El Sauce Carnavalito 2010: Beer Prices and Availability

I rode my bike a couple of streets over this afternoon to check out preparations for this year's El Sauce Carnavalito. They are underway.

The first thing you do not need to worry about is finding a place to buy beer. All four national beers are available at reasonable prices pretty much everywhere. In fact, as you walk down the street you will pretty much always find yourself directly in front of a beer stand.


The beer stands are yellow, very easy to spot. The prices are clearly marked. The beers are extremely cold. The most affordable beer will set you back about 80 cents.

How many beer stands are there? I decided that the best way to communicate their density was with a movie. Here I am on my bike making my way down the street. Remember, the little yellow buildings are beer stations.

Christmas Dinner

Here's the plan.

Horchata

Karine and I are infrequent milk drinkers. Here's the reason why. If I were a caveman I could see myself hunting down a cow with a big stick and eating it. But I can't see myself sneaking up on a cow to latch on to its udders with my lips. Could you see yourself doing that? Meat is one thing. Totally reasonable. But mamarary secretions?

In my paranoid twenties I thought the idea of of drinking animal milk products was a giant conspiracy foisted on complacent consumers by the sinister dairy industry. More recently milk has seemed like a rather strange and unnatural source of nutrition. But that was before I discovered horchata.

Horchata gives people who don't drink milk a reason to start. It is very popular here in Honduras. I drink bottled horchata at school, home, the movies, resurants, and at the gas station. Sometimes I even drink it while I am riding my bicycle!

But my favorite horchata is what I make at home. Start with two tablespoons of Don Julio's Horchata mix in a tall glass. Add milk and cubed ice, stir with a bendy straw, and finish with a napkin sweater. I use Leyde milk. Its the best milk we have found in La Ceiba. Its easy to find because its the only brand that has a cow with blonde hair on the package.

It tastes like almonds, cinnamon, and vanilla. It's just about the best flavor that's ever hit your lips. I am a very satisfied customer. Every single time.

Saturday News

Here is a picture of Karine drinking orange juice. She's wearing a funny outfit!

FOCO Taste Test: Mangosteen Juice

We love experimenting with new juices. FOCOs are some of our favorites. Sometimes their juices have chunks, but sometimes they are really good. You can check out a previous FOCO taste test here.


The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m (20-80 ft) tall. The rind (exocarp) of the edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. Botanically an aril, the fragrant edible flesh can be described as sweet and tangy, citrusy with peach flavor and texture. Mangosteen is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as button mangosteen and lemondrop mangosteen. Botanically, it bears no relation to the mango (Wikipedia).


We thought the juice was really tasty. We're huge mangosteen fans now. Mellow fruity flavor, peachy bouquet, and no chunks. We love our FOCOs, but we don't love the chunks.

We want to plant a mangosteen tree in our backyard.

What's Cookin'

I'm not sure if it's a nesting thing, or that I was just hungry when I woke up, but I've spent the past 6 hours in the kitchen working on some tasty creations! I really debated whether to put the whole recipe on the blog, or just the link. I settled on the links, but I really think you should check the recipes out!

When I woke up this morning, I really wanted some cinnamon rolls. Since the closest Cinnabon is in a mall somewhere in Miami, I did my best to make some of the tasty rolls myself. I used this recipe for some Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls.



It turns out that they actually take closer to 4 and a half hours to make (with the rising and stuff), so they were more of a lunch dessert than a breakfast. They were well worth the wait though... Tom's comment- "Wow, Karine."

Since the weather has been extra hot lately, I decided to do a bit of a mediterranian lunch with some homemade hummus (yesterday's creation), fresh tomatoes, pita bread (Yay! This is a new item in our grocery store.), and some tzaziki, a cucumber/yogurt sauce.



I made this tzaziki recipe today using my mini-food processer. I've begun writing a post several times, meaning to urge everyone to buy themselves a mini food processor. I personally own a red Kitchen Aid Chef's Chopper Mini model. They retail for around $45 and I love it. I probably use it 3-4 times per week. Instead of grating 2 cucumbers and ruining my knuckles, I simply peeled, de-seeded, and threw them in the food processor. Same with the garlic cloves- so easy!


The other 4 hour project I've been working on today is this awesome ginger soft drink. Last night, we had an amazing Indian dinner with our friends, Sophia and Patrick. Sophia is an excellent cook, and she introduced me to the yummiest, most refreshing drink I've had in ages!

This recipe makes 3 quarts of an extremely refreshing beverage concentrate. It is made by boiling ginger root and cinnamon sticks in water, and then adding a few more types of juice. This is perfect for our hot, hot days, but I'm also excited to make it as a spicy holiday beverage.


The ginger flavor makes it almost sparkle, even without adding sparkling water or soda. I love the hint of cinnamon and lime too. Served over a tall glass of ice, I know this will be my favorite new drink!




FYI- I also saved my knuckles and some major time on this recipe by using the mini food processor instead of grating the ginger root with my cheese grater.

In other fun weekend news... While I've been working in the kitchen, Tom has spent the day working on the backyard. Here's a picture of Tom just before watering the lawn (his favorite Sunday activity). The little purple flowers you can see in the background are a part of a vine-type plant. Tom spent part of today transplanting some of those fines to cover some walls and support beams in back of our house.



Ruby has had some excitement the past few days as well! On Friday, Ruby was spayed. The neighborhood stray dogs were becoming a bit more interested, and we're just not going to take any chances. We're also dog-sitting for Ruby's best friend, Fisher this weekend. Yesterday was a resting day, but today, both Ruby and Fisher are having a blast together. (Playing gently, of course)


Some advice is needed. Tom and I are entertaining the idea of getting a second dog. Ruby is so much happier and less needy when Fisher is around. We sadly realize that by the time our baby comes, Ruby will not be the center of attention in our family anymore. Right now, Ruby is home alone for about 8 hours per day, and we know she gets bored. We're curious on others' thoughts and experiences with two dogs versus one. Is it a good idea? Tell us what you think in the comment section!

FOCO Taste Test: Aloe Vera Drink

We have been exposed to some wonderful new products down here. We were shopping at our local supermarket tonight and decided to take a chance on a new beverage. Tom volunteered to act as test subject. Tonight's experiment: an aloe vera and honey flavored beverage.

What you see in the picture above is not disgust, but surprise. Tom was surprised to find actual gelatinous chunks of aloe in the drink. Other than that it was pretty good.

We found a house today. Its in the Sauce neighborhood. More updates on that later this week...

Cervezas de Honduras

As far as I can tell, the number one beer down here is a tasty little pilsner called Salva Vida. The beer is brewed by SABMiller, the first multinational brewing company to start operations in Central America. The company acquired Cerveceria Hondurena from the Standard Fruit Company (Dole), a few years ago. The beer is brewed right here in Honduras and is very good. Thanks SABMiller, for making a really delicious product. Its a light-bodied brew, perfect for the climate. People who like crappy beer, like Summit Pale Ale, will not like it because it does not have that burnt peanuts and shoe-funk aftertaste. Price at your local watering hole: 20-30 lempiras....US $1.15.

How to make coffee in Honduras

All of our worldly possessions, including our new coffee pot, are on a boat somewhere in the Caribbean. Luckily, our guest house came equipped with a coffee sock.

Here's what you'll need to make coffee Honduran style: one small covered pitcher, one tea kettle, one bag cafe copan (Honduran coffee from the region of the Mayan ruins), two coffee cups, one coffee sock.
A coffee sock is a really neat little gadget. Its kind of like a wizards's hat made out of cheese cloth with a wire around the brim.
Boil water.
While you are waiting for the water to boil place your coffee sock in your coffee pitcher and fill the sock to the brim with coffee. Be careful not to carelessly spill coffee grounds all over the counter like Tom always does.
Pour the boiling water into the coffee sock.
Wait for the coffee to drain through. Sometimes this takes a few minutes. This is the hard part. But it is also the magical part.
Pour coffee.
And enjoy!

Coffee and classrooms!

We worked in our classrooms for awhile today. I'll post some pics I took around the school later. I even used my best cursive handwriting on the board!

Tom made some iced coffee drinks for us tonight, Here's a pic! More about coffee tomorrow...