International Food Month: The Round Up

I know it must look as though we gave up on the whole concept after only a few attempts, but I am glad to say that this is not the case! While I am a lame and slow blogger, we are much better at being adventurous cooks. We completed all but about five or six countries on our list, and we had a great time learning new recipes in the process. Since writing up each meal didn't seem to work out (cough, lazy, cough) here is a quick list of the countries whose recipes we tried:


1. India --- DNF :(
2. South Africa --- vegetarian bobotie (M. is a wizard) I give it 9 on the Mmm scale
3. Morocco --- Chickpea stew and tomato salad was a 6/10
4. France --- Cheese souffle (M. is a mad genius) was a 10 out of 10 on taste, but very rich
5. Mexico --- DNF :(
6. Greece --- Spinach pie with phyllo was an easy and tasty new recipe worth 8/10
7. Turkey --- Falafel was actually a recipe I've done before and got 8/10
8. Spain --- Paella did not turn out! I screwed up, but I know not where 3/10
9. Italy --- Polenta with mushrooms turned out very well 8/10
10. Canada --- M. had to make poutin and it was good 9/10
11. Germany --- Veggie brats, sauerkraut, potatoes, and slaw. What's not to like? 9/10
12. Japan --- Gyoza, miso, and cucumber salad were mostly pre-made foods so I won't rate
13. Indonesia --- Coconut tempeh curry was so tasty I will make it again 9/10
14. Kenya --- Peanut soup was rich and creamy without too much actual fat 9/10
15. Cuba --- Black bean soup was okay, but not very exciting 5/10
16. Ireland --- Vegetarian shepherds pie was delicious, but a bit intensive 8/10
17. Sweden --- Beets, mushroom soup, potatoes and greens were tasty indeed 9/10
18. Jamaica --- Ital peas and cabbage stew were underwhelming with the recipe I found 5/10
19. Russia --- DNF
20. Costa Rica --- DNF
21. Vietnam --- Noodles with tofu, herbs, and pickled veggies
22. Mozambique --- Vegetable stew over rice 6/10
23. Egypt --- DNF
24. Libya --- Lentil salad and veggie soup were good if simple 7/10
25. Azerbaijan --- DNF

I have not given up entirely on the list, and I may try to find a few more recipes when the summer rush is over. One thing I did enjoy was the process of finding new recipes in books and on the internet. By the way, we have no illusions about the authenticity of the meals. I'm sure there are dozens of inauthentic elements to our recipes and we don't even realize it. However, the purpose of the exercise was to me us go out of our comfort zone, and it has certainly succeeded in that. I also enjoyed learning a few things about the countries I was cooking. For one thing, I'm trying to appreciate our luxurious access to food.

When I was researching recipes from Mozambique I happened to read that one third to one half of all the citizens of that country are considered malnourished on a regular basis. Thus if we really wanted to get a "feel" for that culture we should have nothing at all for dinner. Perhaps a donation to the World Food Program is in order? Anyway, it was a very rewarding experience, and I will certainly be making many of these dishes again in the future. Anyone know a good recipe for vegetarian paella?