AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

We Guatemalans are the best recyclers in the world. That’s what I was trying to convey a couple of weeks ago with the entry Recycling Around Antigua Guatemala where a list some of the ways we recycle in Guatemala.

Well, today I happy to share another way we recycle in Guatemala: Bocado de Reina, a cake made with bread leftovers. But, don´t believe me, I’ll move aside and let Cynthia Rothwell from Guatemalan Genes describe Bocado de Reina and a quick, kids approved, recipe. If you don’t already follow Guatemalan Genes, you should, Cynthia is very good at covering all aspects of the Guatemalan DNA, culture and traditions.

Here’s a bocado of Guatemalan Genes to your tasting:

The Bocado de Reina is a cake made with leftover bread. It is not bread pudding because the consistency is that of a cake. The literally translation Bocado de Reina is “Bite of a Queen” now to really carry the meaning I suggested “Food fit for a queen”, although I couldn’t figure out why a cake made of left overs would be fit for a queen…

RECIPE (Kids approved)

2 cups of crumbled bread
1 can of condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp of cinammon
2 bananas
Raisins (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Bake it at 350F for 45 minutes. Makes one 8inch round cake.

I found this booth selling piñas colada and mojito smoothies at the doorway of pseudo Mexican restaurant. I had the mojito flavor and it was very, very good, especially for the hot weather we had today in Antigua Guatemala. Of course, these a good way to observe the Cinco de Mayo, a very important celebration for Mexicans everywhere except almost all of Mexico. However, I would order lime and pineapple margaritas or any citric smoothie with a few shots of tequila or mezcal, don’t you agree?

Today AntiguaDailyPhoto.com is celebrating its sixth anniversary. Also, the CityDailyPhoto community around the world is having the monthly theme day which is Bakeries. As many of you know, I try to participate as often as I can on the monthly theme days. The picture above was taken at the Santa Clara bakery, just south of the Santa Clara convent ruins. The Panadería Santa Clara has some of the best bread available in Antigua Guatemala.

Feed me, the letter slot says!

The first time I requested post cards was an experiment entitled Postscript; a test we ran back in 2007 when we wanted to test how efficient was the regular Guatemalan Postal Service.

We were delighted by the kind words and to see postal stamps from many cities and countries. So, if you appreciate the work we do at AntiguaDailyPhoto and want to show it or simply participate in testing the snail mail system AGAIN, please, send a post card or letter from wherever you find yourself now to the address below:

RUDY GIRON
P.O. BOX 139 EL CORREO
LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA, C.P. 03001
GUATEMALA, C.A.

For the sixth anniversary (2192 consecutive daily updates) I am happy to report that the AntiguaDailyPhoto concept continues expanding in Quetzaltenago, the city in the highlands (Los Altos we call it), with its XelaDailyPhoto and to Guatemala City and the rest of the country with GuatemalaDailyPhoto. To me there is no greater satisfaction than to be able to share with others, to lend a hand and to provide all the interesting information I come across. Of course, none of it would be possible without the support from my wife, family and friends. A big THANK YOU for all their and your support!

To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today’s theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the globe.

Granadillas (Passiflora ligularis) are often confused with Maracuya (Passiflora edulis) because they look similar, especially the yellow maracuyá (passion fruit). However they taste different, granadillas are sweet while maracuyá are more acidic.

Granadillas, Passiflora ligularis, commonly known as the Sweet granadilla or Grenadia is a plant species in the Passiflora genus. The epithet ligularis comes from the plant’s ligulate corollae. It is native to the Andes Mountains between Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia. It grows as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as Mexico.

The fruit is between 6.5 and 8 cm long and between 5.1 and 7 cm in diameter. The outer shell is hard and slippery, and has soft padding on the interior to protect the seeds. The seeds, which are hard and black, are surrounded by a gelatinous sphere of transparent pulp. The pulp is the edible part of the fruit and has a soft sweet taste. It is very aromatic and contains vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium. (source: Wikipedia)

It’s amazing how people outside Latin America don’t realize that despite the crime and violence that shown through the news, most people in our countries find the time and love to spend quality time with friends and family. This entry was inspired by a recent post in XelaDailyPhoto where Luna talks about Quality Time and a family is shown having fun at the park during Semana Santa.

Luna writes,
Over the Semana Santa weekend, many families retreated to Parque Central to spend quality time together in between the processions, meals and traveling. For some of the smaller members of the family, running laps and chasing doves in the sunshine is enough to ensure a good night’s sleep.

I decided to follow up with one of the favorite activities that people enjoy doing in Antigua Guatemala: Having ice cream at Parque Central. That’s always been the purpose of AntiguaDailyPhoto.com, GuatemalaDailyPhoto.com and XelaDailyPhoto.com; to show how we live and love, to demonstrate that another lifestyle is possible, to highlight where we could improve but without forgetting that we slowly but surely we progress in our own unique sort of way.

I am not sure if it was at the end of January or if it was in February, but mangoes began showing up in all shapes, sizes and colors. The mangoes above are known as mango pico de loro, parrot’s beak mango. The going price for these mangoes was Q1 each (about $0.12).

Who wants mangoes with pepitoria, chile, salt and lime juice?

Mojarras fritas, fried tilapia fish, is one of the Guatemalan foods, like chow mein dish, found everywhere in the country of the eternal Spring. Fresh mojarras fritas can be found anywhere there’s a body of water like a river, lake or sea. Mojaras fritas is the Guatemalan equivalent of fish and chips. A plate like the above can set you back about Q35/$4.50 and includes tortillas, papas fritas (fries), avocado and salad, most of the time; most restaurants will sell this for about Q100/$12.50. Bon appetite!

Last time I declared that chow mein was among the most “authentic” dishes in the Guatemalan gastronomy I got into trouble. Then, recently I declared that there was nothing more chapín (Guatemalan) than the chow mein tostada and once again some people disagreed with me, at least initially, because at the end everyone sees the light.

Let me share with you some comments I have received:

Luis: Chow Mein is not an authientic Guatemalan dish!

Javier: Sorry Luis, But Guatemalan Chow Mein is very different from the other chow meins.

Susanita: What do you mean that chow mein is not Guatemalan!!!!! My Daughter loves to eat it with lots and lots of CATSUP and soy sauce….and it’s not weird it’s traditional.

Ana: I am from Guatemala visiting my daughter in the USA and the first thing she asks me to cook every first time I see her in more than six years is Chow Mein Guatemalteco, it’s very unique, everyone has it’s own recipe with onions, carrots, “guisquil”

Miguel: jajaja, sera con guacamol o tomate o frijol, pero este chow mein se nacionalizo, bueno.

Miguel: Si, y a casi cualquier hora, incluso se llama ya “CHOMIN”

Interesting enough, I have not encountered many restaurants that offer waffles; or perhaps I wasn’t looking. However, for some reason, waffles jumped at me at the menu from Café La Casaca the first time I visited and I just had to have a waffle. Of course, if you drive to Guatemala City you can have waffles and pancakes at the IHOP restaurants, but I wouldn’t drive to GuateCity just for that. Interesting enough, there’s a Casa Internacional del Waffle or just La Casa del Waffle in San Lucas, but I have not got the chance to try them there.

Do you know of other restaurants in Antigua Guatemala or nearby that serve waffles?

Interesting enough I had visited Hector’s and Tretto Caffé within the last week and I had uploaded yesterday’s and today’s photos to my online repository, so when I came across the top restaurants list according to TripAdvisor I knew I had to show you a sample of each place. I am sure I also have a photo of The Refuge Coffee bar, but these two photos I had just taken.

Tretto Caffé is own and run by a very young barista with a passion for the ultimate cup of coffee. If you want your coffee right away and Tretto Caffé is not for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for the best cup of coffee in Antigua Guatemala to learn more about the gourmet coffees grown in Guatemala, then Tretto is your best choice. You can find Tretto Caffé on the second floor of El Jaulón building in the northeast corner. If you have already visited this amazing coffee shop, please, share with us your impressions.

Today was a day full of news. First of all, I learned from my friend and ADP collaborator Guy Howard that Hector’s Restaurant made to the number one position at TripAdvisor for their restaurant listings of Antigua Guatemala. Of course, that’s no news to you guys since you have already since many of the dishes that Hector prepares. The first time I had sweet potato fries was at Hector’s and although I have had them a several places now, some in the U.S., I still believe Hector’s version to be the best.

Next, was the released of the behind the scenes at the making of the video clip of “Fuiste Tú” of Ricardo Arjona and Gaby Moreno in Guatemala a couple of weeks ago. You can watch the video below.

Last but not least was the 15th year anniversary of signage of the Peace Accords. As in every year since the signing, people argue that basically not peace was signed, but the accords have not been met. Or well, that’s how it is in Guatemala and it’s better not think too much of it. We just have to continue pushing for the accords to be upheld.

Enjoy!

The mole from Guatemala is very similar to mole poblano, which is a chocolate and chili based sauce (over simplification of the ingredients). One huge difference is that mole poblano is a main dish with turkey or chicken; meanwhile Guatemalan mole is a dessert with fried plantains slices ladled with chocolate sauce or mole for short. Bon appetite!

We have to thank Erin, loyal and long-time reader from AntiguaDailyPhoto, for the buñuelos recipe you see below.

Erin shared with us the buñuelos recipe last year:
Making buñuelos at home can be a little bit tricky because the altitude will affect the dough. Having said that, don’t be afraid to try, it will be worthy!

Bring to boil 1 cup of water and remove from heat. Optional: you might like to infuse the water with a cinnamon stick and a teaspoon of anise seeds; just be careful to remove them before adding the flour.

At once, add 1 cup of all purpose flour and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon (don’t use your hands, the mixture will be really hot).

When the water/flour mix is lightly warm, add 4 eggs, ONE AT A TIME, and continue mixing until everything is well incorporated and the dough looks velvety.

Cover the mixture with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for at least a couple of hours (I prefer overnight).

In a deep pan or a fryer, at medium temperature, heat a large amount of vegetable oil; using 2 spoons, drop small portions of the dough (donuts holes is a good reference for the size), and let them fry until golden. One of the nicest features of the buñuelos is that they float and turn around in the oil by themselves!

Once the buñuelos are golden and crispy, remove them from the oil and let them rest over paper towels.

To serve the buñuelos the traditional way, make a syrup combining and bringing to a boil, equal amounts of water and sugar, a cinnamon stick and anise seeds. I prefer the syrup less sweet, so I use two parts of water and one part of sugar and right at the end, when I turn-off the heat, I like to add a cup of sherry or marsala.

In a small bowl, put 3 buñuelos (they look pretty in trios) and pour over about 1/2 cup of the warm syrup.

Enjoy!

Oh December, or the dry season for the matter, is full of Guatemalan comforting foods; mostly sweets like buñuelos, torrejas, mole, camote, chilacayote and higos. Perhaps, the fact that the dry season brings forth the low temperatures, around 6C/43F, courtesy of the cold winds blowing from the great white north (home to Manolo, the provocateur {his words}) that having something hot and sweet to warm up seems only logical.

If you’re not in Guatemala now, but would like to have some Guatemalan comfort foods, please pay a visit to AntiguaFC.com where Amanda can prepare a sweet combo and ship it to your home or office.

Come back tomorrow for the recipe for making buñuelos at home, courtesy of long-time reader and friend Erin.

This breakfast is served daily at Sabe Rico, one of my favorite spots to have breakfast.

What do you think are the things that make this omelet breakfast into a Guatemalan style omelet breakfast?