La casita mía

¡Felicidades a La casita mía! Buena suerte a Sofia Bedoya Gil y Sandra Schick en su nueva tienda bonita con arte y comida en Doylestown, 50 S. Main St. (Hargrave House).

 

Santo Domingo REPUBLICA DOMINICANA

Escudo de armas de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (República Dominicana): en campo de gules, una llave de azur, flanqueada de dos leones de oro, surmontado todo de una corona también de oro, con bordura jironada de  plata y sable con la cruz de Santo Domingo contra cargada de sable y plata.


Comenzaremos nuestra visita a la Republica Dominicana, refiriendonos 
solamente al escudo de la capital del país. Mas adelante, nos aventuraremos a viajar por la isla, con sus bonitas selvas  humedas y playas de cuentos de piratas. 
No olvidemos que los mosquitos nos aguardaran con"hambre y sed de justicia"  
y los mejores protectores anti-insectos no daran cuenta de sus ataques a los
cuatro vientos.


No se pierda el proximo capitulo de la serie intitulada:


              "CHENCHEN y CHACA" (platos tipicos)

gentileza wikipedia

Los vegetales y las frutas

Ben y Marina nos llegan por video desde Madrid donde tienen un negocio enseñando el español a mucha gente por todos lados del mundo. De vez en cuando me mandan un enlace que me parece interesante para la gente de Sociedad Hispana Doylestown que no hablan español como primera lengua.

Dado que hay muchísimo interés en la comida tanto por parte de los seguidores del blog como los que asisten al Bbag lunches, (evidenciado por un post antiguo que siga siendo entre lo mas buscado Around the World in 80 Dishes, o tal vez Comida de Galicia), pensaba que debemos de aprender las palabras en español para la comida mas saludable. Toma la prueba aquí:
http://www.notesinspanish.com/2012/01/27/the-learn-spanish-fruit-and-vegetables-video-quiz/?utm_source=aweber-notesinspanish&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BC270112-fruitquizvid&utm_campaign=broadcast-fruitquizvid

Shopping by region for Spanish food-la tienda-La Rioja

Previously we put a popular link to La Tienda (Williamsburg, VA) for mail ordering Spanish products.
That link(cerámica) can be found here: http://www.sociedadhispanadoylestown.com/2011/11/ceramicaazulejos-la-tienda-3-day-sale.html

After seeing the foods listed by region today on LaTienda website, I have decided my favorite would be shopping in La Rioja.  First and foremost not only the great (and "fuerte" red wines), but the sausage and all the other goodies look much better than the anniversary dinner of braised short ribs I am now slow cooking.  In fact I think, (after winning the lottery) perhaps jamón iberico and a bottle or two of vino tinto?

Shopping by region of Spain:
http://www.tienda.com/shopbyregion/index.html



Shopping the la Rioja region:
http://www.tienda.com/shopbyregion/la_rioja.html

Finding the best place to live overseas in 45 seconds-Mendoza?

Dreams of a return to the international  life  abroad are interesting to contemplate.  The problem is getting a willing employer to finance the lifestyle. Nonetheless, if you like to daydream the simple test below allows you to input your monthly budget, and several other factors and determine your ideal international haven.  For me Mexico was the result, while my wife determined in 45 seconds France works for her.  Actually either one will do!

http://internationalliving.com/2011/01/find-your-perfect-place-to-live-overseas/
Source: International Living Magazine.

Not related to the test above, the Wall Street Journal offers advice for people wanting to own a piece of the vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina.  Looks like a nice place to spend a few months.  I wonder where it falls on the above International Living list?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204720204577130680424471996.html

Ecuador/Peru

Recently I made my first foray into South America. I was looking for costume jewelry and crafts for our business of 25 years in New Hope, PA. Though I have driven to Mexico many times, it is far too dangerous now to be tooling around with money and/or merchandise. So I looked for a new route. My brother-in-law (concunado) and I arrived to Quito on Halloween and were immediately aware of the altitude. The next day we got Diamox which helped. And we tried the coca leaf tea which is supposed to help. We checked out a few markets and shops and found a costume jewelry line made out of tagua. It is the seed of a spiny palm tree (making it a renewable source) and looks like plastic. Our grandmothers probably sewed on buttons made of tagua. Lately they are dying it and turning it into earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc. The tree itself is used for flooring and is not endangered in the least. From Quito we headed to Otavalo 2 hours to the north. I had to improvise some transportation as the whole town was vacating for the long day of the dead vacation. Otavalo had more tagua, at a better price and some beautiful vistas. Back in Quito, we headed south to Banos and then Cuenca, both lovely towns. We investigated flying to Lima but flights across national lines were much more expensive than national flights. So we boarded the Pullman Sucre (which we eventually called the Pullman sucker) bus that left at night. We got to the Ecuadoran/Peruvian border around 1 am and had to check out of Ecuador (one hour) and into Peru (another hour). This trip was like going by the dark side of the moon. With some hair raising moments we made it to Piura, Peru and beelined for the airport. A ticket to Lima was under 100 dollars and just 40 or so more than the 20 hour bus. We flew. Lima was like Paris (especially after Piura). As cosmopolitan as it gets. We stayed in Miraflores but also visited Barranco which I liked better. But Miraflores was nicely situated to get downtown where I found the costume jewelry and artesania center. One can also see the bones of Pizarro in the cathedral. From Lima we flew to Cusco (just 40 dollars more than the 20 hour bus) and of course "did" Machu Picchu, where we were spirtually lifted, of about 175 dollars. Not robbed mind you, at least not in the conventional sense. But this sacred cow of Peru is being milked for every drop. I told anyone who would listen that the Taj Mahal only cost 25 dollars, and it is not a ruin. Anyway, from Cusco we bussed down to Puno on Lake Titicaca (about 8 hours). Puno is a typical border town (read dirty and dusty), but a good place to buy alpaca wool as most of the herds are in the south. We climbed (crawled) up Condor hill where I was as high as I have ever been, 4107 meters or about 2 and a half miles. There was a great view of the lake from up there. From Puno we bussed it to Arequipa (another 6 hours) which dazzles with the sillar volcanic rock that makes up most of its buildings. This town is truly a gem and well worth the visit. Overall the hustle and bustle in Peru proved the point of the Wall Street Journal article found on this blog. The country is not in crisis or recession. From Arequipa we flew back to Lima (avoiding another 20 hour bus ride) for about 60 bucks. I did some last minute buying and we ended up in Barranco right by the bridge of sighs to eat the famous ceviche, jalea (fried fish dish) and cuy (guinea pig). I had the former while Mike ate the cuy (which I tried, tasted like rabbit). One other highlight culinary wise was alpaca. Surprisingly tasty. Overall, a pleasant 18 days.

Chip

Recalentado de pavo: Mama Latina Tips-Sloppy Joe's

http://www.mamalatinatips.com/

Siempre busco las recetas de Mama Latina.  También me gusta sloppy joe's-pero con pavo ?

Foto cortesía de The Dish

Sidrerías y comida a la Asturiana

http://www.tienda.com/recipes/emails/101111.html?utm_source=Resp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EMC-101611UPD

Lo mas que leo el sito web de La Tienda, lo mas hambre que tengo después de ver a las recetas de comida.  Nunca visité Asturias, España, pero las recetas de comida parecen tan apetitosas...tal vez en la cena anual del grupo en diciembre habrá comida con sidral?

Chef Ferran Adria in The Washington Post

Thanks Amanda!  The article in The Washington Post about Catalan chef Ferran Adria from the restaurant El Bulli in Catalyuna Spain makes me hungry.

From the article by Tim Carman: “We had like a period of two or three years in which we were quite radical about the kind of ingredients and products we used. They had to be Catalan and old Spanish,” Ferran says through an interpreter. “The principle behind that decision was that if we wanted to do something that was very different to nouvelle cuisine, we had to try and use ingredients that weren’t commonly found in nouvelle cuisine, like foie gras or scallops or so on, otherwise people would identify or relate them to nouvelle cuisine.”

To read the interesting article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/ferran-adria-outtakes-i-the-early-years/2011/10/11/gIQAmSbIcL_blog.html

To learn more about Adria: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Adri%C3%A0