The kitchen is open-

Spring is white asparagus season (Spargelzeit) in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also the time when we can find the prized "white gold" in US food markets. The KT kitchen made its way to Schwetzingen, one of the most well-known stops on the asparagus road (Spargelstrasse), to celebrate Spargelfest. We prepared a comforting soup, and used chopped stalks as the foundation for a salad drizzled with a creamy vinaigrette. A common way to enjoy the luxurious vegetable in its purest form is simply to gently poach or steam and serve alongside potatoes and ham. Because I am always interested in how neighboring countries influence each other's cuisine, we tapped the Netherlands to the north and France to the west with a ladling of hollandaise and a sprinkling of fresh tarragon.​

Spargelsuppe 

2 pounds white asparagus
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large leeks, whites plus ½ inch of light green part, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and white pepper to taste
 
Prepare asparagus by washing, peeling and removing tough ends. Chop stalks and reserve tips. Cook leeks in 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent. Add asparagus stalks, broth and water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce, cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Purée soup in small batches, a cup or so at a time, in a powerful blender on high setting until completely smooth. Add all purée back to the pot and keep warm. Stir in cream and lemon juice, add about ½ teaspoon of ground white pepper and salt to your liking.
Pan fry asparagus tips in the remaining tablespoon of butter until they begin to brown slightly. Ladle soup into bowls with tips. Garnish with fresh herbs.
 
Serves 4 - 6

Spargelsalat
​
5 ounces white asparagus
1 ripe tomato, seeded and sliced into thin wedges
½ cup watercress leaves
1 tablespoon light olive oil
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 hardboiled egg, finely chopped
Coarse salt
 
Peel asparagus, remove tough ends and slice into bite-sized pieces. Simmer in water, or steam, until tender, about 10 minutes.
Combine asparagus pieces, tomato and watercress in a bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Whisk oil, vinegar and cream, and toss salad with half of the dressing. Add chopped hardboiled egg and drizzle with remaining dressing.
​
Serves 2

KT TIP

​ Gently peel white asparagus, from below the tips to ends, lying on a cutting board instead of holding in your hand. The delicate stalks will snap at the slightest wrong move!

SIDE DISH
​
Unlike green and purple varieties, white asparagus is carefully cultivated underground, shielding it from sunlight. After three years nestled below "hillings" of dirt, the crop is harvested just when tips begin to show.

The kitchen is open-

We've long had our sights on a trip to Thailand to dine in country on one of our favorite cuisines while exploring breathtaking beaches. Choosing from a thousand islands dotting the Indian and Pacific oceans will be a welcome challenge when we do make the journey.  In the meantime, we settled for eating our way at home. KT's Thai "itinerary" - equally difficult to narrow down - unites favorite and first-time dishes from southern, central and northern regions. 

​


​Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.

The kitchen is open-

The Ulster Fry. Northern Ireland's signature breakfast. Not "Ulster Fry" nor simply "Ulster. " THE Ulster Fry. Just as Belfast-born musical legend Van Morrison is known formally as Sir George Ivan Morrison, OBE, a dish like this is well-deserving of a sturdy name and the article that precedes it. Aptly described in Biddy White Lennon's Best of Irish Traditional Cooking, "If you thought The Full Irish was a big breakfast, it's only in the ha 'penny place by comparison with the breakfast of our northern relatives!" We enjoyed a Full Irish or two during a 2015 visit to the Republic of Ireland, a trip that came about rather haphazardly from the idea that it would be really cool to see Van Morrison perform in his native land. We couldn't decide which breakfast we preferred - the one served with fine silver and linens at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, or another at a modest bed and breakfast in Tullamore, prepared with care by a mom while her "Young Patrick" completed his school work in the next room. Either way, we bring you Northern Ireland's ramped up version from our own kitchen with longing for Belfast and the sounds of Van.​

The Ulster Fry
bacon rashers  |  pork sausages  | black and white pudding  | tomatoes  | mushrooms  
boxty | griddle bread

Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan,
if you can't bake boxty sure you'll never get a man!

Irish Stew
Champ  | Buttered Carrots

There was an old woman
who lived in a lamp,
She had no room
to beetle her champ.
She's up'd with her beetle
and broke the lamp,
and now she has room
to beetle her champ.

SIDE DISH

Among my favorite Christmas moments was watching Doug's face when he pulled Van Morrison concert tickets from his stocking. Van Morrison. Live. In Cork? We looked at each other and realized, "We're going to Ireland!" Even after arriving in the Emerald Isle, he still didn't believe it was happening, and acquiesced only at will call once actual tickets were in hand. It was an experience to behold, especially learning (after the fact) that Van the Man was lodging at our manor and that we breakfasted in the next room from him. Alas, we never met, but we'll always have "Days Like This" in a tent in Cork. 

 The kitchen is open-

Prior to creating this post, our knowledge of Ethiopian cuisine was limited to a dining experience in Washington D.C. While Morocco and South Africa have piqued our Africa wander interest, Ethiopia not so much. That is, until we cooked virtually alongside Ethiopian-born Marcus Sameulsson.  Chef Sameulsson guided us through preparing a perfect roast chicken, universally relatable comfort food with Ethiopian oomph. Tasting his berbere - the "salt and pepper of East Africa" - that jazzed up a buttery niter kibbeh and a side of couscous and chickpeas - encouraged us to explore other Ethiopian dishes and, naturally, try our hand at sourdough flatbread. "First time?" a helpful local Ethiopian grocer asked when I approached the checkout counter with pouches of ancient teff flour. Thanks to him, I left instead with a pizza box of fresh, already prepared injera, and thanks to Chef Samuelsson, KT looked through a different window into a fascinating culture.​

Yetsom Beyaynetu
Misir Wat  |  Ye'abesha Gomen   |  Timatim  ​ |  Dinich Salata  ​ |  Injera

Enkulal FirFir  
Roasted Berbere Potatoes |  Injera​

          SIDE DISH

Just as KT steered from the 4-5-day fermentation of injera batter, we decided a jebena buna ceremony would be better left to experience in country. The hours-long ritual begins with roasting, grinding and boiling coffee beans in the presence of guests, followed by multiple pours in and out of ornate vessels, noshing popcorn along the way. I can't wait.


​

​​Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.

  ​The kitchen is open-

My mother's maternal ancestors were French-speaking Swiss, which might explain my inherent inclination toward speaking the language and never meeting a cheese or chocolate I didn't like. Until we can experience these pleasures in western Suisse- Romande, which includes four solely French-speaking cantons, three bilingual cantons where both French and German are spoken, and where mesmerizing beauty oozes alongside Gruyère and Emmentaler, enjoying a bubbling fondue on a cold winter evening at home is the next best thing.

Cro​ûte au Fromage Suisse  | Absinthe

Filet de Truite  | Nüsslisalat

SIDE DISH

​The Swiss were not the first to make portable timepieces, but rather Germany and France, respectively. It was Switzerland's position of neutrality during 16th century  religious conflict that attracted watch makers from other parts of Europe seeking a more stable economic climate.

SIDE DISH
​Unlike tequila, which is distilled strictly from blue agave, mezcal can be made from many varieties. Most mezcals are produced in Oaxaca due to the region's rich biodiversity and abundance of agave varieties for the choosing. Be it a celebration, homage to the dead or just because, there's always good reason to sip.

Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también.

​Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.
​

The kitchen is open-

This week, KT lived la dolce vita, tasting our way through Italy's epicurean Emilia-Romagna region. Its geographical diversity across nine provinces of coast, mountains, pastureland and deltas enables the area to produce 47 food ingredients with Protected Geographical Indication status, the most countrywide. We conquered risotto, pasta and polenta - a starch trifecta - along with the local salumi and formaggio.  And the Balsamico?  Oh my.

Antipasti
Salumi - Prosciutto di Parma  | Coppa  | Mortadella
Formaggi - Parmigiano Reggiano  | Grana Padano
Pera  | Aceto Balsamico di Modena  | Focaccia ​ | Lambrusco

​Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.
 

The kitchen is open-

December evoked nostalgia for Québec City, which we visited around this time last year. Originally intended as a summer getaway - enjoying vast green space, concerts en plein air and scenic adventures along the Saint Lawrence River - our rescheduled winter trip required both a wardrobe and an itinerary redo. It was hardly the travel experience we would have sought out intentionally. And, despite single-digit temperatures, one we've been dreaming about ever since. Encountering the unexpected, we were reminded, can enhance our travel experiences in surprising ways.  In this case, once verdant parkland that was equally beautiful when blanketed with snow, and hearty cuisine that tasted all the better by a roaring fire.

SIDE DISH
In addition to satisfying a craving for poutine, traveling to Québec inspired me to dust off my college modern language studies and converse with the province's mostly native Francophone population. While much of Canada toggles between French and English, Québec is the only Canadian province to claim French as its sole-official language. As with other regional variants of Canadian French, Québécois reflects its unique convergence of indigenous tongue with French and British influence.

Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.
​

​The kitchen is open-

Aromas of cardamom, coriander and cumin fill the KT kitchen, which recently debuted Indian cuisine - a style of cooking we've enjoyed in restaurants but were intimidated to undertake at home.  In selecting a country so regionally and culinarily diverse, yet uniformly reliant on, and abundant with pulses, we decided to join India's sizeable vegetarian population and ditch the meat. Aloo papd chaat, exploding with color and textures, transported us to the chaotic streets of Delhi. Chutneys, tangy, sweet and sour, to 
Gujarati. Earthy, buttery dal, to northern Punjab. Our adventure was gratifying and unexpectedly satisfying. ​

​

SIDE DISH

Masala performs double duty in Indian culture. First as the country's signature spice mixture, and secondly as a blending of film genres in internationally popularized Hindi cinema, Bollywood. "Yaadon Ki Baaraat" (1973) is recognized as the first of such films, bringing nearly three hours of action, comedy, romance, melodrama and music.

 The kitchen is open-

When most people think of Russia, vodka, ballet and geopolitical conflict come to mind. These things, along with ornamental architecture and diverse, far-reaching landscapes stretching five climate zones earned Russia a place on our bucket list travel board. But, not the food. Which is why this week, KT enters the belly of the bear to explore a cuisine so influenced by abundant geography and a dynamic political timeline. We looked first to old Russia for authentic menu inspiration. Our zakuski, a distinguishing element of Russian food history and culture, includes a variety of cold and hot offerings. 

Caviar
​Russkaya Traditsionnaya Lososevaya Ikra | Chernaya Zhemchuzhnaya Ikra  | Bliny

Gribi v Smetane  | Borodinskij

SIDE DISH
​
Our virtual travels to Russia included a side trip outside of the kitchen via our living room, which houses a collection of Russian Lacquer brought back from then USSR by my parents in 1989. This miniature box, created by a master artisan in the village of Kholui, draws inspiration from Russian mythological and historical painter Viktor Vasnetsov to depict "The Tale of the Young Guard and the Merchant Kalashnikov." Serving under the reign of Tsar Ivan, a handsome young oprichnik seeks the affection of a merchant's married daughter.

"He caught my hands in his and spoke to me in a whisper." 

​Kitchen Traveler is the creative brainchild of Michele McMurry and husband Doug, who together recreate global flavors from their cozy galley kitchen in San Antonio, Texas. While our passion for wandering and savoring is not new, our appreciation for such experiences ─ that for now remain on hold ─ is deeper than ever.
​