World Geography and Culture: The Americas: Costa Rica

We learned about Costa Rica and its unique political and physical environments.

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"More than a quarter of Costa Rica is protected natural wilderness...

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The rain forest comes right down to the ocean. and here, looking back up the vastness of the green forest...

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 or gazing out across the endless blue sea, we truly appreciated the blissful remoteness of our position and, 

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and as a pair of toucans glided overhead, the privilege of experiencing nature so unspoiled."

World Food Cafe, Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

After our book and map study of the country...

we looked at all the beautiful fruits that come from this area of the world...

 and then we went about making two Costa Rican dishes...

 Crunchy Salad with Lime Juice

"This fresh-tasting salad, with its sweet-and-sour mixture of fruit and vegetables, is typical of the dishes...on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica."

Look at all the beautiful, colorful spices in this dish.

We also made Caribbean Vegetables in a Mustard, Coconut and Rum Sauce...

 which has fried plantains on it.

World Geography and Culture: The Americas: Bolivia

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This week we learned about Bolivia. We colored maps, noting that Bolivia is next to Brazil, which we studied last week. 

We looked at a relief map and noted the mountains through Bolivia.

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"As the airplane passed over the snowy peaks, in the half-light of dusk, they seemed only a few hundred feet below us; beyond them La Paz came into view,  a bowl of lights sunk in the dark expanse of the altoplano. We descended through shafts of lightning from an electrical storm to a runway 12,000 feet above sea-level. The air is cold and thin at this altitude. The effort of carrying my bags up to the third floor hotel room was exhausting and my sleep full of nightmares. "- World Food Cafe

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Bolivian Flag

We also ate a Bolivian stew, which I adapted slightly so that I could cook it in a crockpot. We enjoyed it and plan to add to our regular menu, so I thought I would share my adaption with you.

Bolivian Corn Stew
(adapted from the recipe at World Food Cafe by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott)

3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 Potatoes, peeled and diced
4 Tab olive oil
2 Onions, Chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 Tab sweet paprika
1 1/2 tea turmeric
leaves from 1 handful fresh oregano, Chopped
handful of parsley sprigs, Chopped
1 bag fresh Spinach or Spinach and baby kale mix, Chopped
4 ears fresh corn, cut into 1 inch rounds
2 cups Vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
handful of cilantro leaves, Chopped, for garnish

Put everything in a large pot or slow cooker and simmer until vegetables are soft; about 4 hours on high in the crock-pot.
Serve garnished with the chopped cilantro and accompanied by crusty bread and a leafy green salad.

World Geography and Culture.:Asia: Laos

This week we have been studying the geography and culture of Laos.

World Geography: Vietnam, November 2012

 We reviewed what we had learned about Phan Bio Chau's Vietnamese Restoration Society (1896) and Alex colored the countries that made up Indochina; Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

France controlled Indochina -the lands that are now called Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The French divided Vietnam into the territories Torkin, Annam and Cachin China. Phan Bio Chau formed the Restoration Society to fight the French.

We read stories from Laos.

• Nine-In-One Grr! Grr!, Told by Blia Xiong; a trickster tale told by the Hmong people of Laos. Illustrations modeled on the appliqued story cloths from the Hmong.
• Piecing Earth and Sky Together, A Creation Story from the Mien Tribe of Laosn, Nancy Raines Day. Beautifully illustrated and features the embroidery style of the Mien Tribe in Laos.

And, of course, we ate Laos inspired dishes. This is Mekong Stir-fry with Pureed Eggplant. It has mushrooms, green beans, spinach and sugar snap peas in a fennel-eggplant sauce. We liked this but it took a fair amount of effort to make.

We also had this Crunchy Sweet and Sour Salad, which I really liked. It is a salad of Napa cabbage, watercress and spinach with bean sprouts and snow peas and a sweet and sour dressing. Both recipes are from World Food Cafe by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott.

World Geography: Asia: Burma

Fishermen of Ingle Lake from Burma Tours

"The floodplain of the Irrawaddy River at Pagan dotted with ancient pagodas; the leg-rowing fishermen of Ingle Lake;

Reclining Buddha of Pegu from Weather Forcast 365

 the giant reclining Buddha of Pegu; 

Golden Spires of Shwedragon Pagoda from Asia Explorers

the golden spires of the Shwe Dragon Pagoda; the morning mists over Rangoon harbor -all were the stuff of lifelong memories." 

-World Food Cafe, Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

We enjoyed a lovely Burmese-style dinner which included Salmon, Edamame, Lemongrass Rice and Cucumber and  Sesame Seed Salad. 

 We learned what the flag of Burma looks like and that their government is a military dictatorship.

We learned a little about Buddhism.

World Geography: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is home to a variety of religions, languages and peoples. It has a rich Buddhist history, and a cultural history that still remains in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

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Adam's peak, Sri Lanka.

Adam's peak is a tall mountain which is famous for its "sacred footprint" rock formation near the summit, which is a testament to the variety of religious beliefs in Sri Lanka.  Buddhist tradition is is that it is the footprint of the Buddha, whereas the Hindu tradition is that it is the footprint of Shiva and in Islamic and Christian tradition that of Adam.

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Stilt fishermen in Sri Lanka.

One of the most iconic scenes of Sri Lanka is the stilt fishermen.

"We spent two weeks driving around the island's enchanting landscapes, meeting gentle, polite people, visiting serene Buddhist temple sites hosted by saffron-robed monks, and lazing on palm-fringed beaches." -World Food Cafe, Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

Kandy Leek and Potato Curry

"In Sri Lanka, the main dishes are usually white curries, which are mild and creamy with lots of coconut milk, red curries which are scarlet with ground chilies and tomatoes or delicious and most-unusual looking black curries, darkened by spices toasted whole and ground to a powder."  -World Food Cafe, Chris and Carolyn Caldicott

We decided to try Kandy Leek and Potato Curry, a sweet white curry and it was delicious.

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Kandy lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea.

Coconut Rice

We also had Coconut Rice, a rice seasoned with red onion slices, cardamom pods and coconut milk. Everyone liked it, but I love cardamom so this rice was a treat for me. Both recipes are from World Food Cafe, by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott.

World Geography: Nepal

This week we learned about Nepal, which is part of the Indian sub-continent.

 We learned where it is in relation to India.

We learned that Nepal has several different areas geographically, due to the dramatic variances in elevation levels, from tropical savannas along the Indian border, to subtropical forests in the Hill Region, to temperate forests on the slopes of the Himalaya, to grasslands and shrub-lands and then rock and ice at the highest elevations.. The mountainous north of Nepal has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on earth, Mount Everest. 

"Even in such places, where life appears to be a constant battle against the elements, trekking in Nepal is made a pleasure by the warmth and good humor of the people as much as by the stunning landscapes." -World Food Cafe, Chris and Caryoln Caldicott

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The southern lowland plains or Terai bordering India are fertile and humid, and this is where Nepal's tea, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops and water buffalo are raised. The Terai was formed and is fed by three major Himalayan rivers as well as smaller rivers.

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Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Gautama Buddha and therefore one of the holiest places of the Buddhist religion, is located in this region. Even though Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal, Hinduism is practiced by most of Nepalis, making it the country with the highest percentage (about 82%) of Hindus. And so, we learned about Buddhism.

A typical Nepalese meal is Dal bhat. Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over bhat (boiled rice), served with tarkari (curried vegetables) together with achar (pickles) orchutni (spicy condiment).

"In village homes, the meal is always eaten by mixing a little dal and vegetable or pickle with some rice and scooping it up with the right hand." -World Food Cafe, Chris and Caryoln Caldicott

World Geography: Western India

This week we traveled to Western India in our studies.

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Pushkar Camel Fair

"In the wild district...bordering Pakistan...the desert tribes are semi-nomadic, traveling in family groups with camels and goats."

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Marketplace

"The western states...are perhaps the most visually exciting in India. The stark beauty of desert landscapes is offset by brightly dressed and bejeweled women and fine featured men with noble mustaches and multi-colored turbans."

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Blue houses of Jodhpur.

 "Fairy-tale palaces and dramatic forts dominate towns of tiny blue, pink and white house squeezed together in narrow alleys. In the countryside, thatched mud huts have dung-floor courtyards populated with buffalo, camels and goats."

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Clay cooking pots.

For our meal to represent Western India, we made three different dishes. I forgot to take pictures until we were almost finished eating our meal. I quickly snapped a few pictures, before it was all gone.

"This Guiarati dish blends the sweetness of pumpkin with jaggery with the sourness of tamarind and amchoor. "

We made Gujarati Pumpkin with Tamarind, which had several ingredients foreign to us. One of the benefits of making dishes from foreign countries is that you become familiar with unfamiliar ingredients. In the Gukarati Pumpkin, the recipe calls for tamarind paste, jaggery and amchoor, none of which I was familiar with prior to our studies. I have discussed tamarind paste, but if you do not have it available, I have found that you can do a fairly accurate substitute by using lime juice and brown sugar in equal proportions. Jaggery is a concentrated combination of date, cane juice, or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, which can make it vary from golden brown to dark brown in color. If you cannot find it, a good substitute for this is brown sugar. Amchoor is a powder made from unripe mangoes. If you cannot locate this, lime juice is an acceptable substitute.

"Coconut milk is a perfect accompaniment to corn."

We made Diu Corn Curry. It is a simpler tasting, sweeter curry and was a good contrast to the complex sweet-sour taste of the Gujarati Pumpkin with Tamarind.

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Market Square, Diu

Diu is a small island in the Arabian Sea, just offshore from India's Gujarat. "Diu's pastel houses, narrow cobbled lands, tavernas and beaches are more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than India."

"A zingy fruit salad makes a perfect accompaniment to a spicy curry."

I had never had a savory fruit salad before, but was glad for the fruit's tart notes to off-set the heat and sweetness of the other dishes.

All quotes are from World Food Cafe by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott.

I have also linked up to the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.