monday red: alfajores argentinos

So, we've talked about empanadas and we've talked about dulce de leche. But we have yet to discuss another Argentine favorite: alfajores, a delightful little treat appropriate to eat at any time of day.

An alfajor is two biscuits with a filling, usually dulce de leche, in between. Yeah, it's pretty much what the oreo dreams of being when it grows up.

While I am here in Buenos Aires, I am staying with my cousin's friend, Sarah. Sarah has been incredibly generous in letting me stay in her apartment since I got here. She's also proven to be a great pal to have around, guiding me in selecting the very best dulce de leche, and of course, the very best alfajores*.

She had me do a taste test of different brands to see if I agreed with her choice of the best (guys, my life is so hard). And these were the winner, hands down. OMG, they just melt in your mouth.

*The very best in a box, that is. You can purchase the very very best fresh at bakeries.

saturday purple: an umbrella in china

If you go to China in the summer, or indeed, whenever the sun is out, be prepared to dodge umbrellas left and right in a crowd. Here is a shot of one of my fellow teachers from Shenzhen looking for shells on an island. With her umbrella.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

from argentina with love: dulce de leche

If you ever visit Argentina, there will be a few things that you'll find it hard to avoid - the meat, the tango and, of course, the dulce de leche (though why you'd want to avoid any of these things is beyond me).

Dulce de leche finds its way into and onto so many pastries, cakes, breads, ice creams and treats in Argentina, that it's quite impressive - and difficult to avoid!

Anyway, I've been eating this in as many forms as possible, but so far my favorite just might be out of the container. With a spoon. Mmmm....

Here's everyone's favorite cooking nerd, Alton Brown showing us how to make it (dulce de leche how-to starts at minute 4:30):

thursday green: eva peron

How does one write about someone like Eva Perón? At once revered and disdained by Argentines, her status as a cult figure is undeniable.

Coming from humble beginnings, Eva Duarte moved to Buenos Aires at the age of 15 in 1935 with aspirations to make it as an actress. She met Colonel Juan Perón, at a fund-raising gala in 1944. She became his wife and played an important part in his rise to power.

With Evita at his side, Perón focused on the needs of the laborers living in the slums of Buenos Aires. A minimum wage and better living conditions were instituted. The descamisados or the "shirtless ones" as Eva called the poor workers, suddenly had a voice. And Juan Perón found himself with formidable numbers behind him.

He became president. Eva had hospitals and schools built and she dispensed money to the poor. While snubbed by Argentina's elite, she became extremely popular among the poor and to this day, her supporters refer to her as Santa Evita.

Evita died in 1952 and the country mourned for weeks.

When Madonna's film Evita came out in 1996, the outrage was palpable. How could they cast the "material girl", a pop star, an American as their beloved Evita? The fact that decades after her death, Eva Perón can evoke such a reaction is telling.

feria de san telmo - buenos aires, argentina

The oldest barrio, or neighborhood, in Buenos Aires is San Telmo. Here, the buildings are distinctly colonial and the people are colorful. There is apparently an ongoing debate between San Telmo and La Boca over who "birthed the Tango". We'll probably never know for sure, but it is certain that Tango is alive and well in this barrio.

This is perhaps most evident on Sundays. A weekly feria, or street fair, has been held in Plaza Dorrego since 1970. The Feria de San Telmo has grown in popularity since then and the fair now stretches from the plaza into the surrounding streets. Here anyone and everyone comes to sell antiques, souvenirs and art.

My favorite part by were the street performers. I've put together a little video of the wonderful crowd who came to the fair this past Sunday.

San Telmo from lavache on Vimeo.

The music in the video was playing in the street. From what I can figure out, the song is a recording of "Tomo y Obligo", a song written by Manuel Romero and sung by Carlos Gardel. Correct me if I'm wrong.

tuesday orange: sunset in shenzhen, china

The other day I posted a link to the La Vache Espagnole facebook page that shows how much Shanghai has changed over the last 20 years. It's truly incredible.

The above photo was taken in Shenzhen while I was teaching English there. Shenzhen is another city that has changed spectacularly in 20 years. 35 years ago it was no more than a series of fishing villages and now it has a population of 9 million.

The cities in China are dynamic, ever-changing and ever-growing and it's a fascinating time to visit.

monday red: dancing in the street - buenos aires, argentina

The origins of Tango are murky. Some say it found it's start in the brothels of Buenos Aires, others maintain that it was merely in the brothels that members of the middle and upper classes first came into contact with it. In any case, there is little written record of how this now world famous dance came into being.

Tango didn't really take off on the world stage until it found it's way to Europe at the beginnings of the 20th century. It is believed to have arrived by way of Marseille, where Argentine sailors would dance with the locals.

In 1912, Tango reached Paris and there was no looking back. Still unacceptable in Argentina's polite society, Tango fascinated Europeans. The popularity was so great that people all over the world wanted to learn this couple's dance. And in 1917 a young man by the name of Carlos Gardel got his start and would go on to be an iconic singer for the genre. But more about him another time...

Tango is everywhere in Buenos Aires. You just need to walk down a crowded street and there is sure to be a couple dancing this seductive dance. It is absolutely delightful.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

une vache espagnole

The results are in and we have a name for my travel buddy!:

Elvie and that Spanish Cow feeling from lavache on Vimeo.

sunday black and white: buenos aires weather report

I'm sure this would mean so much more to me if I had moved here from a colder city, but even coming from Houston, these temperatures are a nice change. Hooray for summer in January!

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

saturday purple: acts of devotion in kuala lumpur, malaysia

Hands down, the most incredible thing I've ever witnessed is the Thaipusam Festival at the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated annually commemorating the birthday of Lord Murugan, an important god among the Tamil people in Southern India (a large population of Tamil Indians settled in Malaysia). Devotees demonstrate penance through a series of burdens. Burdens can range carrying a pot of milk to different forms of mortification of the flesh - piercing ones skin, cheeks or tongue.

In Malaysia millions complete the pilgrimage to the Batu Caves. Weighed down by their burdens and demonstrating their devotion to their faith, it is a truly amazing sight to see.

To see this incredible display of penance for yourself, plan a visit to Kuala Lumpur in January or February (depending on the year). You won't regret it!

More pictures here.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

argentinian empanadas

A few years ago, my family discovered a little argentinian pastry shop in Houston called Manena’s. We have been stopping by regularly ever since to pick up an order of their delicious empanadas.

Now that I am in Argentina, I see that Manena’s purpose in my life was to whet my appetite for the variety of flavorful empanadas to come.

Empanadas come in many different shapes and fillings, varying based on region, maker and flavor. The verb empanar means literally “to bread”, so an empanada is something breaded (or, in this case, with bread wrapped around).

Empanadas in the Americas have their origins in the Iberian Peninsula where an empanada is more of a large pie which is cut into pieces. Usually filled with tuna or cod, empanadas became “portable” smaller versions of the original pie.

Known as empanadillas (little empanadas) in Spain, and simply empanadas in the Americas, these little meat (or whatever filling you want) pockets are tasty little snack to enjoy.

In Argentina, every region has a trademark empanada, be it beef, chicken, humita (corn filling), vegetables, etc. Empanadas can be fried or baked. In Buenos Aires, the possibilities are endless, each filling differentiated by the pattern the fold is given.

Well, enough about that. I can’t stay long, I have some empanadas to enjoy...

Manena's
1018 Westheimer Rd, Houston, Texas 77042, USA

Tel. 713-278-7139

Monday-Saturday 8:30am-8pm

empanadas US$1.90 each

friday blue: more from la boca - buenos aires, argentina

Another example of the fun, bright colors to be found in Buenos Aires barrio (neighborhood) of La Boca.

This building houses a souvenir shop. And I'd be willing to guess that the clothes hanging are not actually worn, but merely washed to hang up to dry again. They're too strategically placed and color coordinated.

But it sure is cute, isn't it?

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

green thursday: fishing in china

And just when you though it was going to be all South America all the time, I give you a photo of Chinese fishermen.

I was teaching English in China in 2007 and my fellow teachers and I went on an excursion to a fishing village one weekend. This must have been my first glimpse into a more traditional China I hadn't yet seen living in the young and modern Shenzhen. Read all about our adventures here.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

wednesday yellow: the streets of la boca -buenos aires argentina

La Boca is a neighborhood in Buenos Aires that sits at the mouth of the river. Some say that this is why it is called La Boca, which literally means "the mouth". Others say the name is derived from the Genoese neighborhood of Boccadasse - many of the early settlers of La Boca were Italian immigrants.

In any case, La Boca is a popular tourist destination. Here one can see the brilliantly painted buildings (stories have it that the residents of this port neighborhood used the remnants of paint and materials from the incoming ships), watch a soccer game at the home of Boca Juniors football club and see Tango danced on the streets.

Just don't stray too far from the bright colors - The neighborhood has more of a reputation for crime than other areas of Buenos Aires.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

recoleta cemetery in buenos aires, argentina

The neighborhood Recoleta is Buenos Aires at its most elegant. French Architecture, luxury hotels and designer stores, this neighborhood is home to the wealthiest not just in life, but also in death.

El cementerio de la Ricoleta is a cemetery unlike any I’ve ever seen.

Hundreds of graves and coffins are housed in rows and rows of extravagant mausoleums adorned with statues, stained glass windows and small private chapels. The narrow paths and the high walls these sarcophagi create make this unique cemetery comparable to a real city - a city with some of the highest real estate around. According to Lonely Planet there’s a saying that goes: “It’s cheaper to live extravagantly all your life than to be buried in Recoleta”.

Getting lost in the many passages, hunting down Eva Perón’s grave (it’s compulsory, isn’t it?) and contemplating the lives and deaths of the hundreds of buried politicians, presidents, military heroes as well as your ordinary run in the mill rich and famous, can keep one busy for hours.

Recoleta Cemetery

open 6am-7pm

admission is free (if you’re alive)

Calle Junín 1760

tuesday orange: stained glass at recoleta cemetary, buenos aires

A trip to the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires is unlike anything you've seen before. Row after row, street after street, of some of the most beautiful mausoleums you've ever seen. This is where Buenos Aires' elite lay to rest.

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

monday red*: a cow and a fútbol player

Argentina is either the best possible place for La Vache to come (so many cows!), or the the worst. Here's to my travel buddy not becoming the main feature of the next Asado!

* Almost every day I will post a picture in which the predominant color is the color of the day (that I’ve made up). Sundays will be Black and White, Monday will be Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and of course, Purple for Saturday.

sunday black and white*: meet my travel buddy

In my last post about packing for long-term travel, I included a picture of what I packed. At the top of the pile was this little lady.

Where I go, she goes.

She loves (eating) daisies, having four stomachs, and rainy days with a good book.

As of yet she doesn’t have a name. I was hoping you friends could help me out.

I was considering Elvie (as in LV, for La Vache), but I’d like to hear your thoughts. So, sound off!

* Almost every day I will post a picture in which the predominant color is the color of the day (that I’ve made up). Sundays will be Black and White, Monday will be Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and of course, Purple for Saturday.

packing for long-term travel

Hello, friends! I’ve landed in Buenos Aires and will be traveling for the next 7 or 8 months. The plan will be taking shape as I go along. I’m up for anything the wallet will allow!

Of course, this going where the wind blows you approach presents an interesting challenge when it comes to packing your bag(s).

Some things I reminded myself of while I was packing:

Less is much much more.

How does one go about packing for a trip that has no real end date? People who have done it before stress again and again how little you will want to take. When you find yourself catching that train after that flight and before that bus, you will be so glad you left that extra pair of shoes at home.

And honestly, how many pairs of shoes will I need? It’s not like I’ll be dining at the Ritz every night.

But what if I need...

Everything seems important before you set out.
- Should I bring gloves??
- January’s the hottest month of the year in Argentina.
- But I might need gloves, what if it gets to be winter and I’m really cold and I don’t have gloves I’ll wish I’d packed gloves and I didn’t, I’ll be a sucker for not packing gloves.

And thus the craziness sets in. I had countless conversations like this in my head as I was packing. I had to make myself step back and remember that I wouldn’t be able to pack for every single situation that might present itself while I’m traveling.

Yeah, I could always pack gloves. Or I could buy them when/if I need them.

How I packed

Now, I’m not going to give you a complete rundown of exactly what I brought. Others have done that before and I found their guidance most helpful. But I'll tell you this much: I brought no more than 6 tops (long and short sleeved), 2 pairs of pants (my British friends, read: trousers) and 2 pairs of shoes. Yes, I’ll be doing a lot of laundry, but I can handle that as long as I don’t have to lug 10+ outfits around on my back.

I’m still not convinced I got as light as I could have, but I can certainly get rid of stuff as I go.

Packing light for any trip

So, yes. I’m traveling for a long time, but even on my shortest of trips I’ve found the less I take, the easier it is. If you’re going on a weeks vacation, could you just take a carry-on bag? Think about how much better it would be to not have to pay $25 or whatever they’re charging these days to check your luggage. When you arrive, no waiting at baggage claim, just take your bag out of the overhead compartment and be on your way.

Seriously, what do you really need?: 1-2 pants/shorts, a few lightweight tops, a nice outfit for evening, underwear, a couple pairs of shoes (you’ll be wearing one of them on the plane/train/automobile. Of course, it depends on the destination, but please! You can totally do it.

I'll tell you this much, now that I'm here, I'm definitely glad I left the gloves at home.

Are you a light packer? Do you end up wearing everything you’ve packed or do you ever find yourself wishing you had packed something you didn’t?

Feliz Dia de Reyes!

Happy Epiphany! Epiphany, or "reyes" is the big holiday in Spain and several other parts of the world.

In the above picture (taken in 1996) you can see yours truly and my brother, Joseph celebrating Reyes with our cousins. We are watching (staring intently, more like) the cutting of the Roscón de Reyes, the traditional cake for the holiday.

Why do we care so much about how it is cut? In every roscón, a trinket is baked inside. Supposedly, whoever gets the trinket is king for the day. Whatever that means. That's all well and good, but more importantly, in our family the "trinket" is often money. Which is a pretty big deal when you're 12.

Or 26.

So why is it called a roscón? What does that even mean?

Well, I'm glad you asked. A rosca is a round pastry, kind of like a donut. In Spanish, the suffix -ón, is augmentative. So, if you see a word that ends in -ón, you can surmise that something big is being talked about.

For example, if I say you have a cabeza, I'm telling you you have a head. Of course you have a cabeza, you might say. But what if I say you have a cabezón? I'm trying to tell you that you have a big head.

So, what can we take away from this? That every epiphany Spaniards eat a giant donut. And it's delicious.

Fluency in Language

If you haven’t already, and you are so inclined, please “like” my blog on facebook:

If you have “liked” la vache on facebook you will have seen a link to an article I posted yesterday from Zen Habits*. It is a guest post by Benny the Irish polyglot entitled “Simple guide to speaking foreign languages”. With a title like this, my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to discuss it a little.

Benny started learning languages besides his native English seven years ago, and is apparently now fluent in no fewer than eight languages. Eight. Now, this may seem like a near incredible claim, but depending on how loosely you define “fluent”, I’d be inclined to buy it. I am the first to realize that being understood is the most important. The rest comes with practice.

Our Irish polyglot goes onto how the “want” to speak a language is much weaker than the “need” to speak it. He points out that it is only too human to study, study, study a language, waiting for the day when it’s perfect, only then to break it out and speak. That defeats the purpose. You have to speak to perfect.

His arguments spoke to me, because I am definitely the kind of perfectionist he is writing of. In middle school, I lived in France for three years and hardly opened my mouth to parler le français. I didn’t speak it well enough in my eyes. Talk about a wasted opportunity! I speak it alright now, but only after I got over my obsession with not making mistakes.

Nonetheless, I would still do well to remind myself that everyone has to make a fool of themselves, just a tiny bit, to really learn a language.

What is your definition of "fluent"? Are you a perfectionist when it comes to language learning or do you jump right in?

* via Colin Wright at Exile Lifestyle

Patagonia and Penguins and Sea Lions

It's official, I’m off to Argentina in about a week.

I’ll be staying in South America until the money runs out and hope to see as much as I can while down there. Of course, I'll be telling you about everything I see, dear readers. It's my first time, so any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

The plan thus far is to arrive in Buenos Aires, take in the city for a few weeks, then head down south to Patagonia while it’s still graced with the warmer months of the year.

And I’m hoping to find penguins. Like this guy.

Tell me this isn't the cutest thing you've seen in a while!

*video via Huffington Post

Three New Year's Traditions

Every culture follows their New Years traditions. This usually involves eating something at a specific time to ensure heath, luck and prosperity for the year to come. My family follows three. The Spaniards in us eat grapes, the Texas part of us eat black-eyed peas and as part of a community greatly influenced by Mexican culture we eat tamales.

Tamales
A tamal is little package of sweet or savory “masa”, a corn based dough. The dough is wrapped in a corn husk and steamed to perfection. The origins of this special treat date back to well before Columbus arrived in America. They were prepared and eaten by Aztecs, Incas and Mayans starting as early as 5000 BC.

To this day, tamales are a food enjoyed at big celebrations and festivals. In the Mexican American home, the holiday season begins with a gathering of the family for the preparation of the tamales. An entire day can be devoted to the husking, mixing, cooking, filling and steaming. 


We buy ours at Molina’s. Perhaps, not quite the same as breaking our back over the prep, but delicious nonetheless.

Black-Eyed Peas
Nope, this has nothing to do with Fergie. The black-eyed pea is a bean whose origins are believed to be in West Africa. It was introduced to the Southern US in the 17th century and has held an important part in African American culture and throughout the South. To this day several New Year traditions surround this little bean. Whether it’s cooked with ham, collard greens or stewed tomatoes, paired with rice or on its own, black-eyed peas have become a deep-set tradition ‘round these here parts.

My family has them for breakfast on New Year’s Day. The idea is that if the black-eyed peas are the first thing you eat, you’ll have a good year.

12 Grapes, 12 seconds

In Spain it is tradition to eat 12 grapes on December 31st, one for each strike of the clock as a countdown till midnight. The origins of this one are a bit hazy, but there’s a story going around that it all began when vine growers in Alicante, Spain had an abundant harvest. They came up with the idea of eating 12 grapes to represent the 12 months of the year, thus selling the huge amounts of grapes they had in 1909. Maybe, who knows?

Either way it’s pretty hilarious to watch everyone else trying to stuff their faces with 12 grapes. Plus, it’s double the fun in Spain because the grapes have seeds.


Does your family follow any New Year's traditions? Do tell!

A Small Town in Texas: Luling

When I moved back to Texas from the Northeast not too long ago, I was more than ready to fall into that good ole lone star state of mind and get down with the things that set Texans apart from the rest.

I’ve always found being back in Texas after time away to be a balm I didn't know I needed. It’s somehow soothing to adjust oneself to a slower pace and the wide open space. Of course, my roots are not in Texas, and my family has never been your average Texan family (what is an average Texas family anyway?). So even I, with my 15 odd years of living here, am still struck by the novelty of some of the Deep in the Heart of Texas things I come to encounter.

I was in San Antonio one weekend on my way home to Houston when I called a friend up to see if he wanted to meet me somewhere for lunch. Eyan lives in Austin and he has a great appreciation for the off-beat. So we agreed to meet in Luling, Texas population 5,458, a midpoint for the two of us.

Historically a railroad town, Luling was a far western stop of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town was built in 1884 and was for several years called “the toughest town in Texas”. When I read that my mind flooded with images of a dusty saloon, outlaws with guns in their holsters and a sheriff asleep on the job.

The town eventually settled down to a sleepy community of 500, but in 1922 everything changed. Edgar B. Davis struck oil. This monumental event changed the course of the town’s history and led to the development of an oil field that by 1924 was producing 11 million barrels of oil a year. The population skyrocketed almost overnight from 500 to 5,000.

Today, as you approach the town, you can smell the oil from the nearby oil wells. There are a series of cutely decorated oil pump jacks around town. Luling’s Main Street is a series of restaurants and gift shops. Eyan and I were there on a Sunday so most of the shops were closed, but we did manage to get some darned good chicken fried steak, fried catfish, okra, hushpuppies and, of course, a nice cold bottle of Shiner Bock.

Bellies full, we went our separate ways and I found my way onto I-10 headed home. Now if that ain’t a trip into the real Texas, I don’t know what is.