Ricotta scones

Did you hear?

The Queen recently had her sixtieth anniversary of being queen.  Hurray!  The UK loves their Queen (for the most part). We got two days off and people flocked to London and fleets of ships sailed down the River Thames and there was an epic concert and Elton John wore hot sparkly pink under a brilliant fireworks show.

Melissa was visiting over this Jubilee weekend. We went to a musical, ate at a fancy restaurant, enjoyed an indoor British barbecue (it was raining, but my, what delicious salmon), and headed to the pub after Monday night's concert.

Perhaps my favorite part of the weekend, besides spending time with kinfolk, was baking scones. I was feeling grumpy and cold and unpatriotic and our afternoon tea plans had fallen through. So I baked scones. Ricotta and raspberry scones, recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, to be exact.

They are amazing. Truly delightful. You don't even need to butter them (if you're American) or top them with clotted cream and jam (if you're English). They're perfect all on their own. I've baked them twice in the past week. I will bake them again before the month's over. Do try them for yourself, in honor of the Queen, or just because they are heavenly.

Linking with love: photo from Smitten Kitchen (best food blog ever)

This weekend...

... I had brunch with my friends Trisha and Megan. I ordered:

Heaven. The pancakes were so fluffy. The creme fraiche (what is creme fraiche?) so rich. The berry compote so tart. I almost went back for seconds the next morning.

The seafood and chicken paella Dave and I cooked Saturday night was pretty darn good, too. Fact: you can make very convincing paella and risotto from normal long grain rice.

On Sunday I discovered the charming Candid Cafe. It's tucked away on a quiet street behind Angel Tube Station and makes you feel like you're in on a secret. Cozy and colorful with lots of eclectic furniture and paintings and books. The staff are really rude and the coffee isn't great - yelp.com agrees with me. But the cheesecake is yummy. And we got a little table in the sunshine. I'll be going back.

Try new things: pea shoots

Last night my friend Olivia came over. We caught up on the last two years over homemade tomato soup and two (okay, three) loaves of garlic bread. Dave showed up later, and I loved the three of us hanging out together... there's something comforting about sharing a friend who has known both of us since our early 18-year-old days. This morning we made a big breakfast and Olivia and Dave went on their ways.

And I've been alone all day. It's been lovely.

Personality tests tell me I'm a people person, and I am, but I'm a bit of an introvert, too. I love spending a day or two reading, lounging, walking around, cooking, doing whatever I like with no schedule and no one to talk to.

Random question: have you ever heard of pea shoots? Last week I grabbed a bag in Sainsbury's when I couldn't find spinach... these little green leaves are delicious!

Apparently pea shoots are only grown and sold in the UK?  I had no idea. I was curious and googled "pea shoots" and found an adorable green website with lots of interesting pea shooty information...

If you happen upon this green vegetable, try it. Very good on sandwiches.

Japanese, Thai, Mexican, American

I love food and I love eating out. Virtually all of my spending money goes toward elaborate restaurant meals. 


Last Tuesday nine of us got dressed up and went into town for sushi. I'd already eaten dinner but ended up ordering a large drink and vegetable tempura (a Japanese style of frying stuff). Our final bill was over $400. WHAT?  But so delicious. On Sunday, Shelley and I celebrated the Fourth a day early with Teton Thai (another delicious $40 meal) and live music and fireworks in Teton Village. The fireworks lasted over twenty minutes. Pretty magical, right under the mountains. And last night, eight of us pigged at out Merry Piglets, a Mexican restaurant in Jackson. I couldn't move after we finished eating. I know - I KNOW - to order the tiniest, tiniest quesadilla whenever I eat Mexican because I can't stop myself from filling up on chips and queso... but the chimichanga sounded so good. 

For low wage seasonal workers, we love to eat well.

I went on a little hike up Death Canyon today. It was gorgeous and good exercise. We saw four moose and actually had to turn around because one was spooked and giving us the evil eye. Earlier we'd run into a park ranger who chatted with us about the recent grizzly mauling in Yellowstone... When a hiker passed us and mentioned seeing a mother moose, the park ranger cheerfully nodded, "yup, be careful, they'll kill you too!"

How was everyone's Fourth?  I worked all day and missed Alabama folk. But I had fun the day before. I've really felt more American this past year. I guess ever since working here in Wyoming, my sense of Americanness has been growing. I've met a lot of people who are passionate about this country, in a wilderness and wildlife and natural beauty sort of way, and without realizing it that's given me a new appreciation for where I'm from. I think, too, because my last international travel experience (to Guatemala) was a challenge and because I'm getting ready to move back overseas, I've gotten more proud and protective. It's a weird but good feeling.

Have a good weekend!  I'm about to start my work week... Friday is my Monday. It gets confusing.  

So touristy

Hannah and I started out in a rural mountain community, moved to a less rural beach community, and are now backpackers on the gringo trail. Without a doubt, Nueva Alianza and Reu were "real" Guatemala. There were no other tourists, hardly any spoken or written English, and most people farmed for a living. In Monterrico and Hawaii, there were more Guatemalan and western tourists, but outside of the volunteer center we still needed Spanish to survive.

Many people say Antigua isn't "real" Guatemala. The streets are clean, stray dogs and cats aren't common, there are English bookshops, locals seem wealthier, and western tourists abound. So yes, it's not dirty poor indigenous culture Guatemala. But the city definitely has history. The streets and parks and crumbling cathedrals have been there for centuries. And Guatemalans still possess the city. I see more Guatemalans on the streets than I see tourists, and locals patronize some of the nicer restaurants.

We're currently in San Pedro, a community on Lake Atitlán. In my opinion, this is the most touristy place we've been so far. An entire section of town consists of brightly painted signs advertising yoga classes and barbecue chicken pizza and "American portions for Guatemalan prices," and all the bracelet and cloth vendors speak broken English - good price, only ten quetzal. And I see way more westerners than Guatemalans. Up the hill is "real" San Pedro, which is nothing special except it's the legit Guatemalan section of town.

Talking about which parts of a country are most authentic and which parts are - wrinkle your nose in dislike - so touristy is pretty pointless and tiresome. Everyone has a different opinion. I prefer Antigua to San Pedro (the latter's beautiful lake and volcano scenery aside). But I think most people travel for a combination of authenticity and comfortable tourism. For example, San Pedro is making me miss Nueva Alianza and Reu's "real" factor. We had to speak Spanish there and I felt like I was truly in the middle of a different culture. On the other hand, when we were in Reu, we lived for Friday morning breakfasts at McDonald's because our food choices in the community were so limited. Here in San Pedro, the food is delightful. Last night we had the best garlic bread, barbecue chicken pizza, and hot fudge brownie I've ever tasted. Was it authentic Guatemalan food? I don't think so. Was it an memorable traveling experience in an atmospheric restaurant? Yes.

Today I did have some delicious real Guatemalan food. For 10Q, or about 1.25USD, I bought three chicken tacos from a food stall... the most flavorful chicken I've had so far in Guatemala. I added a bit too much spicy green salsa and luckily walked past a woman selling arroz con leche, basically sweet hot milk with rice. Very satisfying. Tonight I'll revert back to non-Guatemalan food. Maybe mango curry or satay chicken.

Eating will always be one of my favorite things about traveling.

Peanut butter tortillas

http://lesleytellez.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/verdolagas1.jpg

Yesterday I discovered Lesley Téllez's Mexican food blog, The Mija Chronicles. It's fantastic - makes me want to become a real cook. If you like Mexican food, fresh food, colorful photos of food, or really, anything related to food, check it out. Her and her husband live and work in Mexico City, so the blog has a vibrant travel expat feel to it as well.

http://lesleytellez.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/pbtortilla.jpg

One recent post that caught my eye: "Peanut butter tacos, and other secret tortilla behavior." The first three days we were in Nueva Alianza the hotel manager and cook, Sara, cooked all our meals for us. It was legit Guatemalan food - simple and delicious. The tortillas were handmade with freshly ground corn! But for some reason I quickly burned out on them. They started tasting and feeling like chewed up cardboard. So one evening I broke into our emergency peanut butter stash and spread a thin layer on a hot tortilla. Mmmmmm. Good to know a Mexico City residing, Latin American food expert does the same thing.

La comunidad de mujeres

I realize I've hardly described Nueva Alianza or our daily life at all. It's a completely different world. Everyone's up and working by 6am and in bed by nine at the latest. There are no cars, no alarm clocks; no meetings or offices. In the words of Harper Lee, "there was nothing to buy and no money to buy it with." There's absolutely no rush to do anything ever. As a pretty relaxed girl coming from a pretty relaxed summer job, even I had to readjust and learn to take everything slow, just in order to pass the days. And yet somehow the days pass quickly.

We've been cooking for ourselves an entire week now. Preparing three meals a day takes, I'd guess, at least four to five hours. Tonight we planned on beans and rice but forgot to soak the beans beforehand. We ended up hanging out in the kitchen with three sisters, Sorita (8ish), Roxanna (13ish), and Maria (15), watching the torrential rain fall, lighting candles when the electricity went out, and learning how to make tortillas. Our beans were only slightly less hard when Sara, the hotel's cook, arrived with her adorable 1-year-old daughter Sarita (literally, little Sara). We sat down to our terribly bland meal in a kitchen full of happy women, Sarita entertaining us all.

Hannah: "Look at her, she's gonna grow up with such a great support network!"

Me: "Sí, la comunidad! ...de mujeres (the community! ...of women)."

Hannah: "The best kind."

Feminism is not a thing in Guatemala. Separate spheres are still alive and kickin'. Even on the community bus, fathers sit with sons and mothers with daughters. Typically men pick coffee and work on roofs, and women grind corn and wash clothes at the communal pila.

A pila

According to Tara, Peace Corps volunteer and fellow English speaker, it's not uncommon for young girls to marry much older men and women to stay with abusive or unfaithful partners, all for the sake of security.

I don't intend to say anything serious about educational and economic opportunities here... just that I am utterly exhausted every day from doing "women's work." No one's forcing me to do it, but I sort of have no choice. If I want to eat, I must cook - peel, dice, salt, fry, boil, drain - my food. If I want clean underwear, I must soak, scrub, rinse, and hang out my underwear (and hang it out again after sudden afternoon rainstorms). If I don't sweep the kitchen, there are bugs and dirt. If I don't disinfect the countertop, there are ants. If I don't water the plants, they die. The plant thing isn't as essential, but you get my point. I cannot imagine cooking and cleaning for an entire family in this community; it would without a doubt be more difficult than an eight-hour-day in the coffee fields. There are no microwaves, freezers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, stain removers, Chinese take-out menus, or Clorox disinfectant wipes. And we're in the jungle here; things get dirty. They sprout and/or or attract things fast.

All this to say, I'm getting a new and historical perspective on women and the home. I haven't drawn any conclusions yet. All I know is that after I spent three plus hours scrubbing the kitchen and washing, rinsing, and hanging out six dish towels this morning, I kind of expected a resounding congratulations! to descend from the heavens. But I hadn't done anything extraordinary; it was just a clean kitchen. And in an hour it was dirty again.

Tonight's dinner was healthy - black beans, green beans, rice, onion, carrots, and tomatoes - but like I said, terribly bland. It was especially difficult to enjoy as we waited so long for the &*%$@# beans to soak with no real improvement in their taste or texture. We planned on splitting a Snickers as a consolation prize, and upon retiring to la sala, we were surprised to find another guest on his laptop. After exchanging holas, he offered me something in a brown paper bag. I didn't know what he was saying, but I took the bag anyway. Inside were two cupcakes. Happiness. And the guy spoke some English, too. Twas delayed cosmic congratulations from this morning, I suppose.

Tiene café?

I'm currently sitting in San Salvador's international airport, enjoying a cup of coffee that I ordered using only Spanish words. Earlier I had an epic fail when our waitress tried to clarify our lunch order with a series of questions. After staring blankly for a few awkward moments, I responded with a definitive sí. Ten minutes later, I was eating some delicious pupusas. One point for just saying yes when in doubt.

Welcome to twenty whimsy travel, a travel/life blog I'm hoping to turn into a fun long term project. For the next two months, I'm happy to say I'll be writing primarily about Guatemala! My friend Hannah and I will be living, volunteering, and adventuring at Comunidad Nueva Alianza, an organic coffee and macadamia plantation.

Tonight we're staying in Guatemala City, and tomorrow we'll begin making our way to la comunidad via Antigua and Retalhuleu, in a number of vehicles varying in size, color, and - no doubt - reliability.

El Salvador's mountains seem especially surreal after the past month of traveling between Wyoming, Alabama, and England. Sometimes I get tired of moving around. But eventually I experience "The Moment." It never fails. An irrepressible smile spreads across my face. I shake my head and I wonder: "How did I get here?!" It's beautiful.

Hannah just asked me how to politely ask for a menu. We settled on, Quisiera el menú, por favor?

...and she's just returned with a menu! We're off to a good start.