Coconut Chutney from Fiji

Coconuts make you think of the equator and tropical islands.  This classic chutney is served with Fiji’s traditional curries. However you can also use it as a side dish.  When I lived in Tanzania I had a machete which was great for opening coconuts.  In the Ukraine there are no machetes and opening the coconut was a bit of a mission.  Eventually I used a bread knife and a meat mallet which isn't ideal but it worked.  And I didn't even cut myself!
                                                                                    2 cups fresh coconut
liquid from the coconut
1 cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger cut into slices
1 green chili
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and mix well. Put in in a glass jar with a lid and allow it to sit for at least an hour before using, so that the flavours can blend and develop.  It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com 

Kimbap from South Korea

When I lived in Korea and later in China, my Korean students would often bring me plastic containers filled with kimbap.  Although kimbap resembles sushi in some respects, it is not the same.  The rice isn't vinegary like Japanese sushi.  Kimbap is perfect for school lunches and picnics.  While it might sound complicated to make, it is surprisingly easy.  The important thing is to have everything prepared and ready to go when you need it.  If you can get sushi rice that is great, but I have made this many times with whatever rice I can get.  While the pickled radish is essential in the traditional kimbap, I have not always been able to get it and have done without it. Once you get the rolling perfected, you can make a batch of kimbap pretty quickly.

4 sheets dried seaweed
4 cups cooked rice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons salt
soy sauce for dipping
fillings
1 carrot cut into thin julienne sticks
1 cucumber (Slice off the outer skin, that's the part you use) cut into thin julienne sticks
a few spinach or kale leaves
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 eggs
cooked ham or tuna or bulgogi beef strips
1 pickled radish cut into julienne strips

When rice has cooked and cooled add the salt and sesame oil.  Prepare your vegetables.  You need to do everything beforehand so you are ready to go when it is time to rock and roll.  Blanch the carrots sticks, cucumber sticks and spinach leaves.  Cover the blanched spinach leaves with some finely chopped garlic and sprinkle a little sesame oil on it.  Put that aside and beat the eggs in a bowl.  Put a little oil in a small frying pan and throw in the beaten eggs.  Cook, then turn over.  It should resemble a pancake.  Cut the cooked egg into strips.  If using ham make sure that you cube it into small pieces.

Now is the time to assemble your kimpap.
Using a bamboo sushi roller, lay the dried seaweed shiny side down.  If you don't have the sushi roller mat then you can use tinfoil.
Spread about 1/2 cup of rice onto the seaweed leaving the top 1/3 bare.  Lay carrot sticks in a line across the bottom of the rice about 3cm in.  Lay the other fillings next to it and on top, following the same line.  Roll from the bottom, pressing down firmly to make sure the fillings stay in and don't fall out.  As you roll you pull the edge of the mat away from you.  Keep rolling until you have a firm roll.  You can dampen the top seam with a little water to help

hold your roll together.
Leave it for about ten minutes while you continue with the other seaweed sheets repeating the same process.
To cut into slices, I always cut the middle first and then work my way to the ends.  Make sure you have a very sharp knife for the slicing.  You'll get about 8 slices out of a roll.
Either eat straight away or pack into plastic containers and keep in the fridge until you are ready to indulge.  You can have a small bowl of soy sauce for dipping, but most Koreans don't bother.  Eat with your fingers, chopsticks are not needed.
Cindy Vine is a South African by birth but has lived and worked in 11 different countries.  She currently works in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of The Colorful Art of Pain, Hush Baby and Defective.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.  http://cindyvine.com

Cornish Pasties from England

Traditional English Cornish pasties have beef, onions, potatoes and swedes in them.  The Cornish say peas and carrots in a pasty is a crime.  Perfect comfort food for a cold, drizzly climate.  However we don't have to be so traditional.  There is no reason why you can't add in vegetables that are currently in season just so long everything you put in is chopped to the same size.  The meat and vegetables traditionally go in raw and cook inside the pastry.  But there is no reason why you can't use leftover lamb roast and veggies from the night before.  For my Cornish pasties I am using leftover rabbit from my Lapin a la Cocotte.
Make the dough several hours before and keep in the refrigerator.
Shortcrust Pastry
3 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter into small blocks
1/2 cup iced water
egg wash consisting of 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk
Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.  Add in the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingers until you have a mixture resembling coarse breadcrumbs.  Pour in a little iced water, a tablespoon at a time and cut it into the butter and flour mixture with a knife.  As soon as the dough holds together and forms a large ball it is done.  Put it on a piece of clingwrap, flatten it into a large rectangle, cover with the clingwrap and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
When you are ready to make the pasties, heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  Divide your pastry into about 6-8 pieces.  On a floured board roll out each piece until you have a side plate-sized circle.

You will place the filling on one side of the circle, and then brush some egg wash around the edge and fold over the other part of the circle so that you now have a perfect semi-circle.  Seal the edges of the pastry together by decoratively crimping the edge with a fork.
Brush the tops of the pasties with egg wash and bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown.
Filling
2 cups cubed meat
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups cubed veggies
2 cups sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
healthy sprinkle of olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
Mix all filling ingredients into a large bowl and spoon onto the pastry.  Remember you can use leftovers and add in other vegetables in season.  Just make sure that, besides the seasonings, the filling ingredients are all cubed into the same size.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She's the author of Hush Baby, Defective, Not Telling, C U @ 8 and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.  http://cindyvine.com

Wiener Schnitzel from Austria

Austria can lay claim to the schnitzel, one of the easiest meals you can ever hope to make.  Start to end it will take you about 20 minutes max so is perfect after a hectic day at work when you are too tired to cook anything complicated.

4 veal cutlets or medallions
1/4 cup flour
large pinch of salt
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
lemon slices for squeezing
oil for frying
Pound the veal until it's about 1 cm thick.  Put the flour and salt in one bowl, the beaten eggs in another and the breadcrumbs in a third bowl.  Take each schnitzel and dip first in the flour and salt mixture, then into the beaten eggs and lastly into the breadcrumbs.  Fry the scnitzel in the hot oil for about 3-4 minutes a side.  Drain excess oil on some kitchen towel.  Serve with a green salad, potato salad or french fries.  Squeeze a little lemon on it.  If you can't get your hands on veal, you can use pork or chicken.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She's the author of Hush Baby, Defective, Not Telling, C U @ 8 and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.  http://cindyvine.com

Bread and Butter Pudding from England

This is my family specialty. My Granny used to make it. Even my brothers can make it and that is saying a lot as they don't make anything else in the kitchen, except maybe a mess. This tasty pudding is easy to conjure up quickly if you have uninvited guests dropping by for dinner and you want to impress them with your culinary skills. This is what you have to scrounge in the kitchen:

2 cans condensed milk
10 slices bread
butter or marge for spreading
handful of raisins (optional)
2 cans boiling water (just pour the water into the empty condensed milk cans)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or some orange essence if you want a citrussy flavour
If you thought the ingredients were easy then you'll be even more impressed with the method. It doesn't get much easier than this.
• lightly butter both sides of the slices of bread
• cut off the crusts and dice the slices into small

squares
• grease a baking dish and put the oven onto about 180 degrees Celsius
• throw the bread squares into the greased dish so it covers the dish quite evenly
• mix together in another bowl the condensed milk, boiling water, eggs and essence
• pour the liquid mixture over the bread squares
• you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on if you want
• put into the oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown
• serve just like that or with cream or ice cream or custard
Cindy Vine is a South African living in Ukraine and is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and C U @ 8. All her books are available on Amazon in print and on Kindle.

Pizza from Italy

There is absolutely no reason why you should be ordering in pizza.  It's easy to make pizza and your own tastes a lot better and you can put on your own topping combinations to suit your palate.  So no excuses.  From now on you can make your own.  Pizza parties are good fun.  You can prepare the bases beforehand and your guests choose their own toppings.
This is a thin crust pizza.
Crust
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt

You can add Italian herbs into the dough
Preheat the over to about 270 degrees Celsius.  In a mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients with the exception of the yeast.  Add the yeast to the lukewarm water.  Make a well in the centre of the flour and slowly pour in the yeast/water mixture, combining everything together.  Add in the olive oil.  Knead until it it not sticky and forms a ball.  Let your dough rest for about 10-20 minutes.  You can wrap it up in clingfilm and keep it in the fridge until you need to use it.  I've kept mine in the fridge for up to a week before using it.  Decide on the size of the pizzas you are making, and divide the dough up into balls.  This recipe make two large pizzas or 4 medium pizzas or 12 mini pizzas.  I pre-bake the bases for a couple of minutes until they are firm.  This stops the bases from getting soggy if you load them with toppings.  Brushing the pre-baked bases with olive oil before putting on the topping also stops them from getting soggy.
Toppings
This is entirely up to you.  I cheat and buy tomato-based pasta sauce and spoon that onto the base.  I add in some finely chopped garlic.  Then I sprinkle on a combination of grated cheddar and grated mozzarella cheese so that the tomato pasta sauce is covered.  Sprinkle on a little black pepper and Italian herb mix.  Add on the other toppings of your choice.
Pop it into the oven and bake until the cheese melts.
Cindy Vine is the author of The Colorful Art of Pain, The Great Mountain to Mountain Safari and Hush Baby.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and print format.

Tom Yum Gai from Thailand

Tom Yum is one of Thailand's most famous dishes.  Tom Yum Goong is with prawns, and Tom Yum Gai is with chicken.  Tom Yum is a soup that combines many flavours.  Sweet, sour, salty, spicy - it's all there.  Different regions of Thailand have different variations on making this soup.  They are all delicious.  If you do not have a handy well-stocked Asian or Thai section in your supermarket then you may battle to get some of the ingredients in a traditional Tom Yum.  My version of Tom Yum gives similar flavours without all the specialist ingredients.

6 cups chicken stock

3 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons chopped kaffir lime leaves or 1 tablespoon lime zest

6 tablespoons lemon juice

6 large mushrooms slices

6 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger finely chopped

2 chilies seeded and diced.

1 tablespoon chili powder (add in another if you want it very spicy)

1/3 each of red, yellow and green capsicum to give colour

1 onion sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tomatoes cut into quarters

large handful of fresh coriander chopped

1 can coconut milk

salt and pepper to taste

(If you have fish sauce then use 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 tablespoons fish sauce)

Add everything into a large pot except the tomato, coriander, capsicum and coconut milk.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to medium heat until the chicken is cooked.  Add the tomato, capsicum and half the coriander and let it simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.  What you do now is taste test.  To get the balance of flavours just right you might have to add a little more lemon juice, sugar, fish sauce or chili, but that you'll only know by tasting, and only add a little at a time if it's needed.  Serve in bowls and decorate with some of the fresh coriander.

Cindy Vine is a South African author and teacher currently living in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and The Colorful Art of Pain - all available on Amazon in kindle and print format.

Chicken Pot Pie from USA

The concept of a meat pie has been around for centuries and doesn't come from the USA.  However, they have perfected the pot pie and made it their own.  Chicken pot pie has become an American classic.  A great use for left-over chicken from a roast.  Easy to make, it doesn't take much skill.  The pie crust on top can be a homemade biscuit crust, your own pastry or frozen puff pastry crust from your local supermarket.  As the aim of this is to show you the easiest and simplest way to make delicious food from around the world, I have opted to use the supermarket pie crust.  But there is nothing stopping you from making your own if you have time on your hands.

4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion finely diced
2 potatoes cut into small blocks
Vegetables you have in your kitchen/garden or use frozen vegetables from your freezer
3 cups of shredded chicken
2 cups water
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
cream is optional

1/4 cup flour
1 pie crust
1 egg for egg wash
Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.  In a large pot melt the butter and fry the onions until translucent.  Add in potatoes, shredded chicken,vegetables and water.  Cook for a couple of minutes and then add seasonings and white wine.  Let that simmer until the potatoes and vegetables are cooked through.  Sprinkle the flour on the top of the chicken/vegetable mixture and stir it in so it thickens.  You can add some cream if you want it rich and creamy, but I found this was not necessary.  Transfer to

a casserole dish.  Cover with the pie crust.  Beat the egg and brush over the top of the raw pie crust.  With a knife cut a few slits into the pie crust.  Put into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  I served this with a little homemade chutney and it was delicious!

Cindy Vine is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8 and The great Mountain to Mountain Safari.  All her books are available on Amazon in both kindle and paperback formats.

Why this blog?

Besides writing I like cooking and traveling the world.  This past week I was visiting the beautiful old city of Lviv in Western Ukraine.  The many cafes, restaurants and themed bars make this city a gastronomic delight.  While there relaxing in cafes with some friends, drinking delicious Lviv spiced coffee, I got the idea to combine my love of writing, traveling, cooking, eating and photography into one book.  The title, Around the World on 80 Plates, came into my mind and I quite like it.
What I propose to do is find food I have encountered on my travels around the world that appeals to me, experiment with different recipes and create my version of that meal.  Once I have cooked it I'll take photographs and voila - an internationally-minded global cook book.
Of course I am going to have to do a lot of tasting.
My goal is to make the recipes as simple as possible.  Too often we balk at trying to cook something new and exotic as we think it will be too difficult.  We'll have to follow the KISS method.  Keep It Simple and Stupid.
The more I think about this the more excited I get.
Let's get cooking!
Cindy
xxx

Cindy Vine is the author of both fiction and non-fiction including The Colorful Art of Pain, Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, and The Great Mountain to Mountain Safari.  All her books are available on Amazon in both kindle and print format.  http://cindyvine.com