Riverventure has made a fascinating video that shows an encounter between adventurer Richard Bernabe and an alligator which you can see below (or here ).

Looking for a sophisticated recipe perfect for a first course appetizer or lunch? Try making this recipe for Crab and Coconut Risotto with Mango from the folks at Coastal Living.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk, divided
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated
1/2 pound lump crabmeat
1 ripe mango, chopped
Flaked coconut

How to Make Crab and Coconut Risotto with Mango
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

John Travolta may have said it best in the movie, Pulp Fiction, “It’s the little differences…”

One of the things that makes travel enlightening (whether it’s a trip from Charleston, SC to Asheville, NC eating regional barbecue along the way or a longer journey to India, Morocco, Korea, Malaysia, or Fiji sampling local foods and flavors) are all those little differences.

When you travel, all the common daily signposts of your everyday life are replaced at every turn with (sometimes slightly, sometimes vastly) different options and opportunities.

You can’t just pop down to your default neighborhood restaurant after work, absentmindedly order the daily special, and bolt right after finishing; because there is no default, everyday way of doing things the first time one visits somewhere new. There is no “regular’ or “the usual” to order.

There’s just you: having a fresh experience with a new place: learning to navigate new customs, people, and ideas; and in a way, made more than a little new yourself by the encounter.

As the American author of the food blog, From Argentina With Love writes about her experience with one of the “little differences” she encountered on visits to her husband’s home country:

“This is how I knew I was going to fall in love with Argentina:

Argentinos eat gnocchi together on the 29th of every month, and it’s a national holiday.

Excuse me while I swoon.

Yes, that’s right–people all over the country get together on the same day every month just to eat gnocchi. Now, that’s my idea of a national holiday! I didn’t grow up with any sort of food traditions that are celebrated like this on a national level. But in Argentina, the tradition is that on the 29th day of each and every month, one is supposed to eat gnocchi. Okay, twist my arm…

Argentinos are fond of the expression ‘a full belly, a happy heart,’ and on the 29th they prepare Ñoquis (as they spell it) at home and invite friends over to share the meal; it’s also quite common to find ñoquis on the menu in restaurants on this day. Either way, diners end up both full and happy.”

You can read more of her post about her experiences eating gnocchi on the 29th, (as well as her recipe for gnocchi) here.

You might also want to read Heidi Swanson’s informative post on How to Make Gnocchi Like an Italian Grandmother here.

More than 20 million Argentinos have at least one Italian forefather, making Italians the largest ethnic group in Argentina (giving them the third largest concentration of people of Italian origin in the world).

As a result of this concentration, food influenced by Italian cuisine is popular and readily available in most parts of Argentina.

Uruguay, Argentina’s tiny neighbor to the east, also celebrates gnocchi day each 29th. 1.5 million people in Uruguay are of Italian ancestry, (almost half of its population) so Italian cuisine exerts a large culinary influence there as well.

What “little differences” have you found on your travels (whether around the world or to the next town) and how did they change you?

Do you have strong opinions on food and travel? Why not take one of our growing collection of anonymous food polls on the site (or find out what others have answered)?

You can find the polls here…enjoy!

As part of this week’s special two part series on food preservation, here’s the second installment: Fun With Garlic Scapes.

What Are Garlic Scapes?

Heads of garlic are an essential part of any gourmet kitchen, but did you know that there’s much more to garlic than its cloves?

Garlic scapes (also known as garlic tops, garlic shoots, green garlic, spring baby garlic, garlic spears, early garlic greens, or garlic “flowers”) are the curly tipped, extremely tasty green shoots that grow from “heads” of hardneck (or topset) garlic which are usually discarded before harvesting in most of the U.S.

This is quite a shame because garlic scapes are a versatile and nutritious culinary treasure that is valued in Korean, Chinese, Thai, Polynesian, and coastal French cuisine. (Asian markets with produce sections are virtually guaranteed to stock fresh garlic scapes in season, but you can also find them at farmers’ markets, and gourmet supermarkets. Frozen garlic scapes are even easier to find and are readily available year-round in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets.)

Taste-wise, garlic scapes are to garlic heads what scallions are to onions. They are garlicky but with a fresh “green” taste. They can be used in any dish where one usually uses garlic but wants a brighter, more complex garlic flavor with less bite than one would get from standard garlic cloves.

Garlic scapes work well in soups, salads, stews, salsas, dips, guacamole, omelettes, frittatas, souffles, marinades, pesto, salad dressings, and stir-fry. They can also be pickled and added to homemade flavored vinegars. Scapes are also delightful when cooked into sauces.

A simple but wonderful garlic scape spread can be made by chopping some up and mixing them with softened cream cheese (or sour cream) and dill. When added to mayonnaise to make an aioli, the flavor of chopped garlic scapes becomes milder and the savory notes are more apparent. I also like to make a nice garlic scape dressing with sour cream to add to salads, use as a dip for crackers, Triscuits, toast points, and pork rinds or to spoon over a nice salad.

Garlic scapes also make an interesting side dish. Here’s a simple but good recipe for roasted garlic scapes I came across awhile ago:

Roasted Garlic Scapes

Take the scapes and put them in a lightly oiled roasting pan, top with salt (kosher or sea salt works best). Put the loaded and covered pan in a hot (425°F) oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until they are beginning to turn brown. serve as a side or main dish. Tastes like roasted garlic but creamier. This is also good drizzled with a light cheese sauce.

Here’s a recipe for garlic scape pesto:

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or even better in my experience, Tallegio cheese)
3 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 lb. garlic scapes
1/2-cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Puree’ scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste.

More Uses For Garlic Scapes:

You can also chop up garlic scapes and use them for seasoning, just like regular garlic.

Garlic scapes can be dehydrated, or preserved as a pesto. They also freeze well for future use.

NOTE: The numbers in the photo above correspond to the instructions below…Have fun using your new spice!

Why Make Your Own Garlic Scape Spice?

Since the garlic scape season is a fairly short one in many parts of the country, this recipe will allow you to conveniently add the bright taste of garlic scapes to your meals all year round. This spice can also be added to homemade dehydrated soup mixes so you can have the taste of garlic on the go, and in a lightweight yet durable format for campers, etc. This would also make a great homemade gift for any die-hard garlic lover!

This recipe also allows garlic scape nuts…er afficianados to justify large purchases of garlic scapes in season because dehydrated scapes take up much less space than fresh ones and have a long shelf life while still retaining their flavor and nutritional value.

As far as I know, no company has yet decided to put garlic scape spice on the market, so if you want to enjoy the goodness of garlic scape spice, you’ll have to make your own.

The Method:

To get started, all you need are some garlic scapes, an electric multi-tray dehydrator, and a food processor or sharp knife.

1. Grab a few handfuls of garlic scapes, clean them, and shake the water out. Use a food processor to puree’ your garlic scapes (you may need to cut them in pieces before loading them into the food processor). Or chop your garlic scapes with a sharp kitchen knife as finely as you can.

2. Pour the pureed garlic scapes onto the trays of your electric dehydrator and turn it on. Dehydration should take 4-6 hours. The garlic scapes are done when they are dry and brittle like the dried chives you get in the spice jars you find in the supermarket.

3. To give your garlic scape spice a versatile, dried chive texture, use a mortar and pestle and grind the newly dried spice until it’s the texture you like. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can hand crumble the spice in a bowl instead.

4. To give your garlic scape spice a fine, powdery texture, just pour the dried scapes into your food processor or coffee mill/spice grinder and process until fine. Or just keep processing it until it’s the right texture with a mortar and pestle.

Tip: If you opt for the fine texture, you can mix it with salt and/or other spices to make your own custom garlic scape spice blend. If you opt for the “chive” texture and decide down the road that you’d prefer to make a spice blend, you can always grind it finer and add your salt or other spices later.

5. Store your finished garlic scape spice in a glass bottle…enjoy!

Want to learn more about the pleasures of garlic scapes? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a nice overview here.

Are you a gardener? Here’s how to grow the type of garlic that produces garlic scapes.

Spicelines also has a nice Hong Kong inspired recipe for Beef and Garlic Shoots in Oyster Sauce you might want to try.

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow in three parts as:

• How to Use Garlic Scapes and Shoots in Recipes

• How to Make Your Own Homemade Garlic Scape Spice

• How to Make Fresh Garlic Scape Pesto

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

As part of this week’s special two part series on food preservation, here’s the first installment: How to Dehydrate Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, & Blackberries.

NOTE: The numbers in the photo above correspond to the instructions below…Enjoy your berries!

Home dehydration is an easy way to preserve the taste of berries (and other fruits and vegetables) year round, whether you stock up on them on sale, or harvest them yourself. Unlike other methods of food preservation (ie. freezing and canning), dehydration allows you to preserve those tasty jewels with almost no loss of flavor or nutrition.

Note: This recipe also works for cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. but to keep things simple I will be referring to blueberries throught this recipe.

Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits for the beginner to dehydrate well. Unlike some other fruits and vegetables they need almost no advance preparation (blanching, etc.) and require no added sugar, sulfites, or other preservatives. This makes them a truly great fruit to dehydrate…

Store bought dehydrated blueberries are often hard to find and expensive and usually contain sulfites (which are completely unnecessary for blueberries) and added sugar.

Uses: Dehydrated blueberries are great added to muffins, scones, and pancakes, as well as sprinkled in your cereal. They are also great as part of a healthy trail mix if you are a camper, hiker, long distance biker, or mountain climber.

Equipment: To get started, all you need is your fruit, a knife to cut the fruit, a colander, and an electric multi-tray dehydrator. (Depending on your local weather and climate, you can sun-dry many fruits and veggies but an electric dehydrator is quicker in most cases.)

1. Start with fresh, high quality blueberries. Hand wash them with water in a colander, then shake out as much water as possible and put in a bowl.

2. You can dehydrate whole blueberries as easily and as well as halved blueberries, but halving cuts down on the dehydration time quite a bit (about 40%), so I suggest first halving all the blueberries.

3. Lay your halved blueberries cut side down on the dehydrator trays, leaving at least half a blueberry’s thickness sized space between each berry (approx. 1/16 of an inch).

4. Place your first filled dehydrator rack in your open dehydrator.

5. As you continue to fill dehydrator racks with berries, stack the completed racks on top of each other.

6. When you are out of blueberries to stack on racks, put the cover on your dehydrator and turn it on!

Time: Like microwaves, different dehydrators take different times to do their job. Blueberries take between 8-12 hours to dehydrate; my old Wearever dehydrator takes 11 hours to do 6 racks of blueberries. The important thing to remember is that you want the finished blueberries to be leathery but still chewy; like very dry raisins.

Tip: I like to set my dehydrator up a few hours before I go to bed so it can work while I sleep, but you can also set it up just before you leave for work and come home to a batch of preserved berries!

At the 7 1/2-8 hour mark you might want to check on your blueberries to see how they are doing. The blueberries on the bottom racks will dry out sooner than the ones in the top racks as they are closer to the heat source, so you might want to see if they need to be “harvested early”.

Tip: Get a cheap plug in appliance timer and set it for 8 hours and plug your dehydrator in it so your dehydrator turns itself off if it is the kind of dehydrator that doesn’t have a time off option. Dehydrators with built-in timers often cost quite a bit more than those that don’t and it isn’t really worth the extra expense.

After you “harvest” your blueberries, allow them to cool a little before storing them in resealable bags, mason jars, or cannisters to preserve their freshness.

Have fun!

Note: This original Hugging the Coast article also appears on eHow as:

• How to Dehydrate Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, & Blackberries

(You can see more Hugging the Coast eHow articles here.)

ETVRoadShow has made an interesting video that talks about the chefs that make Charleston, SC’s famous Lowcountry cuisine which you can see below (or here ).

Looking for a a truly wonderful recipe that’s also fun for gatherings and parties? (Best of all, the whole family can help!) Try making this recipe for Steamed Seafood Dumplings from the folks at Cooking.Com.

Ingredients:

For the Dumplings:

1/2 pound center-cut cod fillet
1 large egg
1/4 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup minced water chestnuts
2 scallions, white and green parts, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
35 wonton wrappers (about 3 inches in diameter)
3 to 4 large Chinese cabbage or lettuce leaves

For the Sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh coriander leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

How to Make Steamed Seafood Dumplings
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

Spring is here and there’s nothing that celebrates Spring quite like a Southern festival…good music, good food, good company!

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, here’s a roundup of some of the best Southern food festivals for Spring and Early Summer 2008.

Highlights of the season include Charleston, SC’s world famous Spoleto Festival, the International Bar-B-Q Festival in Owensboro, KY, Tryon, NC’s Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival, and the Appalachian Evening Summer Concert Series and Appalachian Dinner in Robbinsville, NC.

Below is Doug DuCap’s recipe for Moroccan Charbroiled Lamb & Fennel Stew with Seven-Seed Couscous which made it to the  Semi-Finals of the 2008 Redwood Creek Campfire Classic, held at the Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor.

Below is a photo of the Moroccan Charbroiled Lamb & Fennel Stew which can either be cooked outdoors over a campfire, on a grill, or in your home kitchen.

Ingredients:

For the Grilled Lamb:

1-1/2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika (or a combination of Sweet and Smoked Paprika)
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander Seed
1/2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1-1/2 lbs lean Lamb, cut into small (3/4″) cubes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

For the Stew:

1/4 cup Almonds, slivered or chopped
1/4 cup Pistachio kernels, whole
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup diced Yellow Onion (about 1 medium onion or 1/2 large)
3 large cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium bulb Fennel (fronds, stems, and core removed), cut in 1/2 inch pieces
Spice Mix (see below)
12 Dried Apricots, cut in half
8 Dried Mission Figs, cut in half
1/4 cup Golden Raisins
1 - 15oz can Garbanzo Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 - 15oz can Chopped Tomatoes, drained
1 - 15oz can Chicken Broth
3/4 cup Water
2 small Summer Squash, cut in 1/2 inch rounds
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 cup (lightly packed) Cilantro Leaves, chopped
Fennel fronds for garnish (optional)

Spice Mix: (Note: can be packed in advance)
1 tsp each Ground Coriander Seed, Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp each of Ground Cinnamon, Coarse Ground Black Pepper, Salt
1/4 tsp each of Ground Nutmeg, Ground Allspice, Cayenne Pepper

For the Couscous:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Seed Mix (see below)
2-1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Salt
1-10oz pkg Plain Couscous (approx. 1-2/3 cups)
1 tsp (or more, to taste) Lemon Zest (optional)

Seed Mix: (Note: can be packed in advance)
2 Tbsp Sunflower Seed kernels
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 tsp each Caraway Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Anise Seeds

Recipe follows…

(more…)

“Before I’d arrived at this dark, back-alley restaurant in Tokyo, I’d been told that trust was the most crucial element involved when choosing a fugu chef. It was like selecting a heart surgeon or a private pilot. ‘The fugu chef has your life in his hands,’ one of my Japanese friends had said. Which is why my first impulse, upon greeting Mr. Naohisa Hashimoto, is to turn around, in the most diplomatic possible way, of course, and run screaming back to my hotel. Hashimoto is dressed in a white chef’s coat that’s slightly stained around the pockets with fish guts. He has a spiky haircut, like the wires on a brush, and big, prominent ears, which give him a passing resemblance to Don Knotts.

His little restaurant, called Mukoujima Hashimoto, is located on a lonely residential street in the working-class Sumida section of Tokyo (’If we are in New York, this is Queens,’ my interpreter says), a tidy establishment with just three low-slung tables set over tatami matting. The chef lives above his place, like an old-time saloon keeper. Only tonight, there are no sounds of clattering pots coming from upstairs, no comforting pitter-patter of tiny children’s feet. There are no waiters, either; no dishwashers, no friendly neighbors dropping by for a cup of tea. As every food-obsessed traveler knows, the first rule when looking for a decent meal in a strange place is to choose a crowded room. But on this April Friday evening in otherwise bustling Tokyo, this curious little fugu restaurant is as empty as a tomb.”

New York Magazine writer Adam Platt lives to tell the tale of his risky experience eating fugu in Japan, of which Ruth Reichl said, “It’s like eating fluke, only you’re playing Russian roulette”.

You can read more of Adam Platt’s article here.

According to Wikipedia’s article on fugu…

“The poison, a sodium channel blocker, paralyzes the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious, and eventually dies from asphyxiation. There is currently no antidote, and the standard medical approach is to try to support the respiratory and circulatory system until the effect of the poison wears off. It is alleged that non-lethal quantities of the poison remain in the flesh of the fish and give a special desired tingling sensation on the tongue, which leads to the fingers.”

Most properly prepared fugu is safe. However, for more than 50% of fugu’s few victims, death occurs within the first 24 hours.

Would you fugu?

Dining Under the Sea in The Maldives

Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to dine on the Titanic? What about experiencing fine dining 17th and 18th Century style while the music of Mozart is performed? Would you like to dine in bed, in prison, under the sea, in a crypt, or near the rim of an active volcano?

Then you’ll enjoy visiting the Most Unusual Restaurants Around the World Page.

Frequently updated, this page also lists restaurants in which all foods served are made with garlic, apples, animal reproductive organs, or offer only aphrodisiac foods on their menus.

Bon Appetit!

Amydeanne has made a short but sweet video that shows what it’s like to drive on the beautiful Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge in Charleston, SC which you can see below (or here ).

The Arthur Ravenel is the longest cable stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere, with a main span more than 1500 feet long and is definitely one of the most visually interesting bridges on the East Coast.

You can find out more about how it was built here.

Looking for a a truly wonderful recipe that captures the flavors of the season? Try making this recipe for Baja Fish Tacos from the folks at the The Paupered Chef.

Ingredients:

For the Tortillas:

½ cup minus 1 tablespoon lard
3 cups flour
1 scant tablespoon salt
1¼ cup very warm water

For the White Sauce:

fresh lime juice
½ cup yogurt
½ mayonnaise
1 habenero chili (use a milder one if you wish)
½ teaspoon - crushed oregano
½ teaspoon - ground cumin
½ teaspoon - dried, crushed dill
½ teaspoon - ground cayenne chile
ground white pepper to taste

For the Fish & Batter:

1¼ lbs Cod or Tilapia, cut into 1 inch wide strips
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 beer, not dark
shredded cabbage

How to Make Baja Fish Tacos
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

Planning to do some serious hiking, biking, or backpacking and need a simple way to make nutritious meals on the run using a minimum of dishes and cooking equipment? Then thermos cooking might be for you.

For most meals made in a thermos (you’ll need a fully stainless steel-lined 1 quart thermos with a small-medium sized opening like the Aladdin Stanley, not those wide-mouthed, styrofoam insulated cheapies that the kids take to school) all you’ll need is a good thermos, the ingredients you plan to cook, some hot water, and a little patience.

Plus, if you’re camping, boating, etc. and don’t have easy access to boiling water, simple hot water will do…however be prepared for the cooking process to take a bit longer. (For many, thermos cooking can also be a good technique to know in the event of an extended power outage.)

The best way to get started with thermos cooking is to read this thread about it which has tips and recipes for successful and easy thermos cookery from people who do it for a wide variety of reasons.

There’s also another good thread here where the author compares his experiences cooking steel-cut oats, grits, stew, pasta, etc. on a conventional stovetop with those he had cooking in a thermos.

Below are two Youtube videos from Videocamper in which he shows how to get started with cooking with foil outdoors. In the video, he makes Cornish game hen, asparagus, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots while demonstrating the technique.

Cooking in foil is a convenient adaptation of a French technique of cooking in parchment paper called en papillote that is perfect for outdoor cooking. Foil cooking seals in all the delicious juices of the foods you are cooking, cuts down greatly on cleanup, and is a fun way to cook in the great outdoors.

In most cases, you’ll want to use heavy-duty foil for best results and improved durability. Cooks.Com has some good recipes on the topic to get you started here.

Part I:

Part II:

Another method that some people use to cook with foil is cooking on a car engine. Instructables.com has a nice series of tips if you’d like to give it a try. Wisebread also has a good article about it here.

Solar oven cooking is a method of cooking which is completely powered by the sun that sometimes uses foil for its heat reflecting and/or insulating properties. Here are some free plans you can use to experiment with solar cooking.

Since this site’s Doug DuCap is going to compete in the Redwood Creek Campfire Classic Semi-Finals this weekend, we thought we’d focus a bit on the joys of outdoor cooking this week…

Cooking with a pie iron is one of the simple pleasures of outdoor cooking. Often made of cast iron, these long handled and inexpensive devices offer campers, RVers, backpackers, and other fans of outdoor cooking a simple and fun way for the whole family to make toasted sandwiches, campfire “pizzas”, cornbreads, and pies over an open fire or briquets.

Commonly available in single (pictured above) or double width (so you can toast two sandwiches or pies at a time), you can find pie irons in the camping, cookout, or kitchen section of most larger stores as well as at a variety of online retailers.

As the folks at ChuckWagonDinner.Com say:

“A Pie Iron is a mold of cast iron or aluminum, with handles. Each side also serves as a small skillet. Bread is placed in first and then the filling into the generous cooking cavity. The two sides close and are then placed over hot coals.

The solid cast iron design holds up to the rigors of the campfire best but must be watched closely to avoid burning. Pie Iron’s are fun to use, and make terrific sandwiches and desserts…Other terms for pie iron fare include: Toasties, Mountain Pies, Hobo Pies, Pudgie Pies and Pie Shams.”

Cast iron pie irons should be seasoned for best performance. You can find out how here.
KOA (Kampgrounds of America) has a delicious list of pie iron recipes, as does PieIron.com.

Also, here’s a few more easy pie iron recipes from ChuckWagonDiner.Com:

• Portabella Melts

• Grilled Salmon Sandwich

• Perfect Pie Iron Pizza

• Chili Cheese Cornbread

• Peanut Butter Cup Melt

• Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

• Grog Cakes

• Fresh Fruit Pies