Kitchen Series #7 - Fresh Summer Salad Combo

There is so much you can take in terms of asado, pasta and pizza - the staple food that shows up in every gathering and outing in Uruguay.

After only a few weeks I was killing for some fresh veggies that would better suit the warm weather we were having. Also, salads is the easiest way to make sure everything is GF.

Anything corn is difficult to find in Uruguay, so, for the guacamole, I substituted the corn chips with thin GF crackers.

The main ingredient of the other salad is the palmito, or heart of palm, not very popular in Vancouver, but super common in Uruguay. Time to indulge then.

Women, violence, and media

Curious how sometimes they connect, the randomly drawn information dots:

 

Women against domestic violence (photo taken from here)

* a thousand black and purple women march in Montevideo against domestic violence and a picturesque gobbling of a president handles pro-women pamphlets, 

Natural Uruguay: from words to action

"Uruguay Natural" is the slogan the Uruguayan Ministry of Tourism adopted a few years ago to convey the idea that one of the top attractions the country has to offer is its natural environment, the clean and wide open spaces of beaches and countryside.

Unfortunately, the waste disposal system is lacking at many levels, the doubling of the population due to tourism puts more pressure on the environment, and finally, Uruguay is not isolated and garbage that ends up in the ocean makes its way back to the shore.

As a consequence, the state of the beaches after the winter months, when there are no cleanup services, was on the disgusting side of things. Not wanting to sunbathe surrounded by plastic bags and discarded boxes and thinking of our soon-to-visit young nephews and niece, we participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Day that takes place around the world every November.

This was the result:

After just 1 hour collecting garbage in a 10 sq.m. area

"Ocean" brand cigarettes: it doesn't mean that they have to end up there!

Putting the garbage back where it belongs

Uruguay natural: de las palabras a los hechos

Hay un largo a trecho a recorrer para llegar a hacer realidad el slogan del Ministerio de Turismo. La calidad de "natural" deja un poco que desear cuando vemos el estado de las playas después del invierno.

Después de una hora de recolección en 10 metros cuadrados de playa

Cigarrillos "Ocean": no significa que tengan que terminar en el idem

Poniendo la basura en su lugar

Día de Limpieza de Costas / International Coastal Cleanup Days

Homesteading in Uruguay: What to do when mushroom picking goes bad

We had been discussing mushroom picking options with Dan & Angie back in Baltimore, when I commented my mother's famous pickled eucalyptus mushrooms. Because of the pickling process they last for months, but they never survive that long because they're just too yummy. As a result, I rarely get to try them - they grow in the seasons I avoid visiting (fall and winter) and are long gone by the time I make it to my parents' house. This time, though, one mushroom made it to early springtime. And not any mushroom: a giant one!

Though impressive in size, the results were not that great. As I always suspected, bigger is not always better (and I'm not being biased there). I tried it in a sandwich in lieu of a portobello mushroom, which you can't get here, but it was too bitter. We guessed a couple more rounds of boiling would have helped to get rid of the bitterness. Oh, well, we'll figure it out during the next mushroom season.

Nothing to worry about! Plenty of other veggies to grill. With abundant wood around and mild days, we spend a lot of time outside barbecuing: tomatoes, carrots, onions, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and even apples. Toss with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, thyme and salt and you're good to go. Healthy. Good. And GF!

Absolutely delicious barbecued veggies and fruits.

Compost bin in process

Fadi having a blast playing in the workshop.

The veggies we had in our previous posting were from our local feria, but the plan is in place to grow some of our own.

To begin at the beginning, Fadi built a big compost bin and we have started composting. Mom was reluctant at first, but she now gathers buckets of peelings, eggshells, coffee, tea, mate and other helpful organic stuff every week.

More bins are to follow and we hope to have some nutritious soil to feed our plants by the summer.

As you can see, quite a bit of planning went into creating the bin.

A fancy one!

Uruguayan stereotype

Watching fútbol, drinking mate and eating torta fritas on a rainy day by the fire of eucalyptus and piñas. What could be more stereotypically Uruguayan?

Staying by the fire while it rains outside.

GF torta fritas recipe

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

150 cc de agua

enough amount of premixed GF flours

Mix all until you get a dough that is elastic. Shape into flat discs and fry. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, or powder sugar and eat. It's so unhealthy, that you might as well skip the GF part and eat the common ones with white wheat flour and lard. You'll probably die either way, but it's a classic of rainy days that has to be honored every now and then. Having mate at the same time helps you believe that they will be easier to digest. Ha, ha.