Appetizers - Arousing Appetites

Keshi Yena: Curaçao Stuffed Cheese Casserole

February 13, 2023November 11, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

Keshi yena is a favorite dish in Aruba – a cheese filled casserole with fragrant spices and veggies such as tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Don’t leave Aruba without trying this dish!

Bircher Muesli: Swiss Oats and Fruits

February 8, 2023August 18, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

Nowadays, it’s fairly common wisdom that most foods are best for you in their all natural, unprocessed and rawest state. And yet, even as recently as a century ago, this notion was a hotly contested topic. Even the idea of eating vegetables as a health food could (for some) border on heresy. We’ve come a long … Read more

Kaukau: Papua New Guinean Sweet Potato

February 7, 2023July 24, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

This is Kaukau, a Papua New Guinean Sweet Potato dish, with orange juice, coconut milk, shallots, garlic, ginger, coconut oil and cinnamon

It’s funny to see how some “newcomers” can take a nation’s food scene by storm. Nowhere is this as true as in Papua New Guinea and the kaukau, or the sweet potato. It’s rare enough to find recipes from Papua New Guinea as is, but it’s even rarer to find one that doesn’t involve some kaukau … Read more

Tabouli: Syrian Parsley & Bulgur Salad

February 6, 2023June 24, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

Syrian Tabouli - parsley, cucumber, bulgur, red onion, tomato salad with lemon juice and olive oil

Sure, there are some foods that have become so popular that everyone knows about them. Tabouli certainly qualifies in that category. Even in non-Mediterranean, non-Levantine restaurants around our area, chances are good you can find at least some form of this parsley and bulgur wheat salad on the menu. And yet, despite its ubiquity, it seems … Read more

Draniki: Belarusian Sausage Stuffed Potato Pancakes

February 6, 2023June 12, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

Alas, not all culinary tales can be a happy one, as is the case in the trajectory of Belarusian cuisine. For a cuisine seemingly so magnificent until as recently as last century, it can only leave you wondering what could have (and should have) been. Thankfully for dishes like draniki, we have windows into the cuisine’s … Read more

Nalysnyky: Ukranian Cheese Crepes

February 13, 2023June 10, 2015 by Janine @ Arousing Appetites

Ukrainian Nalsynksy - Baked crepes filled with a savory, herbed cheese mixture

It’s one thing for a dish to be an indulgent treat. Within moderation, these treats really illustrate the joys of decadent or, you might say, even sinfully good food. To actually feature it, however, in a celebration of “last indulgences” requires a dish that can really live up to hedonistic expectations. Lucky for the Ukrainians, then, that … Read more