Location: Eastern Europe on the Baltic Sea Population: 1.8 million Capital: Riga Geography: A heavily forested nation interspersed with farmland and wetland Language: Latvian Signature flavours: Dairy, eggs, potato, mushrooms, pork, fish, pickles, rye bread, dill, berries The Menu Eric has done quite a few Eastern European assignments, but it had been a while. He…
Assignment 117: India
Location: South Asia Population: 1.38 billion Capital: New Delhi Geography: Immensely varied geography comprising desert, jungle, ocean coastline, and the Himalayan Mountains Language: Hindi, English, and many others Signature flavours: Spices (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, cardamom, mustard seed, and more), rice, chili peppers, garlic, onion, dairy, chicken, seafood, potato, breads, pulses, nuts, tomato…
Assignment 116: Kuwait
Location: The Middle East Population: 4.5 million Capital: Kuwait City Geography: A tiny nation on the Persian Gulf Language: Arabic Signature flavours: Rice, fish, saffron, sesame, citrus, cardamom, lamb, chicken The Menu Sometimes it’s weeks or even months between assignments, as we juggle life and work, source hard-to-find ingredients, or just put the blog on…
Assignment 115: Benin
Location: West Africa Population: 13.8 million Capital: Porto-Novo Geography: A nation of savannah yielding to a southern coastal plain on the Atlantic Language: French, Fon Signature flavours: Cassava, yam, corn, rice, tomato, crab, beans, hot peppers The Menu At first, finding Beninese recipes was challenging, until I remembered to consult the wonderful Africa Cookbook, which…
Assignment 114: Australia
Location: Oceania, between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Population: 26 million Capital: Canberra Geography: Diverse ecosystems across the oldest, flattest, and least fertile continent on earth Language: English Signature flavours: Beef, seafood, dairy, bread, beetroot, apple, Vegemite The Menu Eric saw barramundi — an Australian white fleshed fish — for sale at a local…
Assignment 113: Burundi
Location: East Central Africa Population: 11.9 million Capital: Gitega Geography: A landlocked, flat nation on Lake Tanganyika Language: Kirundi, French Signature flavours: Beans, corn, banana and plantain, cabbage, beef, mutton The Menu It seems to have become a tradition of the Wooden Spoon Wanderer blog that every so often, I’m apologizing again for a long…
Assignment 112: Luxembourg
Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany Population: 634,000 Capital: Luxembourg City Geography: A hilly, forested nation and one of the smallest in Europe Language: Luxembourgish, French, German Signature flavours: Dairy, pork, beef, apple, potato, cabbage, Riesling, strawberry, stone fruit, savory The Menu On a warm June day (not so many days ago at the…
Assignment 111: Germany
Location: Western Europe Population: 83.2 million Capital: Berlin Geography: A forested, mountainous nation with sea borders in the north Language: German Signature flavours: Pork, dairy, egg, bread, potato, asparagus, dill The Menu In an unprecedented turn of events, Eric and I swapped assignments. I had drawn Luxembourg and he had gotten Germany, but he was…
Assignment 110: Cyprus
Location: Mediterranean Sea Population: 1.2 million Capital: Nicosia Geography: An island nation in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Language: Greek, Turkish Signature flavours: Lamb, seafood, olives and olive oil, citrus, sesame, beans, cheese The Menu Eric’s foray into Cypriot cuisine was exhaustive. The more he learned about it, the more his menu grew. He…
Assignment 109: Iraq
Location: Middle East Population: 40.2 million Capital: Baghdad Geography: A mix of rocky desert, marsh, and mountainous regions Language: Arabic, Kurdish Signature flavours: Lamb, rice, citrus, dates, tomato, cardamom The Menu This fall, Eric and I moved into a new home. The kitchen was one of our favourite features when we first saw the house…
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 