We split our time pretty evenly between eating out on the town, eating ordinary stay-in meals (salad, veggie dogs, fish and rice, frozen curries), and tackling more ambitious recipes in our own kitchen. If we cooked every day like we do for Wooden Spoon Wanderer (WSW), we’d be exhausted; if we ate out every night,…
Assignment 30: Palestine
Location: Middle East Population: 4.5 million Capital: Jerusalem/Ramallah Geography: A flat or rolling-dune desert with low mountains in the West Bank region Language: Arabic Signature flavours: Sumac, lamb, sesame, pita bread, thyme, mint, eggplant The Menu We try to keep WSW a place about food, the joy of eating together, our discovery of unfamiliar flavours…
Assignment 29: Egypt
I picked up a fantastic cookbook at a used bookstore a few weeks ago that I finally got to crack open for this assignment: The Africa Cookbook by Jessica B. Harris. I found four recipes there that I wanted to try for Egypt, and found another two online…
Assignment 28: Sri Lanka
Location: South Asia, off the southern coast of India Population: 21.4 million Capital: Colombo Geography: A tropical island nation, mostly of plains, with a small mountainous area Language: Sinhala, Tamil Signature flavours: Rice, ginger, chilli pepper, curry leaves, fennel, roti, treacle The Menu Eric and I have been eating Sri Lankan food for years at…
Assignment 27: Malaysia
Location: Southeast Asia Population: 31.9 million Capital: Kuala Lumpur Geography: Coastal plains with a forested, mountainous interior Language: Malay Signature flavours: Rice, coconut, seafood, pineapple, pandan, shallot The Menu Recipes abound for Malaysian cuisine, and so it was a matter of narrowing down my choices (unlike some past assignments that saw me actually emailing tourism…
Assignment 26: Guinea-Bissau
Location: West Africa Population: 1.8 million Capital: Bissau Geography: Savannah in the east, and low-lying plains and swamp as the land approaches the coast Language: Portuguese, Upper Guinea Creole Signature flavours: Millet, rice, cashew, avocado, cassava, seafood The Menu As we’re often finding with the world’s tiniest places, it was hard to find recipes for…
Assignment 25: Chad
Location: North central Africa Population: 13.7 million Capital: N’Djamena Geography: A southern half of savannah grassland, and a northern half of Saharan desert Language: Arabic, French Signature flavours: Millet, okra, peanut, fish, beef The Menu The main hazard of gathering recipes for Chad was thinking I had come across a great dish, only to learn…
Assignment 24: Madagascar
Location: A large island off the east coast of Africa Population: 24.9 million Capital: Antananarivo Geography: A varied landscape of grassland, rainforest, desert, and rice paddies Language: Malagasy, French Signature flavours: Peanut, rice, vanilla, seafood, tomato, root vegetables and their leaves The Menu Eric found that meals in Madagascar often consist of rice and laoka…
The Slippery Slope of Disordered Eating
For the past five months, I have been dealing with digestive issues that make me feel sick after most every meal. Often I wake up with nausea and cramping and it continues throughout the day, peaking after eating. In an effort to reduce my discomfort, I have chosen to eat less. I have also undertaken…
Assignment 23: Kiribati
Location: Oceania Population: 110,000 Capital: Tarawa Geography: A diverse collection of 34 islands in three main groups. Language: Gilbertese, English Signature flavours: Coconut, kabocha pumpkin, breadfruit, seafood The Menu Recipes for Kiribati cuisine were few and far between. Eric found a few, and then drew from general information on the cuisine to build other dishes….
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 