Travelling to new countries is a cultural experience of sight, sound, smell and taste. That experience is one of many reasons we travel. For me, visiting a new country and exploring the food choices is exciting. Of course, it is expensive to travel these days. What if we could enjoy the sight, smell and taste of some authentic cuisines, such as Thai or Indian foods, prepared in our own kitchens? Sounds delicious so let’s find out just how to do it.
De Siam is authentic Thai, available in kits, sauces, seasonings and cooking oils. If you love Thai food, this is for you. The Pad Thai kit or sauce mix, tastes just like your favourite restaurant dish. Add the protein you prefer, such as shrimp, chicken or tofu, and in 15 minutes, you have supper. De Siam sauces have a variety of heats so you can go mild or spicy. Most of the kits make a meal for two people. There is a spring roll kit, or you can purchase the wrappers and the dipping sauce to make customized rolls. It’s all made in Thailand so you experience the real flavours and colours of the food.
Brooklyn Delhi is India in a bottle. Available in 3-4 flavours with varying heats, the curry base is again an authentic taste of curries from this country. It’s a simmering sauce, such as Tikka Masala, coconut based, with tomato, caramelized onions and Indian spices. The non-dairy Coconut Cashew Korma is another mild sauces, with hints of black pepper and cardamon in the coconut-cashew base. If you like turmeric, the Golden Coconut Curry with lemon and ginger is lovely. Again, add your choice of protein and I like to add vegetables such as zucchini and cauliflower, cook up a pot of rice, grab some naan bread and you have supper.
If Italian food is your thing, sauces and pastas from Viani and Seggiano will deliver the flavour you expect in Italian cooking. There’s a freshness to the Viani tomato sauces, made with simple ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, basil infused olive oil and salt, that tastes so good on the Seggiano organic pastas. The brilliant green in the pestos calls to you. Again, made from simple ingredients, it’s the quality of the basil, pine nuts, olive oil and Grana Padano cured cheese that creates such true Italian flavour.
It’s winter in Nova Scotia, and that’s the perfect time to create something new in your kitchen. Especially when most of the creating is done for you. I like to have a bottle or package of any de Siam, Brooklyn Delhi and Viani products in my pantry. It’s so easy to make something special for supper, something a bit unusual when I don’t have all day to get it ready or let it simmer. It’s a travel opportunity in a jar.
Did you know? Curry isn’t a single sauce or a dish. It’s a collection of fresh or dried ingredients, combined into a paste or powder, and is representative of a wide variety of flavours from many countries.
Cathy