Besides some of the wellknow goodies served during Christmas in Germany, such as Stollen, Glühwein and Lebkuchen, it appears that many Christmas traditions originated in Germany.  Stollen is a type of ‘fruit’ bread that was originally called Christstollen because it symbolized a swaddled baby Jesus. Since the 13th century it has evolved into a lighter [...]

Holiday meal traditions vary widely from one country to the next. This morning I came across a post that reminded me of this fact as well as the incredible variety of food found in the sea. Sea urchins are featured in French cuisine particularly during the Holidays although they are consumed in all countries along [...]

Today I’m starting a series of Christmas food traditions around the world. In my series I will not only explore the traditions of Christmas, but also other holidays around that time. My main focus is Christmas because that is what we have always celebrated in my family. At the same time I want to acknowledge [...]

A couple of weeks ago I saw the cutest desserts ever at a Seasons 52 restaurant in Atlanta. We had a company dinner and the restaurant was amazingly crowded for a Monday night. Their unique approach to dining, offering a menu inspired by the seasons and the fresh market, is very popular. For appetizers we had [...]

Ever since Halloween was approaching – way back in October (how time flies!) – I wanted to write this post about the holidays. The sometimes “dreaded” holidays that are supposed to be happy times, but can be so stressful with all the errands and the events and the parties and the pressure  Let’s not even [...]

Baka bana is Surinamese for baked (fried) bananas (plantains) and much easier to remember than the Javanese name Pisang Goreng. Pisang = banana, and Goreng = cooked or fried. We call plantains bananas, which is a bit confusing in English as the banana is the type that does not require cooking. Plantains should be cooked [...]

Until I moved to the U.S.A. I only knew of spaghetti and macaroni which we either used for bami, spaghetti, macaroni salad or in soup. Imagine my surprise when I saw shelves of what was called “pasta” in the supermarkets. There are so many varieties, from dried to fresh, small to large, and many more [...]

The Chilean empanada recipe I posted last year generated a lot of interest on this blog which tells me that people like empanadas. I would like to share one from Argentina that I received from Mariana. There are many varieties and the Argentinian empanada usually has olives, sweet paprika (bellpeppers) and raisins, however, since Mariana [...]

We received this tip from Liz, one of our regular readers, and in case you missed her comment, I’m posting it here. I love cooked beets sliced and mixed with salads. I steam them in a large pot, cut in half, let them cool and store them in the fridge. Every time I make a salad, I [...]

Growing up in the Surinamese melting pot of cultures, I was exposed to curry dishes from Indian friends during their holidays or at parties. Since we love spicy food, we like any type of curry, but never so much as the Brittons who had a Curry Festival in London this week! They even refer to [...]