Colombian Culture, Colombia Adoption and Raising Colombian Kids

Here is a typical dish that you will find in Risaralda. It is called Fried Green Plantain Soup in English or, in Spanish: Sopa de Patacones Ingredients 2 green plantains, made into patacones -- see a former recipe I posted here http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-cunadas-recipe-for-patacones.html 1 quart (or a liter) of broth 1 medium onion 3 cloves garlic -- mashed or blended in food processor 2 large potatoes peeled and chopped into cubes 1/2 cup green peas (optional and not included in all recipes) 1 chopped carrot (optional and not included in all recipes 1/2 pound of beef (preferably flank steak) Cilantro (finely chopped) to taste Salt and Pepper to taste Different recipes use different spices including -- oregano, thyme, or bay leaf or a combination of two or three of the above. I recommend trying the soup first without the spices and then adding in what you like and giving it a try. INSTRUCTIONS: Cook the meat, peas (if fresh and not frozen), onion and garlic i...

Today's recipe comes from the department of Quindio. It is a great dessert: Toasted Bananas Ingredients 8 Tablespoons Butter, melted 1 Tablespoon Lime Zest 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice 3 Tablespoons Sugar 8 Bananas Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 2. Mix the first 4 ingredients and poor half of it on the bottom of a sprayed, Pyrex pan. 3. Peel the bananas and cover them with the other half of the sugar mixture -- you may want to use a brush. 4. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the Bananas turn a light brown. 5. Serve them hot with cold milk or ice cream. I found an alternative recipe for Bananas Calados here: http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/fried-bananas-bananos-calados

Here is a recipe that is common not only in Putumayo but throughout the Amazon. Tacacho Ingredients 5 Green Plantains, boiled for 20 minutes and then mashed Salt to taste. 1 Tablespoon lard 1/4 pound chicharrón (pork skin) in small pieces, if unavailable use bacon crumbles or ham chunks -- all precooked 1-2 Tablespoons finely diced onion Instructions Mix all ingredients together. Then, make it into balls from golf to baseball size. Some people eat the balls this way. Other recipes suggest that you fry them in oil or bake them in the oven.

PAPAS CHORREADAS -- Smothered Potatoes INGREDIENTS 12 small lightly salted boiled potatoes (with or without skin) ½ cup chopped onion 1 cup diced tomatoes ½ Tablespoon butter 1 Tablespoon oil ¼ teaspoon salt (this can be optional) ¼ teaspoon pepper 3 Tablespoons milk 1 Tablespoon flour dissolved in the milk 1 teaspoon chicken broth granules (I use Herb Ox) dissolved in the milk INSTRUCTIONS 1. Fry the onion in the butter and oil. 2. When it begins to brown add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. 3. Cook for 5 minutes 4. Add flour milk mixture and allow to thicken. 5. Place the sauce over the potatoes and serve.

Here is an interesting little piece of trivia. The Pasto Indians have been enjoying ice cream (well more like sherbet) for centuries. The natives used ice from the Cerro Cumbal (see Monday's Myth) and mixed it with salt. Then they would place a paila (a container) made of copper in the ice. The paila was filled with small portions of the recipe below. Then, it would be constantly stirred until it hardened. Ingredients without milk: 1 quart of fruit pulp any kind you like -- mango, passion fruit, blackberry, etc. 1 cup sugar 2 egg whites Ingredients with milk: 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 large eggs 3 cups cream 1 1/4 cups fruit pulp If you don't have ice from a mountain or a copper pot, you can try an ice cream maker. Then, check out this video.

Hallacas are the Tamales of the Llano. It is served during important holidays throughout the region. These are popular in Venezuela also, but every recipe that I have read has been very different from this one and from each other. If you do not like this version, just google another :) Ingredients 2 pounds of chicken 2 pounds of beef (preferably a pot roast) 2 pounds of pork5 eggs (boiled and sliced) 1 1/4 pounds of arepa flour The following are all finely chopped and some are doubled -- once for the marinade, and once again for the Sauce (Guiso). Some recipes include tomato, others do not. The woman that gave me this recipe did not use tomato. 1/2 head of garlic x 2 2 pounds of onion x 2 1/2 teaspoon oregano x 2 1/2 Tablespoon cumin x 2 1/2 teaspoon annatto (achiote) x 2 1/3 cup chopped cilantro x 2 Salt to taste 1/2 pound green peppers BANANA LEAVES -- these can be found frozen in many Latino Grocery stores. Makes 20 Tamales INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Marinate the meat in all of the c...

I really enjoy having a daily theme. It helps me focus :). So, I going to try Recipes on Wednesdays for a while, under the title Wednesday's Wonders. I am planning on posting a recipe from the same department that the Myth for Monday comes from. That means that today's recipes comes from the Department of Magdalena (though it is probably eaten in other parts of the Caribbean Coast as well.) Dulce de coco (Coconut Sweets) -- From Magdalena Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup raisins 2-3 cups shredded coconut 1 cinnamon stick 2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon lime juice Instructions: 1. Put the sugar, coconut, raisins, cinnamon, and water in a pan on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. 2. When at a low boil, add lime juice. 3. Cook until it until it starts to thicken. Then, let cool and eat.

From the NOT TO MISS CUISINE files, comes the delicious Empanada Valluna. They are different from the Empanadas that my mother-in-law makes. For those, you can use the following link to her recipe: http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2008/12/abuelita-carmens-colombian-empanadas-de.html . The Valluna version of the empanada are equally as delicious, but they taste different. They have meat and potatoes like those I was familiar with, but the spices are different. The woman that made them told me she uses tomillo (thyme) as one of the spices. This spice was definitely not on the list for my MIL's empanadas. These deep-fried delights are really not to be missed if you want to have a truly cultural Valle experience. Here is the recipe -- as with any recipe in Colombia -- no one knows how much of anything to use. I hope to test this out in the future, but for now, if you give it a try, and it works out, let me know the measurements you used: STEP #1 -- Prepare the MEAT In about 8...

Today's post is brought to you by my Sister-in-law Kit. Thanks, Kit! If you were to ask me what my favorite thing about Colombia would be, I would have to say the food. This may surprise some of the people that know me because at the same time that I loved the food, I was unprepared for the monotony of the meals. Although I did struggle a little, there are so many different dishes that I loved, and crave regularly. I especially recall going to the market with my suegra . The open market was my most favorite experience. As a light haired American, I was instantly barraged with people offering their produce. The little children were sent to me from three rows over to insist that they have the freshest arvejas (in fact I was stalked by a little boy offering peas my entire time in the market, oh how he insisted. I caved. I couldn’t help it - he was so cute.). My Mother-in-Law with a watchful eye distanced herself from me and continued shopping like she normally would. I could not resi...

Every year since 1995, an international cookbook competition has been held in Paris, France. This year 55 countries participated in what is known as the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards . The competition includes awards for 41 different categories of cookbooks and 18 drink books. To help you get an idea of how big the competition actually is, last year they were over 8,000 entries. This year, when the winners were announced, Colombia walked away with some top honors. Taking the " Best Book in the World about Non-alcoholic drinks" award, was Liliana Villegas with her book "Cafes de Colombia" (Coffees of Colombia). There was also a children's cookbook series entitled, "Cocinando Cuentos de Hadas" (Cooking Fairy Tales), that was named one of the top three most innovative cookbooks in the world. The three books in the series are called: Alicia en el país de las delicias (Alice in Delicacyland), Hansel y Gretel y la casita endulzada (Hansel and Gretel...

In the department of Atlántico and Sucre and common breakfast will include this tasty treat -- Arepa de Huevo . Ingredients: 1 cup Arepa Harina 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1 - 1 1/4 cup Very Hot Water Eggs Step #1 Prepare the Arepa dough (masa). Mix the Arepa Harina with the salt and water. Mix it until it forms a dough ball. Cover and let cool. Step #2 Make small balls of dough and then put between plastic wrap and flatten them evenly into circles about 1/4 inch thick. Step #3 Place circles into hot oil until they are half cooked -- just starting to turn golden. Remove and let drain. Step #4 Cut a small hole in the side of the arepa . Drop in an egg. Close with more masa if necessary. Step #5 Drop back into the oil at let it cook until the arepa is golden brown and the egg is thoroughly cooked. There is actually a Festival of Arepa de Huevo in Luruaco , Atlántico every year during the last week of June. Here is a news report about the festival you can also see a woman prepare the ...

Last year I made an extensive list of Colombian New Year Holiday traditions. You can read more about them here: http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2008/12/traditions-for-midnight-on-new-years.html http://raisingcolombiankids.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-years-music.html One thing I promised was the Lenteja recipe -- and well -- here it is: Ingredients: 1 lb. of lentils 1 can tomato sauce 1 medium onion minced 2 teaspoons dry chicken broth 1 teaspoon garlic powder Salt as needed Cumin (optional) Steps: #1 Cook lentils in water as per directions on package -- do not salt or drain. #2 In a sauce pan, put other ingredients and cook 10 minutes. #3 Add sauce pan ingredients to cooked lentils. Let simmer together for 10-15 minutes -- don't let it burn. #4 Let cool and serve with white rice.

Buñuelos are a Christmas time must. These round cheese fritter balls are well worth a try. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup cheese (queso fresco or requesón) -- you can find it in the Mexican cheese section at Wal-Mart 1 1/4 cup corn starch 1/2 cup sugar 8 teaspoons baking powder 8 teaspoons tapioca starch (almidon de yucca) 3 eggs Add no more than a 1/4 cup of water only if necessary Steps: #1 Mix dry ingredients. #2 Add wet ingredients. #3 Mix. #4 Make balls (about golf ball size) and drop into hot oil. #5 Take out when golden brown and place on a paper towel. #6 EAT!!!!!!

Another Christmas food tradition is NATILLA . This is something that is either great or horrible. I have tasted several different flavors of natilla (coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, spice), and truthfully, I have not liked them all. Typically, most Colombians will buy a box of Natilla mix, however, for those of us who find it a bit hard to head to the store for a mix, you can attempt to make it yourself. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: 4 cups milk -- use whole or 2% 1 cup brown sugar (in Colombia you would use 8 ounces of grated Panela) 4 - 5 cinnamon sticks 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Steps 1. Mix milk and cornstarch in a pan. 2. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to the pan and mix well. 3. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. 4. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring constantly -- in order to avoid clumps, until mixture has thickened. ...

I have to admit that trying to find a recipe from the Amazons that was possible to actually make outside of the Amazon has been difficult -- since access to Boas, Monkeys, Manatees, Frogs, Snails, and Turtles isn't exactly an easy task. My mother suggested that I give you the frog recipe -- and since frog tastes a lot like chicken -- you might substitute frog legs for chicken legs. The recipe: Step #1 Clean the legs and rub them with lime juice. Step #2 Fry them in oil without salt, until golden brown. Step #3 Place on a paper towel, let drain and serve. Simple, but worth a try.

One of the first Colombian dishes I ever tried was Arroz con Coco. I actually tried this dish while living in Toronto, Canada -- five years before I even met my husband. I met a family from Cartagena and they invited me to dinner -- on the menu -- Arroz con Coco. I liked it so much I asked for the recipe. I will now share it with you. INGREDIENTS: 2 cups of long grain white rice 1 cup of raisins 4 Tablespoons sugar 1 cup butter Sal to taste 3 cups of coconut milk from a can 2 more cups coconut milk which should be from fresh coconuts that you grate, add a little water, and squeeze out the milk yourself through a strainer . This is called the PRIMERA LECHE. Step #1 In a pot, put the PRIMERA LECHE and cook until it boils down and turns golden. Step #2 Add raisins, sugar and a little butter. Mix and add the coconut milk. Step #3 Bring to a boil and add rice and a pinch of salt. Let the mixture boil down until the grains of rice are just starting to be visible. Step #4 Turn the he...

Yesterday, I mentioned an option for not to miss cuisine -- Pollo Gritador -- Screaming Chicken. Today, I will provide the recipe so that you could try this on your next Bar-B-Q. Step #1 Take 5 pounds of chicken breast , clean and pound them so that they are even and will cook evenly. Step #2 In a food processor, mix the following. 2 large tomatoes 4 green onions 1 medium onion finely chopped 2-3 cloves of garlic 4 sprigs of cilantro -- cut off the stem 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chicken broth instant powder (I like Herb-ox my MIL uses Knorr ). Salt to taste, if necessary Once ingredients are all mixed and chopped up in the food processor, I cook them in a frying pan on medium in: 3-4 Tablespoons butter (I use regular Smart Balance instead). Cook the GUISO in the butter until everything is tender and the onions just start to brown. Take off the stove. Step #3 Fork chicken and marinate the chicken in about 2 cups of Hogao . Let the chicken marinate over night. Step #4 2 h...

One of the most unique aspects of food from the Pacific coast is the large variety of drinks that they have. Each department seems to have their specialty drink. CHOCOLATE CON LECHE DE COCO -- from Chocó . For this coconut chocolate milk, you take 8 bars of Colombian chocolate, 2 cups of coconut milk from freshly opened coconuts, 4 cups of milk, and sugar to taste. First, melt the chocolate in the coconut milk on low heat. Mix constantly with a hand mixer (molinillo). When the chocolate is completely melted, add milk and sugar and stir until they are dissolved. JUGO DE NAIDÍ - from Guapí, Cauca The naidí (nigh DEE) is more commonly known in the U.S. as the acai fruit. They come from palm trees where they grow in bunches, like grapes. They start out green and turn a deep reddish-purple when they ripen. To prepare a delicious drink from the fruit, you place the ripe berries in a pot of water that just covers the berries, and then boil on high for about 30 minutes (add water if necessary...

The author of our Monday post on Ibagué mentioned to me in an e-mail that she had eaten a plethora of plantains. Here is a recipe for one plantain recipe: Patacones. Patacones are popular in most of Colombia and are commonly made in Tolima. INGREDIENTS: Green Plantains Oil Step #1 Cut green bananas in pieces about 1 inch in length. Step #2 Fry in hot oil -- but remove before they start to brown. Step #3 Mash the fried banana. Step #4 Place the half cooked mashed banana back in the hot oil and cook until golden and crispy. Here is a You Tube video of the process. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uaQ1rUAIT8 *Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linamon/1393179108/sizes/o/

What is that brown tea-like drink that Colombians drink? Agua de Panela ! What exactly is Panela ? Panela is a solid piece of raw sugar from sugar cane. It is made by first mashing the sugar cane in a machine called a trapiche . Then, the exacted juice is boiled until it reaches the Hard Ball stage. At this stage, it is poured into molds and allowed to cool. The cooled blocks (either round, square, or rectangular depending on the mold) are very hard. These blocks are then sold. Here is a great video that shows the process of making PANELA . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvqbTZ0unEc Though other countries make similar products, Colombia is the world's leading producer and consumer of Panela -- producing approximately 1.4 million tons a year. Panela farms also provide employment for about 350,000 people. How do you use Panela to make the drink Agua de Panela ? The recipe for Agua de Panela is simple. You take water and put it in a pan and add to it chunks of Panela -- u...