Learning Spanish is Fun

Vegetarian Paella

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Vegetarian Paella

Ingredients

1 quart vegetable stock or garlic broth
Generous pinch (about 1/2 teaspoon) saffron threads
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 green pepper, cut into strips
2 cups medium-grain rice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pound ripe tomatoes ( seeded and grated on the large holes of a box grater; or peeled, seeded and chopped;) or 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
1/4 pound green beans, ( 1-inch lengths)
2 or 3 baby artichokes, trimmed and sliced (may also use frozen artichoke hearts, sliced or jar bought artichokes)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup shelled fresh or thawed frozen peas
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For The Saffron:
Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Crush the saffron threads between your fingertips, and place in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon warm water, and set aside.

For the Sofrito:
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy frying pan, an earthenware casserole (cazuela) set over a flame tamer, or a paella pan. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, peppers and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the peppers begin to soften, about three minutes.

Add the tomato paste, paprika and rice. Cook, stirring, for one minute until the grains begin to crackle. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they cook down slightly and smell fragrant, about five minutes. Stir in the saffron with its soaking water, scraping in every last bit with a rubber spatula. Season generously with salt and pepper.

For the Vegetables:
Add the stock, green beans, artichokes and chickpeas or lima beans. Bring to a boil. Stir once, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer without stirring until the liquid has just about evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the peas. Continue to simmer until the rice is dry, another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.

For the Socarrat:
Traditional Paella has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom called socarrat that is considered a delicacy. To achieve a socarrat, one either needs to time the evaporation of the water properly with the completion of the rice being cooked or turn up the heat to high (for 5 to 10 minutes) and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once you smell the aroma of toasted rice, remove the pan before it burns. The paella should cool for several minutes.

For Garnish:
Garnish with Smoked Red Peppers cut in julienne strips. You can roast the peppers in the oven at 400 Degrees for ten minutes or carmelize them in a pan ( using a pinch of sugar) on a very high flame. Neatly place them all over the Paella like a wheel. Add nice lemon slices all over the Paella and some parsley, voila, your Paella is Ready!

Tip From Sabrina's Kitchen:

Be sure to crush the saffron threads to release the flavor before adding. Also keep in mind that saffron releases it's flavor with heat, so be sure to add it while the paella is cooking.
When adding broth to the Rice Mixture (add 6 cups if using Bomba Rice, otherwise add 4 cups.)
Paella tastes best with Bomba rice, Arborio rice or short grained rice.

Yield: Serves six to eight.
Advance preparation:
This does not have to be piping hot, so it can be made an hour before you wish to serve. If you make it further ahead than that, you can reheat it in the pan.

You don’t have to make this vegetable-rich dish in a paella pan, though if you do, you’ll get a nice layer of crusty rice on the bottom. Serve it as a main dish or as a side.

For Traditional Paella Valenciana with Chicken and Seafood

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad de Bravo

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Sopa de Garbanzos Cubano

2011-11-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

Ingredientes

1 libra de garbanzos
1 posta de pollo despellejado (muslo con encuentro)
2 cucharadas de aceite
½ taza de papa picada en cuadritos
½ taza de calabaza picada en cuadritos
2 dientes de ajo
1 cucharadita de sal
½ cucharadita de pimienta
½ cucharadita de comino molido
½ cuchadita de pimentón dulce

Instrucciones

Remoje los garbanzos durante toda una noche y luego ablándelos en agua suficiente, con la posta de pollo. Déjelos refrescar. Separe la posta de pollo, deshuésela y sofría las masas en el aceite, con la cebolla y el ajo. Agregue este sofrito y el resto de los ingredientes al cocido de garbanzos, rectifique la sal y póngalo nuevamente al fuego hasta que la papa y la calabaza se ablanden.

Sírvalo bien caliente.Buen Provecho!

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Recipe- Paella Valenciana

2011-09-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

10 pieces of varying Split Chicken Wings, Thighs, Drummetes
½ Lb Shrimp (with shells)
3 large Scallops cut in half (or 6 small)
1 Lb Assorted Mussels and Clams
½ to 1 cup Tomate Frito, tomato sauce, or tomato puree.
4 Cloves Garlic (minced or chopped)
3-6 Piquillo Peppers (sliced into strips) plus a few strips reserved to use as garnish
½ cup Peas
1 cup Green Beans (cut into 1" sections)
1 tsp. Saffron Threads or ¼ to ½ tsp. Powdered
½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups Paella Rice
4-6 cups Shellfish Broth (recipe below) or substitute Chicken Broth or bouillon.
Salt to taste

* Pork Ribs, Rabbit, and Escargot are optional ingredients.

Prep Time/ Cook Time
30 minutes preparation, 35 minutes cooking (cooking time may vary depending on the type of burner/stove/oven you are using)

Instructions
To make the shellfish broth: Boil the mussels and clams in 6 cups of water until the shells start to open. Drain, reserve the liquid, and discard any unopened shells.

For the sofrito:
Add the Olive Oil to the Paella Pan and Sauté the Chicken Wings and Pork for 5-10 minutes under medium-high heat. Add the Tomate Frito, Piquillo Peppers, and Garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes more.

Build the Paella:

Add the Rice and stir the mixture to coat, about 1 minute.
Add the Peas, Green Beans, Shrimp, Scallops, and Saffron.
Stir under medium heat for 1 minute to incorporate the mixture.
Tip From Sabrina's Kitchen: Be sure to crush the saffron threads to release the flavor before adding. Also keep in mind that saffron releases it's flavor with heat, so be sure to add it while the paella is cooking.
Add the hot Shellfish Broth (recipe is listed above) to the Rice Mixture (add 6 cups if using Bomba Rice, otherwise add 4 cups.)
Tip From Sabrina's Kitchen: From the point of adding the Hot Shellfish Broth and the liquid coming to a boil, the total cooking time to completion of the recipe will be about 15-18 minutes (it may take a few minutes longer for deep pans, if using a small burner/stove, or if using a slow-cooking rice such as Bomba.) Do not stir after this point, and control the heat so the bottom is not scorched.
Add Salt to taste (it is best to add less at first, as the seafood releases salt while cooking.)
Arrange the Mussels, Clams, and the Piquillo Peppers reserved as garnish onto the surface of the paella. Continue cooking until rice is almost done, but still firm in the center (Al Dente.)

Garnish with lemon wedges and enjoy the best Paella of your life!

Tips for Beginners
Paella is more of an art than a science, so it may take a little practice to be able to make it quickly. These tips may help: Have your ingredients cleaned, chopped, and measured in individual bowls so that you may add them quickly when the recipe is cooking. Be sure to use a big enough burner or stove for your pan. Ideally, you wand a medium-low flame that is dispersed over the entire bottom of the pan.

Cooking times are approximate; lower heat = longer cooking time, higher heat = faster cooking time (but at the risk of burning.)

The amount of liquid to add to the rice varies depending on the rice variety and the other ingredients you have added to the paella. When the cooking is half way done, feel free to add a little more liquid to the pan if the rice seems too dry.

If the rice doesn't seem to be cooking properly around the edges because the burner/stove you are using is just a little too small, you may partially cover the edges of the pan to help retain heat and ensure even cooking.

Regional Variations
Each region of Spain has their own unique variation of Paella, so feel free to experiment. Journey to the mountainous regions by adding chorizo, rabbit, or judion beans; journey to the coast by adding squid or langostino (lobster); or discover your own favorite by experimenting with smoked paprika, onions, or even vegetarian.

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Cuban Cuisine:Recipe- Cuban Flan (Custard)

2011-08-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Cuban Flan (Cuban style custard)

Cuban Flan

Flan de Queso (Cheese Flan):
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 8z cream cheese
6 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
¼ tsp salt

Caramel:
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp water
(All directions follow at the end)

Flan de Coco (Coconut Flan):

(To make Coconut Flan: Use same above list of ingredients, except for the cream cheese. Instead, add about ½ (half of) 8oz can of shredded coconut- in heavy syrup- .Use a spoon to add the coconut into the mixture in order to avoid pouring too much of the liquid. Follow same cooking directions as follows below)

Flan de Caramelo (Caramel Flan):

(To make Caramel Flan: Use same above list of ingredients, except for the cream cheese, and add 7 eggs instead of 6. Follow same directions as follows below)

Flan de Guayaba y Queso (Guava Cheese Flan):

(To make Guava Cheese Flan: Use same above list of ingredients except for the following: Only ½ package of 4 oz cream cheese (softened), and add ½ cup guava paste (softened). Follow same directions as follows below)

Directions:

First, prepare the caramel: In a sauce pan, and over medium heat, add 1 cup of sugar and sprinkle with about 1 tbsp of water; mix well just to have the sugar lightly moistened. Melt the sugar in the pan, stirring to avoid lumps or burning. Once the sugar is completely dissolved (caramelized), and it has a golden brown color, immediately, pour caramel into a baking dish and tilt around to cover all sides and have the caramel spread evenly around the bottom and sides of the dish. Set aside.

Next, Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. In a big bowl, and using a spatula, place the cream cheese (cream cheese can be placed in a microwave oven for a few seconds to soften) and mix with the eggs. Add the evaporated milk, condensed milk and mix. Add vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly using a whisk.

Mix the ingredients

Pour the flan mixture into the baking dish where you poured the caramel. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Place that baking dish into a roasting pan and fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach about ½ way the size of the baking dish. Then, place that roasting pan into the oven rag and this rag should be in the center of the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 1 hour.

After an hour, insert a toothpick into the middle of the flan to see if it comes out clean. Once the flan is done, let it cool at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes and turn upside down into a serving dish. Cover the serving dish with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Variations when cooking: (For this variation, please, don’t leave it unattended). If you don’t have or don’t want to use an oven, you can use a pressure cooker to make the flan.

You will need the following utensils:

1 Flanera pan (size 1.5 Qt). You can buy a flanera at a Latin grocery store or online (it has a lid and 3 special closures to ensure the flanera pan closes well and tight and no liquid is spilled during pressure cooking).

1 Pressure Cooker (size: 4 to 6 Qt).

Flanera:

Make the caramel in the same flanera, where the flan is going to be cooked. Follow same directions for caramel as described above. Once the caramel is done, tilt around the sides of the pan or flanera to cover the bottom and all sides well, as on the picture below.

How to Make Caramel:

Add the flan mixture into the flanera and close it tightly.

Pouring the mixture

Place flanera inside the pressure cooker and fill the pressure cooker with tap running water to reach about ½ way of the size of the flanera pan. Close pressure cooker and, before placing it on the stove, make sure the stove is already heated on high.

Place the pressure cooker on the stove and when the top valve begins to rock, reduce heat to medium until the valve rocks at a steady, soft pace. If valves starts rocking too rapidly a few minutes later, reduce heat again, slowly, until it reaches a steady, soft pace. You might need to reduce heat a couple of times, so don’t leave the pressure cooker unattended. (If your pressure cooker doesn’t have a rocking valve, follow manufacturer’s instruction, reduce temperature to medium–low once you see the first vapors coming out, and set the timer the same as below).

From the moment in which the valve starts to rock, set timer for about 35-40 minutes, after which, you should remove pressure cooker from heat (If you notice that after 30 minutes, the valve stops rocking by itself, and no more vapor comes out, remove pressure cooker from heat. It means there’s no more liquid inside the cooker. Remove from heat immediately).

Wait until all vapor has come out of the cooker and all pressure is released. Open lid, wait a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle, and carefully remove the flanera. Let it cool at room temperature (about 10-15 minutes), and open up the flanera.

Flan still in the pan
Using a knife, carefully scrape around the edges to ensure the flan is well separated from the sides of the pan.
Scrape around the edges. Flip it over into a serving dish. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 2+ hours before serving.

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Cuban Cuisine: Stuffed Potatoes- Papas Rellenas

2011-07-27T10:19:00.001-07:00

Stuffed Potatoes-Cuban Papas Rellenas -

2 lbs large potatoes (peeled and cut into quarters)
1 lb picadillo (seasoned ground beef)
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup dry bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

Add salt to a pot of cold water, and boil the potatoes until they are soft. Drain the potatoes, and then mash them, then set aside to allow them to cool. Separate the egg yolks from the whites in two bowls. Mix the egg yolks into the mashed potato mixture, whisk the egg whites for a minute. Take a 1/4 of a cup of the mashed potatoes, and form it into a ball. Make a dent in the ball, to give it more of a bowl shape. Fill the indentation with a tablespoon of picadillo, and then reseal it. Reshape the potato as a ball again. Dip the ball in the egg whites, then roll the ball around in bread crumbs until it is coated. For a better coating, or for a crunchier texture, you may dip the ball into the egg whites again and coat it with another layer of bread crumbs. Refrigerate the potato balls for at least four hours before frying.To fry, pour enough oil into a skillet or frying pan to cover half of the balls, the oil should be at least 350°. Place several balls into the frying pan and cook on each side until golden brown, usually 2-3 minutes, taking care not to overcook. Drain the stuffed potatoes on paper towels, do not stack them. The other cooking method is to deep fry the papas rellenas at 375° until golden brown, they cook best deep-fried when they are frozen.

To Make the Picadillo:
1 lb ground meat
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small can tomato sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
Pimiento stuffed olives
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown the ground meat, onions and garlic. If meat is not too lean, pour out whatever fat you render.turn heat down to medium low. Add the tomato sauce and wine. While it simmers, chop up the pimiento stuffed olives and add to meat mixture, it is ok to add a little bit of the brine, if you wish. Adjust the seasonings per taste.

Cuban Cuisine: Roasted Chicken with Sauce- Pollo Asado con Salsa

2011-07-24T06:30:00.001-07:00

Pollo Asado en Cazuela recipe - Roasted Chicken with Sauce

1 large roasting chicken
1 juice of a sour orange or the juice of a lemon or lime
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves - mashed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 onion, chopped
1 laurel (bay) leaf
3 Tablespoons oil or lard
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken with salt, the citrus juice and the mashed garlic for several hours. Drain it but reserve the marinade and then sautée the chicken to golden in the oil or lard. Add the white dry wine, bay leaf, onion, pepper and the left over marinade.

Cook at a lower temperature, turning over often to make sure all of the chicken cooks evenly, until done*. For easier cooking and serving, you can cut chicken up in pieces before marinating. You can add peeled and diced potatoes if you wish.

Chefs note: Chicken will be done when no pink juices flow when pricked with a fork, but don't check too often or all juices will run out and leave meat too dry.

More to come in Learning Spanish is Fun!

History of Cuban Food
Roots of Cuisine of Spain
History of Mexican Food from Aztecs to Conquistadors

Cuban Cuisine:Recipe- Oxtail Soup- Rabo Encendido

2011-07-23T19:49:00.001-07:00

Cuban Oxtail Stew recipe - Receta de Rabo Encendido Cubano

"Rabo Encendido" (literally means Lit Tail) is more of a stew than a soup, at least the Cuban version, and there are as many versions as there are Cuban Chefs. I made this the other day and it actually tastes better the next day. You can make it with or without the chocolate powder. It's delicous hearty stew to be eaten on cold days to warm you up.

Recipe:

4 pounds oxtail, cut in chunks
Flour for dredging meat
1/4 cup olive oil
Two onions, chopped
Two green peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, mashed with 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon unsweetened chocolate powder (for a slight mole taste)
One can (12 ounce) tomato sauce
One cup red wine
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup dice potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery

Dredge the meat with flour. In a large pan or Dutch oven, brown the meat on both sides in the oil, approximately five to six minutes. Remove meat. Sauté the onions and green pepper in the same pan. When the onions start to get translucent, add the mashed garlic and cook for one additional minute.

Add the tomato sauce, wine, beef broth and all spices. Add the potatoes, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for two hours or until meat is tender on low heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add additional beef broth if needed.
Remove bay leaves, serve. This is delicious by itself or rice as an accompaniment.

Bueno Provecho !

Recipe: Cuban Arroz con Pollo -Cuban Chicken with Rice

2011-07-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

Cuban Arroz con Pollo - Cuban Chicken with Rice

Arroz con Pollo is one of the most popular Latin American dishes. It's a derivation of Paella, the traditional Spanish dish, it has a lot of the same ingredients: safron, white whine, chicken, red bell pepper and peas. Arroz con pollo recipe can require annato seeds and oil to give it that vibrant yellow color but it's entirely optional. I have cooked Arroz Con Pollo without Annato seeds and still comes out delicious. I cook the rice with a bit of beer instead of water and it gives a nice Cuban touch. This recipe serves about 4-6 people.

Recipe:

For Chicken:

1 large chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into 8 pieces.
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Sofrito and broth:
2 olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
3 cups water (*)
1 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 cups beer*
1/2 tsp annatto seeds, or 1/4 tsp saffron threads
1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 -1 cup of Raisins to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
-Wash the chicken and blot dry with paper towels. Mix the oregano, cumin, white pepper and vinegar in a large glass bowl. Add the chicken, turning the pieces to cover with the mixture. Let marinate at least 15 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a large heatproof casserole. Brown the chicken pieces all over, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

For sofrito:

Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the oil in the casserole, cook over medium heat heat until soft but do not brown, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add the tomato and cook for one more minute. Return the chicken to the casserole with the sofrito and cook for about 1 or 2 more minutes.

Rice:

Add the water, wine and beer(*), saffron (if you use it instead of annatto oil), tomato paste and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, place annato seeds in small saucepan with 1/4 cup of the chicken cooking liquid. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain mixture back into the chicken. Thoroughly wash rice swishing with your hands, and drain off the water. Continue doing this until water runs clear.

Bring chicken mixture to a boil, stir in the washed rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. If it starts to dry out and rice is still al dente, add more liquid. If it gets too soupy, uncover during the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. Just before it is done, stir in half of the peas (petit pois),raisins and pimientos. Garnish with Red Peppers. I usually roast mine first to give it a smoky taste.

Nota Bene: Making it with Beer is a nice Cuban Touch and gives it a nice tangy flavor. I adjust the quantity to the total needed for cooking.

Recipe- Tortilla Espanola - Spanish Tortilla

2011-07-13T21:57:00.001-07:00

This is a Classic Spanish Tapas Dish eaten everywhere in Spain, in all the Tapas Bars, plain, cold, with a bit of aioli sauce or ( garlic sauce). Some recipes call for chorizo or red peppers. I like the simple version with just eggs, potatoes and onions. It's delicious just in it's simplicity and can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack or in between two baguette slices.

4 huevos 4-6 eggs
1/2 kilo de patatas 1/ 2 kilo of potatoes
1 brown onion

Aceite de oliva (un vaso, 1/4 de litro) Olive oil (one glass, 1 / 4 liter)
Sal Salt

Pasos Receta:

Paso 1

Paso 2 : Se baten los huevos con un poco de sal y una vez batidos se añaden las patatas, mezclándolas bien con el huevo batido. Una vez puesto el aceite a calentar se echan las patatas, añadiendo un poco de sal y se fríen. Truco: Si la tortilla gusta con las patatas más desechas puede ir desaciéndose la patata con la rasera mientras se muev Cuando se vean doradas se apartan y es importante que escurran el aceite en un colador o en un plato con papel absorbente.

Paso 3: Se prepara de nuevo la sartén en el fuego con dos cucharadas pequeñas de aceite que cubran una lamina del fondo de la sartén. Se echa la mezcla del huevo y las patatas. Truco: mover agitando la sartén con habilidad para que no se pegue la tortilla.

Paso 4: Se le puede dar vueltas hasta que quede dorada por ambos lados según el gusto...

Y ya está nuestra tortilla de patatas.

Recipe Steps:

Step 1: Mince onions and cook until they are translucent. Take them out of the pan and put aside in bowl.

Step 2: Wash and cut the potatoes into thin slices. Heat the oil, add the potatoes, adding a little salt and fry. When potatoes are golden brown, take them out of the pan, and drain oil a colander, and place potatoes on a plate with paper towels.

Step 2: Beat the eggs with some salt and pepper and once beaten add the potatoes, mixing thoroughly with beaten egg.

Step 3: Put pan back on stove, covering the bottom of the pan with a sheet of oil. Put onions and the egg mixture and potatoes.

Step 4: Shake the Pan a bit as if when you are making an omelet like Julia Child.When you perceive that the egg mixture is like a curd and a bit hard, put a plate on top and turns the tables (it's easy, just have to do it safely). Cook until both sides are golden brown according to the taste, put a parsley in middle for presentation ... And Voila there's your omelet!

This is delicious with a cup of really thick Spanish hot chocolate and it's easy to pack in your lunch box.

Nota Bene: Patatas is the Spanish ( from Spain) word for Papas or Potatoes

More Cuban and Spanish Recipes Coming Soon in Learning Spanish is Fun !

Mayan Hot Chocolate

2011-07-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Mayan Hot Chocolate

In Mexican ancient civilizations, before the Spanish conquistadors imported chocolate to Spain and added sugar, the ancient Mayans and Aztecs drank the bitter cacao
("Ka-Kow") mixing it with wine, and adding spices: vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and chile. Remember when Juliet Binoche adds chiles to her chocolate in the movie Chocolat ? Well, you don't have to be a movie star or an Aztec Emperor to make your own Mayan Hot Chocolate with this ancient recipe of chile-infused milk, cinnamon, nuts and vanilla. This is an excellent drink when the weather is cold or to treat yourself after a long days work, surely, it will warm you up and soothe your soul.

Ingredients
1 chile pepper, cut in half, seeds removed (with gloves)
5 cups whole or lowfat, or nonfat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate or 3 tablets Mexican chocolate, cut into 1/4"pieces
2 tablespoons sugar or honey, or to taste
l tablespoon almonds or hazelnuts, ground extra fine
Whipped cream

Instructions
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat water to boiling; add chile pepper. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Remove chile pepper; strain water and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream or milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick until bubbles appear around the edge. Reduce heat to low; add chocolate and sugar or honey; whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolves. Turn off heat; remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Add chile-infused* water, a little at a time, tasting to make sure the flavor isn't too strong. If chocolate is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Serve in small cups and offer ground almonds, hazelnuts and sesame seeds and whipped cream.

Serves 4-6
*Chile can be infused in Milk instead of water
Enjoy !

To Learn More Have a Peak at this Blog on Ancient Civilizations and History of Chocolate

This article was written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo

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Part 1: History of Chocolate: Ancient Civilizations and the Cacoa Bean

2011-06-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

In the book The True History of Chocolate, authors Sophie and Michael Coe make a case that the earliest linguistic evidence of chocolate consumption stretches back three or even four millenia.

The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica. Chocolate, the fermented, roasted, and ground beans of the Theobroma cacao, can be traced to the Mokaya and other pre-Olmec peoples, with evidence of cacao beverages dating back to to 1900 BC.^]

Near the beginning of the 16th century, the Aztecs were believed to first make chocolate, although it goes back much farther. The Mayans wrote about cacao ( Ka-Kow) a Mayan word on their pottery as early as 500 A.D., but some believe chocolate dates back to a much older time during Olmec civilization, which preceded the Mayans. The Mesoamerican civilization's chocolate a bitter drink made from a variety of local ingredients mixed with ground cacao beans.

An officer serving with Cortez observed Motecuhzoma, who was the ruler of the Aztecs. They found that Motecuhzoma was drinking 50 flagons of chocolate every day. This beverage, which was sometimes made with wine or water, could be seasoned with chili pepper, vanilla, and pimiento. It was known to cure diarrhea and dysentery. It also was believed to be an aphrodisiac. Cortez is known to have tried the beverage, but he found it too bitter. However he did write to King Carlos the first of Spain, calling "xocoatl" a "beverage that builds up resistance and fights fatigue." Etymologists trace the origin of the word "chocolate" to the Aztec word "xocoatl," which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods."

For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. One bean could be traded for a tamale, while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec document.

Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical, or even divine, properties, suitable for use in the most sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. According to Chloe Doutre-Roussel's book The Chocolate Connoisseur, Aztec sacrifice victims who felt too melancholy to join in ritual dancing before their death were often given a gourd of chocolate (tinged with the blood of previous victims) to cheer them up.

Sweetened chocolate didn't appear until Europeans discovered the Americas and sampled the native cuisine. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes with a banquet that included drinking chocolate, having tragically mistaken him for a reincarnated deity instead of a conquering invader. Chocolate didn't suit the foreigners' tastebuds at first –one described it in his writings as "a bitter drink for pigs" – but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain.

By the 17th century, chocolate was a fashionable drink throughout Europe, believed to have nutritious, medicinal and even aphrodisiac properties (it's rumored that Casanova was especially fond of the stuff). But it remained largely a privilege of the rich until the invention of the steam engine made mass production possible in the late 1700s.

Bibliography:

"The True History of Chocolate", authors Sophie and Michael Coe
"The Chocolate Connoisseur" Chloe Doutre- Roussel.
"Traités nouveaux & curieux du café du thé et du chocolate", by Philippe Sylvestre Dufour, 1685.

More about the History of Chocolate and Chocolate Recipes in Mexican Cuisine in next installment of Learning Spanish is Fun

History of Tapas: From King Alfonso to Modern Madrid

2011-03-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

What are Tapas
Tapas are to Spain what Dim Sum is to China, Hors d'oerves to France, Meze to the Middle East., Chaat to Pakistan and India, Antojitos and Bar Food to the Americas, Izakaya to Japan. The word "tapas" is derived from the Spanish verb tapar, "to cover". In Spain, the main meals of the day is a late lunch around 2 pm and then a late dinner around 10pm, supplemented by smaller meals. In Spain, people go to bars afterwork to have a copa and typically small finger foods or " tapas" to tie them over until their late dinner.

History of Tapas
According to legend, the tapas tradition began when King Alfonso of Castile recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns would not be allowed to serve wine to customers unless it was accompanied by a small snack or "tapa." He issued a royal decree that insisted that everyone should take food with their drinks. A slight variation of this one is that the benevolent king simply insisted that food should be taken with any drink out of concerns for the health issues associated with drinking on an empty stomach

Tapas, like Flamenco dance has evolved through Spanish history by incorporating traditions influences from many different cultures and countries. The Iberian Penisula was invaded by the Romanswho introduced the of the irrigation methods. The invasion of the North African Moors in the 8th century brought almonds, citrus fruits and fragrant spices.The influence of their 700-year presence remains today, especially Andalusia.The discovery of the New World brought the introduction of tomatoes, maize(corn),Chili Peppers, beans,and potatoes. These were readily accepted and easily grown in Spain's varying climates.

Classic Spanish-Style Tapas
As Spain is located on the Iberian peninsula and therefore very nearly surrounded by water, seafood and shellfish naturally play a huge part in Spanish gastronomy. A few delicacies of the sea to try are calamares frito(fried squid), cod fritters, Gambas al Ajillio (prawns in hot, garlic oil), and boquerones (anchovies). Moving away from seafood, other typical tapas include chorizo (sausage), Patatas Brava (" Brave" Potatoes), a variety of casserole stews, callos (tripe with chickpeas), jamón serrano (cured ham), albondigas (meatballs) and Tortilla Espanola (Spanish potato omelette).

Modern Spain-Tapas Hopping
Don't be shy about asking what order as most bars will suggest that you try their specialties, which usually happen to be the region's specialties as well. Tapas menus undeniably vary as you move through Spain; the best tapas in central Madrid, for example, are sure to be different from the choice tapas along the northern Galician shores. However, regardless of whether you're relaxing along the Mediterranean or channelling your inner Don Quixote de La Mancha , you are sure to find some common tapas "classics." Unfortunately the days of free tapas are over in much of Spain. Read more about where you can still get free tapas in Spain. If the tapas is given to you without you having asked for it, it will be free.

In conclusion, eating tapas is a sumptuous gastronomical experience that will be different from region to region in Spain. Tapas can be simple finger foods like olives or almonds, canapés or Spanish omelets, cut into squares and served on toothpicks, or deep-fried croquettes. They can also be more elaborate hot, saucy foods served in small earthenware casseroles. Whip up a pitcher of sangria and try a few of these tapas recipes at your next party.

Classic Tapas Recipes

Albondigas ( Meatballs)
Gambas al Ajillio ( Sizzing Garlic Shrimp)
Tortilla Espanola con Aioli ( Spanish Torta with Aioli)
Champiniones al Ajillio ( Mushrooms in Garlic)
Mejillioines Escabechado ( Marinated Mussels)

For Tapas Parties contact me, at sabrina@escuela-espanol.com

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Part 1: History of Flamenco

2010-09-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Origins of Flamenco
Flamenco is part of the culture of Spain, but it's origins is only select to one region, Andalusia. The cities in Andalucia are Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba,Jerez, and Malaga,and reflect the great Moorish influence,since historically Moors ruled from the 7th to 11th century. What makes flamenco interesting is the influence of other dance forms that have helped to create it. The earliest settlers in Andalusia came not only from the Middle East,North Africa and Persia,but from the Punjab region of India,Rajasthan. We call them the gypsies. Flamenco is an amalgamation of all cultures. It has drawn its inspiration from Greek, Roman, Indian, Moorish and Jewish cultures.

Flamenco was born from the frustration and heart aches of the oppressed peple in Spain: the Jews, gypsies,and Moors. Since the time of the Spanish Iniquisition, the Jews, Moors and Gypsies were treated as outsiders, often persecuted disdained and hated by the Spanish people. Flamenco was born from this, as a spirtual outlet very much like gospel was born from the opression of the American slaves.Often whole families would gather impromptu in their neighborhoods to sing,dance and entertain for their community.It was not until later that flamenco became an accepted artform. It took a long time for flamenco to become accepted as an artform in Spain. It was not until non-gyspies performed it in cafes and theaters that it became popular. It has been since,commercialized and now has many schools that train to dancers to be full fledged flamenco dancers, combining thier training with ballet.

Flamenco and Gypsies
Until the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, Flamenco dance, music and song was widely considered to belong to the Gypsies, whose customs, beliefs and way of life were disdained and even hated by Spanish society. During and for centuries after the famous expulsion of the Moors and Jews in 1492, the Gypsies were tortured, persecuted and even killed if they would not conform to the accepted standard of Spanish society. Nomadic by nature, many of the Gypsies never settled in one town for very long; they would stay in one location only as long as they were able to make money doing odd jobs, selling their wares, and many of them performing Flamenco for the curious Spaniards.

Expulsion of the Gypsies in Spain

Famenco, a tri-art:
The traditional view is that flamenco was originally unaccompanied singing (cante). Later, the songs were accompanied by flamenco guitar (toque), rhythmic hand clapping (palmas), rhythmic feet stomping (zapateado) and dance (baile). Other scholars maintain that while some cante forms are unaccompanied (a palo seco), it is likely other forms were accompanied if and when instruments were available. 19th century writer Estébanez Calderón described a flamenco fiesta in which the singing was accompanied not only by guitars, but also bandurria and tambourine.

Flamenco Dance Categories
Flamenco dance has many as 50 different dimensions, each projecting the different moods of a person. The mood reflects the nature of the dance and sets the melodic parameters and the cultural backdrop for it. The three main categories of Flamenco music and dance are: Jondo or the grande, which depicts the lament and the grief of the people. It centers on themes of death, anguish, despair or religious sentiment. Intermedio (intermediate), which is of a lesser intensity, but is reflective in nature. It is often accompanied with an oriental cast to the music. Chico (small or light), which depict the feelings of love, ribald humor and happiness.

Flamenco Today
Today flamenco is being performed by gypsies as well as non-gypsies, far away from its birthplace, and achieved acclaims globally. There is a man that has a flamenco dance troup.In modern Spain, flamenco is fully a part of Spanish culture and echoes of Spanish flamenco have colored main stream pop. Many Spanish pop singers have that ache and heartbreak in their voice reminiscent of Spanish Flamenco singers. It is evident in the singing style of many pop singers, like Estopa, Rosario, Azucar Moreno, and Chambao to name a few.Flamenco is quiet evident and weddings and parties and social events. An American man forms a Flamenco dance troupe.

Spanish poet Fredererico Garcia Lorca said of Flamenco.
"Flamenco is deeper than all the wells and all the seas that surround the world, deeper than the hearts that create it, or the voices that sing it, almost infinite. It crosses the graveyard of time and the fronds of parched winds. It comes from the first sob and the first kiss."

A trip to Spain, would not be complete without going to a restaurant or café and experiencing the drama and passion of an authentic Flamenco performance.

Stay Tuned to Flamenco:Part 2

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Part 1: Learn Spanish with through Shakira's songs

2010-08-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Shakira, the Colombian chanteuse became the world's biggest Latin crossover artist with her hit album Laundry Service in 2001. Born to parents of Colombian and Lebanese decent, Shakira Mebarak discovered her love of singing and at very young age. The rest is history.

She's an excellent song writer and lyricist. Through out the years she's evolved from Rocker, Belly Dancer, and now she's in her more diva phase with songslike Gypsy and She Wolf. I personally love her original raspy voice. She sang the songtrack for the movie, " Love in the Time of Cholera". The haunting lyrics of Hay Amores and Despedida. Here are a few songs to see for yourself.

Donde Esta Corazon

Wherever, Whenever

Ojos Asi

Ciego Sordo Muda

I find listening to Spanish music an excellent way to learn Spanish. It's great to hear the song first in Spanish, and then read the lyrics once in Spanish. Next, study the lyrics in English, then, listen to the song again,
and see if you don't have a better understanding. Here are some song lyrics below with the Spanish lyrics, and then the English Translation below.

SONG LYRICS
Estoy Aqui
Donde Estas Corazon
Ciego Sordo Mudo
Ojos Asi
Si Te Vas

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Sister Acts from Spain

2010-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of sister acts from Spain, here are two of them, Azucar Moreno and Las Ketchup. Las Ketchup are more recent all Girl Pop group and the song that made them famous is called, "Asejere" or known as "The Ketchup" song.

The Azucar Moreno sisters have been around since the Nineties. I remember buying their music in the 90's,you might be familiar yourself with the popular hit "Solo se Vive Una Vez" and "Mambo"Mambo.There quite gorgeous and I love their sultry music.

Azucar Moreno- Mambo

Azúcar Moreno (Spanish for “brown sugar”) is the name of a famous music duo from Spain. Composed by sisters Toñi and Encarna Salazar, the singing duo comes from Extremadura. They are part of a large family of performers: .

Azucar Moreno became famous all over Spain, the rest of Europe and Latin America, after singing their song "Bandido" at the Eurovision Song Contest 1990. Like David Bustamante in my previous blog, they also sing a beautiful rendition of a classic Spanish love song, "Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti" and a version of the Gloria Gaynor classic, I Will Survive, in Spanish, it's called, "Sobrevivire".

Azucar Moreno- Bandido

Azucar Moreno- Besame

Las Ketchup is a 4-girl group (previously consisting of three sisters), whose members are Lola, Pilar, Lucía and Rocio Muñoz from Córdoba in Andalucia, Spain. They are the daughters of Juan Muñoz, a flamenco guitarist known as El Tomate (The Tomato).

Prior to Rocio’s addition to the group in 2006, the other three girls had success with their worldwide hit “Aserejé”, also known as The Ketchup Song in 2002. It reached or almost reached the top of the charts in many countries including Spain, UK, Italy, Greece, France, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, Argentina, Poland, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, India, Australia and Puerto Rico. However, it failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard.

Their first single as a 4-girl group was "Bloody Mary" (like the name of the CD) was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The song did not perform as well as expected, ending 21st with only 18 points.

Las Ketchup-Asereje

Las Ketchup- Kusha La Paya

Lyrics:
Las Ketchup- Asejere
Las Ketchup- Kusha La Paya
Azucar Moreno- Besame
Azucar Moreno-Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti

Listening to music, is the best way in my book, to learn languages.The more you learn Spanish, the more you can enjoy the music, and the more you learn about Spanish music, the more you can enjoy Spanish.
Spanish music has a great heritage and in the future, I will be writing more about different genres: Flamenco, Rumba, Tango, Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia,and Bachata.

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Some Hip Spanish Pop Artists

2010-07-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

There is more to Popular Spanish music than just Ricky Martin, Shakira and Julio Iglesias.Here is a list of some music I just discovered recently.Most of the artist I have selected have reached the top in Spanish music Charts for 2010.

Estopa is a pop/flamenco duo founded in 1999 by brothers José and David Muñoz of Cornellà de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat), Catalonia. Their first album, Estopa, has sold well over 1,000,000 copies to date (the equivalent of an American platinum album) and their latest, Voces de Ultrarumba, sold more than 200,000 copies on its first day of release. Their playful, Rumba-tinged compositions have made them one of the most successful pop groups in Spanish history, in terms of both album sales and critical acclaim. The name of the group, “Estopa” (tow, in english) refers to when both brothers worked together at a SEAT automobile factory and, in their own words, a boss kept on screaming at them, “¡Dale estopa!” which means something like “Work hard!”.

Estopa - Vino Tinto

El Run Run con Rosario has been on the top charts for 21 weeks in 2010.

David Bisbal (born June 5, 1979) is a Spanish singer. Bisbal was the second finalist of the reality show “Operación Triunfo”, a show inspired by American Idol.Bisbal’s first album, Corazón Latino (Latin Heart), was a smash hit in Spain and all over Latin America, so much so that he had to schedule a 2002-2003 tour that covered the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and a good portion of the rest of South America and Central America, as well as the United States. It is estimated Bisbal has already earned over one million US dollars in his career as a singer. Ave María, Lloraré Las Penas and Dígale were huge hits.

David Bisbal- Ave Maria

Bustamante’s breakthrough was in the TV hit Operación Triunfo. This program, similar to American Idol, broke ratings records as well as dominated the top position of the CD sales charts during its 5 month run. When the program ended in February 2002, David Bustamante was one of the three finalists.David Bustamante has had big success in Spain and Latin America. He has sold over 1,400,000 units. His new album Al filo de la irrealidad went platinum at the top of the Spanish charts, and it was released by Universal music, in the USA and Latin America the last 3 March 2008.

David Bustamante- Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti

Jorge Drexler (b. September 21, 1964) is an Uruguayan singer, the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for composing the song “Al Otro Lado del Río” from The Motorcycle Diaries. Though Drexler himself sang the song on the soundtrack, it was performed together by Antonio Banderas and Santana at the 77th Academy Awards ceremony.

Drexler was born in Montevideo, where he studied medicine and became a doctor. He also studied music and recorded two albums (Radar, La luz que sabe robar), which were only released in Uruguay. In 1995 he was invited to Madrid (Spain) by well-known Spanish songwriter Joaquín Sabina, who introduced him to other important Spanish singers. Drexler went to Spain to record the album Vaivén in 1996 with Spanish musicians. Vaivén included some old songs from his previous releases mixed with new compositions. He moved to Spain and recorded another five albums: Llueve (1998), Frontera (1999), Sea (2001), Eco (2004) and 12 Segundos de Oscuridad (2006).

Although he lives most of the year in Spain, his latest three albums were partially recorded in Uruguay with Uruguayan musicians. Juan Campodónico and Carlos Casacuberta, former members of rock band El Peyote Asesino, have produced Drexler’s albums since Frontera.

His music is a combination of Uruguayan traditional music (candombe, murga, milonga), bossa nova, pop, jazz and electronic music, which results in very personal compositions with original arrangements.

Jorge Drexler- Guittara y Vos

For Estopa's Anniversary Compilation
X Aniversarivm

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Spanish and Latin American Poetry

2010-06-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

A great way to learn Spanish is through poetry. Hearing the rythym, the cadence, the pauses in between words, the mystery and romance of the Spanish language comes alive. If you don't know Spanish or your just learning the language, read the English version first and then Spanish. Either way, it will be a good way to understand the nuances and subtleties of the Spanish language. Subsequently, you will have enrichened your knowledge not just of Spanish, but of poetry.

Here are some of my favorite Spanish and Latin American poets that I think you will enjoy.

Neruda- Me Gusta Cuando Callas

Neruda- Puedo Escribir los Versos Mas Triste

Garcia Lorca's Poem: Verde Que Te Quiero Verde

Ernesto Cardenal

Machado Recita la Poesia de Ruben Dario

I will be having more blogs on Spanish and Latin American Poets in the future.

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Ruben Dario: Father of Modernism

2010-05-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ruben Dario marks an important shift in the relationship between literary Europe and America. Before him, American literary trends had largely followed European ones; however, Darío was clearly the international vanguard of the Modernist Movement. The poetry we read now in the 21 st century is a mixture of Modernism and Post Modernism.Modernist elements include 1)experimentaion 2) anti-realilsm,
3)individualism, and 4) intellectualism.

Here is a poem Dario wrote in honor of Roosevelt. It is a good example of the intellectualism rife in Modernist poetry.

A ROOSEVELT

Es con voz de la Biblia, o verso de Walt Whitman,

que habría que llegar hasta ti, Cazador!

Primitivo y moderno, sencillo y complicado,

con un algo de Washington y cuatro de Nemrod.

Eres los Estados Unidos,

eres el futuro invasor

de la América ingenua que tiene sangre indígena,

que aún reza a Jesucristo y aún habla en español.

Eres soberbio y fuerte ejemplar de tu raza;

eres culto, eres hábil; te opones a Tolstoy.

Y domando caballos, o asesinando tigres,

eres un Alejandro-Nabucodonosor.

(Eres un profesor de energía,

como dicen los locos de hoy.)

Crees que la vida es incendio,

que el progreso es erupción;

en donde pones la bala

el porvenir pones.

No.

Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes.

Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor

que pasa por las vértebras enormes de los Andes.

Si clamáis, se oye como el rugir del león.

Ya Hugo a Grant le dijo: «Las estrellas son vuestras».

(Apenas brilla, alzándose, el argentino sol

y la estrella chilena se levanta...) Sois ricos.

Juntáis al culto de Hércules el culto de Mammón;

y alumbrando el camino de la fácil conquista,

la Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva York.

Dario emphasises the cerebreal aspects of this poem as he alludes to Bacchus,Netzahualcoyotl,Atlantis,Montezuma and Plato.

Roberto González Echevarría considers him the beginning of the modern era in Spanish language poetry: "In Spanish, there is poetry before and after Rubén Darío, he is the first major poet in the language since the seventeenth century." He ushered Spanish-language poetry into the modern era by incorporating the aesthetic ideals and modern anxieties of Parnassiens and Symbolism, as Garcilaso had infused Castilian verse with Italianate forms and spirit in the sixteenth century, transforming it forever.

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Nicaragua: Land of Poets

2010-05-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Words should paint the color of sound, the aroma of a star."
Rubén Darío

The very famous and controversial writer Salman Rushdie, wrote his first non fiction book on Nicaragua, The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey, it's about his time in 1986 when he travels all over the country and talks to everyone from the campesino to the politician. He quotes the great poet from Granada, José Coronel Urtecho,who once said that "Every Nicaraguan is a poet until proven otherwise".

All Nicaraguans whether they are the campesino, coffee plantation owner, policeman, lawyer and politician know how to write and recite poetry. Poetry is a national past time, and it's very often that you hear people address each other as in "Hey poet !"

The love of poetry in Nicaragua can be traced back to
Rubén Darío(1867-1916). But before Dario, there were poets like Salomon de la Selva, ( 1893-1959),who was the first Latin American poet to be nominated for the Nobel Prize.Another famous Nicaraguan Poet that also lived in Dario's house at another time was Alonso Cortes. But it was Ruben Dario, otherwise known as the Father of Modernism, who solidified poetry as the country's dominant art form.

Most Nicaraguans have a passion for poetry and young children, beginning in first grade learn to express themselves in poetry and team up with other classmates to recite Ruben Dario's poetry.Margarita Debayle is one of Dario's most famous poems and is most Nicaraguans know it by memory.

Two great poets, Garcia Lorca ( Spain) and Pablo Neruda ( Chile) pay tribute to Ruben Dario in this effervescent and witty dialogue.

Neruda: His red name deserves to be remembered, along with his essential tendencies, his terrible heartaches, his incandescent uncertainties, his descent to the hospitals of hell, his ascent to the castles of fame, his attributes as a great poet, now and forever undeniable.

García Lorca: As a Spanish poet he taught the old and the young in Spain with a generosity and a sense of universality that are lacking in the poets of today. He taught Valle-Inclán and Juan Ramón Jiménez and the Machado brothers, and his voice was water and niter in the furrows of our venerable language. From Rodrigo Caro to the Argensolas or Don Juan Arguijo, Spanish had not seen such plays on words, such clashes of consonants, such lights and forms, as in Rubén Darío. From the landscapes of Velázquez and Goya's bonfire and Quevedo's melancholy to the elegant apple color of the Mallorcan peasant girls, Darío walked the Spanish earth as in his own land.

For such a small country,(the size of New York state) Nicaragua produces more poets and writers, than any other profession.

Here is a list of Nicaraguan Poets

Gioconda Belli,(1948)designated amongst the 100 most important poets during the 20th century.
Claribel Alegría (1924), poet, she received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2006.
Héctor Avellán (1973), poet
Eugenio Batres Garcia (1941) noted newscaster and journalist, writer, author and poet.
Beltrán Morales (1945-1986) poet, essayist, critic and narrator.
Erick Blandón Guevara (1951), poet
Yolanda Blanco (1954), poet and translator.
Tomás Borge (1930), writer, poet, and essayist.
Carola Brantome (1961), poet and journalist.
Omar Cabezas (1950), writer
Blanca Castellón (1961), poet
Ernesto Cardenal (1925), poet
Blanca Castellón (1958), poet
Lizandro Chávez Alfaro (1929), poet, essayist and narrator.
Juan Chow (1956), poet
José Coronel Urtecho (1906-1994), poet, translator, essayist, critic, narrator, playwright, and historian.
Alfonso Cortés (1893-1969), poet
Pablo Antonio Cuadra (1912-2002), poet
Rubén Darío (1867-1916), poet, referred to as The Father of Modernism.
Gloria Gabuardi (1945), poet and writer.
Mercedes Gordillo (1938), poet, writer and critic.
Salomón Ibarra Mayorga (1887-1985), poet and lyricist of "Salve a ti, Nicaragua", the Nicaraguan national anthem.
Erwin Krüger (1915-1973), poet and composer.
Marta Leonor González (1973), poet, narrator and journalist.
Danilo López (1954), poet
Tino López Guerra (1906-2001), poet
Rigoberto López Pérez (1929-1936), poet and writer.
María Lourdes Pallais (1954), narrator and journalist.
Carlos Martínez Rivas (1924-1998), poet
Francisco Mayorga (1949), writer
Ernesto Mejía Sánchez (1923-1985), poet
Christianne Meneses Jacobs (1971), writer, editor, and publisher.
Vidaluz Meneses (1944) poet
Tania Montenegro (1969), poet and journalist.
Rosario Murillo (1951), poet
Michèle Najlis (1948), poet
Daniel Ortega (1945), poet
Azarias H. Pallais (1884–1954), poet
Raphael Pallais (1952), writer
Joaquin Pasos (1914-1947), poet
Horacio Peña (1946), writer and poet.
Rodrigo Peñalba Franco (1981), narrator and author.
Sergio Ramírez (1942), writer
Guillermo Rothschuh Tablada (1926), poet
María Teresa Sánchez (1918-1994), poet
Mariana Sansón Argüello (1918), poet
Eunice Shade (1980), writer
Arlen Siu (?-1972), essayist
Juan Sobalvarro (1966), poet
Milagros Terán (1963), writer, poet, and essayist.
Julio Valle Castillo (1952), poet, novelist, essayist, literary critic and art critic
Daisy Zamora (1950), poet
Flavio Cesar Tijerino(1926-2006) Writer and poet.

Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (born January 20, 1925) is a Nicaraguan Catholic priest and was one of the most famous liberation theologians of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, a party he has since left. From 1979 to 1987 he served as Nicaragua's first culture minister. He is also famous as a poet. Cardenal was also the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived for more than ten years (1965-1977). He was nominated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in May 2005.

Poetry Resources:
Articles on Nicaraguan Poets
For a Description of Modernism

Darios Books:
Translation of Dario's poem,Roosevelt
Rubén Darío y Nicaragua: Bilingual anthology of poetry
Azul (Spanish Edition)
Poesias (Spanish Edition)
Ernesto Cardenal's Books:
Pluriverse: New and Selected Poems
Love: A Glimpse of Eternity
Apocalypse, and Other Poems
Other Recommended Bilingual Books:
Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology (The Texas Pan American Series) (English and Spanish Edition)

If you are interested in Spanish Classes contact me at http://www.escuela-espanol.com

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Arabic Words in Spanish

2010-04-19T00:06:00.001-07:00

If you speak either Spanish or English, you probably speak more Arabic than you think you do.It's not "real" Arabic you're speaking, but rather words that come from Arabic. After Latin and English, Arabic is probably the biggest contributor of words to the> Spanish language, and a large portion of English-Spanish cognates (words that the two language share) that don't come from Latin come from Arabic.

The English words you're most likely to think of as Arabic origin are those that start with "al-," words such as "algebra," "Allah," "alkali" and "alchemy," and they exist in Spanish as álgebra, Alá, álkali and alkimia, respectively. But they are far from the only ones. A variety of other types of common words such as "coffee," "zero" and "sugar" (café, cero and azúcar in Spanish) also come from Arabic.

The etymology of English words goes beyond the scope of this article, but the introduction of Arabic words into Spanish began in earnest in the eighth century, although even before then some words of Latin and Greek origin had roots in Arabic. People living in what is now Spain spoke Latin at one time, of course, but over the centuries Spanish and other Romance languages such as French and Italian gradually differentiated themselves. The Latin dialect that eventually became Spanish was highly influenced by the invasion of the Arabic-speaking Moors in 711. For many centuries, Latin/Spanish and Arabic existed side by side, and even today many Spanish place names retain Arabic roots. It wasn't until late in the 15th century that the Moors were expelled, and by then literally thousands of Arabic words had become part of Spanish.

On the next page are some of the most common Arabic-origin Spanish words you'll come across. As you can see, many of the words also are a part of English. Although it is believed that the English words "alfalfa" and "alcove," which originally were Arabic, entered English by way of Spanish (alfalfa and alcoba), most Arabic words in English probably entered English by other routes. Not all possible English translations of the Spanish words are listed.

aceite — oil
adobe — adobe
aduana — customs (as at a border)
ajedrez — chess
Alá — Allah
alacrán — scorpion
albacora — albacore
albahaca — basil
alberca — tank, swimming pool
alcade — mayor
alcatraz — pelican
alcázar — fortress, palace
alcoba — bedroom, alcove
alcohol — alcohol
aldea — village (same source as English word "alderman")
alfombra — carpet
algarroba — carob
algodón — cotton
algoritmo — algorithm
alkimia — alchemy
almacén — storage
almanaque — almanac
almirante — admiral
almohada — pillow
alquiler — rent
amalgama — amalgam
arroz — rice
asesino — assassin
atún — tuna
ayatolá — ayatollah
azafrán — saffron
azúcar — sugar
azul — blue (same source as English "azure")
baño — bathroom
barrio — district
berenjena — eggplant
burca — burqa
café — coffee
cero — zero
chisme — gossip, gadget
Corán — Koran
cuzcuz — couscous
dado — die (singular of "dice")
embarazada — pregnant
espinaca — spinach
fez — fez
fulano — what's-his-name
gacela — gazelle
guitarra — guitar
hachís — hashish
harén — harem
hasta — until
imán — imam
islam — Islam
jaque — check (in chess)
jaque mate — checkmate
jirafa — giraffe
laca — lacquer
lila — lilac
lima — lime
limón — lemon
macabro — macabre
marfil — marble, ivory
masacre — massacre
masaje — massage
máscara — mask
mazapán — marzipan
mezquita — mosque
momia — mummy
mono — monkey
muslim — muslim
naranja — orange
ojalá — I hope, God willing
olé — bravo
paraíso — paradise
ramadán — Ramadan
rehén — hostage
rincón — corner, nook
sorbete — sherbet
sofá — sofa
rubio — blond
talco — talc
tamarindo — tamarind
tarea — task
tarifa — tariff
toronja — grapefruit
zanahoria — carrot

Why Learn Spanish?

2010-04-18T01:21:00.001-07:00

Who's learning Spanish these days? For starters, residents of the United States, a bunch not known for conquering monoligualism, are studying Spanish in record numbers. Spanish, too, is becoming of greater importance in Europe, where it often the foreign language of choice after English. And it's no wonder that Spanish is a popular second or third language: with some 400 million speakers, it's the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese and Hindustani), and according to some counts it has more native speakers than English does. It is an official language on four continents and is of historical importance elsewhere.

The numbers alone makes Spanish a good choice for those wanting to learn another tongue. But there are plenty of other reasons to learn Spanish. Better understanding of English: Much of the vocabulary of English has Latin origins, much of which came to English by way of French. Since Spanish is also a Latin language, you will find as you study Spanish that you have a better understanding of your native vocabulary. Similarly, both Spanish and English share Indo-European roots, so their grammars are similar. There is perhaps no more effective way to learn English grammar than by studying the grammar of another language, for the study forces you to think about how your language is structured. It's not unusual, for example, to gain an understanding of English verbs' tenses and moods by learning how those verbs are used in Spanish.

Knowing your neighbors: Not all that many years ago, the Spanish-speaking population of the United States was confined to the Mexican border states, Florida and New York City. But no more. Even where I live, less than 100 kilometers from the Canadian border, there are Spanish-speaking people living on the same street as I do. Knowing Spanish has proven invaluable in speaking with other residents of my town who don't know English.

Travel: Yes, it is perfectly possible to visit Mexico, Spain and even Ecuatorial Guinea without speaking a word of Spanish. But it isn't nearly half as much fun. I remember about two decades ago — when my Spanish was much less adequate than it is today — when I met some mariachis on top of one of the pyramids near Mexico City. Because I spoke (albeit limited) Spanish, they wrote down the words for me so I could sing along. It turned out to be one of my most memorable travel experiences, and one unlike most tourists have the opportunity to enjoy. Time and time again while traveling in Mexico, Central America and South America I have had doors opened to me simply because I speak Spanish, allowing me to see and do things that many other visitors do not.

Cultural understanding: While most of us (Pope John Paul II may be an exception) can't hope to learn the languages of more than one or two cultures other than that of our own, those that we can learn help us to learn how other people learn and think. When I read Latin American or Spanish newspapers, for example, I often find that I gain a sense of how other people think and feel, a way that is different than my own. Spanish also offers a wealth of literature, both modern and traditional.

Learning other languages: If you can learn Spanish, you'll have a head start in learning the other Latin-based languages such as French and Italian. And it will even help you learn Russian and German, since they too have Indo-European roots and have some characteristics (such as gender and extensive conjugation) that are present in Spanish but not English. And I wouldn't be surprised if learning Spanish might even help you learn Japanese or any other non-Indo-European language, since intensive learning the structure of a language can give you a reference point for learning others.

It's easy: Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages to learn. Much of its vocabulary is similar to English's, and written Spanish is almost completely phonetic: Look at almost any Spanish word and you can tell how it is pronounced. And while mastering the grammar of Spanish can be a challenge, basic grammar is straightforward enough that you can have meaningful communication after only a few lessons.

Berlitz Latin American Spanish (Berlitz Phrase Book & CD) (Spanish Edition)