Cuba

I knew that the infamous Cuban sandwich was the way to go for my Cuban meal. Traditionally it's ham, pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on Cuban bread so naturally I had to make some substitutions. I used Yves ham and turkey slices to replace the meats, vegan mozzarella as my cheese, French baguette because I couldn't find Cuban bread anywhere, and then threw them on the panini press. I admit I had my doubts about this meat and condiment sandwich but after one bite I was sold. I served them with Frijoles Negros (Cuban black beans) mixed with brown rice, a pile of plantain chips, rum, and Coke with lime.

Frijoles Negros (Cuban black beans)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 (19 ounce/540 ml) can black beans, keep liquid
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Lime to taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.
2. Saute onions and green pepper until soft.
3. Add garlic and spices, saute 1 minute.
4. Add beans and liquid.
5. Simmer for 30 minutes.
6 Stir in vinegar and lime before serving.
7. Serve with brown rice.
(adapted from Recipezaar)

Scrap Eat World...

It all started when we picked a copy of a board game called Cuba. It's one of those strategy game's that can swallow an entire day if you get caught up in it. After a few weeks of clashing schedules we finally found a date in which all of us were free to vie for political control over a fictitious Cuba. In the spirit of the game I cracked open the rum, got out the Ibrahim Ferrer Cds and prepared a Cuban themed meal for us. This celebration of Cuba on a random Sunday afternoon was a hit.

That's when we knew we were onto something.

Why not take on the whole world? We got ourselves a world map puzzle, threw all the pieces in a virtual hat and began drawing new cultures to explore through food. This journey is about food, not travel. The challenge is that most of us are vegan.