Culinary Adventures with Camilla

We are wrapping up the Hs of the world - in our Cooking Around the World adventure - with a simple Honduran dinner. 'Simple' because we are only making one thing: nacatamales . Nacatamales are traditionally served at Christmas time, but I loved that they are steamed in banana leaves instead of corn husks. So, off we went to the Mexican market for banana leaves and Salvadorean cream. And, because we are short on time, I made some adaptations that included cooking the meat before stuffing the nacatamales . I also skipped the lard. A bit about Honduras...at times, this Central American country has been referred to as 'Spanish Honduras' to differentiate it from 'British Honduras' which is now the country of Belize. Honduran Nacatamales First make the masa , dough... 6 C masa harina 1/2 C butter, softened 1/2 C olive oil 1/2 C lime juice 4 C organic chicken broth Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and stir till it comes together into a ...

Click here to read the funny exchange I had with my mom about making suman ; she doesn't. Well, I can now say, "I do make suman!" And it was fairly easy. The only thing that stalled me was that I forgot to soak the rice, so I couldn't make these last night. Step One : Soak 3 C kuhuho rose rice (or any sticky rice) in warm water for at least 6 hours. I soaked mine overnight. Step Two : Drain and cook the rice in 3 C coconut milk until soft and sticky. Stir in 1 C young coconut. For some reason, the jar I bought at the Filipino store was translated as "gelatinous mutant coconut." Yuck...on the name. Yum...on the taste. Step Three : Let the rice cool and cut your thawed banana leaves into 4" pieces and 6" pieces. Once the rice is cool, place rice in the center of the 4" piece, folding in the sides and rolling the leaf tightly to form a roll. It's okay if the leaf splits a little bit; you'll be double-rolling it in the ...

Jake is home and we are back on track with a tabletop travel adventure to Burma tonight. I actually debated on whether or not this menu should be cooked and blogged with the letter 'b' as Burma is now Myanmar and has been since 1989. But, going with Sasha of Global Table Adventure's list...'b' it is! Apparently the United Nations recognizes the name change as do a few other countries, but it is not recognized by the United States or the United Kingdom. Interesting to note, when the boys tried to look up the country in their atlases, 'Burma' did not exist. It was listed, in the index, as 'Myanmar. However, when they went to the correct page, the country was labeled 'Myanmar (Burma)' on the map. Burmese cuisine is an amalgam of Indian, Chinese, and Thai cuisines. But what they do that really intrigued me: salads. So I came up with a trio of Burmese salads that take a vegetable - or fruit - and really make it pop with flavor. I should say ...

"Mom, they must really have a lot of banana trees in Burma!" Dylan exclaimed as he wrapped our dessert in banana leaves, having just made banana leaf pouches for the main dish. Again, this isn't a real Burmese recipe that I could find, just a creation that used the ingredients I had been reading about as common in Burma. First: make coconut rice (rice cooked in a mixture of coconut cream and water). Let that cool till you're able to touch it with your hands. Blend in some organic granulated sugar to taste. Second, lay a mound of rice in the middle of a banana leaf. Place a plantain piece on top. I sliced the plantain in half and, then, halved it lengthwise. Sprinkle with dried coconut. Create a banana leaf roll. Place the rolls in a baking dish, drizzle them with water, and cover the pan with foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour.