Passport to Eating Mini Meal Plan Series

On February 7, 2014 by Kim

If you could travel to any country just to eat the food, where would you go? Sitting around a table and eating the local fare provides unique opportunities to immerse yourself in a foreign culture. If you were to travel and eat around the globe you would discover that:

• some cultures encourage eating with your hands
• some cultures insist on never touching your food
• some cultures use bread to scoop up food or push it onto a fork

But no matter what the differences, every culture seems to value a meal shared with family and friends. But what if you can’t jump on a plane and make your every culinary wish come true? Travel is not affordable, practical, or possible for everyone. I have desired to travel internationally since I was in high school, but something always blocks my way. Thankfully the United States is a “melting pot” of cultures and their foods, and I have been able to sample a wide variety of dishes in restaurants. But we also live in the information age! Grab some books from the library, search the internet, or even watch some foreign t.v. or movies. Immerse yourself in a culture, get the feel, and try your hand at some traditional recipes. This is how I taught myself to make Thai Curry and Pho Bo. Or just travel with us! Starting today, we are taking flight! Each month we will present a new mini menu featuring traditional and popular recipes from a different country or region, making it easy for you to travel the globe and sample the local cuisine. We’ll give you background on popular dishes, give you a feel for culture found around the table, and we might even teach a little history as we go. I have enjoyed venturing ahead as your tour guide, and I anticipate much enjoyment among our readers. But if you have little ones in your house, don’t forget to bring them along for the ride. This is a fantastic learning opportunity for every member of the family that includes geography, cultural studies, history, and a little home economics. Oh and the best part is you get to eat your homework. A mini menu is the perfect way to experience a new culture. You will have 5 or 6 recipes which can be completed in just a few hours. And then you can sample the food throughout the month. You can simply enjoy it for dinner. Or you can make it fun. Decorate, invite some friends, play some traditional music, or flip on a subtitled t.v. show or movie. (We would LOVE to see some pictures from your travel scrapbooks!) Check Your Itinerary First stop, Russia! What? Not your first choice of culinary destinations? First off, we though it was an appropriate place to start since the 22nd Winter Olympic Games kick off in the city of Sochi today! Almost 100 different countries, each with unique cultures and foods, will participate in the Games. Also, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the comfort foods this culture has perfected over centuries of surviving cool climates (also perfect for February). Ever since I watched the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer (the first Olympics I can remember), I have wanted to attend the Games. That is another travel wish that has not come true, but I’d love it if you would join me at Sochi. Celebrate this great demonstration of unity by sampling some of the individuality to be found in the local cuisine. Get your passport ready for stops in:

• China – February
• Russia- February
• The United Kingdom – March
• Israel – April
• Mexico – May
• Greece – June
• Thailand – July
• Ethiopia – August
• Australia/New Zealand – September
• Germany – October
• Caribbean Cruise (Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico) – November
• Christmas Around the World – December

Bon voyage!