This Summer Tour the World Without Leaving Home

Sarah Commerford, who lives in Mudville, was challenged by her son to cook a meal from all 193 countries -- she's accepted!

Sarah loves to cook. After watching the movie Julia & Julia with her son, her son, Timmy said, "Well, if SHE could get through an entire cookbook in 365 days, why couldn't you make a meal from a different country once a week, huh?" She's accepted his challenge.

Sarah is going alphabetically through all 193 countries listed in the almanac. Why did she accept the mission, "Well, I love to cook, don't have the cash to travel around the world, and firmly believe that one of the best way to understand people and their culture is through food - it's a universal common ground, so to speak."

So far the experiment is working quite well and Sarah has documented her journey on her blog at http://whatscookinginyourworld.blogspot.com/ . Her blog lists her recipes, ideas and photos of her meals so anyone interested in touring the world's cuisine is welcome to follow along and add their comments and ideas. Sarah also shares her research on each of the particular countries. Each recipe is also rated by the family. Experimenting with exotic foods from exotic places has been the appeal and the fun of the experiment. Wild boar, anyone? Meat, fish, spices and vegetables that are uncommon to our area are all part of the challenge of working her way around the world.

"I have had numerous people offer recipes from countries such as Barbados, Sweeden, India and Iran. Chris at the Superette told me that he'd get whatever "unsual" meat I might need for unique recipes. Oh, and, I pair the recipes with a band (of my choice) as a way to juxtipose traditional food with contemporary music."

Quite an interesting journey!