Around The World in a Pot and Pan

Around the World With a Pot and Pan

As I have been saying on our Suzy Prudden Teleseminar, I have started a project with my family and friends.

Every Sunday night I cook a dinner from a different country for my family and friends. There’s a kind of ritual to what we do. First I find recipes that I’m pretty sure I can cook. Then I research and find a folk tale to read to the little children – ages 4, 5, and 6. Sometimes I buy books for the teenagers if I think they will be interested. We look up the flag of the country. We make copies of the money – Afghan money is really neat and very beautiful. We talked about how Afghanis sit on the floor and eat with their right hands. How they will continue to serve guests tea until the guests say they’ve had enough. If you don’t want them to give you more food you must leave food on your plate as a signal. Finishing everything is an invitation for more not a compliment. I summarize a little history – though because of the youth of the children I steer away from the war. Sometimes we Google pictures of the country or the dress if it’s different – as it is in Afghanistan. Sometimes I use You Tube to search for folk dances that are special to the country. For Afghanistan we talked about how families sleep on the roofs during hot summer nights so they can get the breeze, which would otherwise be blocked by other houses. We talked about why the men wear beards and the way the women keep their heads covered. Then we all gather around the globe that I bought at Toys R Us specifically for this project. We find the country – see where it’s located relative to California. In Afghanistan’s case, run little fingers over the mountain ranges. I do not talk about war, religion, or politics…that’s optional depending on the age of the children.

What interested me most about world cooking was the question: why is the American Diet not working – while other people’s diets keep them thin and healthy. I think you’ll come to the same conclusions I have come to. The reason other diets work is because the food is fresh, seasonal and locally grown, the oils are healthy, and because there are no chemical additives like MSG and High-Fructos Corn Syrup. What’s amazing to me is how often garlic, onions and tomatoes show up all over the world. I’m also amazed at how often pumpkins are used for other than pumpkin pie.

Years ago, when I lived in Vermont, I had my own garden and there wasn’t much that I didn’t make from scratch. I would cook vast pots full of food on Saturdays – savory stews, chili, and rich tomato sauces. I baked all the bread we ate. I even made wine. During the week I would reheat the stews and sauces, add a few fresh ingredients and feed the family. We didn’t have a microwave, which was a good thing because it’s very bad for your health and I suggest that no one every use it even to heat water.

I frequently kept a pot of soup at the back of the stove (we had a wood stove). If I made a huge batch of anything I would freeze it and we’d revisit it later. I was careful never to cook anything IN plastic, but to thaw it and recook it or reheat it in a double boiler. It wasn’t difficult to serve food that had been cooked from scratch – it only took a little planning which helped me develop management skills I used later in life.

This time, when I started cooking the foods from around the world, some of the children I was cooking for informed me that they didn’t eat vegetables. They were willing to try it because it was different and special and – surprise – found that they actually liked the vegetables. Now they eat almost everything we serve. It was the curiosity about something really new that got their attention and overcame their objections.

When I started this project my kids got me a mortar and pestle because cardamom comes in seed form not ground in every supermarket I’ve been to. It’s come in very handy for many countries grind different seeds and even pits. I’m also grateful for the computer. I can find so many things and order many things that local stores don’t carry. My daughter’s herb collection is getting very impressive.