Every year the Latin American Women's Association (LAWA) celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a Forum. It features some aspect of Hispanic culture, literature, art or folklore.
This year's forum centers around food!
Months of preparation, research and planning brought a big success...
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| font-size: small;">Thanks Food Lion, this year's sponsor |
Ana Silva Rey and Ana Rivera Lemley were in charge of the general organization of the event, and created floral center pieces ...
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| Big flowers for the larger tables |
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| Fresh flowers for the smaller tables |
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| Enjoying meeting each other |
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| LAWA volunteers Tere Vasquez and Erin Flynn at registration table |
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| LAWA member Mary Kielland with friends |
Aída Posada Bertsch, Diana Kielland Sanchez,
Ana María Rivera Lemley, Concepción Vasallo Alemán,
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| Cash bar with Latin American wines |
After the first 30 minutes, guests were invited to attend the actual one-hour-long forum: food preparation by Julián Grajales - Chef Segreto - cultural and literary comments by Dr. Magdalena Maiz-Peña and Anneliese Horst.
BUT, What happened half through the program?
...there was too much smoke in the back kitchen, the fire alarm started and everybody had to vacate the building!!!!
That is one of the main reasons for this blog, I will post not only pictures, but also the script and recipes the guests never got to hear.
Script that followed the opening remarks delivered by Ana Silva Rey, LAWA board member:
For more than 500 years the world has enjoyed the marriage of culinary ingredients; our kitchens have become more plentiful... Tonight you will experience this magnificent union of spices and food...
Following his passion, Julián Grajales created Chef Segreto to assist friends like you with the preparation of delicious meals by creating menus that are deemed fine dining and home-style at the same time.
Specializing in Mediterranean and "Floribbean" style dishes, Chef Julián spices things up by adding an accent of Latin flavor...
His motto is
The first dish:
Cochinita Pibil Taquitos
As the cultural critic Jeffrey Pilcher states in his book Que vivan los Tamales, the first thing Aztec women did when preparing a festival was to make lots of tamales. They also relished chile pepper stews and seed, and some breads, although tamales held the pride in Pre-Columbian celebrations. For the festival of the jaguar god Tezcatlipoca they stuffed tamales with beans and chile, while celebrations of the fire god Huehueteotl featured shrimp and chile sauce tamales. Our culinary roots blend food, culture, community, and celebrations together.
Pibil in Maya means "under the earth", the meat was wrapped in banana leaves and slowly cooked in the earth.
In Pre-Columbian times the Maya cooked this dish with venison and pheasant. There were no pigs in America until after the Spaniards arrived; they brought not only pigs, but cows, sheep and goats to the New World.
The people that came from Spain started raising pigs on the island of Hispaniola, but needed a special license from the king to do so! Vasco Nuñez de Balboa 'was successful in making a small fortune raising pigs on some land he acquired'. Later on, together with Francisco Pizarro, he sailed west and after a long journey; it was Vasco Nuñez de Balboa who discovered the Sea of the South, now known as Pacific Ocean.
Two Ingredients: Cochinita Pibil
- Cilantro A Spanish proverb says:"Me gusta el cilantro, pero no tanto" Yes, never overuse cilantro; it is quite overpowering, but extremely important in our kitchen; it tames the fire ignited by hot peppers and gives the food that special rich taste we like so much...
The aromatic and full citrus flavor, makes cilantro such a versatile herb that can be used as the dried spice coriander, or fresh cilantro leaves and stems.
- Achiote - a seed used as dye in Pre-Columbian times by the indigenous people of Mexico...
Achiote They painted their bodies and faces with it. It was also used as a diuretic, to sooth burns, and heal leprosy. Apparently it is also aphrodisiac; the fertility gods Xochipili and Xipe Totec were painted red with this spice.
True to his Colombian roots, Julián started a demonstration on how to make an authentic
Pollo Sudado con Arroz.
The audience was enjoying watching the chef setting up the frying pan, our commentators encouraged everybody to ask questions... when the smoke alarm started! Julián covered the pan with a big lid, several board members went into frantic action waving booklets, paper flowers to get rid of non-existing smoke...
Foreseeing streams of water coming from the ceiling, one guest (former Lawa president) was truly prepared with an old fisherman's hat and umbrella!!!
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| Fire alarm - guest with hat and umbrella in second row |
Unfortunately, that was the end of our Latin American Forum inside the Auditorium, but in no way the end of the evening. After the fire engine came and brave firemen turned off the alarm, everybody gathered in the entrance hall to continue the forum, while the kitchen personnel warmed up the food for the tasting...
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| Julián Grajales - Il Chef Segreto |
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| Guest listening to the Chef |
Origin of the Chicken in the New World:
Apparently there was a native chicken in the New World. It came from Polynesia to Chile.
This article states as follows:
'On several occasions, an archeologist by the name of George Carter had insinuated that secure Pre-Columbian chicken bones existed in more than one American archealogical site.
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| Dr. Magdalena Maiz - Peña |
It was not until 2002 that the recovery of chicken bones from a pre-Columbian archeological context on the south central coast of Chile provided a unique opportunity to directly assess the possibility that chickens were introduced to the Americas in prehistory.
The site of El Arenal is located 5 km inland from the coast of Chile, in the Arauco Province, approximately 100 km south of the city of Concepción.
This is an interesting story.It is Lawa's intention to instill curiosity among the audience and readers by learning about so many interesting things from the world from where so many of us came...
Do not miss this interesting article.
When, how and where did rice come from to America?
The following article tells the story... " Rice through history, has been one of man's most important foods...
Archeological evidence suggest rice has been feeding mankind for more than 5,000 years. The first documented account is found in a decree on rice planting authorized by a Chinese emperor about 2,800 BC.
"From China to ancient Greece, from Persia to Nile Delta, rice migrated across de continents, eventually finding its way to the Western Hemisphere"
"Enterprising colonists were the first to cultivate rice in America. It began quite by accident when, in 1685, a storm battered ship sailing from Madagascar limped into the Charles Towne harbor, Yes, here in the Carolinas!!!
"To repay the kindness of the colonists for repairs to the ship, the ship's captain made a gift of a small quantity of "Golden Seed Rice" to a local planter."
"By 1700, rice was established as a major crop for the colonists. That year 300 tons of American rice, referred to as "Carolina Gold Rice", was shipped to England. Colonists were producing more rice than there were ships to carry it."
During the 18th century the Spanish conquistadors take rice to South America.
Parihuela
There was no recipe card included for the guests of this Peruvian dish, but the Chef gave me a copy:
I invite you to travel to Peru; you are visiting Callao the sea harbor west of Lima. You'll see the vast Pacific Ocean, the sky is grey and there is a chill in the air. After a long night out at sea, fishermen are returning with a boatload of deep-sea cold-water fish, and mussels, octopus, shrimp and calamari.
The women are waiting next to a fire; there is a big pot with boiling aromatic stock. Straight from the boat they start adding fish and seafood creating a wonderful fish soup ( you may call it Boullabaise).In Peru it is known as Parihuela,a hearty, fragrant, and spicy seafood soup of quite modest origin!
One of the explanations for this name is that the women would call out to their costumers:
"Pare y huela" - Stop and smell!
By linking the syllables, you end up hearing Parihuela.
I hope you are enjoying Sabor Latino. I will post more recipes, stories and pictures very soon...
The site of El Arenal is located 5 km inland from the coast of Chile, in the Arauco Province, approximately 100 km south of the city of Concepción.
Do not miss this interesting article.
When, how and where did rice come from to America?
The following article tells the story... " Rice through history, has been one of man's most important foods...
Archeological evidence suggest rice has been feeding mankind for more than 5,000 years. The first documented account is found in a decree on rice planting authorized by a Chinese emperor about 2,800 BC.
"From China to ancient Greece, from Persia to Nile Delta, rice migrated across de continents, eventually finding its way to the Western Hemisphere"
"Enterprising colonists were the first to cultivate rice in America. It began quite by accident when, in 1685, a storm battered ship sailing from Madagascar limped into the Charles Towne harbor, Yes, here in the Carolinas!!!
"To repay the kindness of the colonists for repairs to the ship, the ship's captain made a gift of a small quantity of "Golden Seed Rice" to a local planter."
"By 1700, rice was established as a major crop for the colonists. That year 300 tons of American rice, referred to as "Carolina Gold Rice", was shipped to England. Colonists were producing more rice than there were ships to carry it."
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Carolina Gold Rice Plantation |
Parihuela
There was no recipe card included for the guests of this Peruvian dish, but the Chef gave me a copy:
“Parihuela” Peruvian Style Seafood Stew
Serves 8 people - 1 hour cooking time
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
4 crushed Garlic Cloves
2 Whole Onions; Onions will need to be chopped
3 Roma Tomatoes; Tomatoes will need to be peeled, deseeded and chopped up
3 tbsp. of Soy Sauce
2 tbsp. Paprika
1 tbsp. Aji Panca/Sundried Red Chili Paste
3 tbsp. Aji Mirasol/Sundried Yellow Pepper
1 tbsp. Fresh oregano
1 Bay Leaf
3/4 cup White Wine
8 small Sized Fish Fillets Fish head that weighs 3 or more lbs. keep the trimmings and the bones
2 dozen Mussels
11 oz. Crawfish
11 oz. Shrimp
11 oz. Squid cut in rings/circles
2 dozen Clams
2 dozen Scallops
2 tbsp. chopped Cilantro
2 tbsp. finely minced Parsley
2 Green Onions that are to be chopped and used for garnish Salt & Pepper to taste
Preparation:
Place the entire fish head, including the bones in large pan. Add 10 cups of water with salt and boil the water for 1/5hr. Clean the mussels and add to the boiling water for the last ten of thirty minutes. Strain the fish and save the stock. With oil sauté both the garlic and onions until they become soft. Once the onions and garlic are soft add the diced tomato, paprika, sundried red aji paste, sundried yellow aji, bay leaf, pepper, salt and oregano. Cook all mixing occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook on a low heat for roughly 5 minutes. Add the fish stock, soy sauce, cilantro and parsley and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Just prior to serving the soup, place all the seafood and cooked mussels in the stock and boil for 3-5 minutes. Add some key lime drops and the garnish (chopped green onions)I invite you to travel to Peru; you are visiting Callao the sea harbor west of Lima. You'll see the vast Pacific Ocean, the sky is grey and there is a chill in the air. After a long night out at sea, fishermen are returning with a boatload of deep-sea cold-water fish, and mussels, octopus, shrimp and calamari.
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Fisherman - Pescadores |
One of the explanations for this name is that the women would call out to their costumers:
"Pare y huela" - Stop and smell!
By linking the syllables, you end up hearing Parihuela.
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| Enjoying the Parihuela |
I hope you are enjoying Sabor Latino. I will post more recipes, stories and pictures very soon...
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