Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Photo courtesy of user Patty3m on Flickr Location : Oceania, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand Area : Over 18,000 sq km; 157th largest in the world           Slightly smaller than New Jersey Geography : 332 islands, about 110 are inhabited Population : Almost 900,000; 161st largest in the world Background : Fiji has had several coups and leadership changes since 1970 when British rule ended.  Their current prime minister refuses to hold elections. Capital : Suva Military : Large armed forces for a country of their size.  Major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions Sources: CIA World Factbook , Wikipedia The problem with me doing an island nation is just that - they are an island nation.  What are they surrounded by?  Water.  What is in the water?  Seafood.  What don't I like?  Seafood.  With that in mind, I was able to find some non-fishy Fijian recipes.  I can't guarantee th...

Size : Almost 8 million sq km - 6th biggest in the world         Slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states Exports : World's largest exporter of coal Population : 21.5 million - 54th biggest in the world Capital : Contrary to popular belief, it is Canberra Australian cuisine : Very global - not necessarily a defining style Really, I have read Bill Bryson's book "In a Sunburned Country."  What else did I need?  Plus, Ryan studied abroad in Australia, so I just asked him for advice.  It all boiled down to one word: kangaroo.  He recommended I find some.  And make it rare...apparently overcooked kangaroo is not very good.  To make it even more appealing, Kevin ate some in France before and said it was very good. So I looked.  And I found . However, that is super-expensive.  Like whoa.  As much as I would like to do that, it seemed a bit ridiculous.  Plus, kangaroo isn't even the national di...