Chapter 8 : Greece

Greek cuisine is easily mistaken for Egyptian and Levantine, but is not entirely the same. It does rely, as you might predict, on large amounts of olives and olive oil, and uses a large amount of lemon.

Ouzo

Ouzo is a form of distilled liquor from Greece, infused with the flavors of anise, mastic, and badiane. Traditionally, one might pour it over ice in a glass, producing a milky white appearance not altogether unlike the infamous absinthe, but it's easily enjoyed mixed with Coke if you can ignore the strong anise (licorice-like) flavor.

Table of Contents: Peru

Chapter 7: Peru

Majarisco

Pesque de Quinoa

Locro de Zapallo

Seco de Cabrito

Cherimoya

Red Tamarillo

Chapter 6 : Indonesia

Avocado Juice

Nasi Goreng - Fried Rice

Chicken Satay

Beef Rendang

Chapter 5 : Egypt

Ful Medames

Fava Bean Hummus

Kushari

Chapter 4 : The Indiana State Fair

Deep Fried Cheese

Deep Fried Butter

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Chapter 3 : Spain/Catalonia
Pa Amb Tomaquet

Meatballs in Almond Sauce

Calçotada and Romesco Sauce
Escalivada

Chapter 2 : Cajun/Creole

Red Beans and Rice
Alligator Gumbo

Catfish Courtbouillon

Crawfish Etoufée

Chicken Creole

Chapter 1 : China

The Century Egg

Bok Choy : Basic Stir Fry

Peking Duck

Snow Fungus : Chicken and Snow

Fungus
Chinese Eggplant : Chinese Eggplant Stir Fry

Cellophane Noodles : Ants Climbing a Tree
Longans

Chapter ? : Japan

Coffee Mochi

Chapter ? : Vietnam

Sesame Candy

Chapter ? : Korea

Aloe Vera Drink

Chapter ? : The Midwest

Niagra Wine

Cherry Wine

Chapter ? : Africa
The Horned Melon

Rambutan

Where: Indonesia

Rambutan are a close relative of longans and lychee. The fruit loks visually like lychee, except instead of short spikes covering it, long, reddish fur like protuberances cover the delicate white fruit. Peeling one takes a bit of skill, but a knife doesn't hurt.

They taste... well, almost exactly like lychee, and not all too dissimilar to longans. Not entiely sure how to describe it to the unitiated, but a sort of light, sweetalmost pear-like flavor, with an almost shrimp like gelatinous texture.

Given tey are a little harder to come by than lychee or longans, they're not worth hunting down except if, like me, you're ridiculously curious, although they did get a mention on Stargate Universe recently (and fed to an alien who promptly spit them out, but no accounting for taste there...)

Braveheart

So... about that Scotch thing. I have been avoiding those recipes, truth be told. It's not that I don't like Scotch. In fact, between me and Scotch I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is love. But not the kind of love you feel for a sweet girl that never does you wrong. In fact, it's more like the love you feel for a girl who's sold you out time and again, betrayed you, and turned her back on you and just when you think you could tell her off she smiles and kisses you on the cheek and suddenly all seems right with the world.

But here's a "traditional" Scottish recipe, in the sense that the Scottish tradition is drowning a perfectly good recipe in Scotch... making it a hundred times better.

Cauliflower, Cheese, and WHISKEY

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower florets

6 oz mushrooms, finely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

8 oz grated cheese

1/3 cup scotch whiskey (bourbon will do, but really, scotch is better)

1 ounce oatmeal

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

2 oz walnuts

Cooking:

Boil cauliflower stalks in hot water for five minutes, and drain. Mix with green peppers and mushrooms in a baking dish.

Heat cream until warm in a medium pan, slowly stirring in cheese until cheese has melted. Remove from heat, and add the oatmeal and scotch. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg to taste. Pour over cauliflower/green pepper, onion mixture and sprinkle walnuts on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

Trainspotting

Now, I know what you're thinking: pea soup? Isn't that that harsh stuff that comes from dried spli peas?

The answer is yes, and know. Split peas are typically the biter and firm pidgeon pea, and which lacks the green peas sweetness and colour. Now, a blended pea soup incorporating the common snow pea would be something else, and perfectly easy, right?

Green Pea Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

Serving Size: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 bunch scallions, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 cups chicken stock

1 lb frozen peas

1 head lettuce, shredded

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Cooking:

In a medium pot, melt butter in a pan and use to soften garlic and scallions. Add stock, peas, lettuce, sugar, salt, and pepper, and simmer for five minutes. Cool, and then put throuh a blender.

This can be served hot or cold. If served hot, garnish with cream or sour cream. If cold, garnish with fresh mint.

Black Horse and...

Clapshot. It sounds like something you might have gotten after taking a bargirl home and forgetting to use you-know-whats.

Now, it is something really rather simple. In fact, a couple of Thanksgivings ago I decided throwing turnips into a pot of potatoes and mashing the lot seemed innovative, but it seems the Scots got there long before I did, so I don't get naming rights by a couple hundred years.

Clapshot

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Servingf size 6-8 people

Ingredients:

1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

1 lb turnips, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

8 chives, chopped

2 tbsp butter

pepper and salt to taste

Cooking:

In a large pot, boil the potatoes and turnips until soft. Drain, and mash together with the butter and chives.

For additional flavor, you can add celeriac and parsnip to the boiling proces, and pureed onion and garlic to the mashing stage.

No You Girls

ontinuing the Scottish tradition of ridiculous food names, we have Rumbledethumps. Not, onions, cabbage, and potatoes in any dish warms the cockles of my heart, and melting cheese over it only makes the whole deal better.

Rumbledethumps

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serving size: 2-4 people

Ingredients:

1 lb potatoes

4 tbsp butter

3/4 lb cabbage, shredded

1 large onion, thinly sliced

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Cooking:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and boil potatoes until soft, then drain and mash the potatoes.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter, and add the cabbage and onion, turning until soft (do not carmelize).

Add half the cheese and all of the potatoes. Stir until cheese has melted, mixing in salt and pepper to taste.

Take off heat, place in a serving dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the serving dish, and place in oven and bake until cheese on top has melted. Enjoy.