Sherlis Food Adventures

Aug 2011 - Japan

2011-10-29T03:07:00.000-07:00

Konnichiwa - welcome to our Japanese Food Adventure! We were all very excited to try some Japanese cuisine. Of course there is lots of sushi available in just about every food court in Australia so we decided to leave that much loved dish out of the equation and focus on other traditional foods. The dinner we prepared was:

Mushroom Udon Noodle Broth with Chicken Gyoza

Japanese-style Mushroom Salad

Teriyaki Chicken

Kabocha Pumpkin Cookie and Red Bean Paste

We had a lot of fun making the gyoza for the soup! It looks a lot easier that it really is to wrap up the chicken mince inside the gow gee wrappers and I think they ended up rather rustic but nevertheless they tasted pretty good. The Udon noodle broth was very light in flavour and a good simple recipe which I have since made again for the family. The mushroom salad and teriyaki chicken recipes also came from www.taste.com.au and the ingredients were readily obtainable. The flavours of both were tasty and filling. This dinner felt like a healthier meal compared to some of the other countries where we didn't incorporate as many vegetables. We finished up with traditional red bean paste which we bought ready-made, Kabocha pumpkin cookies which were sweet and crumbly and the ubiquitous vanilla ice-cream. The recipe for the pumpkin cookies came from http://japanesedessertrecipe.blogspot.com/.

NEXT MONTH: AUSTRIA

July 2011 - Ireland

2011-10-14T02:16:00.000-07:00

We were all excited to cook Irish food. The whole day while we were cooking I was humming, " When I return, united we shall be, we shall be!". The weather was cold, our food was hearty and potatoes were celebrated. Our menu consisted of:

Potato Soup

Soda Bread

Irish Stew with Colcannon

Irish Apple Tart

Wow, even the picture of that glistening, crusty soda bread is making my mouth water! And it tasted just as good as it looks! Soda bread is traditionally eaten on St Patricks Day in Northern Ireland although I think I would be quite happy to wake up to it everyday. It was great to tear off a chunk and dip it into the smooth, creamy potato soup. After our hearty starter, we ate the Irish national dish of colcannon with a traditional Irish beef stew. Colcannon is quite simply mashed potato with the addition of cabbage for added flavour and colour. Some versions also incorporate other greens but we were trying to stay faithful to the classics. Irish stew is a rich, flavoursome stew which is choc-full of root vegetables like carrots, parsnip and of course the obligatory potato again. Dessert threw a certain preconception about being as "American as apple pie" out the window as we found that in fact Irish apple pie has been around a good deal longer. We had it warm with a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream. All in all, Ireland was a big favourite. Everything tasted good, the food was simple to prepare and everyone had to loosen their belts afterwards. Most of the recipes came from www.taste.com.au and www.realirishfood-recipes.com.

NEXT MONTH: JAPAN

June 2011 - St Kitts and Nevis

2011-07-28T00:22:00.000-07:00

Well, talk about a challenge! We loved the idea of St Kitts and Nevis but finding recipes on the internet proved quite difficult. After much searching, however, we did manage to find one or two sites with recipe for local cuisine and so for our dinner evening we made:

Mango Chutney, Crispy Bread and Island Style Fruit Punch

Rikkita Beef, Roast Pumpkin and Rice with Beans

Pineapple Cherry Cake

The majority of the recipes came courtesy of www.recipeisland.com under the St Kitts and Nevis tab. The food was all palateable and tasty but not very unusual. I think that we all would have preferred something a bit more exotic tasting from such an exotic location and I think in comparison to it's neighbouring islands (think Antigua, Barbados etc) it wasn't the most impressive of meals but there was nothing that I for one would avoid making. The chutney was sweet and spicy, the punch was fruity, the pumpkin was crispy and the beef was juicy. The pineapple cherry cake looked very pretty but tasted much like ordinary sponge.
I think that in the future we should avoid island food in the middle of winter which is why we are all so excited about our forthcoming meal which is just perfect for cold winter nights.

NEXT MONTH: IRELAND

March 2011 - Russia

2011-03-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

It was with much trepidation that we viewed our Russian cuisine adventure. One of us had been to Russia before and not had good gastronomic experiences, whilst I had once shared a flat with a Russian room-mate whose cooking skills left much to be desired. Nevertheless, we decided to put aside our preconceived notions and forge ahead to create a delicious Russian menu.
The traditional foods associated with Russia were foremost in our mind - namely, Borscht (beetroot soup) and beef stroganoff so we decided to start from there and find some other things to accompany the meal. The final menu for the evening was:

Borscht

Beef Stroganoff and Crumbed Cauliflower

Russian Tea Cakes and Vanilla Ice Cream

What we did discover when we started looking at the recipes available was that there are lots and lots of variations of both stroganoff and borscht. Some of the borscht recipes were just simply boiled beetroot and water, whereas the one that we made is full of other vegetables as well. Traditional or not it was great - the beetroot gave it flavour without being overpowering and it was nutritious and filling too. The recipe can be found at http://www.suite101.com/content/easy-farmers-market-borscht-recipe-a152180. The beef stroganoff also varied from site to site ranging from ones with wine and tomato paste to more basic ones with just beef, mushrooms and sour cream. We decided on one of these more basic ones and the recipe we chose came from the home page : http://beefstroganoff.net/. To accompany the stroganoff we chose egg noodles, although some sites recommended rice or mash potatoes. We also made a side dish of crumbed cauliflower which added a nice crunch to the meal. The recipe came from: http://www.russianfoods.com/recipes/item00042/default.asp.

Finally to end off we had Russian tea cakes and vanilla ice cream. Russian tea cakes apparently appeared in Russia in the 18th Century for use in a tea-sharing ceremony. They are light and crumbly in texture rather like a shortcake but with a more nutty flavour. The recipe can be found at: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/russian-tea-cakes-i/Detail.aspx.

By the end of the evening we had all reassessed our position on Russian cuisine. The food is hearty and filling. The recipes are simple yet flavourful. All in all, some nice food that we would be happy to make again.

NEXT MONTH: ST KITTS AND NEVIS

December 2010 - Fiji

2010-12-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

So for the final post of 2010 we sent our taste buds to Fiji. We were unsure of what type of food to expect. Two of our party had been to Fiji before but besides the abundance of fresh fruit they were unsure of what constituted typical Fiji. We were surprised when reading through the menus at the amount of chilis and curries that are prevalent in their menus. The common foods of Fiji cuisine are rice, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, cassava, fish and coconut but it is not that easy to get taro, breadfruit and cassava in Australia so with that in mind, we had to adapt our menu somewhat. Our December menu was therefore:

Fruity "Mock"tails (to get us in the Fijian spirit)

Spicy Chicken Wings

Spicy Meatballs with yellow squash dhal

Fresh fruit pizza

Fruity salad

So the mocktails got us in the spirit of the evening and of course every one loves a paper umbrella! We started off our meal with some spicy chicken wings. They were accompanied by a plain salad and some hummus. The wings recipe came from http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Poultry%20and%20Game/Fijian%20Chicken%20Wings%20HT%20MC%20Fijian%2040mins%20plus%20marinating.htm although it was adapted slightly with no sherry or mirrin added. I also marinated the wings overnight rather than just for two hours. They were very nice and I will definitely make them again.
The meatballs were inspired by http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/beef%20and%20veal/Fijian%20Meat%20Balls%20HT%20MC%20Fijian%20100mins.htm and were very tasty but the sauce is actually quite spicy so tread gently with the curry powder. You can't scare me off with heat though, and I thought they were great. The meatballs came with rice and a yellow squash dhal. The recipe came from http://www.fijibure.com/namatakula/food.htm and was probably my favourite of the evening. It's true that it didn't photograph well in the picture above but it was outstanding and had a really well balanced mix of flavours. (As an aside, if any South Africans are reading this, yellow squash is the international name for the patty pan.)

As with all meals that have never been made before there is always a chance that the food won't be a hit and may be closer to a miss. So far with this blog we have been quite lucky but unfortunately the fruity salad was a big time miss. The recipe came from the wiki site and unfortunately just was not successful. I think it is supposed to be similar to a Waldorf salad (so maybe more for appetiser than dessert) but it was just too sweet and soapy so I won't bother sharing the recipe. The fruit pizza on the other hand was very cute. Not overly complicated with a pita base, some apple sauce on top, fresh fruit and cinnamon sprinkles. I wouldn't rush to make it again but I wouldn't say "no" to it either. It is very filling and perhaps a useful way to get kids to eat fruit. The recipe came from http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Fijian-style_Fruit_Pizza .

Anyway it was a great evening and I am looking forward to 2011!

NEXT MONTH: RUSSIA

November 2010 - Chile

2010-11-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

No we didn't disappear :) Somehow I lost the "hat" with all the country names in it and until it mysteriously turned up next to my bed the other night (I suspect gremlins) we had to put our dinners on hold. In the meantime we were trying to decide on our next country and then we saw the most uplifting story in the news. I think that the whole world was amazed by the fortitude and bravery of those miners stuck down that Chilean mine for over two months. The thought of it alone makes me shiver with claustrophobia. Anyway their rescue was our inspiration for our Chilean feast and luckily since we have now found the hat, we can carry on as before, hopefully without too much interruptions.
So our meal for the night was :

Porotos Granados (Lentil Soup)

Pastel de Choclo (Corn and Meat Pie)

Chilean Salad

Dessert Empanadas

Firstly, wow what a soup! It was filled with dried lima beans (soaked over night) and a can of navy beans. It was very thick and could quite happily have been the meal on its own but it tasted delicious. The recipe was a combination of these two online recipes: http://www.food.com/recipe/porotos-granados-97309 and
http://www.food.com/recipe/porotos-granados-bean-stew-134188.

The corn and meat pie was interesting as it includes both chicken and mince meat in the ingredients as well as olives, raisins and corn. All of which sounded like quite a weird combination on paper but in reality was very palatable (and I don't even like olives). It tasted somewhere halfway between a cottage pie and a South African bobotie. The recipe came from http://recipeland.com/recipe/v/Pastel-De-Choclo-Chilean-Corn-and-Meat-Pie-9589. There were slightly less olives added and more chicken than what the recipe suggests as it was made in one dish rather than as separate pies.

The accompaniment to the pie was a basic Chilean salad which would be ideal at a barbeque or any summer meal. It is very light and refreshing and the basic flavours all stay very true. http://www.food.com/recipe/chilean-salad-167760

For dessert we had apple empanadas with vanilla ice-cream. Empanadas are little pastries and these were delicious with a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating and delicate cream cheese flavour. The recipe came from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/empanadas/Detail.aspx and the filling was canned apple blended with cinnamon, brown sugar and lemon juice. The pastries were rolled in a mixture of white sugar and cinammon before baking.

All in all we really enjoyed our Chilean adventure and it has also been added to our list of possible holiday destinations.

NEXT MONTH: FIJI

March 2010 - Nepal

2010-04-07T23:46:00.001-07:00

Okay So I admit, we got a little bit lax in our blog keeping, but hopefully we are back on track again. So, Nepal. Now I must admit that when we pulled Nepal out of our hat we were quite stumped as to the type of food that we would be eating. Would it be more Indian, Asian, Russian or have its very own flavour. Well after a quick perusal of the recipes on the internet we decided that perhaps the best way to capture the flavours of Nepal would be to leave it to the experts. That said we found an amazing Nepalese restaurant called, " Mustang" right here in Sydney. Mustang (pronounced Moo-stang) is an area of Nepal nestled in the Himalayas. We all decided to order the banquet which could provide a comprehensive coverage of the menu and let us have the complete Nepalese experience.

Our Menu for the evening was:

STARTER

Momo (chicken dumplings)
Haku Chhwela (grilled diced beef)
Aloo Chops ( potato cake)
Papads and Nepalese Achar

MAINS:

Butter chicken
Mustang Lamb
Mixed Vegetable curry
Everest Chicken
Pumpkin Kwaa
Steamed Rice

DESSERT:

Himalayan Baraf ( homemade icecream flavoured with cardamom and pistachio nuts)

Well I think we all were quite impressed. It is a difficult type of food to describe. The curries were familiar but there was something sweeter and less spicy about them. Ialso felt that some of the spices that we are used to like coriander and cumin were more toned down and other flavours were more prominent. I loved the momos in particular which were the steamed dumplings which I suppose shows the Eastern influences on the cuisine. All in all it was enjoyable, the foods that we expected to be less spicy were the hotter ones (potato cakes) and the ones which we thought would be more spicy, like some of the curries were milder. As you can see from the vast array of foods, we really did have a banquet!

NEXT MONTH: CHILE

January 2010 - Uzbekistan

2010-01-18T23:16:00.000-08:00

After a short December holiday break, we are back up and running for the new year. This month brings us to Uzbekistan which was formerly part of the Soviet Union. The main food of Uzbekistan is the rice based dish or palov. This is a rich meaty stew prepared on a bed of rice. Unfortunately living in the southern hemisphere and being slap bang in the middle of summer, we decided against preparing the palov and decided to try and create a more heat friendly, but authentic menu. With this in mind, here is our menu for Uzbekistan:

Kovoqli Varaki Somsa - Pumpkin Samsa

Karam Dolma - Cabbage rolls with meat

Fresh Fruit skewers and Ice cream with Halva

Uzbekistan is now firmly on my places to visit list. The food was very tasty. The starter was a roast pumpkin and caramelised onion filled pastry. We all enjoyed them so much that I am surprised we even had room for the main course. I even had the last one for breakfast this morning, shh, that's a secret. Our main course was mincemeat and rice filled cabbage rolls. The rolls were made in a tomato, lemon and sultana based gravy and they were sweet and tangy. The recipe suggested that they be served with mash potato which is what we did, along with a basic side salad. We all stuffed ourselves on the cabbage rolls too so a light dessert was a welcome relief. Apparently Uzbekistan is known for its fine fruit and vegetable produce and so in honour of that we had tropical fruit skewers with plums, mango and melon along with ice cream and halva which is widely eaten in the region.

NEXT MONTH: NEPAL

November 2009 - Kuwait

2009-12-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Kuwaiti food is largely representative of the surrounding food cultures such as Arabian, Indian and Western. There is also a large Bedouin influence. The most common spice mix in Kuwait is a fusion of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cumin, nutmeg, black pepper and paprika. We approached the preparation of the meal by creating an assortment of traditional salads, mezze, Kuwaiti spiced kebabs, rice and the Gers ogaily which is an oil less cake made with cardamom and saffron.

hummus and beetroot spreads

pita breads and fresh salad

Assorted kebabs and rice

Traditional cake

This was a very easy cuisine to prepare and pretty familiar too so I am not going to delve too much into the individual salads and dips. Most of the ingredients were readily available and it felt pretty healthy too. The large assortment of salads and the spicy kebabs and rice worked well together to create a healthy and light meal that is easy to replicate. The kebabs were done on the barbecue and the traditional spices with which they were seasoned made a tasty and aromatic main course. The only disappointment of the evening was the sponge cake which I am fairly sure is supposed to rise to more than half a centimetre in height :) but nevertheless we got the idea of the flavour and texture.

NEXT MONTH: UZBEKISTAN

October 2009 - Cyprus

2009-10-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Cypriot cuisine has evolved as a fusion of Greek and Turkish cuisines. Halloumi, or known as hellim in Turkish – is the national cheese of Cyprus. Cypriots grill their food over charcoal. Traditionally, artisha (cumin) and kolliandros (coriander) seeds make up the main cooking aromas of the island. Mint is a very important herb in Cyprus. It grows voraciously, and locals use it for everything, particularly in dishes containing ground meat.
Our menu for the evening is:

Watermelon and Halloumi Salad

Pita and Hummus

Chicken Souvlaki

Koftes

Machalepi and Turkish (Cypriot) Delight

What I love about these evenings is that each one seems better than the last. Cyprus was a huge hit. The watermelon, basil and halloumi salad was a fabulous combination. The saltiness of the cheese versus the intense sweetness of the watermelon created a fusion of flavours which just worked so well. We didn't bother to separate the courses this time and just stuffed our pita breads with the salad, the hummus and the souvlaki and kofte balls. The souvlaki were a mix of chicken and grilled halloumi basted in ouzo, honey, olive oil and vinegar. The kofte balls were heavy on the mint adding a Greek spin on the normal meatball. Dessert was interesting. The machalepi is a rosewater and cornflour dessert with a consistency not unlike jelly. It was pleasant but I don't know if it would hold mass appeal as the rosewater flavour is very strong. We accompanied the dessert with Turkish delight (which is claimed by the Cypriots as being their national food too) and the closest thing to baklava that was available at the local bakery.

All in all it was a very light meal and quite different from all the heavy curries and stews that have preceded it until now. A very nice supper to whip together at the last minute.

NEXT MONTH: KUWAIT

September 2009 - Sri Lanka

2009-09-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

This month's challenge is the island country of Sri Lanka, home to around twenty million people. The food of Sri Lanka is hot and spicy. The base food of the inhabitants of the island is rice which they consume with curry which is both vegetable and fish based. The cuisine of Sri Lanka draws influence from that of India, as well as colonists and foreign traders. As with many of the countries in the area, Sri Lankans traditionally eat with their right hands.

Our menu for the Sri Lankan evening is:

Sri Lankan Rolls
Home made Rootis
Beef Curry and Rice
Sri Lankan Love cake

This was probably one the most successful evening yet. Sri Lanka rolls are a curried vegetable (potato and carrot) filled spring roll, which is dipped in a batter and bread crumbs before frying. We ate these with some chili sauce on the side and they were crispy and very filling. They would make for great 'hand arounds' at a dinner party. Very impressive rotis were made from scratch with the addition of coconut making the roti more typical of the Sri Lankan type. The coconut definitely gave the roti an extra nice flavour. The accompaniment was a fairly traditional beef curry and rice which was very tasty and mild. Dessert was a Sri Lankan love cake. Love cake is a spicy cake which tastes a bit like a cross between a Christmas cake and a spice cake. It was sweet and very interesting as all the individual spices each added a bit of zing to the cake in different ways. We had fun trying to taste each component with every bite. Among the ingredients are lemon zest, almond essence, nutmeg and semolina. Strangely there is no oil or butter in this recipe and all the moisture comes from the addition of the stiffly beaten egg whites.

NEXT MONTH: CYPRUS

August 2009 - Zambia

2009-09-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

Our food theme for this month is Zambian and it sure has been interesting
trying to find some authentic Zambian recipes which don't involve the use of mice, moths or caterpillars. The staple food of Zambia is a thick maize meal and water 'porridge' called Nshima (South African pap or Zimbabwean sadza) which is served with lunch and dinner. The nshima is traditionally accompanied by a meat stew of whatever animal is available. Peanuts and peanut butter are a common ingredient in Zambian cooking. When you are a guest in a Zambian’s house, refusing to eat completely is considered rude. Even if you are full, you always have to eat everything the host puts in your plate. If you do not, you are considered impolite. So with this in mind, here is the menu for the Zambian evening...

Mielie (Corn) Soup

Fresh meat stew (not pictured) with Nshima balls

Golabjamoun (sweet potato cakes)

Milk Tart (with Western style 'snakes')

The meal started off on a very high note as the corn soup was absolutely delicious! Chock full of corn and very thick, it was a meal on its own especially with a hunk of crispy bread. The main course was definitely for a more traditional palate. The beef stew was made according to Zambian tradition with very little by way of herbs and spices, so it was quite bland. It was served with nshima which is a mixture of maize meal and water. Nshima, or pap, as it is known in South Africa is a very filling starch accompaniment with very little flavour, but it serves its purpose as a cheap way to feed a very poor community. The golabjamoun was a welcome addition to the meal, as it was quite yum. Golabjamoun is mashed sweet potato with flour, sugar and cinamon, rolled into balls (didn't quite get that part right) and then fried until the outside is crispy. This was a tasty addition to the otherwise bland stew and nshima.

Dessert was milk tart which is eaten throughout Africa. It is a custard topping on a biscuit type base, sprinkled with cinamon. For authenticity and because insects are not readily available at any supermarket in the Western world, we threw on some jelly snakes.
All in all, Zambia is not a country that one would go out of one's way to, in order to taste their food, but there definitely are a few hidden delights in the Zambian repertoire.

NEXT MONTH: SRI LANKA

July 2009 - Laos

2009-07-14T04:23:00.001-07:00

Our food theme for July is Laos. The Lao national dish is laap which is a spicy mixture of marinated meat or fish that is sometimes raw with a combination of greens, herbs, and spices. Savoury Lao dishes are never sweet and many are actually bitter. Food is frequently eaten at room temperature. The staple food is sticky rice which is traditionally eaten by hand.

Our menu for the Laotian evening is:

Chicken soup

Chicken Stew

Vegetable Stir Fry
Sticky rice

Sticky rice pudding with mango

A seemingly simple soup to prepare, getting the balance of flavours correct in this dish took an age. The spices are lemongrass, chili, garlic, coriander, mint and lime. Together they have to make a slightly lemony, slightly spicy broth which is served with shredded chicken. It is was a very refreshing and palateble soup.
The main courses of chicken stew and vegetable stir fry also relied heavily on Laotian spices (such as lemongrass, ginger and coriander) to give them their tang. The chicken stew was based with a roasted eggplant. Both were served with sticky rice, but I am sorry to say we didn't eat it with our fingers :) They were both excellent.
The dessert was sticky coconut rice pudding with mango. The coconut sauce was a hit all round. Definitely a recipe to be revisited in the future!

NEXT MONTH: ZAMBIA

June 2009 - Republic of South Africa

2009-06-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

The first country picked is South Africa, which is actually quite ironic and totally coincidental seeing as three of the four of us, grew up there. South Africa has a huge culinary culture, with influences from Holland, India and other African countries.

South African food is a meat eaters paradise, with the braai or barbeque being the weekend norm for almost all cultures. Meats commonly available in South Africa range from the normal beef, lamb and chicken to the rather more exotic venison, ostrich, crocodile and kudu. Traditional foods include : mopani worms which are usually served deep fried with a crispy outer coating; pap which is a porridge-like mixture of mealie meal; bobotie which is a South African take on shepherd's pie where the mash is replaced by a egg and milk mixture and malva pudding which is the world's best version of a fruity cake with a sweet toffee coating.

Our menu for the South African evening is:

Biltong Salad

Butternut Bredie with yellow rice

Cape Brandy Pudding with custard

The whole menu was delicious!

Biltong is similar to beef jerky but with a distinctive flavour. The meat is cured and dried until the meat is hard on the outside with a slightly moist centre. The biltong was sprinkled over mesclun, baby tomatoes, carrots, spring onions and seeds. A superb sweet dressing was poured over just before serving.

A Bredie is a Cape Malay stew. It is a barrage of flavours - the sweet butternut coated in cinammon and sugar mixes with the cardamom, cloves and ginger in the meat. The trick is to cook the bredie for a long time so that the meat is tender and the flavours are infused into the rich, thick gravy. Rice, cooked in turmeric to make it yellow, with a few raisins added are the usual accompaniment to this style of cooking.

Cape brandy pudding is just delicious. It is a warm cake seeped in brandy and topped with a sugary sauce that will keep the winter chills away. Cape brandy pudding is also known as Tipsy tart because if you eat enough (which I think we all did) you will definitely start feeling the alcohol.

NEXT MONTH: LAOS