Travels with Tricia

Category: Food and Drink

  • Lemongrass, shallots, and Kaffir lime leaves cook in boiling water on a gas stovetop in a cooking class kitchen in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Cooking Class in Bangkok: Our Foray Into a Thai Kitchen

    We followed our cooking class instructor, Carole, down a dimly-lit Bangkok passageway that opening into a large marketplace. Walking among mounds of fresh cabbage, beansprouts, Thai eggplants, mushrooms, dried shrimp and fish, Carole showed us how to select the best ingredients for the dishes we would be cooking that morning: Kang Khiao Wan Gai (Green Curry…

  • The Straight Scoop on Indonesian Kopi Luwak ‘Poop Coffee’

    On a Balinese coffee plantation, during a downpour of torrential proportions, we swilled cups of the world’s priciest and rarest coffee – Kopi Luwak. In gourmet establishments across the globe, this cup of Indonesian java would cost upwards of $50 a cup. This coffee may sound familiar, as it has been featured in numerous foodie…

  • Buzzing About Bart: The “Bumble Bee” with a Fondness for German Gingerbread

    When my husband, Shawn, moved to Germany last October, I welcomed him home with a traditional German indulgence – Lebkuchen, or gingerbread. It’s the kind of sweet treat that’s plentiful at Oktoberfest stands and German wine fests each fall. The messages piped onto this heart-shaped gingerbread range from mischievous phrases to sweet nothings. The heart I carefully chose for Shawn…

  • A church steeple rises above a field of sunflowers in France's Burgundy region.

    Golden Moments in Burgundy, France

    It is no wonder why one of the counties in France’s Burgundy region is known as the Côte d’Or. During our July sojourn in France’s ‘Golden Hills,’ the fields were ablaze with vibrant tournesols (sunflowers), freshly-groomed wheat, and vineyards — where still-maturing grapes glistened with dew. In the villages of Burgundy, sand-colored stone homes were accented with shutters painted…