Monday, August 10, 2009

At The Other End of the Sunday Spectrum

As documented on this very blog, last Sunday was a mimosa and whiskey drenched celebration of Julia's birthday enjoyed by one and all. Every once in a while we find ourselves having rambunctious Sunday's which often times include gringo trips to the park to play wiffle-ball, throw around a mini football, and attract curious gazes from Argentines unfamiliar with our silly games, but this Sunday I wanted something different, something more...tranquil. It just so happened that in the midst of all the noise and consumption of last Sunday fellow Cadillac Paola invited Nick and me over for some calm, afternoon fun, with the promise of hot cocoa featuring delicious Colombian chocolate. We accepted without hesitation, and I'd been looking forward to it ever since.

Fast forward to yesterday's afternoon of glory, in which I successfully aided in the preparation of arepas (thin, flat, unleavened breads made of just white-corn flour and hot salt water, about the size of a small pancake) topped with cooked ground beef and onions with a small batch of guacamole to garnish it. They were so delicious, especially when paired with the hot chocolate. What really struck me was that Paola casually whipped out a bottle of Frank's Red Hot. I sat there with my jaw knocking against my knee cap as she added quite a few healthy spoonfulls of my hot sauce of choice, floored by the fact they have Frank's in Colombia. I add this to the long list of reasons why we must make it to Colombia before leaving this continent.

4 comments:

Reed said...

I have a bottle of Frank's I've been savoring ever since my November trip to Chicago. Had I known you shared the same fever for the flavor of Frank's, I would have gladly shared with you earlier. Easily Reckitt Benckiser's finest product!

Josh said...

Truth be told, I've gone through 3 or 4 bottles while I've been here, none of which lasted more than 3 weeks. Some might say I have a problem, I call it good taste (buds).

Ann Behar said...

I want the recipe for the arepas!

Josh said...

It's super easy, Anne. The hardest part is finding white-corn flour, and all you do is mix it with hot salt water until it's not too sticky/not too dry. After that, Julia can show you how to make the arepas themselves. As an experienced bread maker I'm fully confident you can do it.