While I was there for a purpose, to study at the university as a foreign exchange student, you don’t have to be. It is a wonderful place to wander around, big enough to see a myriad of rich cultural sites and small enough to see them all in one day on foot, if need be. After living there for a while, I saw that Leiden has virtually every opportunity Amsterdam has except on a smaller scale: the typically Dutch windmills and canals, the quaint buildings with tall vertical windows, massive cathedrals and churches, long narrow streets, museums, ruins dating back to the 14^th century, rowdy bars, quiet bars, coffee shops (and cafés… there is a difference), ethnic food, and of course, frites smothered in mayonnaise.

Things you must see if you are in Leiden: De Burcht, a defensive barrier originally used as a castle in the 11^th century, rebuilt in 1204. If you are in Leiden on a Saturday or Wednesday, there will be a local market where you can buy authentic Dutch cuisine. I recommend the Kipling, or fried white fish, fries with peanut sauce, and for desert, a fresh stroopwafel and a black coffee. If you miss the open market, don’t worry. Try the sweet or savory pancakes from the Pannenkoekenhuis (Pancake House) just a five-minute walk from the train station or, for amazing Asian cuisine, try the restaurant called Buddha adjacent from the Pancake House.

Though I am partial to Leiden, there are other Dutch cities besides Amsterdam that are offer remarkable tourism experiences. Utrecht and Rotterdam are each larger than Leiden but smaller than Amsterdam, and embody their own unique feel. Bombed in World War II by the Germans, Rotterdam was rebuilt in a modern way, thus massive skyscrapers and great metal bridges replace the narrow canals and red brick buildings. Rotterdam has a phenomenal photography museum and endless shopping.

Holland is a small but incredible country. Beware of the winters if you are thin-skinned like me, and always have a rain jacket, but don’t let the moody weather deter you from adventuring here!

~ By guest blogger, Katie Rose Criscuolo. Katie is a student at Agnes Scott College and intern at Go Eat Give. She spent a semester in Netherlands. 

A common sighting in Uruguay is men and women carrying a mate cup (made from calabash gourd) with a stainless steel or silver straw sieve (called bombilla) in one hand, and a hot water thermos under their arm. A true Uruguayan does not leave home without all this, and carries it around to school, work, shopping…practically everywhere! When my friend Marcelo stopped the car to show me a nice view of Montevideo, sure enough he brought along his mate and thermos as we stepped out the car. During our three hour long drive, he sipped on his mate with his hands on the wheel!

Mate is actually an herb infused drink. Yerba mate leaves are dried, chopped, and ground into a powdery mixture called yerba, which is brewed in hot water. The bombilla has a strainer on one end and a straw on the other, so you can drink continuously infused herbal water. The gourd keeps collecting a thick mass of yerba that is reused throughout the day.

If you go into a store dedicated entirely to mate, you may get overwhelmed by the different flavors and promise of health benefits it offers. There is a yerba mate for digestion, stress, anti-aging, cholesterol, cardiovascular health, weight management and more. It is caffeine free and has many nutritional qualities. Some people swear that they maintain a constant weight because of it.

Uruguayans will correct you that mate is not a tea as it does not come from a tea plant. If you find yerba mate in a tea bag, that is not considered “mate.”

Flan with dulce de leche

One visit to the capital of Buenos Aires will show you a glimpse of why dulce de leche is so important in the cuisine of Argentina. At breakfast, dulce de leche is served as a spread over bread and toasts, equivalent to peanut butter in the US. For snacks, you may have a dulce de leche cookie at Havanna or a dulce de leche Frappuccino at Starbucks. Of course, no dessert will be complete without a dulce de leche ice cream, flan or cheesecake. Dulce de leche is  incorporated into practically every dessert found in Argentina.

So what is this dulce de leche and why are people all over the world crazy about it? Dulce de leche means sweetness of the milk. It is made by caramelizing sweet milk long enough so it changes in texture and color, leaving behind a delicious thick caramel. At home, you can make dulce de leche by cooking an unopened can of condense milk in boiling water for 2-3 hours. The basic recipe is a bit more complicated. It required constantly stirring milk and sugar until the water from the milk completely evaporates.

Dulce de leche is such a versatile ingredient that can be incorporated into shakes, ice creams, spreads, muffins, cakes, candy, cookies, coffee drinks and more. I think it is one of those flavors that instantly changes the appeal of a dish. Wouldn’t you like to have a dulce de leche gelato over a plain vanilla gelato? (See recipe for dulce de leche gelato)

Alfajor chocolate cookies with dulce le leche

Dulce de leche is sold at grocery stores around the world, but pick the one made in Argentina for the original stuff.

Here’s a recipe for dulce de leche by my blogger friend who spends her summers with her in-laws in Argentina. Here blog is called From Argentina with Love.

Indonesian Chicken Satay Recipe

• 1 lb minced chicken
• ½ cup grated fresh coconut
• 2 tablespoons of base gede, basic yellow sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1 wedge of lime
• 1 tablespoon deep fried shallots
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 15 bamboo sticks (thicker than skewers) or ice-cream sticks

Combine chicken, yellow sauce, coconut, palm sugar, fried shallots, salt and peper in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over and mix well. Using your fingers, form the chicken mixture into one tablespoon size balls. Mould the ball on to the end of the bamboo stick. Repeat the process until all the chicken is used.

Grill the sticks over charcoal on medium heat, flipping on both sides over every 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

~ Recipe courtesy of Paon Bali Cooking School in Bali, Indonesia. 

Here are my top 10 recommendations for ensuring safety while traveling.

1. Try Not to Look Like a Tourist. If you are carrying a camera around your neck, and a map in your hand, while gazing into the streets, you will be spotted as a tourist. That will automatically make you a target even in the safest areas. My advice is to take only a sling bag or long strap shoulder purse that you can hang around your body. Try to carry everything you need (water, camera, phone, maps) inside it and take them out only when needed. If you need to look at the map, go inside a store or coffee shop, and do it discreetly.
   

   Photo from 123rf.com

2. Don’t Sound like a Foreigner. Learn a few words of the local language so you can communicate without coming across as a total foreigner. At the very least, you should be able to say “hello, thank you, please, excuse me, where is the toilet and goodbye” in the local language. If you can order your food and ask for directions too, thats a huge plus! Most guidebooks have a section in the back that have key words and phrases you can quickly brush up on.
3. Carry Only Enough Cash. I know, you feel anxious what if “I can’t get to an ATM, my bank account is frozen, or I am stranded somewhere.” All I’m saying is leave your cash and credit cards in the locker at the hotel. Only take some currency that you need for the day and one major credit or debit card with a picture identification. Even if you did get pick pocketed, you will only loose a day’s worth of expenses.
   

   Photo by articles.statravel.com

4. Back Up Important Documents. The last thing you want to happen is loose your passport in a foreign country. It can take days to get a new one, especially if you need to prove your citizenship and return home. Make copies of your passport, drivers license and credit cards. Carry one copy with you while traveling and leave another copy at home. In case you loose your bags, someone from back home can always look up your information.
5. Ensure Financial Safety. Call your bank and credit card companies before leaving home. Many banks would put an early fraud detection alert and block your card when it is first swiped abroad. You should inform them of your itinerary at least two days before leaving the country. This will avoid any unnecessary stress of not having access to your money when you need it.
6. Talk to the Locals. This may seem contradicting to your parents advise “don’t talk to strangers” but most of the time talking to locals can be more helpful than dangerous. Always ask the locals about hotels, cafes and attractions that they recommend. They will tell you which neighborhoods to keep away from and important customs to consider. If you make conversation with someone working at a shop or cafe, you know they are not attempting to rob you.
7. Make use of Travel Exchange programs. If you are new to a city, a resident who has been there for a while can really help you navigate the streets and stay out of trouble. You can look up people who can show your around town, take you out for a meal, or host you overnight through CouchSurfing, Servas, Goodwill Guide, or other exchange programs offered by colleges, tourism boards and cultural centers. Do check out your host’s profile and recommendations before meeting or deciding to stay. Sometimes, these are the best experiences you will have when traveling abroad.
8. Don’t Take Shortcuts. Walk on the main streets whenever you can. It may seem obvious but many tourists like to “explore” new places on their own and can find themselves in unwanted situations. By staying on main roads and busy streets, you may reduce your chances of getting in the harm’s way.
9. Have a Keen Sense of Observation. Be aware of your surroundings, the type of people around you, what they are talking about, and any activities going on. Even as you walk through public areas, you may want to notice other bystanders, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of the new place. You should be able to remove yourself from dangerous situations before they happen.
10. Trust your instincts. Sixth sense or intuitions are strongly undermined in today’s world, but can be the single most lifesaver. Whenever faced with an awkward situation where logic says one thing but your gut feeling is another, trust your instincts and don’t take a chance.

 ~ By guest blogger, Sabah of Simply Creative SEO.

In light of the recent events in Boston and several security warnings in Atlanta, I don’t feel it is any safer to stay here in the US, than be traveling to another place in the world. You could get robbed in Chicago or New York, face an earthquake in San Francisco, or as in my case, get evacuated by HAZMAT from your own neighborhood!

Just last week, a bomb squad was called to my neighbor’s home in Smyrna (suburb of Atlanta), where an explosive device was found. When I returned home from dinner, I wasn’t allowed to enter my subdivision. The officer informed me that residents within a quarter mile radius had been evacuated. It was only after they removed the explosives from the vacant home that we were allowed to return safely.

In my opinion, some places are definitely safer than others in terms of civil crime, but when it comes to global uprisings, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters, no one can really perceive when and where it is going to take place. That should not stop you from traveling abroad, neither can you stay locked in home.

So get out there, see the world, and be safe!

The recipe is courtesy of Aunty Puspa at Paon Bali cooking school in Ubud, Bali.

CHICKEN IN COCONUT CURRY

SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 cup cubed potato
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 3 shallots
• 1 spring onion
• 2 red chilies
• 3 tablespoons coconut cream
• ½ liter chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons  of base gede, basic yellow sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 salam leaves or bay leaves
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• Salt and pepper  to taste
• For optional garnish 1 tablespoon deep fried shallots

Instructions

1. Slice the red chilies and remove their seeds. Slice shallots, garlic, spring onion and the red chilies. Clean, peel and cut the potato into 2 centimeter cubes. Cut the chicken into small slices.
2. Sauté shallots, garlic and spring onion on a medium heat until light brown. Add the base gede, then the chicken and stir together.
3. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Break the salam and kaffir lime leaves then add them to the stock, with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the coconut cream and keep on a lower heat for 2 minutes before serving.
5. Serve in a bowl with deep fried shallots as a garnish.

The first course was a perfect balance of welcoming spring—poached baby artichokes with shaved fennel, grapefruit and basil, drizzled with homemade lemon vinaigrette. Athiness of the baby artichoke was nicely balanced with the tartness of the grapefruit and lemon vinaigrette and the basil added a wonderfully refreshing flavor. A glass of Domaine St. Michele sparkling wine made a suitable companion.

Second course was a “seafood sampler” in its classiest form: scallop seared in coco butter with peashoots and mint a top a puree of salsify (a root vegetable that reminds me a bit of parsnips and carrots); Carolina Royal Red shrimp stuffed with cilantro and lime, accompanied with pickled red onions and puree of salsify; and lump crab poached in vanilla and butter dancing on a bed of mango and green tomato salsa. The delicately cooked lump crab meat had lots of rich yet subtle flavors that paired nicely with Louis Jadot Macon Villages White Burgundy.

Next up was a surprisingly refreshing cheese course sourced from Sweet Grass Dairy located in Thomasville, GA. You probably won’t serve up cheese turned into foam topped with smoked almonds, citrus oil, candied beets, and micro arugula with a glass of Francis Coppola Sofia Rosé in your home kitchen.

Keeping with his focus of local ingredients, every month Chef Walker visits a variety of farmers markets throughout the area and picks out the ingredients that inspire him to create seasonal menus. He scours Georgia farms and Atlanta-based international markets to find specialty ingredients. It’s great to see a chef so dedicated to supporting the Georgia food industry.

Fourth course was homemade pappardelle pasta with Chef Walker’s unique creation: lamb bacon. Though a bit too salty for me, the lamb bacon imparted a gamey flavor along with the smokiness of bacon (smoked on site), which paired nicely with the egg based pappardelle. The dish was topped with pork cheek, a quail egg, and Parmesan and served with Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon. It reminded me of the fading colder nights and the end of winter.

Chef Walker’s pastry chef, Chef Nicholas Long, created the last course, which was a take on a French classic—the millefeuille, a pastry made up of three alternating layers of flaky puff pastry and two layers of pastry cream.  Chef Long’s creation had lavender cream and fresh raspberries between the layers of puff pastry along with a spun sugar shell on top and a crystallized pansy from their backyard garden. The presentation was absolutely beautiful and it tasted as delicious as it looked, especially next to a glass of Valckenberg Beerenauselese port.  The cream was light and complemented the buttery puff pastry and tart raspberries. While studying in Paris I had my fair share of millefeuille—I was a bit addicted—and Chef Long’s version was as tasty as the millefeuilles in the French patisseries!

 ~ By guest blogger and Go Eat Give intern, Kate Keator. 

During the planning phases for my world travels I looked into various volunteering opportunities as a way of keeping my mind occupied with more than the usual tourist agenda and to discover new career possibilities that didn’t involve being confined to an office.  I discovered WWOOF, a membership-based listing of organic farms that accept volunteers in exchange for free room and board and after perusing some of the listings and feedback from other volunteers, decided this would be an excellent way for me to pass my time traveling and experiencing a broader experience than the usual tourist itinerary.  I would be relying on my Spanish skills, eating what the locals, ate and integrating some much needed exercise in my routine.

Why a Shrimp Farm?

I originally started looking for farms in Argentina with far-fetched hopes of finding an organic wine vineyard.  It came as no surprise that I didn’t have much luck; I imagine that more than a few travelers out there were itching to pass their vacation time amongst these sought after vineyards.  I found that the majority of the listed farms were vegetables, which in retrospect, should have been obvious.  This would have been fine until I noticed the trend that they were also mostly vegetarian, a lifestyle that I try to avoid.  Again, this probably should have been obvious.  I was a bit discouraged after a fair number of requests for stays, but eventually happened upon a listing for a shrimp farm near Guayaquil, Ecuador and was intrigued.  Before I even sent in my application to the farm, I started envisioning myself as one of my favorite movie heroes, Forrest Gump, wrangling a bunch of shrimp during the day and feasting on them at night.

Set to Task

After explaining to people that I planned to volunteer on an organic shrimp farm, the first question was: What does a volunteer such as yourself actually do on a shrimp farm?  In my case, I helped out with the less strenuous tasks such as feeding the shrimp from a boat and testing water quality in the lab.  My spasm prone back and I were happy enough to leave the more physically laborious tasks such as hauling 40 kg sacks of shrimp feed across the yard to the professionals who worked there.  After my daily chores of shrimp feeding were complete, usually around lunchtime, the rest of the day was usually spent resting in hammocks and mingling with the locals who worked there full-time.

After spending six weeks on the farm, I was grateful for the time spent there, ready to move on to a new destination and eager to share the stories of the shrimpmen.  Being able to have conversations with the local workers that transcend the standard personal background checks, was probably the most valuable benefit from this particular volunteer experience.  Being a group of over 40 workers who spend 3 weeks of every month with only each other and few outsiders, they were all more than happy to converse with the volunteers, sharing their life stories and asking about ours.  By the end of this trip, I heard countless tales, both sad and humorous about ex-wives, being 1 of 17 siblings, only having 5 children, baby mamas and more!  The conversations always centered around the topic of families and though they were a bit uncomfortable at first, especially the ones inquiring about my status as a single woman, this is what ultimately made this volunteer experience one of the most memorable ones.

 ~ By guest blogger, Lisa A Brignoni. Lisa volunteered at an organic shrimp farm in Ecuador for 6 weeks, and has traveled all over South America. She writes about travel, finance, and career breaks on her blog, Globally Misguided.