What is it like to cook in a traditional Guatemalan kitchen? I find kitchens to be fascinating reflections of cultural values and diets. For example, in India, every kitchen was stocked with favored spices and herbs in jars of various sizes and origins.
The "kitchen sink" is a common site of much work for a good cook...Here is the sink in mi casa en Xela. The middle portion is filled with clean water, which is used for washing the dishes in the other two compartments. The middle container of water is always left fresh and clean.
Thus far, I have observed that in Guatemala, most food is freshly prepared and therefore frequent trips to the market are part of daily life. I was admonished last week for purchasing a not-yet ripe aguacate (avocado) at the market. Why would anyone purchase fruit that needs another day to ripen?
Here is a typically "stocked" refrigerator en la casa de mi familia:
As you may notice, the shelves are absent of processed foods and prepackaged items.
The large corn husks occupy the second shelf are of course, nature's perfect packaging for...tamales! Every week, my host mother makes about 50 tamales to accompany los almuerzos y las cenas en la casa.
Another major difference here in Guatemala is the storage of eggs on the kitchen counter for the entire month. Eggs are a popular food item for desayuno (breakfast) and dinner (cena) con frijoles y platanos. Personally, I say -- hold the huevos and frijoles! I'll take triple the platanos, por favor:)
Finalmente, para Tia Elena, un mesaje en Español: Yo amo Guatemala! Mis clases de Español estan informativo y yo estudio mucho, por supuesto!
¡Gracias por las fotos! Me encanta las dos fotos de la cocina. Nos debes mandar una receta para platanos guatemaltecos . . .
ReplyDeleteAnd it would be lovely to see a pnoto of you and your family cooking platanos.
;-)
so i'm going to have you tell me if my high school spanish classes amounted to any real knowledge. your last paragraph...did it say "finally, for aunt elena, a message in spanish: i love guatemala. my spanish classes are informative and i study so much, and then i don't know the last two words.:) sorry, just thought i could practice with you, my new spanish speaking mentor!:) thanks for sharing the pics of the kitchen. they are so interesting, in every country, a little the same, a little different. so what do you have against eggs and beans? lots of love,
ReplyDeletenoelle
WOW, what a comparison to the American kitchen!
ReplyDeleteWhen you were mentioning about the trip to the store everyday, I remembered back to visiting my Grandmother when I was a kid how we went to the store every morning for the food for that day. It wasn't until I was older that I realized that was her ROUTINE... she was retired.... and going to the market got her out during the day!
It's funny how we put eggs in the fridge for safety, yet we forget how they come from a warm place when they are harvested. I guess if we used them alot in our cooking and went through them quickly....having them out like that wouldn't be a big deal....But something still makes me go "yikes" seeing the egg storage over there!
I wanna see Cheryl make Tamales!!!!