Oh the photos look so much better with people in them, especially if they are smiling.

If tostadas had a kingdom, La Enchilada would be the queen of the tostadas. Good, you say, I’m glad to know, but can you tell me what the hell is a tostada or enchilada. Well, I’m glad you asked. (follow the white rabbit for the whole enchilada!)

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For those who come to AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com for the photos, here’s today’s photo of paninos or paninis which I believe are Italian words for sandwiches. In the picture above you can appreciate the cheese and chicken panino from Café Barista which aims to have gourmet sandwiches to accompany their large selection of up-scale coffee selection. A panino like the above sells for about Q40/$5 in Café Barista of La Antigua Guatemala.

Violation of Freedom of Speech Rights Aside: Like Manolo mentioned the other day, there is huge tele-novela (soap opera) scandal going on in Guatemala which began on Monday over the releasing of an 18-minute video of Slain Lawyer. The indignation over the accusation in the video have made all the news the world over. Really, it is a shameful situation for a country and its government.

I have tried to keep all the stuff out of this web site, except for some hints and links I posted on Monday and Tuesday. However, I draw the line when a person, Jean Ramses Anleu Fernández, is arrested and fined Q50,000/$6250 over a single Twitt of indignation. That’s got be the most expensive twit ever. What country am I living in where a person can go to jail and be fined Q50,000/$6250 over a 140-character opinion. This has to be the most ludicrous violation of the Freedom of Speech as well as a violation of the Guatemalan Constitutional Rights. You have to read all the details of the imprisonment of Jean Ramses Anleu Fernández (@jeanfer). Also, please if you can spare 5 minutes of your time, please write to the Guatemalan Government and demand that Jean Ramses Anleu Fernández be freed without paying a single centavo.

I wonder what would be a good translation for espumillas? A literal translation would be little sponges, but a proper word is meringue. Espumillas can be found year round in La Antigua Guatemala and the rest of the country. Espumillas are often found in town fairs and at your local tienda (convenience store). Espumillas are very sweet!

Below what I found in the dictionary:

espumilla or meringue is sweet food made from a mixture of well-beaten egg whites and sugar, baked until crisp and typically used as a topping for desserts, esp. pies. Individual meringues are often filled with fruit or whipped cream. (source: Mac OS native dictionary)

Guatemalan Spanish Word of the Day: turrón is the Guatemalan word for well-beaten egg whites and sugar. In México, turrón is known as merengue, which is very close to the English word meringue. In Guatemala, merengue is a Caribbean style of dance music, which is very popular here.

Every time I see these subtle differences in the Spanish language, I think that having live one-on-one Spanish Lessons through Skype may come very handy in case one can not take full immersion Spanish classes in La Antigua Guatemala; how else can you ask about these little subtleties.

Hilachas (shredded beef) is yet another staple of the Guatemalan Cuisine. Hilachas is basically a red curry with shredded beef and potatoes. The hilachas recado (the Guatemalan word for curry) is normally served with rice as shown in the picture. Hilachas can be often found as part of the daily menu special in many authentic Guatemalan comedores (diners) and restaurants; keep an eye for it, you won’t regret it.

The hilachas recipe will be posted in the upcoming Recipes from Guatemala web site which should be opening its doors in May. Stay tune for the grand inauguration news here in AntiguaDailyPhoto.

Two more days for the AntiguaDailyPhoto third anniversary celebrations.

Thanks to Michele and Eddie, two loyal readers of AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com, I actually came to La Antigua Guatemala during the Holy Week. We had a great afternoon and we finished our meeting with a delicious dinner at La Fonda de la Calle Real.

I took a few shots of Revolcado (Guatemalan Curried Pork Stew) so I can share with you guys. A quick Google search for the recipe throw the following recipe which I am translating on the fly. Please, leave your corrections and suggestion in the comment area.

Revolcado Recipe (Guatemalan Curried Pork Stew Recipe)

Ingredientes/Ingredients (rinde 6 porciones):

1 cabeza pequeña de cerdo (1 small pig’s head)
1 libra de menudos de cerdo (1 lb of pig’s entrails)
1 libra de tomate (1 lb of roma tomatoes)
6 chiles pimientos rojos (6 red bell peppers)
1 onza de aceite (1 oz of oil)
5 chiles guaques (5 chili huaques)
5 chiles dulces (5 sweet chili {pasilla})
2 dientes de ajo (2 garlic cloves)
2 cebollas medianas (2 small onions)
1 taza de agua (1 cup of water)
una pizca de achiote (a pinch of achiote or annatto as it’s known in English)

Preparación/Method:

Ponga a cocer la cabeza con los menudos. Por aparte, cueza todos los ingredientes con una taza de agua. Licúelos y cuélelos agregando el achote. A continuación pique la carne de la cabeza y los menudos, agrégueles la salsa y cocínelos con fuego lento. Para espesar la salsa agregue masa.

Cook the pork’s head and entrails in a pot. On a separate pot, cook all the other ingredients with the cup of water. Then, put all the cooked vegetables in a blender until you get them all mixed; pass this sauce through a strainer and add the annatto to the final sauce. Next, chop the head and entrails into small pieces and add them to the red sauce and cook them over a small flame. If you need to thicken the sauce, you can add corn dough or corn flour.

Bon Appetite!

Recipes from Guatemala Web Site Update:
I definitely need to get going with the Recipes from Guatemala and Recetas de Guatemala web sites to have an easy way to link to authentic Guatemalan recipes in a well-managed and organized web site. I already have the domain names and recipe books and the photos. Now I only need to find the time to begin uploading and organizing the recipes. Boy, how come days still come with only 24 hours?

Okay, we will finish the Zapote and other exotic tropical fruits from Guatemala week with the Chico Zapote or simply chico which in English is known as Sapodilla.

The flavor of Chico Zapote is exceptionally sweet and very tasty, with what can be described as a malty flavor. The unripe fruit is hard to the touch and contains high amounts of saponin, which has astringent properties similar to tannin, drying out the mouth.

The Chico Zapote is a large ellipsoid berry, 4-8 cm in diameter, very much resembling a smooth-skinned potato and containing 2-5 seeds. Inside, its flesh ranges from a pale yellow to an earthy brown color with a grainy texture akin to that of a well-ripened pear. The seeds are black and resemble beans, with a hook at one end that can catch in the throat if swallowed. (Source: Wikipedia)

Trivia: From the sap of Chico Zapote tree is produce the natural chewing gum known as chicle.

Photographic Aside: Never underestimate to power of the close-up shot. I took several shots of the chico zapote and then I realized I should cut one up so you can see the insides. Duh!, yes I know I should have done the same with all the other fruits. That’s how I got the shot of the sapodilla fruit you see below (click to see a larger version, as always) which is, all in all, a good enough photo of the chico zapote. Then, I decided to take a few macro shots for texture and wallpapers and that’s how I obtained the large photo above. Sure the close-up macro image above does not show the entire shape of the chico zapote, but who cares, as long I can inflict a nostalgic pinch to the Guatemalans living abroad!

Guatemalan produces several kinds of mangoes (dozens really), but by far mango de pashte (loofah mango) or mango de leche (milk mango) as it also known, is considered the best by the majority of Guatemalans. Interesting enough, I had never had mango de pashte outside the Guatemalan borders. I don’t know if the other mango-producing countries have them; does anybody know?

I am sure many Guatemalans living abroad, right about now, will be craving to have one or two of the mangoes you see in the photo above. Please, you know who you are, come forward and let us know about your cravings and desires and please don’t tell me mango no come mango!