We recently joined a group called Tales From Abroad, where someone who has lived in – not just traveled to – another country shares something about daily life there and brings samples of the food common to the country. This first time we learned about India. Our hostess shared fascinating details of her life in India. We found out that there are 29 states in India, speaking 22 different languages. Can you imagine going from Texas to Louisiana to New York and the language is different in each state? (Although some might say it is!) We got to examine her collection of beautiful saris (72 of them) and bangles, as well as sample several types of dessert and a cup of chai. Chai actually means tea so we now know not to order Chai Tea as that is actually saying we want tea tea. We’ll just knowingly order Chai.

2 points – New FOODS

Next stop on our “world travels” was Cuba. One of our book clubs was reading the book Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton, so naturally the discussion took place at E. B. Latin Bistro. We had a delicious lunch of grilled shrimp with rice and black beans while discussing the politics of Cuba under Batista and Castro. We still talk about possibly going to Cuba one day when travel is not as restricted as it is now.

The last country on our journey was Lebanon. Ever since we went to the Egyptian street food restaurant for E month, we have been drawn to anything that advertises itself as street food. So how lucky to find Board Bites in Plano. We ordered the Kafka wrap, which was beef with spices and a homemade hummus in a toasted pita. We accompanied that with Fattoush, which is similar to a Greek salad but with the addition of pita chips drizzled with pomegranate molasses. Everything was delicious and the staff was very friendly and generously gave us a sample of two pieces of falafel. Then to cap things off for the day, we found a Lebanese bakery. OMG the desserts were great. The owner gave us a sample of three types of baklava (theirs are made with sugar instead of honey) and two types of shortbread cookies. Then Laura bought a sample of a dozen different desserts to bring back home. Once again, we probably would never have tried these wonderful cuisines had we not been traveling Far and wide for F month.