There you go again - The Perfect Guacamole

(This really has nothing to do with the post)

Since I was a trainee in San Luis Las Carretas, guacamole has been a part of my Peace Corps experience. Guatemalans normally just mash an avocado and mix in salt and possibly mint and eat with a tortilla. Our training group enjoyed making elaborate guacamole and I've decided to share with you the San Luis special. This guac can be eaten with tortillas, tostadas or my favorite (thanks Julia) - a soft corn tortilla topped with refried beans, guacamole and hot sauce - has been dinner more than a few times. Unfortunately, avocado season passed maybe 3 weeks ago. Now I have to travel two hours to buy more expensive avocados (which went from 1q to between 2.5q - 5q).




The Perfect Guacamole

4 large avocados, peeled and seeded
3 small tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lime (lemon can substitute)
3 cilantro stems, chopped
salt to taste
chile cobanero (optional)

Mash avocados and combine with remaining ingredients. Mix so that there are no large chunks of avocado. Serve with warm tortillas.

Hijacking the Tzibal Women's Group - Minestrone Soup

(Doña Estela - The Spanish-speaker/leader of the group)




(The group meeting outside)

A week or two ago, my site mate Hannah (the wonderful) had to go away for a seminar. Every week she goes and cooks with a group of women in the town of Tzibal, maybe a 35 minute walk uphill, and works on projects as well. They had been asking when if I was ever going to come with her, so her absence provided me an opportunity to work with them. The group has about 20 women that always come and only one speaks Spanish. My kekchi is minimal; I can buy things, say where I'm going and greet people, as well as discuss healthy practices, making for a somewhat interesting interaction with the women's group.


(Cleaning the vegetables)

I decided to make Minestrone Soup. The women are accustomed to making soups, mainly meat-based soups with very few vegetables, so I decided to use this an opportunity to give them an example of a vegetable-based soup that could give them ideas on things to add to their current soups and everything can be found locally. I also showed them how to make a broth (though they ate the vegetables out of it) and to keep the skins and greens parts that they would normally discard. Overall they enjoyed it, except it would've been better with meat, which is a common saying when Hannah works with them as well. While soups in the US are eaten primarily when it is cold, in Campur, soup are eaten year-round regardless of how hot it is.


(Tortilla-making)

I was able to find all the ingredients at Campur market, except for basil and oregano, which sometimes grows in the villages.

Minestrone Soup


(Sautéing vegetables for the broth)

Vegetable Broth

1 bushel of thyme
1 large leek, roughly chopped
2 peppercorns
1 carrot with top, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 bunch of celery with leaves, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons salt (to taste)
water
oil (optional)
Dashes of soy sauce (optional)

Normal broth: Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart pot and boil for 15 minutes. Strain through a colander, setting aside the broth and discarding the vegetables. Add a few dashes of soy sauce for color.

Rich broth: In 10-quart pot, saute all ingredients in oil until the onions are clear. Add water and boil for 15 minutes. Strain through a colander, setting aside the broth and discarding the vegetables. Add a few dashes of soy sauce for color.

Minestrone Soup

2 large onions, chopped
2 large carrots with tops, chopped
1 bunch of celery with leaves, chopped
2 lbs. potatoes with skin, scrubbed and chopped
vegetable broth (see above)
2 teaspoons thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped (if fresh) or dried
2 tablespoon oregano, dried
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
chile cobanero, to taste
1 lb. cooked white beans (canellini or Great Northern)
1 bag pasta (elbows, macaroni, etc)
1 lb. tomatoes
1 bunch leafy vegetable (macoy, spinach, radish leaves, etc.)
grated cheese (campo, parmesan, etc)

Saute onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes until onions are clear. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and add herbs and seasonings. After 10 minutes, add cooked beans, and leafy vegetable and pasta. Once pasta is al dente (still firm when bitten), add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Serve and garnish with cheese. Accompany with tortillas or crusty bread.

Variations: Add cubed chicken breast or thigh or cubed beef.

Serves 15.

To Everything There Is A Season - Campur Vegan Smoothies

To everything there is a season and the political season has begun in both the US and Guatemala. As a volunteer, I'm not allowed to comment on Guatemalan politics, though I will say that I hope for a fair and violence free election (same goes for the American election). As an American, I have free rein on American politics (I think), and I won't say much, but I will remind you of a time when needs of the poor were openly discussed by at least one party, political discourse was a bit more amiable and ideological purity was less important than having a functioning government that served everyone.


(When Liberals were Liberals)

Now back to the real point of this blog, food. It is currently mango, watermelon and avocado season here in Campur. Eaten separately, these fruits are amazing, but combined, they become super amazing. Adding cilantro and ginger to this recipe has health benefits as well, cilantro helps to take out toxins from the body and ginger has anti-fungal properties. They both add a bit of a punch to any drink mixture. It is best to use fruits that are extremely ripe (but not rotten), as their natural sugars will sweeten the smoothie. Also, a very sweet watermelon can takes the place of regular sugar and water. Add an avocado in place of milk, though it adds a weird color to the mix if the smoothie is left in the air too long.


(Doña Modesta - Her family sells the best watermelons in town, big and sweet for about 2 dollars)

Campur Vegan Smoothies





flesh of 1/2 of watermelon, seeded and chopped
2 avocados, peeled and seeded
2 bananas, peeled
2-3 large mangoes, peeled and seeded
juice of 1 lime or lemon
1-2 inches of ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until all ingredients have been well processed.


(Please ignore the unmade bed in the background.)

Serves 8.

Campur Comfort - Chicken and Dumplings

It has been more than a month now since the State of Siege has been lifted, and I can finally say that things have returned to normal. Crowds of school children chant my name as I walk past, babies cry when they see me, my house goes from extreme cleanliness to extreme dustiness in a week and I haggle over 12c (1 quetzal) for everything at the market, the difference sometimes causing me to just walk away. In celebration of my return to the normalcy of abnormalcy (not a real word), I've decided to share my Chicken and Dumplings recipe.


(Something out of the normal - The municipality of San Pedro Carchá decided to flatten the dirt roads and put in drainage systems. We'll have to wait until the rainy season to see how well they work. Buena Onda.)

This recipe, originally from the Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook, was one of my first ventures into cooking. The meal never took me 30 minutes and after perfecting the recipe, it still takes a number of hours to prepare. I like to make everything from scratch--it gives the dish a much richer flavor. The dish is also a hit with my fellow volunteers, who from time to time beg me to make it. I think you will enjoy it as well.


(Thyme and Bay Leaf)

With everything made from scratch, you can really control the quality of the food, as well as the amount of salt. Here in Campur, you can buy a freshly-killed yellow chicken on market days early in the morning, with heart, neck, liver and lungs attached (unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, but in the future I'll bring my camera to the market.) The heart and neck are ideal, however unnecessary, when making homemade broth because they add tons of flavor to the broth. You can also save your bones, cooked or fresh (though the two should not be mixed together) and use them to make the broth. I also used the tail, fat and skin that the woman gave me to fulfill the 3 pounds of meat that I asked for. With regards to the vegetables, be sure to use the tops, skins and greens, as they will add more flavor, color, and nutrients to your broth. Be prepared for a long day when making this recipe from scratch, the broth takes 3-4 hours alone.
Buen Provecho!


Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken Broth



2 pounds of chicken scraps (bones, neck, heart, skin, wingdings and fat)
1 carrot with top, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 bunch of celery with leaves, roughly chopped
2 peppercorns
1 bunch of thyme
1 bay leaf (laurel)
3 tablespoons of salt (to taste)
water
oil (optional)

Normal broth: Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart pot and boil for 4 hours, skimming scum off the top. Once cooled, skim off fat and strain through a colander, setting aside the broth and discarding the vegetables.

Rich broth: In 10-quart pot, saute all ingredients in oil until the onions are clear. Add water and boil for 4 hours. Once cooled, skim off fat and strain through a colander, setting aside the broth and discarding the vegetables.

Dumplings

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (regular milk with a few drops of vinegar/lemon that is allowed to curd - takes about 5 minutes)
3 tablespoons parsley leaves, fresh or dried

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Cut butter into chunks and mix with flour until it looks like course meal. Add buttermilk until just mixed. This should not be prepared until the main dish is near completion, as they will sit on top of the broth.

Chicken and Dumplings



2 carrots with tops, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1 bunch of celery chopped
2 pounds potatoes, chopped
2 pounds chicken breast, chopped
1 cup flour
oil
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon thyme
chicken broth
dumpling mixture (doubled if you would like a lot of dumplings)



Season chopped chicken with salt and pepper and dip in flour. Sauté chicken in oil until browned. Set aside in a bowl. In two pots, sauté chopped vegetables, allowing them to stick to the bottom of the pan a little, until onions are clear. Add the chicken and cook for two more minutes. Add broth to both pots and bring to a boil, lowering to a simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Add dumpling mixture in heaping spoonful at a time to the simmering broth, dividing the amount of dumplings evenly between the two pots. Cover for 10 minutes. Take off tops and allow to cook for 5 minutes.



Serves 10.

After 2 weeks of Procrastination - Beef Stir-Fry with Sesame-Ginger Sauce

After two weeks of procrastination, my house is finally clean enough to cook extravagant meals again. I know it sounds like pure laziness (because it is) but being away from one's house for two months can leave one overwhelmed, so I tackled the mess day by day, a little at a time. To celebrate, I invited Hannah and her visiting friend over for dinner following the Señorita de Campur contest (modeled after Ms. Universe) and made Beef Stir-Fry with Sesame-Ginger sauce.



The joy of stir fry is that you can add just about anything and as long as the sauce and the seasonings are right, it will come out perfect (PCV Rey Wike introduced me to the simplicity stir-fry in Granados, Baja Verapaz a few years back). The beef came from my host family's butcher shop and cost 2 dollars a pound, no matter what cut. The mushroom soy sauce was purchased at País (Walmart) and is very rich and thick in texture, providing awesome flavor to any marinade or sauce. I bought the ginger from a shop owner near the Catholic church who keeps a garden at her store and the 5-spice powder was sent down by a former co-worker (Hsiao-wen Whoo whoo!).



The key to stir-fry is having all the vegetables chopped and prepared to go onto the wok (I still haven't learned this lesson). Also, you should have enough bowls ready to be able to take food off the wok as well.

*I apologize for the lack of pictures and quality of food presentation. I just bought a camera, so I'll be able to go more in-depth with my pictures of food...as far as the quality of the food presentation, that will be a work in process. By the time I finish cooking, I'm normally starving and more concerned with how the food feels going down than how it looks.

Beef Stir-Fry with Sesame-Ginger Sauce

Beef Marinade

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of pepper
3 tablespoons of soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of 5-spice powder
1 lb. of beef

Combine ingredients in a bowl and marinate covered while chopping vegetables and making stir-fry sauce.



Sesame-Ginger Stir-Fry Sauce

1/2 cup of chicken broth (consommé)
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of panela (sugar)
1 tablespoon of flour dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 tablespoon of chile cobanero (red pepper flakes)
2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil

Heat oil in a small saucepan, adding ginger and chile cobanero. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, except the sesame oil. Once ginger and chile have become fragrant, stir in the broth mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue stirring. When the mixture is thick and glossy, turn off the heat and stir in sesame oil.



Beef Stir-Fry

1 lb. of marinated beef
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large onions, chopped
4 small tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1-2 tablespoons of ginger, peeled and chopping into match sticks
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 carrots, peeled and slivered (with skin peeler)
2 large mangos, peeled, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste



Heat the wok, adding oil and wiping the pan down with a paper towel so it is nicely greased. Keep oil on hand as you may need to add more throughout the cooking process. Add meat to wok and saute for 5 minutes. Be careful that the wok is not too hot, as the marinade will burn easily. Be sure to keep stirring the meat as well. Once cooked, remove meat and add peppers and onions. Saute until onions begin to become clear. Remove and add remaining materials, once cooked, (5 minutes) re-add all the ingredients and the stir-fry sauce. Serve over brown rice.

Serves 8.



Variations:

Any kind of meat or vegetable can be used, it all depends on your tastes and what is available in your local market.

Vegetarian: In place of meat, use 5 or 6 eggs, scrambling them in a bowl and adding them towards the end, along with the tomatoes and cilantro. Make an opening in the middle of the wok, pour scrambled eggs into that spot and stir them while they are cooking.

For the stir-fry sauce, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.

Good Morning Campur - Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey

"It's morning again in [Campur, Jareau has returned.]"

- Ronald Reagan 1984 Presidential Campaign Ad



Following the official end to the State of Siege here in Alta Verapaz, I have decided to extend my time in Guatemala by three months. In conjunction with this extension, I will keep a food blog highlighting my culinary adventures using items that can be found in markets around Guatemala. Good times have come to Campur once again!

Personally I like to buy as many of my items at the local market to support the local economy. From time to time, I go to the nearest city (Coban) to buy items that I cannot get in Campur (basil, yellow peppers, cumin seeds, etc.) and even to the Guatemalan version of Walmart to buy import items (thai rice noodles, mushroom soy sauce, etc.). With the items sold in Guatemala and some substitutional ingenuity (please excuse my English but this makes perfect sense to me after living here for 2 years), I can and have created some incredible meals.

Recently, I have been on a "healthy and local eating kick". I buy my fruits and vegetables as fresh and in-season as possible, hardly use canned or prepared foods, and eat locally raised, freshly butchered meats - with Campur providing as many gastronomical delights to my palette as possible.

My first recipe, Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey, reminds me of my childhood during the Reagan years, where weekend pancakes were a highly sought after commodity (though without the mangoes and the coconuts). As an adult, I can eat pancakes whenever I want! In fact, some friends and I ate them for dinner on a Tuesday night. I make homemade pancakes all the time and will never buy/eat pancakes from the box again.


Coconut Milk

2 coconuts with meat
1 to 2 cups of water

Bake coconuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a half hour. Once cooled, split coconuts with a machete or a hammer. If cooked enough, the skin will detach easily from the shell. Place the cooked coconut meat in a blender and add water depending on level of desired potency - if you would like a strong coconut milk flavor, add less water. Strain the milk and discard the remaining pulp.


(Straining the coconut milk. I would not recommend using a metal strainer as it changes the color of the coconut milk)


Cinnamon Honey



1/2 cup of locally-produced honey
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

Combine in a bowl or cup until the cinnamon has dissolved nicely into the honey.


Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey

2 large very ripe mangoes, peeled and deseeded
1 cup of coconut milk* or powdered coconut milk
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of panela (sugar)
6 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 cup of cooking oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
water
cinnamon honey*

*See recipe above


(Mango Pureé)


Pureé mangos, leaving a few pieces diced. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, combining them in a bowl and leaving the mixture slightly lumpy, adding water until desired consistency is achieved.



Heat a pan over medium heat, pouring a tablespoon of vegetable oil into it and wiping the pan with a towel. With a ladle, scoop the batter into pan. Flip with spatula when air bubbles can be seen on the topside. Serve with cinnamon honey.



Variations:

Vegan - Leave out the eggs and add 1/4 cup of ground flax seed (play with the quantity a little)

Fluffy - Add more baking powder or a teaspoon of baking soda to make it fluffier, as these pancakes can be rather dense.