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Thanks Amberleigh – looking forward to the next 195! I wonder how different this dish is to an Indian saag gosht – I'll have to look ...

Hey Russell, pretty similar method I imagine, though less heavily spiced and without the heat, from what I can see. More of a stew flavoured with spices than a curry. Going from a quick browse of recipes, anyway - I have very little knowledge/experience with Indian cooking (give me a couple of months :)

Very inspirational Amberleigh,( as I sit down to a bowl of mystery leftovers from the freezer) thank you. I am accompanying my daughter through a difficult and painful recovery from an eating disorder and any good story, one like your journey back to the pleasure of food gives hope and encouragement. I’ll also be looking forward to reading more of your culinary adventures. :-)

Hey buddy. Glad you saw this. Amberleigh's inspiring in a bunch of ways :-)

I'm really sorry to hear that Nat - it's definitely a long and painful road. I'm sorry the both of you are having to travel it - but also amazing that you're there with her through it. I'm not too sure about inspirational - I still struggle a lot! But have discovered that learning to love and be excited about food is certainly possible. I'm hoping this project will help extend the comfort zones a bit more, and if someone can find hope in my ramblings, too - then that's more than I could have hoped for :) Wishing all the best for your daughter.

Awesome idea Amberleigh and I'm looking forward to your discoveries. Sometimes the hardest part about cooking is thinking of what to cook and you now have a plan for the next couple of years :).

Sorry to here about a eating problems. Finding a reason to cook actual food sounds like a really healthy approach - my guess is you'll find a lot of countries that rely on rice/corn/wheat as primary calories with whichever vegetable is in season. Hopefully your paleo/primal diet is not too strict and you can allow yourself some flexibility.

Some suggestions:
When you get to The Netherlands don't use whitloff (aka bitter endive) - it's disgusting and is my worst memory of pushing food around a plate as a child. Instead make some croquettes.

The USA will have lots of options but I'd be tempted by Southern BBQ, slow cooked beef brisket can be amazing. Hawaiian Poke is a different option for the US and probably healthier :).

Mexican mole is amazing as a base sauce for lots of great dishes

Oddly, although it isn't exactly a healthy long term choice I've found trying doughnuts in different countries is really interesting. I never realised how many different types of doughnut there are.

We moved to New Zealand from Malaysia when I was fourteen, so a big motivation to learn to cook was to recreate the flavours I grew up eating. (Back then Malaysian food wasn't so easy to find, and it was much cheaper to make it at home than pay restaurant prices.)

More recently I went through a period of trying to get dinner ready in 40 minutes or less: I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen after working all day. I've amassed a repertoire of dishes that fit that description, and even if I'm not so strict about that 40 minute limit anymore, it's rare that a weeknight dinner takes longer than that to prepare.

If you're looking for a Malaysian dish to try, you're spoilt for choice. It's a country that's had fusion cuisine for literally centuries, a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, English, and Portuguese cultures all contribute to the melting pot. Restricting the selection to something more paleo does limit choices but there are still many to choose from.

You could try a Chicken kerabu which is Nonya spicy chicken salad. One of the ingredients is wood-ear, a brown fungus that also grows in New Zealand.

Useless trivia: we used to export wood-ear to China.

Finally got around to making this meal for the family. My changes were :
- Used Lamb shoulder chops, and cut the meat off the bone before cooking.
- Used fresh spinach instead of frozen, but didn't need to add any extra water (but did leave it wet after washing it).
- Used purple onions instead of yellow
- No dill (or fenugreek)
- and unfortunately, I forgot to add the yoghurt before serving.

Served on brown rice, with broccoli and cheese on the side.

Considering that spinach is not a vegetable that is ever purchased in this household, (I personally dislike it), the meal wasn't bad. The spinach taste didn't come through at all, and it was a nice stew. Ranked out of 10, was a 5 and three 6's. Miss found it a little too spicy (though not enough to warrant going to the effort of going the fridge to get the yoghurt).

One down. 195 to go :- )