Here are some pictures:
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| carrot butterfly |
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| cucumber fan |
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| NEMO THE CARROT-FISH |
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| cherries with a mini-crepe (SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS I COULD EAT IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE) |
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| baked pear and ice cream. |
Monday, January 31, 2011
Arun's- the restaurant that serves carrots shaped like fish
On Sunday we celebrated my dad's birthday (though it isn't for a few days) at a restaurant called Arun's. I wasn't sure what to expect- I knew they served Thai food, but I had no idea I was in for a twelve course meal, filled with the most intricately prepared food I'd ever seen. During one course, they had carved a carrot into a goldfish!!! It was incredible, and of course, I didn't eat it; a waiter saw me staring longingly at the fish, and put it in a cup filled with water for me to take home. Now Nemo The Carrot is sitting in my kitchen.
Here are some pictures:
Here are some pictures:
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Antigua and Barbuda: Ducana
The Dish: Sweet potato balls. See original recipe here.
The Country: Antigua and Barbuda is a country made up of two islands in the Caribbean. Their foods are similar to foods in the rest of the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.
Ingredients:
3 small sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup sugar
One small box of raisins (though I only ended up using half a box because I ate the rest....)
A pinch of All Spice
Procedure:
Peel the potatoes. Grate them, or put them in a food processor.
Put the grated/ processed potatoes in a bowl. Add the sugar, flour, all spice, and raisins.
Put a pot of water and the stove and boil it.
Wrap handfuls of the mixture into tinfoil. Wrap them completely.
Put them into the boiling water.
Leave for 30- 45 minutes.
Notes: The raisins made the whole thing taste a bit funny, so if for some reason I ever make ducana again, I will be skipping the raisin part. They weren't bad, though they weren't great either. However, my sister, who HATES sweet potatoes, thought it was pretty good.
Rating: 2
The Country: Antigua and Barbuda is a country made up of two islands in the Caribbean. Their foods are similar to foods in the rest of the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.
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| the mixture |
Ingredients:
3 small sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup sugar
One small box of raisins (though I only ended up using half a box because I ate the rest....)
A pinch of All Spice
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| arch of tinfoil balls... see, I play with my food |
Procedure:
Peel the potatoes. Grate them, or put them in a food processor.
Put the grated/ processed potatoes in a bowl. Add the sugar, flour, all spice, and raisins.
Put a pot of water and the stove and boil it.
Wrap handfuls of the mixture into tinfoil. Wrap them completely.
Put them into the boiling water.
Leave for 30- 45 minutes.
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| THE FINAL PRODUCT |
Notes: The raisins made the whole thing taste a bit funny, so if for some reason I ever make ducana again, I will be skipping the raisin part. They weren't bad, though they weren't great either. However, my sister, who HATES sweet potatoes, thought it was pretty good.
Rating: 2
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Algeria: Chicken Couscous
The Dish: Chicken + Couscous + Veggies = Chicken Couscous See original recipe here.
The Country: Algerian food often resembles Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. They eat a lot of lamb.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic (or a fourth cup of garlic in a jar)
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 medium carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 medium turnip
1 cup of chicken broth
1 pound of chicken breast (it's helpful to buy it already cut, in tenders)
1 zuchinni
1 cup of whole wheat couscous
Procedure:
Chop all veggies (peel the carrots first!!!!) PUT THE ONION IN A SEPARATE BOWL!!1
Saute the chicken in 1/4 cup olive oil.
Separately saute the diced onion with the garlic, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon. Add the veggies after ten minutes. Add the chicken broth,
Cook the couscous however the back of the couscous container says to cook it...
Put the cooked chicken in with the veggies. Simmer for fifteen minutes.
When it is all done cooking, put in a big bowl. Serve.
Notes: I liked the dish, but I waited too long to serve it, and it got a little cold. Oops.
Rating (out of five): 3
The Country: Algerian food often resembles Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. They eat a lot of lamb.
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| chopped vegetables |
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic (or a fourth cup of garlic in a jar)
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 medium carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 medium turnip
1 cup of chicken broth
1 pound of chicken breast (it's helpful to buy it already cut, in tenders)
1 zuchinni
1 cup of whole wheat couscous
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| The veggies and chicken simmering - this part smelled amazing! |
Procedure:
Chop all veggies (peel the carrots first!!!!) PUT THE ONION IN A SEPARATE BOWL!!1
Saute the chicken in 1/4 cup olive oil.
Separately saute the diced onion with the garlic, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon. Add the veggies after ten minutes. Add the chicken broth,
Cook the couscous however the back of the couscous container says to cook it...
Put the cooked chicken in with the veggies. Simmer for fifteen minutes.
When it is all done cooking, put in a big bowl. Serve.
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| THE FINAL PRODUCT |
Notes: I liked the dish, but I waited too long to serve it, and it got a little cold. Oops.
Rating (out of five): 3
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Angola: Salad with Beets, Cauliflower, and Potatoes
The Dish: Veggies, veggies, veggies, and more veggies. See the original recipe here.
The country: Angola was a Portuguese colony until 1975, so many of their foods have a Portuguese influence. This dish wasn't Portuguese- it was very West African.
Angola has thirty-one airports with paved runways.
Ingredients:
2 cups of yukon gold potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
1 cauliflower
3 carrots
1 can of sliced beets
10 leaves of green lettuce
7 leaves of red cabbage
Procedure:
Peel the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. Chop them into small pieces (think "finger food").
Steam the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower until they are tender.
Peel the carrots. Use the peeler to peel the carrots into thin slivers.
Break the lettuce into small pieces.
Put it all in a bowl.
Add the canned beets (don't add much juice!!!)
Put in the fridge to cool.
Notes: So, I had thought I wouldn't make the dressing that went with the recipe, but after I tasted it I realized that was probably not the smartest idea. It really is just plain veggies, and that isn't exactly a flavor blast. The dish is still cooling in my fridge, but tomorrow my family is going to eat this along with their dinner, and I'm going to have to make a dressing (and 30 Rock is on tomorrow too- ahhh, the time crunch).
Rating (out of five): 2
The country: Angola was a Portuguese colony until 1975, so many of their foods have a Portuguese influence. This dish wasn't Portuguese- it was very West African.
Angola has thirty-one airports with paved runways.
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| steaming the veggies |
Ingredients:
2 cups of yukon gold potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
1 cauliflower
3 carrots
1 can of sliced beets
10 leaves of green lettuce
7 leaves of red cabbage
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| carrot shavings |
Procedure:
Peel the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. Chop them into small pieces (think "finger food").
Steam the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower until they are tender.
Peel the carrots. Use the peeler to peel the carrots into thin slivers.
Break the lettuce into small pieces.
Put it all in a bowl.
Add the canned beets (don't add much juice!!!)
Put in the fridge to cool.
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| THE FINAL PRODUCT |
Notes: So, I had thought I wouldn't make the dressing that went with the recipe, but after I tasted it I realized that was probably not the smartest idea. It really is just plain veggies, and that isn't exactly a flavor blast. The dish is still cooling in my fridge, but tomorrow my family is going to eat this along with their dinner, and I'm going to have to make a dressing (and 30 Rock is on tomorrow too- ahhh, the time crunch).
Rating (out of five): 2
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Afghanistan: Qabili Pilau
The Dish: Qabili Pilau is a basmati rice dish. Basmati rice is long, dark, rice. It can be made with any meat (mainly lamb, beef, or chicken), so I used chicken.
The Country: Afghanistan is a country whose food is deliciously made with wheat and rice. They also produce a lot of grapes... and what comes from grapes? RAISINS. What was in my dish tonight? RAISINS. I love raisins.
Ingredients:
1 large onion
A pound of chicken (cut into pieces)
Cinnamon
Cumin
Salt
Three carrots
1 cup of raisins
2 cups of basmati rice
Procedure:
Dice the onion and sautée it in 1/4 cup oil. When it is light brown (about 10 minutes), add the pieces of chicken.
When the chicken is cooked (it's no longer raw...) add two cups of water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender (for me this took about 40 minutes, though the original recipe said it would take an hour).
While the chicken is simmering, cut three carrots into match sized slivers. Sautée them in 1/4 cup oil until they have yellowed a bit.
Take the carrots out of the oil, and place 1 cup of raisins in the leftover oil. They will inflate (WHICH IS SO COOL), and once they do, take them out and place them in a bowl with the carrots.
When the chicken is done simmering, take it, and the onions, out of the juice and put it with the carrots and raisins.
Boil 2 cups of water.
Put the basmati rice into the leftover juice from the simmering chicken. Add the boiled water and 1 tsp salt. Stir it over high heat until all of the water has been absorbed/evaporated.
Put the rice with the chicken, onions, carrots, and raisins.
Bake the full mixture in the oven at 300° for half an hour (if your oven is less efficient it may take up to an hour).
Notes: This is the best tasting entree I've ever cooked. Notice that I said "tasting." The texture was a bit off- the rice must have hardened when I baked it... so the whole thing was a bit crunchy- it tasted great though. The best part was the inflatable raisins. Seriously, put some raisins in a pan with oil and watch them.
Rating (out of five): 3.25
The Country: Afghanistan is a country whose food is deliciously made with wheat and rice. They also produce a lot of grapes... and what comes from grapes? RAISINS. What was in my dish tonight? RAISINS. I love raisins.
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| Inflated raisins-it was hard to get a picture because as soon as I removed them from the pan, they shrank again. |
Ingredients:
1 large onion
A pound of chicken (cut into pieces)
Cinnamon
Cumin
Salt
Three carrots
1 cup of raisins
2 cups of basmati rice
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| carrots.... |
Procedure:
Dice the onion and sautée it in 1/4 cup oil. When it is light brown (about 10 minutes), add the pieces of chicken.
When the chicken is cooked (it's no longer raw...) add two cups of water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender (for me this took about 40 minutes, though the original recipe said it would take an hour).
While the chicken is simmering, cut three carrots into match sized slivers. Sautée them in 1/4 cup oil until they have yellowed a bit.
Take the carrots out of the oil, and place 1 cup of raisins in the leftover oil. They will inflate (WHICH IS SO COOL), and once they do, take them out and place them in a bowl with the carrots.
When the chicken is done simmering, take it, and the onions, out of the juice and put it with the carrots and raisins.
Boil 2 cups of water.
Put the basmati rice into the leftover juice from the simmering chicken. Add the boiled water and 1 tsp salt. Stir it over high heat until all of the water has been absorbed/evaporated.
Put the rice with the chicken, onions, carrots, and raisins.
Bake the full mixture in the oven at 300° for half an hour (if your oven is less efficient it may take up to an hour).
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| THE FINAL PRODUCT |
Rating (out of five): 3.25
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Albania: Fergesë e Tiranës me speca
The Dish: Tirana Furghes with peppers, which is basically sauteed peppers and tomatoes with feta cheese. I found the recipe here (but I changed it a little bit....).
The Country: Albania is located next to Macedonia, Montenegro, and Greece. Albania has five airports and their food is influenced by Greece, Turkey, and Italy. I can definitely see the Greek influence in the dish I made tonight.
Ingredients:
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
3 large tomatoes
12 oz of Feta Cheese
1 stick of butter
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
A pinch of red pepper spice
Procedure:
Sautée the peppers and tomatoes in a saucepan full of olive oil for five minutes.
Let cool for five minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Dice them.
Melt the butter.
Mix the peppers, tomatoes, butter, salt, black pepper, and red pepper spice, and feta cheese in a bowl.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Let it cool.
EAT IT.
Notes: Pretty tasty.... It's not a full dinner, it's more of a side salad, but I think I did pretty well for my first foreign dish. Well, I'll admit to having help from my mom (thanks mom!- she helped with the dicing... I have yet to acquire knife skills). I would advise eating it with a simple main course because it's very flavorful.
Rating (out of five): 3.5- it was good, but it wasn't a "WOW MY TASTE BUDS ARE GOING TO HEAVEN" type of food.
The Country: Albania is located next to Macedonia, Montenegro, and Greece. Albania has five airports and their food is influenced by Greece, Turkey, and Italy. I can definitely see the Greek influence in the dish I made tonight.
Ingredients:
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
3 large tomatoes
12 oz of Feta Cheese
1 stick of butter
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
A pinch of red pepper spice
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| the oranges in the background have nothing to do with the recipe. they were just there. |
Procedure:
Sautée the peppers and tomatoes in a saucepan full of olive oil for five minutes.
Let cool for five minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Dice them.
Melt the butter.
Mix the peppers, tomatoes, butter, salt, black pepper, and red pepper spice, and feta cheese in a bowl.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Let it cool.
EAT IT.
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| mixing up the ingredients |
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| THE FINAL PRODUCT |
Notes: Pretty tasty.... It's not a full dinner, it's more of a side salad, but I think I did pretty well for my first foreign dish. Well, I'll admit to having help from my mom (thanks mom!- she helped with the dicing... I have yet to acquire knife skills). I would advise eating it with a simple main course because it's very flavorful.
Rating (out of five): 3.5- it was good, but it wasn't a "WOW MY TASTE BUDS ARE GOING TO HEAVEN" type of food.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The United States: Pumpkin Pie
The dish: We Americans normally eat pumpkin pie in the fall and winter, during the holiday season. If you were to go to a normal celebration of Thanksgiving, you would probably find pumpkin pie among the dessert selection.
Why this? - I have a soft spot for pumpkin pie; I associate it with my birthday. My birthday is right around Thanksgiving, so I've rarely ever had an actual cake on my birthday- I've always had pumpkin pie.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 canned pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 premade pie crust
1 big bowl
1 pie dish
Procedure:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, salt, and eggs into the canned pumpkin.
Slowly stir in the evaporated milk.
Unroll the pie crust and lay it in a pie dish. I suggest pinching the edges to make the crust look pretty. Don't leave too much crust hanging over the edges of the dish- the excess crust is likely to be burned if it hangs over the sides.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie crust.
Sprinkle the cinnamon on the top of the pie and swirl it around with a spoon.
Bake at 425° for 10- 15 minutes (depending on the efficiency of your oven). Then lower the temperature to 350° for 35-45 minutes.
Cool for half an hour.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Why this? - I have a soft spot for pumpkin pie; I associate it with my birthday. My birthday is right around Thanksgiving, so I've rarely ever had an actual cake on my birthday- I've always had pumpkin pie.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 canned pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 premade pie crust
1 big bowl
1 pie dish
Procedure:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, salt, and eggs into the canned pumpkin.
Slowly stir in the evaporated milk.
Unroll the pie crust and lay it in a pie dish. I suggest pinching the edges to make the crust look pretty. Don't leave too much crust hanging over the edges of the dish- the excess crust is likely to be burned if it hangs over the sides.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie crust.
Sprinkle the cinnamon on the top of the pie and swirl it around with a spoon.
Bake at 425° for 10- 15 minutes (depending on the efficiency of your oven). Then lower the temperature to 350° for 35-45 minutes.
Cool for half an hour.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Hi.
My name is Emma, and I like to cook. Maybe, after this, I'll even be able to say that I love it. Right now, I can make make PB&J sandwiches, brownies, macaroni and cheese, and pancakes. Hopefully, by the end of this mission, I will have learned how to cook delicious things from various parts of the world- maybe, I'll learn a few things about those parts of the world too.
I can promise you right now that I won't cook every day. I'm a sophomore in high school, and life is kind of crazy, so I won't always have time for cooking, but when I do cook (and I promise I will), I'll tell you about it.
So, fasten your seat belts and buy some looser pants, because you're in for a flavorful ride.
I can promise you right now that I won't cook every day. I'm a sophomore in high school, and life is kind of crazy, so I won't always have time for cooking, but when I do cook (and I promise I will), I'll tell you about it.
So, fasten your seat belts and buy some looser pants, because you're in for a flavorful ride.
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