Location: North AmericaPopulation: 35 millionCapital: OttawaGeography: A wide array of landscapes, including forest, mountain, prairie, and northern tundraLanguage: English, FrenchSignature flavours: Seafood, beef, pork, maple, potato, eggs, dairy, orchard fruits, berries The Menu This is a special one. Not just because I was born a Canadian and Eric chose to become one, not just because…
Tag: culinary
Assignment 80: Greece
Location: Southern Europe Population: 10.8 million Capital: Athens Geography: The country comprises a largely mountainous peninsula projecting into the sea, and some thousands of islands Language: Greek Signature flavours: Seafood, lamb, garlic, dairy products, oregano, olives and olive oil, honey, nuts The Menu I grew up in Toronto’s Greek town, and Eric has been sharing in…
Assignment 79: Poland
Location: Eastern Europe Population: 38.4 million Capital: Warsaw Geography: A country of plains and mountains, with a coast on the Baltic Sea Language: Polish Signature flavours: Mushroom, potato, apple, beef, pork, chicken, fish, poppy seed, dill, dairy products The Menu Toronto is a great city to live in — it’s safe, contains a fair bit…
Assignment 77: Myanmar
Location: Southeast Asia Population: 53.6 million Capital: Napyidaw Geography: A country of lowlands and coastal mountains, with a tropical climate Language: Burmese Signature flavours: Seafood, rice, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, lime, pandan, coconut, chilli peppers, onion, shallot The Menu When we first began the Wooden Spoon Wanderer blog (way back in Bhutan…remember that?), we relied almost…
Assignment 76: Tibet
Location: Central Asia Population: 3.2 million Capital: Lhasa Geography: Extremely mountainous and receiving little precipitation, and host to the sources of several of Asia’s major rivers Language: Tibetan Signature flavours: Barley, beef, garlic, szechuan peppercorns (also called prickly ash), blue cheese, daikon, dumplings, scallions The Menu Eric and I fondly remember our trip to New…
Assignment 74: Botswana
Location: Southern Africa Population: 2.3 million Capital: Gaborone Geography: A flat landlocked nation, most of which lies in the Kalahari desert Language: English, Setswana Signature flavours: Sorghum, beef, corn, beans, nuts, marula, mopane (silk worms), melon The Menu It has become habit for us when a new assignment comes up to log on to the…
Assignment 73: Georgia
Location: Western Asia, between Russia and Turkey Population: 3.7 million Capital: Tblisi Geography: Mountainous, with areas of fertile valleys Language: Georgian, Abkhazian Signature flavours: Dairy, lamb, beef, tarragon, egg, nuts, shallot, plum The Menu Georgia’s culinary tradition tells the story of its geography: nestled at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This…
Assignment 71: Saudi Arabia
I ordered a couple of cookbooks from the library for this assignment. One ended up being more focused on Lebanon, but the second book, the Arabian Nights Cookbook, yielded loads of Saudi dishes (among others — the book covers the whole Arabian Gulf area). I sought to build a…
Assignment 70: Algeria
Location: North Africa Population: 42.2 million Capital: Algiers Geography: A country of varied desert terrain, including mountainous, coastal, and grassy desert Language: Arabic, Berber Signature flavours: Couscous, mint, dried fruit, dairy, lamb, cayenne pepper The Menu Eric’s Algeria assignment followed right on the heels of my Morocco assignment. We learned through our respective research that…
Assignment 65: Ukraine
Location: Eastern Europe Population: 42.4 million Capital: Kiev Geography: Fertile plains Language: Ukrainian Signature flavours: Potato, beets, cabbage, mushrooms, pork, dairy products, fish, vinegar, berries, dill The Menu My research on Ukrainian food started and finished with The New Ukrainian Cookbook by Annette Ogrodnik Corona. I was inspired early on by her descriptions of the…
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