I don’t make a lot of really, really weird things on this blog. You won’t see deep-fried tarantulas or monkey brains. This is because I feel strongly that regular people (and by that I mean regular-really-special-all-kinds-of-wonderful people like you), living in average towns (that they love with all their heart, like you do) should be able to replicate this adventure without pulling their hair out by the roots. Simply put: the more people cooking the world, the better. And I’m here to make it as easy as possible. That being said, sometimes I run across really strange recipes made with really normal ingredients. These are like culinary goldmines for the stovetop traveler. Unique learning experiences that are not an impossible nightmare to cobble together. Fun, fun, fun. Take today’s recipe from Papua New Guinea: Saksak, a.k.a. Sago Dumplings. This slippery treat is made with nothing more than tapioca, bananas and sugar, wrapped up in a banana leaf “blanket” and swimming in a warm coconut sea. I found everything for the Saksak in our grocery store except for the banana leaves. …
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“I would eat that” says Mr. Picky, after taking a nibble off of my wooden spoon. I take a bite off the same spoon and let my eyes flutter shut. My mouth is filled with the most comforting, savory goodness. These coconut veggies taste exactly like a delicious hug on a rainy day… or a steaming hot shower after a rough and tumble game of basketball… or that happy dream you have after finishing a really, really great book (or show) – the kind of dream that lets the world of the characters continue on in your imagination. Good stuff. There’s nothing so softly seductive as sweet potatoes, butternut squash, potato, and green beans, simmered in creamy coconut milk with a touch of ginger and garlic. This is the quintessential Papua New Guinean meal – one you’ll often see ladled over white, somewhat mushy rice. Why mushy? Well, according to Caroline Leigh who has been to Papua New Guinea, rice cooked in thin aluminum pots is always mushy. Since almost all pots in Papua New Guinea …
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Fried plantain chips are a slice-it and deep-fry-it situation that you’ll find all over Panama (and beyond). They’re the kind of yummy you can enjoy whether you’re grouchy and glum or over-the-moon happy. Today I made a nice “thick cut” chip – for a little crispy-chewy action, although tostones are often shaved skinny, like potato chip. Either way you’ll find it helpful to use a mandolin for nice, even slices. This is nothing like a sweet banana (looks can be deceiving). This is her savory cousin – full of good fiber and lots of potassium. I like to remind myself of that, as I reach for my second and third helpings. Serves 2-4 as a snack Ingredients: 2 green plantains vegetable oil for deep frying sea salt cracked black pepper Method: For starters, peel your plantain. Tip: Peeling a green plantain can be a little tricky. The easiest way is to cut off the top and bottom and score a line along the length of the plantain. Lift up from this line to remove the peel. If …
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Way out in the Pacific ocean sits a bumpy, bumbling little island country called Palau. From what I hear, the fine people (20,000 strong) slather barbecue sauce on just about anything. Fish. Chicken. Even mussels. Some say it’s the American influence on their cuisine, but I detect a nod to the rich gingery-garlic barbecue sauces of Asia as well. I immediately knew that I had to make homemade barbecue sauce to experience our Palauan Global Table to the fullest. And if I was going to take inspiration from anywhere for the sauce, it would have to be from one of my favorite food blogs, Joy the Baker. Joy recently made Bourbon Orange Coriander BBQ Sauce. Hello, there’ s bourbon in her sauce. As I went along, however, I realized I needed to make a few changes …. of the whimsical, I-can’t-leave-well-enough-alone variety. For starters, I wanted to add peaches since I had a bunch to use up from the late summer’s harvest (oh… an Oklahoma peach is a divine thing indeed). Once there were peaches in the …
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Next time you go to a potluck, spice up everyone’s life with pakistani mixed bean salad. Each bite has bits of chickpea, northern white beans, tomato, onion, and peppers. The salad can be spicy or mild, tart or savory. It all depends on how you mix it. Either way, it’s fresh, healthy, and – thanks to being seasoned with lemon juice, cilantro, and garam masala – just on the other side of unusual. Be sure to make this salad at least a few hours before you need it, to give time for the flavors to meld. Overnight is best. Recipe adapted from Laura Kelley at Silk Road Gourmet. Ingredients: 1 (15 oz) can northern white beans, drained 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained 2 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 large onion, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped green chili pepper, minced (to taste)* 1- 1 1/2 lemons juiced (to taste) 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (vegetable oil may be substituted) 1 tsp garam masala ** pepper salt 1/2 bunch cilantro, stemmed & torn roughly *I used part of a hatch chili …
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I’m not a sadist by any means, but I will take any chance I can get to make my sweet Mr Picky drink coffee. For years now, he has claimed to hate the stuff. I maintain that coffee simmered gently with milk and spices is not the same as the sludge served at the local gas station. I’ve tried making him Nauru’s “Recycled” Iced Coffee (no luck), Arabian Cardamom Coffee (no luck), and even an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, complete with popcorn (he exhibited mild curiosity but only ate the popcorn). I’m not disappointed at my lack of success, however. I look at this as a challenge, one of the few hurdles we still have to tackle with his picky ways… I’m determined to find a winning combination that he’ll at least tolerate by the end of this Adventure (and open to any suggestions you might have). Today’s coffee, inspired by Pakistan, is a milky mixture of sweet cardamom, the most haunting whisps of cinnamon, and a lingering sweetness that is sure to bring out anyone’s smile. I …
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I’d like the record to state that I’m ready for a big hug. It’s the end of summer, times are changing, and I’m ready for that love-filled feeling that comes with a smooshable hug. I see people doing it all the time – their bodies smiling as they pull to each other. My husband still hugs me, which is the best kind of snuggle-hug I can ask for. But I want more. I want the kind of hug that can’t come from him. Or any person. It’s the kind of hug that comes from taking a giant bite of garlic bread. It’s the cozy feeling I get as I methodically tear apart a tray of buttery garlic knots. But even that kind of hug seems so… ordinary. Today I want the extraordinary. Actually, every day I should want the extraordinary, but that’s something I’ll need to work out with my life coach. Enter Pakistan and an ambling line of garlic goodness. This grand garlic is going into a heaping platter of Garlic Basmati Rice sprinkled with Toasted …
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For some, the season of flip flops is over, now replaced by the steady clickety-clack of school shoes on polished linoleum. For others, school is nothing more than a faint memory, farther yet than the setting sun’s shimmering rays upon which our dreams cling. Either way, Rosewater Lemonade will put a smile where you need it most. For the back-to-schoolers, this drink represents everything easy-breezy; a way to go global, even in the midst of lost backpacks, homework, and forgotten lunches. Each sip will take you to the middle east and Oman, where Rosewater Lemonade is a cherished treat. For those who cling to the distant memory of schoolyard days, this is your ticket to the lost joys of youth. Each sip tastes like a thousand roses bathing in fresh squeezed sunlight. Literally. Now, here’s the deal. This time of year I have too many paper cuts to squeeze my own lemonade. If you find yourself in the same position, I have a sneaky trick for you. Add several slices of fresh lemon to each cup of store-bought lemonade …
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This week we dove into a summery garden spread from Oman. Kofta are grilled hand-formed sausages enjoyed in Oman and neighboring countries. In fact, versions of kofta are enjoyed as far east as India (although these are typically served in meatball form). These Omani kofta sizzle with earthy cumin, warm flutterings of cinnamon, and are rounded out by coriander seed, fresh parsley and cilantro. The sauce – entirely vegan, by the way – is loaded up with fresh zucchini, garlic, parlsey and such a little sprinkle of mint, noone will know what your secret ingredient is. You can make it as spicy as you’d like with red pepper flakes (or go wild with cayenne, if you must). P.S. This sauce would be great for a variation on our vegetarian Shakshouka that we made back with Israel. Shakshouka is also enjoyed in Oman. Recipe adapted from Laura Kelley at Silk Road Gourmet, where she journies through the cuisines, histories and cultures of the more than thirty countries that traded goods along that great lifeline of the ancient world. Ingredients: For …
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I can be so wimpy. Sometimes I need a little push. A little motivation. Like that time I wanted to dive off the tall board at the pool. It was seventh grade and I was so scared my heart was in my ears. Thump, thump, thump. I could hardly see. Even my knees were woozy. I held hands with a friend and, after a thirty-minute long giggle-hesitation, I actually jumped in. Unfortunately, the force of jumping 15 feet did things to my bathing suit I still don’t want to talk about. I never did jump off that board again, although I’ll always be glad I did. Today is much the same. Gravlax, our second Norwegian dish for our Global Table. The very idea of eating made me weak in the knees. (Tip: Invite a Scandinavian friend over to help get you over those giggle-hesitations). Gravlax is cured salmon, a.k.a. raw salmon that sits in a bed of sugar and salt for three days or until firm and ready to eat. The flavor is typically enhanced with …
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This is so quick, it’s silly. All you need are a few medium-ripe plantains (as pictured), some red palm oil, and a bit of salt & hot pepper. You can find the red palm oil at your natural grocer or, if you’re lucky enough to have an African market, there. You brush on the red palm oil (back in the day I wrote a bit about this popular west African oil)… Sprinkle with salt and whatever spices you like (think hot, like cayenne… or mild, like paprika)… Grill until tender and charred, but not mushy. Slice and serve… … preferably with crushed peanuts and a sprinkling of extra spices, as desired. This would also be great with minced chili peppers, like jalapeno. That’s it! A quick and relatively fuss-free taste of Nigeria. Adapted from The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent by Jessica Harris. Here’s what you need… Ingredients: 3 plantains 1-2 Tbsp red palm oil handful crushed peanuts salt cayenne pepper, optional Grilled Plantain spears with crushed peanuts | Boli Bopa Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate …
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My pantry’s name is Patty.* She’s actually just a shelf in the laundry room, above the vacuum cleaner and mop, but I love her all the same. Right now she could use a diet – she is packed with boxes upon boxes of noodles, rice, 8 kinds of oils, soup, 4 bags of coffee from around the world, 4 kinds of dried chili peppers, and fishy bouillon cubes I bought 2 years ago for one of our Global Table meals and promptly forgot to use (I’m going to go ahead and presume they aren’t good any more). Just the other day I unearthed three bulk bags of peanuts in the back corner of the shelf. This is what happens when Patty is in disorder. When I don’t clear through her clutter. I’ve never been happier to have too many peanuts in my pantry. It means I get to make Suya, west African Peanut Kabobs. These kabobs, ever-so-popular in Nigeria, crackle with the most addictive crust – ground peanuts seasoned with fresh ginger, garlic, paprika, onion powder, and …
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