Cuba - Our Third Meal

For our third meal, Mark cooked us a delicious meal from Cuba. I really enjoyed the ropa vieja (one of the national dishes of Cuba), with the succulent, slow-cooked beef and green olives. And Mark bought us some nice new cocktail glasses, in which we enjoyed some fresh mojitos.

During dinner, we watched a walking tour of Havana, which was very interesting. I know almost nothing about Cuba, but it was interesting to see that their beautiful architecture and city design reminded me of Italy and France, with the grand buildings and large open plazas, with added Spanish elements. (If you're interested, the Wikipedia article on the eclectic and multicultural architecture of Cuba is here.) I would definitely hope to visit one day. :)

After dinner, we watched an awesome Cuban horror comedy film, Juan of the Dead (2011), which neither of us had seen or heard of before. After a zombie outbreak strikes, slackers Juan and Lazaro start a business as zombie killers-for-hire. Very hilarious, with some awesome fight scenes, and a killer graphic animation at the end. Also, I found it very interesting that throughout the film's zombie outbreak, the Cuban government keeps televising news that blames the violence on "counter-revolutionary" political dissidents, and United States political interference. This kind of satire is very revealing, I think, about the nature of their government, and reminded me of Soviet propaganda. (Although as Mark pointed out, the US may well have interfered in Cuba's domestic affairs.) For context, the film came out prior to the restoration of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba on July 20, 2015, which had been severed since 1961, during the Cold War. I also really liked the scrapiness of the main character, Juan, and his ingenuity. Definitely recommend this one!

When? June 20, 2020
Who cooked? Mark
What's for dinner? (Recipe links) Ropa vieja, black beans, flan, rice, mojitos

Percent complete: 1.5%

Cuba Stats

• Population: 11,193,47
• GDP: 133
• Life Expectancy: 78.6
• Founding Date/Age in 2020: 1868/152 (another young country, like the US!)
• Official Language: Spanish

Morocco - Our Second Meal

For my first time cooking one of our 196 meals, I chose Morocco. I have always been interested in Morocco's culture, because they have such beautiful art and architecture, but I did not know much about Moroccan cuisine. I was interested to learn that it is itself a very multicultural cuisine, "typically a mix of Berber, Arab, Andalusi, and Mediterranean cuisines, with slight European and sub-Saharan influences," per the Wikipedia page. I love the tagine we bought - like a dutch oven but prettier.

When? May 29, 2020
Who cooked? Lauren
What's for dinner? (Recipe links) Beef kofte with spicy harissa tomato sauce, lamb tagine, pita (recipe from my friend Sarah), couscous, dates, peppermint tea. For dessert, we had slices of blood orange soaked in orange blossom water and sprinkled with powdered sugar (not shown here).

(I also made us cocktails with flavors inspired by Moroccan cuisine -- pomegranate juice, mandarin vodka, and orange-blossom water. However, while Morocco is not a dry country, it is predominantly Muslim, so this part of the meal was not really that authentic.)

I enjoyed everything. Mark said the lamb tagine was "phenomenal," so that was a win. :) I especially loved the harissa (spicy roasted red bell pepper flavor), which I have never had before. Definitely plan to keep buying harissa and adding it to sauces, it's delicious! I also didn't realize dates are so tasty - like a chewy, chocolaty flavor. Nice. I also enjoyed the sweetened peppermint tea in little glasses - apparently serving tea is the sine qua non of mealtime in Morocco.

We also watched a Moroccan movie after dinner, La Source des Femmes (2011), which was fantastic, about women in a rural Moroccan village who use a sex strike to try to lobby their husbands for greater freedoms, especially, the right not to suffer miscarriages due to carrying heavy pails of water from the remote source. Beautiful movie.

The small amount I have learned about Morocco through this experience has really made me want to visit - I hope we will, once it's safe to travel again!

Percent complete: 1%

Morocco Stats:

• Population: 35,946,383
• GDP: 300
• Life Expectancy: 76.5
• Founding Date/Age in 2020: 788/1232
• Official Language: Arabic; Tamazight (a language I had never heard of!)

Japan - Our First Meal

For my husband, Mark, and me, as for many people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant not being able to eat in the restaurants we love. We are big appreciators of food and love to try international cuisine, so we have set ourselves a new challenge - cooking a dinner meal from each country in the world. (Of course, we expect this project will last beyond the coronavirus!)

Given our love for all things Japan, it's no surprise that we picked our first meal to be from Japan!

This meal was a wonderful treat. It almost felt like we were back in Japan. Some day!

When? May 8, 2020
Who cooked? Mark
What's for dinner? Yakiniku (焼き肉, "grilled meat") with 3 kinds of beef, pork, and 3 kinds of vegetables, plus ponzu and homemade dipping sauce; rice; plum wine (umeshu)
Percent complete: 0.5%

Japan Stats:

• Population: 125,930,000
• GDP: 5,405
• Life Expectancy: 84.5 (highest in the world, due in part to their excellent support for the first 2000 days of life, and in part due to their healthy diet... not so much represented in this meal)
• Founding Date/Age in 2020: 660 BC/2680
• Official Language: Japanese
• Lowest commercial bank prime lending rate
• Highest public debt as percentage of GDP
• Best performance at World Judo & Karate Championships
• Best performance at World Baseball Classic
• Most patents granted
• Most merchant ships owned
• Most three-starred Michelin restaurants (32)