Burkina Faso is located in west Africa and might as well be a world away from our last stop on our Tastily Touring journey. Burkina Fasa, formerly the Republic of Upper Volta, is a landlocked country surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin,Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Usually we don’t mention the capitals of each country we visit, but the name of Burkina’s capital is Ouagadougou, which we love to try to spell without looking at the correct spelling.

Burkina Faso is about 105,000 square miles, approximately the size of Colorado. This west African nation is tropical with warm, dry winters and hot, wet summers. Of the approximately 15,800, 000 people who reside in Burkina 40% are Mossi and the other 60% is a mix of Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande and Fulani. The official language is French, however over 90% of the population speaks a native Africa language belonging to the Sudanic family. Islam is the main religion with 60% of the population Muslim and 19% Catholic.

Hunter gathers originally populated Burkina as far back as between 14,000-5,000 BCE.
Burkina Faso was once composed of Mossi Kingdoms that eventually became a French protectorate in 1896. Under the rule of the French until its independence in 1960, the Republic of Upper Volta did not come by its current name until 1984 when President Thomas Sankara who named the country Burkina (“men of integrity” from the Moore language) Faso ( “fatherland” from teh Dioula language). Those that reside in this country are called Burkinabe.

Burkina Faso is a mutliethnic nation with almost 60 different ethnic groups. Each region of the country is dominated by different ethnic, cultural and political groups. Further dividing the Burkinabe people is language. While French is the official language and taught in schools, the many who do not attend school do not speak it. Instead there are as many as 60 languages spoken throughout the country.

Naturally, with such a wide variety of ethnicities and languages there is bound to be a wide variety of foods. And, while this is true, the staple foods for most of the country remain the same, even if the ways in which it is prepared or seasoned varies.

The staple is tô which is a paste prepared with millet or corn flour. This thick porridge is served with a variety of sauces. In some regions yams are grown and are a staple while in other regions milk is a staple in the diet. Meat is not a regular staple in the diet of the Burkinabe unless they are wealthy. And, in areas where there is more wealth rice and pasta are added to the diet. One delicacy that we will leave to the Burkinabe are caterpillars.

Take a nice virtual tour of Burkina Faso by clicking here.

Banfora (Celtnet)

Banfora is a region in Burkina Faso, but also the name of cakes that are very similar to Welsh Cakes.

Ingredients

• 500g self-raising flour
• 250g butter
• 200g sugar
• 100g diced pineapple
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a few tbsp milk
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl cut the butter into the mixture then rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add the sugar and pineapple and then stir-in the beaten eggs.
3. Mix to a stiff dough and add a little milk if the mixture is too stiff.
4. Tip onto a floured surface and knead lightly before rolling out to 5mm thick.
5. Cut the dough into 6cm rounds then fry on a lightly-greased griddle pan over low heat until the cakes are lightly browned on both sides.
6. Cool on a wire rack and serve sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Since I still do not use this measuring system. I used my scale, which weighs in grams as well as ounces, to measure out the ingredients. If you don’t have a scale with both, it is a good investment and not that expensive to purchase one that measurers in both systems.

Brunei Darussalam’s official name is the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace. It is located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia and is bordered by the South China Sea and Malaysia. It is in Southeast Asia that we find ourselves as we continue our tastily touring journey.

The Brunei Empire thrived from the 15thcentury to the 17th century. During Brunei’s golden age it controlled the entire island of Borneo and into the Philippines. Chinese and Arabic records show that as early as the seventh or eighth century A.D. an ancient kingdom existed near the Brunei River. After a succession of Empires controlled the area the Brunei Empire emerged to dominate the area.

While the rise of European colonialism and influence in the region disrupted the economic trading flow Brunei was able to survive internal battles. However, it became a protectorate of the British government that maintained internal independence while external interests were controlled by the British. Brunei did not become a fully independent state until January 1, 1984.

The official language of Brunei is Malay while English and Chinese are also spoken. Around 66% of the population is ethnically Malay. The culture in Brunei is derived from the Malay civilization. Brunei culture was influenced by animism, Hinduism, Islam and Europe. Islam took the greatest hold and is the official religion of Brunei. Islam heavily influences the culture.

The food of Brunei shares similarities to the food of Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. The meals are spicy and often served with rice and noodles, which are staple foods in the Bruneian diet. Beef is expensive so fish is a staple protein. And, due to religious belief pork is not eaten and alcoholic beverages are banned. Chinese and Indian foods are woven into the culinary tapestry of Brunei as well.

The following recipe calls for pandan leaves, which can be found at Asian markets. Pandan leaves come from a tropical plant called Pandanus amaryllifolius. The leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking to enhance flavor. They have a bit of a nutty flavor and are used in many rice dishes and cakes.

Black Rice Pudding (Bubur Ketan Hitam)
Recipe from Asianrecipe.com

Ingredients
1¾ cup black glutinous rice
2 pandan leaves
5 cups of water
½ cup palm sugar syrup
Pinch of salt
1½ cups fresh squeezed thick coconut milk

Directions

1. Rinse rice thoroughly for 2 minutes under running water. Drain well. Put 5 cups of water, rice and pandan leaves into a heavy stockpot. Simmer over medium heat for approximately 40 minutes.

2. Add palm sugar syrup and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from heat, allow to cool. Serve at room temperature, topped with a swirl of fresh squeezed creamy coconut milk.

3. Helpful hints: As fresh coconut milk turns rancid fairly quickly, a pinch of salt is usually added to the milk to preserve it for a few hours.

The British Indian Ocean Territory is our next Tastily Touring stop. And, once again we are in a part of the world that is uninhabited. The BIOT also known as the Chagos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom that consists of six main island groups that comprise the Chagos Archipelago. There are about one thousand tiny islands with 23 total square miles. The largest island is home to a UK/US joint naval support facility. The remaining islands are uninhabited.

BIOT is located in the Indian Ocean between Africa and Indonesia. These islands were charted by Vasco da Gama in the early 1500’s and then claimed by France, becoming a possession of the Mauritius. Eventually agricultural workers (some of them slaves) were brought to the islands to work plantations. These workers were eventually known as Chagossians.

In 1810 the United Kingdome captured Mauritius and France gave over the territory in the Treaty of Paris. By the 1970’s the agricultural workers were relocated to Mauritius and Lawsuits were also filed by the islanders seeking the right to return to the territory, which was denied and by 2004, on the largest island of Diego Garcia the joint naval facility almost 4000 UK and US military and civilian personnel resided on the island.

Information regarding foods eaten by the Chagossians is not readily available so since the BIOT is a territory of the UK we decided to go with one of our favorites for breakfast or far an afternoon tea. Scones with jam are a perfect breakfast or snack choice. They are especially good with fresh, homemade strawberry jam as it is that time of year when strawberries are plentiful. Try them with a bit of clotted cream for a completely British experience.

Scones (Alton Brown)
Ingredients
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup cream
1 egg
Handful dried currants, cranberries or raisins

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. Cut in butter and shortening. In a separate bowl, combine cream with beaten egg then add to dry ingredients. Stir in fruit.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Roll dough out and cut into biscuit size rounds. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown

Clotted Cream (Alton Brown)
Ingredients
2 cups pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized) cream

Directions

1. Set a coffee filter basket, lined with a filter, in a strainer, over a bowl.
2. Pour the cream almost to the top of the filter. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. The whey will sink to the bottom passing through the filter leaving a ring of clotted cream. Scrape this down with a rubber spatula and repeat every couple of hours until the mass reaches the consistency of soft cream cheese.

Make sure you use pasteurized cream NOT ultra-pasteurized. The recipe is not going to work if you use ultra-pasteurized. Also, there are other recipes that are more traditional and the cream is cooked in the oven at a very low temperature for a very long time. We like this recipe during warm weather so that we do not have to leave the oven on for longer than it takes to bake the scones.
Click here for directions on how to make strawberry jam.

Photography Data:
Featured Photographer
Daniel Gilbey
ApertureFNumber: f/5.0
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 5D
ExposureTime: 1/15
FNumber: 5/1
ExposureProgram: 3
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Flash: 16

Brazil has the largest population in Latin America and ranks fifth in the world. It is currently the fifth largest economy in the world and is home to the Amazon Rainforest and is a popular location for tourism. Most of the 190 million Brazilians live in the south-central area, which includes the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas.

Brazil’s impressive Atlantic Ocean coastline is 4, 655 miles long and it is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Brazil is bordered by Colombia on the northwest and by Bolivia and Peru in the west. Argentina and Paraguay border Brazil in the southwest while Uruguay borders the south. Brazil, amazingly, borders all South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.

Brazil was given to Portugal as part of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494; however the first person to officially claim Brazil for Portugal was Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese settled Brazil in the 1500’s and it remained a colony for three centuries. The initial settlers were simple people looking to find natural resources to trade. They weren’t as interested in conquering and exploring as the Spanish in other South American colonies. The name Brazil comes from an Amerindian word Brasil, which describes a dark rosewood. This wood became the main export for many years but the exportation of Brasil wood was banned in 1968.

Brazil is rich in natural resources such as iron, tin, aluminum, gold, platinum, copper and coal. Agriculturally rich, Brazil exports coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus and beef. Brazil is culturally rich as well. Many of the European settlers in Brazil intermarried with native Indians and slaves creating a diverse ethnic environment that gives Brazil a vibrant culture to this day.

The food you will discover in Brazil varies from region to region, but the national dish of the country is feijoada. Each Brazilian puts their own touch on this meal, making it their own, making it a perfect national dish for a country with so much diversity.

We could not pass on this dish even though the weather might be too warm for such a hardy meal. It is a very convenient meal and you, like all Brazilians can make feijoada your own by adjusting it to suit your taste. This one dish with many interpretations truly represents one country with many diverse ethnicities.

Feijoada (Found at Celebrate Brazil)
Ingredients

Raw bacon – 3 strips
Onions – 2 small to medium size
Garlic – 3 cloves or you can substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Smoked sausage – 1 pound
Boneless beef – 1 pound
Stewed tomatoes with juice – 14 ounce can
Hot water – 1 cup
Yellow mustard – 1 Tablespoon
Canned black beans with juice – 4 cups
Salt and pepper to taste

Make the stew:

1. Cut the raw bacon strips into large pieces and fry them at medium-high heat setting in a large pot for about 3 minutes. Don’t let them stick to the bottom of the pot.

2. Reduce the heat setting to medium.

3. Dice the onions, peel and chop the garlic, and add both ingredients to the pot with the bacon. Cook until the onions become soft, which is about 3 minutes.

4. Cut the beef and sausage into bite-size pieces and add them to the pot.

5. The meat should be cooked until all sides of the meat are browned.

6. Add the stewed tomatoes and juice, water, mustard, and salt and pepper to your desired taste.

7. Turn the temperature setting down to simmer and cover the pot.

8. Cook the entire stew for about 45 minutes. Stir it often to meld the flavors.

9. Add water if the consistency is too thick for you. Don’t add more than 1/4 cup of water at a time.

10. After the stew has cooked for 45 minutes, add the black beans and juice and stir.

11. Return the cover to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes.

Photography Data:
ApertureFNumber: f/5.6
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3100
ExposureTime: 1/125
FNumber: 56/10
ExposureProgram: 1
ISOSpeedRatings: 100
MaxApertureValue: 10/10
MeteringMode: 2
LightSource: 0
Flash: 0
FocalLength: 500/10

Bouvet Island is our next destination in our tastily touring series. Bouvet Island is an uninhabited, Antarctic islet. It is one of the world’s most isolated islands and lies almost 1500 miles south west of the Cape of Good Hope (Southern Africa) and about 1000 miles north or Antarctica. The center of Bouvet Island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano. Because of its volcanic origin the island is rocky with cliffs surrounding the coast. Ice covered and rocky make landing on Bouvet Island challenging.

Bouvet Island is a dependent territory of Norway and is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which is basically an agreement first established in 1961. The treaty has been signed by 49 nations that agree to keep Antarctica as a scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent.

The French navigator Jean-Baptist-Charles Bouvet de Lozier discovered the island in 1739.

Expeditions by the Germans and the Norwegians occurred between Bouvet Island’s discover and the 1920’s when Norway claimed the island, hoping to make it a whaling station. In 1971 Norway declared the island a nature preserve.

The harsh climate of Bouvet Island has limited the amount of vegetation to lichens and mosses. Seals, seabirds and penguins reside on the island. It has been labeled IBA (Important Bird Area) by Bird Life International, an organization promoting the preservation of the bird populations of the world.

So, what food could we possible share that would be appealing when on an expedition to an island that looks like an iceberg? How about a warm serving of bread pudding? Sweet and delicious, bread pudding is the kitchen sink of desserts. You can add anything you have on hand.

Take a peek at Bouvet Island, and then tell us what you would want to eat if you were on an expedition to Bouvet Island?

Bread Pudding (Adapted from Paula Dean)

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed brioche or Challah, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup slivered almonds (plus extra for garnish)
1 cup raisins
¼ cup brandy
Pistachios , chopped(optional, had them on hand), for garnish
For the sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
2. Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla and brandy. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, almonds and raisins
4. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

For the sauce:

Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is melted. Add the brandy, stirring well. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.

Bouvet Island is our next destination in our tastily touring series. Bouvet Island is an uninhabited, Antarctic islet. It is one of the world’s most isolated islands and lies almost 1500 miles south west of the Cape of Good Hope (Southern Africa) and about 1000 miles north or Antarctica. The center of Bouvet Island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano. Because of its volcanic origin the island is rocky with cliffs surrounding the coast. Ice covered and rocky make landing on Bouvet Island challenging.

Bouvet Island is a dependent territory of Norway and is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which is basically an agreement first established in 1961. The treaty has been signed by 49 nations that agree to keep Antarctica as a scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent.

The French navigator Jean-Baptist-Charles Bouvet de Lozier discovered the island in 1739.

Expeditions by the Germans and the Norwegians occurred between Bouvet Island’s discover and the 1920’s when Norway claimed the island, hoping to make it a whaling station. In 1971 Norway declared the island a nature preserve.

The harsh climate of Bouvet Island has limited the amount of vegetation to lichens and mosses. Seals, seabirds and penguins reside on the island. It has been labeled IBA (Important Bird Area) by Bird Life International, an organization promoting the preservation of the bird populations of the world.

So, what food could we possible share that would be appealing when on an expedition to an island that looks like an iceberg? How about a warm serving of bread pudding? Sweet and delicious, bread pudding is the kitchen sink of desserts. You can add anything you have on hand.

Take a peek at Bouvet Island, and then tell us what you would want to eat if you were on an expedition to Bouvet Island?

Bread Pudding (Adapted from Paula Dean)

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cubed brioche or Challah, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup slivered almonds (plus extra for garnish)
1 cup raisins
¼ cup brandy
Pistachios , chopped(optional, had them on hand), for garnish
For the sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
2. Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla and brandy. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, almonds and raisins
4. Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

For the sauce:

Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is melted. Add the brandy, stirring well. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.