Do you believe that with the close of this, our third Culinary Tour, we virtually visited 30 countries? And, we collectively presented 284 recipes along with fascinating stories (firsthand, factual and otherwise/fictional 
). There were lots of great photos too.
Importantly, bloggers and readers alike expanded their horizons and welcomed new cultures and traditions into their homes and blogs. And, we all made new friends.
To those of you who expressed sadness by this being the ‘final tour’, who knows? I said it was, but maybe not.
I wanted to end the tour with a real ‘ta da‘ dish…to go out with bang and a real challenge to my skills. Once again, I considered dessert because that is unique to FOODalogue’s usual fare, but I had difficulty finding a recipe that sang to me so…
I went with 2 dishes — both within my comfort zone, but both very traditional to the region. Chicken Jollof is a stewed chicken and rice dish, much like the Doro Wat from Eithopia (a dish I did during our 2009 culinary tour). Or you might even liken it to arroz con pollo (although very differently spiced). Imoyo is a plantain salad similar to an escabeche.
After 7 weeks ‘on the road’, we will close this edition of the Culinary Tour Around the World next week when we spotlight Nigeria. But this week we honor Egypt.
Along with expressing good wishes to the people of Egypt as they move forward in their domestic restructuring, our bloggers prepared some of the country’s most popular dishes. It’s a strong representation and, interestingly, there are no duplicates. Bravo bloggers!
Since Egypt is currently having a rebirth of sorts, I thought I, too, should venture into uncharted waters for this stop on the tour. Instead of putting my usual keywords in search, I googled ‘dessert’. Yes, folks, FOODalogue decided to tackle dessert…but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I couldn’t find a recipe that sufficiently appealed to me and was worth expending unwanted calories. To illustrate, I found one called “Halawa Sweet”. “You can eat it, and you can use it as Hair Removal”. I don’t think so…in either form.
A couple of bloggers who started the journey with us didn’t show up for this stop on the tour. I’m surprised because Thai food is pretty well-known and appreciated across the world. But don’t despair. Those that did show up were really creative and provided an excellent representation of the flavors of Thailand.
Note: I toyed with the idea of canceling Egypt because I didn’t want to be seen as trivializing current events, but what better way for food bloggers to show solidarity than to showcase the food? Plus, we all have to eat so we’ll meet you next week at the pyramids.
Meantime, here’s the blogger round-up for Thailand. Enjoy! Continue Reading
Sawakeedah! You can count me among the fortunate who have visited Thailand.
In 2007, I took a whirlwind trip to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, with a side visit to Myanmar. It’s a long way to go and it’s not for the faint-hearted, especially when you start out with a 3-hour delayed departure in Fort Lauderdale. Then, a 5 hour flight to LA, a 15 or 17- hour flight to Hong Kong and I think a 2-hour flight to Bangkok. I’ve since blotted the actual timeline from my mind — so that I’d remain open to traveling in Asia again. Because it is sooo worth it! But, like my visits to Turkey, it was both a taste and tease. I long to go back. Continue Reading
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