Saturday, July 30, 2011

Christmas in JULY??

July came and passed us but not before leaving a significant mark in my life. I had the pleasure of traveling to my home country Colombia and have the best Christmas party ever...yes I said Christmas! My parents finally got to spend time with almost the whole family after 19 yrs of being apart and honestly I cannot even begin to explain to you the joy and love that we all felt for those few hours. We had not just traditional Colombian Christmas food, but also music, decorations, presents, a tree and tons of decorations....not to mention a live band commonly known as a "chirimia". Friends and family gathered for a night full of dancing, drinking and eating, but most of all sharing such a great moment that has become a permanent memory in all our hearts.



The servers greeted everyone with a small plate with bunuelos, natilla, and hojuelas- a must every December! The bunuelos have cheese and are fried, the hojuelas are similar to phyllo dough, fried and with a touch of sugar, and natilla is made with cinnamon, milk, cane sugar, and a couple other secret ingredients...it can be compared to a cross between flan and panna cotta in terms of consistency, as far as flavor...well that is a different story. The recipes for these will come in December, but take a look at what they look like so that if you ever come across these take the plunge and give them a try!


Despite the fact that I was only there for 3 days, I managed to eat some of my favorite things that cannot be purchased in the States. One of them was a dessert from a bakery called "El Portal", and the main ingredient is tangerine. I also got to have the classic Mimo, which is simply a vanilla cone covered in chocolate- but for some reason it just tastes amazing whenever I eat it there. Another dessert that is a must, are the mini pastries from the bakery "El Astor". I had these frog shaped pieces of heaven since I was a little girl...and each time I take a bite it's like entering a travel machine.


Sometimes we truly have to stop and think about how blessed we are to be able to experience such moments in life. I am convinced that even the very smallest things can make a huge impact in what we do, who we meet and the way we live. I know I owe you guys some recipes, but I wanted to honor this experience for what it was...one to remember FOREVER! Cheers!