A couple centuries before the Catholic church in Rome established Holy Thursday to commemorate Jesus’ last supper, which was a Passover seder with his twelve apostles, Syrian Christians were celebrating Pesaha. Pesaha is the Malayalam word for Passover.

Christianity came to south India only a few decades after Jesus’ death and many of the first converts were Jews who had a large presence in the trading ports on the Malabar coast. As a result, many Jewish traditions were incorporated in the Indian version of Catholicism.

Virgin Mary & Christ child statue, Indian-style.

Today, many Syrian Christian families serve Pesaha appam, Passover bread, with Pesaha pal, a coconut milk drink that is like rum-free coquito.  Reading about it reminded me of one of my favorite food discoveries, pal appam, which Rena made for us at Vanilla County Plantation. (Rena also made our Masala Thanksgiving meal.)  This lacy pancake is one more example that Indians make some of the best bread in the world!

I’ve been meaning to make pal appam since coming back from India and decided to host an Indian-style Holy Thursday Pesaha.  Pal appam uses yeast to ferment the batter, so it’s not a true Pesaha meal. In a nod to Hindus and Buddhists, the meal will be vegetarian. (Ok, I just got my days of abstinence mixed up and thought Holy Thursday was meat-free.)

Christ child statue in India with local offerings.

While there is something to offend everyone, I think my multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-flavor, appam-centric meal is more in the spirit of Easter than bunnies & eggs.

After balking at paying $125 to have warm oil drizzled on my head for an hour at a US spa, I tried shirodhara while in India and fell asleep after 20 minutes.  Drizzling of warm liquids are used in many of the Indian medicine, ayurveda, treatments and I can’t recommend it enough.

With leftover whipping cream, cream, half and half, buttermilk, or whipped cream, a microwave and less than 5 minutes, the daily shower can include an ayurvedic indulgence.  Warm the dairy product until it’s hotter than a baby’s bottle, but doesn’t scald a finger.  Add honey for extra moisturizing.

Meg's first shirodhara treatment.

Bring the warmed liquid to the shower and slowly drizzle back and forth from one shoulder to the other. (It also works on the chest, arms, legs, etc.) Try shirodhara by tilting the head back, drizzling the warm liquid about 1cm above the eyebrow and from temple to temple accross the forehead.

This sure beats another turkey sandwich and is more forgiving than another piece of pumpkin pie.

While the changing leaves should have been the highlight of our recent trip to Vermont, I think it was the local food.  We did a lot of tasting and eating and my souvenirs became the makings for what I call “Vermont Pie.”

Galaxy Hill, Pomfret, VT

The Vermont sourced ingredients are:

• King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour,  purchased at The Baker’s Store in Norwich, VT.
• Aged and Selected 18 Month Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Grade B Maple Syrup from Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock, VT.
  

  Sugaring Maple

• Northern Spy Apples from Moore’s Orchard in North Pomfret, VT.
  

  Moore's Orchard Apples

• Cabot Butter bought at the Reading Country Store in Reading, VT.
• Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Ice Cream (purchased here in CT, but wanted to stick with VT products).
• A Vermont grown Traminette wine from Shelburne Vineyard.  (We didn’t visit the vineyard but had it with dinner one evening at the Kendron Valley Inn.)

I found a great recipe for “Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust” on Marthastewart.com that was fairly easy to make.   Most importantly, it tasted – OMG best pie we have ever had – good.  (though the Coconut Pie at Café Wayan is a close second)

1. I followed the “Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust” recipe.
   

   Ready for the oven.

2. I used the Vermont products where called for, for example “1/2 cup all-purpose flour” became 1/2 cup King Arthur Organic All-Purpose Flour.
3. I bought a baking mat at The Baker’s Store which made rolling out the crusts a breeze and easy to clean up.  I highly recommend them if you do any baking involving rolling or kneading.  No guessing on how far to roll out the pie dough either.
   

   Baker's Mat

4. Rather than using Granny Smith & Cortland apples, I used Northern Spy (great baking apples if you can find them.)
5. Roll out the leftover pie crust, use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, add a little bit of cheddar to each and bake until slightly browned. It made a great savory snack while the pie was baking.
   

   Leftover Pie Crust Crackers

6. Put a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet one rack below the baking pie.  If the pie bubbles over like mine did, you will have an apple-caramel treat when it cools plus less mess.
   

   Apple Caramel Goodness

7. To serve the pie, I added one scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla ice cream, drizzled the ice cream and pie with maple syrup and enjoyed with a glass of Vermont Traminette wine.  Add a slice of cheddar on top of the pie for a more New England touch.
   

   Finished Pie Cooling.

Bon Appetit!

When traveling, tuning into the local radio stations is one of our favorite ways to get into the spirit of a place and listen to the local point of view.  On the island of Hawaii, KAPA radio (99.1FM Kona, 100.3FM Hilo & Kau) plays Hawaiian music from a range of genres. Hawaiian music is beautiful, relaxing and reflects the pace of life on the islands. Even covers of cheesy lounge classics sound more pleasant with the Hawaiian touch. The local news coverage lets visitors know what is happening on the island beyond the tourist magazine coverage.

I owe KAPA a special thank you for putting Mirielle to sleep. A morning full of honu (turtles) and swimming combined with a hotel bed was a recipe for napping disaster. After trying every trick in our book to get Mirielle to sleep, we put her in the car, turned on the radio and drove. She was asleep before we reached the first stop sign. While it usually takes ¾ – 1 ½ Frank Sinatra songs to get her down, KAPA’s soothing afternoon show made Frank look like a slacker.

Check out how we killed time coffee tasting during her nap.

In chilly New England, I listen to KAPA’s radio stream on the web at kaparadio.com. I tune in and am transported back to the big island. Ono.

Taking travel home is an occasional series on the things we bring home from travel. Guest submissions are welcome, just send an email to meg at backpacktobuggy dot com.

Backpack to Buggy is enthusiastically contributing over $100 of products from Barefoot Books’ One World One Planet collection to bring the world to your little armchair traveler, or prepare them for the road.  The custom bundle includes ten books, a music CD, a puzzle and a travel journal.   Most of the materials are best for children under 5yo, but many of the books are appropriate for older children.

Interested in participating?  Go to First Giving, or see my previous post for details.

The Barefoot Books prize collection includes:

	Whole World – Mini Edition (with CD) Featured in Oprah’s “O List”!
	We’re Sailing to Galapagos Set sail to Galapagos on a week-long voyage of discovery!
	Off We Go to Mexico An Adventure in the Sun “Festive colors and distinctive iconography of Mexican folk crafts pairs with Krebs’ singsong verse about a place or experience.”—Booklist
	We’re Riding on a Caravan An Adventure on the Silk Road “This book is an excellent way to introduce the trade route.” —School Library Journal
	We All Went On Safari A Counting Journey Through Tanzania Featured as a Starred Review in the Kirkus Reviews
	We’re Sailing Down the Nile A Journey Through Egypt “Six smiling Egyptian children invite readers to accompany them on a sight-seeing jaunt down the Nile River”—Publishers Weekly
	My Granny Went to Market A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme “Each page delights the senses and opens young eyes to the world around them.”—School Library Journal
	The Great Race The Story of the Chinese Zodiac Which animal will win the race and get the first year of the Chinese calendar named after them?
	Mama Panya’s Pancakes A Village Tale from Kenya Winner of the Notable Books for a Global Society 2005
	The Story Of Divaali “A beautifully evocative retelling of a classic Hindu text, accessible and modern without losing any of the original’s power and resonance, and superbly illustrated throughout.” – Meera Syal
	Putamayo World Playground – Music CD Experience an inspiring musical and cultural journey around the world!
	Landmarks of the World Discover the world’s wonders with this colorful puzzle!
	My Travel Journal A World of Activities Exciting games, puzzles and much more teach about the many countries and cultures of the world!

If you can’t wait until January to receive you prize, or would like to give one of these books as a gift, please click here, or on the Barefoot Books Badge on the right margin.

Related Post:

Passports with Purpose – a Fundraiser for Heifer International (cooler than collecting quarters in rice bowls)

Once a year, my catholic elementary would hand out “rice bowls” to collect money to fight poverty and hunger.  Actually, we were handed a piece of cardboard and while we tore along the perforations and folded in alphabetical order, a nun would lecture us on how lucky we were to have jello while children all over the world were lucky to get a bowl of rice this size each day.   The result was a rice bowl shaped piggy bank where our jello money went for a while.  On the last day of the collection, everyone came in jingling to show how much money they had saved.  It was really cool to an eight year old.

Decades later, I am equally excited to join Passports with Purpose, a travelblogger- driven fundraiser for Heifer International.   As one of many travelers who have seen the faces of poverty, raising money for an organization that focuses on eliminating poverty and hunger by helping people become self-sufficient with concern for sustainability, will be as much fun as the rice bowl.

I want to get you equally excited to participate in this fundraiser.  Rather than asking you to drop quarters in the rice bowl, I want you to win one of the fabulous prizes.   Yes, you heard me right – you might win something really cool.  Backpack to Buggy is proud to contribute:

Over $100 of products from Barefoot Books‘ One World, One Planet collection for your little armchair travelers (or to take on the road).  This prize includes ten books, a music CD, a puzzle and a travel journal.  (Best for children under 5).  Please check here for title details.

And there are lots more prizes from other travelbloggers.  Click here for a full list of prizes.   For each $10 donation, you will be entered into a raffle to win the prize you select.  See a few prizes you want?  Then make a few donations.  The more you donate, the more Heifer International will be able to do to eliminate poverty.

How to you enter to win this or any of the other great prizes?  Go to First Giving (http://www.firstgiving.com/passportswithpurpose) to make your raffle donation. Heads up: Be sure to enter your email address and the prize you want to win in the comments field, or you won’t be notified if you win!  Winners will be selected and notified via email on December 30th, 2008.

Food is one of the most wonderful parts of travel.  Each culture, region, town or household has some food that differentiates and defines. When travel dollars are tight, a meal or dish can bring back old trips, or build excitement about future destinations.

One year I was in Barcelona for my birthday.  As a passionate foodie who did not want to make the trek to el Bulli, I uncovered Espai Sucre. The restaurant, whose name translates to ‘Sugar Space,’ serves desserts in tasting menus with wine parings available.  While there are a few ‘savory’ dishes available, the meal is about the desserts.

It was wonderful and decedent and at the time (2004) cost around US$60/person with wine parings, VAT and gratuity.  I learned desserts do not have to be sweet and mixing sweet and savory could be heaven. (Sample menus are online.)  At the end of the menu, when we could hardly move much less eat, they served a tower of cookies and jellies.  I don’t remember all of the flavors, but they were exotic and delicious.  The best, by far, were the curry cookies.  It was like a standard sugar cookie with curry powder mixed in and rolled very very thin.

from ms_cwang

espai sucre the epitome of experimental dessert

When I eat a wonderful dish traveling, I try to recreate it to bring my travels home.  After the Espai Sucre dinner, I began experimenting.   Using the Toll House recipe as a foundation (the best basic chocolate chip cookie recipe) I am continually tweaking and testing.  Here is my favorite…..

Meg’ Cardamom Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 ¼ c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2T Cardamom powder (or to taste)
Combine dry ingredients and blend well.

1c (2 sticks) butter softened
¾ c granulated sugar
¾ c packed brown sugar
Mix together and beat until creamy.

1t vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Add vanilla, then eggs one at a time and beat well.

Gradually add the flour mixture.

2½ c Chocolate Chips
Add to batter and mix just enough to work in.

Drop rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets
Bake 9-11 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool for 2 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack.

Best served with a Late Harvest Gewurztraminer or Apple sparkler (4 parts sparkling water to 1 part Apple cider).

from .michael.newman.

Cardamom