Story Excerpts
"Well-Traveled Beef Wellington"
I then made the mistake of making it for my friend Paul. I met Paul through my friend Clay while living in England. He is originally from South Africa but eventually moved to Chicago to work for a big advertising firm. Chicago is where I first made the Beef Wellington for him. From then on whenever I came for a visit, no matter how short the stay, he demanded Beef Wellington! Had to have it! If I ever tried to wiggle out of it, there was serious pouting to be had.
"More Gluhwein! I Need More Gluhwein"
Clay said, “I didn’t know you could ski.” I said, “I don’t but if you’re going to go for the first time, why not go somewhere spectacular?” Clay said he had been once or twice before so he could teach me. This was my first major mistake.
"Hey Laura...Let's Hop on Our Camels and Go Pick Up Some Baklawa!"
“What? Get real!” was my reply. “I’m a poor medical student. I can’t just go flitting off to Tunisia for a tan!”
"A 'Proper' Barbecue Grill"
“Oh, no,” I explained. “We only want some of the dead branches that are lying on the ground.” Once I explained that we wanted the limbs to flavor the meat we were going to be grilling, one of the checkout ladies overheard and piped in, “I heard you Americans do that.” She went on to tell us that she had seen hickory chips for sale at Harrod’s.
"'Rat' atouille Pizza on the Grill"
I always wanted my friends and family to know how much I appreciated them coming all the way down to the Caribbean to visit me, so I would go all out with appetizers and drinks the night of their arrival. I would make sure all my friends were there to help me welcome my friends or family to the island. I wanted to do something really special this time since it was Vernie’s birthday.
"The Good Friday Jamaican Baked Oatmeal"
Right before the plane was to pull away from the gate the gentleman returned to his appointed seat and asked my two friends if they would mind if he traded seats with Ben Vereen. They thought he was joking until Mr. Vereen walked down the aisle and asked if they minded if he sat next to them. They could hardly speak.
"'Goat-Free' Curry Pumpkin Soup & Jerk Chicken Wings"
By this time the little girl was crying because her grandmother was crying. She was scared but we assured her we would take care of her. After rummaging through our supplies we came up with a solution. We made a splint for her broken foot out of a bunch of wooden tongue depressors.
"Potato Wedges...The Perfect After-Snorkeling Snack"
After the torture, we boarded the helicopter and off we went. The view was unbelievable! I’ve never seen such spectacular scenery. I have to admit though, I was starting to get a little panicky because we were out in the middle of nowhere. After all, there was no swimming back if the helicopter went down.
"Oysters Down Under"
I also spent two weeks in Tasmania with Sangeeta’s friend Alex (who is originally from Zimbabwe by the way). On the first day of my rotation, Sangeeta took me to the pediatrics floor and introduced me to Alex. He said, “O.K., now let me get this straight. Are you the American that went to medical school in the Caribbean, trained in England and is now coming to Tasmania to be taught pediatrics by a Zimbabwean?”
"Chinese Caribbean Sushi & Vietnamese Alaskan Egg Rolls"
We had no idea what we were ordering. When it came out, it looked really interesting especially the ones with orange fish eggs on top. We learned later those fish eggs are called salmon roe. I was so hungry by the time it came; I would have eaten an ostrich egg! Some people are afraid to try sushi, but we weren’t. We tore into it. It was like nothing I had ever eaten before. I was definitely a sushi lover. Who knew? Now I had to figure out how to make the stuff.
"'Heavenly' Split Pea Soup"
Next thing you know, I go to the airport to pick up my sister Joyce. I noticed she was hauling not just a suitcase behind her but a huge cooler as well. I asked her what was in the cooler and she just smiled and said, “You’ll have to wait until we get to your apartment. It’s a surprise.”
"Yin-Yang Shrimp - The 'Non-coconut' Coconut Shrimp"
As soon as my father tasted it, he demanded to know how long I had known about this recipe (afraid he had missed out on previous servings). I assured him I had only made it up a couple of weeks prior.
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