Some much needed R&R: Cooking and spicy apple butter

Abrazos a todos,

This past week I had been feeling a bit melancholy. I've been in the delicate process of recovery from a seeming barrage of winter maladies. In general these would seem relatively insignificant, but I've observed that when living alone little things tend to get exaggerated, and I've been working on training myself to maintain a balanced perspective. This perspective is surprisingly difficult when you have no one to bounce ideas off of or tell you to suck it up. I'm learning though, and I think overall battling these ups and downs has been a positive experience. One way I've learned to overcome the more somber periods is by doing something I enjoy, such as reading, cooking, or writing.

The other day was unusual because I had no classes. I had the entire day open to me, which can be a good or a bad thing. If I can't find a way to occupy my time in a positive and productive manner then I find I sometimes allow the negative ideas to creep in. After a slow morning and a couple episodes of Friends I headed to Starbucks, ordered a Cappuchino, and set to work.

In the afternoon, as I was cleaning the apartment, I hit on the idea of making apple butter, which is usually a day long process. My rationale is that while I usually spend about $15 pesos on a jar of jam, which is mostly just sugar with a little fruit flavor; why not buy a kilo of apples for $12 pesos, boil them down to make apple butter, and add no sugar? I immediately dropped the vacuum and headed for the local verduleria, purchased my apples, and rushed back to begin the boiling process.

Below is the step-by-step guide I created for my process of cooking the apple butter.

First bring about a cup and a half of water to a boil.

Take 1 kilo (about 5 large apples) and slice into wedges, placing the wedges in the water as each apple is sliced.

Cut the apple and add slices one by one over low heat.

Here's where the spice comes in! I added three chilis, with the seeds. You can add spice if you wish or leave it out entirely, it depends on your preferences.

Mince the chilis and add to the apple mixture.

A little butter or lard (In this case I used about a tablespoon of lard) helps with the caramelization process although it is not necessary.

All the apple has been added and is beginning to look like apple sauce. I forgot to mention that the skin of the apple  may be left or taken out, depending on personal preferences.

Now it's necessary to sterilize the jars. I used two leftover marmalade jars.

Rinse the jars with soap and water and then add boiling water and some vinegar, filling them to the top, to remove any unwanted critters : ) Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Use a cloth when holding the jars to avoid getting burned.

This is what it should look like after about an hour and a half. The apple sauce begins to boil down.

I left the apple mixture on low, went to the gym, returned 2 hours later, and found it was almost finished! I also prepared flatbreads and baba ghanoush that evening as well.

When the mixture turns dark brown, and has a thick, almost syrupy texture, it is ready to be transferred to the jars. Let the butter cool and carefully transfer to the jars. It should fill a little over 1 jar of butter - que rico!!!

Apple butter can be enjoyed on toast, flatbreads, in sandwiches, pancakes, or a host of other dishes. Be creative! I like mine spicy but if you want a sweeter version add some vanilla extract or a little cinnamon. The possibilities for spicing this dish up are, if not endless, at least extensive. While apple butter is time consuming, it is not labor intensive and can largely be left to cook on it's own, an occasional stir every 45 minutes should suffice to keep it from burning.

I've found cooking can be a wonderful and fun way to be productive. It's an outlet for stress, which seems to disappear almost instantly when I set myself to the task of preparing something. For me, cooking is also highly meditative and conducive to thinking, and is a way to balance my day and accomplish something that I can subsequently enjoy. 

Good luck with the cooking and buen provecho!!!

A Dinner with Friends

Hey folks,

I am always surprised, when I have a moment to reflect, at how quickly the time passes here. I think all the activities I'm doing, including the Tango lessons, teaching, Spanish lessons, and daily exercise, give me little time to pause and write. when I do have free time I often prefer to relax and read or watch a little TV, or cook a nice meal. However I do have a little more free time this week, as tomorrow is Argentina's independence day and I don't have classes, so I'll take this opportunity to write a little update to my life in Buenos Aires.

As the title of this post suggests, I recently had a dinner party with some friends of mine. One of them, Kristina, was a fellow TEFL graduate, and she arrived for the dinner with a friend of hers from Colombia. One of my ex-students, Hernan, also came. We held the dinner at my place and we all prepared a different dish. I prepared la entrada, or appetizer, and I decided on flat breads, hummus, and guacamole. Hernan cooked lemon marinated chicken and oven fried potatoes, and Kristina brought the postre, brownies and fruit.

It was a typical Argentine dinner, as we didn't begin eating until after 10pm. We conversed in mostly Spanish, with a little Spanglish thrown in, usually when Kristina or I had trouble with vocabulary. Here are some photos from the dinner.

Preparing the flatbreads, guac, and hummus!

Flatbreads almost ready!

Cheers to good food

Profes de Ingles y el estudiante

 
In other news: I'll be traveling to Uruguay tomorrow to relax in Colonia and get that Visa renewed. I also finally got the gas heater back from the repairman so my apartment won't be quite so cold anymore. I've also started contemplating what I wish to do come November.

I had my mind made up about returning to the states but now I'm reconsidering my possibilities. I would like to return to the states in late November to visit the family and celebrate the holidays. The question I'm now considering is whether I want to return and teach another year after the holidays. I think in the end the deciding factor will be whether I can afford a flight home and back, and be able to pay a month's rent on the apartment while I'm away. I don't want to leave, come back, and have to find a completely new place to live. This is just one possibility and I'm keeping an open mind.

I'll start considering my options more in earnest in a few months. Until then it's just business as usual.

Cheers from BA!

Living in the groove

Hey folks,

I'll begin by saying that I know it's been a terribly long time since my last blog post, and I admit to feeling slightly guilty about that. I've had plenty of opportunities to write in the past several weeks but, for various reasons, I always found an excuse to occupy my time with other diversions. I guess I'll call it living in the groove.  I felt compelled to write this morning after a long and slow wake up time, and three cups of tea and a cup of coffee to wash away the grogginess. Now with a clear head I can begin.

I don't think I truly settled in until a week or so ago, because it was about a week ago that a profound change happened. I think I'll call it living in the groove. I can't really explain it other than that I finally felt completely at home. I guess before that change I had sort of been keeping myself in mental limbo. I never fully accepted my surroundings as permanent, or myself as a permanent resident. In the back of my mind I seemed to harbor a thought that somehow I was only living here temporarily, and thus didn't need to "fully" settle in. With my now more peaceful and, dare I say, homely frame of mind has come many changes  in how I act, most of them for the better.

The first change is that I've drastically changed my diet. For months I'd been sustaining myself on bread, potatoes, onions, and cereal, not a very healthy diet in the long-term, but a diet that appeased a slightly unsettled mind, and an appetite constantly on the go. Now I've embraced full-on vegetarian. Well, not fully vegetarian. I do eat meat on occasion, but I don't really trust the meat here. The chicken meat, for example, looks like it came from small dinosaurs. I've been eating tons of greens, apples, pears, oranges, and bananas, and I feel much  more in control of my daily diet than I used to.

I have also finally joined a gym. The weather has been terribly frosty the past couple of days, and the freezing temperatures haven't been conducive to outdoor training. Indeed my apartment itself is quite drafty, and the little space heater has quite a time keeping out the cold. This past Wednesday a repairman was supposed to come with my old heater, which he took to repair in February. Unfortunately he didn't show up so my space heater must continue to do the job on it's own.

As for the gym, it isn't anything spectacular, but it has all the weight training equipment I need as well as bikes and other machines. It's only $180 pesos a month, which is about US $40, which seems like a reasonable price for me, especially if I go 5 times a week (that's the plan). I tried the equipment there for the first time yesterday and was not a little surprised by how scrawny I'd become. I've been working out in the local park for months, doing pushups, pull ups, and sprints, but I think it had been at least 6 months since I'd touched free weights. The weights were all in kilograms so I had to experiment and find the adequate weight for me. When I woke up this morning my body felt like a rock and my arms were quite sore. I guess it'll take some time to get back into the groove.

On some minor news, I chipped a 2nd tooth yesterday. I think it happened when I was eating my homemade guacamole and flat bread. Who new guac could be so deadly to one's teeth :  ) Well, that gives me all the more reason to see the dentist when I return to the States.
I also attended the Buenos Aires Chili Cookoff, which was somewhat disappointing. Most of the chili was bland (except for one outstanding chili that set one's mouth blazing), and it was all served in tiny sample cups so you couldn't just buy a large bowl of the stuff.
The next two days are rather quiet because they are holidays here in Argentina. Today is Flag day, a celebration of the national flag, and the entire country has tomorrow off as well so I'm only teaching several classes which gives me a nice break as well.

I'll leave off with a salad recipe I've been making quite a lot recently. It's super delicious and super simple. In fact it's not much of a recipe because literally anyone with half a brain, spinach, tomato, avocado, onion, and red pepper can make it.

Kyle's favorite salad recipe
 Servings: 1

Half a bunch of spinach, chopped
1/3 red pepper, cut into 1-2 inch strips
1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
1 small avocado, meat cubed
1 egg, hard boiled
1/3 small onion, cut into thin strips
*1 small apple (green or red) thinly sliced is an excellent addition to this salad
*If you want to add some extra density to the salad you can fry 1/3 small potato (thin strips, thinner than French fries but similar shape) in a small pan with a little olive oil and vinegar.

Combine all ingredients together into a large salad bowl.

Dressing
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple vinegar, or wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Mix together until well blended and toss with the salad until the salad is evenly coated.

Voila! A deliciously healthy, amazingly tasty salad!!!

Cheers and buen provecho,

Kyle 

Tango lessons

A quick hola to all my Argie and Yankee followers,

Just a brief update. I participated in my very first Tango lesson this past week. It had been a goal of mine to learn a bit of Tango while living here, but I had never pursued any lessons. Yet when a friend invited me to take lessons on Thursdays I jumped at the opportunity. Conveniently, my classes on Thursday evenings had just concluded as my then student at the time had recently left for Greece, thus opening up my schedule and permitting me to take the classes.

I think one reason I hadn't bothered to pursue lessons was a preconceived notion I had created in my mind of groups of tourists paying exorbitant funds for an hour lesson and an expensive and mediocre dinner and Tango show.  While this notion may be true in many instances,* it definitely did not fit my first experience in Tango lessons.

For one, I was the only English speaker there. This made the lessons all the better because it forced me to communicate only in Spanish. Second, the lessons are wonderfully priced, and the professors are more about having a great time and teaching Tango than about making a handsome profit.

The lessons were held in a beautiful Palermo home, in a spacious room with a real art nouveau Porteno feel. The atmosphere of the building, along with the energy of the professor and the participants blended to create a genuine sense of community.  

The lesson lasted an hour and a half and was focused primarily on building proper technique. Sandwiches, empanadas, and an assortment of beverages were served afterwards while two of the lesson participants provided beautiful vocal accompaniment to traditional Tango ballads.

I quickly felt right at home in this chilled out, yet festive atmosphere, and I didn't end up leaving until nearly two in the morning. Despite having to wake up early the next morning for 3.5 hours of Spanish lessons.

Tango on Thursday, Spanish on Friday, and cooking with Brad again today. Despite some student cancellations, I have been very productive this week, and am looking forward to more Tango, Spanish, and the Buenos Aires chili cook off in the weeks to come.

Abrazos from the South!


*While Tango is widely recognized throughout the world, according to my Tango instructor only 2% of Argentines actually know how to dance Tango, which is probably what makes it much more of a tourist oriented custom. 

arteBA la Feria

Today I attended the 22nd edition of the arteBA feria in La Rural. The arteBA feria is one of the most important art fairs in Latin America, and is recognized throughout the art world as well. It's a place where art enthusiasts, dealers, exhibitionists, galleries, and anyone with even the tiniest speck of interest in art can find moments of inspiration, bid on a piece of art, socialize, or simply explore the creativity.

The location of the art fair, La Rural, is an expansive center used for hosting a variety of community events throughout the year. One of my students works for arteBA and had been working on preparations for the fair throughout the entire year. She was kind enough to give me two tickets to the fair earlier this week. Unfortunately the person I had invited told me the day before that they were unable to make it which, generally speaking, is often the case here in Buenos Aires, so I wasn't gravely disappointed.

However I also did not regret having to go alone. I often find artwork to be very meditative and, while I do enjoy talking about art with others, I find it just as enjoyable to walk freely through the artwork, stop at the pieces I wish to see, and pass over the pieces of little interest to me.

In many ways this exhibit reminded me very much of the Noche de Los Museos, except there was much more artwork in a single place. All the art was contemporary and the artists ranged from masters to up-and-coming artists, the artwork covered a wide range as well. All of the artists either reside in Argentina or are Argentine expats living abroad, and the artwork this year is meant to represent how art crosses physical and geographical barriers, without regard for country borders and boundaries.

The enclosure itself was much larger than I had expected. My student had brought a map to one of our classes and we went over the details of the layout, giving directions, and recommendations, but I have to admit it looked much smaller on paper. I browsed the artwork for more than three hours, but there was such a wide range that it seemed to take half that time.

On my way out I glimpsed a familiar face and realized it was my friend Kristina from the TEFL course. It had been nearly four months since we'd seen each other last so it was a wonderful surprise to see her and catch up. In all I think the fair was very well done and here are a few pics to give you a sense of what the fair was like.

The entrance to the arteBA fair. On the left is the entrance to a design fair.

Who's watching through the windows?

I spy a Mate gourd!

A good perspective of the size of the place.

A map of the arteBA

For more on the annual art fair, check out this article from the Argentine Independent.

As a final addendum, while examining one of my English textbooks I found an enjoyable and satirical little quote on the evolution of through the ages. I wish all English textbooks had this sense of humor.

From IELTS Masterclass p.45

How to appreciate art

"Appreciating art is very easy once you understand art history. Art started with two-dimensional cave paintings. Then came two-dimensional church paintings. In the renaissance, artists got perspective and started painting jugs. The Enlightenment brought us well-lit jugs with a side order of fruit. Romoantic art depicted the landscape cave dwellers would have seen if they'd looked out, had perspective and understood lighting.
Art then became what artists saw inside them, rather than outside. Impressionism was the world seen through a couple of glasses of vin rouge. Expressionism was impressionism after the whole bottle. Vorticism was when the room started spinning, and modern conceptual art is the throwing up stage."

Top Snack Foods in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires may be the Paris of the Americas with its Art Noveau architecture, Parisian style tree lined streets, and cafes on every corner, but as a hungry traveler looking for a cheap snack, or as an employee on lunch break looking for something healthy, Buenos Aires can be a far cry from the rich and gourmet foods of Paris.

To be sure, Buenos Aires has it's own food culture, but this culture tends to consist of foods that would make any health nut cringe, or kill anyone with a sweet tooth. The following is my list of top must try snacks in Buenos Aires. Most are terribly unhealthy, but there are a few here that won't expand waistline, at least not very much : )

1. ALFAJORES: Snack number one is Argentina's famous Alfajor. These yummy dulce de leche filled cookies can be purchased at any kiosko or supermarket and are often reasonably priced at between $1 peso to $7 pesos for the more high end alfajores. I personally recommend the Havanna Alfajores which, while on the higher end of the price list, is very difficult to beat. A healthier adaptation of the alfajor made from rice cakes instead of cookies is called Chocarroz. These can also be found in any supermarket and will often satisfy any sweet tooth in less calories.

Havanna makes some of the best Alfajores in Bs. As.

Artesanal Alfajores from a confiteria located on Avenida Pueyrredon

Alfajores and tortas for sale at La Porteña

2.EMPANADAS: When one is looking for a more savory snack, or maybe even a meal, look no further than the empanada. Coming in flavors of pollo, carne, cebolla, picante, verdura, and more, there is always variety to choose from and they can be found ready to eat on nearly every street in the city. Reasonably priced at about $6 pesos each, empanadas can be a hearty snack or a meal substitute and, while not very healthy, they can be quite satisfying to an empty stomach.

Four varieties of empanadas offered at La Portena Confiteria y Panaderia

3. PANCHOS: What do you turn to when you're sick of the empanadas? Panchos! Yes, the Argentine adaptation of the American hot dog is as popular as ever and is offered in most kioskos. The pancho, often called the Super Pancho, is like an American hot dog but is usually longer. Toppings include onion, mustard, and a skinny and crispy version of the French fry. Panchos are usually priced at no more than $10 pesos and could be a large snack or lunch if you desire.

4. CHORIPAN: If you're looking for more than a small snack the choripan might be the way to go. This savory sausage wrapped in bread is a staple here in Buenos Aires. It is both filling and fattening so watch out. Choripan (a combination of the words "chorizo" and "pan") is a heavy snack for a meat lover with a big appetite. One choripan is usually priced between $15 and $20 pesos and are more of a meal than a snack. Nonetheless there are choripan shacks located throughout the parks of Palermo where you can find the perfect meal to cancel out all the calories you had burned running in the park.

Sr Choripan, located in the heart of Recoleta, is a one-stop place for chorizo, bondiola, panchos, empanadas, facturas and most other snack foods popular in Bs. As.

5. TREBOL BARS: Probably the healthiest and most reasonably priced snack food are the Trebol bars. These sunflower and mixed seed based bars can be found in all the Chinese supermarkets throughout Buenos Aires. They are reasonably priced at between $7 and $8 pesos
***The Chinese supermarket I go to has charged me $7, $7.50, and $8 pesos respectively each time I have bought Trebol bars there. I wonder if the price changes that much in one week or if they just arbitrarily decide the price based on the customer. Regardless, these bars are my replacement for the lack of cliff bars or any other type of health food bar in Bs. As.

6. HELADO: Of course there is always ice cream. While ice cream is on the pricey side, it is possible to find deals in even the chain establishments like Freddo, Persicco, and Volta. Freddo and Volta offer $16 peso quarter kilos of dulce de leche ice cream, while all three offer $9-$10 peso single scoop cones of any flavor. A refreshing taste of wine-flavored Sambayon or the vanilla and milk cream flavored Crema Americana on a hot day is difficult to pass up, especially since ice cream is one of the things Bs. As. does best.

A sign located on the Freddo window advertising the $16 peso 1/4 kilo.

7. TATUCA: Number seven is one of my all time faves. Tatuca is possibly the best snack I've found since moving to BA last October. While not the healthiest, this sweet and sugary popcorn is certainly not the worst food you could be consuming, and you could eat an entire bag and only feel as though you ate a light meal. The popcorn itself has a caramel flavor, a lot like caramel corn but without the sticky outer coating. This snack usually costs around $4 pesos, you should never pay more than $5, and can be found at most kioskos. Tatuca is also the perfect movie snack as it doesn't have the buttery and fatty flavor of normal popcorn but "tastes" just as good.  

There is a large variety of grab and go foods to choose from in Bs. As. Most are either high in fat and savory, or high in fat and sweet, with relatively few healthy options. Still, it is possible to find healthy snacks for those determined enough to look. Even now verdulerias are beginning to offer fruit salads to go, and many specify no sugar added. While the health food craze may have taken off in places like the
United States, it is only just beginning here in Argentina, and foods high in sugar and fat still have a strong cultural influence. McDonalds and other fast food is extremely popular despite being more expensive than in the states, and one would be hard pressed to find an "ensalada" as an entree at most restaurants. Still, healthy eating has begun to take root and restaurants are slowly beginning to offer healthy dishes. Only time will tell whether this trend will reach the magnitude it has reached in the states.

Personally, I think we'll only know for certain that this trend is here to stay when I start to see Clif and Luna bars for sale in the grocery stores. I do miss my Clif bars :  )

Cheers folks,

Melo get's an artistic makeover

Hey folks,

As I discussed in a previous post, Buenos Aires is full of street art. The street art is located primarily in the neighborhoods of San Telmo and Palermo, so it came as a surprise when some quality street art appeared on my street, Pacheco de Melo, in the heart of Barrio Norte. The art isn't you're typical street art, as the themes seem more academically grounded and depict scenes from the city.

For the past month or so crews had been renovating a sidewalk area a couple blocks down from my apartment. They only recently finished the work and soon after the artwork appeared. The street I live on is very nice and quiet, located two blocks off of two main thoroughfares in the city, Las Heras and Pueyrredon.

I was on my way to Parque Las Heras when I discovered the new street art, some of which had not been completed yet. I was so excited for this new artistic touch that I just had to run back to the apartment to get my camera. I never made it to the park.

Here are some photos of Melo's new look.

This one is of the botanical gardens in Palermo

An artistic rendition of the roof of the national congress building

Floralis Generica, the giant metal flower located next to the UBA Law School

I love the brickwork

Torre Ingleses in Retiro

A depiction of my favorite building in Buenos Aires. The gothic styled school of engineering.