Welcome to Head Roam’s July 2021 Global Cuisine picks of the month! This month, we’re highlighting the foods of three places we’ve been to and loved, and one more we’d love to get to.
Read more about our July 2021 Destinations at this post.
Here goes:
Let’s Go!
July 2021 Global Cuisine 1: Ireland
As you can read in this post on Travel Inspirations, we love Ireland. The fact that we ended up there by pure serendipity added to the fun.
And a huge surprise? Truly wonderful food.
After all, think “Irish food” and you probably think stew, potatoes, and more potatoes. Maybe some cabbage thrown in.
Nonsense! (Not to be confused with “blarney,” which has a charm component to it.)
The produce in Ireland is beautiful. Here’s a case full of salads at Caviston’s, the wonderful Irish market right down the street from our borrowed flat in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced “dun leary”), a suburb on the sea outside of Dublin.
Here are our favorite recipes for inviting Ireland into your kitchen:
- Our own Emerald Isle Bowl, a tasty and colorful gluten-free celebration of fresh greens and roasted salmon.
- Our video and link to a Jameson’s Chocolate Mousse recipe from Halfbaked Harvest, one of our favorite cooking blogs.
- Rachel’s great blog post and recipe for Irish Soda Bread. (Hint: Have super-fresh Kerrygold Butter on hand to slather on top!)
Do you have your own favorite Irish recipes? Please let us know! Drop an email to [email protected], or leave a comment.
July 2021 Global Cuisine 2: The Black Forest, Germany
I came to love Germany late.
This is despite the fact that German figures into a good chunk of my ancestry on both sides (squeezed in with a big helping of French, Irish, and Scandinavian—oh, and a soupçon of Filipino, because don’t those DNA tests always throw in a soupçon of random??)
But once I got there and started seeing it with Steve, well, they had me at Guten Tag. And a handshake. Germans seem to love handshakes. (Don’t kiss them on the cheek. Speaking from hard experience.)
And candy. That is another thing they had me at. I love candy like a German loves a handshake.
The Black Forest has a namesake dish, of course: Black Forest Cake.
To be honest, it’s not a fave of mine, which is why we generally order other things when we’re there, like this rhubarb tart and berry cheesecake.
The little red things are on top of a tiny hat, another Black Forest specialty. This is one, natürlich, is inedible.
What, you may rightfully ask, is there not to love about Black Forest Cake, Head Roamer Nan?
Well, the authentic version doesn’t get heavy enough on cherries and goes a little too heavy on the whipped cream for my taste. Which is why I’m so excited about Liv for Cake’s version of Black Forest Cake, which uses real cherries. Also, her cake is GORGEOUS. Click the link and see for yourself.
Obviously, Germans are brilliant when it comes to pastry. But they’re also exceptional with fresh. The farmers markets there are wonderful rainbows of orderly color.
And the thing that really gets them going? Asparagus, or spargel. Germans love spargel like I love candy. Including the weird white variety, which just looks like….no thank you, to me.
When in the BF, do as they do. You sort of HAVE to buy spargel when it’s in season. It may be a law.
Since I’m not wild about the stuff, I was thrilled to find this recipe from Clean Eating magazine for Asparagus Soup. I left off the crabmeat. This is my version, shot in my German kitchen.
Germans also do potatoes and salads superbly well. I love Heidi’s recipe for classic German Potato Salad, a non-mayo version that reminds me of potato salads I’ve eaten over there.
Do you have your own favorite German recipes—particularly from the Black Forest area? Please let us know! Drop an email to [email protected], or leave a comment.
July 2021 Global Cuisine 3: The Upper Peninsula, Michigan
What do you eat in the U.P.?
Pasties—pronounced “PASS-tees,” not like those things strippers wear—a legacy from the Cornish immigrants who helped to populate the area in its mining days.
This pass-tee/pasty recipe from Fox Valley Foodie has thorough instructions. Make it the way Ben says, and you’ll have the real deal.
All over Michigan you’ll find something called a Michigan Cherry Salad. It’s simple to make: greens, pecans, dried cherries, and blue cheese are usually tossed in a simple vinaigrette. (This version, an older version of mine, has feta instead.)
But we’re all about up-levelling here. Laurie from Simply Scratch does that in a gorgeous version of Michigan Cherry Salad.
What makes her version extra special? She candies the pecans! Swoon. She also has outstanding tips, and overall, just subscribe to her blog because her recipes are The Bomb.
Do you have your own favorite Michigan recipes—particularly from the Upper Peninsula? Please let us know! Drop an email to [email protected], or leave a comment.
July 2021 Global Cuisine 4: The Okavango Delta, Botswana
What do you eat on safari?
Well. Truthfully. We’ve never been on one.
So We Don’t Know!
Which is why we were delighted to find this Botswana Safari Foodie Guide.
From the looks of it, if you create a buffet with plenty of fresh salads, tropical fruits, and some tasty teatime-esque treats, you’ll be pretty much on track.
We also love this page A Look into Botswana’s Culture and Cuisine from Acanela, a company specializing in immersive and impactful travel. You can save 50% if you’re up for booking a safari right now, by the way. Acanela is not an affiliate, but I like their style.
Do you have pictures, recipes, and/or stories to share from your own safarit experience? Please let us know! Drop an email to [email protected], or leave a comment.
July 2021 Global Cuisine: Thanks for Reading!
Do you have experiences, stories, photos, videos, and/or recipes from any of the above places? Post them to the Head Roam Facebook group, or let us know on Twitter or Instagram! Or email [email protected].
Any requests for next month? Whether or not we’ve been there, we love your suggestions. And we’d be thrilled if you want to let us run your stories and/or visuals.
