Today is a very especial day for Christians around the world. In many countries this day is celebrated in different ways. It is safe to say that within a country there are variations on how we celebrate the holidays. One thing we have in common, we all want to be together with our family members. As a child, we celebrated by going to midnight mass with a live nativity and by following the search for a place for baby Jesus to be born. The extended family will gather and enjoy eating delicious hallacas, Pan de Jamon (ham bread), ensalada de gallina (chicken salad) and many desserts. In the background, the sound of Christmas music or music we like to hear at this time of the year such as Maracaibo 15, Coquivacoa, Los Tucusitos, Los Billos Caracas Boys and many more. Imagine every Venezuelan eating an hallaca at midnight at the same time! It is almost like a flash mob!!!! Well, you get my meaning. So, in case you want to try our holiday meal, bellow you will find away to make a ham bread. There are variations to this recipe depending who makes it.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Las Arepas
Today,we are going to talk about a Venezuelan staple for all Venezuelans. The video is in Spanish only. It is a good way to train your ear while learning to cook.
In this video, she will show you how to prepare the Arepas and a filling that makes them a favorite. This filling is kind of chicken salad. Some pleople add mayonnaise, while others use creamy avocados to lessen the number of calories. Also,there is another sauce prepared that can be added to la reina pepiada (Arepas filled with chicken salad). This sauce is called guasacaca(cilantro,parsley,onions, garlic,vinegar). Guasacaca is sometimes made with avocados making look like a Mexican guacamole.
Remember that there are always variations to the way people prepare dishes.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
LA HALLACA OR HAYACA
VENEZUELAN TYPICAL CHRISTMAS DISH AND ITS ORIGIN
The hallaca is a dish of Venezuelan origin. It is made with corn dough (from corn meal like Harina P.A.N or corn grain).This dough is given flavor and/or color by adding chicken broth and onoto. The filling consist of beef,pork,hen or chicken. To those you add olives,raisins,capers,green peppers,onions and more depending on the region and medical diets. These ingredients are placed on the flattten portion of cornmeal doughrap on a rectangular shape using cured platain leaves and tied with cotton string.This dish could be served at any time of the year,but it is typically served during Christmas.
La hallaca is Venezuelan in origin,but its popularity reached other countries due to citizens of those countries returning or Venezuelans emigrating to those countries.Some of those countries are: Colombia (Cúcuta and Barranquilla), in the islands of Curazao, Aruba and Bonaire,Canary islands,in Spain,and in Ecuador. Yes,they have also adapted hallacas as their traditional Christmas dish.
In Venezuela, la hallaca is a national dish.It is also prepared and celebrated by family and friends.
Origins of the hallacas,like many other dishes depends on documents, poems,and tales told through time. The first one is the time of colonization XV and XVI century in which slaves and indiginous people, gathered the leftovers of the food preparation adding them to their meals. The next explanation goes to the time when the Spaniards wanted to build a road to gain access to Caracas from the port of La Guaira. The natives mainly consumed only which was already known to caused a disease. It was asked from the population of Caracas to donate leftovers so the natives could add them to their corn meal.
According to tradicition,one Christmas the wealthy people celebrating with great parties and lots of food enraging the bishop who told them to eat and celebrate like the natives and slaves who work on the "road of the Spaniards", afraid of god's punishment, they agreed to do so and improve on the fillings.
As Uslar Pietri stated in Eskenazi(1988)(la hallaca)"...is a compendium exemplary of crossbreeding. In them are: raisins and olives from the Romans and the Greeks,capers and almonds from the Arabs,beef from the people of Castilla,corn and the banana leaves from the natives".
La hallaca in Caracas continues to be fundamentally unchanged since XVIII century.
Sorry I took so long to get back. The holidays kept me so busy that it is now that I am able to seat long enough to write these few words for you. I would lide to hear from you and if you have been able to use what I have posted so far. Remember, there is no such a thing such as a stupid question. We are all students and teachers here.
In the posts to come, I'll teach you the colors and their use with vocabulary already learnt.
See you soon, hasta luego......
