Monday, January 14, 2008

YUMMY!!!!

In my attempts to stay focused on positive activities right now, I have been trying my hand at some traditional Guatemalan dishes! I absolutely fell in love with Guatemalan food when I lived with a host family in Antigua during college. The fresh fruits, juices, black beans, the BEST tortillas in the world, lots of veggies, soups, etc. Jason and I went to a couple of Guatemalan restaurants on our last visit and, oh so delicious!! I think I need to tackle making tortillas, pepian, and tamales soon.

These pictures did not turn out that great, but the food did! This first dish pictured is from a Guatemalan cookbook we bought in Antigua. Some of you may have it! We purchased it at Nim Po't and you can also purchase it from Mayan Traditions. It is Green Chicken Stew (Pollo en Jocon). It is not the most appetizing color of green, though it looks like guacamole. It is made from tomatillos, cilantro, green peppers, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds. We ate it served over rice. Yummy!!



This next dish is Chicken Chilaquiles. I don't know if this is a traditional Guatemalan dish, because everything I read online said it was a Mexican dish. But, we ate chilaquiles every morning at the Marriott in Guatemala City. They served these on the breakfast buffet and we loved them!!

There is no such thing as traditional Guatemalan food without fried black beans!! Well, that's not really true, but they are definitely a staple food. I know, you don't need to tell me what this looks like! But, they are delicious! I could probably eat black beans at every meal. This was another staple on the Marriott breakfast buffet and at the home I lived at in Antigua.

Jason enjoying his chilaquiles and black beans while watching football. *Note my newest purchase in the background behind Jason's head. I bought this purse at the gift shop in the Marriott right after Eli and his foster mom left. It was definitely retail therapy!

8 comments:

Nicole said...

I think I have that same cookbook. Ok, so I understand that OWNING and COOKING from it aren't entirely the same thing.... Yours looks so good, I might just try a few of those. Mine's still collecting dust on the bookshelf. :)

Derek and Jennifer said...

The meals look yummy! Seems like a nice way to pass the time. I remember some great advice I was given when waiting for Elena and stuck in PGN. Someone told us to do a fun thing each week that we were still in. It gave us something to look forward to as we marked another week off our wait. We had some nice dinners out - pre-baby days when it was easy to enjoy dinner at a nice restaurant:)

Praying for good news for both of us this week!

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for a dinner invitation and recipe share. The food looks wonderful. I know I would love it!

Joyce

Victoria and Joe said...

Looks so good... what a great idea to try.. Glad it turned out.. It is definitely something we should all try.

Bobbi said...

Maybe you should cook ME dinner. It looks yummy!!

Like the new purse.

Emily said...

Steph- I couldn't agree with you more! I am a huge fan of Guatemalan food. I have eaten fried black beans every single day since I have been here and I am still not sick of it (oh, and the avocadoes, too!).... I love that cookbook and your meals look like perfect examples of these classic dishes- yummy! :-)

Emily

Jess said...

I am SO impressed!!! I'll have to ask your advice next week. I am planning on trying some dishes to throw Jadon a Guatemalan birthday party.

You've definitely blown me out of the water already!!!

Good Job!

Beth said...

YUM!

What is the cookbook called??

I think you may have inspired our dinner tonight!