While I wish I could blame the internet for all my problems, I have been a tad lax in my updating. I wanted to wish my dads a happy father’s day. You guys are the best!!!!!! These are 2 of my favorite pics from their visit here!!!
The past couple of days have been great. Through one of my friends in IESA, we were able to help (along with my friend Rikki- they stayed at her house, we had the party and made the food) host 3 british cyclists who are in the final stages of their bike tour starting in Prudhoe Bay Alaska and ending in Ushuaia Argentina. They have been cycling now for 10 months, and have hopefully 6 weeks left. They are 30-ish college buddies and are having a great time while doing charity work raising money for schools in Ecuador. Check out their website. We ended up throwing a party for them on Tuesday night and Wednesday made them dinner and my friend Rikki and I hung out with them this morning and saw them off. The funny thing is that they all said that once finished, they never want to see a bike again. They hadn’t stayed with any families since November, so they really enjoyed it. They told us that there are 3 americans slowly making there way down who are currently in Lima, Peru. I’m planning on following their progress and seeing if they need a place to stay when coming through La Serena. Apparently, about 20 cyclists a year start in Alaska cycling their way down South America, though most people don’t make it. Keep your fingers crossed that James, Anthony and Martin make it safely over the pass into Argentina and the rest of the way. It’s winter and very COLD down south, so they seemed a little nervous about the last part of the trip. They had planned on starting their trip earlier, but were waiting for a friend who ended up not being able to join them. You can follow their progress on their website.
Yesterday afternoon, Steve and the pup had some much needed bonding time and played dress up…
Last night, I went to dinner with some friends for a little despedida for my friend Jeanel, who is actually back in the states. but visiting for a week and a half. It was wonderful seeing her again, and it reminded me of how much I miss not having her here. She was one of the first people I met here, and when we got the puppy, she brought us to the vet, and I just really like her. We went to Porotas which is a restaurant on the beach, one of my favorites actually, and had a great time!
Steve came down from observing on Thursday, so we got to have a fun weekend together. On Friday, we went to a party then played some poker (I came in 2nd), Saturday we took Leyna to the park, went grocery shopping, and I made for the very first time homemade bread. I had used my bread machine before, but had never made it by hand. I made 2 braided egg breads, the first of which I did a 4 section braid and covered 2 strand with poppy seeds and 2 strands with sesame seeds, and the second I did a three strand braid and sweetened the egg wash with some vanilla and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top. They came out amazing, and for lunch today we’re going to have french toast with the cinnamon bread. Should be awesome. On Sunday, I went hiking with he pup and then went to a late lunch with friends at one of my favorite restaurants in Chile- Entre Rocas, then Sunday night Steve and I went to a friends house for some poker, neither of us came in the money 🙁 You win some, you lose some. One other thing I did this weekend thanks to our friend Adam, I have now become addicted to Weboggle and play it non stop, the best place i’ve come in is 37th out of 198, but it’s a ton of fun, though it sucks you in…
the breads prior to cooking…
yummy…
cute Leyna pics (she sometimes acts as though she can’t hear us, but I’m not buying it with those ears)…
Today, is my good friend Lauren’s 29th birthday. I love the below picture (it’s from the 2005 USGP), where we along with Lauren’s hubby Criss and our good friends Janet and Alan, all had a great time hanging out in Indiana and tailgating! Can’t wait to see you in September Lauren, Happy Birthday!!! Miss you and love you!!!!!!!
Tonight, book club is coming to my house, though, instead of reading a book this time, we are all bringing different chilean dishes. Some of us ordered a great chilean cookbook, Tasting Chile, while other’s are using their own chilean cookbook’s. I decided to make Chicken Braised in Wine and Cumin. Thought you might all like the recipe…
1 chicken (4lbs) cut into 6 or 8 pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium tomatoes (14 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 bay leaves
3/4 t ground cumin
1 c dry white wine
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1. Wash the chicken pieces, and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the chicken pieces. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides and set the pieces aside. You may have to do this in batches.
3.Add the onion to the pot and saute until translucent. Remove any excess fat from the pot.
4. Return the chicken to the pot, along with the tomatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and cumin. Cover reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking. After 10 min, add the wine. Continue to cook covered, for about 30 min over med low heat, or until the chicken is cooke and the carrots are tender. Stir frequently.
5. When the chicken is cooked, mix in the parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The other recipe I’m making is from Leonor. It’s in spanish, so you all can practice your tanslating 🙂 It’s a dessert, similar to flan (I think)
Postre Juan Manuel
1 tarro de leche condensada (1 can of condensed milk)
1 litre de leche ( 1 L of milk)
5 huevos (eggs)
1 cucharada de miacena (1 T cornstarch)
3/4 tazas de azucar granulada (3/4 c granulated sugar)
2 cucharaditas de extracto de vainilla (2 t vanilla extract)
En un bol, bata los huevos clara y yema juntas, agregue el azucar, la vainilla, la leche condensada alternado con la leche liquida. (IN bowl, whisk together eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, and alternate between adding condensed milk and regular milk)
Diuelva la maicen en un poco de leche y anadala a la preparacion (dissolve the cornstarch in a small amount of milk and add to the egg mixture)
Acarmele un molde o lanera y vierta la preparacion (Over med heat carmelize some sugar in pyrex 9×13 dish until it forms a light brown liquid, and then cover the bottom of the dish with liquid, I used about 1/2 c granulated sugar, once that’s finished and pan is covered, pour egg mixture over carmel)
Cocine a banomaria durante 30 minutos (cook at 350 for 30 min)
Deje enfriar y desmolde (cool, then put in fridge until sets)
Hopefully my translation is right, and the dessert will be delish!! Enjoy the recipes!!
Today is my good friend Michaela’s birthday. I wish I could be in Indiana and celebrate with her!!! Happy birthday Michaela!!! If we were at work, I know that I would be getting us butter chicken from Shanti’s and for dessert i’d make a strawberry cake. Miss you!!!!
Today,,,,,, it felt like we were in the states. The day started off beautifully, it was warm and sunny, probably in the upper 60s and after sleeping in and catching up with Cara, we decided to bring thee pup to the park. We had fun playing frisbee in the sun. We then met up with a group of friends and went go karting, which was a blast! Afterwards we went and saw The Da Vinci Code, it was alright, I found it to be somewhat entertaining, and we just got home with our dinner, Kentucky Fried Chicken, YUMMY!!! Not sure what our plans for tonight entail, but most likely wine and friends. Hope you guys are all having a great weekend as well!!
I just brought Leyna to the vet and he took out her stitches, so no more collar! My house has been in shambles because she had no peripheral vision and would knock everything over, but no more!!! She also can start playing with her friends and start hiking in a few days, which we have both sorely missed.
I am blessed to have 2 of the best mom’s on the world!! Happy Mother’s Day Bernadette and Mary Jane!! I love you guys!!!!
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