Monday, November 29, 2010

Peru

Peruvian Ceviche


Ceviche is a seafood dish that is very popular throughout south America, especially Peru.
Specifically the raw seafood is marinated in some sort of citrus, such as lemon or lime, and is
spiced up with chili peppers. Ceviche must always be prepared and eaten fresh!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Ireland



Haileo, and welcome to Ireland! Russia isn't the only country known for loving potatoes, Irish love them too!

The potato was introduced in the 1500s, and soon replaced older staples, but their reliance on the spud in

their diet hit a heavy toll with the potato famine in the 1840s. The potato that they grew specially was

particularly susceptible to disease, but, after around a decade when the famine was resolved, the Irish

continued to love potatoes.



A typical dinner in Ireland would probably consist of cabbage, potatoes, and meat (usually lamb, beef, or

pork). However, Irish stew has been recognized as the national food for at least two centuries, poetry has even

been written about the satisfaction received when eating it:





Then hurrah for an Irish Stew
That will stick to your belly like glue.



picture from Fullersedinburg.com

Recipe for Irish stew:


Ingredients
-4 potatoes, thinly sliced
-4 medium onions, thinly sliced
-6 carrots, sliced
-1 pound Canadian bacon, chopped
-3 pounds lamb chops, 1-inch thick, trimmed, and cut into small pieces
-Salt and pepper to taste
-2½ cups water
-4 potatoes, halved
-Fresh parsley, finely chopped


Procedure
-To make Irish stew, all the ingredients are assembled in layers in a large stew pot.
-Begin with layers of sliced potatoes, onions, and carrots.
-Top with a layer of Canadian bacon and lamb.
-Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
-Repeat these steps until all the ingredients are used.
-Add enough water to just cover the ingredients.
-Arrange the halved potatoes on top of the stew, but not in contact with the water, so they can steam as the rest is cooking.
-Simmer over a very low heat for about 2 hours.
-Sprinkle liberally with the chopped parsley and serve in soup bowls.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

It's usually served with fresh soda bread, made from whole-wheat flour and buttermilk, it's crusty and tasty.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

India

Hello, or should I say, Namaste, and welcome to India. Today you have a dinner date with an Indian family.

Indians may not always be very punctual themselves, but in order to be polite, always show up at the

appointed time for the dinner date, as you are the guest. Be sure to take off your shoes before entering their

home, it is respectful. They will offer you snacks, tea, and coffee, but refuse the first time, they will ask you

repeatedly and it is customary to not accept the first offering. Wait to be seated, and if you are a man, you will

be served first, lucky you, children afterwards, and unfortunately for the women, they usually do the serving

and eat later. Eating with your fingers is common, but always eat with your right hand, the left is considered

unclean. While utensils may on occasion be used, ask any Indian and they will insist that in order to fully enjoy
your food, you must eat with your fingers. Most Indians maintain that it is easier anyhow, to eat with ones

fingers rather than cutlery. Indian food is all about the senses, and to eat with the fingers invites a certain

sensuality that you don't get with a spoon or fork. The sense of smell is another very important and thought on
aspect of Indian food.


One especially delicious and fragrant recipe is Chana Masala, a spicy, dish of Chickpeas, tomatoes, and an

interesting blend of Indian spices. My grandfather makes this for me often, and it's usually served with chole

bhature, a type of fried bread that is popular with a lot of Indian dishes, as a relief to the heat. Another relief

to the heat is, sometimes, chutneys. They are generally spicy but like the apple mango chutney, some can be

sweet. Indian food without chutneys is in esscence, incomplete. For desert you may have Seviya Kheer, a

lovely sweet pudding, mainly of milk, almonds, and seviya. With it you may enjoy some Indian spice tea,

something I enjoy daily because it is delicious! The spices commonly included are, cardamom, cinnamon,

ginger, fennel seeds, peppercorn, and cloves, however I have never tried it with peppercorn. Sus riakal!

(picture from Martha Stewart)

Friday, September 3, 2010

Eating The Globe

Welcome to the world. . .the food world anyway. I am a Culinary Arts student at Tarpon Springs Highschool

in Florida. My name is Tricia, I am sixteen years old, and this is my food blog.

Over the next six months I am going to explore the globe through food. I will select one country each post,

some may be more obscure, while others will be rather known. I will try to include all of the aspects of their

culture that have to do with food, etiquette, recipes, common ingredients, market places and interesting

information and photographs. Exploration commenced...