Cooking and baking have always been a part of my life – and my love for food has only grown in the past year! Since I haven’t been able to travel lately, I decided to visit different places through food and cook dishes with my family that we only tried during our travels.
After a few attempts, we were proudly able to re-create these yummy dishes together at home:
Switzerland: Fondue
We travelled to Zurich during the winter and found out that the best way to warm up was with ooey-gooey cheese! So it’s no wonder that we turned to this cheesy dish during chilly days. After one of my besties lent me her fondue pot, here’s what we did:
- We put grated Gruyère and Emmental cheeses into the heated pot.
- We stirred it all up and let it melt.
- We put together a plate of bite-size pieces of bread, apple, and cherry tomatoes.
- We popped the pieces of food on skewers and dipped them into the melted cheese. YUM!
Japan: Sushi
Visiting Japan without eating sushi was simply impossible! And there was a particular place in Kyoto that made quite the impression on our taste buds. Trying to make sushi rolls at home was definitely our toughest culinary challenge, but here is how we tackled it:
- We gathered the ingredients: sushi rice, raw salmon, avocado, cucumber, and nori (seaweed) sheets.
- We cooked and cooled the rice.
- We laid out bamboo rolling mats, placed a nori sheets over them, and spread layers of rice on top.
- We placed cut salmon, avocado, and cucumber in a line at the center of each rice square.
- We rolled them all up tightly with the help of the mats, cut the rolls into pieces, and dipped each one in soy sauce before eating!
Lebanon: Tabbouleh
When the summer sun was shining bright in Byblos, we loved sitting in the shade and cooling off with big bowls of tabbouleh! It’s a herbaceous and zingy salad that can be both the star or a side when you’re craving something fresh. We recently made it this way:
- We cooked bulgur until it was tender and let it cool.
- We cut up itty-bitty pieces of cucumber, tomatoes, and green onions.
- We finely chopped up a ton of parsley, some mint, and garlic.
- We combined it all and dressed it with olive oil and lots of lemon juice. Ta-(bbouleh)-da!
Canada: Poutine
Fries, gravy, and… cheese curds? This might seem like a strange mix to some, but after trying it in Montreal, we are true poutine believers! Oh oui! This hearty dish historically started out as a snack, but some restaurants have now given it a 5-star treatment. Here’s our take on homemade poutine:
- We made our own gravy using melted butter, flour, broth, and cornstarch for thickness.
- We cut potatoes into fries-sized sticks and roasted them.
- We put the fries into a bowl and sprinkled them with salt.
- We put cheese curds on top of the fries and poured gravy over it all.
- We added green onions and chopped bacon on top for extra flavor!
Mexico: Flan
This dessert has roots in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, but the flan we tasted in Mexico City is the one we remember best. It was so luscious, that my spoon slid right through the slice! Not to mention all of the wobbliness. Fun! Here’s how we tried to re-create it:
- We heated sugar until it became caramel and quickly poured it into the bottom of a glass pie plate.
- We blended eggs, milk, condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla extract until we got a smoooooth mixture.
- We poured the mix into the plate with the cooled caramel.
- We placed the plate into a large baking pan filled halfway with water.
- We baked the flan for 45 minutes, then cooled it in the fridge overnight.
- We inverted it into a plate and each of us satisfied our sweet tooth!
