hunger in a the wake of good conversation? Do you like to whittle? How about the opposite – slowly adding bits and bits to something until a whole forms? You’ll experience all of the above with Flija. It’s a total workout – mind, body, and soul. I’ll guide you through it. Here’s the deal. Once in a while I make recipes on this blog that take a extra effort, like the twenty layer German Tree Cake (a family favorite). Other times, I make recipes that are incredibly simple but are designed to be as much an activity as they are a meal, like Hungarian Bacon on Sticks (genius). Today I bring …
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While I don’t typically dive into steaming hot bowls of sweet pumpkin soup, I just might make an exception today. And, if I did, I just might use one of those rice balls as a floaty. No judgments, please. I just like pumpkin a whole lot. The unusual thing about this soup is not how sweet it is, or even the fact that there’s rice balls in it (that’s not much different than a dumpling) – it’s that there’s a scoop of sweet red beans lurking at the bottom of the bowl, waiting for the unsuspecting diner to slurp and nibble and glump. Glump? Sure. That’s exactly what sweet red beans are like. In the best possible way, of course. So, let’s take ourselves deep into the heart of Korea. Perhaps on the first snowfall, when freezing freckles of snow just barely stick to the ground. It’s the best time to saddle up to a bowl of sweet pumpkin soup. Recipe inspired by Aeri’s Kitchen. Serves 6 Ingredients: 5 cups of steamed pumpkin (from a 3-5 lb pumpkin) 5 …
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If you’ve been to the grocery store lately you’ve seen it. Mounds and mounds of pumpkins. They’re bright fire orange, forest green, haystack yellow, cloud white, and even sorceress gray. Some are bumpy and some are flat out gnarly. They’re all saying hello, strutting their stuff, hoping you’ll take them home. Every year I take a few more home than the year before. I can’t help it. I like the teeny weeny ones best. The kind Ava can practically palm in her small 2 year-old hand. I also like to grab weird ones I haven’t tried before as well as ones that look a little forlorn and forgotten. What can I say – I love all pumpkins equally. That being said, let’s focus in. Today is all about the Kabocha pumpkin. The skin of these smallish gems are mostly green and with a flare of orange. You’ll find them all over Asia and Oceania, including this week’s Global Table – Kiribati. Technically I think they’re a squash – like butternut. The inside looks just like …
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