Food & Drink Around The World

1. Thai Spicy Salad (Som Tum)
Serving size: 2


Ingredients
2 cups fresh unripe papaya, peeled and shredded
2 tablspoons dried shrimps (briefly soak it in warm water)
6 Thai chili peppers, smashed
4 tablespoons coconut/palm sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1½ tablespoons lime juice
1 gloves garlic, smashed
4 green beans cut into 3
5 cherry tomatoes cut into half
3 tablespoons cashew nuts
2 Iceberg lettuce wedges to serve

Preparation
In a large bowl, add all ingredients into the bowl and mix well. Serve with fresh green bean and lettuce.

2. Spicy Beef Salad (Yum Nua)

Serving size: 4

Ingredients
9 oz. grilled sirloin beef, finely sliced
1 small onion cut into thin wedges
½ cucumber cut crosswise into thin slices
5 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon coconut/palm sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
5 gloves garlic, smashed
½ red and yellow bell peppers, finely shredded

Preparation
Place grilled beef, cucumber, and add green onion in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, coconut or palm sugar, chili pepper and pour into the bowl. Toss well. Serve.

3. Yum Woon Sen
Serving size: 2


Ingredients
A handful of clear noodle (soak noodle in warm water 10 minutes before using)
6 medium shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
¼ cup green onion, cut into ½ inch long
1 tablespoon red chili powder (more/less as you like to suit your taste)
1 tablespoons fish sauce
1½ table spoons lemon juice
A pinch sugar to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation
In the big bowl, add onion, green onion, garlic, chili powder, fish sauce, lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar and whisk until well combined. Place a pot over medium heat and bring 1-2 inches of water to a boil. Add clear noodle and cook for 2 minute until tender. Remove noodle to the mixture bowl and stir in noodle until well coated with the mixture. Discard boiled water, heat the pot over the medium-high heat. Add the oil, shrimp and stir occasionally until shrimps are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Pour shrimp in the mixture bowl and stir briefly. To serve, Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

I hope you enjoy our Thai recipes and enjoy cooking Thai food.

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4 medium-sized kemer-style aubergines (with a glossy surface, a curved and slender shape -- about 20 cm long, dark purple in color, and almost no seeds)

1 green banana pepper (elongated, light green sweet pepper)

1 red banana pepper (also called salcalik or tarhanalik pepper in Turkey -- because it's used in the making of tomato paste and tarhana)

For frying the aubergine: half a water-glass* of Sun Flower Seed Oil

For the sauce:

4 medium sized tomatoes, half a yemek kasigi* of tomato paste

6 cloves of garlic

1 yemek kasigi* of olive oil

2 yemek kasigi* of vinegar

1 cube of sugar

1 çay kasigi* of salt and one of pepper

Preparation:

Don't peel the aubergine, instead stripe-strip it lengthwise -- leaving strips of unpeeled skin evenly spaced down the length of the aubergine's surface, from top to bottom. (This 'stripe' gives the finished dish a more decorative appearance.)

Slice the aubergine lengthwise into two sections. Take each section in turn and slice them lengthwise too -- into 2 or 3 long strips each (depending on the thickness of the aubergine). At intervals of 1 cm from top to bottom, cut each of these strips cross-wise into chunks.

Soak the pieces in salty water for 20-30 minutes. (This removes bitterness from the remaining aubergine skin peel.) Remove the pieces from the salty water and after rinsing them again in unsalted water -- dry them on paper towels. Clean the green and red banana peppers and slice them in ring shapes.

Heat up the Sunflower Seed Oil in a deep pan and place the aubergine and pepper in the heated oil, cooking until they are quite limp and the aubergine is a medium brown color. Scoop the vegetables out of the oil with a frying spatula and into a dish lined with paper towels. Let dry.

To prepare the sauce:

Pour the olive oil and toss the (coarsely chopped) garlic into a medium-sized sauce pan. Peel the tomatoes and cube them the size of tavla (backgammon) dice. Mix together in the sauce pan with the tomato paste. Add the vinegar and the cube of sugar -- and after sprinkling in the salt and pepper, cook over a medium hot flame, stirring frequently.

When the sauce begins to boil, cut the heat way back -- and let the ingredients simmer for another 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce lightly over the aubergine and peppers and serve at room temperature -- as a meze, a snack, or as a vegetable-dish with a meal.


Whenever we have new foreign guests, Jim always asks that I make this dish for them -- as long as I don't call it eggplant. Seems his mother forced him to eat too many soft-boiled eggs as a child -- and the name association still bothers him.

Making Turkish Coffee is a historical tradition in Turkish Culture. While there are many different Coffee Recipes available online, most are modified from the traditional version.
In this article, I will share a traditional way of making Turkish Coffee.

Tools Needed for Making Turkish Coffee

• Turkish Coffee (ground or whole bean)
• Turkish Grinder (if you are using whole beans)
• Turkish Pot
• Turkish Coffee Cup
• Water & sugar if you like it sweet
• Teaspoon to measure and stir

If you have the required tools in place, you are ready to start making Turkish Coffee.
Steps for Making Turkish Style Coffee

1. Grind coffee beans:
If you want to make the most delicious Turkish Coffee, you need to grind the beans before the making process. This way, you will have fresh ground coffee and the oil in the beans will not dry due to waiting after grinding process. To be able to make authentic coffee, the Turkish way, you need Arabica Beans. If you can not find an authentic Turkish Coffee Brand near where you live, you should get a regular pack of Arabica Beans. Using an authentic Turkish Grinder is important. Because Turkish style coffee is ground extra fine, not like other types. Closest fineness to Turkish type of coffee is espresso. Even espresso is not ground as fine as Turkish. If you are in a hurry, and want to save some time, you need to buy ground coffee and pass this step. But if you are not in a rush, you should start with grinding beans to make the freshest coffee, Turkish way. After you are done with grinding the beans, remove them from the manual grinder and move to step two.
2. Add ingredients into the coffee pot
Use a Turkish style coffee cup, also called as Fincan in Turkish to measure water first. For one cup of coffee, you need to prepare one cup of regular drinking water into the coffee pot. After you add the water, add two teaspoons of ground coffee. Two teaspoons weigh around 0.175 ounces or 5 grams. So, measure if you are not sure how much coffee to put. Adding sugar is optional. Turkish way of coffee is made in three different ways. With sugar (means Sekerli in Turkish), medium sugar (means Orta Sekerli), and without sugar (meaning Sade). You should put around 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar maximum. If you want medium, try with one teaspoon of sugar or less. If you make it without any sugar, it might taste little bitter, but for strong coffee lovers, this might be a great taste. So, choose your preference, and add sugar if you like.
3. Heat & brew the coffee
Start stirring with your teaspoon on a very low flame stove. Never use high flame, you should heat and stir slowly. Some recipes will tell you to add sugar or coffee, or both after heating the water. You should ignore this advice. Authentic Turkish style coffee is made by putting water, coffee and sugar simultaneously and by heating at the same time. While heating and stirring, you shouldn't step away from the process. It can boil very quickly and it might overflow fast. Making Turkish Style Coffee usually takes 5 to 10 minutes, so you should be patient and keep stirring. Right before it starts boiling, use your teaspoon to take some of the foam at the top of the pot and add them into the cups. This is an important step. Quality Turkish Style Coffee should be served with as much foam on it as possible. So, remember to add some of the foam to the cups before it boils. After coffee starts boiling, take away the pot from the stove, let it wait for a few seconds and put it on the stove again. You should repeat this process two to three times. Then, pour it into coffee cups.

 

While making Turkish Coffee, you do not filter the coffee. These small ground particles will sit at the bottom of the cup. After pouring the coffee from the Turkish Pot into the cups, you will also see some of these ground particles will stay in the coffee pot. This is normal, you shouldn't try to put these into the cup.
Making Turkish Coffee takes 10 to 15 minutes, but it is an enjoyable process and good for improving your patience. I hope you will try this authentic way of making Turkish Style Coffee.
Enjoy your delicious cup of Turkish Coffee - Bon Appetite

Greek Salad is characterize by its fresh taste. Made only with crisp vegetables. It is a very healthy dish that requires little or less than ten minutes to prepare. Greek salads are a fusion of colors. You have the greens, the yellows, the reds and the oranges. Below is a compilation of some of the most fantastic Greek salad recipes.


GREEK SALAD RECIPE
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic: minced (crushed)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish
3 tomatoes: cut into wedges
¼ red onion: sliced into rings
½ cucumber: sliced into thick half-moons
½ green pepper (capsicum): julienned
4 oz (120g) feta cheese: cut into small cubes
16 kalamata olives

PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. Garnish with a little freshly ground black pepper.


MEDITERRANEAN GREEK SALAD
INGREDIENTS
3 cucumbers, seeded and sliced
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
3 cups diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup diced oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, oil reserved
1/2 red onion, sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large salad bowl, toss together the cucumbers, feta cheese, olives, roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons reserved sun-dried tomato oil, and red onion. Chill until serving.

GREEK SALAD
3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cup Kalamata black olives
Several sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup
2 (1/4 pound) slices imported Greek feta
1/4 cup (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed in palm of your hand
Coarse salt and black pepper
Pita breads

Combine vegetables, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Rest sliced feta on the top of salad. Combine oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously to combine oil and vinegar and pour over salad and cheese.

Season with salt and pepper and let the salad marinate until ready to serve. Serve salad with pita bread blistered and warmed on a hot griddle or grill pan.
Natasha's Greek Salad
1 bunch leaf lettuce
2 cucumbers
4 large tomatoes
1 small yellow onion
Garnish:
Greek black olives
feta cheese

Dressing:
1 part red wine vinegar
1 part olive oil
crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 pinches sugar

Chop lettuce and onion finely. Chop tomatoes and cucumbers coarsely (about 1/2). Combine and garnish to taste. One of the simplest items we prepare, this salad draws many compliments. Use real Greek olives packed in brine.

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This time we have a traditional Chinese dessert, the Split Peas Pudding.

We need to have some yellow split peas for this pudding, you may also replace the split pea by red beans. For red beans, you have to save 4 cups of boiled water after you boiled the red beans until they get to soften. This boiled water is used to replace the four cups of water mentioned in the ingredients. This pudding is usually served in cold. Therefore, we always prepare the pudding 1 to 2 days before your party.
We may cut the pudding into small cubes and decorate with some beautiful picks after chilled. It will add some colors to your party and a perfect ending to your menu, especially the kids.
(15 slice pieces serving)



Ingredients:
20 oz yellow split peas
3 oz cornstarch
1 cup coconut milk
6 oz fresh milk
1/2 oz agar
4 cups water
5 oz sugar

Method:
1. Rinse your mould with cold water.
2. Simmer yellow split peas until the peas soft. Rinse and drain.
3. Mix cornstarch with coconut milk and fresh milk.
4. Dissolve agar in four cups boiling water, drain, and stir in sugar and milk solution. When thicken, add yellow split peas and stir it well.
5. Pour mixture in your mould, cool and chill.
6. Cut into thick pieces, best to serve cold.
You may consider using some kinds of cartoon pudding moulds, candy moulds or ice making moulds. The pudding will come out more beautiful, and your guest will have more fun.

The typical Russian dinner table will often be filled with Russian recipes derived from fish, poultry, game, mushrooms, berries, honey, bread, pancakes, cereals, beer and of course, vodka. The rise of the middle class, however, has innovated and revolutionized the palates of everyone in the country, regardless of whether you live in the heart of the city, or in the rural area. Here's a sampling of two of the most enticing and most popular recipes today, potato blinis and kulich.



Potato Blinis
To create potato blinis, you will need the following ingredients - 60 g sifted self-raising flour, 200 ml milk, three eggs, pinch of nutmeg, two egg whites, smoked salmon and creme Fraiche to serve. To prepare the dish, place the potatoes through a rice, and mash them, and place in a mixing bowl after. Next, mix the flour, beat the three eggs together in a bowl and combine them with the potato mixture. Add the milk and the nutmeg pinch, and in a mixing bowl whisk the egg whites, until they get frothy. Fold a third of the whisked egg white into the potato mix, and heat a lightly-oiled blini pan. Next, drop a spoonful of potato batter into the pan, and fry it down until it turns golden brown. Remove the potato blinis from the pan, keep warm, and serve this tasty and easy Russian recipe topped with smoked salmon and creme Fraiche.

Kulich
To create the kulich, or "kulig", you will require the following ingredients - 10 g salt, 90 g sugar, 90 g fresh yeast, 500 g plain flour, dashes of vanilla essence, grated zest of two oranges and two lemons, two eggs, milk to mix, 90 g blanched flaked almonds, and 90 g sultanas. For the lemon icing, you will need grated lemon, water to mix and icing sugar.



Cooking Directions
To cook the kulich, empty flour, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter, yeast, orange zest, eggs, flaked almonds, and sultanas in a mixing bowl. Just make sure to keep the salt and yeast in separate sides or corners, and blend the ingredients thoroughly with a little milk.

Slowly add more milk, and continue mixing until it becomes soft and smooth. Then knead the mixture on a flour-dusted surface and create smooth, pliable dough. Return the dough into the bowl and leave it for an hour.

Next, line three small flowerpots, or a deep cake tin, and divide the dough into three, and shape each part so it will fit the flowerpot. Set this aside for at least an hour.

Next, preheat the oven to 200ºC and bake the dough in the pot for thirty minutes until it becomes golden brown. Allow this delectable russian recipe to cool, and then ice the cooled cake with the lemon icing, as well as sprinkle with the flaked almonds on top.

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Dashi maki tamago and omurice are one of the easiest Japanese dishes to prepare. Dashi maki tamago is a Japanese style of making omelet. Omurice is a Japanese term for omelet and rice. If you know how to make an omelet, preparing these recipes will be very easy for you.



Tamago Omelet Recipe
Ingredients:
- One tablespoon of vinegar for every two eggs
-Tamari to taste
- You will be needing a special rectangular pan called tamagoyaki nabe. You can also use a regular frying pan but the edges of the omelet will be removed to make a rectangular shape.

Preparation:
- Whisk eggs and tamari. Add cooking oil in the pan, if you are using a teflon coated pan you will get better results.
- Pour cooking oil in the pan and heat. When the oil is hot enough, pour whisked egg to cover the bottom, as soon as it begins cooking, without stirring, gently roll the omelet beginning by one end. The end result must have a cylinder shape.
- The first cylinder will probably not have the desired size, start again and when the whisked egg is nearly cooked, place the previous cylinder on one end and roll it on top to get the desired size.
- Place the omelet on a bamboo rolling mat and roll it, leave it like that until it cools down.


Omurice Recipe (Omelet Rice)
Ingredients:
- Four cups of steamed white rice
- 400 grams of chicken meat
- 1/4 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup of small white mushrooms chopped in small pieces
- One green bell pepper chopped in small pieces
- Salt and pepper
- Five tablespoons of tomato catsup
- Cooking oil
- Eight Eggs



Preparation:
- Cook steamed rice.
- Cut the chicken into small pieces.
- Cut onion and green pepper to small pieces.
- Cut the mushrooms into small thin pieces.
- Pour cooking oil in a frying pan and saute vegetables until they are soft.
- Add steamed rice inside the frying pan, mix and fry together with the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.

- Stop heat and mix catsup and set aside
- In another frying pan, add cooking oil and heat
- Beat three eggs in a bowl, pour eggs in the frying pan and quickly spread to make a round omelet.
- Add 1/4 of the mixed rice in the center of the omelet. Fold sides of the omelet on top of the mixed rice.
- Turn omelet over inside the frying pan to evenly seal the omelet. Set aside.
- Repeat process to make four omurice.
Just before serving, apply catsup on top of the omelet. Goes well with soup.

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Teriyaki is one of those words Japanese that we've amalgamated into the English language and now appears everywhere - like Samurai, Ninja - but unlike those mythical knights of old, Teriyaki sauce is actually quite easy to make yourself and isn't so much of a secret.

Today I'll show you the ingredients you need to make your own Teriyaki sauce and give a few serving suggestions for a light meal. Of course, Teriyaki sauce is commonly associated with chicken, but if you're vegetarian then there's no reason to not try it with fried tofu or soy-based meat substitutes.




Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of mirin
- 3 tbsp of cooking sake
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 2 tbsp of oil
- 4 chicken legs
- Japanese rice, or some potatoes to accompany

Preparation:
Making the sauce is actually rather simple - just combine the soy uce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a fry pan. Heat on a low flame until the sugar dissolves then boil for about two minutes.
To prepare the chicken legs, wash then dry (with a kitchen towel) and cut into small pieces (only needed if you're planning on eating with chopsticks). Feel free to use chicken breast instead of legs, but the Japanese swear he leg is tastier than the breast meat. Personally I can't stand bones. Saute them until brown, then pour the previously made sauce on top and cook for a further 20 minutes with the pan covered the whole time.
Of course, this dish is best served with Japanese rice, but you could also use the chicken and sauce for own main meal idea, with potatoes or a salad, for instance.

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Let's talk pizza! Here's one of my best free Italian recipes, that of pizza Margherita, which is the easiest of pizzas. Using this recipe as a base, you can add whatever you want on it!


What you need (1 serving):
125 g 00 flour
1 teaspoon brewer's yeast
1 mozzarella
canned tomatoesor tomato sauce (NO ketchup!)
water
salt
sugar
extra virgin olive oil
basil

Let's do it!
Melt yeast in two fingers of warm water, then add just a bit of sugar and 2 teaspoons of flour. Mix it all and leave it for 15-20 minutes.

Pour the remaining flour in a bowl, adding half a teaspoon of salt, then 1 teaspoon of extravirgin olive oil, and in the end the previously prepared yeast. Work it all with a wooden spoon, then pour oil on your hands and use them to mix the dough. When your knuckles leave a dent and it rises again in no more than half a minute, than the dough is ok.

Let it rest for 3 hours, covered with a cotton or linen cloth.

Pre-heat your oven at 200°. Make a dish with your dough. It should be no higher than 2 or 3 mms. Pour tomato sauce on it, making sure you leave a white border. Ease yourself with a spoon. Cut mozzarella in small cubes or thin slices and add it on the tomato sauce. Add some extravirgin olive oil (be careful: it shouldn't be too much!) and cook it in your oven.

When your pizza is ready (it should take no more than 20 minutes if the oven was pre-heaten), add some basil leaves and eat!

While it cooks, you could wonder on where this Pizza found its name...
In about 1889, Queen Margherita took an inspection tour of her Italian Kingdom. During her travels around Italy she saw many people, especially the peasants, eating this large, flat bread. Curious, the queen ordered her guards to bring her one of these Pizza breads. She summoned Chef Raffaele Esposito from his pizzeria to the royal palace and ordered him to bake a selection of pizzas for her pleasure. To honor the queen who was so beloved by her subjects, Raffaele decided to make a very special pizza just for her. He baked it topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, to represent the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green. This became Queen Margherita's favorite pizza and when word got out that this was one of the queen's favorite foods, she became even more popular with the Italian people. She also started a culinary tradition, the Pizza Margherita, which lasts to this very day in Naples and has now spread throughout the world.

Preparation time: 35 minutes
Total cooking time: 25 -- 30 minutes
Serves 4


Ingredients for the nasi goreng recipe:
2 eggs
oil, for cooking
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon sugar
200g (61/2 oz.) rump steak, finely sliced
200g (61/2 oz.) peeled raw prawns
3 cups (550g/1 lb 2 oz.) cold cooked rice
2 teaspoons kecap manis
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 spring onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons crisp-fried onions

Directions for the nasi goreng recipe:
1. When you want to start trying the nasi goring recipes, follow this guidelines. First, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt until foamy. Heat a frying pan and lightly brush with 1 tablespoon oil. Pour about one-quarter of the egg into the pan and cook for 2 minutes until the omelette sets. Flip and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining egg. When the omelettes are cold, gently roll up and shred finely.
2. Mix the garlic, the onion, the chilli, the shrimp paste, the coriander and the sugar in a food processor or mortar and pestle until a paste forms.

3. Heat a wok over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the paste for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the steak and prawns and stir-fry until they change colour. Add 2 tablespoons oil and the rice. After that stir-fry, breaking up any lumps, until the rice is well heated through. Add the kecap manis, soy sauce and spring onion and stir-fry for another minute. Serve immediately, on a bed of lettuce and cucumber, garnished with the omelette strips and crisp-fried onions.

Nutritional Value for the nasi goreng recipe:
Protein 20 g;
Fat 23 g;
Carbohydrate 44 g;
Dietary Fibre 3.5 g;
Cholesterol 125mg;
Energy 1942kJ (465cal)

Pancakes are a big part of the American breakfast. They are nice and fluffy and are good at any time of the day really! Still too many people nowadays buy the pre-mixed boxes of pancake batter. Why not try your hand at making some from scratch? This will you will also ensure that every ingredient in your recipe is fresh! Here is a simple American pancake recipe for you to try at home:


You will need some basic tools to get started: a mixing bowl, a nice skillet or a flat top, a spatula and a whisk to ensure that your pancake mix is well blended. Make sure you have all the tools and ingredients you need before you start; it makes things a helluva of a lot easier and saves a good amount of time.
Your skillet or flat top should be heated to 375F for at least 10 minutes before you can start cooking. You also should cover it with a thin layer of cooking spray; rub it a little bit with grease, so your pancakes will not stick to it.

The ingredients needed are as simple as you can get: 135g of self-raisin flour, sifted; 1 egg; 125ml of cold milk and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt. Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly with the whisk.
And that is all! You can also add fresh berries if you wish, the most popular choice being blueberries. This is for the easiest simplest original American pancake recipe. Now for the cooking part.


To make pouring easier, you can transfer some of your batter into a smaller cup. Pour equal amounts of batter on your skillet. You can also use a small ladle if it is easier for you. When your pancakes are starting to rise, and you can notice bubbles popping at the top, they need to be turned. If you are adding berries, put a small handful of them on top of the pancake before flipping it.

Let your pancake brown on the second side for a few seconds. You can then re-flip them to make sure they are evenly browned and cooked. Pancakes need to be served right away, nice and warm. To avoid having soggy ones for breakfast, cover a baking sheet with paper towel, stack your pancakes onto it and put them into a 200F oven, until ready to be eaten. This genuine American Pancake recipe will surely make for even better mornings!

Kimchi is the national food of Korea and a keystone of Korean culture. Ask anyone on the streets of Korea if they believe in kimchi power and you'll always get a big smile.


The history of kimchi traces back early as 3000 years ago when the ancients had to preserve and store their autumn harvest of vegetables in order to survive the winter. Kimchi was prepared in early winter and stored below ground in large kimchi pots and kept the whole community fed till spring. Made from cabbage, radishes, cucumber, eggplant, radish greens, and fruit, kimchi could be found in endless varieties depending on the region of Korea it was made. Even fish or squid kimchi could be found along the coastline of the south. These ingredients were pickled in a mixture of coarse salt, chili, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and water and gave kimchi its distinct, spicy flavor.

Kimchi could be eaten right out of the pot as the main course or as an ingredient in hot dishes such as kimchi stew. I'm sure a nice hot bowl of kimchi stew was very welcome during those cold, gray winter months in Old Korea.


Kimchi Stew (Kimchi tchigae)
Basic Ingredients:
¼ head of kimchi
¼ lb. pork
1/2 onion
1/2 a root of green onion
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of ground garlic
salt, pepper powder, chili

Recipe:
1. Cut kimchi into small pieces.
2. Prepare pork belly. Cut them into slices.
3. Slice onion thickly. Minced garlic and cut the green onion diagonally.
4. Put kimchi, pork and chili powder into a pot and add a little bit of water. Mix well so the there is no chili powder lumps. (If you want to make the stew not so spicy, add kimchi juice instead of the chili powder and boil.)
5. Add water again to 4 and boil. Add onion later.
6. If the kimchi is cooked, add minced garlic, green onion and chili, and boil again.
7. Season

NOTE: As an alternative 2 cups of anchovy stock can be added to the boil as well as 1/3 lb. tofu, cut into cubes in step 5.
Anchovy stock: Boil 10 dried anchovies, a 4x4 inch piece seaweed (dashima), a 1x2 inch piece Korean radish in 10 cups water for 20 minutes. Strain before using.

If you love good food, you'll love these two unusual Australian cake recipes are just great fresh from the oven.

The flavour of the pineapple in the Hummingbird Cake reminds me of the wonderful taste of pineapple upside down cake fresh from the oven.

The Tutti Fruity cake with it's tinned fruit salad reminds me of childhood puddings of fruit salad drowning in evaporated milk!

Both these recipes are low in fat and taste great fresh from the oven:-


Hummingbird Cake
2 egg whites
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
½ cup of apple sauce (fresh or from a jar)
¾ cup of canned, crushed pineapple (or pineapple rings crushed with a fork) - drained
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
2 cups self-raising flour
For the icing:-
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of pineapple juice (reserve this when you drain the pineapple)
2 teaspoons of margarine
1. Set the oven to 180 degrees
2. Beat the egg whites and sugar together
3. Stir in the bicarbonate and apple sauce.
4. Now add the pineapple, bananas and mixed spice.
5. Fold in the flour gently with a wooden spoon.
6. Pour into a cake tin.
7. Cook at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
8. Once cooked remove from oven and allow to cool.
9. Mix the icing ingredients together and smooth over the top of the cake.
Serve & enjoy!



Yvette's Tutti Fruiti Bites Cake
2 egg whites
½ cup of sugar
½ cup apple sauce (fresh or from a jar)
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
440g can of fruit salad (drained)
2 cups of self-raising flour
Icing:-
¾ cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of passionfruit juice
1 teaspoon of margarine
1. Turn the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl.
3. Stir the bicarbonate into the apple sauce.
4. Add this to the bowl.
5. Add fruit salad.
6. Gently fold in the flour with a metal spoon.
7. Pour into a cake tin.
8. Cook at 180 degrees for 25 minutes
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool
10. Mix icing ingredients together with a fork and smooth on the top of the cake.

Eat whilst fresh and still warm!

Please note that all the above measurements are in Australian cup sizes, which are apparently not the same as those used in the U.S.

Many thanks to Yvette who shared this tasty Aussie recipe with our family.

Beef recipes are claimed by many countries as signature dishes; beef Stroganoff, beef goulash, beef bourginon etc. This is a variation of the latter and these easy French recipes are, in my opinion, the tastiest of all.


Ingredients

1. 24oz/700g lean topside or rump steak
2. 2 large onions
3. 12oz/350g carrots
4. 1oz/25g plain flour
5. 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
6. 1 beef stock cube
7. 3/4 pint/450ml beer or stout
8. 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
9. 1 teaspoon dried thyme
10. 1 bay leaf
11. 2 tablespoons French mustard
12. salt and black pepper
13. half stick French bread

Method

• Peel and finely slice the onions. Peel and slice the carrots diagonally. Trim any fat and gristle away from the meat and cut into 3/4 inch/2cm cubes.
• Season the flour well and spread it on a plate. Roll the meat cubes in the seasoned flour until coated on all sides. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Fry the onions for 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in the carrots and the meat cubes.
• Crumble the stock cube over the meat and vegetable mixture. Add the beer or stout, sugar, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Cover and simmer for 55-60 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
• Cut the bread into1/2 inch/1cm thick slices, lightly toast them and spread French mustard on one side. Layer the French bread slices on top of the meat, mustard side up. Place the pan under a medium grill for 1-2 minutes, until the toast is crispy.

I like to serve this easy French recipes as a main course or winter supper with Brussels sprouts, fresh garden peas and boiled potatoes.

Bon Appetite.

As someone who enjoys gathering my friends and family together for a good meal, I understand the food culture upon which Greece is built. The essence of Greek food culture is that the food is secondary to the atmosphere, conversation, and friendships developed while sharing a meal. Sharing and eating out are treasured traditions.

The basic ingredients of Greek food are few, and basic at that: olive oil, yoghurt, honey, cheese, fruits and vegetables, lamb and fish. However the manner is which they are prepared is what gives Greek food it's variety and character.

Unique to Greece and it's culture of sharing food is the delight of being invited into the kitchen of your host (or restaurant) to view the offerings and make a selection.

The Greek diet also happens to one of the healthiest in the world, so I believe there's a lot we could learn. Let's try a traditional Greek recipe today and continue our adventures in global food culture. We're going to make a Moussaka, which is a creamy baked dish. I've also included a recipe for Tzatziki, which is a traditional yoghurt dip, good for a started or side dish. You may also wish to serve the main dish with a salad.


Main dish: Moussaka
- 2 eggplants
- 1lb of medium onions
- 9 oz of hamburger mince
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 2 eggs
- 100ml of white wine
- 2 tbsp of bechamel
- 3.5 oz of grated cheese
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- Parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil

Preparation:
Cut the eggplants into thick slices and sprinkle with salt, then let the bitter juice drain. Wash, strain, and dry them off.

Mince the onion, then brown it in a frying pan along with the mince hamburger meat. Peel, mince and seed the tomatoes (or get from a can instead). Splash with wine, and add the tomatoes and parsley to the pan. Season it with salt and pepper and simmer for around 45 minutes over a low flame.

Lightly whisk some egg whites. Add this to the pan along with the breadcrumbs (once the 45 minutes simmering is up).

In a separate pan, fry the eggplants, drain them, then place half of them in a layer in an oiled baking dish. Pour the mince, tomato, and onion mix on top of this, then add another layer of eggplant. Add 2 yolks and 1 egg to the bechamel, and the grated cheese, as the final layer in the baking dish.
Gratin this in the oven until it browns.

Side dish: Tzatziki
Tzatziki is a basic but delicious cucumber dip.



Ingredients:
- 1 pack of greek yoghurt
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Ground white pepper
- Salt
- 4 mint leaves

Preparation:
Peel the cucumbers, then grate the into a bowl. Add the yoghurt, juice of half a lemon, and oil.
Season it to taste and add a pinch of pepper. Mix the paste until you have an even texture.
Leave in the fridge for 2 hours at least, while you mince the onion. Serve garnished with onion and mint.