In El Salvador we celebrate “Dia de la Cruz” or cross day on May 3. This ritual of worshiping the cross is a tradition that combines ancient Christian and indigenous rites, the Spanish celebration of the Holy Cross and the Pipil tribute to Mother Earth and the god Xipe Totec. It celebrates the arrival of the rainy season and the birth of the new agricultural cycle. The cross is made from the native Jicote tree and is decorated with colorful paper tissue flowers, seasonal fruits like, coconuts, oranges, mangoes, cashews, avocados and jocotes. The neighbors visit each other to honor and pray to the cross, and to eat a piece of fruit or two.
Book release party for Delicious El Salvador was a complete success!
As I write this post, tears are streaming down my cheeks. They are tears of joy and pride, and perhaps a bit from sheer mental and physical exhaustion. After almost four years of arduous work, personal sacrifices, embarassment from having to borrow money from my sister and friends to complete Delicious El Salvador, history was made on April 4th at El Salvador Consulate in Los Angeles with the release of Delicious El Salvador: 75 Authentic Recipes for Traditional Salvadoran Cooking. The FIRST cookbook in English completely dedicated to Salvadoran cuisine, and I DID IT!
I am grateful to all the reporters and media for writing the most amazing articles about the book and myself. Below are all the links. THANK YOU to my family and friends for your loyalty and love. I am a lucky girl.
http://www.laopinion.com/noticiasla-california/article/20130406/Al-rescate-de-sus-tradiciones
http://issuu.com/laprensadelosangeles.com/docs/laprensadelosangelesmarzo
I also want to post the beautiful speech that Carlos Velis, a Salvadoran poet, playwriter, and diplomat at the El Salvador Consulate in Los Angeles in charge of community and culture wrote for the event. Gracias Carlos!
COCINA, MAGIA, REMINISCENCIAS Y MÁS
Carlos Velis
Pensar en cocina, nos remite inmediatamente al fuego; el hogar, palabra derivada de fuego, el lugar donde se hace la fogata para calentarse, habitar, cocinar los alimentos. Es el rincón cálido, donde el humano y sus animales habitan. También nos remite a olores. El acre olor a la sangre de la caza, con el fuego se convierte en un aroma que abre el apetito. Y en el momento en que el hombre primitivo, tal vez por una casualidad, mezcló carne con vegetales y yerbas, nació la cocina.
Seguramente, en aquellos días, la preparación de alimentos estuvo ligada a la magia, la medicina, el culto a las deidades. Nuestros ancestros se transmitían por tradición oral, los secretos culinarios. Y así es hasta nuestros días. Los conocimientos de la cocina, son transmitidos de padres a hijos, con el ejemplo, al calor de la lumbre (o la cocina moderna), donde aún están vigentes las medidas como la “pizca”, el “tanteo”, el “paladeo”, que van estableciendo la sazón nacional, regional y hasta familiar. Así vemos que la cocina está asociada a la cultura, la tradición, la idiosincrasia.
Un libro de cocina, por lo tanto, es una infidencia, una exposición de secretos de una vivencia cultural, pero a la vez, un acto de rescate y preservación de la misma cultura. Desde el más antiguo que se conoce, el “De re coquinaria”, de Marcus Gavius Apicius, del siglo I de nuestra era, el recetario es una fuente inapreciable de tesoros antropológicos. Hay libros de cocina que conviven con la literatura, tal es la célebre novela “Como agua para chocolate”, de Laura Esquivel; o “Afrodita, cuentos, recetas y otros afrodisíacos” de Isabel Allende.
El libro que ahora nos presenta Alicia Maher, “Delicious El Salvador”, es digno descendiente de tan noble prosapia. Setenta y cinco recetas de cocina netamente salvadoreña. Dice la autora que es un libro dirigido a la diáspora, al Departamento 15, que vive añorando los sabores de su infancia. Alicia ha sabido pastorear aquellas yerbas, especias, vegetales, carnes; pizcas y tanteos, ollas y cucharones, hasta el redil de su bello libro. Otro gran artista, Federico Trujillo, acompañó la aventura de esta incansable mujer, para llenarlo de hermosas fotografías de nuestro paisaje y suculentas viandas.
Alicia nos habla de la nobleza de nuestra cocina, su altura de excelencia y exquisitez que no le envidia nada a ninguna otra cocina del mundo. Encontraremos platos tan meticulosos en su elaboración, que llevan dos y hasta más días de trabajo, como cualquier manjar digno de un rey.
El libro, de esta manera, adquiere la dimensión de un museo del sabor, un rescate del paladar patrio. Con la tercera parte de nuestra población desperdigada por el mundo, “Delicious El Salvador” se convierte en una bandera de dignidad y orgullo nacional. En sus páginas viviremos de nuevo los prístinos recuerdos de la infancia y volveremos a oír los dulces sonidos de ollas y cacerolas, las voces de las amadas abuelitas, dando consejos y regaños, mientras hacían el picadillo, el recaudo, batían el huevo para los rellenos; son días anteriores al microondas y a los enlatados, cuando todo se hacía con las manos, la cabeza y el corazón.
Gracias Alicita por este libro mágico y maravilloso.
TORREJAS! A TRADITIONAL SALVADORAN HOLY WEEK DISH
Today is the start of Holy Week in El Salvador. This is a holiday steeped in centuries-old traditions, and is celebrated in every corner of the country. It is also a time to prepare and share with family and friends traditional dishes like torrejas.
This sweet and aromatic dish is not only delectable, but is also a favorite during the Easter season. Torrejas are similar to American-style French toast but there are basic differences that make this dish unique. We always use egg bread, omit the vanilla from the batter, and always fry the torrejas in oil, not butter. But perhaps the biggest difference is the special sugar and cinnamon syrup which is vital to the dish, as the golden fried bread slices are plated and soaked in the syrup before serving. You will enjoy and savor each bite.
TORREJAS IN SUGAR AND CINNAMON SYRUP
Torrejas en Almíbar con Canela
Serves 6
2 cups granulated white sugar
4 cups water
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or a small cinnamon stick
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
⅛ teaspoon salt
6 slices of egg bread (cut off a loaf, each slice 1-inch-thick)
1 cup vegetable oil
In a medium saucepan over a high flame, combine the sugar, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour. The syrup is ready when the liquid has been reduced by half. Set aside.
When ready to cook the torrejas, break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the milk and salt, and combine with a whisk or fork. Dip the slices of bread into this batter, taking care not to let any slice soak for too long before frying.
In a large deep skillet over a medium to high flame, heat the oil until very hot. Add the battered slices of bread, two at a time, and leave plenty of room for each slice to fry. Cook on both sides until golden, remove from the skillet, and place on a serving dish or tray. Pour the syrup on top of the torrejas and let them soak for about 1 hour, or longer, before serving at room temperature.
Spring has arrived in my garden! Llego la primavera a mi jardin!
Spring has arrived in my garden! Llego la primavera a mi jardin!
Salvadoran Empanadas for Delicious El Salvador release party!
Dear Friends, I have been busy planning the book release party for Delicious El Salvador on April 4 in Los Angeles. Estimados amigos, he estado muy ocupada preparando la fiesta de lanzamiento del libro el 4 de abril en Los Angeles.
Here is one of the dishes I am going to serve at the event. Salvadoran Empanadas! Uno de los platos que voy a servir en el evento, Pastelitos de Carne.
Lenten Season/Temporada de la cuaresma
It’s Lenten Season and Friday. I’m cooking a traditional Salvadoran fish dish called “Pescado Envuelto en Huevo” Es la temporada de la cuaresma! Estoy cocinando un plato tipico Salvadoreno que se llama Pescado Envuelto en Huevo.
My Salvadoran Herb Garden!
My herb garden!
Nice day for a bowl of warm soup!
The silver sky, the intermittent rain and the cold weather inspired me to start
a pot of soup. I like to cook a big batch and save some for later. Most Salvadoran soups can be eaten as entrees, they are loaded with vegetables, herbs and meats. TRY THIS WHITE BEAN SOUP recipe. If you are a vegetarian omit the meat, and if Pork is not your kind of meat you can use chicken thighs instead. In my cookbook you can find dozens of delicious and authentic Salvadoran recipes.
I am sharing this soup recipe from my cookbook Delicious El Salvador: 75 Authentic Recipes for Traditional Salvadoran Cooking, available at http://deliciouselsalvador.com/shop_2.html
White Bean and Pork Rib Soup (Copyright material)
Sopa de Frijoles Blancos con Costilla de Cerdo
When I started writing this cookbook, my Salvadoran friends would always ask me if I planned to include this recipe in the soup section. Well, here it is! The combination of white beans, oregano, pork, annatto, and thyme creates a velvety texture that explodes with flavors.
Serves 6
1½ cups dried white or navy beans (12 ounces)
8 cups water
2 pounds baby back pork ribs cut into individual ribs
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomato
1 teaspoon ground annatto seeds
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (1 teaspoon if dried)
2 cups coarsely chopped carrots
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Sort through the beans for any little stones or shriveled/broken beans and discard. Rinse in cold water, place in large pot, and add the 8 cups of water.
Over medium to high heat bring the beans and water to a boil, and then add the ribs, bay leaf, garlic, onion, tomato, annatto, salt, and thyme. Bring everything back to a full boil, cover, and immediately reduce heat to medium. Cook the soup for about 2 hours, stirring every so often.
Remove ½ cup of beans and 1 cup of liquid from the soup; set aside and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, add the carrots to the pot and continue cooking for about 15 minutes. Purée the ½ cup of beans and the 1 cup of liquid in a blender or food processor and stir in back into the soup.
Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes, then remove from the stove. Discard the bay leaf and correct the salt. Add and stir the black pepper to taste Serve hot and lightly sprinkle each serving with the dried oregano.
Should Cookbooks Deliver Beauty and Function?
For me, great photography, food styling and excellent recipe writing are equally important in a cookboook. Fortunally there are many cookbooks out there that cover all grounds, and also make impressive coffee table books. I still have the 1982 hardcover edicion of The Best of French Cooking and I alternate with Pacific Flavors by Hugh Carpenter, 1987 edicion. For my own cookbook I spent seven weeks in El Salvador for the photography production. I hired renowned Salvadoran photographer Federico Trujillo, trained in England, and with extensive book experience. The result is exactly what I had envisioned! Authentic Salvadoran food presented in a realistic, aesthetically and lyrical context, and with simple and easy to follow authentic recipes.
Delicious Ground Beef Patties in Light Tomato Gravy!
I am happy and proud to announce that one of the recipes from my cookbook Delicious El Salvador is featured in the prestigious blog Spaglishbaby.com. Please visit the site and get the recipe. Con mucha felicidad anuncio que una de mis recetas en mi libro Delicious El Salvador la esta presentado el prestigioso blog http://spanglishbaby.com/food/beef-patties-in-light-tomato-gravy-tortitas-de-carne-en-salsa-de-tomate/ Por favor visiten el blog para la receta.
