Only 3 days until Opening Ceremonies! I was in the grocery store yesterday and saw this display. I couldn’t help but take some pictures and make one small purchase for Friday.
I just had to get the London Lollies to celebrate on Friday. Unfortunately we’ll be watching the Opening Ceremonies from LAX but at least we’ll do it in style!
When Hubby and I got married two years ago my cousin got us a molcajete from Williams Sonoma. We had recently discovered that we loved guacamole and were so excited to make it “the real” way. That is all I’ve ever used my molcajete for. As far as we were concerned, molcajete = guacamole maker. But now that we’re in Mexico, we’ve discovered it has a lot more uses than to just make awesome guac. In addition to having guacamole made at our table, we’ve also enjoyed freshly-made salsa and stew made and served in a molcajete. Newly aware of its additional uses, I thought I would do some recipe research to share. Here’s what I’ve found:
Rudy’s Molcajete Mixto Recipe – a mixed grill of carne asada, nopales, chicken, shrimp, jalapenos, and chorizo sausage served with queso fresco, avocado, and lime
Mexican Style Meat and Vegetable Stew – a chicken, flank steak, and bacon in a tomato based broth
Seafood Molcajete Recipe – shrimp, scallops, and chicken sausage served hot and spicy in the molcajete
Currently our molcajete is in a storage unit in Augusta, Georgia but once it’s out, I promise to try these and share how they go.
Courtesy of davedworkin.com. My own pics are still to come!
For this week’s Friday no-kitchen lunch, we went Greek. Our menu included grilled eggplant, a Greek salad, humus and pita, and grapes. Simple but delicious.
Eggplant cooking on the griddle
Yummy Greek salad with tomatoes, feta, and olives
My Greek Plate
In addition to great food, we had a fantastic group of students on Friday. These students have either returned from abroad or are headed out to one of the following: Spain, Italy, Hungary, England, New Zealand, Japan, Panama, or Costa Rica. Quite the international group and I think they are all pretty wonderful.
Our rising sophomores
Yep…Friday is still Hawaiian shirt day in the Chemistry department
A couple of our great study abroad alums
Costa Rica seems to be one of those hot destinations right now for study abroaders, honeymooners, and anyone looking for an affordable, fun vacation. I have never been but thought I would give their cuisine a try for Friday lunch. Here was our menu all done without a kitchen stove:
Ingredients
Directions
Gallo Pinto
Ingredients
Directions
Cut plantains in half by length and width
Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt
Lay flat on toaster pan and bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes
The final product!
Some real Costa Rican salsa
My Costa Rica plate…yum!
These are my great students!
I had to put this one in…we thought we had an earthquake during lunch but it was actually a military maneuver too close to the coast. At least I got to practice my earthquake preparedness!
Do you ever have those moments that catapult you back to into your memories from abroad? I had one of those last night – what I would call a “pecorino moment”.
Hubby and I went for some great Italian in La Jolla at a little place called Barbella. It was a lovely restaurant with an open covered porch and all kind of character. The menu was small but looked scrumptious. Trying to implement portion controll, we shared the cheese plate, a bibb salad, and fettuccine alla bolognese. When the cheese plate arrived, I was immediately thrilled to find one of my favorite combinations: pecorino e miele (sheep’s cheese and honey). As soon as the sweet and salty concoction touched my tongue, memories of a meal in Montalcino sprung to my mind as if I was reliving it again from 9 years ago.
In general, I would say I am not a lover of food. I more eat to live, than live to eat. I could eat a turkey sandwich for every lunch for the rest of my life and be fine. But there are a few meals that I have partaken in during my 30 years that are truly memorable (for good or bad):
Age 7: My Aunt Ethel made cabbage rolls and my mother told me I had to try them. I told her that green was not my color.
Age 15: I went to the homecoming dance with a group of people and at dinner all the girls ordered salad. Trying to not be the odd duck who really wanted steak, I had my first salad ever and discovered that maybe green was my color – at least if it had enough bleu cheese dressing on it.
Age: 18: I was in South Africa volunteering at local high schools and staying at a Christian camp that provided three meals a day. We were told we had to eat everything so as not to offend. This included the neon pink hot dogs; I’m still not sure what they were made of.
Age 20: Sitting in a tiny restaurant in Montalcino, Italy, I had the very best meal of my life consisting of risotto di Brunello di Montalcino (risotto made with red wine) and pecorino e miele.
Age 27: Dining with a group of students in Cusco, Peru, they decided to order cuy (guinea pig) for the table. I just couldn’t get myself to try it…with teeth and all staring at me, I contemplated becoming a vegetarian.
I just couldn’t do it.
Usually the Friday student lunch is all about trying new foods from other countries, but this week I decided to mix it up and share my southern culture with my students and friends. For anyone who has never been to the southern states, let me introduce you to our neck of the woods and particular cuisine:
The REAL southern states are in deep red. (Thank you Wikipedia for the image!)
Top from R-L: Skillet Cornbread, Fried Okra, Chicken and Dumplings
Bottom from R-L: Collard Greens, Shrimp and Grits, and Boiled Peanuts
We didn’t have any of these for Friday lunch but we did have fried chicken, deviled eggs, pigs in a blanket, red velvet cupcakes, and my absolute favorite, pimento cheese.
Ingredients:
You need all of these items plus light mayo
Fried Chicken, Pimento Cheese and Red Velvet Cupcakes
Not a lot of color but oh so delicious
Two friends and me enjoying a delicious southern lunch!
For the Friday student lunch, I was adventurous today and made a meal from a place I’ve never visited: Morocco! Once again, with limited resources I had to cheat a bit and bought a good bit of the cuisine, but I still did my research. If I had actually made these items, I would have used the following recipes:
But as it was, I was short on a kitchen and on time so I took the following short cuts.
In the end, it was a delicious meal and it looked pretty good too!
Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Olives
Olives, Tabouli, and Hummus
Cinnamon Sprinkled Oranges – so good!
Take 1: Cleaning the tabouli out of our teeth!
Take 2: Me and my wonderful students
With this post, I add a new category to Global From Home: International Do Gooder. My mother raised me to believe that to whom much is given much is expected. For those of us who have had the privilege to travel and see the world, we are certainly blessed and I believe we are called to give back in whatever ways we can.
The United Noshes have decided to do just that through one of the most creative fundraisers I’ve come across. Currently they have endeavored to raise funds for World Food Program USA by cooking an authentic meal from each of the 194 countries (in alphabetical order!) that are members of the United Nations. There last meal represented the dishes of Columbia and included chicharrones (fried pork belly), chorizo, arepas de queso (corn and cheese griddle cakes), baked plantains, and several other dishes. The meals are fairly elaborate and the Noshes maintain as much authenticity as possible in the ingredients and cooking methods. For each meal they invite friends and acquaintances to join them and in return, only ask that they make a donation to the World Food Program USA. As of right now, they have made 37 meals and raised over $6,000. Wow!
Columbian Dinner at the United Noshes
I am so in love with this idea: educate yourself and others on ethnic food, dine with friends, and raise money for an extremely worthy cause all within your own home. Sounds like a global from home winner to me. While 194 authentic meals is certainly over my head, I do think the Noshes set a great example. Plus, in addition to their philanthropic work, the Noshes also give back to their readers with links to all their recipes at www.UnitedNoshes.com.
Visit the World Food Program USA website to learn more about their programs or to make a donation.
Global From Home 
