Bento - ing ! =9

Bento , also called Obento is a new found love of mine and here I post the most recent playful meals. One of those are also in my other blog adn the pictures are available in flickr

CACHAPAS or Sweet Corn Pancakes

The corn is a must in all countries and cultures in America, and Venezuela is no exception, one of the many faces the corn takes in veneazuelan table is in cachapas, a sort of pancake, made of sweet corn, or Jojoto, as we called here.And could be eaten as a breakfast, brunch, luch or dinner with the same delicious results. In my household the usual is eating them for lunch as i always have , like when i lived in my grandparents house, (i lived here till age 11)and a little bit more after that... one of the most expected meals in the house was the day when my granny have to buy the groceries for the whole month, because that particular day cachapas were made. Leaving home early and buying the vegetables and fruits in different vendors was fun and unforgettable experience for me as a child. I remeber that , In that time we were a lot of people to feed in that house so the amount of corn to buy was huge and they were sold by dozens , but grandma used to buy a big sac . And of course she bought a bunch of white cheese , or queso llanero, other local special, to add to her wonderful cachapas. Today I probably will use about one dozen corn kernels or a little more, and a little bit of cheese, for feeding three or four people in one meal, but no matter how much people eat here , thinking about those crowded, noisy lunches always make me smile. Cooking with a smile will this be .

For 9 or twelve pancakes i´ll use :
6 or 8 kernels of fresh sweet corn, pick the freshest sweet corn, like the one you´ll use for barbecue .
¼ cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
water
2 or 3 tsp of flour

remove the leaves of kernels , and scratch the kernels to remove all the grains using a knife and being very carefull, if the kernels are fresh the corn will be moist . after you are done with all the kernels, put the corn in a food processor or a blender. Make a puree until you can not see or feel grains .Put it on a bowl and season with sugar and salt, and add as much water as needed. That depends on how dry or moist the corn is. Same goes for the flour you might use it or not.The mixture should be not too thin or too thick.
If youre familiar with making pancakes this step will be no problem.In a very hot oiled pan put the mix , about 1/4cup mix for each one, spreading a little to make a round cake, when one side is cooked flip to cook the other.
Serve hot with butter and shreded cheese. Enjoy!

El maìz es una constante en todos los paises y culturas de Amèrica entera y Venezuela no es la excepciòn siendo las cachapas una de las muchas caras del maíz en la mesa venezolana.Una tortita de maìz tierno, al que aca se le conoce como jojoto, y que puede comerse como desayuno, brunch, almuerzo o cena con los mismos deliciosos resultados, lo mas frecuente en nuestra casa es hacerlas de almuerzo tal y como se hacían desde cuando vivía donde mis abuelos , que fue como hasta los once años , o hasta un poco mas de tiempo despues... y una de las comidas más esperadas era el dia de la compra del mercado para todo el mes, dia en que mi abuela hacia cachapas. Salir temprano de casa, y comprar cada fruta o vegetal en un puesto del mercado diferente era toda una experiencia para un chico de mi edad en ese entonces,lo que nunca he olvidado. Y además recuerdo que cocinar para tantas personas qur en ese entonces vivìamos en la misma casa , requerìa de una cantidad bastante grande de maìz que se compraba por docenas tantas que era necesario comprar un saco completo. Y por supuesto compraba un montón de queso blanco llanero, hecho de leche de vaca una especialidad local, para ponerle a las deliciosas cachapas. Hoy dia si uso una docena de maices y un poquito de queso es bastante para los dos o tres gatos que comemos en casa pero no importa cuantos comamos , este plato siempre me recuerda los concurridos y ruidosos almuerzos de casa de mis abuelos , robandome una sonrisa del rostro, asi que con sonrisa y todo voy a cocinar.

Cachapas: para unas 8 o 9 tortitas
6 u 8 mazorcas, dependerá del tamaño y de cuan tiernas esten las mazorcas que puedas usar mas u obtener mas cachapas.
1/4 taza de azúcar
1 cda de sal
harina de trigo 3 cds (ninguna o mas si es necesaria)
agua si es necesaria.

Deshoje las mazorcas y desgrane cuidadosamente ayudandose con un cuchillo, hasta obtener todos los granos de las mazorcas, posteriormente coloque el maíz desgranado en un procesador de alimentos o en la licuadora y trabaje hasta que no vea o sienta granos enteros y la consistencia de la mezcla sea bastante homogenea, coloque en un bowl, donde sazonara con la sal y el azúcar, la mezcla debe ser consitente pero debe tener algo de liquido y dependera de la textura del maíz si agregas el agua y el harina que necesites para darle esa consistencia, ahora si estas familiarizado con hacer panquecas este paso no sera problema por que es muy similar, poner en una sarten muy caliente o una plancha aceitada porciones de mezcla de aproximadamente 1/4 de taza y se extiende formando una tortita, cuando un lado este cocido se voltea para cocinar por el otro, y se sirven calientes con matequilla y el queso de su elección.Disfrutalo!

Venezuelan Food 101

Whenever you ask a venezuelan for a quintessential typical dish , they probably would say PABELLON, wich is the bests example of the mixed results of european, african and natives tastes, in our history coming togheter as nation. This dish can found some similarities in all latin america , like the Gallo Pinto in Nicaragua, or Moros y Cristianos in Cuba.I found in Wikepedia this brief explanation about Pabellon.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabell%C3%B3n_criollo



Tough is a very elaborated dish,cause you cook black beans , the white rice, and the pulled meat stew as individual recipes the results are worthy, the taste of homeland as many say.Like, Two weeks ago chatting with good friend of mine now living in California, he told em about being homesick and craving Pabellon for killing the blues of being in other country. So for the migrant friends and family, here we are... Love You. Nanay

Pulled Meat Stew or CARNE MECHADA.
Beef meat about 1 pound
Tomato Paste 1/3 cup
Diced onion 1/2 cup
Choped garlic 1 or 2 tsp (as much as you like garlic)
Yellow, or green, pepper Bell,1/2 cup diced
Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp
Sugar 1tsp
salt and pepper to taste.
Boil the meat, long enough to get it fully cooked, remove from water and let it be completely cool, so you can begin pulling al meat shreads.usinf a fork for this purpose mught be useful.
When you finish shreading the meat, in a big pan or your favorite pot fry , at low heat, the onions yellow bell pepper, and the garlic then add all the meat, stirring all togheter.
Add the tomato paste , worcestershire sauce, an additional 1/2 cup of water, sugar and seasoning with salt and pepper, let it stew covering the pot for about 10 or 15 minutes, remenber the meat is already cook and the sauce stew doesent take to long.
Enjoy.

Cuando tu le preguntes a un venezolano por el plato típico por excelencia, la respuesta seguramente serà Pabellon.El cual es el resultado del mestizaje de Los gustos europeos, indigenas y africanos a traves de la historia de nuestro pais.Pero los ejemplos de platos similares se consiguen por toda latinoamerica, como en el el Gallo Pinto Nicaragüense o los Moros y Cristianos de Cuba. Encontrè en Wikipedia una breve reseña sobre el pabellon, tanto en inglés como español: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabell%C3%B3n_criollo

Aunque es un plato bastante elaborado por que hay que cocinar como platos individuales los granos, (caraotas negras), el arroz blanco, y la carne (carne mechada) el resultado lo vale, o como dicen algunos, el sabor del hogar. Como Cuando hablaba unas semanas atrás con un buen amigo, quien ahora vive en California, y me contaba de los altos y bajos del vivir afuera y el anotojo de Pabellon que tenía, para mitigar el guayabo de emigrar de pais.Asi que para los Amigos y familiares emigrados aqui`ta. Con Amor , Nanay.

CARNE MECHADA

Carne (falda de res o lagarto sin hueso) 1/2 kilo.
Cebolla Picada 1/2 taza
Pimenton ( o aji dulce) picado 1/2 Taza
Pasta de tomate 1/3 taza
Ajo Picado 2 o 3 dientes
Salsa Inglesa 2 cds.
Azucar 1 cda.
Sal y pimienta al gusto.

Sancocha la carne hasta q este bien cocida. Retira el agua y Deja enfriar. Cuando este manejable, comienza la tediosa tarea de mechar la carne, ayudate con un tenedor.Sofrie, a fuego medio, en una sarten grande o una olla , la cebolla el ajo y el pimenton, cuando la cebolla dore, agrega la carne la pasta de tomate, la salsa inglesa y sazona con la azucar , sal y pimienta, si es necesario agrega un poco de agua y dejala tapada guisar por unos 10 o 15 minutos,los ingredientes estan cocidos solo debes esperar que ellos vegetales se guisen .

History and Reasons for Food Blogging

so food we are... yet another food blog, no twists, no trendy trends, nothing extraordinary , but just for the fun of it, like food itself. Food is a must, food is energy, food is a hobby, food is for fun, and for "duty", food is health and life, and food is a constant in my life.
Think of this blog a as personal cookbook, that started a few years ago not on line or like a real book, started as a red notebook , that I gave to my grandmother begging her to put on paper her recipes , hand writing recipes, collected in book , like the one she used to have in the kitchen drawers, but wasted mistakenly with the garbage one day... She never write a single recipe in that notebook, then my grandpa died, an later she got ill, and never could put on paper her culinary secrets ,recipes and cooking tricks. Thank God , genetics, or good luck, I think I´ve achieved her FLAVOR, season, or way of cooking, as we say TENGO SU SAZON, after years playing, studying, wandering, learning, in her beautiful, lighted and heartfelt yellow tiled kitchen, I developed this love,interest, obssesion and enjoyment for food,or cooking whenever it means family, friends and loved ones ,what food does most of the time.
...NOW is time to write it down, so to Enjoy, life and food and the memories that come along, I started this blog, in english,triying to reach a more wider web audience,but talking about the food I know and cook, the culture were I belong , and things that might be bloggable, without any snobish ways, o pretentious hopes recipes and flavors to share. please enjoy.