Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Guyana is a country in Northern South America between Suriname and Venezuela - one of the smaller ones on the top right corner on the map that people seem to have a hard time remembering.  It is slightly smaller than Idaho.  It has been both a Dutch and British colony.  Three quarters of the population are Afro-Guyanese or Indo-Guyanese.  A lot of indentured laborers came over from India and made a huge cultural and ethnic impact.  Read more in the CIA World Factbook . This Indian influence explains the recipe that stood out to me when I was looking through lots of lists: Chicken Curry .  Yes, a curry recipe that claims to be authentically Guyanese.  This I had to try. The recipe didn't specifically say you had to start with a full chicken, just "3 lb chicken cut up into small pieces."  I decided I had to do this, though.  Despite the fact I've done it a lot, I still don't enjoy it.  I was also highly disappointed at the yield. ...

Photo courtesy of Flickr user PatrickMMoore Background : Part of the northern Inca Empire until 1533. Location : Western South America Area : Over 280,000 sq km; 74th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Nevada Elevation : The earth actually bulges around the equator.  This means that Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo (6267 m) is actually the highest point on the earth when measured from the earth's center. Population : Over 15 million; 67th highest in the world Capital : Quito Source: CIA Factbook Now that we've gotten the hang of this parent thing (maybe. a little.) it was time to tackle the next country.  Ecuador, here we come!  After some research and some delicious-looking options, I decided that  seco de carne con tamarindo  was the way to go.  Something familiar (beef and spices!) with something new (tamarind and achiote!).  Plus, the instructions were fairly simple and easy to follow. I wanted to ...

Excuses.  I could find a ton of them for why I have not written.  I bet I could even make a list.  I will not give into that desire, however.  I will limit myself to two.  One isn't really a good one, but it is true nonetheless.  I think the second one is legit.  I guess you can judge for yourself. Months ago, I very quickly found a recipe that I wanted to do for Colombia.  It had all of the makings that I look for.  New ingredients, delicious-sounding.  AND it was published in the Washington Post from the cook at the Colombian Embassy.  How perfect! Here it is.   Sorry it is annoyingly on multiple pages. I went out and bought all of the ingredients except for two: papa criolla (Colombian potatoes) and dried guascas.  Couldn't find them in the Latin American section.  No worries.  Visit to the Latin American grocery store: no luck.  I even asked and the guy there couldn't help me.  A trip to the g...

Location : Southern South America Area : Over 750,000 sq km; 38th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana Religion : 70% Roman Catholic Population : Almost 17 million; 59th largest in the world Capital : Santiago Notes : Today, Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations [8]  and a recognized  middle power . [10]  It leads Latin American nations in  human development , competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and state of peace. [11]  It also ranks high regionally in  freedom of the press  and democratic development.   -   Wikipedia Source: CIA Factbook What a change after the African countries we have been doing the last few weeks.  It is nice.  I did a report on Chile in grade school, which meant that clearly I was already an expert.  All I needed was to find out some recipe...