My Culinary Adventures: Baked Ziti (ish)

My friends had left some quesillo (the closest thing we have to mozzarella) in my fridge from the welcome party we threw for the new North Coast PCVs, so I had been making a lot of grilled quesillo, tomato and basil sandwiches, but wanted to try something new.  I looked up some pasta recipes with mozzarella in them and came across Baked Ziti, which looked easy enough to do.  I altered the recipe a lot though, and it really can be whatever you want it to be.  I threw in some bell peppers that had been in my fridge forever (but still edible), and used the highly condimented beef they sell in site since it's impossible to find regular ground beef here unless I go to a city.  This actually turned out incredible, and I had a friend over for dinner and he said it was even better than his uncle's pasta dishes!  The only thing I would do differently is to use more quesillo so that it covered the entire top of the dish. 

Recipe

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 package dry shell pasta

1 package spaghetti

Salt

Olive Oil

1 pound ground beef (I used the condimented beef since that's all that's available in site)

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 (8 oz) bags of tomato paste

1 cup water

Ground oregano

Ground thyme

8 oz Sula mantequilla (sour cream)

1 tomato, cubed

1/2 pound grated quesillo (guessing on this, I didn't have enough when I made mine)

Dried basil for seasoning

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and shells and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Add some olive oil to the drained pasta and mix so it doesn't stick together.
3. Cook the spaghetti the same way and add olive oil after.
4. In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper; saute until tender and until all water has evaporated.  Add tomato paste, water, oregano, and thyme to taste; simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Grease a glass pie plate with olive oil. Place one of the pastas in the dish; top with a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.
7. Cover with remaining pasta, sauce and sour cream; top with diced tomatoes, grated quesillo, and dried basil.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; broil for about 5 minutes until cheese on top is a nice golden brown.  Serve.

My Culinary Adventures: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I've had this bag of chocolate chips sitting in my fridge for quite a while because the climate is too hot here to leave them out.  I had another bag that I did leave out, and the chips all melted together to form one big block, which I slowly gnawed away at over the months.  I suppose I could have put it to better use and made something by melting the chocolate in a saucepan, but it was a fast and easy way to satisfy my chocolate cravings and I'd only have to nibble off a little bit every time.  I'm due to receive a box of goodies pretty soon from my uncle, and I know there's another bag of chocolate chips in there so I decided to bake something last night that I could share with some friends today after they get done doing their topographical study.  I had never made any sort of "Blondie" before, but these turned out rich and delicious with a big glass of milk!  The only problem I had was that the refrigerated chocolate chips I folded into the batter melted really quickly before I could even get the pan into the toaster oven.  I guess we could call them Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Swirl Blondies?  :)

Recipe

Adapted from The Sweetest Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8×8″ square pan and set aside (I used a round pan).
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter. Allow to cool while combining the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir to create a thick, smooth batter. Fold in half the chocolate chips, reserving the rest for sprinkling on top.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and lightly press them into the batter.
5. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Host Mom's Birthday, Carnaval in La Ceiba, Volunteer Day

My host mom mentioned to me briefly last year when I was still living with her that growing up, she had never had a piñata for any of her birthdays.  I made note of this and as her birthday was rolling around the corner this year, asked her niece if she could make one in secret for her.  She gladly did, and gave it to me practically for free!  I bought the candy, we filled it up, and it was ready to go.  My host mom invited my site-mate, his girlfriend, and I over for dinner since we both lived with her when we first moved to site (at different times), and we enjoyed a meal of fried rice and banana soda (which I've actually acquired a taste for, but would never go out of my way to buy it).  After dinner we sat in the living room and talked for a bit, before I ran over to her niece's house to bring in the piñata.  It was a pleasant surprise and we all enjoyed beating the crap out of it.

Me, host mom, site-mate

That weekend was also Carnaval (Carnival) in La Ceiba, the largest event in all of Central America.  I planned on meeting a couple friends there and we had spots in a hotel that had 12 beds crammed into 1 stuffy room.  The other beds were taken by other PCVs, a volunteer for another organization, and two backpackers from Australia and England who turned out to be really cool and hung out with us most of the time.  The first day was pretty chill; we watched a group of Garifunas play and sing punta music on the beach,

then later at night walked the carnavalito on one of the streets.  It was like a normal fair with a lot of vendors, live music and dancing, carnival games with prizes, food, and jam-packed with people.  I also bought my first pair of earrings in Honduras there!  One of our group went up on stage to dance while everyone cheered the Gringo on as he provocatively danced with one of the Garifuna dancers.  

After the long street fair, we headed to the nightclub Hibou, the best one in town.  It really was amazing inside, with a smooth white floor and colored lights, smoke, platforms, fully-stocked bar, upstairs terrace, and great music.  The next day was the parade on one of the main roads.  It was unnecessarily looooong.  The first part consisted of people riding gigantic horses and they just kept coming, and coming, and coming.... and coming.  Then motorcycles followed, the loud noise scaring some of the horses.  After those I believe was a car show, floats, marching band, fighting groups, and not sure what else.  Oh yeah, there was this guy:

That night we headed to the night carnival which was a lot sketchier than the previous one, so I didn't stay very long.  Everyone later met up at El Pacha, another nightclub in Ceiba because Hibou that night had increased their price to L500 a person, which was L500 more than we paid the night before.  Usually the Pacha clubs are world-renowned for being high quality clubs, but this one was horrific.  Service was terrible and we probably waited an hour to get drinks.  They promised us VIP but we got nothing, and the music changed too often.  The only benefit was that there were no walls as it was situated right on the beach, so the view, breeze, and salty sea air were quite refreshing.  Carnaval finally drew to a close for us and everyone gradually returned to their sites the next day.

The following weekend was Volunteer Day.  It seems to be they have a day for everybody in Honduras - Woman's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Worker Day, Children's Day, and I'm sure countless others.  I worked with World Vision in setting up decorations and prizes at the pool area, serving lunch, and collecting food tickets.  The event turned out much larger than I had anticipated.  It's held annually in appreciation of all the hard work community members have contributed to World Vision's projects.  Children from different communities participated in a talent show which included dances, singing, and reading passages from the Bible.  Delicious food was served, catered by our dance club's owner who is a wonderful chef as well.  After lunch, people lined up to play games and win prizes, while children donned bathing suits and went swimming.  I couldn't resist jumping off the diving platform so I did that a couple of times before I got roped into a watermelon-eating contest, which I won!  I guess it helped to be craving watermelon that day :)

Semana Santa 2011

Semana Santa in Honduras is the largest holiday of the year.  It's also the most dangerous time of year to travel.  Most people with their friends and families head to the beach, pools, and/or waterparks, so the buses are insanely packed with people, which make them an ideal hunting ground for pickpockets and other criminals.  I decided to avoid the buses altogether and stay in site to experience Semana Santa the way El Negrito does it, and I'm glad I did!

Monday, I went on an all-expense paid trip to Zizima Waterpark in San Pedro Sula with the mayor's office employees.  They rented a small shuttle to take us all.  SPS actually has 2 waterparks, and the other one is supposed to be larger, but I've heard it's more children-oriented and doesn't have big slides like Zizima does.

It was a lot more fun than I expected.  I hadn't been to a waterpark probably since high school or middle school, and was excited to go on all the crazy fast twisty slides again.  

A couple days later on Thursday, I went over to this woman's house to make ayote en miel, or squash in honey, a traditional dish here made and served during Semana Santa.  It's also popular on Halloween, when children go around the streets yelling "ayote ayote ayote!" trying to get some from different houses.  The dish isn't exactly made with honey, but rather with sugarcane, which melts, and when mixed with the squash, gives it a very sweet molasses flavor.  Before we made that, however, she served me fish soup, which also is common to eat during the week.  Vendors sell dried fish, which I believe gets rehydrated for soup, but this lady served me real fish, and lucky for me she also gave me the head!  It's a good thing my seafood phobia excludes fish, but I still freaked out a little bit inside, but did a good job of eating the meat on the body.  It actually didn't taste very good with the rest of the soup.  Very salty.  

She kind of just watched me eat, which I guess some people here do, so I just told her it tasted great and thanked her for the meal.  Then we had a short discussion about religion and tried to proselytize me... which I of course didn't like, so I tried to ask her questions to get her to challenge her way of thinking (not that I have anything against religious people, I just have a thing against people who try to force their views on others and who are closed-minded).  I never thought it would happen, but that was the day I met someone who didn't believe dinosaurs ever existed, and as with other questions I asked her, she didn't really have any real answers for me.  It's something you encounter a lot here - people follow their faith blindly without giving thought to historical or scientific evidence, and are taken aback when they discover there are others in the world who don't believe in the same god.  She seemed so convinced that I would one day have an epiphany and start to believe because one of the former PCVs here actually became religious during her time here.  I'm not sure if she did that to assuage her friends or if she really converted, but whatever the matter, good for her.

Ok so the ayote.  You chop it up with a machete, dig out the seeds and other goopy innards, cut the squash up into pieces, leaving the shell on, and you put it in a biiiiiiiiiig pot.  Then you get a cube of sugarcane and chop that up too and place the pieces on top of the squash.  Then you get your fogon (stove) and boil it for hours and hours until the sugarcane melts and has been absorbed by the squash.  Then you eat it cold.  It's not bad, but not really my favorite.  It's incredibly sweet.

Oh yes, I tried a new fruit called marañón, which is the cashew fruit!  It ranks up there with nance's in the way I feel about them.  Both are at the top of the list of fruits I despise.  I do like cashews though :)

During this week, I also made an awesome new friend.  He knows everyone in town and my neighbors are actually his family.  Through him I've met more people, been able to see more of El Negrito and what it has to offer, and I have someone who will lecture me on Honduran culture and when I'm doing something wrong, and can teach him about my culture as well.  He lived in the states for 3 years and his English is actually pretty good.  I've learned a lot from him.  I'm usually pretty stubborn when it comes to money issues and love to pay for others or split the cost, but he always pays for everything, and I think my stubbornness got to him one day so he explained to me that if somebody invites me somewhere, that automatically is assumed that the person who did the inviting is paying, no matter the cost.  And also usually guys will pay for girls if they are out by themselves.  I guess that's good for me!  But I still feel bad since it's not shared equally.  Another lesson I learned is that if two guys are walking with one girl, they have to walk on either side of her, otherwise it's as if they're pushing her off to "sell" her.  Same goes with two girls and one guy.  Something I never would have thought about before!

Anyway, we went with my neighbors to one of the new balnearios about 10 minutes away by car.  It has 2 fountains and a ledge to jump off of into the water!

On Thursday night, most of the townspeople gathered in the park to watch "Passion of the Christ" (which is a very popular movie here), hang out, and wait for certain groups to get started with the alfombras, literally translated to carpets, made on the streets.  I played some basketball and surprisingly made all the shots I attempted in the first game, then two friends and I walked up and down the main road to see the groups getting started on the sawdust Biblical drawings.  They start at night after traffic dies down and the roads have been blocked off, working from about 10 pm - 3 or 4 am about.  Maybe later, I'm not sure.  

On Friday, there was a procession walking through town, starting from the first alfombra and making its way to the Catholic Church right across from the park in the center of town.  My friend and I walked around looking at all the wonderful creations done overnight and watched the procession perform its drama of Christ's crucification.

Then on Saturday, a bonfire was made on one of the side streets near my house, and was put out with water to represent something.  I kind of didn't catch that part of the story.  The bonfire was beautiful though!

People then walked from there to the Chuch again and once they arrived, they lit candles and held a vigil.  Overall, a very eventful Semana Santa and I'm glad I got to experience it with my friends in site.

My Culinary Adventures: Sweet Potato Fries

I normally don't eat sweet potato or like sweet potato dishes, but yesterday one of my English students came by the house to work on some homework and he gave me a bag full of sweet potatoes!  I took this as a chance to try and make something that would appeal to me.  Now, I love everything potato and will eat potatoes in any form possible.  French fries are great, but I also know that sweet potato fries are a healthier alternative.  I never really liked sweet potato fries in restaurants, but I figured if I have control over how I season them, maybe they'd turn into something appetizing.  The result?  They're addictive!!  Next up: Sweet Potato Pie :)

Sweet Potato Fries

*Note: I love garam masala, but I unfortunately don't have the spice, so I kind of just toss in the individual spices that it consists of. I forgot the cumin though, and added turmeric instead.  I also didn't use any salt or as some recipes suggest, sugar.

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

ground cinnamon

ground cloves

ground cardamom

ground coriander

ground ginger

ground bayleaf

black pepper

turmeric

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Slice sweet potatoes into fry slices.
3. In a bowl, toss slices with olive oil and spices until coated evenly.
4. Spread evenly in a baking sheet, evenly spaced and bake for 30-40 minutes.  After the first 15 minutes, flip each fry over and put baking sheet back in oven.

My Culinary Adventures: Steamed Cauliflower with Curry Butter and Toasted Almonds

Steamed Cauliflower with Curry Butter and Toasted Almonds (Serves 4)
Recipe adapted from Pinch My Salt
Ingredients
1 medium head of cauliflower, about 2 pounds
4 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, peeled and finely diced (can use 1/2 a small onion)
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
3-4 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted**
salt, to taste

1. Rinse cauliflower under cold water and cut into small florets. Steam cauliflower in a basket over boiling water for 5-8 minutes, or until just tender. Remove the cauliflower to a plate or bowl and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until softened. Add curry powder and stir for another 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice, cilantro, and honey. Add steamed cauliflower and almonds and toss until well combined and heated through. Season to taste with salt.
3. Serve over steamed white or brown rice or alone, as a side dish.

**Toast slivered almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan or stirring often, until they start to turn golden. Immediately remove almonds to a dish or bowl to stop the toasting.

My Culinary Adventures: Curried Coconut Chicken, Aloo Gobi, Indian Saffron Rice

Ok, this is take two of the Curried Coconut Chicken curry!  The first time I tried it, it came out way too tomatoey.  This time it turned out much better because I used less tomato paste!  I changed up the saffron rice recipe by adding peas, carrots, cardamom and cinnamon and it was delicious!  I had two guests over for dinner and they really liked it :)  Took about 3 hours total of cooking time, and I was using both burners, switching in pots and pans, but it was fun and I was definitely super proud of myself for making a meal like this!

Curried Coconut Chicken
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Aloo Gobi
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala*
salt to taste
1 pound cauliflower
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cumin seeds, garlic, and ginger. Cook about 1 minute until garlic is lightly browned. Add the potatoes. Season with turmeric, paprika, cumin, garam masala*, and salt. Cover and continue cooking 5 to 7 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Mix the cauliflower and cilantro into the saucepan. Reduce heat to low, add some water to the pan so that the vegetables don't stick to the bottom, and cover. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking 10 minutes, or until potatoes and cauliflower are tender, adding more water as necessary.
3. * I don't have garam masala, but there is a recipe with all the ingredients.  I basically just added all of those ingredients to the pan.

Indian Saffron Rice
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
1 teaspoon powdered saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cups boiling water, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked white rice, not rinsed
1 teaspoon salt

1 small can peas

1/3 cup raisins

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Steep the saffron in 1/2 cup boiling water.
2. In a skillet that can be tightly covered, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the rice and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to absorb the butter and becomes opaque, but do not brown the rice.
3. Quickly pour in the remaining 1 1/2 cups boiling water along with the saffron water. Stir in peas, raisins, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. For best results, do not remove the lid while the rice is cooking.

My Culinary Adventures: Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Carrot Soup

I'm not usually a big fan of soups, unless it's Lebanese lentil soup, creamy tomato soup, Burmese ohno kaukswe (coconut chicken noodle soup), or Vietnamese phở.  After seeing this recipe online, and all the interesting ingredients, I knew I had to try it.  It's a hearty soup too, which I prefer over more watery ones.  A lot of unexpected flavors came out of this, and I had to add in a lot more quantity of spices than the recipe called for, but it's a trial and error thing.  Just taste test it.  I've made it twice and both times it was a hit with my guests :)

Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Carrot Soup (Serves 2)
Recipe adapted from Cook Bake Nibble

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 medium carrots, chopped small
1 large clove (or 2 small) garlic
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
pinch saffron (if you have it, can be omitted)
1 can chickpeas (or 2 cups cooked), rinsed
1 medium vine ripe tomato, chopped
1 tsp salt, more to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 cups water
Small handful almonds, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Dash of cayenne pepper (optional, for that extra kick)

1. Heat the oil on medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add carrot and continue cooking until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and stir, cook for one minute. Add all spices and “toast” for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add tomato and chickpeas, stir to mix with onion and spice mixture. Add salt, black pepper to taste and lemon juice. Stir well and pour in water.
3. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered 20-30 minutes. Season to taste. Top with a sprinkle of almond and fresh cilantro. Serve hot.

My Culinary Adventures: Asian Crunchy Broccoli Salad

I never really used to eat Asian food in the states often.  If it came down to choose between an Asian restaurant and some other option, most likely I'd choose the other option.  I think it may have been because I was living with my relatives and they cooked Asian food almost all the time and I wanted some variety.  I do enjoy certain cuisines though, such as Thai, Indian, Vietnamese (mostly just phở), and some Chinese, but not all the time.  Moving to Honduras, however, has made me realize how much I miss all things Asian, and any sort of Asian thing or Asian person I come across here just reminds me of life back in California with my family and friends, and I think that is probably why I get overly excited whenever I come across them.  Like really excited.  It's embarrassing sometimes.  My family very thoughtfully mailed me a couple boxes containing a lot of Asian food items to cook with, such as Hoisin sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.  I decided to put a few of those items to good use :)

Asian Crunchy Broccoli Salad
Recipe adapted from Tiny Urban Kitchen

Ingredients
1 head broccoli
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
Soy sauce (to taste)
Sesame oil (to taste)
Pinch of sugar (to taste)
Red pepper flakes (to taste)

1. Remove the outer part of the broccoli skin and chop into bite-size pieces.
2. Add garlic and sprinkle with salt. Stir and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Pour out any water that may have collected during the marination time.  
3. Add a splash of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Eat immediately, or for better results, let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

My Culinary Adventures: Banana Crumb Muffins

I bought a muffin/cupcake pan!!  Ah, joy :)  These muffins were delicious, but the crumb topping didn't really turn out very...crumbly.  It may be because I don't have proper butter here, and instead have been using the tub butter for all my baking.  It still tasted good though, and it did harden so it had a nice different consistency than the muffins.

Banana Crumb Muffins
Recipe taken from Allrecipes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.