Hey all!
Sorry I haven't posted for a while, it's because I was packing up and moving to JAPAN!
That's right, 日本, land of wonderful delicious food, toilets that clean you (so you don't have to...?), tatami rooms...you dream it, it is part of the Japanese fairytale.
When I first got here, I didn't do much but go to my super posh hotel room and get a rental phone. The next day, though, I woke up looking for someone to hang out with before breakfast (since it was quite early). No one was around, so I went out for a walk. As I am obviously gaijin (foreign), my new friend Tooru came up and just started speaking English to me! He's a Nagoya native, and started telling me about the area. He showed me around a Buddhist shrine, and then drove me around Nagoya Castle--all before breakfast! My first Japanese meal was quite good, especially the fried noodle/shrimp things and the hojicha (Japanese morning tea). Also, all the people in our IES Abroad group are just really motivated and warm, too. I feel like everyone just wants to be friends right off the bat, there's been none or very little of the awkward "getting-to-know-you" time. We all packed onto a bus to Inuyama, and that is where I have been.
Our traditional Japanese inn (Ryokan) is right off the banks of the Japanese Rhine, and our rooms inside are traditional tatami ones with the rice paper screens, a sitting area, and toilets that will spray your behind (no joke...I don't think I'll try it more than once). We get tea and tea snacks every day :) The first day we did orientation, some Japanese lessons, then had some of free time in which we explored shrines close to where we are staying. We followed this by a super delicious traditional Japanese dinner, a dip in the onsen (Japanese hot spring) that is part of the ryokan, and tea time with the roommates.
The second day, we had Japanese classes in the morning after breakfast. For lunch, we trekked to the nearest conbini (convenience store) to grab lunch. Then we went to Inuyama-Jou (Inuyama castle) to hear about the history and tour it. It is a 400+ year old castle overlooking the Japanese Rhine with simple but beautiful architecture. From there, we watched a impromptu puppet show about a drunken sprite (who changes faces from white to red through a mask hidden in his chest). The puppet-masters even let me play a ridiculously expensive drum and pull the puppet strings! Then we went to a traditional tea ceremony. I was absolutely not able to sit on my feet the whole time, or understand all the instructions. But basically, we washed our hands Buddhist-style, bowed to the guest's sumi-e pictures, then took our seats. Then we were served a little snack, which we ate rather ceremoniously from a pretty piece of paper. Then we watched the tea master make the tea and drank it (3 gulps, then you turn the clean cup over to admire the craftsmanship). We got to make our own cup of tea to serve to the staff...my drinker was ridiculously nice and kept telling me how good it was. Then we toured a history museum and hung out around the ryokan for an hour or so.
For dinner, we all climbed onto traditional Inuyama riverboats and had a huge bentou dinner with lots of fish. Thank god there were little containers to put what we didn't eat away, since that's what I had for lunch today! After we finished, we lit the lamps in the boat's ceiling and went to a resting place where we played Egyptian Rat Slap while the tables were put away in the boat. When we got back on, it was dark out, and we watched the cormorant fisher's boats. They light a huge fire in a cage that is in the front of their boats, and one person keeps 10 or so cormorant birds on leashes while they dive in the water for fish. When a bird catches one, they take the fish from its mouth and put it back in the water. I'm pretty sure we were eating some of the fish they caught. When we returned, we went to the onsen again :)
So basically, I am becoming a tea and onsen addict, and Japan seems to definitely be a dream world. Tomorrow I go to meet my host family, I can't wait to see how that will go down! Mata ne!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
For your home-cooking pleasure!
(keep in mind that I am just estimating on portions)
Arroz Nicaraguense
-1 small sweet green chile, seeds discarded
-1 sweet onion
-1/2 c. oil
-3 c. rice
-5 c. water
Slice the chile and onion thinly. Put the oil over medium heat in a medium size pot and add the chile and onion. Cook until sizzling and fragrant. Meanwhile, rinse the rice by pouring water over it and discarding the water twice. Add to the oil and cook until the oil is absorbed and the rice begins to turn brown on the bottom of the pot. Then add water and set to low until cooked through. If needed, add more water until rice is al dente.
Ensalada de Cebolla, Tomate, y Zanahoria
-1 large carrot or 2 medium
-1 onions
-1 tomato
-juice of 3 small limes
-salt to taste
Peel and cook carrot in water or steam until soft but not falling apart. Set aside to let cool. Slice onion and tomato into thin rings. When cool, cut the carrot into slices. Add to a bowl with the lime juice and salt and toss. Let sit for about 30 min. and serve.
Maduros
-5 very ripe plantains
-soy oil
Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet. Cut off the peels of the plantains. Cut the plantains in two, and then cut each half in three thick parts lengthwise. When oil is hot, add pieces to the pan without over crowding and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.
(Variation: for Tajadas Verdes, use green plantains and slice as thinly as possible, like potato chips. Cover in salt when finished.)
Stewed Pork
-pork tenderloin
-5 pieces garlic
-2 onions, divided
-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
-salt to taste
-1 small sweet green chile, sliced
-1/4 c. oil
Cut pork into medium size pieces and pound with a tenderizer or rock to soften. Smash the garlic, remove peel, and add to a bowl with the pork. Thinly slice the onions, and add half to the pork. Finally, add vinegar and salt to the pork and let marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Start the oil in medium heat in a saucepan and add the remaining onion and chile. When fragrant, add pork and cook until done. Serve with juices.
Tortillas de Maíz
-2 c. corn flour
-water
-plastic bag cut into a large circle
Add enough water to the flour for a soft dough. Knead 1-2 minutes until it holds the form of your fingers when you pick it up. With your fingers, revolve the dough to flatten it. With damp hands, place the dough piece on the piece of plastic bag and press down with the fingers of one hand, using the other to guide the edges into a circle. Cook in a slightly indented pan on both sides until it has black spots and it poofs up with steam.
Tacos del Pescado
-3 filets of white ocean fish
-5 small sweet green chiles, sliced
-2 sweet onions, sliced
-2 Tbs of mustard
-1/4. salsa verde
-1 Tbs bouillon
-3 pieces garlic
-oil for frying
Cut fish into strips. Add all ingredients but oil. Let marinate 20 min. then fry in a skillet. Serve with fresh, crispy tortillas.
Tiste
-1/2 c. fine ground cornmeal
-1/2 c. fresh cocoa powder
-1 Tbs. cinnamon (1 tsp. if fresh)
-sugar, if desired
-water to taste (4 cups?)
-ice
Combine all ingredients in a large container and stir well. Serve in glasses with more ice and a spoon for stirring (sediment falls to the bottom).
Huevos Rancheros
-1 sliced sweet onion
-1/2 c. tomato sauce
-1/2 c. salsa verde
-chile, for spice
-4 fried eggs
-4 fresh thick corn tortillas
Cook onions in oil over medium heat until soft. Add sauce and salsa and chile and cook until warm. Layer the tortillas, followed by the eggs, and the sauce. Serve hot.
Frijoles Molidos
-cooked black beans (about 2 cups)
-4 pieces garlic, minced
-2 small sweet green chiles, chopped fine
-1 sweet onion, chopped fine
-2 Tbs. minced mint
Mash black beans until fairly smooth. Cook garlic, chiles, and onion in oil until fragrant, then add mashed beans and mint. Serve with tomato & onion salad (above) and rice.
Horchata Especial de Isolina
(portions to your liking)
-cocoa powder
-vanilla
-a handful of white rice
-strawberries
-sugar
-cinnamon
-milk
-ice
Let rice sit in water for 15 minutes, then discard the water. Add all ingredients into a blender and pulse till smooth.
Nacatamales
-Fine corn flour
-vinegar
-black pepper, to taste
-4 pieces garlic, minced
-2 onions, chopped
-2 small sweet green chiles, chopped
-2 tomatoes, chopped
-1/2 c. cooked rice
-1/2 c. cooked pulled pork (made with salsa verde, garlic, and vinegar...recipe above)
-1 potato, chopped and cooked
-minced cilantro, to taste
-raisins, 3 per tamale
-Clean banana leaves, 1 per tamale
-string
(all ingredients more or less as you like it)
Mash 1/2 of the garlic, onions, chiles, and tomatoes into almost a liquid. Combine with corn flour and enough vinegar to make a dough that sticks together. Add the rest of the ingredients except for leaves and string. The dough should be substantial and stick together. Put a handful of dough into each banana leaf. To fold, take the leaf's edges on the lengthwise side of the tamale, and fold accordion-style until it touches the dough. Fold the open ends into middle and wrap with string as you would a Christmas present. As long as it stays together securely you're good. Put wrapped tamales into the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. Heat and cook over medium-low heat for 2 hours, turning halfway through. You should smell the tamales when they are ready. Discard water, unwrap, and enjoy!
Arroz Nicaraguense
-1 small sweet green chile, seeds discarded
-1 sweet onion
-1/2 c. oil
-3 c. rice
-5 c. water
Slice the chile and onion thinly. Put the oil over medium heat in a medium size pot and add the chile and onion. Cook until sizzling and fragrant. Meanwhile, rinse the rice by pouring water over it and discarding the water twice. Add to the oil and cook until the oil is absorbed and the rice begins to turn brown on the bottom of the pot. Then add water and set to low until cooked through. If needed, add more water until rice is al dente.
Ensalada de Cebolla, Tomate, y Zanahoria
-1 large carrot or 2 medium
-1 onions
-1 tomato
-juice of 3 small limes
-salt to taste
Peel and cook carrot in water or steam until soft but not falling apart. Set aside to let cool. Slice onion and tomato into thin rings. When cool, cut the carrot into slices. Add to a bowl with the lime juice and salt and toss. Let sit for about 30 min. and serve.
Maduros
-5 very ripe plantains
-soy oil
Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet. Cut off the peels of the plantains. Cut the plantains in two, and then cut each half in three thick parts lengthwise. When oil is hot, add pieces to the pan without over crowding and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.
(Variation: for Tajadas Verdes, use green plantains and slice as thinly as possible, like potato chips. Cover in salt when finished.)
Stewed Pork
-pork tenderloin
-5 pieces garlic
-2 onions, divided
-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
-salt to taste
-1 small sweet green chile, sliced
-1/4 c. oil
Cut pork into medium size pieces and pound with a tenderizer or rock to soften. Smash the garlic, remove peel, and add to a bowl with the pork. Thinly slice the onions, and add half to the pork. Finally, add vinegar and salt to the pork and let marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Start the oil in medium heat in a saucepan and add the remaining onion and chile. When fragrant, add pork and cook until done. Serve with juices.
Tortillas de Maíz
-2 c. corn flour
-water
-plastic bag cut into a large circle
Add enough water to the flour for a soft dough. Knead 1-2 minutes until it holds the form of your fingers when you pick it up. With your fingers, revolve the dough to flatten it. With damp hands, place the dough piece on the piece of plastic bag and press down with the fingers of one hand, using the other to guide the edges into a circle. Cook in a slightly indented pan on both sides until it has black spots and it poofs up with steam.
Tacos del Pescado
-3 filets of white ocean fish
-5 small sweet green chiles, sliced
-2 sweet onions, sliced
-2 Tbs of mustard
-1/4. salsa verde
-1 Tbs bouillon
-3 pieces garlic
-oil for frying
Cut fish into strips. Add all ingredients but oil. Let marinate 20 min. then fry in a skillet. Serve with fresh, crispy tortillas.
Tiste
-1/2 c. fine ground cornmeal
-1/2 c. fresh cocoa powder
-1 Tbs. cinnamon (1 tsp. if fresh)
-sugar, if desired
-water to taste (4 cups?)
-ice
Combine all ingredients in a large container and stir well. Serve in glasses with more ice and a spoon for stirring (sediment falls to the bottom).
Huevos Rancheros
-1 sliced sweet onion
-1/2 c. tomato sauce
-1/2 c. salsa verde
-chile, for spice
-4 fried eggs
-4 fresh thick corn tortillas
Cook onions in oil over medium heat until soft. Add sauce and salsa and chile and cook until warm. Layer the tortillas, followed by the eggs, and the sauce. Serve hot.
Frijoles Molidos
-cooked black beans (about 2 cups)
-4 pieces garlic, minced
-2 small sweet green chiles, chopped fine
-1 sweet onion, chopped fine
-2 Tbs. minced mint
Mash black beans until fairly smooth. Cook garlic, chiles, and onion in oil until fragrant, then add mashed beans and mint. Serve with tomato & onion salad (above) and rice.
Horchata Especial de Isolina
(portions to your liking)
-cocoa powder
-vanilla
-a handful of white rice
-strawberries
-sugar
-cinnamon
-milk
-ice
Let rice sit in water for 15 minutes, then discard the water. Add all ingredients into a blender and pulse till smooth.
Nacatamales
-Fine corn flour
-vinegar
-black pepper, to taste
-4 pieces garlic, minced
-2 onions, chopped
-2 small sweet green chiles, chopped
-2 tomatoes, chopped
-1/2 c. cooked rice
-1/2 c. cooked pulled pork (made with salsa verde, garlic, and vinegar...recipe above)
-1 potato, chopped and cooked
-minced cilantro, to taste
-raisins, 3 per tamale
-Clean banana leaves, 1 per tamale
-string
(all ingredients more or less as you like it)
Mash 1/2 of the garlic, onions, chiles, and tomatoes into almost a liquid. Combine with corn flour and enough vinegar to make a dough that sticks together. Add the rest of the ingredients except for leaves and string. The dough should be substantial and stick together. Put a handful of dough into each banana leaf. To fold, take the leaf's edges on the lengthwise side of the tamale, and fold accordion-style until it touches the dough. Fold the open ends into middle and wrap with string as you would a Christmas present. As long as it stays together securely you're good. Put wrapped tamales into the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. Heat and cook over medium-low heat for 2 hours, turning halfway through. You should smell the tamales when they are ready. Discard water, unwrap, and enjoy!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
And for the finale
After a final, long ride on the chicken busses back to Playa Gigante, I spent my last night and day catching up with the family and saying good-bye to Isolina (while procuring her address and recipes for Nacatamales and chocolate horchata). The morning of our departure, our Nicaraguan brother Maximo came to wake us up before he went to school. It was a little disheartening for me since I felt that I didn't say a proper good-bye, but thankfully we left just after he returned from school later in the afternoon. We spent the morning packing and talking with Anner, and then Maria made us a magnificent lunch (of which I have a picture....I'll post it later). We joked around with the family for a while, and when it came time to leave (our friend Omar was driving us), we took multitude of pictures, Maria gave me a beautiful purple necklace, and Maximo gave me his Popoyo Surf Zone bracelet. It started raining just as we began carrying our things to the car, so goodbyes became a little rushed. But the family was emphatic in their goodbyes, and Rufino's eyes were brimming in tears, it nearly tore my heart apart. Stayed the night in Rivas, and on the bus into Costa Rica for the flight, the woman from Leon named Brenda sitting next to me basically adopted me, feeding me, helping me understand the intercom messages, and showing me pictures of her family. And now just sitting at the hostel, eating oatmeal and drinking tea with rosquillos (little crunchy corn, cheese, and butter rings) that Brenda gave me. The trip is at an end, but I certainly have much to chew over, so now that I'm coming home I'm sure different details will come out in my conversations. My next post should be pictures and recipes collected in the trip, stay tuned!
Monday, August 2, 2010
¡Ven arriba!
Hello dear readers! I am back again from my mountain adventures, the last leg of my trip...so bittersweet.
Monica´s and my last day in Granada was spent going to the Masaya marketplace, the lookout at Catarina, and drinks with conversation in town followed by a lovely dinner of watermelon and coleslaw.
And then I waved good-bye to Granada on a train of long bus rides far North to coffee country. Stop number one is Matagalpa, home to guirilas (tasty, thick, steaming corn tortillas filled with cuajada queso) and some sort of thick corn and cream pudding-thing that comes with them. The city itself is just a nice place to walk, with rolling San Francisco-like hills and a pristinely white castle of a main cathedral. I stopped several times for coffee, some of the best cups I´ve had in a while, and read Alice in Wonderland while sipping my treat. Though it was lovely people-watching with overflowing baskets of produce seeming to seep from the corners, the tours into Cerro Negro and coffee plantations were expensive, so it was time to move on.
And so I moved East to Estelí, home of Hospitaje Luna to which I was highly recommended by travel-buddy Brodie. There, I booked my stay at La Perla in the Miraflor reservation further North and bought lots of goods made by the Women´s Group of Estelí. They make their own fair-trade soap, paper, and jewelry, and the woman I stayed with in La Perla, Maribel, is part of the cooperative. But before leaving, I spent an improv-day with Dan from England who I met in Catarina and Margaret the ESL teacher. We rode (and walked for big hills...) to a waterfall in a nearby reservation, and lolled in the freezing water underneath the mists all morning, then got a big lunch and read all afternoon. I moved onto Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I never seem to be able to get into his books. But I regress, we spent the night searching for Nacatamales and pizza, and had wonderful conversation with a Dutch couple about veganism and McDonald´s.
The next morning I awoke to my singing wristwatch at 5am, at which time I hitched a 10 córdoba cab to the bus station for a rather bumpy and upward (which afforded some of the best views in Nicaragua of bearded trees encased by endless ridges of jungled mountains) ride to Puertas Azules. Maribel, my care-taker, had a daughter who was on the same bus, and we walked together to Posada La Perla. We were greeted with a big pancake breakfast and café con leche from Maribel. Since it was Sunday, everyone was just sitting around and talking with family all day. I don´t think my Spanish has ever been so challenged, but Maribel was a great teacher...she helped correct my awful grammar and fed me the right words when I described them. We sat in the kitchen talking about ourselves, our families, organic farming, Nicaraguan life and American life, and even Nicaraguan government and immigration problems in the US. I made oatmeal-raisin cookies for everyone in the afternoon (massively improved by freshly crushed cinnamon, note) and wrote down the recipe and a banana-bread recipe for the family. I hope they make it and remember me :)
On Monday I witnessed tortilla-making from start to finish. They ground the fresh corn, added some water, ground it again, and patted the dough on plastic into perfect patties. They dropped them on a tortilla pan over a fogon (fire-oven) and took them off when there was little black spots and they puffed up with steam. I got to make a couple, but I definitely slowed down the process so I didn´t do too many. Then I got to help milk a cow (again, I was really slow), which was subsequently transformed into my café con leche (if you never experienced this, you must put it on your bucket list). Then I practiced English the daughter, Joli, and Maribel took me to plant some cucumber and chayote seeds. She mixed ash into the soil and planted three in a plot, then showed me how she made hills in the garden to divert the rain. I expressed to her how sad it was that I was just coming to her now, since our project could certainly use her lifelong expertise, but I suppose that´s what the future is for.
I had to hurry off just before noon for 6 hours of bus rides back to Granada so I could make it back to Playa Gigante for last good-byes. Now I enter my final days in Nicaragua.
Monica´s and my last day in Granada was spent going to the Masaya marketplace, the lookout at Catarina, and drinks with conversation in town followed by a lovely dinner of watermelon and coleslaw.
And then I waved good-bye to Granada on a train of long bus rides far North to coffee country. Stop number one is Matagalpa, home to guirilas (tasty, thick, steaming corn tortillas filled with cuajada queso) and some sort of thick corn and cream pudding-thing that comes with them. The city itself is just a nice place to walk, with rolling San Francisco-like hills and a pristinely white castle of a main cathedral. I stopped several times for coffee, some of the best cups I´ve had in a while, and read Alice in Wonderland while sipping my treat. Though it was lovely people-watching with overflowing baskets of produce seeming to seep from the corners, the tours into Cerro Negro and coffee plantations were expensive, so it was time to move on.
And so I moved East to Estelí, home of Hospitaje Luna to which I was highly recommended by travel-buddy Brodie. There, I booked my stay at La Perla in the Miraflor reservation further North and bought lots of goods made by the Women´s Group of Estelí. They make their own fair-trade soap, paper, and jewelry, and the woman I stayed with in La Perla, Maribel, is part of the cooperative. But before leaving, I spent an improv-day with Dan from England who I met in Catarina and Margaret the ESL teacher. We rode (and walked for big hills...) to a waterfall in a nearby reservation, and lolled in the freezing water underneath the mists all morning, then got a big lunch and read all afternoon. I moved onto Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I never seem to be able to get into his books. But I regress, we spent the night searching for Nacatamales and pizza, and had wonderful conversation with a Dutch couple about veganism and McDonald´s.
The next morning I awoke to my singing wristwatch at 5am, at which time I hitched a 10 córdoba cab to the bus station for a rather bumpy and upward (which afforded some of the best views in Nicaragua of bearded trees encased by endless ridges of jungled mountains) ride to Puertas Azules. Maribel, my care-taker, had a daughter who was on the same bus, and we walked together to Posada La Perla. We were greeted with a big pancake breakfast and café con leche from Maribel. Since it was Sunday, everyone was just sitting around and talking with family all day. I don´t think my Spanish has ever been so challenged, but Maribel was a great teacher...she helped correct my awful grammar and fed me the right words when I described them. We sat in the kitchen talking about ourselves, our families, organic farming, Nicaraguan life and American life, and even Nicaraguan government and immigration problems in the US. I made oatmeal-raisin cookies for everyone in the afternoon (massively improved by freshly crushed cinnamon, note) and wrote down the recipe and a banana-bread recipe for the family. I hope they make it and remember me :)
On Monday I witnessed tortilla-making from start to finish. They ground the fresh corn, added some water, ground it again, and patted the dough on plastic into perfect patties. They dropped them on a tortilla pan over a fogon (fire-oven) and took them off when there was little black spots and they puffed up with steam. I got to make a couple, but I definitely slowed down the process so I didn´t do too many. Then I got to help milk a cow (again, I was really slow), which was subsequently transformed into my café con leche (if you never experienced this, you must put it on your bucket list). Then I practiced English the daughter, Joli, and Maribel took me to plant some cucumber and chayote seeds. She mixed ash into the soil and planted three in a plot, then showed me how she made hills in the garden to divert the rain. I expressed to her how sad it was that I was just coming to her now, since our project could certainly use her lifelong expertise, but I suppose that´s what the future is for.
I had to hurry off just before noon for 6 hours of bus rides back to Granada so I could make it back to Playa Gigante for last good-byes. Now I enter my final days in Nicaragua.
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