Hotpot of cultures

Let me explore a world through food. Let me take you on a road through taste and smell, vibrant colors and aromatic heat. Just listen and feel.
In this “hotpot of cultures” and my walk through your imagination I am going to mix several ingredients.
We jump across the globe to India where we start our day with a hearty breakfast - indulging ourselves in the foamy texture of “masala dosas” with rice and lentils. In the distance we hear “Sun is shining”. Jamaica, man, we enjoy here fully marinated and tenderized Jerky - "charqui" chicken, smoked in large pit by Maroon people. We don’t stop there; we enjoy "lumpia" in Philippines - filled with pork, fried, and served dipped in palm sugar sauce with garlic and soy. We hear the sounds of Bossa Nova and in Brazil we eat minced meat and beans stew – "feijoada". Suddenly, it’s 19th-century plantation and sugar-cane fields where small drops of "dendê oil" can be seen of foreheads of tired workers drinking "caipirinhas" with their families on Sunday afternoon - mixing pig’s feet in the stew. We see blue white and more bluish colors in the sky and we find ourselves in Argentina consuming “churrasco con chimichurri” in "parillas" – grilled steak with herbs, olive oil, and vinegar. Next is “nasi goreng” – in Jakartan narrow streets with fried rice and chicken or shrimp with "kecap manis" (soy sauce), jasmine and shrimp paste called "terasi". Ah, we can’t skip “botie” in South Africa - fragrant meat filling with creamy custard topping. Desperately in need of something sweet we enter Turkey and we take a bite of "baklava", sweet pastry coated with walnuts and cinnamon and plunged in this amazing sugary sauce with lemon. We take a sip of home-grown grape brandy and…

We are all part of this hotpot, ingredients are irrelevant, we cherish them and we communicate through food with richness of meanings and experiences.

“Sun is shining, the weather is sweet. Make you want to move your dancing feet....”

Bon Appetite and Bon Voyage.