Cali, Colombia - Part 1

Imagine traveling to a foreign country and being welcomed so warmly, so wholeheartedly and so lovingly by people you have never met before. That's what we experienced by the Mercado family during our recent trip to Cali, Colombia for Jason and Angela's wedding.

Upon arrival at the Cali airport on Tuesday, 27th September, we were greeted by Jason and Angela, who had also just arrived, and Angela's mom, Maila, while our luggage was whisked away by a friend of the family's to a van that would later take us to our hotel. Angela quickly spotted a woman selling mango cut into pieces and squirted with lime juice and sprinkled with salt and bought two for us all to taste - she says it's a "must-have" when she's home. We waited a couple hours for Mom and Norm's arrival, then loaded into the van to be driven down to the hotel.

Maila invited us over to her apartment, only a short 10-minute walk from the hotel, for breakfast Wednesday morning. Little did we know that we would be enjoying our breakfast on the balcony overlooking the mountains (yes, part of the Andes) and the country club we were staying at.
At breakfast we were introduced to Arepas - round disks of ground cornmeal, similar to a flour tortilla, but thicker. These can be eaten any time of the day. We had ours with butter, chuncks of chorizo and mild cubed cheese. Also new to us was Pan de Yuca (in the center of the table) - bread made of cassava starch and cheese - and Grenadia (the orange fruit on the plate in front), a externally beautiful orange fruit with a semi-hard peel and a gelatinous, grey pulp and black, crunchy seeds. The taste is similar to passion fruit.

Can you see why the Grenadia is also know as the "snot fruit"?

Maila gave us Macetas - decorated arrangement of candy, which is a longstanding tradition of Cali. On June 29, Cali celebrates Godchildren's Day, when godparents throughout the city customarily give their godchildren a Maceta. Elaborate sugar cane candies in the shape of birds, flowers and human figures, along with pinwheels, are affixed to a base of soft maguey wood. Being that June is already past, the Maila had these Macetas specially made for us.

After breakfast Maila, Angela, Mom and I drove to a flower store and then to a market in Cali to buy flowers for Angela's bouquet and the boutineers.

Wednesday afternoon Angela's brother and family arrived at Maila's apartment. Karen's Pizza was ordered and we ate in the shade down at pool behind the apartment building. The most unusual to us pizza was a plantain and bacon pizza... very good, but quite greasy.

As I've already mentioned, the hotel we stayed at is part of a country club. There were only 20 or so rooms, but they were very comfortable with huge beds and much-needed air conditioning.

Part of the 18-whole golf course and paddle boats on the lake

You never knew what animals... and bugs!... you'd see and hear around the hotel and the grounds. In addition, there were various beautiful birds flying around.

A large rat-like animal, but without the rat-like tail
Large iguana
Cute lizard trying to hide from us.

Nine of our group arrived Thursday evening on the same flight. The hungry and tired bunch were welcomed to the hotel with pizzas from Karen's Pizza.

Every morning we had breakfast at an outdoor cafe at the hotel. We helped ourselves to platefuls of possibly the best, most colorful and delicious fruit we've ever had: pineapple, mango, papaya, grenadila and watermelon. Freshly squeezed orange juice and various sweet and savory rolls were also available.
Friday morning couples trickled down from their rooms for breakfast. I'll introduce them:

Emily and Scott Armstrong - Scott is a friend of Jason's from high school, and we were in marching band together. Jeff and I really enjoyed getting to know Scott and Emily during the trip and look forward to their possible visit to the UK next Spring or Summer.

Gretchen Clarke and Matt Gerace - Matt has been a friend of Jason's since middle school and was his best man at the wedding.
Danny and Lainy Cano - Danny is my cousin

A nice picture of me and my dad sometime after breakfast

While Jason and Angela were taking care of some wedding business Dad, Barry, Angela's uncle and I decided to take a walk around the grounds.

Gorgeous fan palm trees
Banana trees
Coffee plants
The wedding site

We loaded into two large vans and drove to a somewhat Italian-style restaurant in Cali for lunch... .... and sat at a very long table.

Us with delicious fresh mandarine-pineapple-banana-strawberry drinks... everyone else had sangria.
Mom, Norm and Jason
Matt and Gretchen
Danny and Lainy
Angela and her cousin, Monica
Fried Calamari
Our fish dishes

Friday evening, the whole group was invited to Maila's cousin's house for paella.

The outdoor kitchen where we had the paella.

Even after everyone had their fill, there was still at least half the pan left... that's how big the pan was!

Angela's second cousin with the giant pan of paella.
Jason served up sangria
Jason and Angela

Pumpkin Custard with Peppered Brittle

While looking through the October 2011 edition of the Ohio Magazine, I came across an irresistible recipe - Pumpkin Custard with Peppered Brittle - out of Ohioan Marilou Suszko's new cookbook, The Locavore's Kitchen, and decided to make this this week's baked recipe.

Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 C. half-and-half or heavy whipping cream
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
Peppered Brittle (recipe below)
1/4 C. pure maple syrup

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the eggs, pumpkin, cream, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until smooth.
3. Arrange six, 4-oz. ramekins in a shallow baking pan. Divide the pumpkin mixture between the ramekins. Place the pan on the oven rack and carefully add boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (The custards will still be wiggly but will firm as they chill.)
4. Remove from the water and cool on a wire rack. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 but up to 8 hours. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of Peppered Brittle.

To make Peppered Brittle
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper* in a small bowl. Line a small baking sheet with foil. Butter the top of the foil. (I used my Silpat liner for this.) Spread the nut mixture on the foil and bake for 15 minutes, stirring twice. Allow to cool before breaking into small clusters. Sprinkle on top of the custards before serving.
*In place of the cayenne pepper since I didn't have it on hand, I used a bit of pumpkin spice and a small pinch of crushed pepper flakes.

Glimpses of Cross Houses

The sun was shining brightly this morning, so I decided to take my camera with me on my walk to give you a brief tour of Cross Houses, the village we moved two just two weeks ago.

The local petrol station/post office and county store.

After a quick stop at the post office, I walked through the fields along a public footpath towards the village of Berrington, which is even smaller than Cross Houses.
One thing I find truly unique to the UK is the existence of public footpaths, legal rights of way through private property. They are marked either by this kind of post or by little arrow signs near gates.The old Berrington railway station, built in 1880 as a part of the Severn Valley line, which closed in 1963. The station and building are now a cattery (kennel for cats).

A "kissing gate" along the footpath allowing people to go through but not livestock. This one separates the old train station from the field.

Public footpath to the village of Berrington.
View of The Wrekin (hill) in the distance on the left and Ironbridge, the "Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution", in the distance on the right (you can just make out a smoke stack). Jeff and I visited Ironbridge in January (blog).
Blackberry bushes can be found along almost any path. I helped myself to a container full yesterday.

Back in Cross Houses...

On the same street as our house, is the old maternity hospital, which was originally built as the Atcham Union Workhouse in 1793. A workhouse, also known as a poorhouse, is where poor people would live and work...think Oliver Twist. In 1916 the workhouse became the Berrington War Hospital, then later became a geriatric, maternity and general hospital. Today the buildings have been renovated into offices and flats.

The park and view of the old hospital on the right and old chapel, now the community center, behind the large oak tree.
The three-story town home we're renting.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

The days are getting shorter and the leaves are starting to fall from the trees... that can only mean one thing: it's PUMPKIN time! Saying that, though, I can have pumpkin year round, as it's my favorite food. If a dish on a menu says it has pumpkin in it, it's almost guaranteed that I'll order it. In fact, after seeing a couple customers go through my till with pumpkin ravioli and pumpkin falafel, I knew what I had to buy the next time I did my grocery shopping. Not only are pumpkins delicious in any form - soup, roasted, part of a dish or in a dessert - but they are absolutely adorable... so round, squatty and, well, orange. I have yet to pick out this year's pumpkin, but I will when we return from Colombia, and then it will sit on the short brick wall by the front door.

To keep my weekly baking resolution, today I baked Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars (recipe from allrecipes.com) - the first of numerous pumpkin desserts I plan to make over the next couple of months... I still have 7 cans of pumpkin left!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips*
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cut into bars and serve warm or cooled.

*Jeff and I found this to be too much, believe it or not, so I'd recommend only doing a cup of chocolate chips, or even a cup and a half.

Ripe, juicy blackberries I picked in the rain this morning in a field near our house.

Blackberry Pie

Now that I am working part-time, I have much more time to spend at home. I decided that I am tired of just looking at recipes and hoping that I will one day make them, so I will bake at least one baked good a week... sweet or savory. To begin this new resolution, I baked a blackberry pie using the blackberries Jeff and I picked back in July. In addition, this is the first time I have used my beautiful KitchenAid mixer from my mom.
Single Pie Crust (from allrecipes.com)
1/2 cup (100g) vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp (3g) salt
1/2 cups (120 ml) cold water

Directions

1. Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
2. Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.

** to make a lattice top, I doubled the recipe, but found I was left with plenty of dough, so next time I'll just make 1 1/2 recipes.

Pie Filling (from allrecipes.com)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups fresh blackberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix together 2 cups flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in the oil and water and stir together.
3. Separate the dough into two balls, using 3/4 of the dough for the first ball and 1/4 of the dough for the second. Place a sheet of wax paper over the bigger ball of dough, and roll it out; the dough can be crumbly, and the wax paper will help keep the dough in one large piece. Line an 8 inch pie pan with dough. Roll out the small ball of dough similarly, and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Place berries in a large bowl, and sprinkle sugar mixture over the berries. Gently stir to coat. Spread filling into the dough lined pie pan. Cover with top crust, and pinch the crusts together. Poke holes in the top to allow steam to escape during baking. Line the edges of the crust with tin foil to prevent burning.
5. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and filling is hot and bubbly.
   

Introducing BeeBee

We have now "officially" announced to our family and friends that I am pregnant with BeeBee (Baby Bolton). On Tuesday, August 2nd I decided to take a pregnancy test after contemplating it for around 4 weeks, telling my friend Sara that I had baby on the brain (which I hadn't had in a very long time) and feeling increasingly tired during the day. The test was the digital kind, not a 1- or 2- blue line kind, so I was expecting "not pregnant" to show up. After about 30 seconds, "pregnant" appeared on the screen and I was just waiting for the "not" to show up, which it never did.

I sat in utter disbelief for about an hour on the recliner with the pregnancy test in my hand. Even though I was extremely excited, I wanted to wait until Friday when Jeff came home from Telford to tell him... telling him our news over the phone would not do!

So when Jeff came home, I had been sitting in the garden (patch of grass behind our house) on a blanket. I met him at the car, told him to leave his things and come with me. Then I said he should sit down (on the blanket), then after a brief hesitation, I said, "You're a daddy." He looked at me like as if I had told him what we were having for supper, but I knew he wouldn't react any differently. He said he knew what I had to tell him when I asked him to sit down. Of course, he was as stunned, yet excited as I was... am!

We told our parents and my grandma that evening (it was my dad's birthday) and told a few more people the following day. We wanted to keep my pregnancy quiet until I at least had had the first scan.

My first scan was on Tuesday, August 30th, the day after we returned from Northern Ireland, at Gloucester Royal Hospital. I was more nervous than on our wedding day! Didn't help that I was extremely uncomfortable with a full bladder (required for the first scan). But when the technician lady put the ultrasound scope up to my belly and we saw BeeBee for the first time, that nervousness turned into utter joy and wonder. It appeared as though BeeBee was waving, "hello Mommy and Daddy" to us. Then he/she turned over and waved again. Seriously amazing. We could see his/her heart beating away, too. BeeBee's wee hand and fingers are just visible in the picture. Seeing the baby on the screen was especially important for Jeff since he could only believe me and the pregnancy test... his body isn't changing (no kidding).

The technician lady told us that I was 11 weeks, 4 days due to the size of the baby, which means that I am 13 weeks tomorrow. She set the due date for March 16th, 2012.

Oh, yeah... and we moved house this week, too. We will miss our church and friends in Gloucester, but know that God has us here for a reason.

M&M Bolton Wedding

Last week Jeff and I attended his cousin's, Mark, wedding in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. I got to meet some of Jeff's cousins who I've never met, and he hasn't seen in... well... we had to ask Jeff's sister, Sharon, who some of the relatives were! Although Mark and Martine live in London, Martine is originally from Australia, so McDonell family members flew around the world for the occasion.

Mark and Martine just finished signing the register. The bride's sister is standing behind her and the Best Man is a friend of Mark.

Mark and Martine

Robert and Beverly (Jeff's parents)

Jeff's cousin, Jeff and Gordon (Jeff's brother... no kidding.)

Cousin Luke and Aunt Marian McKinley (Robert's sister)

Gordon, Sharon, Jeff, Beverly and Robert

The reception took place at the Royal Court Hotel near Port Rush.

The view from the reception site.

Us.

"Top hats", shortbread biscuits and oat biscuits upon arrival. Beverly baked these shortbread biscuits, which she also baked for our wedding, too!

View just after the rain.

The wedding "cake" topped by a bouquet of crimson calla lillies
Calla lily-topped cupcakes

Cutting the cupcakes (?!)

M&Ms (for Mark and Martine) as our favors

A double rainbow over the ocean

View as the sun sets