Tropical Ice Cream

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For the past few weeks, the temperature hit record highs, including several 100-degree days. In weather like this, a trip to an ice cream shop is an absolute must so I asked my friend Regina to join me at Tropical Ice Cream Café in Silver Spring, MD. The cafe sells homemade ice cream with tropical fruit from around the world, including lychee, guava, papaya, mango, passion fruit, rambutan and Irish moss. Due to its selection, the café has a reputation of attracting individuals from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean who are looking for flavors that remind them of home.

While the café also offers basic flavors like butter pecan, pistachio and strawberry, I decided to try something new and exotic to my taste buds. Therefore, I asked to sample Soursop (Guanabana), which has the coloring of vanilla. As the server prepared my sample, I asked her where the fruit is grown because I had never heard of Guanabana before that day. I learned that the fruit is found mainly in the Caribbean, Central America and parts of Africa. The flavor tasted citrusy with a hint of banana; I found the combination to be great. I immediately ordered a single scoop on a cone to go. Yes, I was surprised to find out that after all these years there are flavors better than mint chocolate chip, my all time favorite. Regina sampled a pineapple flavor for the first time. She is a huge health nut and was surprised to find the ice cream light and incredibly good.

I am sure there are local ice cream shops around the country that sell one or two of these flavors. On your next hot summer day, go treat yourself to a tropical ice cream cone. You will enjoy every lick!

Yoga at Work

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After more than a year, we finally got our weekly yoga session at work back up and running. Some may think that yoga is not a cultural experience; however, it originated in ancient India and focuses on the physical, mental and spiritual well being. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word “Yuj,” which means to yoke, join or unite. While yoga is not a religious activity, it is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Yoga comes in many forms and is a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures and meditation. For our lunch session, we watched a beginner Gaiam DVD featuring Robert Yee, a well-known yoga instructor. Instructor Yee took us through a 50-minute workout where we held several poses, including the Namaste position. As a reminder, Namaste translates to  “I greet the god within you” or “I bow (respectfully) to you” and is said during a customary greeting by pressing your palms together close to your chest. The music on the DVD is new age, a form of music influenced by Indian, Tibetan and Native American cultures. It’s the sort of music one would hear at a spa or mediation retreat.

By the end of this session, we all felt relaxed and ready for a nap, but projects and meetings were calling our names. Luckily, this session reenergized us to power through the rest of the day and allowed us to better focus on the tasks at hand.

If you want to try this ancient Indian ritual, I encourage you to take a yoga class at your local gym or use a DVD at home. And if you want to try yoga right now, watch this online video.

Cultural Insider Tip #10

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Consider hosting an international student or volunteering with an exchange program. It’s a great way to expose your family and community to a different culture, practice another language and help an individual explore life in the United States. For more information, consider organizations like Youth for Understanding or AFS.

A Cuban – Ghanaian Baby Shower

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I attended my friend ‘s baby shower this past weekend in New York. Barbara is of Afro Cuban decent and her husband, Gerald, is from Ghana, which makes a wonderful cultural mix for a celebration.

My friend Steph and I arrived early to help out, but Audrey, Barbara’s sister, was on top of everything. The party was on Saturday so the only thing left to do was to watch the U.S. – Ghana World Cup match. The game was exciting, and of course Gerald was thrilled with Ghana’s win.

The official party time was at 4PM. However, some of Barbara and Gerald’s family arrived an hour to three hours “late”, although this did not phase the parents-to-be. As guests arrived, I started to hear a mixture of Spanish and Twi, which was fascinating to listen to all at once. With the excitement of the baby’s July arrival, there were conversations around the name. Some thought the baby should be named after a Ghanaian soccer player, but I don’t think Barbara will allow that. Sorry, Gerald! I do know through Barbara that the Ghanaians perform a naming ceremony soon after the baby is born, and I believe they will apply some of those traditions for their child.

Now for the food, which was amazing. It’s always a treat to attend a party at Barbara’s mother’s house because I know Senora Smith would cook up something fabulous. Unfortunately, she told me that she did not cook much; she only whipped up a few appetizers. I admit that I was saddened to not have her mouth-watering bacalao or black beans. But of course, to my surprise, Senora Smith’s “not much” included flavorful lamb chops and delectable shrimp! The party was catered with an array of Caribbean food, including spicy jerk chicken, peas and rice and salmon. In addition, Gerald’s mom cooked a few items, including an incredible black-eyed peas and smoked turkey dish. This was my first time experiencing Ghanaian food and it will not be my last!

The baby shower itself was traditional, games and a ton of gifts. The parents were given great advice, and this baby will be well set from day one. By 10:30 p.m. I was pooped so Steph and I said our goodbyes. For some reason, I think the party continued long after we left. I knew we should have arrived on Cuban or Ghanaian time.

Congratulations Barbara and Gerald on your new baby! I can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or girl and to learn the meaning behind his or her name.

Taiwanese Bubble Tea

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A few months ago, after lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, a colleague told me about other local Asian restaurants for my blog. In particular, she pointed out Jumbo Jumbo Bubble Express, a Chinese restaurant that sells bubble tea. To her surprise, I had never heard of bubble tea so I promised to add it to my list of cultural things to try.

Well, it’s 95 degrees outside so I thought today was a good day to drink bubble tea. As I looked at the menu, I noticed a selection of iced flavored tea and milk tea that came in twenty varieties, including honey, mango, sour apple, peach, honeydew and blueberry. I was a little overwhelmed with the selection, plus there was no heading for bubble tea. I really needed help so I asked the server several questions. She informed me that all of the teas listed were bubble tea and that the milk flavor was more popular. Therefore, I decided on the passion fruit milk tea.

Another person behind the counter heard my order, shook something up and presented my tea in a clear cup with a sealed top. The chilled tea was a caramel color with a bunch of brown little balls on the bottom. They told me to take one of the large straws, punch it in the top and drink. As I drank the tea, the small balls came through the straw. They tried to explain that the balls were made of caramel and had a consistency of gummy bears. At every sip, I was forced to chew on these gummy balls, which tasted like Mascoto grapes, not my favorite. I tried to drink only the liquid, but the flavor of the caramel balls kept coming through.

While I did not love the drink, I was still curious about the tea so I went online. On bubbletea.com and Wikipedia, I learned that bubble tea is also called boba tea and originated in Taiwan. The drink has five components: a flavor (syrup or powder), creamer (milk, creamer or half & half), sweetener (sugar or honey), liquid (black or green tea) and tapioca pearls (the balls). The Tapioca pearls are jelly like and consist of caramel, starch and chamomile root extract or sweet potato, cassava root and brown sugar. The popularity of bubble tea in Taiwan and Hong Kong are just as big as soda and coffee in the U.S.

So do I recommend you try bubble tea too? Most definitely! It’s an interesting drink and worth the cultural experience.

A French Sunday Brunch

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On Sunday before we saw Thurgood, a play featuring Laurence Fishburne at The Kennedy Center, Richard, Ayanna, Jonathan and I had brunch at Circle Bistro, a French bistro located in downtown DC. I am not a connoisseur of French food so I was expecting to find a nerve-racking menu. However, it was brunch so most dishes were recognizable, like omelets and quiche. The French flavors came through ingredients such as various cheese and sauces.

We started with complimentary apple crumble cake and an order of beneighs. I had my first beneigh at Café Monde in New Orleans so I knew I would like it. I also ordered a mimosa, my favorite brunch drink. For the main entree, I was adventurous and ordered a Croque Madame, which is made of smoked ham, emmenthaler cheese, fried egg and mornay sauce. I had no idea what emmenthaler cheese or mornay sauce taste like so the waiter tried to explain them to me. In addition, I was a little nervous because I never had eggs over easy.

To my surprise, the dish was nothing like I expected. The ingredients were layered between slices of white bread, and the portion was rather large. Note: I always thought French food was served in small portions. On the other hand, as expected, the dish was very rich and flavorful.

Overall, I liked my meal and am glad I tried something new. However, I wish I skipped the cereal bar earlier that morning; I was full for the rest of the day.

Side Story: After brunch, while I pulled the car up to the restaurant, Jonathan, Ayanna and Richard saw Hillary and Bill Clinton drive by in a car. They waived at them, and the Clintons waived back. I was totally bummed that I missed them!

P.S. Thurgood was awesome! Go see it!