Tajikistan...interesting.

Okay, so first of all, I can't tell time.  I said I would post this last night, and here it is 24 hours later.  Such is the life of a housewife.  LOL

Anyway, finally, I'm posting about our Tajikistanian dinner.  First of all, it was kinda hard to find recipes specific to that country.  There are lots of recipes native to that region, but not a lot I could find for Tajikistan in particular.  But, I did it!!  Success!!  We had Qurutob, Plov & Halva.  Try saying that three times fast.  There are various spellings and pronunciations of these words, but I think I got the right ones for Tajikistan. 

Traditionally, Tajiks eat meals of many courses, starting with dried fruits, nuts and maybe a sweet treat like Halva.  Next would be soup or a meat dish, then the Plov.  This is usually a communal dish, with a large wooden bowl of it placed in the center of the table.  The old way of eating this was with the hands.  Um, in my house, we'll eat in the modern style.  LOL  There is also what is considered the national dish of Tajikistan, the Qurutob.  This is also a communal dish eaten with the hands.  Okay, again, I strayed from tradition.  Hey, I'm dealing with a 5 year old.  It's hard enough already to keep her from making a mess.

Anyway, on to the reviews.  We kinda went backwards in our meal, starting with the meat, rice & dairy dishes, then finishing with the sweet item.  First, the Plov.  This was a little time consuming to make, mainly due to my trying to carve the fat off the lamb without carving my hand.  Using the lamb fat did make the dish rather rich & heavy on the stomach, but overall it was good.  A bit plain, but good.  Maybe I just didn't use enough spices, or mine are getting old & stale.


Next was the Qurutob.  This was really good, in my opinion.  Making the bread was easy, but I think I overworked mine.  It was a bit tough & chewy when all was said and done.  The taste, however, was tangy & smooth all at the same time.  The plain Greek yogurt has a much different taste from your common, every day plain yogurt.  Jeff said it had a cream cheese type taste.  All I know is I enjoyed it.  Too bad it had a lot of carbs & calories. 

Last, but not least, was the Halva.  Okay, I wasn't too crazy about this.  Maybe I didn't cook it long enough; maybe I overcooked it.  It was rather grainy, as if the sugar hadn't dissolved.  Also, I wasn't crazy about the tahini taste.  Jeff & Devon like it, but agreed it was rather rich and that a small piece was more than enough.  While at the International Food Club, I found several different brands & flavors already made & boxed.  I think next time I'll try one of these, see what the real, professionally made thing is like. 

So, there's my dinner from Tajikistan.   Not bad, but I don't think it's something I'll be doing on a regular basis.  Although, the Greek plain yogurt would make a good veggie dip.  Yum. 

Now, what's next?  Well, this week's Passport Dinner comes from Tonga.  Should be a very tropical dinner.  In the meantime, y'all take care!!

Food for thought...

The other day I was thinking about this journey I've decided to embark on; and am dragging my family along on.  I started thinking about how many countries there are, and how many weeks there are in a year.  It hit me (like a cast iron skillet) that I'm going to be doing this for about three years.  Wow!!  That's a lot of learning and trying new techniques, spices and foods. 

On top of that, I was starting to daydream about then embarking on a nationwide quest, preparing meals that are specific to each of the 50 states.  Like Florida gator tail; Louisiana jambalaya; Tennessee pulled pork barbecue versus North Carolina style.  You get the idea.  I almost fell over with the enormity of it all.  Devon would be a teenager and Sarah would be entering 4th grade by the time I finished.  Ack!!

Who knows, maybe I will do it.  If I do, then Jeff & I will have to come up with a new spice cabinet storage method.  So far I've not had to buy anything new, but I expect that will change.  HeeHee  And now, a quote I read today, from Jamie Oliver, third-generation chef, past star of his own TV show and current host of ABC's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: "You're going to eat a few times a day for the rest of your life, so you may as well enjoy it!"

I'll be back tonight with a post about my excursion to Tajikistan.  See ya!!