RCRB

It's been quite a long long while since we have blogged.... We haven't stopped eating but have had much less time enjoying cooking as 2012 ended and 2013 began with a trip home to S.E.A and straight back into the frying pan of work/school in Oxford/London/Hatfield !!!

A simple meal of rice cake ( with lots of accompaniments like Chinese mushrooms, carrot, onions, beanstick, purple sprouting broccoli and leaves, Cabbage ) and the attendant dessert of rice ball ! Small delights when nostalgic for familiar foods.  We flavoured the dessert soup with ginger, rock sugar and osmanthus - sprucing up both flavour and appearance with its bright yellow petals! - frozen riceballs are a wonderful thing when time is limited!

Meals can bring such solace and comfort in times of stress !!

Pain des Amis et pistache carracoles

"I'm going to make you bread like you've never seen before, and in this bread there will be love and friendship" - from Marcel Pagnol's La Femme du Boulanger - taken from http://dupainetdesidees.com/

Ok, so after a 13 hour flight , it's quite nice to skip out of aviation action with a 7 hour stop over. And what better way to relax with some coffee and pastry ;) Tracked down a bakery ( Du Pain des Idees - Bread and Ideas)  famed for its traditional technique and in particular, bread of friends. A lovely crusty white that is baked so huge it would take several customers to buy a whole piece. Hence it's name ? Bread to be shared ! I couldn't help but notice the green pastry waving at me so decided I n might eat that while saving the bread and fig tart to eat with the other Momo at the end of the next flight.

Pistachio and chocolate on the snail was a great combination ! Though the pastry was a little soggy, which may possibly be due to sitting out on shelf since morning ? I was there late afternoon so that would have been quite a long time.

The fig tart having travelled across the channel was still way too delicious and quickly finished with great delight! And o the bread , improved in its flavor up to the 3 rd day after purchase. Yep u guessed it , there was some rationing going on with the delectable bread. As home bread makers, we wondered about what went into this wonderful bread !! The crust was dark brown and simply sensational ! Texture and flavor of the main body .... Oooo .... I'm lost for words !

If in Paris please head to canal St Denis to try Pain des Amis!! The fruit tarts and pastries are based on seasonal produce so it will vary. I was there in late summer. .... And will return to visit in December - hurrah !!!

Fig Flan.... I bought a boat shape version, just as yum!

Look at the pretty ceiling!

A pretty scissor clamp, pastries and Pain de Amis in the background, lined up straight as books!

They run it as a flour mill too!

A sporty staff posing spontaneously !

Old tins decorating the windows of the bakery!

Mood and Food (Comida Chilena Pt 8)

Its been 2 months since returning from Chile and this is the last of the comida chilena series... :) Reminiscing the food from the trip... Its been fun sorting through memorable meals during the long stay there, and the entries have been somewhat chronological and loosely thematic.   For this post, I wanted to put the food in context, of the place it was served in and the feelings it inspires!

mountains and me.... its always hard to convey the majesty of standing before it in a photo....

Can you see the Vicunas ? ( deliberately made it photo xtra large to help you!) We were really lucky to see a herd of them coming out to drink after our group left. ( Photo courtesy of Shet Fern) 

As part of the trip out to Laguna Miscanti, we drove on the road that would eventually lead to Argentina ( if we stayed on it for another 2 days).  The Lagoon was a brilliant cobalt blue , hidden amongst the undulating peaks of the Andes range making a natural border of Chile and Argentina to the east of Chile.  At a high altitude of 4k+ m above sea level, the place certainly commands a charming air of tranquility (probably due to the depth of blue) :) Wide open skies and mountains does something to lift the spirit !  Happy for the sunshine, for it was also really windy and chilly and we were not totally prepared to be outdoors for long, so we trod along as best as we were able and huddled for warmth!  It was no use jogging to keep warm as the thin air could have made us giddy from the lack of oxygen....

homestyled wonders! Egg, grains and veggies-heaven!

Awesome thatched roof in the village.

...And it was indeed this sign of altitude sickness I felt shortly before lunch time.  We had stopped at a small village and a local kitchen for a group lunch as part of the trip.  As we were early, the guide mentioned we could walk around abit, but cautioned we should be back in time to keep on schedule.  Great! I wanted to see the pretty stone church we had passed on the van at the head of the village. Probably too excited for my own good, I skipped in that direction after cajoling the other 2 to join me!  And suddenly I felt short of breath and my vision blacked out for a bit while my eyes were wide open.  It was rather scary and fascinating all at once.  And I had to stay on the spot, holding onto my friend to steady myself while the head whoozed for a bit.  And within 5 minutes or so, I was back to normal but slightly shaken from the experience... my first taste of altitude sickness.   ( Its important to keep hydrated fro ALS) And this is also the reason why I dont have a photo of the stone church, as we decided to turn back after this little sobering episode. 

Lunch was a rustic and heartwarming meal. (Maybe more so after the little episode, where you give thanks for really simple joys like warm food) Homemade vegetable broth followed by a vegetable torta (omelette) with rice, quinoa and salad.   The only seasoning was salt but everything else tasted like itself, the sweetness of the onions (sans the sting) and tomatoes- the fluffy fragrance and slight nuttiness of quinoa.  It was food at its best- simple and delicious.   

a view of the ocean

In a different town by the coast, about 10 days later... we were out visiting Isla Negra, one of the house-museums of the poet Pablo Neruda.  We stopped by a small inn cum restaurant for lunch and it turned out to be a delightful little place !  Run by an artist/musician couple, the rustic Hosteria Candela shared a piece of Neruda as he stayed and dined here while he was building his house nearby.  In fact, there is a creepily comedic life size doll of him seated on a corner table at the restaurant.  The food was amazing, but a bit too rich for my palette that day after a couple of hours on the road.  I felt ready to dive into the pacific!  

We had a Caldillo de Congrio which was Neruda's favourite dish at the restaurant.  It was a tomato flavoured ocean in a pot, with all sorts of seafood swimming in it! Clams, mussels, shrimps, and fish fillets ! Sharp, tangy and savoury- it was so good it inspired an ode from the wordsmith himself!  Although it was kinda touristy, it felt quite lovely that I was having a dish Neruda had too while he was here..... not so many years ago... (in the 60s) ....and that gives a slightly personal touch to the trip out visiting his house.  I could imagine him penning his prose at his desk at dusk, nourished by food he made in his kitchen and bar also facing the ocean- wow! ... and also Chao from Chile.

And here in his own words ( in a translation) : Oda al Caldillo de Congrio

Ode to Conger Chowder

(translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)

---

In the storm-tossed
Chilean
sea
lives the rosy conger,
giant eel
of snowy flesh.
And in Chilean
stewpots,
along the coast,
was born the chowder,
thick and succulent,
a boon to man.
You bring the Conger, skinned,
to the kitchen
(its mottled skin slips off
like a glove,
leaving the
grape of the sea
exposed to the world),
naked,
the tender eel
glistens,
prepared
to serve our appetites.
Now
you take
garlic,
first, caress
that precious
ivory,
smell
its irate fragrance,
then
blend the minced garlic
with onion
and tomato
until the onion
is the color of gold.
Meanwhile
steam
our regal
ocean prawns,
and when
they are
tender,
when the savor is
set in a sauce
combining the liquors
of the ocean
and the clear water
released from the light of the onion,
then
you add the eel
that it may be immersed in glory,
that it may steep in the oils
of the pot,
shrink and be saturated.
Now all that remains is to
drop a dollop of cream
into the concoction,
a heavy rose,
then slowly
deliver
the treasure to the flame,
until in the chowder
are warmed
the essences of Chile,
and to the table
come, newly wed
the savors
of land and sea,
that in this dish

you may know heaven.

Las Delicias de Carmen (Comida Chilena Pt 7)

Located on a side street to the main avenue of Carracoles in the town of San Pedro, we were recommended to this restaurant ( Carmen's delight) when we asked the pretty lady at our hotel reception where she would go to grab a bite.  

Tucked away on a dark and quieter street, it was really crowded and lively inside! We were welcomed by the delicious aromas of roasted chicken ( yes, you heard it from a vegetarian) as we had to walk by the kitchen before reaching the dining area.  It was a no-frills kinda place, just food and whatever ambience it was would be created by the diners and their reception of the mood !  That said, there were also 3 buskers who stayed briefly playing some music on 2 guitars and an Andean windpipe. .. Selecting from a menu on the blackboard, we had to guess at the names of dishes and consult from our spanish phrasebook what it may possibly contain !  We looked forward to the Choclo de Pastel ( a very local casserole of corn and beef) and pebre (appetizers).  

Pebre ( small dish) and salads! (Humongous portions)

The servings turned out to be much larger than anticipated, given the 'maincourse' size of a salad that came with one of our dishes- we don't know which ?!  Foodie me had downloaded a free app called 'My City Cuisine' which is a user contributed list of local foods organised by country.  This is great for giving you an inkling of what the local delights are regardless of language  barriers!  Choclo de Pastel was on that list... :) Its a wonderful sweet and savoury dish but very very rich and for a bowl that size, all 3 'S' sized travellers could not finish at one sitting.  It has a creamy but light texture, really yummy though very hazardous for vegetarians if minced meat is used- its like having to de-mine a piece of land to farm...not knowing if there are landmines (minced meat) within!

Choclo de Pastel ....... delish!

Veggie Lasagna with a side of potatoes

With 3 foodies, it was easy to share and taste/try different dishes we ordered!  As a veggie-gal I am always happy to support legumes! So I ordered a lentil soup, after asking in limited spanish if it contained any meat.  Was reassured no meat, so happily I placed the order for the cheapest thing on the menu, ( 2000 Chilean Pesos approx. £2.60, S$ 5) expecting a manageable appetizer sized bowl of soup.  IT was super yummy and filling! Lentils and potatoes, a complete meal in itself- in my case, probably good for 3 meals!  

Lentil Soup in a bowl the size of my face!

All in all, a delicious and economical meal in a home-styled restaurant complete with staff members that are all characters in themselves !  And it was so good we went back again for lunch the following day!

Lickan-Antay Native Foods (Comida Chilena Pt 6)

Back in San Pedro de Atacama ..... 

As part of the tour to the local ruins in the northern desert area of Chile, we were taken to a local farm and restaurant.  Our Bolivian-born guide said it was a mid-morning 'tea' of native foods.  Its lovely to discover a different culture through relics, environment and food! 

Known as the Atacamenos, the native of the region prefer to be known as Lickan-Antay, as the former was a tem given to them by the Spanish Colonialists.  Traditional houses were round mud huts with a thatched roof.  Inside, it reminded me of a Mongolian Yurt.  In arid environments like the Atacama desert, its really cool to see how their architecture had to adapt to the big difference in day and nighttime temperatures.  I reckon the lack of windows was mostly a insulation concern for the night.   The doors, being the only view out, would strategically be built with the sacred mountain of the Lican-cabur in sight as we see below. (very faintly)  This particular house is a model of what present day villages think the old house looked like. ( We are looking at pre-Inca times)

We didnt get the name of the local farm/ Restauarnt :( Its location is further out from San Pedro, so it is likely it mostly serves the locals and no tourists!  There were no name boards or signs on the front either! The farm was charmingly rustic with several small vegetable plots and a small herd of llamas and goats.  S2 is especially taken by the llamas, finding them friendly and most adorable out of the camelid family!   (Sorry Camel...)  

Check out their perky ears! Ola Llama ( pronounced sometimes as Ya-ma or Jama depending on where you take the double "l" in spanish )

Soy un Mocha color llama!

The llamas are a domesticated camelids the natives came to depend on for transporting goods, as they adapted better to the high altitudes compared to the horses (introduced by the Spanish). They were also a good source of wool and meat. An old way of shearing the llama for the wool included guiding them through a specially made narrow walk-way fenced on 2 sides by cactus, so the spikes could pick up the wool as the llama ran by! The spikes are not close enough to hurt the llama.... but I guess this works for a somewhat standardised size of llamas!  The wool is then spun and made into strands (see below)

Chocolate coated llama with black features!

Llama wool.

 Hmmm... here's the highlight of our tour, finding out the traditional foods that people ate in such a harsh climate.. Though as the guide reminded us, thousands of years ago, the area though a desert, was more fertile and had a thriving oasis compared to present day.  We had toasted corn kernals and quinao puffs.  Their texture eaten this way is dry and not that great- reminded me of natural cereals ( non-processed!) But as a source of nutrition for the people then it must be immense!

Quinoa and I got acquainted in health food stores, where most are exported from Peru or Bolivia.  I had been looking forward to having quinoa since arriving in Chile, but found that it seemed more common up north, then in Santiago, where most meals come with potatoes or rice.  Sadly, we heard that this nutritious grain that has developed a demand in the health food shops of developed nations, has now become too expensive for some of the local natives, who have it as part of their natural diet :(  A case of displaced nutrition when not eating locally... (for the developed nations I mean.... which would include me in the quotient, buying quinoa from the health foodstore)

Corn Kernals and Quinoa Puffs!

Another 2 native plants crucial to the natives were the Algarobbo and Chanar Plants.  They produced fruit and wood for use!  The Algarobbo is a type of carob, and it can be milled into a flour or made into a syrup, as the pods which produce these has a sweet, slightly nutty flavour.  We tried some bakes made from the algarobbo flour- the taste was very pleasant and mild- not overly sweet but texture was again a bit fry for me.. We washed it down with a delicious warm mint tea (that was hearty and not minty at all if you asked me !)  The natives also sometimes made an alcoholic beverage from the Algarobbo, which we did not come across in the trip.  Got a taste of the 2 syrups too.  I was surprised! The Algarobbo syrup had a slight tang to it that reminded me of gula melaka while the Chanar one was of a molasses like consistency, and had a strange but faint association with chocolate in taste. (?) Both were quite delicious though and we thought this would be a good souvenir to bring for our kitchen!  And had a hard time deciding which to get.... We wondered if the delicious stewed chestnut desert ( see previous post) was made with the algarobbo syrup since it reminded me of gula melaka!!

Bread like biscuit made from Algarobbo flour.

Algarrobo syrup (from the pod) and Chanar syrup (from the fruit)

This was the last we saw of these food, as back in San Pedro and Santiago, its the usual mix of tomatoes, avocados, beans, meat, potatoes and corn etc.  We asked a curator at the Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum in San Pedro about the present food source in the town.  She remarked that close to 90% were imported from the south of Chile while the farming capacity of the region had decreased significantly as people preferred to work in the mines as that earned a better salary.  

Rico Postres! ( Scrummy Desserts!) (Comida Chilena Pt 5)

In Chile, sweets are plentiful and most do seem to love their sweets and snacks.  Manjar, a caramelised condensed milk seem to be a local hit, with majar desserts, flavours of ice cream and cakes too!  We were not too keen on that as we found it exceedingly sweet.  However, there were 2 desserts we did fall for!

Mote Con Huesillo!  Initially when we saw this we likened it to Tau Suan immediately! Cos it looked similar with the yellow bits swimming in a syrup.  It turned out to be really delicious and refreshing! A rehydrated peach nectar made with sugar and cinnamon with wheat.  Its a common dessert that can be found on the streets, especially in the summer.  So we were lucky to come across it during a very sunny winter's day!

Mote Con Huesillo! 

Oooh! This next one also gets us very excited ! Stewed Chestnuts in a syrup with whipped cream.  The syrup tastes almost like gula melaka... We aren't usually fans of whipped cream but this combination goes very well together. Lovely and so simple. Something we'll definitely try to recreate back in London now that autumn and chest nut season will arrive soon!

Castana con Crema

just short of licking the bowl.....

Pizzería artesanal Copao (Comida Chilena Pt 4)

fresh ingredients slathered in cheese and tomatos on top of a thin crust or doughy pizza.  It doesnt get simpler than this, for a satisfying meal :) 

A small pizzaria run by 2 lovely lovely ladies at the end of Carracoles ( the main tourist street at San Pedro de Atacama) Their warm and friendly hospitality added to the simple tasty lunch of pizza, empanada and juice!  The crust was thin and crisp with just the right amount of chewiness! We ordered a chicken, olive and oregano pizza.  And a vegetable empanada ( like a calzone, or baked curry puff) filled with sweetcorn, palmitto ( Palm heart) tomatoes,  mushroom and i suspect some avocado too ! 

Empanada-da-da-da-la-la-la.

Menu on the doors ! 

Guanaco in glyphs , interior of the pizzaria!