Curried sweet potato and pea soup (Uganda)

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 [...]

Tkemali, or tart, spicy plum sauce (Abkhazia)

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 [...]

Oi kimchi, or spicy pickled cucumber (Korea)

Korea is located in the Korean peninsula in East Asia, near Japan. The area has a rich culture and history dating back thousands of years. Traditionally Confucianism was the main religion and taekwondo the most popular sport. After the second world war the country was divided into two politically and socially very different states, South [...]

Black-eyed bean soup (Trinidad)

Trinidad is the larger of the two main islands that form the Trinidad and Tobago, located just a few kilometers off the coast of Venezuela. The name, given by Columbus, means “trinity” in Spanish. It used to be a British colony until gaining independence in 1962. Only about 60,000 of its about one million inhabitants [...]

Sauce pois, or pureed spiced beans (Haiti)

Most people only know Haiti as the location of the tragic earthquake in early 2010, and that it is a very poor country, the poorest country in the Americas. It is located in the same island of Hispaniola as Dominican republic. It was the first independent country in Latin America and the first black-led republic [...]

Papaya candy (Cape Verde)

Cape Verde is an archipelago of ten volcanic islands located near the coast of West Africa. They were uninhabited until the Portuguese colonization in the 15th century and later served as an important hub in the slave trade because of their location. Now it houses about 500,000 people, mostly of creole origin. Cape Verde is [...]

“Carne” Mechada, or seitan and black beans in tomato sauce (Venezuela)

Venezuela is located in the north of South America. It was the first permanent settlement of the Spanish in South America, but gained its independence as early as 1821 thanks to the revolutionary Simón Bolïvar. He lended his name to Bolivia, but also remains in the official name of Venezuela, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, [...]

Tongabezi “chicken” curry (Zambia)

Zambia is a fairly large landlocked country in Southern central Africa. Besides 12 million people it hosts some stunning landscapes, particularly the Victoria falls (named by David Livingstone), often counted in the “seven natural wonders of the world”. Zambia used to be a part of United Kingdom until it gained independence in 1964. While English [...]

Colcannon, or mashed potatoes with kale (Ireland)

Ireland is one of the largest islands in the world. The northern tip of it belongs to the United Kingdom while the rest forms the Republic of Ireland. Besides English many Irish people also speak Irish, but it is no longer the main language. Ireland has a distinctive culture (much more than just beer, leprechauns [...]

Vegetable soup with grains and chickpeas (Angola)

Angola is a large country on the south-central coast of Africa. Until 1975 it was a territory of Portugal and as a result the population is largely Portuguese-speaking and Catholic country, although Bantu languages and indigenous religions also form large minorities. After Angola gained independence there was a civil war lasting until 2002 and killing [...]