Quesadilla Recipe

This Quesadilla is a dessert, unlike what is generally known here in the USA as a "quesadilla". It is made with a fresh, crumbly cheese called queso fresco found usually in Guatemala, but shredded Parmesan is a suitable substitute.  Do not get mozzarella cheese, it just does not have the same texture.  Look for a cheese that is of a dry and not spongy texture.

Makes one 8 x 8-inch coffeecake

1 cup rice flour
2 cups shredded cheese (Queso Fresco, Cotija, Parmesan)
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
¾ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you have a convection oven, set the oven for 325 degrees on Convect Bake.

In a mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, cheese and sugar, with the baking soda and toss to combine well.  This also coats and separates the cheese shreds.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the 4 eggs with the heavy cream. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened well.

Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking pan (glass works well) with cooking spray, or grease with butter or shortening.  Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Ancient Mayan Alter Discoverd in Guatemala

Breaking news today a tean of archaeologists in Guatemala has discovered a council house dating back about 700 years with altars, incense burners and sculpted images of animals.

Located at the site of Nixtun-Ch'ich' in Petén,Guatemala,the house has "two colonnaded halls constructed side by side. The halls were decorated with sculpted [reptile], parrot and turtle imagery," writes Timothy Pugh, a professor at Queens College in New York, in a summary of a talk he recently gave at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

More on this story click here.

Guatemala Crime seems to be dropping

Some good news out of Guatemala is that crime seems to be dropping especially homicides. According to National Institute of Forensic Sciences and Fox News homicides have dropped 10.2 percent from January to May of this year.

An average of 15.5 homicides were recorded daily in Guatemala during the first five months of 2014, an average of 1.7 fewer compared with the same span in 2013. There were 2,343 murders committed nationwide during the first five months of the year, according to INACIF.

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina said he plans to increase the country’s police force from 31,500 to 35,000 by the end of the year.

Source

Tropical Storm Boris plays rough with Guatemala

It is a new year and already the tropics are alive with tropical storms. The latest is Tropical Depression Storm Boris which is affecting over 100,000 people in Guatemala. Source

The US National Hurricane Center is stating that the storm could produce upto 30 mile an hour winds and drop from 20 to 30 inches of rain. With this kind of weather the national disaster relief agency said as many as 100,000 people have been affected by the inclement weather that has caused damage to homes and roads. Schools have been closed in parts of Guatemala.

Happy Independence Day Guatemala

Today marks the day for Independence Day in Guatemala. There are decorations and celebrations all around the country today and for the rest of the month. The sights and sounds are an awesome thing to see. The Palacio de los Capitanes in the Main Plaza of Antigua is decorated with flags and banners in remembrance of this great event.

 

 

It is an awesome time in Central America this time of year.

Foot Loom or Treadle Loom

The women in Guatemala often weave their clothes using either a back strap loom or a Treadle (foot) Loom like the one here in the picture. They will use this to weave their Traje (traditional clothes). Each Maya village has its own style of weaving and dress so you can usually tell which village a women is from the style of her traje.

Antigua Guatemala the beauty found in abandonment

What makes Antigua so beautiful to me is the lovely old historic faced. This picture is just that "old
and historic". This old abandon building I spotted while walking around one day on a side street in Antigua.
One thing that caught my eye was the textures and character in this photograph. This was probably someones home at one day in past years, now it sits abandoned. Another thing that caught my eye is how narrow the doorway is. I cannot imagine trying to squeeze my body through this narrow opening.
Like many of the buildings, doors and windows in Antigua Guatemala, there is much beauty and charm that lays in the eye of the beholder.

Kitchen Stove

How would you like to cook your meals on this every day?

 This here is a upgraded kitchen stove in the highlands of Guatemala. This stove has a smoke stack to ventilate the noxious fumes of smoke out of the home plus it has decorated time around the top. Many of the homes in the highlands cook over an open fire pit in the middle of the home. The problem with this is that the smoke does not escape the living area of the home and this causes the people to inhale the smoke all day long. Inhaling this polluted air has also been linked to pneumonia, heart disease, lung cancer, low birth weight and respiratory infections, just to name a few. Many organizations are working to help supply newer and cleaner cooking stoves for the people in the highlands of Guatemala.

Borracho Cake

 Today we will be taking a look at a favorite dessert of mine called the Borracho Cake or also known

as the Drunk Cake. The wonderful desert can be bought at almost every pastries shop around the country of Guatemala. This awesome dessert cake received its name because it is soaked in alcohol based syrup, which makes it taste out of this world.

The cake is a light sponge cake that is soaked in sugar syrup and laced with Guatemalan rum made from local sugar cane. The cake is topped with a Crème Anglaide and decorated with fruit.

You can make the sponge cake from scratch or purchase one from your local grocery store.

Here are the recipes for the rum syrup and the Creme  Anglaise:

 

For the rum syrup:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup dark rum
1 cup of pitted prunes

Creme Anglaise:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Doorway in La Merced Church and Convent.

 

Inside the La Merced Church and Convent is a delicate work of art. The church façade is without a doubt a classic example of predominant construction. The rooms in the structure date back to the 17^th century. In 1749 Juan de Dios Estrada was commissioned with the construction of the luxurious sanctuary and cloister.

This breathtaking church is a destination you will not want to miss while visiting Antigua Guatemala. You will have to pay a small fee to enter the monastery attached to the side of the church. This part of the building was never restored after the destruction caused by the Santa Marta quake.

Guatemalan Desert Rellenitos de Platano

This little treat that is a Guatemalan favorite will knock your socks off. It is a combination of mashed cooked plantains with sugar and cinnamon and thick black beans. These two together are a perfect match to make this sweet desert.

This recipe makes 10 to 13 Rellenitos

3 ripe plantains
1/3 - ½ cup sugar, if needed
1 teaspoon true cinnamon
½ - ¾ cup black beans
flour, for dusting
sugar for rolling
vegetable cooking oil for frying

1^st thing, when you go shopping or picking your plantains make sure you get real riped plantains. This will make things easier when preparing this dish. Now peel the plantains and cook in water to cover for about 15 minutes or tender. If plantains that are ripe and not green you may not need any added sugar. If the plantain mixture is soft, do not add sugar. Add in the cinnamon and mix well. If the mixture is warm or hot refrigerate till cool.

Now cook your beans. You want to achieve a pasty consistency. If they are runny and not pasty add more beans to the mix.

Have the oil in a frying pan and turn on the heat. Now take a scoop of the plantain mixture in the palm of your hand. About a ¼ cup. Take a spoon and make a indentation in the mixture in your hand. Now take about 2 teaspoons of the black bean mixture and put in this indentation of plantains. Now encase the bean mixture with the mixture of plantains in the palm of hand and make like a baseball so no bean mixture is showing. Roll the relleno in flour and set aside till you have 10 -13 of these made.

 

Once the oil is hot cook (fry) 4 at a time. It will take about 6 to 10 minutes to achieve a golden brown color. Turn them as needed and make sure they do not sit and burn. Once the color is achieved take out of oil and towel dry. Then roll in granulated sugar or confectioner sugar.

Now repeat till all are cooked.

Life in the Highlands of Guatemala

Life in the Guatemala Highlands,

I have trekked all over the highlands of Guatemala and have enjoyed every minute that I have been in the highlands. The life and culture here is so much different than in the larger cities and so much different than life in the States.  Looking around you make think this is the way life was in the late 1700’s early 1800’s in the United States.

With Mayan culture being so dominant in the highlands the majority of the language is indigenous Mayan language such as kaqchikel or K’iche (there are over 21 different dialects of Spanish spoken in Guatemala). Many of the people in the highlands speak up to 4 types of dialects I have found. As long as you can speak some sort of Spanish you can get by.

In the highlands you will find that most of the females will wear the traditional dress of the Mayan culture which is the hand-weaved huipils (blouses), cortes (skirts) and faja (belt). Now the men wear

traditional traje for men (which include colorful traditional traje for men (which includes colorful pants with a mismatched and equally colorful ‘skirt’ or ‘apron’ around the waist.) You can tell what city or town a woman is from by the design of her huipil, corte and head dress.

Life in the highlands is so vastly different than the United States. That is why I love it here so much. This culture is so very poor but so rich in life.

The Patron Saint of Antigua Guatemala Saint James

The tradition dates back to 1543 when the conquistadors named the area around Antigua Santiago de Guatemala (St. James of Guatemala) after the apostle who was the conquerors’ patron saint and is theJuly 25.

patron saint of Spain today. His feast day is

Celebrations in what is now La Antigua Guatemala have been exciting over the years, but the fiesta has come to life in recent years with events throughout July!

As late as the early 1980s, celebrations included a July 25th Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph with a small procession headed by the mayor of Antigua, a marimba (and sometimes disco) concert in Central Park and a school parade. Through our efforts, we created a “Semana de Santiago,” which has grown into a month-long celebration with the participation of just about every cultural, educational and sports group in town.

Although celebrations begin early in July, the big day is July 25. Highlights include a 7 a.m. Mass at the cathedral, followed by the 8 a.m. school parade, which this year focuses on “Yo Vivo Mi Ciudad,” Antigua’s program of cultural identity, manners and customs. This magnificent show of schoolchildren and bands parades throughout the streets of Antigua, finishing up at 12:30 p.m.
At 4 p.m. the marimba concert in Central Park showcases seven marimbas from all over the country, followed by the 7 p.m. concerts with a wide range of music. Don’t forget the fireworks!

Large Maya Carving found in Guatemala

Archaeologist Anya Shetler cleans an inscription below an ancient stucco frieze recently unearthed in the buried Maya city of Holmul in the Peten region of Guatemala. Sunlight from a tunnel entrance highlights the carved legs of a ruler sitting atop the head of a Maya mountain spirit.

The enormous frieze—which measures 26 feet by nearly 7 feet (8 meters by 2 meters)—depicts

human figures in a mythological setting, suggesting these may be deified rulers. It was discovered in July in the buried foundations of a rectangular pyramid in Holmul.

Maya archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli and his team were excavating a tunnel left open by looters when they happened upon the frieze. "The looters had come close to it, but they hadn't seen it," Estrada-Belli said.

According to Estrada-Belli, the frieze is one of the best preserved examples of its kind. "It's 95 percent preserved. There's only one corner that's not well preserved because it's too close to the surface, but the rest of it isn't missing any parts," said Estrada-Belli, who is affiliated with Tulane University, Boston University, and the American Museum of Natural History and who is also a National Geographic Explorer. His excavations at Holmul were supported by the National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants Program.

Maya archaeologist Marcello Canuto agreed, calling the frieze "amazingly and beautifully preserved."

 

Too read more of this article click "HERE"

Christmas in Beautiful Guatemala

Christmas in Guatemala

December in Guatemala is a special time of year, many traditional and cultural experiences happen depending on what part of Guatemala you visit. In the larger cities you will experience many of the same things we do here in America like Christmas trees, wreaths, and with Guatemala being such fertile soil Poinsettias are a big hit.

 A big event that happens on December 21st is the birthday of Santo Tomas, patron saint of the Quiche Maya market town of Chichicastenango. Festivities are centered on the square in front of the church, where hundreds of costumed dancers perform amid a riotously colorful crowd of tightly packed Maya onlookers.

Christmas time is special and when you can spend it with friends and family it even makes it a more special time of year. Make it a priority to reach out and touch someone this special time of year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you.

Latin American Coffee Exports Rose 5.7% in November

Coffee exports from Mexico and eight other Latin American countries climbed 5.7 percent in November from a year earlier, an industry group said. Total shipments rose to 1.73 million bags from 1.64 million bags, Guatemala’s National Coffee Association, or Anacafe, said in a report e-mailed yesterday.

Read more of this article

(Reuters) - A landslide in northern Guatemala on Tuesday killed three children and another 12 people buried in the disaster are believed dead, a local official said.

Heavy predawn rains caused the disaster that buried four homes while families slept.

"They have been trapped under heavy mud. It's unlikely that anyone is still alive," Sergio Cabanas, director of civil defense, told Reuters.

Rain and unstable terrain prevented rescue teams from reaching the landslide on foot and crews have been removing dirt with heavy machinery. Rescuers will continue to search for victims through Thursday, Cabanas said.

Authorities by Tuesday evening had removed from the rubble the bodies of two young boys - four and six years old - and a seven-year-old girl.

(Reporting by Mike McDonald; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Guatemalan Coffee Ranks Right Up Among the Great Coffees Of the World

Guatemalan Coffee Ranks Right Up Among the Great Coffees Of the World
By Greg Parsons

The top three coffee producers in the world are Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia. But in terms of producing quality coffee, Colombia dwarfs its close competitors. And what country comes next after Colombia in high-grade coffee production? The traditional coffee powerhouse Brazil? No. It is Guatemala, a small Central American nation that has just been recovering from the ravages of a 36-year civil war.

It is not, however, not surprising that Guatemala to produces such quality coffee. Guatemalans have known coffee for centuries. The first plant was brought to Guatemala by Jesuit priests in the 1750s, who thought that it would make a great ornamental tree. Widespread coffee cultivation would follow half a century later.

Today, connoisseurs consider Guatemalan coffee as one of the finest in the world. As a testament to its greatness, Guatemala is a regular participant of the Cup of Excellence (COE), the most premiere annual coffee competition in the world that is organized in order to determine the best coffee in each registered coffee-producing country. Just think of the COE as coffee's Super Bowl. The finest and most expensive coffee in Guatemala that has been auctioned through the COE came from Huehuetenango, one of the main growing regions in the Central American nation. Its price? Well, it was bought for a whooping US$ 80.20 per pound.

And it is a well-deserved price. For Guatemalan coffee indeed offers an unforgettable experience to anyone. Ask any coffee enthusiast who has wide knowledge of different brands and you would probably hear from them that coffee from Guatemala is included in their top 5 best coffee lists.

How does Guatemalan coffee acquire its unique and rich flavor? Obviously, one huge factor is the climate. Guatemalan weather, not too wet and not too humid, is perfect for growing. Plant coffee in an arid area and you will get beans that are too acidic. Cultivate them in a place where rainfall is constant and you will get coffee that tastes dull. Guatemala's mild climate is just the coffee tree wants.

Amiable climate alone would not make good coffee. The substrate must also be in optimum condition. Coffee wants soil that is not all rich in nutrients and minerals but also has mild Ph levels. And that is exactly what Guatemalan soil offers. Because it is located in a region where volcanic activity is rather high, soil in Guatemala is mostly volcanic in origin. What makes volcanic soil good for coffee is the fact that it contains huge amounts of minerals and is not acidic in nature.

But the main factor that accounts for the goodness of Guatemalan coffee is the way it is cultivated. Almost all trees in Guatemala are shade grown. Farmers do not expose coffee trees to the sun. Rather, they cultivate them amidst the shade of larger trees like macadamia. The result is that the beans develop slower. How does that make coffee taste great? Well, when a bean matures slowly it becomes harder and develop richer flavors.

Greg has been writing articles for over 4 years. Please visit his latest website about gourmet coffee at Coffee Bean Reviews, with information on finding the best Guatemalan Coffee, with ideas and discussions that any coffee lover would be interested in.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Parsons
http://EzineArticles.com/?Guatemalan-Coffee-Ranks-Right-Up-Among-the-Great-Coffees-Of-the-World&id=5196717

Iconic Birds to Look Out For On Your Latin America Vacation

Iconic Birds to Look Out For On Your Latin America VacationBy Karen Ward

From the high Andes to the Amazon jungle, Latin America is a birdwatchers' paradise. Among the huge range of birds in Latin America are a few that have become emblematic of the continent. The Condors, hummingbird, Quetzal and macaw are birds to look out for on your Latin America vacation.

The Andean condor is the big daddy of the bird kingdom is an important symbol in the Andes. Watching the huge condors soar overhead is an unforgettable moment in any vacation in the Andes. At 10 feet (3 meters), condors have the largest wingspan of any land based bird. Their wingspan combined with a hefty weight of 33 pounds (15 kilos) makes getting off the ground a tough task for condors. To compensate, condors live in mountainous areas where they can cruise along on the thermals and wind currents. Although condors do live along the coast and desert areas, they prefer the open spaces of the Andes.

Colca Canyon in Peru is arguabley the deepest canyon in the world, a beautiful landscape and also the location of 'the Cross of the Condors', At this scenic spot above Colca Canyon, you are guaranteed to spot condors who gather here daily. The magnificent Torres del Paine National Park in the far south of Chile, is also a good spot for seeing Condors.

From the largest bird to the smallest. Hummingbirds are tiny birds measuring just 3-5 inches (7.5-13cm). The smallest bird in the world is the Bee Hummingbird at 5cm long. Hummingbirds characteristically hover around flowers and use their long bills to drink the nectar. In order to hover, hummingbirds flap their wings in incredible 12-90 times per second. Hummingbirds are found throughout Central and South America, from lowlands to heights of 5,200m in the Andean highlands.

Ecuador is species rich with 130 types of hummingbirds. Good places to spot Hummingbirds include cloud forest around Zaruma in the south east of the country. The best and most developed area for seeing Hummingbirds though is Mindo. A range of reserves in the Mindo area are dedicated to protecting and observing Hummingbirds.

The Quetzal was sacred to Mesoamerican people, and is still revered today in Guatemala where the Quetzal is the unit of currency. Quetzals are brilliantly coloured and are generally regarded as the most beautiful bird in the world. In the mating season between March and June, the male can grow an amazing train measuring up to 3 feet (1 meter) long.

Parts of Costa Rica and Panama are considered the best places to spot quetzals. Panamas national parks of Volcan Baru and La Amistad are ideal places to travel to spot quetzals. The aptly named Quetzal Trail through Volcan Baru National Park near Boquete offers excellent opportunities to spot the Resplendant Quetzal.

Many of the 17 species of macaw, are very rare or endangered. These incredibly beautiful and colourful birds are perfectly suited to the bright greens and colourful fruit of the Amazon rain forest. Macaws are social birds and congregate in flocks of 10-30 individuals. When together, they make a terrific noise as they chat to each other and mark their territory. Macaws are romantic birds who mate with the same partner for life and even share food and groom each other. On the eastern sides of the Andes, macaws congregate at river banks to lick the clay soil. At these clay licks, visitors can see the fabulous spectacle of hundreds of macaws all congregating together early in the morning.

An excellent place to see macaws in the wild is a clay lick in the Tambopata Reserve near Cusco, Peru; home of the Tambopata Macaw Project.

South and Central America are wonderful places to spot wildlife from the Amazon to the could forests of Panama and of course the Galapagos islands; making a Latin American vacation perfect for families of all ages.

Karen Ward uses her years of experience of living and travelling in Latin America to plan customized, private and combination tours at Into Latin America. Visit Tambopata, Colca Canyon, Panama and Mindo on our great tour packages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Ward
http://EzineArticles.com/?Iconic-Birds-to-Look-Out-For-On-Your-Latin-America-Vacation&id=6254601

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Backstrap Weaving - Ancient Craft Still Practiced by the Mayan Women of Guatemala

Backstrap Weaving - Ancient Craft Still Practiced by the Mayan Women of GuatemalaBy Karen Pickett

Backstrap weaving is an ancient art practiced for centuries in many parts of the world - Peru, Guatemala, China, Japan, Bolivia, Mexico and Native Americans. Today it is still used on a daily basis in many parts of Guatemala to weave fabrics to make clothing and other household cloth needs. Many of the women also weave a variety of items to help earn a living by selling to tourists.

The looms are simple, typically 6 sticks, usually handmade by the weaver. A backstrap loom is easily portable because it can simply be rolled up and laid aside when not in use. The back rod is tied to a tree or post while weaving and the other end has a strap that encircles the waist and the weaver can move back or forward to produce the needed tension. The weaver usually sits on the ground but as the person ages that is more difficult and they may use a small stool.

In Guatemala the women have typically used cotton yarn for their weavings and used natural plants from their area to dye the yarn various colors. They still tint yarn by hand but also buy cotton yarn that has already been chemically dyed. The natural tints are softer colors than chemical dyes. These natural tints come from plants and bark such as:

• sacatinta -a blue color
• coconut shell -brown
• carrots -orange
• achote -soft orange/peach
• hibiscus flower -rosy pink
• chilca -soft yellow
• bark of the avocado tree -beige

The backstrap loom also known as the belt loom can make different widths of fabric depending of the width of the rods. Guatemalan artisan weavers can weave as narrow as a belt or as large as 24 -26 inch width and perhaps more. If a cloth needs to be wider, the two pieces are joined together with heavy embroidery stitches. An example of this would be the corte (the skirt) of the Mayan women, which if hand-woven would have the pieces joined with embroidery stitches.

A great book about weaving with the backstrap was written by Barbara Taber and Marilyn Anderson in 1975 - "Backstrap Weaving, step by step techniques on one of the oldest and most versatile looms". Another book with some information is "The Weaving Primer, A Complete Guide to Inkle, Backstrap, and Frame Looms" by Nina Holland, 1978.

Education And More, a Christian Fair Trade organization, works with artisan weavers in Guatemala and helps them earn a Fair Trade income with their backstrap weavings. Visit our website and our Education And More blog to learn more about Fair Trade, backstrap weaving, and our Women's Artisan Groups. There are many photographs of the backstrap loom and of women weaving in Guatemala!

Karen Pickett, Director
Education And More

http://www.educationandmore.org/
A Christian Fair Trade organization working to educate children and reduce poverty in Guatemala.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Pickett
http://EzineArticles.com/?Backstrap-Weaving---Ancient-Craft-Still-Practiced-by-the-Mayan-Women-of-Guatemala&id=2017459

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