Cooking in Guatemala

Cooking in Guatemala is easy and immensely enjoyable. 

Baking is almost impossible, so don't go expecting to roll out a new batch of cookies every week. If people have an oven, it is used to store dishes. 

Step #1: Go to the market. The market has more choices of fruits and vegetables than I've ever seen in one place. And they are truly fresh, most picked earlier that week or day, then brought in from the country-side. Choices, choices, choices. Cheap, cheap, cheap. All the food above I spend less than $8 buying!

Step #2: Go to the supermarket. Most Guatemalan cities have supermarkets where you can get most things. I love olive oil. I love being healthy when possible. Most Guatemalans cook with vegetable oil or lard. Lots of it. 

If you don't feel like slow cooking black beans you can buy them. In cans or bags. A small bag o' beans, a medium bag o' beans or a large bag o' beans. If you are a condiment user, you can also buy to your hearts delight...in lots of different sized bags. Don't forget about the hot dogs...for sale in mass quantities at both the market and the supermarket. 

Step #3: Cook! Yes, if you are not going to treat your raw veggies and fruits, but you are going to eat the skin, make sure to flash them in boiling water to kill any critters, bacteria, amoebas, or parasites that might be lurking on them. 

Step #4: Get daring. Try new things. (The above bowl is filled with small, intensely hot chilies that you buy in the market still in their husks). Talk to people at the markets. Ask them questions. Ask to try things. 

Ask your teachers or local friends to teach you how to cook a local dish...or two...or three. 

The above is a traditional soup that we made as a school activity. Served with tortillas, of course. 

Step #5: Enjoy!!!! Stray from the usual. Be creative with "usual" recipes or favorites. My friends Sarah, Monique and Robbie has Nacho Night at least three times a week. Mango salsas started evolving. Additions to the chips grew and grew.

If I would have continued living with a host family, I would not have been able to interact every other day with the sellers at the market. It enabled me to truly be a part of life in Xela. To be creative, to try new things, to ask new questions and to live like everyone else. Go shopping, bargain, cook, eat, be happy!

Summer at Stowe Pinnacle

It's important to visit the same trails and same peaks in multiple seasons. The last time I hiked Stowe Pinnacle was in the spring with snow covering everything. Snowshoes, layers, hats, gloves and sunglasses. 

Beautiful Jaime, her son Lucas and I made our way up this quick hike on a gorgeous, windy Sunday this summer. 

Everything was unrecognizable in comparison with the winter. 

It was a perfect summer day. We built up a good sweat, which made the snacks of cheese, blueberries and other Vermont summer nibbling's divine. 

But the truth: Lucas made the hike. He was nothing but smiles. People passed and started conversations with Jaime as Lucas engaged with his charming eyes and teeth of a smile. He was enjoying the ride as super-mom Jaime carried him up and down in her backpack carrier.

It was a perfect summer hike...a perfect summer day in Vermont.

A Man's Best Friend

True love, devotion, companionship...and not from a dog, but from a cat and to a cat.
This is a photo Dave took during a wedding down at the Burlington waterfront. The man on the bike with the cat is making quite a reputation for himself around town. We call him the "Catrider."

Makes you think...

The Bean - Part 2

From the tree to the cup, the bean's presence in everyday life...everywhere around the world...is omnipotent.

And if it's raining in Antigua, Guatemala, you have a limited budget, and you are going stir crazy in you hostel, what better way to spend the afternoon but in a super moderno cafe on Parque Central. 

Cafe Barista is a hip chain of high-end coffee shops in Guatemala. Not necessarily because their prices are extraordinarily high, but because the quality of their service is unwavering and the caliber of their beans stand alone. Oh, and the interior decor is quite modern/post-modern. 

Yes, it is true that one cup of coffee costs 3-4 Quetzales (about 40 cents) more than other places, but nowhere else has a French press for two, which gives you more and better coffee than any other cafe in town. And because it's large and shared, the price is actually as cheap as the cheapest.  Oh, how I love the French press!

So yes, what do you do when it's raining in Antigua and you are on a budget? Head to the coffee shop to sip on some delicious Guatemalan beans and have good conversation...until which you hit a point that all the caffeine rushing through your veins MAKE you walk joyously through the streets in the crooked rain.  

Salud!

The Bean - Part 1

The power of the bean. 

The coffee bean, that is. 

In the mountains between the highlands of Guatemala and the hot, dry coast, coffee plants thrive. To make sure these plants don't get too much sun, palm and banana trees have been planted systematically within the crops to dapple shade on the coffee below throughout the day. 

Considering coffee has been around since the 13th century, you can imagine the wealth associated with exporting the prized Guatemalan beans. 

The majority of coffee plantations are owned by one of the 30 wealthy families in Guatemala that control...well, pretty much everything. And if the owners aren't one of the families, they are foreigners, like this plantation we visited. 

Italian owned and locally run, this massive plantation was not free-trade and during picking and processing season (September/October and/or January/February) dozens of families live together under one large roof and sleep on the floor. Their days are long, with every family member out in the fields picking...even the babies and children. And they get pennies a day for their labor. 

So, buy FAIR TRADE when possible. It makes a difference. 

The caffeine capsule. Small and powerful.  

My one word of advice. If it's not coffee season, don't tour a finca (farm). It was hot and every aspect of the processing center was closed down. The green coffee beans were durable and confidently growing on their stems.

I'm looking forward to seeing the varied shades of reds, oranges and yellows that the beans turn when they are mature and ready to pick. Next time...

Tea & Cookies Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is a hip, colonial, modern town. From clubs, to VIP lounges, to espresso houses and wine bars, Antigua, Guatemala has it all. They even have a cookie restaurants! 

What else are you going to do when it's raining out and you have a hankering for a little something sweet? Pick out a couple of cookies, order a tea, and do some dipping. 

From chocolate-macadamia to  oatmeal monsters the cookie shop has over 25 types of cookies from which to choose. They even have almond-butter cookies in the shapes of half-moons...the ones we used to make every Christmas with our Nana.  

At the cookie shop you can watch the bakers at work, or even request a certain type of cookie.

Sarah and I practiced our Spanish by reading one of the local newspapers, sipping tea and dipping cookies. 

Sometimes I wish it would rain more often so I could use that excuse for sitting and relaxing in a cookies shop with a cup of tea. It was lovely, to say the least.

Thinking Outside the Box

My niece reminds me to be silly, to run around the house dancing, to think outside of the box. It's good to be around little people. They remind us and help us to unteach what society has ingrained in us. How do we stop the cycle? Be silly and wear baskets on our heads. Dance to your favorite music. Laugh. 

When I was little I used to sit for hour and make mud pies. I don't remember the last time I played in the dirt. It's time. 

Thank you to all the little people in my life. And thank you to the adults who make it possible for those little people to be who they are.