Location: East Asia Population: 126.7 million Capital: Tokyo Geography: An archipelago of four main islands and almost 7000 others, with primarily mountainous, forested terrain. Language: Japanese Signature flavours: Rice, seaweed, seafood, soy The Menu Japanese food is beautiful, with a stunning composition of colours: green, white, red, black. Its aesthetic appeal can make it seem…
Tag: culinary
Assignment 20: Finland
Location: Northern Europe Population: 5.5 million Capital: Helsinki Geography: A low-lying country of lakes, fens, and coniferous forest. Language: Finnish Signature flavours: Salted and smoked fish, rye, potato, white pepper, mushrooms, butter, pork. The Menu Eric and I have been to Estonia and Norway and loved the food, so Eric was excited to have the…
Assignment 19: Malawi
Location: Southeast Africa Population: 18 million Capital: Lilongwe Geography: A semi-mountainous landlocked country, a third of which is taken up by freshwater Lake Malawi. Language: English, Chichewa Signature flavours: Corn, peanut, tomato, freshwater fish The Menu I was excited to undertake the cuisine of an east African country, because I love the flavours of Ethiopia…
Assignment 18: Venezuela
Location: South America Population: 31.5 million Capital: Caracas Geography: A tropical country of varying landscape of beaches, mountains, and plains. Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Corn, rice, beans, cheese, plantain, cocoa The Menu Eric lived in Venezuela up until going off to college, so he was well-versed in the local foods. Initially, he had hoped that…
8 Things I Don’t Think I Could Kitchen Without
Okay, I could kitchen without some of these things. I know this because I kitchened before I owned a slow cooker, and I will continue to kitchen after I drop it while moving it from the sink to the cupboard, breaking it into ten thousand pieces. But these are items that make kitchening extra enjoyable,…
Assignment 17: New Zealand
Location: Oceania Population: 4.8 million Capital: Wellington Geography: A widely varied landscape of forest, mountain, and plain. Language: English, Maori Signature flavours: Lamb, seafood, potato, coconut The Menu The first thing I thought of when I was assigned New Zealand (after Lord of the Rings) was meat pies. I looked around for quite a while…
Assignment 16: South Korea
Location: East Asia Population: 51.5 million Capital: Seoul Geography: Mostly mountainous, with some plains Language: Korean Signature flavours: Sesame, cabbage, rice, pork, beef, scallion, egg, seaweed, hot pepper The Menu Five days ahead of South Korea night, Eric got started on kimchi, a signature Korean dish of fermented cabbage with garlic and spices. Each night…
Assignment 15: Kosovo
Location: Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula Population: 1.9 million Capital: Pristina Geography: A landlocked country of mountains and plains Language: Albanian, Serbian Signature flavours: Cabbage, meat, parsley, garlic, onion The Menu One thing I like about the Wooden Spoon Wanderer project is that it expands my thinking about places that might have previously been…
Assignment 14: St Pierre et Miquelon
Location: Two small French islands off the coast of eastern Canada Population: 6000 Capital: St Pierre Geography: Rocky Language: French Signature flavours: Seafood, pastry, apple, butter, cream The Menu We debated whether to have St Pierre and Miquelon on our list in the first place, given its size, but decided that its unique history and…
Assignment 13: Romania
Location: South eastern Europe Population: 19.6 million Capital: Bucharest Geography: A country of hills, mountains, and plains with a coastline on the Black Sea Language: Romanian Signature flavours: Potato, meats, bell pepper, parsley The Menu “The randomizer [we use to assign ourselves countries] must know I was born in Russia,” says Eric. “I keep getting…
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 