In our History course, we are currently learning about The Silk Road. This week’s assignment is making a Silk Road Supper.
We were given 4 courses (appetizer, main dish, side item, and dessert), Ella & Mia each chose two courses that they were going to be responsible for. I also chose 2 of my own to contribute to our feast. Ella chose a main & side, Mia chose the appetizer & dessert. They prepared their grocery lists by writing down the ingredients from each recipe that we needed to buy, leaving out the items that we already have.
Our next step was to go on a field trip to the grocery store and learn where the ingredients that we needed were sourced from, then buy the items that we need for our supper. We are fortunate to live where there is not only one Jungle Jims, but two, and either one a 20 minute drive for us. We decided that was the perfect store for this assignment.
For my friends outside Ohio, Jungle Jims is an International Grocery Supermarket. It’s sort of like an amusement park, but for foodies. It’s currently listed as the largest grocery store in the world. People travel from all over the country to visit this market.
You can shop international products by country. You can watch old-time animatronics perform or join eating contests. You can hang out at the lounge for beer & wine testing, or check out a cooking class at The Cooking School. Visit their Award Winning Restrooms. Watch the Jungle Jims Story in the theater or take a guided tour.
There is nearly every type of food you can think of from all over the world. It’s really fun to find new things to try that you otherwise would never know even existed.
It really is such an interesting place. If it’s your first time going, plan on spending at least half of your day there, if not more. It’s very easy to overspend though, so we try not to spend too much time browsing when we go. There’s a huge shopping area for kitchen tools & accessories, and a giant old school toy section filled with toys from my childhood & collectors items.
The surrounding Plaza around Jungle Jims has plenty of food options if you’ve made yourself hungry while shopping and want to grab a bite to eat on your way home. Don’t leave without checking out the renovated Monorail that once upon a time in Cincinnati history rode guests through King’s Island’s now-retired Lion Country Safari exhibit.
They are currently expanding the jungle, and I’m sure, surrounding Plaza as well. I’m so excited to see what all is added!
A Silk Road Supper
• APPETIZER: Bruschetta al Pomodoro • (Mia)
I feel like this was a strange dish to be included in a Silk Road Supper, considering tomatoes are native to the Americas & did not reach Italy until the mid-1500s… after the Silk Road had already closed nearly 100 years prior… but we’re all about celebrating other cultures so we kept it on the menu 🤷🏼♀️. It was delicious though, so we’re glad we did!
• MAIN DISH: Middle Eastern Market Chicken • (Ella)
I forgot to get a picture of the finished dish, or of what it looked like packed inside a pita wrap – we were all so hungry by the time dinner was served. Ella made a rotisserie chicken in the crockpot. She’s getting really comfortable working with meat.
I made a Ready to Cook vegetarian legume “chicken” for myself. I don’t usually buy these products, but I wanted to try to get as close to the menu as possible for myself and I’m glad I did. It was so delicious.
• SIDE ITEM #1: Gan Bian Si Ji Dou • (Ella)
Ella chose to use ground turkey for this recipe. I think we would remake, omitting the meat all together. We substituted regular rice wine because I could get it at my work with my discount. Dad got to drink the rest. He said it tastes like if vodka & wine had a baby.
• SIDE ITEM #2: Biryani Rice • (Mom)
This ended up being Sasha’s Favorite dish. I’ve never had it so I have nothing to compare to. My husband said it tasted “Middle Eastern.” I think that means it turned out right? It was what I was aiming for. I thought it was good, and had the most pleasant aroma. I caramelized the onions all day (10 hours) in a crockpot and I feel that they still never got very caramelized. They smelled amazing while they cooked, though.
• DESSERT: Sakkarai Pongal • (Mia)
I liked this a lot. It sort of reminded me of Ukrainian Kutya, but thinner. The kids were disappointed, they thought it tasted more like Oatmeal than pudding and saw this as more of a breakfast option than a dessert option. I could see that. I did have some with breakfast the next morning and can confirm, it’s awesome for breakfast.
• BEVERAGE: • Ukrainian Kompot (Mom)
My reason for choosing this (besides that it is so delicious) is that the Silk Road branched off to the Black Sea, off the coast of Ukraine, which has always been a vital trading route, even today. China has been working on re-opening the Modern Silk Road that Ukraine aims to be a destination on for trade. Ukraine’s land is known to be the most furtile in the world and is known to be The Bread Basket of The World from their major exportation of wheat, soy, barley, maize, and sunflowers. Plus, we’re Ukrainian and I’ll use anything as an excuse to celebrate our culture!
Kompot is so great because in the summer you can serve it cold, then in these cold, winter months you can serve it warm like tea. It’s a great way to use up fruit that is turning mushy, but not yet moldy. Instead of throwing those away, place them in a gallon-size ziplock bag in your freezer. Once you fill a bag, use it for making Kompot to cut down on food waste & enjoy a delicious fruit drink.
I hope you enjoyed our Silk Road experience as much as we did. We thought it was a lot of fun and very hands on & family-oriented which we love. I am really grateful that we were able to take a field trip to such a large international market for this project. I’m also grateful for being presented with new foods to try and having children with an adventurous & open eating palate who are always willing to try new foods with me.
When I first began this blog, I really wanted to teach others how I went from heroin addict & 5 time felon (whose record is now expunged 🙌🏼!) back to functioning human & how they can do the same.
Over time, as life happened & more babies were added to our family, I focused on other interests that were important to me at the time (and still are). I volunteered at City Gospel Mission once a month on a Friday to “humble myself so I wouldn’t forget where I came from and remind myself that I could be back there at any moment” (and because I genuinely enjoyed it) until the world shut down, but I will admit- I thought less and less about food banks since the beginning of my sobriety… until I began needing them again a couple years ago for the first time since getting sober. Well, I’m back here… And still sober. Didn’t see that one coming!
When UNWLA Branch 144 first formed, I was tasked with this job to create a list for group of all of these places – in Ukrainian language – for the major influx of Ukrainian refugees, but with homeschooling, and homemaking/mini homesteading, and also going back to work part time for the first time in 6 years, I continued to push it down further and further on my list of priorities.
However, lately, more & more people have been asking me where they can go to get help with food, so I wanted to put together a super master list that I can share anytime someone needs help. A list that will involve every single place, by area, with a list of documents required all in one place (that will be translated into Ukrainian still as well 💙💛) because searching for these places can be extremely tedious and overwhelming.
I’ve been waiting to post this until it was perfectly finished, but with it being such a major need at this time, I decided the perfect time is now. I will continue to add to & work on this list as time allows.
Because of how large each county is, and how many places are available, especially in Hamilton Co., I am going to break it down by county to make it easier. So, in other words this is only the first list. I’ll link counties at the bottom of this page as I complete them. Other resources besides food will be listed in separate posts. Places with ♡ by the name will accept any Hamilton County resident.
I truly hope this helps ❤️
CENTRAL
Avondale, Bond Hill, Deer Park, Hartwell, Kennedy Heights, Kenwood, Oakley, Norwood, Pleasant Ridge, Roselawn, Silverton
Address: 7945 Elizabeth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
You must first go across the street to Hilltop Shopping Plaza at 8200 Hamilton Avenue to get your shopping number. There will be a Tikkun Farm Flag placed by the second light post. Park in line of spaces by the flag and a volunteer will come to your car to assist you.
Documentation: Photo ID, Children: birth certificate, crib card, school record, medical or insurance card, a bill in your name with current Loveland address postmarked within 30 days. If you live in government subsidized housing, you must also supply a copy of your current lease.
From Heroin to Housewife 