(Also known as the time I tried to make Mastava and, accidentally, made some sort of beefy rice porridge instead.) CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED Tajikistan was somewhat difficult in that it doesn’t seem to have a distinct online presence when it comes to food. It also seems to share cuisine with Uzbekistan so most of my searches returned Uzbek recipes. I did find a few sites that stated Mastava is a traditional Tajik (and Uzbek) meal so I rolled with it. Anyway, Mastava is supposed to be a soup/stew sort of dish. It contains beef, onions, carrots, red bell pepper, potatoes and rice.  If you’ve made soup or stew, you can make Mastava. Just don’t fall asleep after you add the rice. The rice is only supposed to be cooked until it is just soft and then it is done.  I sat down to read after adding the rice, thinking I could get in a chapter or two before the rice was done. I took an unplanned nap instead and, when I woke up, the rice had absorbed the liquid and turned into some sort of rice porridge (similar to congee).  At least, I woke up before it started to stick to the pot and burn! There is no picture because it was an unappetizing glop that bore no resemblance to Mastava. I did eat some of it. The flavor profile was nice. The rice porridge texture was not my favorite but I could see it as being something a person who recently had dental work might find easy to manage and very filling. Will I make it again? Probably not. But that is not the fault of the recipe! I unintentionally ruined it for myself. I’ve had difficulties with aspects of previous recipes but I’ve never screwed up quite this badly. I really just have to laugh at it. 1 colossal mess-up out of 172 meals ain’t bad!

CLICK HERE FOR THE CHICKEN AND RICE RECIPE CLICK HERE FOR THE CUCUMBER SALAD RECIPE I knew I’d be able to find a Taiwanese recipe that I would want to eat because I can always find something to eat in Asian countries (that are not remote islands) but finding one that I’d be able to acquire all the ingredients for might be a challenge. I can’t get fresh lemongrass or pandan leaves or garlic chives or a lot of fresh Asian produce here. I found some things that I really wanted to try but couldn’t because I can’t get my hands on some of the ingredients. The site I found this recipe on has a collection of what she calls “Night Market” recipes which are typically found as street foods in Taiwan. They all looked delicious and I will revisit the site in the future. I chose this recipe because I was in the mood for chicken and rice and I’ve been experimenting with shallots a lot lately. I’d never prepared shallots this way (fried in chicken fat until crispy and brown) before and it was an educational experience. They went from almost done to overdone very quickly. That is on me and not the recipe’s fault, I think knowing the exact moment to get them out of the pan takes practice. The rest of the meal came together well. The chicken (I used thighs.) is cooked in a well-seasoned broth and then shredded. The broth is then used to cook the rice which results in a wonderfully flavorful rice. The shredded chicken is mixed with the crispy shallots, a simple sauce and served with the rice. I used jasmine rice and added some green onions and cilantro on top to make up for the lost crunch and flavor because I didn’t have enough non-burned shallots to go around. And it was all delicious! The chicken was tender and flavorful. The rice cooked in the seasoned broth was some of the best rice I’ve ever had. The few shallots strips that made it through my cooking attempt were great. Everything all together was absolutely fantastic. I loved this. I also decided to make a spicy garlic cucumber salad to go with it, as recommended by the recipe site and loved that too! (There are no sesame seeds on my salad because I, unintentionally, hid my jar of sesame seeds from myself.) Would I make it again? YES! It was so good! The cucumber salad is probably going to be a thing in my house all summer. Note: I have no idea why the rice on the linked site is yellow and mine is definitely not yellow. Maybe she uses a different 5-Spice blend? The rice was delicious and that's all that matters, right?

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED As soon as I saw this recipe, my recipe search ended because I love meatballs. I’m sure Syria has a lot of delicious recipes to offer but I really really like meatballs, and the flavor profile of Dawood Basha was appealing to me. Most of the ingredients, I either had on hand or could easily acquire but I did have to order pomegranate molasses online. I had a Lebanese Seven Spice seasoning in the cupboard, from a previous recipe, and I will probably reorder it when I’ve used up this bottle. It’s a lovely blend of warm (not spicy-hot) spices that smells like Autumn. (To me anyway.) This wasn’t difficult to make. If you’ve ever made any kind of meatball dish or stew, you can handle this. I did halve the recipe because, as it is written, it is entirely too much food for one person. And I’m out of freezer space at the moment. I ate it over basmati rice and really enjoyed it but it would be great with naan or on its own. It had layers of flavor and textures and it was just a really good meal. It didn’t knock my sockS off but it was enjoyable and satisfying. Would I make this again? Yes! It wasn’t difficult and I’d like to try making it with ground turkey instead of ground beef. And I need to use up the pomegranate molasses!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED I researched Switzerland right around the time I researched Sweden so my list of recipes heavily favored beef. I didn’t want to make another beef meal so I opted for Stungiss, which is a pork stew. Pork roasts were pretty reasonably priced at the store so I bought one and chopped it into stew-friendly chunks. The cooking process is pretty much the same as beef stew, except with pork and, potentially, a different variety of veggies. The recipe calls for onions and “mixed vegetables” and then lists kohlrabi, leek, carrots, and savoy cabbage as options. I could not find kohlrabi or leek locally so I went with onions, carrots and cabbage. (And the potatoes listed in the recipe.) It also called for “meat broth” and I opted to make pork broth from pork bouillon that I had left from a previous recipe. The store didn’t have fresh thyme and marjoram so I used dried, to taste. I followed the directions in the recipe but let it simmer for a couple of hours (with the potatoes in) while I took care of things around the house. By the time I’d finished those things, the cabbage had mostly cooked down, the pork was wonderfully tender, and the stew had a really nice and rich broth. I absolutely loved this, it is 100% comfort food and delicious. This would be excellent on a chilly day. Would I make it again? Yes! And I plan to try it with different veggies depending on seasonal availability at the store.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED (The photo shows the Skomakarlåda on a small salad plate, it doesn't take up an entire dinner plate.) I try to plan recipes ahead of time, in case I need to order anything online, and I research recipes weeks to months before I make them. I must have had low iron when I researched Sweden because the entire list of recipes that I put together featured beef. I went with Skomakarlåda because I was interested in the red wine gravy. This was a little challenging for me. Not because the cooking techniques were new or difficult but because it has several things that needed to be kept warm while other elements were prepared and going back and forth between different parts while keeping everything warm enough without overcooking anything was a little tricky. I also had to make my own caster sugar, which involved pulsing granulated sugar in the blender until it was much finer but not powdery like confectioner’s sugar. That wasn’t difficult but getting the lid off the blender cup after sugar had collected in the threads of the lid, without making a mess, was difficult. I did have to make a couple of substitutions. I couldn’t get my hands on fresh thyme so I ended up using dried thyme leaves. I had a jar of lingonberry confit in the fridge from a previous recipe and, after Googling it to see if it would work, I used that instead of ordering red currant jelly online. Essentially, Skomakarlåda is just pan-fried steak, topped with sautéed leeks, bacon, and red wine gravy, served over mashed potatoes. And it’s really good. The red wine gravy (which, to me, is more of a pan-sauce) is packed with flavor and makes the whole dish. It’s also a very filling and somewhat heavy meal; you will not walk away from the table unsatisfied after eating this. I had a simple salad on the side, I wanted something crisp and green to counter the heaviness of the rest of the meal. Would I make this again? I might make a version of it again. I try not to eat bacon very often and leeks are hard to come by here. I was lucky enough to be in Vegas a few days before I was planning on making this and I was able to find some leeks there. I could probably get away with just using sautéed shallots in place of leeks. I can see myself making the red wine gravy again, it was so good!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED. Suriname is a small developing country in South America with a cuisine that has been influenced by just about everyone and I found a few options that were interesting. I opted to make Pastei because it was different than anything I’d made in recent memory. And it included making a pie crust, which is something I haven’t done in about 20 years and I was curious how it would turn out. Pastei is similar to chicken pot pie in that it is made up of chicken and vegetables served in a pie crust but it is not loaded with gravy and it includes cornichons, cocktail onions, and capers. Or at least this recipe includes those, there is a bit of variety in what home cooks put in the pastei. I’d eaten cornichons before but this was my first time trying capers. The filling also included peas, carrots, onions, tomato paste, and chicken, seasoned with bouillon. I was unable to find the exact bouillon the recipe recommended but used the Knorr brand I had in the pantry and it tasted great! The end result was good! The crust turned out well but I probably should have rolled the bottom crust out a little bit thinner. It wasn’t bad, just a tiny bit thicker than necessary. The filling had a lovely tanginess from the cornichons, cocktail onions, and capers that I really enjoyed. It has a very different flavor profile from the pot pies we eat here but is still quite good! I’m definitely going to try capers in more things! Would I make this again? Honestly, I don’t know. I like it but it’s a lot of food for one person to get through in a reasonable amount of time. I’m going to freeze a portion and see how it handles being reheated from frozen. I also made a floury mess rolling out the crust which I didn’t love but that’s on me and not the Pastei’s fault, I do not seem to be able to use flour without getting it everywhere. I would eat it again I just don’t know if I’d cook it (make a mess in the kitchen) again.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED Sudan and South Sudan were moderately challenging. They share much of the same cuisine and it was difficult to find one thing that was unique to one or the other. Kamounia seems to be popular in a few places but came up in reference to Sudan frequently and looked like a nice hearty meal so it became my choice for Sudan. I had to order harissa paste and enough turmeric to make some turmeric paste. I could have gotten a couple of smaller spice jars of turmeric at the grocery store and come up with enough to make the paste but the bag of turmeric I ordered online was much more economical. I use turmeric often enough that it will not go to waste. I had Aleppo pepper leftover from a previous international meal so, yay! Aleppo pepper looks like red pepper flakes but it is milder and has a slightly smoky flavor that is really nice. This wasn’t difficult to make. The turmeric paste just involved heating up turmeric and water and then stirring in the remaining ingredients. ( Turmeric Paste Recipe ) As for the Kamounia, it is very much like making beef stew. There isn’t much chopping to be done, just one onion, unless you’re like me and buy larger cuts of meat to cut down into stew meat because the precut stew meat at your grocery store is too expensive. Brown the meat, sauté the onions, add everything to a pot and let it simmer until the meat is tender. The end result was a spicy (from the Harissa paste) DELICIOUS stew that I ate over Basmati rice. It would also go well with naan or some type of flatbread. I opted to not shred the beef though it was tender enough to shred. I prefer chunks to shreds and the chunks were so so tender! The flavor profile was wonderful though the Harissa paste I bought was spicier than expected but not too spicy. I’d used dried harissa powder in the past and it was much milder and not nearly as flavorful as the paste. I think I might keep a tube of the paste on hand because I feel like it would add oomph to a lot of dishes and would be fun to experiment with. All in all, I really enjoyed the Kamounia and will happily eat the leftovers. Would I make it again? Absolutely!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED I knew absolutely nothing about Sri Lankan food before this project so I didn’t know what to expect from their cuisine. I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice variety of dishes influenced by Indian, Dutch, and Portuguese flavors! I have a little list of recipes I hope to come back to once I’ve completed the project. I had a few curries on the list and decided to let the grocery store tell me which one to make. Pork was on sale so Black Pork Curry won. (I did have to order tamarind paste and roasted curry powder online.) I could have roasted the curry spices myself but the large bag of roasted curry powder I found online cost less than if I’d purchased the individual ingredients to make it myself. This wasn’t especially difficult to make. It did require breaking out the mortar and pestle to grind up cardamom pods and peppercorns to go in the marinade but that’s not difficult, just a little time consuming. And the pork needs to marinate for several hours so this isn’t something you can throw together at the last minute. There’s some chopping and mincing of onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno peppers too. I just throw on some music while doing the prep and I have a good time. The cooking process requires one pan that you throw the ingredients into in a specific order and then you let everything simmer for awhile. I prepared jasmine rice to go with it because I was in the mood for it but Basmati or plain old white rice would be good with it. Or naan. The end result was flavorful and spicy but not too hot for me. The tamarind paste added a tang that really complemented the spices and made it unique. The pork was so tender, like melt in your mouth tender, yum. I really really enjoyed it! Would I make it again? YES!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED Spain was so easy! There are a lot of delicious sounding recipes to be found in Spain but as soon as I read about Pollo al Ajillo, my search was over. Chicken with a garlic and white wine sauce? Yes, please! I had nearly all of the ingredients on hand except for fresh parsley and chicken. I picked up a pack of chicken thighs and cooked up 4 of them because the thighs were huge. I couldn’t find any fresh parsley at the store so I ended up using dried parsley. It was parsley that I grew and dehydrated in my little dehydrator so, while not fresh, it worked well. Prep was easy. No chopping, no peeling of the garlic, I just had to measure some stuff out and shake the thighs in a bag of seasoned flour. Cooking was easy, brown the thighs, add all the other stuff (except parsley) to the pan, and cook until the chicken is done and sprinkle with parsley. The garlic did need to be removed from the skins once the chicken was done but the cloves just squeezed right out of the skin. I ate it with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. And it was amazing! It would be great with fresh bread too. The pan sauce was excellent over the mashed potatoes and the chicken, it was packed with garlic flavor but not overwhelmingly garlicky. The wine balanced it out so well. I used a Riesling that I had on hand but a buttery Chardonnay would have been fantastic. I'm not a wine person, I only use it in cooking, so take my recommendations with a glass of your preferred white wine. Will I make this again? YES!!!

VEGETARIANS WHO EAT EGGS, YOU NEED TO TRY THIS! Sudan and South Sudan, unsurprisingly, have a lot of foods in common so finding something that was unique to South Sudan proved to be impossible. I chose Ful Medames because, in my internet travels, it was mentioned in relation to South Sudan more than any other recipe I found. I did have a couple of concerns about making this. I’d never had Fava beans prior to this and my only association with Fava beans came from “Silence of the Lambs” where they were part of a meal that Hannibal Lecter (fictional character, serial killer, cannibal) mentioned. So, from my POV, they did not have great PR and I wasn’t sure how they would taste. I couldn’t get them locally so I had to order some online but, if you live in a more populous area, you might be able to get them at your grocery store or a specialty grocery store. I didn’t know if I’d be able to get any eggs but I went at the right time and managed to find some! Aside from the Fava beans and eggs, the ingredients are easy to find. Prep includes chopping some veggies and cleaning some cilantro and parsley. (Note: I forgot to pick up parsley so I used freeze-dried parsley that I had on hand.) The cooking process is easy, just sauté some stuff in a pan and then add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for a bit. You do need a flatbread of some sort to eat this with, the recipe recommends pitas but I had garlic naan in the freezer and used that. I’m going to be honest; I did not have high expectations for this. I thought it would be okay but nothing special. I was wrong, this knocked my socks off! It was absolutely delicious!! I loved it! I didn’t really detect a strong flavor from the Fava beans, they just tasted like beans. Beans, in general, don’t seem to have a ton of flavor to me but maybe they do to other people with more sensitive palates? The fresh lemon juice made everything taste so bright and fresh and just tied everything together. (If you do make this, use fresh lemon juice, do not use the stuff in the bottles. There IS a difference in flavor!) This was also much more filling than I expected it to be. With the naan, it was very satisfying and didn’t leave me feeling like something was missing. I was absolutely stuffed after eating one portion! Will I make this again? YES!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED I have heard great things about South Korean food but haven’t really had the opportunity to try any. This meant I had a lot of options to choose from when it came to finding a recipe this time around! I opted to go with Beef Bulgogi because the odds were good that I would be able to find everything I would need to make it at our local grocery store. I did have to substitute a Bartlett pear for an Asian pear but tried to make up for it by using a Honeycrisp apple for the bulgogi sauce. The internet described an Asian pear as tasting kind of like a Honeycrisp apple with floral notes. I really didn’t know what to use to get floral notes so I probably didn’t get the full bulgogi experience but I was able to get everything else. The sauce took some effort to make and it made a lot more than I needed for one meal. I grated the apple and pear before adding them to the blender with the other ingredients because I thought they would blend better than if I just threw in chunks of apple and pear. My blender doesn’t break things down as much as I would like it to so I try to help it out where I can. (I dream of a Vitamix, one day.) I ended up with a nice smooth, though slightly thicker than I expected, sauce. I marinated the beef in the bulgogi sauce for about 8 hours. Luckily, I was able to find very thinly-cut steak at the grocery store and I didn’t have cut it up myself, yay! Once everything is marinated, you just throw it in your wok and cook it until done. It was really tasty! I ate it over rice because I love rice but I think it would be great in a lettuce wrap too! The flavor profile is right up my alley so this is really an ideal meal for me. Would I make it again? Yes, and probably very soon! (I have a jar of bulgogi sauce in the fridge that I will not let go to waste.) I completely forgot to take a picture of the finished product but it looked like the finished product on the linked site.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED South Africa had a few recipes that I thought sounded interesting but, after eating a lot of traditional and heavy foods over the holidays, I was ready for something different and this curry was exactly what I was looking for! It is the kind of curry that derives a lot of its flavor from garlic and ginger and it isn’t as heavily spiced as curries you might find in other regions of the world. It also uses lemon juice which adds a brightness and freshness that is really lovely! There’s a fair amount of prep work (chopping, marinating) in this recipe but the cooking process is pretty simple. The prep work was worth it, I enjoyed this so much! It’s garlicky, gingery, lemony and all around delicious. The flavor the Yukon Gold potatoes took on, after cooking in the sauce, was just wonderful. All in all, this was a tasty and satisfying meal. 10 out of 10, would make this again!