Greece is not hugely popular at the moment thanks to its severe money problems. It’s a shame, considering the rich history and culture of this Mediterranean country, being the Western birthplace of many arts, sciences, ideas and traditions, including the Olympic games. Apparently the Greek healthcare system remains one of the best in the world despite the financial issues. Greece is a highly popular tourist destination especially for Europeans, and not without reason. Especially the large archipelago is stunning. The capital Athens, of course, features many world-famous historical sights (though is also known for poor air quality, especially in the past).

Most famous Greek dishes are heavy on meat or feta cheese, though many Greek restaurants offer meatless versions of the eggplant-based casserole moussaka (usually with plenty of dairy, though). There are also variations using other vegetables. My favorite dish is tzatziki, a yoghurt-based dip with garlic and cucumber which is easy to veganize.

There are, however, many intrisically vegan dishes in Greece, featuring ingredients such as beans and other legumes, green beans, cabbage, potatoes, zucchini and (wild) greens, even beets. Stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) are often vegan. Fasolada is a traditional bean, tomato and vegetable soup, though not well known outside of Greece. Dishes are often flavoured with mint, dill, thyme, oregano and other herbs, as well as lemon and garlic. Both olives and olive oil are ubiquitous. Desserts tend to be very sweet, usually featuring honey and nuts.

I believe fasolia salata can refer to various types of Greek bean salads. Often they use just giant limas (gigantes), but this one uses three types of beans and has some mustard in the dressing. The original recipe makes tons, so I halved it, and it still makes quite a lot. It uses a mixture of dried and canned beans, but I never use canned (I have used no more than 2-3 cans of beans in my life), so I modified it a bit.. I also mixed the red pepper and most of the parsley into the salad instead of just using them as a garnish.

Some of the instructions in the original were a bit weird, hope I got everything right. Cooking green beans 35-40 minutes?! I’ve done that once (accidentally) and the result was horrible. I just cooked them about 8 minutes as I usually do. It’s a fairly tasty bean salad – very lemony as you can guess, the mustard isn’t really discernible – but I prefer the one from Uruguay, which is also quite Mediterranean in style.

Fasolia salata

0.5 lbs/275 g dried giant lima beans (butter beans or gigantes)
0.5 lbs/275 g cooked kidney beans (or maybe 4-5 oz/120-150 g dried ones)
0.5 lbs/275 g fresh (or frozen) green beans
1/2 medium-large onion, chopped (or 3 green onions, chopped)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup/0.6 dl of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1.5 lemons
3/4 tsp sweet mustard
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Soak the dried beans overnight. If you are soaking both from scratch, soak and cook them separately until dones, as the smaller beans likely take 50 minutes to little over an hour while the giant limas can take over two hours. Cut the green beans into large pieces and remove the tips. Boil or steam until done, about 7-10 minutues (if using frozen, only thaw them but don’t cook, or cook only quickly).

Mix all the ingredients together (or use some or all of the bell pepper and parsley only as a garnish) and let marinate for at least 1-2 hours. Serve hot or cold.

Vietnam is a quite long but mostly very narrow country located in the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. A former colony of France, the country suffered a a war from the 1950s/1960s until 1975, which killed millions of people, also many in the neighbouring countries. (For some reasons, many Americans think the U.S. “won” the Vietnam war, which isn’t true, even if we exclude the fact that there are no winners in wars).

Despite the relatively small geographical size of Vietnam it houses almost 100 million people and an estimated 16% of world’s species. It is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Most Vietnamese follow a “triple religion” blending Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, many more as a philosophy than a religion.

The Vietnamese cuisine is considered one of the healthiest cuisines around, based on nutritious, flavourful ingredients and large amounts of fresh herbs, it also involves some philosophical/spiritual principles like balancing Yin/Yang and the five elements. In general dishes should contain different flavours (sweet, hot, bitter, sour and salty) and textures, though sourness tends to be more common than in most other cuisines. Food presentation is also important. Dishes are often topped with spring onions, bean sprouts and lots of fresh herbs. Mint and coriander are most common, but many other herbs are used too, most with a somewhat similar taste. Thai basil is used too.

The most famous Vietnamese dish is probably pho, a meaty noodle soup, though there are also many other soups with and without noodles. Another famous soup (without noodles) is canh chua or sour soup, with tamarind which I recently got to taste for the first time (there were no Vietnamese restaurants when I lived in Helsinki, but there is one in Utrecht with lots of veg dishes). Besides soups, dishes include e.g. other noodle dishes, congee (rice porridge), (fried) rice dishes, salads, dumplings, crêpes and rice paper roll. Curries are eaten too and one Vietnamese specialty is stuffed baguettes dipped in broth. Tofu is popular and vegetarian dishes in general, but be careful, as fish sauce is ubiquitous.

This recipe comes from Bryanna Clark Grogan’s wonderful (and highly recommended) World Vegan Feast, called Sizzling Saigon Crepes, but thanks to my awesome Wikipedia skills I believe it’s a version of bánh xèo, stuffed rice flour crepes, often with coconut milk and turmeric. Bryanna Clark Grogan writes that some versions include mung beans in the batter so she went with that, for extra nutrition. You can buy it any Indian stores. The result is slightly similar to chickpea flour pancakes – and gluten-free, too.

This is quite a lot of work – and ingredients – but the result is delicious, something I plan to make regularly. Please don’t skip the herbs (or skimp on them), they are essential. Their amount may seem excessive, but you really want a lot. I used about half cilantro, some mint and a little ordinary basil. If you want to save work/time, you can skip the grated carrot from the sauce and marinating the tofu, you can’t really taste it’s been marinated. The batter and filling can be made the previous day.

Bánh xèo

Batter

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (0.9 dl) mung dal (see notes)
1 cup/2.4 dl light coconut milk
3/4 cup/1.8 dl rice flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp turmeric

Filling

3 cups/7.2 dl chopped extra-firm tofu, seitan or tempeh (I used and recommend tofu)
2 1/4 tsp vegan nuoc cham (see below), more for serving
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp sugar
freshly ground black pepper
1 + 2 tbsp peanut oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 cup/2.5 dl thinly sliced mushrooms (any kind)
1 cup/2.5 dl thinly sliced Savoy or Napa cabbage
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

Vegan nuoc cham sauce

1/4 cup Braggs liquid aminos or light soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp minced cilantro or mint
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbsp finely shreedded carrot

Accompaniments

lettuce (any kind)
4 green onions, sliced diagonally into 2-inch pieces (or just chopped)
1/2 large cucumber, cut into matchsticks
2 cups/5 dl fresh mung bean sprouts
3 cups/7.5 dl (not packed) mint, basil and/or cilantro leaves
sriracha sauce
nuoc cham sauce

Combine all the ingredients of nuoc cham. Combine the tofu with the spices used in the filling and let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Cover the mung daal with water and let soak for 30 minutes.

Heat the 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and stir-fry the tofu to brown it slightly. Add the mushrooms, cabbage and onion and fry until slightly wilted. Set aside, it can be let to cool to room temperature. Prepare the toppings/garnishes of the crepes.

Drain and blend the mung daal with the rest of the batter ingredients until smooth. Heat 1/2 tbsp of the oil on a small frying pan on medium-high heat and add 1/2 cup/0.6 dl of the batter. Immediately tilt the pan so that it forms a circle. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for 5 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Flip the crepe over and cook that side for just a few seconds.

Repeat three times with the rest of the batter, stirring it just before pouring the batter for the rest of the pancakes. Keep the crepes warm in the oven or well covered.

Place a crepe on the plate and top it with a lettuce leaf (or vice versa; lettuce first would be more traditional). Add some filling and top with the fresh veggies, herbs and sauces. Roll it up or eat with a fork and knife, the latter likely being easier.

Makes 4 crepes to feed 4 people. The crepes an be reheated on a frying pan.

Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, unfortunately mostly known for negative things like the past dictator Idi Amin, recent not-so-fair elections, and the current ban on homosexuality, with even plans to introduce death penalty for it. Even now gays are shunned in the media and often killed. Despite these atrocities, Uganda has been successful in one thing: significantly reducing the HIV infection rates, though some people question this (average life expectancy is still fairly low at about 50 years). Uganda is ethnically very diverse with no single group or language clearly dominating. It contains many large lakes, including a part of the huge Lake Victoria.

The Ugandan cuisine has drawn influences from many sources, including European, Arabic and Asian countries. Food may be mild or richly spiced. The staple starch is usually a maize porridge called ugali (which can also be made from millet), sometimes matoke, mashed green banana. Cassava, yam and sweet potato are also popular, while the more affluent also eat potatoes and rice. Most meals feature some sort of meat or fish, sometimes beans. There are also many vegetable dishes, containing e.g. cabbage, eggplant, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and various leafy greens from kale to amaranth greens. Sesame and peanuts are used a lot. Fruits can be included in both main dishes and desserts.

I don’t know how authentic this recipe is, since it uses garam masala, an Indian spice blend (though Ugandan cuisine is said to have Indian influences), but it sounded interesting. Curried sweet potato is nothing new, nor is curried pea soup, but curried pureed pea soup with sweet potato is something different. It may not look particularly appealing, but it is tasty.

Curried sweet potato and pea soup

400 g/0.9 lbs finely-chopped onion (about three medium-sized onions)
2 tsp garlic, minced
oil for frying
1 tsp freshly-grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp garam masala
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 sweet potato, diced
9 dl/3.8 cups water (or vegetable stock)
600 g/1.3 lbs fresh green peas

Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for about five minutes, then add the ginger, salt, cayenne and garam masala. Fry for a few more minutes, then add the tomatoes, sweet potato and water/stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the green peas and simmer for 10 minutes more. Remove from the heat, add more water if needed and puree. If needed, heat through again. Serve hot. Makes 4-6 servings.

Palestine. What can one say about Palestine without opening a can of worms? Probably nothing, seeing as a large part of the world’s countries don’t recognize the independence of this Middle Eastern state. Besides the current, contested area (which refers to two separate geographical areas, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, inside of Israel, during the history the term has been used to refer to various other areas in that part of Middle East. (At least this is my understanding of the issue, but it’s all very confusing.)

There are also millions of Palestinians in exile in other areas, especially Jordan – and half a million in Chile. Most Palestinians are Arab-speaking Sunni Muslims, though there is also a Christian minority. They have a strong history of literature, especially poetry, but also many other types of culture. They also have their traditional costumes, embroidered and often quite decorative (though less so than in many Asian countries), though Westerners mostly know the keffiyeh (aka Palestine scarf).

Desserts are a prominent part of the Palestinian cuisine, especially pastries stuffed with cheeses, dates, nuts or seeds, ingredients also common in savoury dishes. Another typical food is kibbeh, patties or loaf made out of meat and bulgur wheat. Rice and flatbread are the most important staple starches. Many dishes are vegetarian, often featuring lentils or beans. Numerous herbs and spices are used, including dill, mint, cilantro, parsley, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, chili, garlic, sumac, allspice and tamarind. Many Middle Eastern classics like falafel, hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush are very popular in Palestine too, and tahini is used in many dishes.

I found this recipe in the Arabic Zeal blog. ‘Ataif (or qatayef) are a popular Levantine dessert, often eaten after Ramadan or during other holidays. There are many different variations, including baked, fried and simply stuffed ones with different fillings, but this particular one is yeasted pancakes stuffed with walnuts, sugar and cinnamon, baked and dipped into either rosewater or orange blossom water syrup (‘atar). Other than the (clarified) butter used for brushing them this recipe was originally vegan.

You can find the rosewater and orange blossom water (orange flower water) at Middle Eastern groceries. Most Indian/Pan-Asian groceries sell rosewater, too. It is inexpensive – I paid less than one euro. Just check that it is meant for food use, as is almost always the case. They are wonderful in many types of desserts and drinks, orange blossom water especially with citrus fruit. I used orange blossom water here as I have a slight preference for it, though for the sake of the photo I pretended that I had used rosewater. Heh.

I found the pancakes quite difficult to form into circles, as the dough was thick and sticky (perhaps mine was too thick?). Other than that the process is easy. The result is interesting – quite crispy and a subtle definite yeasty flavour (I think you could probably use half the yeast of the original recipe, but I’m not sure). The nuts don’t really taste toasted at all as I expected. As the pancake shell is dipped in syrup and the filling has sugar too, you first get a sugary taste but the overall feeling is not very sweet at all, because the pancakes aren’t sweetened. Oh, and note that the dough raises quite a bit – I used a 1 liter plastic container and it was near flowing over.

‘Ataif

Batter

1 sachet active dry yeast (2.25 tsp), see notes
1.5 cups/3.6 dl warm water
1.5 cups/3.6 dl flour
pinch of salt

Filling

1 cup/2.4 dl chopped walnuts
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Also:

oil for frying
coconut oil (or vegan margarine)

‘Atar (scented syrup) (makes about 1.5 cups)

1.5 cups/3.6 dl sugar
1.25 cups/3 dl cold water
0.5 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rosewater or orange blossom water (or a combination of both)

First make the pancake batter. Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of the water until dissolved. Mix all the ingredients together. You will probably need a whisk to get rid of the lumps. Cover bowl with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

Meanwhile make the ‘atar syrup. Dissolve the sugar in water in heavy pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to boil, add lemon juice and boil over medium-low heat for 12 minutes. Once syrup has begun to boil, do not stir again, as this makes the syrup cloudy. Add orange blossom water/rose water and boil 30 seconds more. Let cool. When cooled the consistency should resemble thin honey. Keeps in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat and add a little oil. Stir the batter and if it feels too thick, stir in more tablespoons of water. Pour 0.25 cup/1/4 dl of the batter onto the hot pan and with the help of the measuring cup (or some other tool) quickly spread it into a circle about 10 cm/4″ in diameter. It will be fairly thick. You may be able to fry several pancakes at once if you have a large pan.

The pancakes are only cooked on one side. They are done when the top looks completely dry with no shiny spots, which will take a few minutes. The bottom should be lightly browned. Place them on a clean kitchen towel to cool. Cover until ready to use (they can be stacked, but they may stick if there are any not fully done parts).

Combine the filling ingredients together and preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Form the pancakes into pockets by folding them in half, with the baked side on the outside, and pinching at the corners. Fill the pockets with the nut mixture and pinch the edges together to seal (no need for water for this, but pinch tightly). Brush (on both sides) with melted coconut oil or margarine. Bake for 15 minutes without turning or 10 minutes per side, depending on how crispy you want them.

Remove from the oven and immediately dip in the syrup to coat and let dry. Serve with more ‘atar syrup on the side. They don’t keep well (they will get mushy), but if you want to eat them later the same day, keep them uncovered to avoid them getting soggy (this may not work in high humidity, though).

P.S. The original recipe has illustrated instructions should you need them.

Makes about 18 ‘ataif, or enough for 4-6 people.

Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe, a former Soviet state. It is located near the Black Sea, but landlocked. Most of the people are of Moldovan ethnicity, Orthodox and speak Moldovan, though there is dispute whether they are a separate group from Romanians or not. Moldova is not known for much, except for wines (supposedly; I’ve never heard of Moldovan wines, but then again I don’t drink wine), including many sparkling wines, even sparkling reds. Tourism to the country also revolves around vineyards. The Moldovans also consume the most alcohol per capita in the world. The national sport is trânta, a type of wrestling.

The staple of Moldovan diet is mamaliga, or cornmeal mash somewhat like polenta. Wheat, rice and potatoes are eaten as well. Meat dishes and some sharp cheeses are popular, but many vegetables including tomatoes, beets, marrow, bell peppers, eggplant, cabbage, onion and leek are eaten too, as well as lentils and beans. Fish is very uncommon. Meat is often grilled while vegetables can be baked, steamed, pickled, salted, marinated or stuffed or made into salads, pies and soups. Garlic is used in almost every dish, but savory, cloves and tarragon are also popular. Most desserts are either baked goods with nuts and fruit, or halva or nougat. Food is usually eaten with wine.

This beet salad is healthy and rather tasty despite its simplicity.

Beet salad

3 medium beets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup/1.2 dl finely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt

Cook the beets until soft. Peel and grate coarsely. Mix all the ingredients together and let sit for at least an hour. Serve cold, as an appetizer, side dish or even as a main dish. Makes 4-6 portions as a side.

Curaçao is an island country in the Caribbean. It was a part of the Netherlands Antilles until October 2010, when they were dissolved. However, it remains a constituent country of the Netherlands. Originally inhabited by Arawak Indians, the culture of the country has been influenced by both Dutch and Spanish ones. There is also a significant Jewish minority. Curaçao is perhaps best known for its beaches and coral reefs, and an (usually electric blue) alcoholic drink named after the country. It is a popular tourist destination, also owing to its climate, which is very warm throughout the year, though there are distinct warm and dry seasons.

The cuisine of Curaçao is of course Caribbean in style, but also features influences from Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and (through the latter) also Chinese, Indonesian and Indian. Almost all food is imported. Most dishes are stews and soups, often served with a cornmeal paste called funchi and fried plantains. Seafood is eaten a lot. Other popular ingredients include e.g. okra, cucumber, pumpkin, celery, peppers, peanuts, coconut, mango, papaya and cheese, including the Dutch Gouda. This dish, I guess, is a good example of the fusion cuisine.

Veganized, this is quite a tasty dish, though perhaps not as impressive as Margarita’s husband’s comments suggest. I reduced the amount of “meat” and increased the amount of sauce.

Curried peanut “chicken”

2 tbsp oil
0.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp curry powder
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 tomato, sliced
1 lb/450 g mock chicken (seitan, rehydrated TVP or something else)
1/6 cup/0.4 dl crunchy natural peanut butter
1/6 cup/0.4 dl water

Fry the salt and curry powder in the oil for a minute, stirring constantly. Add the onion, pepper and tomato and fry for 10 minutes. Add the mock chicken and fry for 5 minutes more. Add the peanut butter and water and cook, stirring, until heated through and well mixed.

Serve with rice(?) or whatever you want. Makes three portions.

First I have to mention that I recently got Bryanna Clark Grogan’s World Vegan Feast. What a lovely cookbook! I’ll probably use it to make something for Vegventures. I still don’t understand why she put yeast in a “Finnish” pancake as no Finn ever does that, but I’ll forgive her. She’s a great cookbook author and I also greatly recommend her vegan cookbook Nonna’s Italian Kitchen (which only costs $10.49 on Amazon, a bargain!).

Anyway, back to today’s subject which is Abkhazia. Or Ab… what? since you have probably never heard of it. It is a small country on the Eastern shore of the Black Sea south of the Caucasus mountains, which considers itself independent, but only a handful of states, most of them small except for Russia, have recognized its independence. Officially it is a part of Georgia and this dispute has led to a war and ethnic cleansings. The government is currently in exile. Abkhazia can be considered a part of both Europe and Asia. The world’s deepest known cave is located in Abkhazia.

Because of its geographical location the climate is very mild – Abkhazia even used to be called “the Riviera of Georgia”. Many agricultural products are grown there, especially tea, tobacco and fruit (particularly grapes and citrus fruit). Meat, especially skewered meat, is eaten a lot, as are cheese and honey, but there are also many vegan dishes involving beans, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage and peppers. Many dishes feature nuts, especially walnuts. Both vegetable and meat dishes are often eaten with pickles or tart, spicy sauces, often made with fruit or berries. Popular herbs and spices include garlic, coriander, cilantro, dill,savory, basil, mint, fennel and parsley. The staple starch is cornmeal, made into porridges and breads, though corn is also enjoyed fresh.

recipe which features it with red beans. It is originally made with specific tkemali plums, but apparently most recipes suggest using raw (dark) plums as a substitute. It’s quite a tasty sauce and not as tart as I expected. Note that cayenne pepper is very hot, so if you want a less hot tkemali, use less (or a less hot type of chili powder.

Tkemali sauce

0.75 lbs/350 g very unripe plums
2 tbsp water
1/3 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp fresh mint, minced
1/6 cup/0.4 dl fresh coriander (cilantro), minced

Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Place in a heavy pot with the water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.

Puree the plums and everything else except for the frest herbs in a blender or food processor. Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook uncovered for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in the herbs and let cool.

Store in the fridge or can as you would can another sauce. Serve hot or cold with beans, seitan, tofu, tempeh or whatever you want to. Makes little more than 1 cup or scant 3 dl.

Quebec is the second largest province in Canada and essentially a country of its own, French-speaking, mostly Catholic and culturally different from the rest of Canada. Many Quebecers would like it to be independent, but so far the idea has been turned down in referendums. If it was a country, it would be a huge one: three times the size of France. It contains half a million lakes, numerous rivers and plenty of forests, which provide most of Canada’s famous maple syrup. The winters are long and cold, but in the summer the southern parts can get very hot, too. Aerospace industry is one of its most important industries. Cirque du Soleil also comes from Quebec.

The cuisine of Quebec has been influenced by the France, but is generally quite heavy and greasy, such as the (in)famous poutine: French fries, cheese curds and gravy. Other popular dishes include e.g. meat pies, baked beans and pea soup. Desserts (and even some savoury dishes) often feature maple syrup. Spruce beer (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) is a traditional drink.

St. Catherine’s Day is on the 25th of November and this pulled taffy candy (toffee) is traditionally eaten then, but I decided to post the recipe a bit in advance. There are several recipes online, some of which feature fewer and less complicated ingredients, so if this seems unnecessarily complex, feel free to use one of them instead. I’ve halved the recipe and it still makes quite a decent amount of candy. Lemon juice should work in place of cream of tartar.

The first time I made candy using a candy thermometer, the recipe apparently had an incorrect temperature. Now, I realized only when I had started making it that the recipe had different temperatures for Fahrenheit and Celsius! Also, it said that the mixture has to reach “ball” stage, but there are both “soft ball” and “hard ball” stages in candy making. Looking at other recipes I went for the hard ball stage, as toffee usually requires quite high temperatures.

I followed the recipe to a T, except that I wasn’t sure about the temperature (see above) nor when to add the remaining half of the margarine (butter in the original) or whether it was only meant for buttering the dish and your hands. The resulting mixture yielded to pulling well and was quite tasty, but when fully cooled it was no longer soft and pliable but quite hard. Not sure if the temperature was wrong, the rest of the butter/margarine should have been added or if I should have kept on pulling? (The dark color is because I used a little muscovado with very light brown sugar.)

Either case, it’s tasty as candy tends to be, but if you have any fillings in your teeth, be very careful when eating the candy! You’ve been warned.

St. Catherine’s taffy

1/4 cup/0.6 dl molasses
1/4 cup/0.6 dl corn syrup
1/2 cup/1.25 dl brown sugar
1/2 cup/1.25 dl white sugar
2 tbsp vegan margarine, divided in two
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/16 tsp baking soda

Place all the ingredients, except for half of the margarine (see notes) and the baking soda, in a heavy pot or saucepan. Boil on low heat until it reaches the hard ball stage (see notes), 250-266 F or 121-130C. This will take up to 10 minutes. Mix in the baking soda.

Pour into dishes buttered with the margarine and let cool until it’s still hot, but you can just barely handle it. This will take another 10-20 minutes. Don’t let it cool too much! Cover your hands with the margarine Take 1/4 of the mixture and pull it between your hands (or pull with another person). Fold in half and pull some more. Repeat several times, which should make the mixture much lighter in color, then twist into as in the picture. Do the same with the rest of the mixture. Cut into pieces or just keep in those long twists.

Chad is a large landlocked country in Central Africa. It is one of the poorest and most corrupted countries of the world and most Westerners probably know nothing about it. As is common in Africa, it is home to over 200 ethnic groups and like many African countries, it unfortunately has a history of civil wars, attempted coups, messy politics and such. Over half of the people are muslims, though about 1/3 are Christian. Polygamy is very common. The country has a rich cultural heritage, especially around music. There is only one cinema in the country, but very small scale movie production still exists.

The main staple food of Chad is millet, usually formed into balls which are dipped into sauces. It is also made into various alcoholic drinks. Other starchy foods include sorghum, corn, rice, manioc, and potatoes. Other popular ingredients include fish, yoghurt, various beans, bananas, some nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, dried fruit, sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes and okra. Foods may be seasoned with e.g. lemon juice and zest, chili, coriander, cardamom, cumin, garlic, cinnamon, cloves and honey.

Africa, especially West/Central Africa I believe(?) is full of various peanut butter based soups and stews. Daraba is one example I’m not a big fan of peanut butter in sweet dishes or by itself, but I do like it in a good salty dish. This is quite a simple dish, but interesting, because it evokes ingredients that would to most people suggest different continents (e.g. okra = Creole, peanut sauce = Thai/Indonesian). And it was quite tasty.

When I was slicing the okra I thought it looked like pretty flowers, so I used it as a garnish. I kind of suck at garnishing, but at least the okra flowers take the focus away from the brown, mushy nondescriptness of the actual dish. ;-P

Daraba

20 fresh okra, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
200 g/0.4 lbs mixed greens, finely shredded (I used just spinach)
1 sweet potato, cubed
1 eggplant, cubed
2 dl/0.8 cup peanut butter
1 Maggi or stock cube (or liquid Maggi)
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients except for peanut butter to a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are done. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more. Serve with rice, boiled plantains or boiled yams. Makes 4-6 servings.

Spain is the second largest country in Europe, located in the Southwest, by the Mediterranean. It also includes the Balearic islands, the Canary islands and three exclave states out of the country: the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco and Llívia in France (how come we were never told about these in school?). Some of these are disputed by other countries. On the other hand, the southernmost point of Gibraltar belongs to United Kingdom and there are also several parts of Spain with desires for autonomy. It has a colorful history, becoming an important empire of numerous colonies soon after the end of almost 800 years of Islamic rule in the late 1400s.

Being a large country, there is a lot of regional variation in the Spanish cuisine. Seafood is very popular on the coast. The most famous Spanish dish is probably paella, commnoly known as a saffron-flavored rice dish with seafood, but there are varieties without seafood. Ham, chorizo and other sausages and strong cheeses are popular, but chickpeas and various other beans are also common. The most famous vegetarian dish is probably gazpacho, a pureed cold vegetable soup. There are also numerous desserts, most of them quite rich, like flan, rice pudding and churros.

Many people know tortilla as a round corn or wheat flatbread from the cuisine of Mexico and some other South American Countries, but in Spain the word (meaning “little cake”) refers to potato omelet, also known as tortilla de patatas, tortilla española or Spanish omelet. It is a thick omelet fried on both sides and besides potatoes (fried raw) may also contain onions, chives, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, chorizo and/or ham. It is often served with bread and sometimes with olives or other pickles or with tomato sauce called sofrito.

I used a recipe from About.com but veganized it based on other vegan omelets I’ve made in the past, most closely that in the excellent Vegan Brunch cookbook (some vegan omelets include only tofu, others only chickpea flour and I wanted to use both). However, because the tortilla is a very thick omelette (thickness varying from thick pancake to a round of cheese), I had to make the batter as thick as possible so that it would cook fully. The mustard, black salt (kala namak) and nutritional yeast are there to create a more eggy taste, but can be left out. Black salt can be found in Indian stores.

The finished vegan Spanish omelet wasn’t as omelet-like as I was hoping, perhaps more like a gratin in structure, but it was solid as you can see, and delicious. Both I and my very picky husband enjoyed it, with oven-roasted tomatoes (which would have looked nice in the photo, but unfortunately I couldn’t include them due to timing sisues) and smothered with this awesome homemade vegan goat cheese (which I made using 1/3 umeboshi vinegar and 2/3 lemon juice).

Traditionally the potatoes are fried in a hefty amount of oil, pretty much deep-fried, and then drained. However, I don’t like wasting, so I fried them in less oil and did not drain them. If you want to make your tortilla more authentic (or save some time, as they cook faster in the larger amount of oil), fry them in 1 cup of oil and drain before combining with the batter.

Tortilla de patatas

5-6 raw potatoes, preferably starchy
1 small onion
0.5 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil

250 g/8 oz firm tofu
1/4 cup/0.6 dl chickpea flour (besan)
1/2 cup/1.25 dl soy milk
1 tsp corn starch
heaping 1 tsp black salt or 1.5 tsp normal salt
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp olive oil for frying

Peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters lengthwise. Slice the wedges into very thin slices, 2-3 mm or 1/8″ thick (but not paper thin). Heat the 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and potato with the 0.5 tsp salt on medium to medium high heat until the potatoes are done. Add more oil if it seems to stick and reduce the heat if they seem to brown too much. Stir occasionally – you won’t need to stir much in the beginning, but as the potatoes begin to cook they will get more sticky and if you don’t stir often, they will cook unevenly. It can take over 20 minutes until the potatoes are done. Sample a few pieces to check.

While the potatoes and onion are cooking, blend all the other ingredients (except for 1 tbsp oil) together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. When the potato mixture is done, pour it into the bowl as well and mix.

Heat 1 tbsp oil on the same pan on medium heat. Pour/spoon the omelet mixture into the pan and smooth the top as well as possible. Cook for about 10 minutes. If you feel the bottom is browning too much, lower the heat.

Take a large plate, big enough to cover the pan, and place it upside down on top of the pan. Hold it firmly and quickly invert the pan, so that the omelet falls on the plate (hopefully in one piece!). Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil into the pan and slide the omelet back into it, so that it is now upside down. (You can watch a video of the flipping step.) Fry for 5-10 minutes on the other side.

Serve hot or cold. If serving as a main dish, cut it like a pie, otherwise cut into squares. Makes 6 servings as a main course, more as an appetizer (it may not look like it will serve that many, but it is very filling!).