Culinary Adventures with Camilla

May is a brutal month when I am constantly over-scheduled with the boys' schools and work. Needless to say, we haven't checked off one country per week as planned for our  Cooking Around the World Adventure . But we can cross Uganda off our list! Slow and steady...we'll finish this project. Eventually. from worldatlas.com About Uganda... Uganda is a landlocked country that lies just above the Equator in East Africa. Its landscape envelopes the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains as well as the immense Lake Victoria. D read that its wildlife includes chimpanzees, hippos, as well as rare birds. Just over 35 million people inhabit the country and the official languages are English and Swahili.  On Our Plates... I initially planned to make three dishes, but I was running late and didn't have time to stop for plantains. So, I only managed to serve two dishes from Uganda: Chicken Luwombo and a Bean Stew. Luwombo is a ubiquitous dish that is found at most tra...

I am already having a crazy week; it's Spring fund drive time. Enough said. But I get to be around these kids and their enthusiasm and love of their school is infectious. Still I am determined to stick to my schedule of traveling by tabletop to at least one country per week with our Cooking Around the World Adventure . So, here we go to Tuvalu. from ontheworldmap.com Some Facts... Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Australia and Hawaii. Its closest neighbors are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Comprised of three reef islands and six true atolls, Tuvalu has a total land are of less than 10 square miles! The small island of Nanumea played a significant role in the World War II when it served as the bomber base for the Allied Forces defending the Pacific basin. 'Tuvalu', the name, refers to the country’s eight traditionally inhabited islands though there are nine islands that make up the country. For ...

Last week was a ridiculously busy week. I mean, crazy. So, I only managed one dinner for our Cooking Around the World Adventure . After my second meeting with the IB consultant for R's high school, we traveled by tabletop to Turkmenistan. And this week isn't looking any better, so I hope to cook at least one country this week. Fingers crossed. from worldatlas.com About Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is one of six independent Turkic states in Central Asia and was once part of the Soviet Republic until declaring its independence in 1991. "It's one of the -stans," said R when D was looking for the country on a map. What's a -stan?!!? "You know Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and -" Turkmenistan! On Our Plates... When I first started researching recipes for Turkmenistan, I didn't find very many that were in English. Then I discovered the Twitter account for One Turkmen Kitchen and was saved! Photo...

Last night was our first  Cooking Around the World Adventure   in almost two years! And tonight, we have another nation under our collective culinary belts. We haven't located our atlases, from our move last summer, but the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf is more than happy to look up information online and read it to us. from worldatlas.com About Turkey... Geographically, Turkey spans two continents: Europe and Asia. However, it lies primarily on the Asian side. For a size reference, Turkey is slightly larger than the state of Texas and, as of the summer of 2013, its population was just over 80 million people. Though Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey - and is the third most populous European city - it is not the capital; Ankara is, in fact, the capital of Turkey. The Precise Kitchen Elf just started reading the Odyssey in his English class. I told him that the ancient city of Troy was located in modern day Turkey. Side note: I absolutely adore his readin...

For this round - our April-May selection - of  Cook the Books , This month’s book selection was chosen by Debra from  Eliot's Eats . She chose  Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family and Forgiveness  by Sasha Martin.* You can read Debra's invitation in the book announcements:  here . Debra wrote: "Although this is more of a traditional memoir than what I would classify as the recent trend of recipe-laden-"foodie" ones, I think that we all will find some inspiration, whether it's from Martin's childhood memories or her adventures with international flavors." On the Page... I have long been acquainted with Sasha's blog - Global Table Adventure . In fact, it was her project that inspired my family's own Cooking Around the World Adventure   that we started five years ago. We still have just over a dozen countries to cover. I promised my Precise Kitchen Elf we'd finish before he left for college. Good thing he's only a fre...