rain is a good thing

especially on a sweltering day like today. i know it's not too bad yet, but i won't feel tip top in my shorts from last summer for another few weeks.  also i've been incredibly gifted in the chest areaz this past year, so all my sundresses are out of the picture.

however heat and sunshine brings good things as well, like sundresses (spotted: adorbs lilly tank dress in dtbethesda) , and sunglasses (purchased: 2 pairs of wayfarers @ unique for $5, though i'm still eyening a splurge on clubmasters), and maybe even a nice pair of sandals (i've been wearing old navy flip flops since i could walk). all that and no money however. and trust me, no money = problems

time for popsicles round three. my mom and i are cooling down, and no doubt will we hunt down iron chef to enjoy over popsicles!

Cristina

nothing but a memory

so it's been a few days since i've written a legit post. i've gotten lazy. and tired. but i figured since i've been so homey these days, I'd take some time to talk about my childhood home, 2854 Connecticut Ave. #22 NW Washington DC, 20008. Ha! I don't lie when I say I'm from the city. I've lived there for more than half of my life (until i turn 22). Pretty much the greatest place you could ever raise a child. Living in the apartment was the best part of my childhood. This all may have been due to the fact that

a) the zoo was 1/2 a block across the street
b) my cousins lived right next door until i was like, 9 years old
c) school, my parent's work, the playground, the metro, the bus spot, were so incredibly convenient, all we needed was one car and a whole lot of relaxation.

Guess which one I am?!

I'll admit it's a difficult thing to raise a family in a one bedroom apartment. But my parents did everything they could to make it a home, and I still have vivid memories. Walking in, there was a foyer area, large enough to double as a playroom with its open space and fish tank, which housed my beloved fish Charlie, who survived almost five years of weight gain and receiving my admiration. From Sleepys to Crawfish to Snails, there was a little bit of everything in that tank at one point, and I can still hear the sounds of the filters gushing away when my memory recalls it. The first entrance to the left led to the bedroom. Surprisingly large, it contained the two closets from which I would emerge every mid-november, succesful in the hunt for the hidden halloween stashes. (These skills would lead to my childhood nickname of "La Rata", the little mouse that would find any snack or candy anywhere.

The bunk bed my sister and I shared for years was the staple. Like the little rooms we never had, Joyce and I made each bed our own private space, decorated with pictures or lamps or whatever crazy things we could think of personalizing it with. The old desks that remained with us until a few years ago held everything but papers and desks. The room was ever changing. From bunkbeds to separate twins, Miranda's got a pink paintjob and entered the computer age with that big old Hewlett Packard. I wonder where it is now...

The single bathroom to the left was a glorified hallway. Everything about it was old, from the tiles to the sink. But it's where I first learned to brush teeth by myself, where Joyce and I would sit and stare out at the waves of tourists climbing up to the zoo below. I can still recall one of the first times I eased myself sideways to better reach the faucet. We're also guilty of throwing scalding water out the window, when we were very anti-poison Ivy. We were crazy!

The kitchen in any peruvian home is essential homespace. I can still picture my mother standing by the sink or stove, always cooking up some great meal. The curtain leading in was the sole attempt to stop the sounds smells from escaping elsewhere. But there was no denying where the tripe was boiling over, or the stuffed potatoes frying on the pan. Fortunately, the view of the corner was greatest as I climbed onto my step stool and washed some dishes.

The living/dining room was where I avoided so many meals, and where I proudly presented my projects, homeworks and grades. The last great memory I had of it was following the 2002 World Cup, the last few weeks of living there. We were excited to peep out the window immediately after the Final and watch an impromptu parade of Brazilian Washingtonians flashing their flags, honking horns, and blasting their voices and their music with pride.

Similarly, I recall the nights when I, nervous for a Spanish grammar test, would wake up with anxiety and study with the street lights that poured in through the windows, reviewing the verbs that had popped up in my nightmare, and pausing to see the yuppies stumbling back to their apartments below.

April 25, 2000, the afternoon of the shootings at the National Zoo. My sister and I were selecting yogurt flavors at the fridge when we heard a pop pop coming from outside. I can still see the frightened, frantic faces of those who ran for their lives from the zoo. On the night of September 11, 2001, I couldn't sleep. The police were flashing and wailing endlessly down our street. Each light that reflected past my window was another frightened thought in my mind. Other accidents, encounters, arrivals and departures were all witnessed from the views of our 6 windows. We were fortunate enough to live right above the front entrance, and to also have the 2 windows on either side, as well. I look fondly on those windows, and what they showed me and taught me. (Subject of my college essay...)

 

A rare perspective of 2854 for me. We lived on the 2nd floor, right above the entrance.

Now, 'el apartamento' remains only a memory, a past part of our lives. I long to return and live there everytime I pass by, but all things must change, and I must learn to accept that even if I am lucky enough to return, it will be a completely different experience for me. The days of my childhood, growing up in my beloved Woodley Park, are way past me, and planting myself in the spot where my bed once sat will do nothing but let even more time pass me by.

always a comforting sight

this time, baby

i'll be
bulletproof


summer jamz. dc and fro yo with the mom-o!

Busy Busy Busy

Two days since posting! This is kind of like all the diaries I've kept since childhood. I've kept myself busy these past few days. A visit from my friend Johanna always brightens me up and lets me be my immature self. She inevitably sleeps over when she's at my place, and vice versa. I ended up on an overnight visit to see her mom, sisters, and dogs, which is always relaxing.

Thursday morning found my in Northern Virgina at 7:45, with a pre-school graduation to attend by 10 AM back in Wheaton! My commuting expertise got me there by 9:59, and I enjoyed an afternoon with my family.

Then I was off to begin my first day of volunteering at the local library. A job is kind of difficult to find when one has to leave for A MONTH in the middle of suffer, thus volunteer work if my cup of tea. I'm always glad to keep busy, and now that I'm home for the evening, I feel like I can fully deserve a nice relaxation session, with some TV tossed in. Hope everyone else is equally productive!

Why am I up this early?

nuff said

Coming Soon

The quintessential peruvian dish: Ceviche

Mastering the Art of Peruvian Cooking

x

It's been a while since I've attempted a new Peruvian dish. From spicy to sweet, all of these childhood dishes hold a spot in my heart, and I am determined to learn them all to perpetuate their existence for everyone else!

Today's challenge was a painstaking dish, Papa Rellena. It's basically mashed potatos molded back into their potato shapes, but not without being stuffed with a nice ground beef filling! The result?

Sooo good!

Unfortunately, this is not the end result of my own endeavors, but I did a pretty damn good job. Let me showcase my quest :

I started with the ingredients. My mom set 'em out for me, so at around 11:30 I was ready to start cooking, dicing, etc. etc.

About 2 cups of raisins, soaked for at least 10 minutes. It might be weird to see such sweet raisins in a lunch/dinner dish, but these seal the deal when it comes to the flavor I've learned to expect.

4 medium sized onions - You've got to dice them. I dreaded this fact.

3 cloves of garlic - If you don't have garlic (or onions for that matter), this dish can not be made!

About 1.5 Pounds of ground beef. Yummy!

POOOOTAAAATOOOOOOES - 5 pounds. Preferably, Yukon Gold potatoes are great for all the mashing and molding you'll to with them. I had small to medium sized potatoes, and I counted about 20. I thought I snapped a shot of them in the pot, but I guess I lied to myself...

10 Eggs, for two different purposes!

Flour - whatever kind works, I havent seen this being an issue.

A slightly less conventional ingredient, Aji amarillo is basically air dried peppers ground into a paste. This comes in a yellow and red variety, I actually ended up using both generously.

So what to do now? Let's start from the beginning. The meat should be thawed, and ready to put on heat. The potatoes and 6 eggs should be put in a large pot to boil and cook. Meanwhile, I got a start on the veggie prep, including the dicing of the onions (SUCKY) and garlic. My diced garlic can be seen above, and I slaved trough the onions with several tiny breaks for fresh air and eye wiping...

Dicing it pretty small is how you've got to go!

I got the eggs hard boiled and out of the way, Cooked the potatoes until they were ready to mash (meaning a fork enters them easily). We've always cooked them peeled to get them as soft as possible without having them fall apart. The trick here is to peel them quickly while they're HOT which sucks. It's great to have a helper to work on those, but I was riding solo so my cook time was drastically increased. My mom brought a mashed from Peru with her, and it's been working like a dream for more than 15 years.

Of course 5 pounds of potatoes is a whole bunch, so once they're all mashed and ready to go they go straight into a large bowl.

Mashing them about a bit more and TADA

Pretty much ready to cook...

So everything was nice and ready to go! We had the onions, finely diced. Potatoes, properly mashed, Raisins soaked and DRAINED, Meat ready to cook, Garlic properly and even the hard boiled eggs are chopped and set aside. This is just the PREP! Ugh Ugh I was already tiiired.

Oil heated, ready to fry some garlic (about 2/3 tablespoons).

My mom always tells me - once the garlic is nice and golden, you're ready to toss in everything else! I began by browning the ground beef, and then adding the onion.

I added some other spices at this time, including salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika to taste. A perfect level of salt was not too important right now, considering:

• more ingredients (the aji paste from above, raisins, and eggs were still to be added)
• Other elements of the meal (the potato, rice, etc) will also be salted.

At this point in the cooking, the flavor and texture was starting to come together, but the focus now was the color.

This is where the aji paste came to action, as it does in various of our meals.

Big difference! And of course it's pepper paste, so it adds its own flavor to the dish. After the meat and onions were properly cooked, I added the grapes, which were mixed in and allowed to cook for a few minutes.

The filling was starting to look soooo familiar! It was heavily complemented once I added the eggs, which brought out the color contrasted to the whites.

Filling complete! Now that this was done, I quickly set up the potatoes for the next step. The large bowl of mashed was put center stage, and here I brought out a plate with flour, a-la-picture-below

The cutting table was out to get my molded potatoes to a resting spot before the last step (frying). I sprinkled this with flour to avoid sticking or falling apart.

The next step was to stuff and mold the potatoes. It's difficult to explain, and VERY hands on, so I had my sister take shots, fortunately!

I start by taking a nice handful of potato in one hand. A larger scoop of ice cream would be a good size reference (none of my mom's recipes have measurements, yet both of our dishes almost always taste the same :D).

Flattening it out like a pancake...about the size of your whole hand (this one is in the process of being flattened) and without being too thick - once these are done, I wouldn't want to take a whole bite of potato! Then, taking a spoonful of stuffing/filling and placing it in the center of the pancake....

And using both hands to close it together.

Then adjusting it so that there are no cracks of food coming out, and assuring an even shape. (Rebuilding the potatoes!)

The end result you can see on the cutting board up there, but a perfect little potato!

Repeat. This is where the going got tough, but the tough got going! (i.e. where I usually helped my mother with the dish - riding solo? DIFFERENT STORY)

30 minutes laterrrrrr... But then I got the hang of it and finished up quick - even took a break to make some rice to have ready for meal serving time. This is where I got the ONLY OUNCE OF HELP. my brother came home from school and I asked him to get started on the egg beating - the remaining 4 eggs of the original ten were used here (I actually threw some of it out, so I'll probably use 3 next time). My mom emphasize and overemphasized how well the eggs had to be beaten before being used. She said they had to have a watery texture (NO SIGN OF ANYTHING ELSE)

See? I have prettier hands than that...The eggs were then move to a better bowl and properly beaten, I took a video to show the consistency. (Note the ABBA in the background yeahhh)

The eggs are the final step before frying the potatoes.

Soon after, all the potatoes were ready to go, slightly floured and all laid out!

The next step after that was to begin the frying. A small, old frying pan was used, with generous amounts of oil (about 1/1.5 inches deep!) This was left to heat up for a few minutes, until it started to sizzzzzzzle! Then, I was ready to drop the Po-tay-toes in the frying pan. My mom was very strict on the rules to do beforehand.

1. Make sure the potatoes are properly floured (I didn't do this at first, ignoring my grandma's remarks from the distance. The eggs melted off and the potatoes soon fell apart.) See? ->
2. Take a properly floured egg and place it into the egg bowl, properly submerging all parts of potato under egg.

Considering I failed at properly flouring my egg the first time, I corrected the damage and compared them.

There's a difference in the outcomes of these potatoes.

So once the oil was heated, the floured and egged potatoes were ready to go! I placed each of them carefully in the oil, without squishing them or anything. These were flipped over and removed in a timely manner, less than 4 minutes. I put about 4 potatoes in the pan at a time, 20 total.

A larger spoon or whatever I was using proved to be sufficient for turning over the potatoes and removing them from the frying pan. Excellent! I also had to be very gentle, as two of the potatoes were fails when I was not. This one split open :(

Potatoes are removed into a final dish, which has paper towels or napkins at the bottom to absorb any of that obnoxious grease (yeah it's not the healthiest meal).

There was leftover stuffing, which I proceeded to serve with the Food. In the end the dish was made up of rice, potato, and the left over stuffing, and it was great! I was really happy with the outcome,a nd my parents were excited that I was able to make this difficult dish on my own. Yeah I started at around 11:30, and the dish was pretty much done a bit before 4. TOUGH COOKIES.

The finished product!

SRSLY GUISE

What else would I be watching?

reventando los sabados

oh you know, just Peru's idea of entertainment. What I enjoy when i'm home with my mommy. say hello to CHOLA CHABUCA, only the most impressive public figure in Peruvian entertainment. Basically the most beloved cross-dresser in Latin America, I've been watching Chola Chabuca's variety shows since I can remember. She's hilarious, and when not in costume, is actually a pretty good Salsa artist. Although loved, la Chola is actually controversial at times, yet perpetually influential. Recently diagnosed with AIDS, she's become a powerful advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness.

In a Catholic, traditional Latin American country, a succesful entertainer of this type seems almost an anomaly, but la Chola is most definitely an exception we've all come to know and love. Just check her out on TV one of these days, she gets pretty crazy and hilarious!

Well, SHEWT

It's been a few days, hasn't it? Well there hasn't been much to report, 'cause I've been doing NOTHING. At least until today. 

I took my little cousin out to the zoo this morning. No biggie, considering i've taken care of her since she was little and she, of course, loves me. Also, I've been to the zoo a thousand times, considering - YOU KNOW, 200 FEET FROM IT?

So yeah, I figured it'd be no biggie but the trip became IMPOSSIBLE! My little cousin did NOT want to walk the instant she saw the stroller I brought along for emergencies. I had a constant battle with her over that, and then she needed to pee, it got really hot, and the zoo was just sucky suck in general. For those who may know what i'm talking about (along with the chance of actually reading this blog simultaneously-1/5483927584902378590472389057492300), Valley Trail was closed which meant i had to walk up and down the same Olmsted Walk. Fun fact about the Zoo i've learned from 19 years of experience: the hills are worse on your walk back up Olmsted, that's what makes Valley Trail the exit flow.

UGHTOWN.

By the end of Olmsted on my way back, I got a pang of nausea, and next think you know, homegirl was sitting on a bench with HEAT EXHAUSTION - eff eff eff! I felt like I was about to pass out - every light got brighter, my vision blurred, and eve started going black. I hightailed it to what (fortunately) was a secluded patch of benches - sooo lucky the only ones there were anything-but-sympathetic teens sucking on their slurpees, probably ditching what would be a lammmmeeee field trip. I even vommed - YEAH GROSS LOGGED ON TO THE VOM.COM NETWORK (aptly labeled vom.com/nationalzoo...). Fortunately, grapes and my water bottle were there to save the day. Then i felt better and got Vace's. Then I found $5. AWESOME RITE RITE RITE. Boredom.

DAY FIVE - It's happened...

...I've actually started to remove items from my room! It's taken a lot of time and effort but I realized keeping empty baskets and old t shirts is just not for me any more. Also my bookshelf is looking really cluttered. Then again ihave such a small room a lot of these things have no choice but to be cramped in everywhere. Also there is an odd smell in my room combined with nail polish that I believe is coming from some improperly dishes I packed in a rush. Gross, I know, thanks Spanish House! As soon as I find them they're gone. The hunt begins!

DAY THREE

A more productive post for the rest of us. I drove out to my sister's school this morning to pick her up. Seeing her again makes me both excited and bored at the same time. I'm excited that there's another presence in the house that i can relate to (I mean, we grew up together). Bored because it's just gonna be the same this all over again. For her own reasons, she likes to lock herself in her room all day, doing/eating/ seeing nothing, but her laptop screen and cell phone. She emerges only to see her boyfriend and do whatever, which is great, but there's a certain tone of sadness and resignation in this. I compare this to my perpetual attempts to seize the summer, a process which normally contains bursts of enthusiasm and inspiration, culminating in unrealistic schedules and overly ambitious (yet inspirational) journal entries. And I try. Whether it be to get my sister out of her room for a friendly outing, or motivating myself to get my butt on the elliptical downstairs, there's always a drop of desire to get something done in life. At least until going to China. 

But I digress. Going to St. Mary's is always a tranquil drive. Southern Maryland reminds me that there is still a south in our state. The country station even sounds better as I drive through endless farms and tacky, useless stops for drivers. The fact that the one watering hole by the college is on a cornfield is enough to give you a taste of what this school is. I can't help but come from the 2nd oldest college in the country and consider this tiny dot on the map a "hippie school". And I don't mean this in the bad way at all. Driving through the campus I get a feel for chaos, youth, and independence, the type that W&M can't even dream about, thanks to all the tourism and old people. There's so much tie dye and dumpster diving going on, I can barely see past the birkenstocks, frisbees, pixie cut girls, and feather haired boys to find my sister, almost an anomaly of a hispanic girl amongst all the other grunge-y move-outs. Yet she loves it there for some reason, and I am happy to accept that. Minus all the crazies, I definitely wouldn't mind living by a graveyard on the water. It ends up being quite peaceful. 

UGH

That feeling is settling in. The one where you can see your summer building up to absolutely nothing at all, day after day. I can already see my typical routine. 

8/9 AM: wake up

9/10 AM : sit around in bed, surfing the internets and watching tv

11 AM: Breakfast: Cereal/Leftovers/Whatever snack is lying around

Noon: attempt to get my sister out of her room for an ounce of socialization, fail

1/2 PM: Recieve call from my mother telling me what to do

2 PM: Sit around doing nothing in bed again

4 PM: rush to do what my mother asked, 15 minutes before she gets back. 

5 PM: hideout in my room as she takes over the kitchen, pointlessly click around again

7/8 PM: emerge for dinner, some socializing, arguing with my grandmother, attempting to get my mom to window shop or whatever with me and failing

9 PM: watch some tv

11 PM: retire to my room where I pointlessly click around

2/3 AM: convince myself that it's time for bed, attempt to convince myself that the next day will not be the same.

BAD NEWS BEARS - there are so many things I can take the initiative to do on a regular basis!

1) Volunteer at the library

2) Ride my bike

3) WORK OUT

4) Get a yob. 

Oh yeahhhhh.

Summertime Thing No. 2

That feeling you get when you finally get into the house after a long day and feel how dirty you are. Time for a shower!

Summertime Thing No. 1

Cheers to my first summer-ish experience (aside from sweating and sleeping forever)

A slurpee from the nearby 7-11. There are like, 198903829014839012 right next to my house, so easily accessible, and I figured it was hot enough to earn one.

I'm finally back at home and mostly unpacked, but lo and behold the washing machine is BROKE. So far nothing on the productivity front, just a good nap and more episodes of Peruvian sitcom watched. I'll be mentioning it a lot - it's an awesome show, for Peruvians. I'm on episode 65, but the series has reached 240 recently (got a lot to go!)

My brain can't focus on a good entry right now, 16 and Pregnant is consuming my attention.

All I want right now

is some Wawa.

STUPID PEOPLE

are stupid. ew. vom. immature, i know, but it's more than i can say for others. i left bullshit behind a month ago, now i'm leaving behind sophomore year! i'll be home in like, 12 hours, how looovely! it'll be more than a relief to snuggle up with my puppies tomorrow night.

the inevitable process of unlearning

As I sit on my bed without packing, studying, or even procrastinating, I wonder how easy it is for all the information I crammed in my brain to just disappear, only to find me struggling in Chinese class a semester down the road, or forgetting somewhat useful general knowledge about Colonial Peru a year later. Of course, a lot of the things I learn in classes here will do little to benefit my job finding skills two years from now, but I wish I could put more effort into storing it for good. At the very least, I can actually review my Chinese in preparation for my departune (June 24th, by the way!). I'll just have to deal with losing everything else - at this point, it'll just make me feel bad for all that I didn't understand until AFTER the final exam. 

Well, so that this isn't the most boring post ever, check out my new playlist on the sidebar! Modeled after my actual iPod, obviously :)

I guess I should pack. Getting off my bed...later.

Cristina

It's not even noon and i'm EXHAUSTED

So I woke up at 9:20 this morning after a long battle with my alarm clock. I was quick to prepare myself for a beautiful outing to Colonial Williamsburg, in attempts to take pretty pictures of S to give to her daddy. What fun! We strolled around for almost two hours. The weather was most definitey warm, and we got really tired really quickly. Time was short so our explorations were limited, and I was definitely happy to flop back onto my bed and rest my tired, injured feet. Now I must meet with my girls for one last hurrah, and move my fridge into storage.

Here are some shots from today! Enjoy Williamsburg, I'll miss it this summer.

Cristina