Singapore and More

Any hopes I had of writing weekly this year have been dashed!  Since last writing, I've been traveling in several additional foreign countries - France, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia!  As you can imagine I've eaten my way through each country - experiencing everything from the finest scallop terrine in France to fabulous Indian dishes and Hainenese chicken rice in Singapore to fish curry soups in Malaysia to roti prata with curry in Indonesia.  Yum, yum, yum!

In Singapore I had the wonderful experience of not "just" visiting markets - I was able to purchase groceries and then go to Wendy's condo to experiment!  Yes....Wendy and family live in Singapore now!
Our favorite was fresh lotus root that I cooked and used in salads - splendid!  But a close second was the weird looking tuber that I cooked, following the directions of a local Chinese lady, that tasted like artichoke hearts!  What a wonderful surprise.....although it was a strange lavender color!  I cooked other vegetables that the local Chinese ladies put in my basket at the wet market - as they explained that these were seasonal and I needed to buy them now!!!  What fun!!!

The above picture was taken at a restaurant in Bintan, an island of Indonesia.  Yes, it's a regular pancake, but it is served with a vanilla sauce - a simple cream anglaise.  What a simple idea for a yummy change!  Try it at your next brunch.  Neat idea for a sauce on a fruit-filled crepe, too!

The next post will be a food you WON'T be trying at home - roti prata with curry!  You'll want to go to Bintan to try it!

Enjoy the saucy vanilla cream anglaise idea!

Oaxaca, Mexico - yummmmmmm!!!

Hello again -

Wow - It's been 3 months since my trip to Oaxaca and I can still "feel" the trip! As in, a good way!

If you are thinking of going south, love food, want to meet great people with a proud heritage, appreciate fine crafts, easy access to loads of cultural events, and nonstop fun ...get your ticket to Oaxaca.

Food....as authentic as it gets, was available from our first step in the city. Can you imagine me....the consummate food safety/cleanliness advocate....eating street food within an hour of our landing? Yes, I was eating tamales taken from a bucket on the street of Oaxaca at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night - oh, well, seize the moment!

The photo shows the remnants of our late night snack! It became our breakfast the next morning....along with some wonderful bakery items!

The streetside vendor had four kinds of tamales in his bucket and, of course, I asked for one of each! Masa and herbs, masa with chicken and mole', one with beans, one with masa and red pepper....all terrific!

At Seasons of the Heart cooking school we would learn more about the seven moles' of Oaxaca - from nearly black in color to red to yellow to green. Each made with different ingredients - the two darker ones flavored with the addition of Mexican chocolate - all with different chilies, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and spices!

I've made two mole' sauces (mole' meaning ground concoction) in my own kitchen - they met with rave reviews!

If you want a wonderful cookbook loaded with authentic recipes and great stories of the people and customs of Oaxaca, get a copy of Seasons of my Heart by Susana Trilling. I'm not letting my copy out of my sight! :)

Til later -

Marz

Market Food in Mazatlan, Mexico

This photo was taken at the central market in Mazatlan. I love the "local color" this photo represents and the memories of being there.

This stall was on the perimeter of the market, facing the street. The sidewalk between this lady's counter and the street was not more than two feet. While standing, ordering and waiting for food, customers are jousted by all of the people passing along the sidewalk, carrying their goods from the market while pulling their children behind them.

Factor in the noise of the traffic behind you, the smells of the market, (not always pleasant) people yelling at each other, riders getting off/on busses etc. Now you begin to get the real flavor of the scene! Despite all of this, this lady prepares wonderful food with a wonderfully pleasant attitude!

You'll notice she had all the "fixins" for tacos, burritos and other Mexican specialties to be eaten out-of-hand. I love the bowls of garnishes along the front of her counter.

In my next blog I'll give you a recipe for a great summer salad based on the ingredients you see here! Think Mexican, cool, spicy and vegetarian!

Finnish Fruits

Wow! Don't you love these pictures? Nothing is better than fresh fruit, straight from the farm. These photos were taken in the Helsinki market near the harbor. We were there in June, the perfect time for spring and early summer produce. I know that Steve and I ate our share of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries during our visit there.

In the next blog I'll give you a recipe for using these fruits. In the meantime, just enjoy the fruit eaten out-of-hand or with yogurt or ice cream. In the next blog, I'll give you the recipe for an easy sauce - oh so good.

Food, Food Styling and Travel - Some of my favorite things - oh, yes, and eating, too! When I was a teenager I was introduced to Korean food. Since then, I've been interested in learning about food in different cultures. This is a great hobby - especially when traveling!

The picture was taken on the island of Rhodes last October-just as the waiter brought it with no food styling!

The food throughout Greece - during the month that my husband, Steve, and I spent in Athens and four of the Greek islands was outstanding. Each location had specialties and we enjoyed getting to know about local produce, cheeses, meats and wines.

In future blogs, I'll tell more about the Greek diet and local specialties! This dinner meal is typical. Tomatoes and green peppers stuffed with a rice/meat filling, cubed potatoes cooked in broth, plus fresh vegetables. The fresh vegetables are always accompanied by locally grown, cold press olive oil and red wine vinegar. Makes my mouth water just to think about it.

Purpose of the blog

This blog has been created to share the two passions of Mary Holloway and her daughter Wendy Morton: Food and travel. Both are professional food stylists in Central Florida. They welcome the opportunity to share their expertise with you on the web.