Los Espantos The Ghosts

I remember back when I was a child that my father, mother and his grand aunt used to seat us around them to relate stories of their own childhood, or legends they either heard or were told by their own parents. The best stories that I remember were the stories of spirits, ghosts. People called them "espantos;" like the Llorona (The Weeping Lady) El Cadejo (Demon Dog), La Siguanaba, El Sombreron (The Little Man with Big Hat), La Casa Espantada, (The Haunted House) and the ghost who had no behind. This last I think was made up by my father because I haven't heard it anywhere else.

Maria was the name of a beautiful native who had fallen in love with a young Spanish fellow, he promised to take her back to Spain and married her, he asked her to leave everything behind, she was so crazy in love with this young man and the future life she would have with him. One night under a full moon, she took her three children to wash her clothes and bath herself to be presentable to her lover, on the way to the river she heard these two fellows talking behind some trees, she heard her lover saying to his friend, *I have fallen in love with this beautiful virgin maiden, and I have proposed to her to eloped with me to the old World*, hearing this she hurried to the river and took her children into the waters drowned them. When the children were found the church excommunicated her, and cursed her to roam the Earth for eternity until she found her children. Her lover hearing this since he was devoted to God and his teachings abandoned her. Now every full moon in the woods of Guatemalan mountains we hear from afar the weeping lady calling her children.

El Cadejo or Demon dog, is a humongous dog that protects men who are pure at heart and travel the roads at night either from their home to work or vice versa, but will kill those who are not good people, other people have also told the story that El Cadejo is a protector of drunks, some people say they are two different dogs, one black and the other white with fire red eyes. Either way they are very scary. Both of my parents said to have seen this beast up close and personal, once my father said that El Cadejo followed him back home after visiting one of his girl friends and had cross the cemetery to take a short cut, my mother said that when she was a teenage living with her grandmother and her older sister, El Cadejo had jumped from behind some trees right in front of her and stare at both she and her sister and jumped back into the woods.

There are many versions of the story of La Siguanaba, the one I was told by my elders was that she was a Virgin beautiful maiden with waved golden hair, porcelain skin and slender body. She was promised to an old Sugar Plantation owner in the Caribbeans, but she had fallen in love with this young naval officer, he had promised her to marry her and take her away from the old man and the plantation and her family. The night they were to be married she found out that her young officer was already married, feeling betrayed and heartbroken she threw herself down a cliff where there were long thorns in the bottom, before dying she made a pact with the Devil, to lure men to the edge of the cliff if they were unfaithful to their wives, so it became the legend that this beautiful maiden combs her hair by the river or the edge of a pond enamoring men with her beautiful profile, and than bringing them to the edge of the cliff and show herself to them, once she turns around her face is either a face of a horse or a skull of a horse, the men are so frightened that they fall from the edge to their deaths on the thorns.

Torrejas

Ingredients

Serves 6

6 large Guatemalan sweet bread

3 eggs

1 / 2 cup sugar

1 cup sweet whipped cream

2 ounces of raisins (optional)

2 tbs flour

vegetable oil to fry

For the syrup

4 cups water

4 cups sugar or brown sugar

1 large piece cinnamon

2 allspice

1 cup rum

preparation:

It is better to buy the loaves a day earlier to be hard when prepared. Start by cutting the top like a lid, and with a teaspoon carefully remove some crumbs from the middle of the other half of the bread. Fill with the sweet whipped cream and cover with the top.

In a bowl beat eggs whites, flour, until they reach a soft peak, carefully add egg yolks not to flatten the mix, continue beating until it looks like cotton candy .

Heat the oil in a skillet, wrap the bread with the egg and fry it . When you remove them put them in a napkin to absorb the oil.

Syrup preparation:

In a saucepan bring the water, cinnamon, sugar or brown sugar and allspice to simmer for at least five minutes, remove the cinnamon stick, let it cool down, once is cool pour the rum in the syrup, pour the syrup on each serving. For garnish spread some raisings on top of the torrejas.

(for children, exclude the rum)

Gallo en Chicha/Rooster in Chicha

Chicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages. Chicha may also be made from manioc root (also called yuca or cassava), maize, grape, apple or other fruits.

While chicha is most commonly associated with maize, the word is used in the Andes for almost any homemade fermented drink, and many different grains or fruits are used to make "chicha" in different regions.

According to the Real Academia Española and other authors, the word chicha comes from the Kuna word chichab,or "chiab" which means maize. However, according to Don Luis G. Iza it comes from the Nahuatl word chichiatl, which means "fermented water"; the verb chicha meaning "to sour a drink" and the postfix -atl meaning water. (Note that these etymologies are not mutually exclusive.)

The common Spanish expression Ni chicha ni limonada (neither chicha nor lemonade) is roughly equivalent to the English "neither fish nor fowl". (Thus, it is used when something is not easily placed into a category.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha

Ingredients to make fermented drink:

Chopped

1 Pineapple

2 ripe Plantains

12 Mombins or Spanish Plums

2 Granny Smith Apples

1 Lb. Blackberries

1 Lb. Nancite

6 cups Sugar

Preparation:

In a close container placed all the chopped ingredients and the sugar and let it stand for a week in room temperature.

Ingredients to cook the Rooster:

25 Lbs. Young Rooster

6 cups of water

15 Scallions

1 Chile pasa (dried red or black chili it can be found in mexican markets)

5 Garlic Cloves

Salt to taste

15 capers

15 prunes

For the Sauce:

1 red bell pepper

1 chile guaque (it can be found in mexican markets)

pinch of castilla pepper (not Black pepper)

5 scallions

10 garlic cloves

1 1/2 tbs. sesame seeds

10 medium riped tomatoes

Preparation:

Placed the rooster in pieces in the chicha and let it stand for 8 hours to marinate. In a big pot placed the rooster and the chicha in 6 cups of water, add all ingredients, except the capers and prunes cover and simmer on high until the rooster is cooked, if is necessary to add more water do so, once is cooked, you will be able to sliced a knife through it with no effort, uncover and keep cooking on low, add capers, and prunes, simmer until is throughly cooked.

Aside in another pot we prepare a sauce to thicken the soup:

1 red bell pepper-1 chile guaque (dried chili) let them soaked in water, seasoned with castilla pepper (not black pepper) In a dry pan placed and roast 5 scallions- 10 garlic cloves - 1 y 1/2 tbs. sesame seeds -10 peeles seeded medium riped tomatoes. Blend all the roasted ingredients and pour the sauce in the pot where the rooster is, let it simmer .

Strawberries and Melons Smoothie

Ingredients:

4 small ripe melons

2 lbs strawberries

14 oz sweet condensed milk

14 oz evaporated milk

4 cups crushed ice

whipped sweet cream

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients and serve it in drinking glasses, garnish with a little whipped cream

Horchata/Rice Water

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Lb broken white rice

14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

14 oz Evaporated Milk

1 Tbs Vanilla extract

Sugar

1 Gallon Bottled Water

Crushed Ice

Powdered cinnamon

Preparation:

Soaked broken white rice overnight in 6 cups of water at room temperature. The next day blend on high the soaked rice, mix the sweetened condensed milk and the evaporated milk, the vanilla extract, sugar to taste. Enjoy over crushed ice, sprinkled powdered cinnamon on each glass.

Refresco de Tamarindo/Tamarind drink

Ingredients:

1 Lb Peeled Tamarind

2 cups Warm Water

1 Liter Bottled Water

Sugar

Ice

Preparation:

Place the peeled tamarind in a bowl with two cups of warm water and let stand for half an hour to release the pulp.

After it cools down, with your fingers squeeze the pulp from the seeds to separate the pulp from the seeds, blend the pulp and water and pass through a sieve.

Separately in a large pitcher sweeten the bottled water to taste , mix the blended pulp in the sweetened water, pour ice, serve cold.

Benefits of the Tamarind:

The pulp of tamarind is one of the basic seasonings of Latin American cuisine and also the Asian where is known by the name Kam Mak. It comes from a tropical tree native to Africa, whose fruits are pods tamarind pulp, which is attributed to have healing properties, it heals high fever and is a very gentle laxactive. If the fruits are green, the flesh will taste acid and would be the equivalent of lemon juice in Western cuisine. When the pod has matured is light brown in color, then the pulp has a much sweeter taste and is used for drinks. The tamarind pulp, is also an essential ingredient of the Worcestershire sauce.

Atol de Elote/Corn Porridge

ingredients:

12 soft corn or not too highly seasoned
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
5 cups water
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks
1 / 4 cups sugar

preparation:

Boiled the cinnamon in the water until the water changes to light brown, remove the cinnamon from the water, remove the water from the heat and let it cool. Slice the corn with a sharp knife, puree with water and pass through a sieve, add the condensed milk and bring to simmer, stirring constantly always from the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and burning for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked.

makes 8 cups.