Food tips

One of the best elements of travelling is sampling local delicacies, so please don't order a burger and chips when you are in India - not only is the meat likely to be of a poor quality (sometimes so poor that it will make you sick), but you are turning down some of the most wonderful food in the world - and possibly offending your hosts.


Buy Local Food : Cultivate an awareness of how far your food travels. When Rich Pirog, Food Systems Program Leader for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, tracked the miles traveled for 16 types of produce, he found that locally sourced fruits and vegetables such as apples, lettuce and tomatoes traveled an average of 56 miles, compared to 1,494 miles — nearly 27 times farther — for the same fruits and vegetables delivered through conventional retail channels. Things get stickier with combination foods, strawberry yogurt for example. Pirog came up with 2,216 miles by adding up the distance traveled for the yogurt’s milk, sugar and strawberries. That figure could be slashed by 90 percent if you buy plain yogurt and stir in some locally grown honey and fruit.












Mulligan Stew with Blueberry Dumplings Recipe
Mulligan Stew with Blueberry Dumplings Category Stew Recipes 
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Ingredients And Procedures
Ingredients
1eachchicken (3 1/2-4 lb) cut in pieces
1tablespoonunsalted butter
1tablespoonvegetable oil
1pepper, freshly ground
2eachbay leaves
4eachthyme sprigs, fresh
4eachallspice berries
1mdrutabaga, peeled, cut in 1/2" cubes
1eachpotato, peeled, cut in 2" cubes
4eachcarrots, peeled, cut in 1/2" cubes
2cupgreen peas, fresh or frozen
3eachparsnips, cut in 1/2" cubes
  
  ---DUMPLINGS---
2cupflour, all-purpose
1tablespoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1/4teaspoonnutmeg, freshly grated
1eachegg, beaten
3tablespoonunsalted butter, melted
2/3cupbuttermilk
1/2cupwild blueberries, fresh or frozen OR 1/4 c golden raisins, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Rinse chicken well and pat it thoroughly dry. Heat the butter and oil in a large (at least 8 qt.) heavy stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the chicken pieces, season them generously with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides, seasoning the other side when you turn the pieces. Brown the chicken in several batches to avoid crowding the pan, 8 minutes per batch.

Transfer chicken to a plate or bowl, drain off half the fat in the pan, and then return the chicken to the pan. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Then add the herbs and rutabaga. Cover, and leaving the heat at medium-high, bring to a boil. Cook until rutabaga is nearly soft through but still somewhat crisp, about 10 minutes. Add the potato and the carrots, cover, and cook until carrots are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.

While the stew is cooking, make the dumpling dough. To do this, sift the flour, baking powder, 1 ts. salt, baking soda and nutmeg together into a medium-size bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg, melted butter and buttermilk; mix them together in the well with a small whisk, a fork or your fingers. Working quickly, incorporate the dry ingredients to make a fairly stiff dough. Fold in the blueberries or raisins.

Adjust the seasoning of the stew and make sure it is boiling merrily; then stir in the peas and parsnips. Next, one heaping tablespoon at a time, drop the dumpling dough on top of the stew so the dumplings are not touching. Cover, and cook just until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through, no longer than 15 minutes. Check them occasionally to be sure they don't overcook and become dry.

To serve, cut through the dumplings with a serving spoon, and laddle the chicken and vegetables into warmed shallow soup bowls (remove the thyme and bay leaves). Place the dumplings on top, serve immediately.
 
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