4. Cambodia: Part II

Mmm, Cambodia night. Nothing like good ole-fashioned sweet and sour veggies. I ended up finding an awesome (and large) Oriental market near our home, so I got a big pack of rice noodles for the low price of $1.25 (we'll be heading back soon!). Co and I both really enjoyed this recipe -- lots of fresh veggies, ginger, and Co's favorite -- pineapple. The recipe is sweet, so you may want to lower the brown sugar a bit. Aside from the sugar, this recipe has ZERO oil or butter - and you don't miss either one bit.

A tip for all you fellow ginger lovers out there: freeze it! I buy a big piece at the grocery store, stick it in a freezer-safe ziplock, and use a hand grater to add fresh flakes to meals. I don't worry about the peel unless I'm dicing it -- I'm sure there are some nutrients in the peel, anyway :) One $2 piece lasts me at least a month... and it's sooo much better than powdered.

Another note on the recipes on this blog -- I don't use measuring cups/spoons unless I'm baking... so interpret the proportions liberally. Taste as you go, and enjoy making the dishes your own.
 
Sweet and Sour Vegetables with Rice Noodles

Cory tries to interpret instructions that
might as well have been in Chinese

1 c carrots, sliced
1 bag chopped frozen broccoli
1 onion, cut in wedges
1 c water
1 bunch green onions, cut in 1" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t fresh grated ginger
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 20-oz can pineapple chunks in juice
 rice noodles (1/4 bag)

1 c unsweeted pineapple juice
1/2 c cider vinegar
3 T soy sauce
3-4 drops red food coloring (fake MSG)
1/3 c brown sugar
2 T cornstarch
garlic salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

Sumberge rice noodles in warm water for 30 minutes (not over heat). Drain the pineapple, reserve the juice and set aside. Place the vegetables in a large pot or wok with 1 cup of the water, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 6-8 minutes. Stir, then cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir in the sauce mixture, then add the pineapple. Cook, stirring until thickened. Add rice noodles, simmer for 2 mins, and serve!

4. Cambodia Part I

Today was another full day of domesticity. I love to cook and craft, but I never seem to have time once the semester kicks in -- so breaks tend to be dotted with overambitious projects. Since school let out, I've reupholstered a chair, sewed a dozen Christmas stockings, and started this wonderful culinary adventure. It feels great to get out some creative energy!

Because we were already chopping veggies for Bosnian night, I decided to prep vegetables for tomorrow nights' dinner, as well as make a few treats for New Years: Cambodian Coconut Pound Cake and my mom's amazing artichoke dip. We tasted mini-cupcakes of the pound cake - yum! Many of the "authentic" recipes I found used flake coconut, but my husband doesn't like the texture.. so I added a brown sugar glaze to spruce it up instead. Part 2 of Cambodia will be tomorrow night - sweet and sour veggies over rice. I must admit - we're pretty pumped to start on Asian food, as it tends to rest well with our under-cultured American palates :). 

Another great part of this recipe? We already had the ingredients on hand!  

 



Num Tirk Doung  (Coconut Pound Cake) 

Cake:
1/2 c butter, melted
1.5 c sugar
4 eggs
3/4 c light coconut milk
2 T vanilla
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 c all purpose flour 

Non-authentic Glaze:
equal parts brown sugar and butter 

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, creamed together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt and coconut milk. Blended all purpose flour (and shredded coconut, if used).
 
Grease cake pan with Pam. Pour the cake batter in to the cake pan, and bake for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool before removing from the pan. To top with glaze - melt butter, stir in brown sugar, and pour over cake, then return to oven for a few minutes. Serve with tea or coffee. 

3. Bosnia

Bosnian Sarma with Cevapcici
stuffed cabbages with lamb and beef sausage

 

 

 

I am absolutely loving Bosnian recipes. Cory and I love cabbage, and Bosnian recipes are full of it. I chose to make Cevapcici, a traditional grilled pork and beef sausage-ish recipe, as well as Bosnian Sarma (which is apparently different from other Sarma... tried to get it right), which is a yummy stuffed cabbage dish.

 

Sarma  

inspired by http://idahosmeltingpot.blogspot.com/2010/04/bosnia.html  

For the leaves:

1 medium size green cabbage
1 c vinegar
1 T salt
Enough water to fill 

 

After rinsing, core tough base of cabbage and discard. Next, boil the entire head of cabbage in a large pot of water and vinegar. As the outer leaves soften, remove cabbage with tongs and peel leaves away, then reboil next layers. After all layers are separated, reboil in vinegar, salt, and water until tender. Reserve 3-4 "broken" pieces to layer in the bottom of the pan. *The original recipe has a method for pickling the cabbage leaves, but it takes a few weeks.. we're on a shorter time frame :) 

 

For the filling

1/4 lb of ground beef
1/4 cup of rice
1/4 cup of lamb 
1/2 tomato, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tablespoon of sweet paprika powder
Salt and pepper
Vegetable seasoning such as Vegeta* to taste

Mix the meats with the rice, the vegetables, the spices and the seasonings. Roll some of the mixture into a golfball-sized ball. Unfold a cabbage leaf, place the meat at the bottom (toward the stem), and wrap the meat tightly, tucking in the ends of the leave as you go. Keep rolling until you are out of leaves or out of meat.

Spray dutch oven with Pam, and layer 3-4 broken, boiled leaves in bottom. Place each roll snugly next to each other in a Dutch oven, building layers. Add half a cup of warm water and simmer on the stove for  2 hours.

For the sauce
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 cup of water
1 small can of tomato sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Make a paste with the flour, the water and the tomato sauce and pour it over the sarma. Maintain the simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Cevapcici

1 T butter

1/4 yellow onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 lb ground lamb

1/4 lb ground beef

almost 1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/2 T sweet Hungarian paprika

2 T onions, finely chopped (for sprinkling) 

Heat the butter  in a small frying pan, and when it starts to foam add the onions and garlic. Fry, stirring occasionally, until soft, around 6 to 8 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix the lamb, beef, egg and spices in a bowl. When ready, add the onion and garlic mixture. Mix well. Shape into small cylinders, approximately 1" x 2" and arrange in a plate. Cover with plastic wrap, wax paper or a towell and refrigerate for one hour to one day, to let the flavors settle and the mixture become firm. 

Arrange the cevapcici on skewers about 1/4" apart from each other. Grill or pan fry in medium heat until done to your preference. Serve sprinkled with chopped onions, and serve with pita bread. 


The verdict? We liked this meal, although I might have been a bit liberal with the paprika (hey -- I was just excited to actually find the stuff! Big shout out to the Gourmet Shop in Columbia.)... and not liberal enough with the S&P. We may Americanize the cabbage rolls next time we make them -- different veggies, seasonings, etc. All in all, though, the meal was yummy (despite Co's facial expression - he had seconds!). The leftovers were still delicious a few days later!

Latin Inspired: Roast Beef Tostaditos with Tomatillo Salsa

Here's another delicious recipe tweaked from Food and Wine magazine. These tostaditos made a great little appetizer for a post-Christmas party Co and I attended.We loved the salsa -- tomatillos were fresh and sweet enough to give a fun twist. We're going to re-use the salsa recipe for tailgates next fall.. and maybe even for a New Years party..

Tomatillo Salsa
12 medium tomatillos, husked and finely chopped
6 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
6 tablespoons minced cilantro
2 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt

Mix ingredients in a bowl. This recipe should make enough to top each tostadito with extra for dipping. We loved this salsa -- it might become a staple in our party menus..

Tostaditos:
3/4 lb thickly sliced roast beef, finely chopped
8 slices pepperjack cheese, chopped
96 mini round corn tortilla chips (a bag of "scoops" would work instead - we'll try that next time!)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine roast beef and cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until cheese is somewhat melted (stir every 30 seconds). Lay half of the tortilla  chips on baking sheets and top with filling and another chip. Bake until cheese is gooey. As noted above, this recipe would also work with scoop chips - just fill with mixture.

Top each tostadito with salsa and serve. Yum!

Christmas at home

Mom made the most wonderful Cornish hens for Christmas day lunch -- I had to post a picture! I get my love for crafting and cooking from her, for sure -- she's a wonderful cook and has an artistic spirit.

2. Portugual

Authentic Caldo Verde, Arroz Doce

For our first Christmas dinner as a married couple, I wanted to cook something that was festive but simple. We decided to do Christmas dinner together at our home in between Christmas Eve lunch with Cory's family and Christmas Day festivities with mine... so a warm soup seemed to fit the bill. Any dessert that merges fabric with caramelized sugar sounded like a wonderful plan to me...

Portuguese Caldo Verde 
inspired by Food and Wine Magazine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 t cayenne pepper (or to taste)
6 ounces chorizo, sliced 1/4 inch thick and rolled into small balls
2 quarts water
1 pound Honey Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and ground pepper
1 pound kale, shredded

Heat the EVOO in a large dutch oven. Add the garlic, onion, cayenne, and half of the chorizo. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned (about 8 minutes). Add the water, potatoes and a large pinch each of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. 2.

Bring the soup to a boil. Add the kale and simmer about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining half of the chorizo and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve in bowls, drizzled with olive oil.

 

The verdict? We actually really loved the soup. I'd never worked with chorizo before, and the recipe didn't specify whether smoked or ground.. so we may try smoked next time (the ground ended up cooking like mini meatballs, which was still fun and yummy!). Kale is a superfood, so it was nice to incorporate such a healthy veggie into a hearty soup.

Arroz Doce (Portuguese Rice Pudding)
from www.patriciafurtado.net - great recipes here!

1 cup short grain white rice
5 cups water
1 slice lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter
pinch of salt
2 cups hot milk (preferably whole)
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
cinnamon for garnish, a doily for tracing

*We didn't have a doily, so we used a good ole' fashioned handcut paper snowflake. Not quite as pretty, but it worked for us!

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.
2. Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks. Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until even.
4. Serve in a large dish or small shallow ramekins, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to garnish (may use a doily as a stencil)

Cory and I weren't huge fans of rice pudding -- it was the best rice pudding I've had (although a little sweet - may cut back the sugar!), but something about the texture and heaviness always throws me. This recipe made enough for two huge bowls, so we brought one to Charleston for my brothers to enjoy -- and Pat (who has always liked rice pudding) loved it.

This entire dinner cost around $12 (including buying milk, eggs, etc.. the kitchen was bare), with plenty of leftovers for several meals. Superfoods + supercheap = super perfect light Christmas eve supper on a grad school budget!

From our kitchen to yours, we hope everyone enjoyed a festive and joyful Christmas. Best wishes for a happy new year!

1. Ghana

Ghanaian Hkatenkwan with Yam Fufu and Tatale

I thought Ghanian food might be a fun start to this culinary adventure. For the most part, the ingredients were cheap, accessible and familiar (with the exception of palm oil, which I circumvented in the recipes I selected). Husband (who is -- at this point -- begrudgingly participating in this adventure) veto'd yams, but I figured we needed Fufu to be "authentic."

In total, we spent $8 and had some good laughs. I don't know that we fell in love with any part of the recipes... but I did learn two important things. (1) Plantains take several days to "ripen" (although you can fake it by roasting them then boiling the flesh)... and (2) our dog loves Fufu.

Recipes from http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Miscellany/Recipes_from_12913.html

Hkatenkwan (Groundnut Stew)
1 chicken, cut into pieces (we used boneless skinless chicken breast)
1-inch piece of ginger
1/2 of a whole onion
2 T tomato paste
1 T light cooking oil
1 cup onion, well chopped
1 cup whole canned tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup low fat peanut butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 medium-size eggplant, peeled and cubed
1.5 cups fresh or frozen okra

Boil chicken with ginger and the onion half, using about 2 cups water. Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, fry tomato paste in the oil over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add to the paste the chopped onions and tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the onions are clear. Remove the partially-cooked chicken pieces and put them, along with about half the broth, in the large pot. Add the peanut butter, salt and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes before stirring in the eggplant and okra. Continue cooking until the chicken and vegetables are tender. Add more broth as needed to maintain a thick, stewy consistency.

At the end, I understood why they call it "Groundnut" -- you can definitely taste the peanut butter, and it dooesn't "balance" out with any other flavors like the Asian peanut dishes we're used to (at least by our palates). We cheated and put it over rice (instead of Fufu) to "Americanize" it a bit. I did like the boiled chicken in ginger and onion, though - gave it a citric undertone.

Note: the next day, I mixed together the Hkatenkwan with brown rice, then added more tomato paste, cayenne and salt.. wasn't too bad! 


Yam Fufu
From the above web site: "Conventional west African fufu is made by boiling such starchy foods as cassava, yam, plantain or rice, then pounding them into a glutinous mass, usually in a giant, wooden mortar and pestle." 

2 lb yams
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp butter

1. Place the yams in cold, unsalted water, bring to a full boil, and cook 25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Remove the yams, cook, and peel. Mash with the other ingredients.
3. Shape the foofoo into balls with your hands, and serve warm.

Fufu was yummy -- basically balls of mashed sweet potatoes. Fun to mold with the hands, too -- messy and adventurous. I'd be curious to try it using rice. Molly LOVED Fufu... which is odd...

Tatale (Plantain Cakes)

2 over-ripe medium plantains (black and soft)
1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
1 to 2 oz self-raising flour - we forgot this!
salt and hop pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Peel and mash the plantains well. Put into a bowl and add enough of the flour to bind. Add the onion,  salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and leave to stand for 20 minutes. Fry in spoonfuls in a little hot oil until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.

Co and I had mixed feelings about these. I didn't mind them -- but the consistency was a little off because the plantains weren't overripe (so I broiled and boiled them -- only set off the smoke alarm twice!). Honestly, they tasted a bit like slightly sweetened potato pancakes. I could do them again with a fruity, salty salsa and sour cream....  

In all, we had a good time... and I loved dancing around the kitchen to West African music while cooking. Click below to dance around your kitchen, too!

let the adventure begin

"An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." - G.K. Chesterton

This project begins as a simple effort to travel the world. I've always had an adventurous spirit, but as a long-term graduate student, I know that actual travel -- at this point -- isn't in the cards. However, I love to cook - I love exploring different techniques and cultures, and I love sharing the fruits of a day in the kitchen with the people I love. So rather than travel the world via plane, boat, catamaran...  I will travel by fork. 

My goal is to cook a full meal from every country in the world -- 192 by many counts -- by the time I graduate. From Germany to Tonga, I plan to scavenger fun, approachable recipes (on a graduate student budget) to cook and enjoy with my newlywed husband and our friends. I will try to keep the techniques and ingredients as authentic as possible, although I look forward to blending international themes with my own "healthy southern" cooking style. Through this project, I hope to bring a taste of culture to our every day lives, as well as to bring some fun, vibrant techniques to my novice cooking repertoire. With my fire-extinguishing husband at my side, I look forward to the inevitable (and hopefully laughable) mishaps, as well as many delicious, exciting meals to come.

As a disclaimer, the number of countries in the world is apparently disputed, so I'm going by the following list for now (to extend outside of the UN). Bon appetit!

1.             Afghanistan

2.             Albania

3.             Algeria

4.             Andorra

5.             Angola

6.             Antigua and Barbuda

7.             Argentina

8.             Armenia

9.             Australia

10.         Austria

11.         Azerbaijan

12.         Bahamas

13.         Bahrain

14.         Bangladesh

15.         Barbados

16.         Belarus

17.         Belgium

18.         Belize

19.         Benin

20.         Bhutan

21.         Bolivia

22.         Bosnia and Herzegovina

23.         Botswana

24.         Brazil

25.         Brunei

26.         Bulgaria

27.         Burkina Faso

28.         Burma

29.         Burundi

30.         Cambodia

31.         Cameroon

32.         Canada

33.         Cape Verde

34.         Central African Republic

35.         Chad

36.         Chile

37.         China

38.         Colombia

39.         Comoros

40.         Congo

41.         Costa Rica

42.         Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

43.         Croatia

44.         Cuba

45.         Cyprus

46.         Czech Republic

47.         Denmark

48.         Djibouti

49.         Dominica

50.         Dominican Republic

51.         East Timor

52.         Ecuador

53.         Egypt

54.         El Salvador

55.         Equatorial Guinea

56.         Eritrea

57.         Estonia

58.         Ethiopia

59.         Fiji

60.         Finland

61.         France

62.         Gabon

63.         The Gambia

64.         Georgia

65.         Germany

66.         Ghana

67.         Greece

68.         Grenada

69.         Guatemala

70.         Guinea

71.         Guinea-Bissau

72.         Guyana

73.         Haiti

74.         Honduras

75.         Hungary

76.         Iceland

77.         India

78.         Indonesia

79.         Iran

80.         Iraq

81.         Ireland

82.         Israel

83.         Italy

84.         Jamaica

85.         Japan

86.         Jordan

87.         Kazakhstan

88.         Kenya

89.         Kiribati

90.         North Korea

91.         South Korea

92.         Kuwait

93.         Kyrgyzstan

94.         Laos

95.         Latvia

96.         Lebanon

97.         Lesotho

98.         Liberia

99.         Libya

100.     Liechtenstein

101.     Lithuania

102.     Luxembourg

103.     Macedonia

104.     Madagascar

105.     Malawi

106.     Malaysia

107.     Maldives

108.     Mali

109.     Malta

110.     Marshall Islands

111.     Mauritania

112.     Mauritius

113.     Mexico

114.     Federated States of Micronesia

115.     Moldova

116.     Monaco

117.     Mongolia

118.     Montenegro

119.     Morocco

120.     Mozambique

121.     Namibia

122.     Nauru

123.     Nepal

124.     Netherlands

125.     New Zealand

126.     Nicaragua

127.     Niger

128.     Nigeria

129.     Norway

130.     Oman

131.     Pakistan

132.     Palau

133.     Panama

134.     Papua New Guinea

135.     Paraguay

136.     Peru

137.     Philippines

138.     Poland

139.     Portugal

140.     Qatar

141.     Romania

142.     Russia

143.     Rwanda

144.     Saint Kitts and Nevis

145.     Saint Lucia

146.     Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

147.     Samoa

148.     San Marino

149.     Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

150.     Saudi Arabia

151.     Senegal

152.     Serbia

153.     Seychelles

154.     Sierra Leone

155.     Singapore

156.     Slovakia

157.     Slovenia

158.     Solomon Islands

159.     Somalia

160.     South Africa

161.     Spain

162.     Sri Lanka

163.     Sudan

164.     Suriname

165.     Swaziland

166.     Sweden

167.     Swizerland

168.     Syria

169.     Tajikistan

170.     Tanzania

171.     Thailand

172.     Togo

173.     Tonga

174.     Trinidad and Tobago

175.     Tunisia

176.     Turkey

177.     Turkmenistan

178.     Tuvalu

179.     Uganda

180.     Ukraine

181.     United Arab Emirates

182.     United Kingdom

183.     United States

184.     Uruguay

185.     Uzbekistan

186.     Vanuatu

187.     Vatican City

188.     Venezuela

189.     Vietnam

190.     Yemen

191.     Zambia

192.     Zimbabwe