Location: Northwestern Europe, in Scandinavia Population: 5.3 million Capital: Oslo Geography: A long, mountainous, northern nation with a very rugged coastline Language: Norwegian, Sami Signature flavours: Seafood (especially smoked fish), dill, potato, dairy, lamb or mutton, rye bread, berries The Menu Eric and I travelled in Norway this past winter, and we loved it. Oslo…
Assignment 39: Bulgaria
Location: Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula Population: 7.1 million Capital: Sofia Geography: A mix of plains and mountains with a coastline on the Black Sea Language: Bulgarian Signature flavours: Beef, lamb, sirene cheese, paprika, bell pepper, phyllo The Menu Before I even started searching for Bulgarian recipes, Eric was hinting at what he would…
Assignment 38: Puerto Rico
Location: The Caribbean (a territory of the US) Population: 3.3 million Capital: San Juan Geography: A mountainous island with large areas of tropical rainforest Language: Spanish, English Signature flavours: Plantain, rice, beans, coconut, achiote, green olives, seafood, pork The Menu This is the first assignment from a place we’ve actually travelled to together. Eric and…
Assignment 37: Tajikistan
Location: Central Asia Population: 8.7 million Capital: Dushanbe Geography: Landlocked and mountainous Language: Tajik Signature flavours: Dairy, wheat, lamb, onion, apricot, mulberry, rhubarb, pumpkin The Menu Ah, Toronto, you continue to surprise us with your bounty of international resources, edible and otherwise. I found a Tajik cookbook in the Toronto Public Library system: With Our Own…
Assignment 36: Croatia
Location: Southern Europe on the Adriatic Sea Population: 4.2 million Capital: Zagreb Geography: A mix of mountain, plain, river valley, and seashore Language: Croatian Signature flavours: Seafood, tomato, green peppercorn, pork, orange, fig The Menu Croatia is divided into four regions, and Eric wanted to represent them all in his Croatia assignment. The result was…
Assignment 35: Liechtenstein
Location: Western Europe Population: 38,000 Capital: Vaduz Geography: About half the country is in the Alps, and the other half is in the valley of the Rhine River Language: German Signature flavours: Milk products, pork, potatoes, asparagus, apples The Menu I was excited to have my first Western Europe assignment, and was pleased to find…
Assignment 34: Trinidad & Tobago
Location: The southern Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela Population: 1.35 million Capital: Port of Spain Geography: Two islands with a mix of mountains and plains Language: English Signature flavours: Corn, rice, scotch bonnet peppers, turmeric, lentils, chickpeas, chicken, seafood The Menu I don’t think our house had ever smelled as good as it did…
Assignment 33: Lesotho
Location: Southern Africa, contained within South Africa Population: 2.2 million Capital: Maseru Geography: A high-lying, mountainous country with a relatively cool climate Language: Sesotho, English Signature flavours: Root vegetables, greens, corn, beans The Menu I am not exaggerating when I say I could only find a handful of recipes from Lesotho. I did find a…
Assignment 32: Belize
Location: Central America Population: 388,000 Capital: Belmopan Geography: Mostly forested coastal plains and swampland, with low mountains in the south Language: English Signature flavours: Allspice, achiote, chicken, corn, seafood, coconut, rice, cassava The Menu Eric discovered that Belize has four distinct groups of people (Maya, Kriol, Garinagu, and Mestizos), and set about planning a menu…
Little Green Garden
The blog has just been reactivated after a short pause, during which I escaped to a friend’s farm on Ontario’s spectacular Bruce Peninsula. The Peninsula is itself just waking up after a long winter, and the trees are still bare. The fields were green, though, and my eyes enjoyed that much-missed colour that I crave…
