Abuelita Carmen's Amazing Changua!
When we left to adopt our toddler, a boy 21 months old, I knew we would be spending the bulk of our stay with my in-laws. Actually, that was part of the appeal of choosing Bogotá over other areas. What I didn’t realize was how invaluable my mother-in-law would be in the process of his adjustment.
When we received our referral, we had very little information about our son’s appetite and culinary likes and dislikes. I quote, “He likes eggs, any fruit, and will eat meat with patience. For dessert, he likes jell-o with condensed milk on top.” Not extremely helpful, but I thought, “Hey – he’s going to be a great eater.”
Imagine my surprise when he wouldn’t eat what I fed him. We spent the first week in an apartment in Bogotá and it was a struggle daily to get him to eat anything. After our integration meeting at the ICBF regional office, we took a 3 hour trip to my husband’s home town. Enter Abuelita Carmen and her life saving recipes.
So, I will share Abuelita Carmen's recipe for sure-fire food success (at least this is what she called them). If you have adopted from, or are adopting from Bogotá, Cundinamarca, or Boyacá, it is likely that you child/ren has eaten this unusual soup which is a decendant of the native Chibcha indians.
Recipe for Changua (sounds horrible, but it is healthy and my son still eats bowlfuls 2 years later)
1 ½ cup water
3-4 green onions cut into ¼ inch pieces (cebolla larga)
1 /4 garlic tooth (diente de ajo)
Salt (lots to taste) (sal)
Boil these together until the water turns yellowy.
Take out the onion pieces and garlic.
Crack 1 egg and let it cook in the boiling water.
In the meantime make a piece of toast and butter it (use lots of butter or margarine – just not the low–fat stuff). If you are in Colombia, ask for a Calado, oft pronounced Calao. In a bowl, break the Calado into small pieces, or if back home, break the toast into little pieces in a bowl.
Add ½ cup cold milk to water/egg mixture and dump the whole thing on the bread in the bowl. You get 1 serving of milk, 1 of bread and 1 egg. My mother-in-law puts little chopped up cilantro in it, but I leave it out as my son kind of chokes on it.
Note, this is a breakfast food!
When we received our referral, we had very little information about our son’s appetite and culinary likes and dislikes. I quote, “He likes eggs, any fruit, and will eat meat with patience. For dessert, he likes jell-o with condensed milk on top.” Not extremely helpful, but I thought, “Hey – he’s going to be a great eater.”
Imagine my surprise when he wouldn’t eat what I fed him. We spent the first week in an apartment in Bogotá and it was a struggle daily to get him to eat anything. After our integration meeting at the ICBF regional office, we took a 3 hour trip to my husband’s home town. Enter Abuelita Carmen and her life saving recipes.
So, I will share Abuelita Carmen's recipe for sure-fire food success (at least this is what she called them). If you have adopted from, or are adopting from Bogotá, Cundinamarca, or Boyacá, it is likely that you child/ren has eaten this unusual soup which is a decendant of the native Chibcha indians.
Recipe for Changua (sounds horrible, but it is healthy and my son still eats bowlfuls 2 years later)
1 ½ cup water
3-4 green onions cut into ¼ inch pieces (cebolla larga)
1 /4 garlic tooth (diente de ajo)
Salt (lots to taste) (sal)
Boil these together until the water turns yellowy.
Take out the onion pieces and garlic.
Crack 1 egg and let it cook in the boiling water.
In the meantime make a piece of toast and butter it (use lots of butter or margarine – just not the low–fat stuff). If you are in Colombia, ask for a Calado, oft pronounced Calao. In a bowl, break the Calado into small pieces, or if back home, break the toast into little pieces in a bowl.
Add ½ cup cold milk to water/egg mixture and dump the whole thing on the bread in the bowl. You get 1 serving of milk, 1 of bread and 1 egg. My mother-in-law puts little chopped up cilantro in it, but I leave it out as my son kind of chokes on it.
Note, this is a breakfast food!
I found a link to pictures of a bowl full of Changua. Check it out!
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