Our JOURNAL

ARCHIVES: Year: 2009

A Foodie’s Worst Nightmare and Revelation

A Foodie’s Worst Nightmare and Revelation

  Last night, I had a weird dream that I woke up with a strange medical condition. Something doctors had never seen. I had permanently lost my appetite. It was like the Matrix, the same day kept repeating again and again, and still no appetite. I felt physical...

Pasta y Vino with Three Irresistible Wines

Pasta y Vino with Three Irresistible Wines

As my husband and I have gotten into wine over the years, the number of “collectable” bottles we have acquired as gifts, in our travels, and off our wish list has increased to the point that one night, a couple months ago, we were in a quandry that didn’t have...

Avocados 101: Part II

Avocados 101: Part II

  Continuing our odyssey into the world of avocados, below is a selection of the most common varieties found in Chile. Researching a little more, I discovered that you can find many of these varieties in the States now, particularly in California, and even...

Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Fine Wines for Less

Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Fine Wines for Less

Sitting down here in leg warmers by the heater, visions of 4th of July pool parties, hamburgers, and beers seem really, really far away. In fact, I have been dreaming of our lazy days last year in Napa as we sipped fruity Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma, nippled on blue...

Avocado 101: Part I

Avocado 101: Part I

  Having grown up on the East Coast, when I arrived in Chile, my idea of an avocado was a precious treasure racking up US$2-3 per UNIT, usually bought as hard as a rock and left to ripen in a brown paper bag before being turned into, well, guacamole. What else...

A Lemon Meringue Pie Love Affair

A Lemon Meringue Pie Love Affair

Winter time in Santiago means citrus season. We are being bombarded by clementines, navel oranges, grapefruit, and kazillions of kilos of fragrant lemons. Even my friends with lemon trees in their backyards are tiring of lemony pisco sours, the national drink. There’s...

Pillowy Pumpkin Bread: Sopaipillas

Pillowy Pumpkin Bread: Sopaipillas

  This morning I awoke to cold, gray skies that seem to thicken by the minute with moisture. The weekend forecast? Rain. Brrr. In these chilly days of winter, my former American self would normally pine for matzah ball soup, chicken pot pie, and hot chocolate to...

The Don Juan of Wine: Seven Lusty Malbecs

The Don Juan of Wine: Seven Lusty Malbecs

  You know the type—charming, seductive,  a real smoothe-talker. He’s refined, muscular yet has a soft spot. Although it may sound like I am referring to some of Argentina’s very handsome men, in actuality, I am referring to Malbec. I have had it on the brain...

Tea Time in Chile: Onces

Tea Time in Chile: Onces

  A peculiar tradition inherited from the British, who settled in Chile in the 1800s, tea time in Chile is deeply rooted in Chilean food culture and is affectionately called Onces. Although the origin of the word is disputed, it seems to have its roots in the...

My Top Ten Chilean Chardonnays

My Top Ten Chilean Chardonnays

  I won’t lie. There was a time when I disliked Chardonnay. In fact, I belonged to that club, you know the one: ABC. Anything But Chardonnay. The mere thought of it conjured up notions of caramel-laden, barrel bombs with little acidity. Or pineapple sorbet...

A Slice of the South in Santiago

A Slice of the South in Santiago

    Chile, like a long string bean, extends over 2,600 miles from north to south, or 17º S- 56º S at Cape Horn. The regionality of the country’s ingredients is staggering. In the north, Andean and Peruvian staples like quinoa and chuño, freeze-dried...

Post Modern in Puerto Varas: Donde el Gordito

Post Modern in Puerto Varas: Donde el Gordito

  Puerto Varas may very well be the “Portland” of Chile. It’s lush. It rains a lot. The town is steeped in Chile’s Germanic history yet laid back and modern. It has a stunning natural setting on the shores of the azure Llanquihue Lake with vistas of the conical...

Chilean Tomato and Cilantro Salsa

Chilean Tomato and Cilantro Salsa

When you sit down to any table, anywhere in the 2,600 miles of national territory stretching from the border of Peru to the tip of South America, three things will immediately appear: bread (many times homemade), butter, and pebre. Pebre, Chilean “salsa”, is the...

Chile’s Most Iconic Sandwich: El Lomito

Chile’s Most Iconic Sandwich: El Lomito

  Take an informal poll among Chileans of what food they crave when they are in country, out-of-country, any time of the day, and in many cases, would call the “unofficial” national dish of Chile, and they will tell you: El Lomito. This towering, mammoth pork...

10 Reasons Why I Love Wine

10 Reasons Why I Love Wine

  Wine has a meaningfulness no other beverage possesses—beyond water. It can convey history; say thank you; it’s the ultimate gesture of hospitality; and cellaring wines is, for me, a way of capturing and storing their warmth to be enjoyed whenever I wish. A...

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