Category Archives: Culture
Enchiladas
When I say “enchiladas” – what do you imagine? A burrito-like dish covered in spicy red sauce and melted cheese? Well, for El Salvador and some other Central American countries, enchiladas are a different dish entirely. While each person has their preferences, here is my version: A fried tortilla colored with achiote (annatto) forms the foundation, then in layers, mayonnaise, seasoned ground beef, curtido (Salvadoran cabbage salad), sliced hard boiled eggs, a heavy sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a few squirts of ketchup! Pick up your enchilada and eat it with your hands. Here’s the recipe, (and some notes on other variations you can try!)
Enchiladas
Ingredients for the ground beef:
1 lb. ground beef
a few generous dashes Salsa Perrins (also known as “Worcestershire sauce”)
1 teaspoon achiote powder
salt to taste
Ingredients for the tortillas:
3 cups corn flour (MASECA is the brand I use)
a little less than 4 cups water
1 tablespoon achiote powder
a pinch of salt
oil for frying (I use Canola)
Toppings
6 eggs – hard boiled, peeled and sliced
Curtido (recipe here)
mayonnaise
Parmesan cheese
Ketchup (optional)
Directions:
1. In a pan, fry the ground beef seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, achiote powder and salt. (If using lean ground beef, add a little oil to fry.) Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine corn flour with achiote powder and salt. Stir dry ingredients with a fork to combine before adding water. Add water a little at a time, combining with your hands as you go. You will use almost 4 cups of water, but 4 cups is too much, so don’t add it all. You want the masa (dough) to be very moist but not so wet that you can’t shape it with your hands.
3. Heat oil in a large pan. Shape masa into tortillas, (If you don’t know how to do this with your hands, some people cheat by smashing a ball of dough between the bottoms of two plates covered in plastic wrap.)
4. Fry the tortillas a few at a time without crowding them in the pan. Flip to brown on both sides. Remove to paper towels to drain off some of the oil.
5. Time to assemble your enchiladas! Slather mayonnaise on each tortilla. Top with the following in this order: ground beef, curtido, sliced egg, Parmesan, ketchup. This recipe makes approximately 12 enchiladas.
6. Variations: Enchiladas can be made different ways – just like a hamburger. You can use whatever toppings appeal to you. Some people top their enchiladas with tomato slices, radish slices, and fresh avocado; other people use refried beans instead of mayonnaise, tomato sauce instead of ketchup, and grilled chicken in place of ground beef.
What do you put on your enchiladas?
El paisaje celeste de los días de enero
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. Scroll down for English translation!
Hoy me desperté y mi primer pensamiento fue, “El sol! El cielo celeste!” Me sentí que había salido de la cárcel despues de una sentencía de viente años y que yo estaba viendo de nuevo la luz del día por primera vez. Es que toda la semana pasada los días fuerón iguales.
Por una semana entera no ví el sol y el cielo de color gris estaba sin nubes – o una gran nube que cubria todo – no estoy segura. Los días no parecian días … más como otro tipo de noche, una noche un poco menos oscura. Como escribio Junot Díaz, los días eran “el color de palomas de castilla.”
Por eso me hizo sonreír de felicidad ver el cielo celeste y a mi amigo, el sol, esta mañana. En ese momento, un poema por salvadoreño Roque Dalton me vino a la mente. El poema se llama, “Como tú” y decidí leerlo para ustedes – espero que les guste.
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Today I woke up and my first thought was, “The sun! The blue sky!” I felt like I had just left prison after a twenty year sentence and that I was seeing daylight again for the first time. It’s that this past week, all the days passed the same.
For a whole week I didn’t see the sun and the grey-colored sky was without clouds – or a great cloud covered everything – I’m not sure. The days didn’t look like days… more like another type of night, a night that is a little less dark. As Junot Díaz wrote, the days were “the color of pigeons.”
That’s why I smiled out of happiness to see the blue sky and my friend, the sun, this morning. In that moment, a poem by Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton came to mind. The poem is called “Like you” and I decided to read it for you today – I hope you like it.
I invited Bob
I’m on the sofa watching TV with the family; Carlos has been changing the channels between a Manchester United game, bullfighting and a Jackie Chan movie translated to Spanish, (La Leyenda del Maestro Borrachón.) Somewhere in between all that I caught a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial en español which was so hilarious that I had to drop in here and share it.
Kudos to the people who came up with this commercial – Me encanta!
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored or paid post and I do not necessarily endorse KFC – I just like this commercial.
Salvadoran-style Birthday Cake
Being married to Carlos over these past 15 years, one thing I’ve learned is that American birthday cake and Salvadoran birthday cake are very different.
Carlos will eat American birthday cake, but he doesn’t really like it.
Today was Carlos’s birthday and for the past few weeks, all he’s been talking about is Salvadoran birthday cake. I got the hint and asked him plenty of questions about it so I could make him one. Carlos says that growing up in El Salvador he always got a cake from a bakery called Flor de Trigo on his birthday. The cake part was moist but didn’t have a strong flavor, the frosting was only very slightly sweet. The cakes were usually layer cakes with fruit decorating the top.
I did some research, (even found the Flor de Trigo website!) and this is what I came up with.
The cake is a white cake (from a box mix just to save some time), and the “frosting” is a homemade whipped cream. Sliced almonds decorate the sides, and the fruits I chose were strawberries and apricot. Carlos gave me muchos besos and said it’s just like a Salvadoran birthday cake. Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try!
Salvadoran-style Birthday Cake
Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Classic White)
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup white sugar (more if you prefer sweeter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 cups sliced almonds
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
1 can apricot halves, drained and sliced
1 can (12 oz.) “apricot cake & pastry filling” (I used “Solo” brand)
Directions:
1. Make cake according to package directions. If you have two round pans, use those. If not, you can do what I did – Put it all in a well greased 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Once baked and cooled, carefully turn onto a clean surface and slice in half to create 2 square layers. (Since the edges get browned while baking, slice those off so it’s uniform on all sides.)
2. This is how you make homemade whipped cream. (I recommend making this and assembling the cake the same day you plan to eat it.) First, it’s best if you have a large stainless steel bowl, but a plastic mixing bowl will work. Metal is better because you can get it nice and cold. Cold is your friend when making whipped cream! … Whichever bowl you’re using, stick it in the freezer along with the metal beater(s) from your electric mixer. The heavy whipping cream should be kept in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. To make the whipped cream – pour the quart of whipping cream into the bowl. Turn your mixer on high and beat until stiff peaks form. Add a 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and sugar according to your tastes, (1/2 cup to 3/4 cups makes it just barely sweet by American standards.)
3. Put one cake layer on a base – this will be the bottom layer. (Ideally your base would be the bottom of a cake container which you can cover with a dome lid.) Spread the can of “apricot cake & pastry filling” on the top of the bottom cake layer. On top of the “apricot cake & pastry filling”, spread a layer of whipped cream. Top with the top cake layer.
4. Frost the entire outside of the cake with the whipped cream. Carefully toss the sliced almonds onto the sides of the cake.
5. Decorate the top of the cake with the sliced apricots and strawberries. (This recipe will work great if you decide to use different fruits or a different “cake & pastry filling” – so get creative! Other options include fresh or canned pineapple, fresh kiwi, canned fruit cocktail, and other kinds of berries.)
6. Cover cake and refrigerate for a couple hours then serve!
¡Feliz Cumpleaños! (or as I like to say, “Sapo Verde!“)
Feliz Día de Los Inocentes!
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. Scroll down for English translation!
Image source: Felix E. Guerrero
Hoy me levanté infeliz. Carlos me despertó diciendo: “Tracy, el perro tuvo un accidente terrible en la sala. Ve a ver. Es un desastre.”
Yo sospechaba que él estaba bromeando, pero yo no estaba cierta y fui a investigar. Claro que no habia nada de accidente en la sala y el perro estaba dormido.
“Feliz Día de los Inocentes!” Carlos me dijo. Cuando vio que yo no le hice mucha gracia, él se disculpó y dijo que no más bromas por el resto del día. Ja! Como si no voy a tener mi venganza? Yo no lo creo!
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Today I woke up unhappy. Carlos awakened me saying, “Tracy, the dog had a terrible accident in the living room. Go look. It’s a mess.”
I suspected that he was joking, but I wasn’t sure and I went to investigate. Of course there wasn’t any accident in the living room and the dog was asleep.
“Happy Innocents Day!” [Innocents Day is like Latin America's April Fools Day] Carlos said. When he saw that I wasn’t amused, he apologized and said there would be no more tricks for the rest of the day. Ha! As if I won’t have my revenge? I don’t think so!
Feliz Navidad 2012
Wishing everyone paz, amor, felicidad, salud and blessings al montón!
Sinceramente,
La Familia López
The Noche Buena Pavo
Still marinating our pavo.
Actually, despite the title, this turkey is for tomorrow, Christmas Day. Tonight (Noche Buena), we’re going to have tamales, Mexican queso fundido, and Cuban tostones with mojo. (Not a traditional Salvadoran spread, but somehow, those are the diverse recipes I ended up choosing – and that’s after Carlos discouraged me from making a Venezuelan Pan de Jamón on top of it all.)
I don’t cook poultry that looks like poultry very often. It kind of grosses me out and I prefer to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (Suegra always told me I’d have never survived in El Salvador since she had to wring the chicken’s neck and then pluck it.)
Anyway, when making Panes con Pavo I end up having to handle a whole turkey, which happens maybe once a year. Right now I was just putting the “Salsa Perrins” and mustard on the pavo to marinate and my 11 year old came into the kitchen. He looked at the turkey for a minute, checking it out from both ends and all directions. Then he asked, “Which side is the culito?”
Noche Buena Fireworks
Image source: gmarvinh
This past week I wrote my weekly column for Fox News Latino about the tradition of Christmas Eve fireworks in El Salvador, and the injuries it causes each year.
While doing research for the article I came across several videos which, despite the serious subject matter I was writing about, I found really amusing. It’s funny when people have a good time with fireworks and don’t get hurt, so I can definitely see why people continue to buy them and set them off.
I myself have never handled anything more serious than sparklers and since I didn’t grow up with fireworks being set off right in front of me as Carlos did, I have a healthy fear/respect of them. That being said, I know some of you will be setting off some pretty impressive cuetes tomorrow night, so I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone to be careful and to keep small children at a safe distance while you’re celebrating. If you talk to your family in El Salvador on the phone, remind them too. Christmas is not as fun at the hospital. Have fun, pero con cuidado!
Un Nacimiento Bilingüe y Bicultural
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. Scroll down for English translation!
El miercoles en la página Facebook, durante una conversación sobre nacimientos, una amiga y lectora de Latinaish.com, (“Lady Amalthea”), me mencionó que tenía un nacimiento que quería compartir con todos. Originalmente habíamos planeado compartirlo en la página de Facebook, pero cuando me mandó la foto ví inmediatamente que era muy especial y tenía que ser compartido aquí.
Dale un “click” para ver la foto en grande. Hay muchos detalles! (Click the photo to see it full size. There are a lot of details!)
En las palabras de “Lady Amalthea”:
[Mi nacimiento es] un pueblo bicultural y bilingüe. He incorporado piezas que mi esposo y yo trajimos de Ilobasco, El Salvador y algunas casas de “Christmas Village” que hemos recogido juntos, como el Teatro de película, y la estación de tren. Mi esposo americano mantiene el argumento de que el nacimiento es algo fuera de control y que no es una escena de la natividad correcta, con los soldados, cachiporras, los animales de todo el mundo, etc., pero cada vez que mi hermana me manda más figuras para agregar, mi esposo no puede esperar para ver cuál es esta vez y donde yo la voy a poner! Mi esposo aún me convenció añadir un tren eléctrico para dar la vuelta alrededor del pueblo!
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
On Wednesday on the Facebook page, during a conversation about nativities, a friend and reader of Latinaish.com, (“Lady Amalthea”), mentioned that she had a nativity that she wanted to share with everyone. We originally planned to share it on the Facebook page, but when I saw the photo I immediately knew it was very special and had to be shared here.
In the words of “Lady Amalthea”:
[My nativity is] bicultural and bilingual. I incorporated pieces that my husband and I brought from Ilobasco, El Salvador and some Christmas village houses we have collected together, such as the movie theater, and the train station. My American husband keeps arguing that it’s getting out of hand and it’s not a nativity scene at all, with soldiers, cachiporras [cheerleaders], animals everywhere, etc., but every time my sister sends me more figures to add to it, he cannot wait to see which one it is this time and where I am going to place it! He even talked me into adding an electrical train to go around the village!
Christmas Past
Image source: Biscarotte
Starting to get into the holiday spirit? I’ve been busy working rather than wrapping gifts and since it’s looking like I’ll only manage to write my Spanish Friday post this week, I’ve organized all my best Christmas-themed posts from past years in case you might have missed them.
Are you ready for Navidad?
2009
Señor Feliciano, You Do Not Own Christmas
2010
2011
Immigrant Voices: Christmas
Celebrando Noche Buena
Salvadoran Navidad vs. American Christmas
Salvadoran Nacimientos vs. American Nativities
2012
Mixing Traditions for a Bicultural Christmas (free printable gift tags)
Lista de Deseos
