Viviendo la experiencia completa de India en Ottawa

Después de meses de asado, pizza y pasta, donde en general lo único verde y vegetal es el mate, era obvio que la primera noche en Ottawa tocaba comida asiática. ¿Japonesa? ¿Tailandesa? ¿Malaya, vietnamita, india, coreana? Google mediante descubrimos que el restaurante más cerca del hotel era uno indio. Perfecto. Comida india sería. Después de todo, ¿quién quiere andar caminando por ahí con 10 grados bajo cero y nieve hasta las pantorrillas?

Ni bien entramos al restaurante East India Company tuvimos un déjà vu. Nos pareció sospechosamente familiar. Pero sólo habíamos estado en Ottawa un par de días cuatro años antes... Y sin embargo, era el mismo restaurante al que una amiga nos había llevado. Deliciosas coincidencias.

La cena perfecta combinó todos los aromas y sabores del subcontinente que tanto extrañamos: curries, masalas, raita, palak paneer, papadums, chai, pakoras, samosas, daals, chutneys. La fiesta siguió con los postres: gulab jamun, kheer y algún otro que el jetlag se encargó de borrar de mi memoria.

Ganesh nos acompañó con buena música

Placer para el paladar, placer para el olfato, placer para los oídos en la música que acompañó la cena, placer para la vista en la decoración, los colores cálidos, las esculturas, los tapizados...

Un servicio estupendo con los mozos más entusiasmados que encontramos en mucho tiempo y compañía de primera.

Después de todo eso, ¿quién se acuerda de la nieve y el frío afuera?

Bienvenidos a Canadá.*

 * Los canadienses provenientes de India forman un 3 a 4 % de la población (entre 1 millón y 1.200.000 aproximadamente). Muchos sikhs y punjabis llegaron y llegan a Canadá desde India por los lazos comunes de ambos países con el Reino Unido y el Commonwealth. Otros, como los indios musulmanes ismaelitas, llegaron de África del Este escapando de régimenes dictatoriales en Kenya, Tanzania y Uganda. Otros tantos llegan del Caribe o Inglaterra. En el área metropolitana de Vancouver reside el 20% de esos indios-canadienses (en Surrey, llegan a ser casi la tercera parte) y para sentirse transportado a India, basta con tomarse el ómnibus Nro. 3 hasta al pequeño centro conocido como “Punjabi Market”.

Kitchen Series #8 - Christmas Dinner Potato Salad

Before (ingredients) and after (prepared salad)

We would have never guessed we would spend Xmas with a bunch of ex-pats from Canada, the US, Chile, Italy, Thailand, and I don't know where else, in Punta Fría, up a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The hosts asked us to bring some salads and we prepared a nice cold potato salad that would go well with a hot summer celebration.

Cold Xmas Potato Salad

Ingredients:

potatoes

red onions

olive oil

dijon mustard

honey

raspberry vinegar

Kitchen Series #7 - Fresh Summer Salad Combo

There is so much you can take in terms of asado, pasta and pizza - the staple food that shows up in every gathering and outing in Uruguay.

After only a few weeks I was killing for some fresh veggies that would better suit the warm weather we were having. Also, salads is the easiest way to make sure everything is GF.

Anything corn is difficult to find in Uruguay, so, for the guacamole, I substituted the corn chips with thin GF crackers.

The main ingredient of the other salad is the palmito, or heart of palm, not very popular in Vancouver, but super common in Uruguay. Time to indulge then.

Homesteading in Uruguay: What to do when mushroom picking goes bad

We had been discussing mushroom picking options with Dan & Angie back in Baltimore, when I commented my mother's famous pickled eucalyptus mushrooms. Because of the pickling process they last for months, but they never survive that long because they're just too yummy. As a result, I rarely get to try them - they grow in the seasons I avoid visiting (fall and winter) and are long gone by the time I make it to my parents' house. This time, though, one mushroom made it to early springtime. And not any mushroom: a giant one!

Though impressive in size, the results were not that great. As I always suspected, bigger is not always better (and I'm not being biased there). I tried it in a sandwich in lieu of a portobello mushroom, which you can't get here, but it was too bitter. We guessed a couple more rounds of boiling would have helped to get rid of the bitterness. Oh, well, we'll figure it out during the next mushroom season.

Nothing to worry about! Plenty of other veggies to grill. With abundant wood around and mild days, we spend a lot of time outside barbecuing: tomatoes, carrots, onions, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and even apples. Toss with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, thyme and salt and you're good to go. Healthy. Good. And GF!

Absolutely delicious barbecued veggies and fruits.

Kitchen Series #6 - Thainese (Thai & Japanese)

Luego de tres semanas de dieta forzada en el barco no me sorprendió lo que la balanza me dijo cuando me pesé: 3 kilos menos. No mucho para muchos, mucho para mí.

Primer orden de cosas cuando nos bajamos del barco fue engordarme. ¡Y qué mejor manera que con comida asiática!

Aunque en Vancouver hay a razón de 3 restaurantes japoneses y chinos por cuadra, la costa este de Norteamérica, con menos población asiática, tiene que combinar las cocinas asiáticas para atraer suficiente clientela.

Una de las mejores combinaciones: comida tailandesa y japonesa.

Kitchen Series #4 - Thea's Green Goodness from the Garden

Coming with fresh veggies while on board is always a challenge, specially when you end up in towns where they might only have a 7-Eleven type of store and the only veggies for sale in miles are canned tomatoes or french fries. So, we didn't have any expectations when we anchored in Port Mouton.

Yet, first thing we see when we start walking out of Carters Beach is a little stand by the road with a sign selling gigantic zucchinis and other veggies for pennies. Behind, and slightly below, was a whole garden full of the freshest veggies we could have asked for, organic to boot. The magician behind this bounty was Thea, who (we later found out) was friends with Nalom. So, when Nalom invited us all for dinner the following day, she also invited Thea to come along. She showed up with the simplest but superb soup, made all with veggies from her garden.

Thea's Green Goodness: zucchini soup with mint and herbs fresh from the garden

Disclaimer: Again, I was too late to take pictures. The soup was gone
and I had to pick a random one for illustration purposes.

Cut zucchini and boil it almost completely with oil, salt and pepper.

Towards the end, add cumin, mint, parsley, cilantro, ciboulette.

Puree all in food processor and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, or sprinkle some parmiggiano on top.

Voi la!

* Vegan
* GF
* Serves 8

Kitchen Series #3 - Nalom's Laotian Spicy Salad

What a whirlwind! Nalom is the oldest of 10 siblings and it shows. She loves being with people, is amazing at hosting and organizing, gets everybody involved and doesn't accept a no for an answer.

Kitchen Series #2 - Lunenburg Library Chickpea Falafel

"I don't like old books," is Michelle's comment. As soon as we go into a library (which is the first thing we look for while on shore) she goes straight to the New Books Section. And we're lucky she does that. In Lunenburg's Library she found a new vegan, GF cookbook and gave the chickpea falafel a try, using the sprouted garbanzo beans that were waiting for us on the boat. The crew loved them.

Disclaimer: Photo taken for illustration purposes.
No actual falafel patty was left to pose for the photo.