La La La La Serena!

First stop on THE JOURNEY: Santiago. I finally got the yellow fever vaccination that took me six days to track down and obtain. Ughhhhhhhh.

Second stop on THE JOURNEY: La Serena.....

Last time I visited La Serena I fell ill with the flu. That certainly colored my view of this little town. I remembered La Serena as a dreary little place with a moderately cheesy downtown and not much going on. As you can imagine, I wasn't very excited to go back, but it seemed to be the only logical stop on my way to San Pedro de Atacama...

Luckily, the lovely Allison and Ryan found my blog and invited me to stay with them for a few nights. They are a couple of American Astronomers that work at an American observatory in the area. The Elqui Valley, a stones throw from La Serena, is known around the world for it's incredibly clear skies.

It's been really interesting to hear about their expat experiences and to learn about all the wonderful cooking adventures they've undertaken with the limited supply of ingredients available in Chile. These people are hardcore. They often make their own bread, and it's GOOD. They make yogurt and they even strain it through cheese cloth like cotton (which they painstakingly sought out!) to make it thick and lovely like the yogurt we all know and love. They make amazing curry too, and attempt things like a new nan recipe on a weeknight. Did I mention that Allison made her own wedding cakes??? I love these people.

Anyway, back to La Serena. It's simply a lovely town! No, there's not much to do, but as the Lonely Planet says "La Serena boasts an architectural harmony and beauty noticeably lacking in most Chilean cities."

Also, there is a cafe of the Plaza de Armas right across the street from La Iglesia Catedral (the main church) called Cafe Centenario. Go there. It's the cutest cafe I've been to in Chile. It's like Paris. It's like Buenos Aires. It's such a lovely surprise. They even have cafe cortado submarinos!!!- A little latte with a piece of chocolate dropped in that when stirred turns into melty coffee chocolate milky goodness. Best mocha ever, or maybe the atmosphere just made me woozy with bliss....

Bliss!

And the antique shop down the street? Ahh! It's just as all antique shops should be, labyrinthine and creepy. It's full of chandeliers, broken dolls, religious icons, dainty tea cups, and display cases of jewelry that they had lost the keys for. (They could tell me the prices but I couldn't buy anything because they couldn't get inside until they got someone to come with bolt cutters and cut off the locks!) The old man who owned the place was friendly and confused looking, he rambled, paced with a limp, and was whittling a little tiny chair out of an avocado pit. It made me feel warm inside, like I'd just taken a shot of whiskey. It made me feel surrounded by mysterious, yet important historical relics, as I'd just walked into the New York City Natural History Museum and had seen the tyrannosaurus rex looming precariously over my head. It was what every good antique shop should be.

Bliss...

The day only got better, but I'll stop there. The only unfortunate occurrence is that I don't have the cord for my camera nor can I find a memory card reader so I cannot bless you with the sight of creepy dolls, an art deco cafe, and the sunny skies of a lovely coastal town. Soon, my friends, soon.....

Besos,
Allie

Travel Fear #19839

For 12 of my 25 years on this little green earth I was vegetarian. For two of those years I was vegan.

Can you guess what my travel fear is.....

It's not having anything to eat, or more specifically, not having anything healthy to eat.

Sure, you can always find a bag of potato chips on the road, but I've learned from many pit stops at road side diners that considering fried potatoes as a meal, especially for days in a row, leaves me feeling like crap.

Since my travel plans are starting to include a disturbing amount of 10ish hour bus rides, I'm starting to get a little concerned.... Long distance bus rides tend to leave me feeling like crap. Subsiding off of processed potato products also has this effect on me. The results of combining these two variables could be.... DISASTROUS?!?

It's a good thing I've come up with a plan....



Homemade granola bars! Not only will they provide backup sustenance, peace of mind, but they've also helped me use up some pantry items that Matt wouldn't touch after I'm gone.



These 19 little life saving gems won't last me the whole trip. I know that. But at least I've got a trick up my sleeve. (And how I managed to cut a rectangle into 19 pieces, I do not know...)



These granola bars aren't too sweet, are full of whole grains and seeds, and are very versatile and easy to make. They are Chile friendly too, and they make a much healthier breakfast than a pancito. Come on, ex-pats! Add some whole grain to your diet!



Allie's "I will not die of malnutrition on a bus in Bolivia" Granola Bars

recipe adapted from here

• 2 1/2 cups oats

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

• 1 1/2 cups coconut (I used a mixture of the finely shredded stuff and the larger dried flakes, "coco slice" en Chile)

• 1/2 cup wheat germ (germen de trigo)

• 1/2 - 2/3 cup honey (I used 1/2 and they are barely sweet, which I like)

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (because the salty and sweet combination is so good)

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups dried fruit of choice, chopped into small bits (I used raisins, apricots, and cranberries)

• butter for greasing the pan

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an 8x12 or 9x13 inch baking dish (both work, I've tried) with ample butter.
   
2. Combine oats, sesame seeds, wheat germ, and coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. When everything looks toasty (but not burnt!) it is done.
   
3. Reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees C. Pour the mixture into a bowl, and while it is still warm, stir in the honey and vanilla until well combined. Add the egg and mix well. Add the dried fruit and mix well.
   
4. Pour the mixture into your well greased baking dish. Press it into the pan with the back of a spoon. Place a piece of parchment paper (papel mantequilla) or foil over the pan. Using your hands, press press press the mixture into the pan so that it is packed as tightly as possible. (This is important if you want to end up with granola bars rather than just granola.) Save the parchment paper/foil, you're not done pressing.
   
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until light golden brown.
   
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Place the parchment paper/foil over the bars and press press press again. (Yes, they are hot... be careful.) You can use the back of a spoon for this if you have wimpy fingers.
   
7. Once mostly cool, place in the freezer for about one hour. (This will make them easier to cut into tidy little squares)
   
8. Cut into squares.
   
9. Store in an airtight container. They keep longer/stay crisper when stored in the freezer.

You can make these many days in advance of your trip and store them in the freezer until you go. That's what I'm doing!

So, if this is my biggest travel fear, I think I'll be okay.

I leave on Sunday! So so so excited!

Besos,
Allie

If you want to make people happy....

... learn how to cook.




Chocolate truffles are a good place to start.


Chocolate Truffles

8 oz. chocolate (minimum 50% cocoa solids)
2/3 cup heavy cream
unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1. Finely chop chocolate.
   
2. Bring cream to a low boil in a small sauce pan and remove from heat.
   
3. Add the chocolate and whisk lightly until smooth, trying not in incorporate air bubbles.
   
4. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour, or until thick enough to hold a shape.
5. Spoon the mixture into a plastic sandwich bag. Cut about a quarter inch off the corner of the bag.
   
6. Line a try with parchment paper. Pipe into mounds about 3/4 inch high and 1 inch wide.
7. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
   
8. Toss the truffles in cocoa powder. A fork is the best tool for this.
   
9. Shake truffles in a sieve to remove excess cocoa powder, or don't.
10. Store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Saving Poblacion! We're doing it!!

Thanks again to everyone who has made a donation to support our effort to rebuild the town of Poblacion. As of today, we have raised US $39,022!!! And more donations are still coming in!

Amazing!

You can see a record of all donations received and funds spent here. All monetary amounts are in Chilean pesos.

Many media aguas have been completed, but there is still a lot of work to be done. If you are in Chile and interested in volunteering, please contact us at info @ savingpoblacion.org .

Here is a picture of Seth and Lee, two of the many wonderful volunteers who have been working on the media aguas.



A few weeks ago the lovely Kyle and her husband Seba, a gringa/chileno couple and photography mogul team, came to Poblacion to document some of the work we have been doing. This is the beautiful video that they made:

Santa Cruz Earthquake from Kyle Hepp on Vimeo.

Thank you again to Kyle, Seba, and everyone else who has contributed through time or monetary donations!


Besos,
Allie

The Journey

Two years and two months ago I gave away/sold/packed everything up, left my lovely little Seattle studio apartment, and got on a plane heading for Chile.

I've learned a lot about myself over the past two years.

I get jealous of other people. I get quietly competitive. I want to prove that I can do what they do, even if it's something I'm not interested in. I want to be better, more capable than capable. I get overwhelmed in the face of big projects and challenges. Sometimes it's too much and I let fear paralyze me. I don't like to admit what I don't know and I get offended too easily.

Matt has probably received the brunt of this over the past two years, and for that I am sorry.

I've learned that moving every few years, as I've taken to doing since I left home at 18, gives very specific opportunities to reflect on oneself, to ask how you have changed, to contemplate what you want to change. I like that.

Along with these realizations of some of my negative qualities, I also see that I am much stronger than I was two years ago. Much more composed and level headed. I was faced with a new situation unlike any I had ever known, and I rose to the challenge. I'm so proud of myself for moving to South America, which was a goal I had set for myself several years ago. It was a goal that I kind of thought was unattainable.

For about a month before I left Seattle, I had a sign tapped on the wall next to my bed that read "YOU CAN DO THIS!!" I'd look at that sign every night in disbelief. Could I do it? Did I even want to do it? Wouldn't it be nicer to just stick with what I knew? To come home to the same bed every night in the same little apartment that I loved so much?

I'm so glad that I jumped out of that comfort zone. Looking back, I can't imagine making a different decision. I can't imagine what I would be like if I stayed.

Now, I have a silly confession to make. I was able to move across the world on my own, but I've been afraid to travel on my own. I'm still afraid to travel on my own.

Well, now I speak Spanish. Chile has become my home. I've traveled with others and lived to tell the tale....

I'm very excited to say that I am planning a trip to the north of Chile- and maybe beyond. And, I am doing it on my own. I now realize that this was an unconscious goal that I've had for a long time. Now, I'm going to achieve it.

I feel confident. I feel like the knowledge I have gained over the past two years will not lead me astray. I know that I can handle this, and that feels so GOOD. I am so EXCITED!

I'll probably travel during the month of May, as I'm scheduled to return to the US mid June. This will be a great send off present to myself. Of course, the journey will be documented here, so stay tuned.

Besos,
Allie

Buenos Aires. Ahhhhhhhh.

I just got back from a trip to "the other side," as a friend of mine called it yesterday, meaning the other side of the Andes.... meaning Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires!!! It was so much fun! As you may remember, I have visited Buenos Aires before. This trip had a little more relaxed feel to it. Exactly what my earthquake rattled nerves were in need of. Ahhhhhhhh.

Leaving Santiago was a bit of a challenge, as the airport was still in pretty bad shape after the earthquake, even though it was more than a month after it had happened. For example, the ONLY working bathroom in the airport was after security in the international terminal. And it wasn't even signed. Most of the plasma screens that give information about flights and gates had fallen, and there was no attempt to provide the information they usually provide to passengers through another medium. The staff seemed really cranky when you asked them questions, which was kind of funny because the only option was to ask them questions or stay lost in the international terminal for all eternity.

Most of the floating ceilings and much of the duct work fell as well. As far as I can tell, not much has been repaired yet. Although, more bathrooms were open when I arrived back yesterday. This is one of the first things you see after you land in Chile.



The ceilings that have fallen over the lines you wait in at immigration. I spent awhile looking around, looking for a safe place to take cover in the airport during an earthquake. I really couldn't find one. Once again, I realized we were very lucky that this earthquake happened at 3:30am, when most buildings like this were empty. No wonder Chileans have such a fatalistic outlook!

Anyway, I arrived in Buenos Aires to an airport that was completely intact! I really enjoyed the cab ride into town. All those buildings standing! The hustle and bustle of city life when I've grown so used to the country! A taxi driver that sounded like an old Italian man from NYC, only speaking Spanish! What fun!

I relaxed a lot. Read a lot. Wandered a lot.

There was a crazy birthday party for a four year old at the apartment I was staying in. It looked a little somethin' like this. I made cupcakes (not pictured.). The cute little kid on the right helped me decorate them.



This is Parque Centenario, probably one of my favorite parks on earth.



Oh, and I visited the Natural History Museum! Natural History Museums are one of my favorite things. Chile's been pretty disappointing on that level, so I was really excited to give the one in Buenos Aires a try. Because, you know, Argentines make everything look awesome... right?

Doesn't this look awesome??



Okay, so it was pretty disappointing as well. Oh, I'm not being fair. It wasn't that bad. It just wasn't that great.

But.... how could there be world without frogs?!?



Oh, I'm not sure, they never actually answered this question that they posed to all of us...

Okay, okay, I'll stop.

Still, Diego and I had a pretty good time with our new found museum friends.



Now I''m home and refreshed and ready to take on the next adventure.

Ahhhh.

Besos,
Allie

Allie loves the ferias!

Wednesday and Saturday are feria days in Santa Cruz, making them my favorite days of the week! A feria is like a wonderfully cheap and not at all pretentious farmers' market. While this might not be true for Valparaiso, or any of the larger Chilean cities, the vendors here in Santa Cruz are incredibly friendly and honest. A few of them know me by name (La Senorita Allie!) and one even has his own nickname for me (Mi Riena, or My Queen! I love it!) Ferias are by far my favorite thing about Chile.

Look what I got today for less than $10 US!



That's right. Avocados, spinach, arugula, carrots, corn, bell peppers, chili peppers, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, chives, squash, and a dozen of the best free range eggs I've ever had. The amazing deal of the day was 4 little red bell peppers for 100 pesos or 20 cents! Wow!

Chile has better and cheaper food than any place I've ever been. The food culture and cuisine on the other hand.... well, they leave something to be desired. But the raw ingredients! Oh, the raw ingredients! And for these prices? Incredible.

I've taken my stay in Chile as an opportunity to cook with ingredients that are pricey in the states and experiment like I've never been able to afford to before. For example, cold peach ginger soup, gazpacho, blackberry bars, fresh tomato sauce, blueberry pie, strawberry corn muffins....

In the US I would never throw a perfect fresh peach into a blender. Here, at about 20 cents per pound, I can afford to do whatever I'd like with them. This has been great because I've been able to figure out which recipes will really be worth mangling my $5/pound fruit when I get back to the US, and which yield a result no more pleasurable than eating the fruit on its own. (Cold peach ginger soup is a keeper, my friends!)

Not pictured in the above photo of my bounty is one ear of corn that was already given to this floppy tongued little monster to mangle till his heart's content:



Take me seriously when I tell you that a full ear of corn is the best and cheapest dog toy ever. There are just so many different layers to enjoy! It takes the dogs literally days to work through one of these. At 100 pesos (20 cents) each, they are quite a deal.

Oh, and Bella likes fruit and veg too! I think that she is the only dog I've ever known that could happily be a vegetarian. You don't even want to know how many peaches and avocados she ate one day when we stupidly left her home alone with easy access to the fruit basket... And then the puppy ate all the pits! And.... messiness ensued. End of story.




Besos,
Allie