I get really down when one of my kitchen creations is a fail. I get mopey, grouchy, and I don’t want to talk about it. But since the whole idea of the Wooden Spoon Wanderer Project is to push my husband Eric and me beyond our culinary comfort zones, failures are inevitable. When I was…
Tag: menu
Assignment 10: Haiti
Location: The Caribbean Population: 10.8 million Capital: Port-au-Prince Geography: A tropical, mountainous country located on the west side of the island of Hispaniola. Language: French and Haitian Creole Signature flavours: Hot pepper, thyme, shallot, pumpkin, plantain, rice, beans. The Menu Eric went ambitious, with a four-item menu that included an array of Haitian flavours. He…
Assignment 9: Guatemala
Location: Central America on the southern border of Mexico Population: 16.5 million Capital: Guatemala City Geography: Mountainous, with small areas of desert, and having coastlines on both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Tomato, corn, chilli pepper, cocoa The Menu Guatemalan cuisine is highly influenced by the country’s neighbour to the north,…
Assignment 8: Serbia
Location: South eastern Europe in the Balkans Population: 7 million Capital: Belgrade Geography: A landlocked country with mountains in the south and east Language: Serbian Signature flavours: Bread, cheese, cured meats, bell peppers, relishes, flaky pastry The Menu Serbia, Eric learned, has a culinary tradition that intersects European and Mediterranean tastes. Eric loves bread (he…
Assignment 7: Burkina Faso
Location: West Africa Population: 18.5 million Capital: Ouagadougou Geography: A landlocked nation of alternating plains and small mountains. Language: French and Mòoré Signature flavours: Beans, tomato, peanut The Menu Over this culinary journey, I am learning that there is something people are saying the world over: If in doubt, make a stew. Whether it’s goulash…
Assignment 6: Argentina
Location: Southern end of South America on the Atlantic Ocean Population: 43.8 million Capital: Buenos Aires Geography: Hugely varied, comprising mountainous regions, tropics, and plains Language: Spanish Signature flavours: Beef, corn, pumpkin, cheese, dulce de leche The Menu Eric wrapped up our South American double-header (I got Chile last week) with Argentinian cuisine, and opted…
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…
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