I am working a few shifts at my favorite restaurant in Leh, in India, and the electricity is wonky here, and western ovens are very rare. But the restaurant owner wants me to teach them how to bake Western goods - cookies, cake, banana bread and the like. All they've got are some propane powered stoves, and a few pots and pans. Is it possible? Do you have any recipes?
I'm moving on to India in a week, after having spent two years living in the Forest, in Poland. Since I've come here, my (previously Californian) diet has changed enormously. For example: I have never eaten SO MUCH (often stale) BREAD AND BUTTER in my life! (I have seen evidence of exactly one toaster in Poland.) I quit vegetarianism, after seven happy years, and am now very drawn to kiełbasa, especially kabanasy. I now love the combination of sauerkraut and mushrooms, though I think Chinese dumplings beat Polish pierogi any day. I ate more celeriac in the past three months that I have in my entire lifetime. I get worryingly excited about frozen vegetables due to the long winters and prevalence of roots. I did not see a single fresh leaf of spinach in two years.
So then, I wonder what will happen in India. I am looking forward to the spice, believe me. Poles are wimps when it comes to spice.
How did your diet change when you lived or traveled in a different country or region? What foods did you end up loving that you never thought you would like? Have you kept any of your transplanted foreign food habits?
I've been hearing buzz about lab grown meat for a while, but I can't wrap my head around it. I'm a bit put off by the idea, though I suppose it has the possibility of being more environmentally and socially responsible, even more ethical, than conventionally raised meat (i.e. mainstream meat industry). What do you think? Would you eat it? If you're a vegan or a vegetarian, would you eat it? Is the mainstreaming of man made meat an inevitability?
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Link to NPR article here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90235492
thanks all for the great advice! sounds like dutch oven's the way to go, but i'll have to make do with what the restaurant's got, so it'll take some experimenting.
Hm, can't believe nobody recommended Mostly Martha!
I love that scene in The Big Chill - the entire soundtrack for that film is flawless; and I also vote for Ratatouille and Eat Drink Man Woman.
eggplant with honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and cayenne
Only the most delicious deliciousness ever! As everyone else has said, Vietnamese beef soup with flat rice noodles. My momma used to make pho every Friday and the whole family would come over for dinner. The stock would simmer the entire day and when I'd get home from school the entire house just smelled amazing. We ate the meatballs dipped with plum sauce and sriracha. Sigh. How I miss ye olden days.
Adam Roberts wrote about his first pho here: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2007/12/my_phirst_pho.html
I was suspicious of cold soup until I had chłodnik for the first time, at a Lithuanian restaurant in Sejny, in the borderlands of Poland. It was stifling hot that day; everything else on the menu was meaty and potato-ey and oily. The soup was HELLA good! :)
Here, every time we plan to make it, the weather turns cold. We're having it for dinner tomorrow; it's supposed to rain.
For chłodnik, you need baby beets with stems and leaves intact, dill, and kefir. Clean and chop the beets - they beetroots really should be small - and their stems. Cover them with by an inch of water (or maybe more) and boil until just cooked. (Maybe add the stems a little later, to keep them from soggifying.) Chill. Add kefir and chopped dill; salt and pepper to taste. My friend Tesia also adds sliced cucumbers and radishes.
I hope you try it and like it. :)
If you can't get a "dutch oven," surely there is a wide heavy pot/pan in the kitchen. Be bold with your experimentation and I'm sure you will find success.
@cookie pie, I made your blueberry soup. mmmm so good. I had vanilla yogurt which turned out to be just awesome in it. Thanks so much. Trying the recipe with strawberries tonight.
Portabellos, Corn, asparagus, red peppers
Also: my fave veggie burgers and terriyaki marinated tofu.
My father makes an awesome grilled dessert...strawberries, blueberries and raspoberries cooked (on the side burner) in blueberry wine and served over one of those little yellow shortcakes (grilled) and topped with whipped cream or ice cream. It is INSANE.
Grilled peaches are also incredible.
You can always order it "w/o greens" so they don't put the cilantro in it. That is the way I order it, mainly because I hate cilantro and onions. :P
I also order the sliced beef raw on the side. Since the soup should arrive piping hot, the meat gets cooked, but not over cooked...you control the doneness.
Glad you enjoyed your first pho!! I am always afraid of telling people to try pho, in the offchance they think I'm on crack after touting that it's the food of the gods that I eat at least 5 times/week, in the offchance they get a really bad bowl.
The soup can change from restaurant to restaurant. Some may use cardamom, some may not. I adore the anise in the soup and the Thai basil added at the table. Sometimes the cinnamon can be overpowering. :(
*drool*
@SayWhat - haha sounds good, but we have to get some vermicelli too - my friend had it when I got the pho and I ended up eating half of it off his plate. Vietnamese bacon? Fantastic.
@embolini9: the next time I come "home" for a visit (I am a native of MA) we can get together and toast Serious Eats over a bowl of pho for expanding our eating horizons. :-)
went 2 weeks without power after Katrina and you can bbq damn near anything on a pit, eggs, toast, cabbage, bacon, onions, garlic and freshly killed squirrels.
pork seems to be the best on the smoking embers but chicken, beef and seafood also are great on the grill.
Hot dog! I just can't pass up a hot dog that's been grilled. I don't even care what brand it is.
Spicy Chicago style Italian Sausage "sangwich" with a sweet red sauce and served on Gonnella bread.
I am no longer a pho virgin!! I went to Pho88 in Lowell last night and had me some pho!! It was actually really good, different from what I was expecting. For some reason it tastes like it has cardamom in it, is that one of the ingredients? I was also worried about the cilantro (since i hate it with a passion) but it didn't taste cilantro-ey at all. My friend taught me how to dip it in those sauces (the brown one and the hot one?) so that was good, too. I only got the rare beef, maybe next time I'll branch out more! I also loved the vermicelli my friend got, and the ma kathong my BF got...apparently I've been missing out on something by avoiding Vietnamese food for so many years!
Thanks guys! I'm also glad this post inspired someone else to wander into the wonderful world of pho
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