food fun

Whenever I travel, I like to eat the local food. Even if it is just to another city, I see no point in eating at a chain restaurant that I could easily have eaten at in my home town. And I try to order something that I would never make for myself. Mind you, the list of things I can't be bothered to make for myself keeps growing. It's not so much the noodles or fish, but the special ingredients that go into the sauce that I may never forget to use use again. I once travelled with a friend who was alternately impressed and horrified that I would order off a menu with little idea of what I was getting. Well, I'm not that adventurous; I knew enough Spanish to recognize that the dish was rice, it was just the other ingredients I wasn't familiar with. I can't remember what she ate, but do remember her trying to get translations from the waiter who in the end, I think, just made it up to get her to finally order something, anything. I also discovered that local customs sometimes meant szechuan food in one country was not necessarily the same as szechuan food in another country.

I remember the exciting days when "ethnic" restaurants finally appeared in Toronto in the 70s. And we finally got past the idea that 'spaghetti' was ethnic. Our family would eagerly choose a restaurant just for the experience of finding out how Greek or Mexican, Indonesian or Central American food tasted. Sushi became a favourite for some of us. My love of eating out and trying new foods must have been a pleasant surprise for my mother who suffered through my picky eater stage as a young child!

All of this preamble is a set up to introduce you to a list of World Cup Recipes I found at iAfrica. There is a common national dish for each of the more than 30 teams participating in the first round. They range from the expected pavovla from Australia, cheese fondue (Switzerland), paella (Spain) to the weirdly named "bare bottoms in the grass" from the Netherlands and "toad-in-the-hole" from England.
I had fun reading through the recipes and some of them looked interesting enough to try... (note to the Americans, the recipes are all in metric).

Some of the 'quirky foods from South Africa', however might curb some of my enthusiasm for local cuisine...
Mopane worms: Protein-packed caterpillars eaten dried or fried until crunchy. Often served in a tomato sauce
Walkie talkies: Cooked chicken feet and heads. The feet are also known as "runaways".
Smilies: Sheep heads par-cooked and roasted with the heat exposing the sheep's teeth into a grin or smile. Usually found at taxi ranks and downtown city markets
Ulusu: A stew of animal stomachs
Umqombothi: Traditional grain-brewed beer. Milky in appearance with a yeasty, sour taste

then again, I would definitely try these, along with some Rooibos: indigenous "red bush" tea, a popular caffeine-free beverage...
Bobotie: Spiced, fruity minced meat baked with egg custard on top. A Cape Malay dish believed to have roots in the East Indies slaves brought by Dutch colonists
Melktert: "Milk tart" sprinkled with cinnamon. Also popular is malva pudding - a spongy cake-like dessert
Vetkoek/ Amagwinya: Balls of deep fried bread dough. Served plain as street food but also can have sweet or savoury fillings


oh, wait. I see the trend........

change is hard to swallow

We were having a bit of a catch up, a friend and I, over lunch the other day. It had been a long time. The emails, birthday and christmas cards and occasional phone call allowed us to keep in touch in a superficial way, this time we got down to the nitty gritty of our life changes. And it's not always pretty. My friend described how she can change into a "shrew" at the drop of a hat, or a glance. Her temper can flare up like a light switch, without a dimmer. One of my greatest fears was that my moodiness, depressive periods and irritability would only increase. And would I notice? Instead, I find they have decreased. I am much less irritable and way more placid than I believe I've ever been. Perhaps too calm. Maybe the depression hasn't vanished...

What I have found, is a new understanding of why women of a certain age suddenly have short hair. Who knew your head could sweat so much? And at so many inopportune moments?

I can no longer drink wine without getting a hot flash. So far, caffeine is okay, though I notice I don't crave coffee nearly as much as I used to. Chocolate, of any kind - even a chocolate chip cookie - can give me a headache. It has been about 15 years since I used to get migraines from chocolate, red wine and cheese. This isn't nearly as bad, but it is there, a dull ache and stuffy head.

And whenever I eat spicy foods I discover I get the hiccups. That is new. It doesn't even have to be very spicy, the mildest mango curry, or a hint of chipotle, and the hiccuping starts. Or the indigestion. That one isn't so new.

After lunch we went to the market, where I bought some wonderful bread (basil and parsley sourdough) and some peameal bacon. Because that's what you do when you go to the market.

Now, I've always been more of a "sour" type of person than a "sweet" type. Cut a lemon in half and I will suck the juice out of it like an orange. Yum! Put an eclair in front of me, and I'll eat it out of politeness, but I would never actually ask for anything so rich and sweet. My cravings generally run towards the salt over sugar.

I knocked on my neighbour's door the next night and offered her the rest of the bacon and the luscious sourdough bread that was topped with boulders of rock salt.

Seems I have now developed an oversensitivity to salt. I noticed it with the ready made dinners, and certainly on frozen pizzas, so I stopped buying them, assuming that there was just too much sodium. But I hadn't realized just how sensitive I had become. I could not taste anything of the bacon sandwich except salt.

No more Indian food with a beer to wash it down with (no, really, I haven't had too much to drink). No more side orders of french fries topped with lots of salt and vinegar. And that expensive bag of Mayan Hot Chocolate - the one with chilies - from Soma? Well, I can't give up everything. Mmm, what a warm up potion after a long walk outside.

Meanwhile, I am entertained with these commercials as companies scramble to make their foods sodium reduced and healthier. You can now order these little 'sidekicks', Salty and Pep (if you live in Canada), presumably in case you want to add, say 10% more salt from the 25% reduced.

check out these links for cuteness overload

Salty from Knorr

Salty mask

it's here! let's cook!

A very important paper was delivered today. Very Important. Quite possibly the most important paper of the year. For inside today's newspaper is that most anticipated, the most loved, the most "Canadian of Calendars" - The MILK CALENDAR.

Believe you me, a missing calendar will generate slightly more complaints than a missing crossword section. The Milk Calendar has been around for over 30 years linking millions of Canadians to a common nail on the kitchen wall. People collect these and save them for years. Whether they actually cook from them is another thing. A while ago, I finally tossed my 14 year collection that had been tucked away in the drawer with the tea towels (which I also rarely used) when I finally admitted that I didn't actually like most of the recipes.

Most of the recipes seem to be a little ... uninspiring. All will naturally include milk, though many to a questionable extent. Does one need to put milk in a stirfry? or with a tomato based sauce? or with italian seasonings? and wouldn't coconut milk be far better in a curry? There will always be a muffin and loaf, a pasta, a soup, a smoothie and perhaps a cereal. All of them are said to become a "favourite" of your family.

For the truly curious you can check out the online interactive version here and decide for yourself. You just won't be able to hang it on the kitchen wall nail reserved for this ultimate iconic bit of Canadiana.

But, I have extras ... let me know if you desperately need one. The squares are nice and big for writing notes in.