MORE FOODS

                                                    More Experiences

Lentil Soup

Every noon for fifteen days I consumed lentil soup for lunch. Why? While traveling in Scotland, we found ourselves each day in a castle, fort or museum at noontime.

Suddenly I’d look at my watch and tell my traveling buddy, “We only have fifteen minutes left.”

We’d then hurry to the ever-present café. Lentil soup was always ready, hot, and quick to serve. More than once I added an ice cube to my steaming soup to quickly cool it to eating temperature. The lentil soup and a crusty roll hit the spot.

The soup varied a bit, but was always tasty and good. We enjoyed the quick service, and always joined the others on time.

Yak Burger and Milk

In Tibet I ate a yak burger at the hotel and found it quite tasty, very similar to a beefburger. I ate a yak steak at a local restaurant, complete with entertainment. It was a fun-filled evening and I was even kissed by a yak. The yak milk was good although quite different. Sweet, it was drunk warm.

Borsch

Borsch is a traditional Russian soup. The main ingredients are beets and cabbage. Borsch can be pink to deep red depending on the amount of beets used. It can be thin or thick like a stew. Other available vegetable chunks and or sausage may be added. I had the best borsch in Kiev, Ukraine, and the worst at the Moscow hotel. I like borsch and enjoyed very good ones in between those two.

Bugs anyone?

In Oaxaca, Mexico, people eat chapulines, fried grasshoppers, like we eat candy. There often was a small bowl of them on the restaurant table. There were huge baskets full of chapulines in all the local markets.

Most natives pull off the legs before popping the crisp critters in their mouth. I was game to try them, but they are not a favorite treat.

I brought home a commercially sealed jar of them that could pass through airport agriculture. It was fun watching people’s reactions as I shared them.

Porridge

Porridge (oatmeal) is always included in a Scottish breakfast. The country is well known for its good oats. Porridge is never lumpy, is served piping hot and never with sugar, but a bit of milk is permissible.

Tortes

Tortes are a common dessert, and perhaps the most famous one is Vienna’s Sacher Torte. The multi layered chocolate cake with apricot filling between each layer is a long time specialty of the Sacher Hotel. When in Vienna one must put this treat on their agenda.

Hokey Pokey

We were told that New Zealand’s favorite i.e. national ice cream is hokey pokey. Of course this ice creamaholic had to try it. We might call it butter pecan or butter crunch. It was good.