Let the Journey Begin!

In June 2015, I was feeling restless about my cooking.  I like to cook, and am somewhat adventurous, but I was stuck in a rut, cooking the same few recipes over and over.  I wanted to branch out, but with some structure (I am a scientist, after all).  My solution was to cook through the alphabet – choosing countries that start with each letter of the alphabet and making meals featuring recipes from those countries.  

There was one kicker - since I keep Kosher, I have never eaten most of the cuisines that I would be making.  So, I didn’t really know what they should taste like and, in addition, I would have to find or adapt recipes to meet Kosher dietary restrictions (basically, no mixing meat and milk, no pig or shellfish products).  Fortunately, the Internet is a wonderful tool, and it was relatively easy to find traditional recipes for each country, as well as ingredient substitution suggestions as needed.

I started with Argentina and, sixteen months later, completed with Zimbabwe (on Simhat Torah – not coincidental).  During much of that time, my children urged me to blog the experience.  I told them I would do it on the second go around, which began the night before Thanksgiving 2016 with an Afghani meal for my extended family.

So, I am once again committed to round two of cooking through the alphabet, using different countries from the first time around, as much as possible.  My goal is to make a complete meal from recipes of each country (except for dessert, which is not really my thing).  The approach is to research the cuisine of each country (often starting with Wikipedia) and to choose recipes that excite me and are feasible, given my skill level and the constraints of keeping Kosher.

I anticipate making a meal every few weeks, so I should finish by the end of 2017, or early 2018.  This time, I am taking photos of all the dishes, recording the adaptations I make to the recipes, and sending out surveys following each meal to get feedback from the guests about the dishes (please keep in mind that low ratings are bound to reflect my capabilities as a cook, not the recipes themselves!).

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Janice Levenson, for the great logo!  

Enjoy the journey along with me, and bon apetit!!

Reid Simmons