Sampling a school's flavors

You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can tell a lot about the International School of Boston from "Flavors of the World." The book, published by the bilingual school's Parents' Association, contains 167 recipes from 45 countries.

"Flavors of the World" (or "Saveurs du Monde") is the brainchild of Sue Jensen, Parents' Association co-president for the 2005-06 school year. Jensen came across "Les Desserts de L'Ecole Bilingue," produced in 1988 with Julia Child. A graduate of the Boston University culinary arts program, Jensen was convinced that the association should produce another fund-raising book for the school's campuses in Arlington and Cambridge.

"It became a bigger project than I ever imagined," she says. All of the recipes are in English and French. Some stretch the imagination, like kangaroo tail soup from Australia. Others, like South African bobotie, a spiced ground-beef comfort food in its native land, or yassa, a Senegalese preparation of chicken, meat, or fish, are dishes that travelers may have encountered. Not so Kaveri River trout in coconut milk, from southern India, a dish never served in restaurants. Some recipes, like Girl's Kiss Cake from Norway, just have great names; the cake is also easy to make.

Jensen, whose young son and daughter, Harry and Ruby, attend the school, served as editor. Parents gathered recipes, translated, proofread, and edited measurements. The school's French librarian gave the final linguistic stamp of approval.

Evelyne Astier-Ibrahim, a parent translator, grew up in Rome with a French father and an American mother. Italian is her first language and French her second. She moved to the United States in 1993, thinking she spoke English. "But then I watched my first episode of 'Seinfeld,' " she says. Her children, Nicholas, 13, and Isabelle, 9, speak English and French and are learning Italian.

Astier-Ibrahim was the final proofreader with Jensen; the job took three months. She also contributed pesto lasagna and erbazzone, an Italian puff pastry pie with Swiss chard and Parmesan. "Everybody gave one of their favorite recipes," she says, "things that had been in their family for a long time."

Madhulika Somasekhar, from the village of Chikkapalya in southern India, reviewed measurements and proofread. Her Kaveri River trout is only cooked at home. She describes meeting fishermen by the road as they returned from the river in the afternoon. People would catch their fish "at 3 o'clock, go home, and cook it at 5."

Somasekhar, a Somerville resident, says that she is still not a fan of saltwater fish.

The book is adorned with prints created by preschool and kindergarten students, who worked with Somasekhar. The group found a graphic designer who worked on a community-service basis, and the soft-cover volume won a bronze medal in June from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

With its eclectic recipes and glimpses into the lives of the families, "Flavors of the World" is a treat - in any language.

"Flavors of the World" is available at isbos.org.