Assignment 52: Jordan

Location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia Population: 10 million Capital: Amman Geography: A mix of arable land and desert, with a short coast on the Dead Sea Language: Arabic Signature flavours: Lamb, rice, yoghurt, eggplant, nuts, cinnamon, tomato, garlic The Menu Eric discovered plenty of resources online. The first recipe he chose was the…

Assignment 49: Namibia

Location: The west side of southern Africa Population: 2.6 million Capital: Windhoek Geography: A mix of desert and plain Language: English Signature flavours: Corn, beans, oyster, beef, chicken, lamb The Menu Namibians eat a lot of meat. I mean A LOT. If you’re a tasty animal, it’s a bad place to live. Namibian cuisine revolves…

Assignment 48: Zimbabwe

Location: Southern Africa Population: 16 million Capital: Harare Geography: Landlocked country of savannah, with some forested areas and a mountainous eastern region Language: Shona, Ndebele, English, and 13 other official languages Signature flavours: Corn, peanut, beans, beef, squash, leafy greens The Menu This week we have Wooden Spoon Wandered our way across Africa to Zimbabwe….

Assignment 47: Tuvalu

Location: South Pacific Population: 10,640 Capital: Funafuti Geography: A volcanic archipelago consisting of three islands and six atolls Language: English, Tuvaluan Signature flavours: Coconut, pulaka, taro and taro leaf, breadfruit, seafood, sea bird The Menu Tuvalu is a tropical island paradise and a fresh seafood-lover’s dream. It is also the least visited nation on earth….

Assignment 46: Bahrain

Location: The Middle East, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia Population: 1.4 million Capital: Manama Geography: A small, mostly flat desert island nation Language: Arabic Signature flavours: Saffron, rice, seafood, cardamom, cinnamon, lamb, rose water The Menu Bahrain is one of those teeny-tiny places with a very rich culinary tradition. Because it has been…

Assignment 45: Mexico

Location: North America, between the USA and Central America Population: 124 million Capital: Mexico City Geography: A mix of mountains, fertile valleys, desert, and coastal plains Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Chillies, tomato, beans, corn, avocado, rice, chicken, beef, chocolate The Menu Mexico was my most difficult assignment so far. Because this is a cuisine with…

Assignment 42: Uruguay

Location: South America Population: 3.4 million Capital: Montevideo Geography: A country of plains, rivers, and fertile coastland Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Beef, dairy, yerba mate, egg, pasta, dulce de leche, quince The Menu Uruguay, like its South American neighbour to the west, Argentina, is a land of many cows, and as a result, many beef…

Assignment 40: Norway

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…