Assignment 5: Chile

Location: South America on the Pacific Ocean Population: 18 million Capital: Santiago Geography: A long, narrow country encompassing mountain, desert, plain, and tropics Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Seafood, corn, potato, tomato, avocado The Meal Was it ever hard to plan my menu for Chile! I’m a huge seafood lover, and Chile abounds with fishy dishes….

The List

When Eric and I gave ourselves our first assignments — using an online random country/territory generator — I received British Antarctic Territory. At that point, we realized we needed to tweak our system. We didn’t want to use a straight list of official countries. First of all, there is some discrepancy as to what constitutes…

Assignment 4: Hungary

Location: Central Europe Population: 9.8 million Capital: Budapest Geography: A hilly landlocked country lying in the drainage basin of the Danube River Language: Hungarian Signature flavours: Paprika, bell pepper, tomato, potato, beef, pork, cheese The Menu Eric wanted to make goulash, since it showcases many of the signature flavours of Hungary. He has always been…

Assignment 3: Samoa

Location: Oceania, about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii Population: 190,000 Capital: Apia Geography: A collection of two large volcanic islands and eight islets Language: Samoan, English Signature flavours: Coconut, tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, papaya, etc.), seafood The Menu I found a website in my first five minutes of researching Samoan food that I considered…

Assignment 2: Togo

Location: West Africa Population: 8 million Capital: Lome Geography: Small Atlantic coastline to the south, savannah in the north Languages: French, Ewe, Kabiyé Signature flavours: Gbotemi (a spice mix of ajwain, clove, cardamom and others—west Africa’s answer to garam masala), seafood, tomato, peanut sauce The Menu Eric was very excited to purchase a mortar and…

Assignment 1: Bhutan

  Location: Asia, on the northern border of India Population: 800,000 Capital: Thimphu Geography: Landlocked, mountainous Language: Dzongkha Signature flavours: Chilli peppers, datshi (Bhutanese cheese), dried meats The Menu I wanted to choose menu items that were characteristic of Bhutan. In my research, I looked for language like, “You can’t talk about Bhutanese cuisine without…

The Wooden Spoon Wanderer Project

I’ll start by saying that a few years ago, I didn’t even like cooking. It was tedious, difficult, and time-consuming. Then I took a job that involved preparing dinners everyday for a family of four. With practice, I learned how to chop, how to read a recipe, which flavours went with what, how to spice…