Happy Belated...

... Pancake Day!!!

On Tuesday I wasn't even aware that it was the Shrove one until I sat down in the evening to a slew of "Pancakes = Nomz" messages on Facebook, and by that point I was too knackered to go out again and didn't have the ingredients to hand (don't worry; this story has a happy ending).

Apparently pancakes are traditional on Shrove Tuesday because they're a good way of using up all of the naughty things that you shouldn't eat during lent. Not sure why milk, eggs and flour are so evil but never mind. (Oh... It's the Nutella - of course.) These three ingredients are supposed to be ubiqutous - who doesn't have a half used packet of flour at the back of a cupboard? Um, well, me! As you'll already know if you've tried to feed me in the last few years: I'm allergic to gluten.

At this point, whether you already knew that or not, you've probably got an "Aw, poor girl" look on your face. No, I can't eat normal bread or cakes or biscuits or pizza or pasta or croissants or muffins or cookies or sandwiches or toast or fish and chips (the batter) or even the great traditional February pancakes. Don't worry, your reactions (of pity and confusion: "what on earth does this woman eat then?!?") are totally normal, if completely misguided.

You see, I did suffer in the beginning - I didn't know what I could eat either. How can you eat lunch if a sandwich isn't involved? What do you order on a Friday night when pizza is out of the question? What should I replace my morning toasted bagels with? And what about Shrove Tuesday!?!?!? Well, at least I can answer the last question for you now:

This is my Shrove Saturday lunch; pancakes, plums and cream.

• The pancakes are made from a mashed banana, a beaten egg and a little coconut flour (desiccated coconut works as a substitute, but really you can just leave it out and you won't miss it - in the same way that you won't miss the flour at all). 
• The plums were cooked in "some" butter until I got bored (I'm so scientific, me) then sprinkled with cinnamon. I've done this with apples and peaches too, or you can just pile strawberries on top. 
• The cream is actually coconut cream (if you're going to fuss about with your diet then why not go the whole hog and cut down on dairy too?)

Even though my food photography skills are sorely lacking, this meal tasted so good that it inspired my second blog post in two and a half months. Those are some pretty good pancakes!

So, I guess what I'm really trying to say here is this; the next time someone tells you that they can't eat wheat products don't feel sorry for us. You should feel jealous of us! ;)

PS - almost all of the links in this post are to recipes that don't contain anything gluteny. Whether you give up grains or not is entirely up to you, but you'd be surprised how great it tastes being gluten free!

It's so wrong it's right / Es tan malo que es bueno

A long time ago, in a galaxy country far far away, I met some Colombians. Like all Colombians that I've had the pleasure to meet so far, they were full of enthusiasm for the country of their birth - regaling me with tales of all night salsa parties, weeks spent lying on Caribbean beaches, treks through virgin rainforest, and drinking hot chocolate with cheese.

Wait a minute, hot chocolate with cheese? Seriously? Since I first heard of that strange combination I have mocked it. What Brit wouldn't? If you say cheese to an Englishman he'll probably start thinking of Cheddar, or if he's partial to Wallace and Gromit (as we all should be, regardless of nationality) Wensleydale.  

Here though, to add to the confusion, it's a breakfast (but hot chocolate is for sleeping!) as common as cereal is in the UK. Colombians happily tell you it's just like putting marshmallows in your hot chocolate, but to be perfectly honest I've never thought much of that either. Nevertheless, when in Rome... 

The cheese gets ripped up and put in the chocolate. While it's melting the bread gets dunked and eaten too.

The cheese in question is like a firm mozzarella - reasonably bland but it melts (almost as) well. Once it's all soft then you fish it out with a teaspoon and get ... chocolate flavoured melted cheese. It's actually much better than it sounds!

However, the weirdness doesn't stop there... A couple of weeks ago I was served a tinto con limón. That would be a black coffee with lime. Again: Seriously?

It turns out that slices of lime don't float photogenically in black coffee, but there is lime in the cup as well as next to it, honest. 

The abundance of limes in this country (and the unexpected lack of lemons... what happened there?) makes putting lime juice in or on things common practice. If you haven't already, try papaya or mango with a squeeze of lime over it, or the next time you eat fatty pork or chicken soup do the same. Muy rico! That doesn't mean I was prepared to find lime in my coffee though :D Luckily it's one of those combinations that is surprisingly good (like chocolate limes), and in the past few days as I try to fight off a cold it's been providing me with some much needed vitamins (I think I'm winning but it's still too soon to tell). 

There are still a lot of "strange" foods in Colombia to try, but I think these are the only two are that are unique to the area (after all, you can find soups made with stomach and other "yucky bits" anywhere that people still eat traditionally), and they're certainly the only two that raised my eyebrows quite so far. 

Colombia: The only risk is... food poisoning? Thankfully not, no matter how strange the food gets ;)

PS: Colombians - if there's anything else "strange" I simply must try, please let me know in the comments! I've enjoyed everything I've tried... so far!

How to: cheer yourself up / Como animarse

I got robbed. The next day I set off for DAS to try and get a new contraseña. That didn't go well, as they are under the impression I should pay $300,000 COP for a new one, and I do not suffer from this misconception (when I find out who is right I'll let the blogosphere know). So, what's a girl to do?

Well, if you're in a mood at DAS head south down the Cr 15. Next to the FotoJapon there's a couple selling really good arepas with cheese, ham, and eggs-with-onion-and-tomatoes for only 2300.

I challenge you to find something that tastes this good, is this filling, this closely resembles a balanced meal, is gluten free and costs less £1 in London. And where you get called a princess when they serve you :D A packet of crisps does not count.

Keep walking south on the Cr 15, stopping to get some fresh orange juice on the way, until you get to the Cl 85 with Cr 14. There you will find....

Knitting paradise! They even have seats outside to knit in!

La Mina! It's like the entire haberdashery department of John Lewis (including tiaras! I was very tempted) came to visit me in Colombia! Two balls of merino/alpaca and a couple of hours later I had a new hat:

Stuff you thieves - you can take my cédula but you can't take my knitting! Apparently you stole my ability to tidy up the stray ends of wool before I take photos though.

And just around the corner from that place of happiness, is this hairdressers:

Zoe: is life, is beauty.

Officially a good day after all :D

My Lucky Day / Mi Día de Suerte

Sometimes, whether life is tough and you want to forget your problems, or whether you're looking to celebrate a special day (I got my visa! One more year!), chocolate-based snacks become necessary. 

I was trying to decide between a Jumbo (milk chocolate with peanuts - terrifyingly addictive), arequipe (yummy South American caramel in a pot - also goes by the name dulce de leche), or ice-cream (you should know what that is!) when I came across this in the corner shop:

An ice-cream bar covered with milk chocolate and peanuts with an arequipe centre! 

Thank you Colombia

<3