From Argentina With Love

Argentinean Gnocchi and...a Travel Guide

In February I posted about Argentina's beloved tradition of eating ñoquis (gnocchi) on the 29th of every month in honor of the feast day of San Pantaleon, one of the patron saints of Venice.  Guillermo and I have started hosting 'ñoqui nights' at our house-inviting friends to share a meal with us, and rolling out gnocchi together-a sure recipe for a good time!  We always follow the tradition of placing money under our plates for good fortune in the month to come.

Maybe the saints heard us!  I've had the good fortune of finding and meeting so many other bloggers, writers, and all-around lovers of Argentina since then.  The website Argentina's Travel Guide is one example.  The concept of their site is a guidebook as a website-a very practical idea, since today's travelers tote laptops and i-Phones, rather than bulky guidebooks.

The site is a wealth of information about every region in Argentina, with things to do, places to stay, itineraries, and activities.  The webpage reads like a newspaper, and along with all the resources, information, and forums they provide, they also run articles about Argentinean culture-from street slang to recipes.

That's where I come in!  Argentina's Travel Guide has asked me to write a series of articles and recipes for them.  They'll be classic Argentinean recipes that travelers would eat and want to know how to make when they return home. 

My first article for them is all about Ñoquis of the 29th Day of the month-why the tradition got started, and of course, how to make the gnocchi to celebrate it!  The ñoquis I made for this article have half pesto sauce, half tomato sauce, and  shaved Parmesan on top- red, white and green tricolor in honor of the Italian flag.  Since I've already posted about how to make gnocchi, I'll share the sauce recipes with you here.   

The pesto is simple and delicious-a perfect topping for any pasta , spread for bread or as a pizza sauce.  The tomato sauce is the perfect simple sauce-using fresh herbs and whole cloves of garlic-good for just about anything!

Receta para Pesto-Recipe for Pesto Sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt-or more to taste

olive oil

shredded Parmesan

1 and 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

Put the minced garlic and the salt in a mortar and pestle, and smash the garlic together with the salt until the flavors are incorporated.  Chop the basil leaves very fine, and put in a bowl.  Add the garlic, olive oil and shredded Parmesan.  Mix well until incorporated.  Serve as suggested above.

Receta para Salsa de Tomates-Tomato Sauce Recipe

6 whole cloves garlic, skins removed

Olive oil (about 5 Tablespoons)

salt (to taste-less than a teaspoon)

1 teaspoon sugar

huge handful of basil

large can crushed tomatoes

juice from 1/2 a lemon

pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic cloves and cook until slightly golden, but not burnt.  The garlic will have infused the oil with its flavor.  Add the tomatoes and mix well.  Add in salt, sugar, basil, lemon juice and red pepper.  Stir until mixed in.  Cover, and raise heat to medium high, bringing the sauce to a simmer.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Serve over pasta or gnocchi with Parmesan on top!

Argentina Photo of the Week #7-Ukrainian Church, Bowen

A couple of months ago, when this blog was as fresh as a newborn baby, Gretchen from Canela y Comino tagged me with a meme to name five interesting facts about myself.  I mentioned there that Guillermo and I were married in a Ukrainian church in Bowen-it's called Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Soccorro-Our Lady of  Perpetual Help. Fr. Ismael, the priest, does mass every week in Spanish and in Ukrainian. 

The church is in Bowen, an area that at one time was populated primarily by Ukrainian and Russian immigrants.  It was the dream of Fr. Basilio, a Ukrainian priest who wanted to minister to the Ukrainian farming community.  He didn't live to see the construction of the church completed, but was instrumental in raising the money to build it, and in getting the  dome made. 

Unlike many other Catholic churches, the adornment in this church is simple-the stained glass windows are blue and yellow cross patterned, the walls are white, and the pews are of unfinished wood.  The exception is the cloth used on the alter and in ceremonies-hand embroidered in typical Ukrainian style with intricate red crosses.  The portrait of the Virgin Mary is in the Byzantine style of Russian icons.

Since I got tagged with that meme in February, this blog has grown like a vine!  Over the past 4 months, I have met some amazing people, and have had readers from all over the world and most of the 50 states-many of whom have sent me emails.  It's just incredible to me to be connected this way.  On another note, this has been an exciting week! 

George, author of Culinary Travels of  a Kitchen Goddess has honored me with this award:

                                                      

Thank you!!   I will be thinking about who else to pass it along to!

I also received another award this week:   Adam Roberts, author of the blog Amateur Gourmet and host of the Food Network show the FN Dish did a show last month about food blogging called Meet the Bloggers where he challenged new food bloggers to submit their pages so he could choose his favorite.   

And guess what?  From Argentina With Love won!  It's Adam Roberts' favorite new food blog!Congratulations also to the two other winners,  The Guerrilla Gourmet and The Arugula Files.  A big thank you to Adam, of course, and to all the other readers of this blog, both returning and new!   

Here's the FN Dish episode that started it all:

WOW!  I can't wait to see what happens next week!

Dulce de Leche Gelato-Helado de Dulce de Leche

(Does gelato like this really even need an introduction?)

Perhaps you've heard that Argentinians speak Spanish with an Italian accent-that's true, and they're also loud and passionate (even when discussing something unimportant), and gesture a lot.  But Argentineans also eat with an Italian accent! 

In Argentina, helado (ice cream) is more like Italy's gelato-softer and creamier than American ice cream, and with typical flavors like chocolate hazelnut, dulce de leche, and sambayon (which is the Spanish spelling of zabaione) custard-flavored gelato typically served with fruit.  Some of the more uncommon flavors include malbec (made from the wine), watermelon, or coconut.  Truly, it's almost divine.

I had the luck of finding what I personally believe might just be the best helado in Argentina on our last trip.  (Of course, I haven't had the chance to do a formal evaluation, touring all the heladerias in Argentina...yet.)

I felt like Elizabeth Gilbert in her book Eat, Pray, Love in which she samples the gelato of one particular shop several times in one day just to make sure it's as good as she thinks it is.  I'm here to say: it is-I know because I did the same thing!

Like the Italians in Gilbert's book, Argentinians are "...masters at the beauty of doing nothing"  (And that's a compliment, by the way.  As she goes on to say, Americans are list-makers, multitaskers, work too hard and burn ourselves out-we have a hard time slowing down, relaxing (and giving ourselves permission to relax!)  In Argentina, relaxing is part of life.  They work hard, but also enjoy taking their kids out for ice cream on a Friday night, sitting there and chatting for a couple of hours with friends and letting the kids entertain themselves.  You know, relaxing.

Oh, and that heladeria...it really is the best-Rafael Rodriguez and his family have been making helado in Argentina for three generations.  I was lucky enough to see how the ice cream is made (in small batches daily) and how they have elevated making helado  to a true art form.

I promise to write all about that on a day very soon, but today, you get this delicious recipe inspired by my visit to his shop-the ideal way to celebrate summer being around the corner.  I promise it won't disappoint-and it's very quick and easy.

                                   Receta para Helado de Dulce de Leche

                                       Recipe for Dulce de Leche Gelato

For this recipe, there's the gelato base, and then there's dulce de leche, which is just folded into the finished gelato or drizzled over the top (like in the picture).

Gelato base:

3 cups milk

1 and 1/2 cup heavy cream

4 eggs,  yolks only

1/2 cup vanilla sugar* if available

1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, mix the milk and cream and heat over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges.  Remove from heat.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars together until the sugars are incorporated and the mixture is frothy.  Slowly add the warm milk to the sugar mixture, whisking continuously.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat and stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of the spoon.  If the egg starts to get lumpy-the heat is too hot!  Remove from heat immediately.

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer or sieve into a bowl.  Cover and put in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Transfer to a sealed container and freeze until firm-if it gets too hard, bring it down to the fridge to soften.

To add the dulce de leche, put one layer (several scoops) of the gelato base and a layer of dulce de leche on top.  Put another layer of of the gelato base and mix together by making a figure 8 pattern with a spatula.  Alternatively, drizzle the dulce de leche over the top.  For my previous post on dulce de leche, click here.

*Vanilla sugar is sugar (about 4 cups) that has had a whole vanilla bean immersed in it for two to three weeks.  (in a sealed container) The sugar then takes on a vanilla flavor, and can be used for many desserts.

Swiss Chard Tart-Tarta de Acelga

Chard is one of those vegetables.  You know the ones-if they were people, they'd be the teenagers off in a corner of the school yard by themselves, smoking cigarettes with a glare and acting like they don't care.  In the vegetable world, they're one of those things that you look at, knowing that it's probably really good, but you just don't know what to do with it.

Tarta, on the other hand, is president of the glee club-valedictorian, maybe even prom queen, never wears the same thing twice, and the type of person you'd really love to hate-if she weren't so gosh-darn nice!  No, tarta is easy to make, fast, and can be filled with just about any filling you care to use-basically your all-around goody two shoes.

I've posted about tarta before, it is a simple, quick meal that's high on flavor and low on effort.  Tarta describes a savory pie: some kind of filling between two pie-crust-type shells, and sealed using the twisted pattern called repulgue in Argentina.  (The video on my empanada post teaches you how to do it.)

Unless you grew up eating chard, or make an effort to find a recipe that uses it, you may forever be wondering what to do with the big dark leaves that find their way to markets in mid-summer and early fall.  (Chard grows easily and abundantly-it may grow out of control if allowed.  But see how tame it looks all wrapped up in a flaky crust?)

                                   Receta para Tarta de Acelga

                                  Recipe for Swiss Chard Tart

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 eggs, hardboiled then peeled and sliced

2 large bunches of Swiss chard (white stems preferred if available)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or queso cremoso

2 pie crust rounds-either your recipe for pie crust OR Pillsbury (or similar) pre-made Pie Crusts (or tapa para tarta)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and saute the onions until translucent.  Wash the chard very well (grit is common!) Remove the hard stems of the chard, and chop coarsely.  Add the chard to the onions with a couple tablespoons of water and a little salt, and cover, steaming until wilted.  Add the pepper and cheese and mix well.  Heat through until the cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Drain off any liquid.

Put 1 pie crust onto a round (pizza) pan.  Put chard mixture onto the center of the pie crust.  Arrange  slices of  egg on top of chard mixture.  Cover with second pie crust round and seal the edge all the way around by twisting the dough, so that none of the filling seeps out during baking.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.  Cut into wedges.  It can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Argentina Photo of the Week #6-Mendoza Graffiti

                  

Whenever I travel, I love to look at the graffiti of a place-it says a lot about where the culture is as a whole.  Some places have elevated graffiti to an art form-it's colorful, a feast for the eyes trying to unlock its pieces.  Others are like this-written on a wall with marker and getting straight to the point.

                                              This says: So much time without love

It's written on the wall of the entryway of one of the old palaces of Mendoza, where General San Martin is reputed to have stayed.  (San Martin is considered the liberator of Argentina from Spanish rule.)  It's now the Museo General San Martin, a museum that chronicles his life.  It's a bit dilapidated and in need of some care-which is what I think the graffiti refers to.

But the majority of graffiti in Argentina is what I would call 'street poetry'-people have written sayings-funny, witty, humble-every-man's philosophy.  (Rather than the 'tags' we get here, themselves with a different merit) I know there have been books published about this type of graffiti-the thoughts of a community, cleverly and quickly scribbled across a wall using chalk, pen, or marker.  Most of them are funny real-life proverbs, they make the reader laugh or stop and think.

In contrast, I have been getting lots of love in the blogosphere lately!  First, I've gotten my first-ever blog award-an award for Blogging with a Purpose, given to me by Gretchen Noelle of Canela y Comino.  Thanks, Gretchen!  I feel so honored-it's wonderful to be acknowledged!  She awarded it to me for sharing the cuisine of Argentina on my blog-I'm so glad my blog is doing what I set out to do-to share a culture I love so much with others, so that they can enjoy it, too!

                                                                        

Also, with the start of the Empanada of the Month event Thursday, I have had so many replies and people who will be joining the empanada-making fun!  That's just been the best part of this blog-it's been such a pleasure getting to know everyone and their blogs-it's opened my world.  Thanks to all of you joining me in the Empanada of the Month event (you won't be sorry-they are tasty!)  and thanks to all my readers, new and returning!

Empanada of the Month! Empanadas Mendocinas

In my former life, (before the glamour of food blogging) if you can believe it, I was a public school teacher! I taught with a lovely Argentinean woman named Carina, and we became fast friends.  We pored over lesson plans together, graded papers together, and commiserated over our difficulties together. Though neither of us are teachers now, over the years our friendship has continued. Carina and her husband Julio are both from Mendoza, like my husband. They recently invited us to their home for a tutorial on how to make authentic Empanadas Mendocinas-Mendoza style empanadas.  Now this was a lesson I wouldn't mind sinking my teeth into!

What sets Mendoza-style empanadas apart from others is that they are baked rather than fried. The typical filling is seasoned ground beef with a slice of green olive and a slice of hard-boiled egg. They are sealed with a special technique called 'repulgue', in which the edges of the empanada are folded and pressed over and over again to create a pattern. You can see this technique (as well as how to pack the filling into the empanada and seal it) in the video below. (That's Carina narrating in Spanish.)

The crusts (or shells) of the empanada are called tapas (think lids  rather than appetizers) and are sold in most Latin markets in the frozen section. They come in packets of one dozen-the best brands are La Salteña or Goya. There are two styles of tapas-estilo criolla or estilo hojaldre (which is preferable because it has a flakier crust). If you are determined to make your empanadas entirely from scratch, Layla has a great tapas recipe.

I love empanadas so much that I've decided that it's time this blog host an event! So read on for the details:

I'm hosting Empanada of the Month as a monthly event-and I'd love you all to participate! This event is all about Empanadas-whether they're sweet or savory, and here's the idea: every month I'll post a new empanada recipe for you to make at home. You make it, send me a photo, and post about it on the round-up date. The deadline to participate in this event is June 8th, 2008. I'll do a round-up on June 12th to showcase all the entries-I just can't wait to see how they turn out!! My email:rebeccatcaro AT hotmail DOT com (and please feel free to email me your own empanada suggestions, too-I'd love to use them in a future event! ) This month's recipe is the classic mendocino empanada.

Receta por Empanadas Medocinas de la familia Oliva-Quiroz

Mendocino Empanadas from the Oliva-Quiroz family

For the filling:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 cup shortening or lard (you can add less or omit this if necessary)

2 lbs. onion

3 Tablespoons smoked paprika

4 teaspoons cumin

green olives, pitted and cut into slices, as many as is necessary

3 hard-boiled eggs, cut into rounds

salt and pepper to taste

crushed red pepper, to taste

For the construction: A glass of water 1 egg, beaten flour for the pan The meat can be made a day in advance. Put the onions, sliced finely in rounds, in a frying pan and salt them. Add the ground beef and cook, then add salt and pepper to taste. Next add the lard and mix well, so that it's incorporated-the lard, the meat and the onion together. when it's all cooked, add the crushed red pepper (to taste) and the cumin and mix well. When the mix is ready, let cook and add the paprika and stir well.

The assembly: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the tapas on a flat surface, lightly floured. With a tablespoon, put a little of the meat filling in the center of the dough round. Add a slice of the olive and a piece of the hard boiled egg.

Then moisten the edge on the top half of the round with a little water on your finger. Fold the bottom half of the dough up until the edges meet and seal with your fingers by pressing down. The empanada should have a half-moon shape.

Use the palms of the hands to pack the filling firmly in the center. Next, fold the edges with the Repulgue: using your fingertip, fold one corner of the empanada over, pressing down firmly. Go to the edge again and repeat, pressing firmly each time. Go around the edge of the empanada and you'll get a spiral pattern.

Beat an egg in a shallow dish and paint the top of each sealed empanada so that when they bake, they have a shiny, golden shell. Spread flour lightly over several cookie sheets, and place the finished empanadas on top. Put the empanadas in to bake for 12 to 15 minutes-they should be sizzling and very golden brown on top. Take out and eat very carefully while hot!

Coffee Argentina Style

Coffee in Argentina isn't flavorless grit out of a can, nor frouffy caramel-drenched stuff that costs more than a gallon of gasoline per 20 oz cup.  It's simple, straightforward, European-style coffee that's dark and smooth and flavorful.

At a hotel, the breakfast lounge will have two large carafes-one full of very strong black coffee, and one of hot milk.  Thus, cafe con leche, half strong coffee, half hot milk...the perfect accompaniment to the sweet Argentinean croissant, the medialuna.

Argentina is a culture of sidewalk cafes, and every one of them serves up cortitos, or cortitos con leche-espresso shots or espresso shots with hot milk. They are served with a little pat of brown sugar, and the smoky flavor of the coffee is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of pastries topped with bits of candied fruit that look like little jewels arranged on top.  Argentineans use this as their afternoon pick-me-up.

At home, coffee is made in a metal coffee pot (called a cafetera) by pouring water at its boiling point over the coffee grounds. The grounds are in a cloth filter that's perched on the rim of the coffee pot.  The filter has a wire handle, and the fabric part hangs down into the pot like a little sock.   The brewed coffee is added to the hot milk in your cup. 

As simple as it may seem to make coffee, the flavor of Argentinean coffee really is unique, and tastes totally different from the coffee made from either a drip-style coffee maker or an espresso machine.  Part of it is the coffee used-the coffee in Argentina is very finely ground but very lightly roasted (unlike it's finely ground but darkly roasted smoky counterpart, espresso.) Also, sugar is already added to the coffee grounds in some brands (like my favorite, La Virginia).  When the hot water hits the coffee, the sugar dissolves instantly, and the result is smooth and sweet.  The method has to be considered,too-the vacuum method is it's similar to the drip, though it is not forced like espresso, nor percolated.

Once I had tasted Argentinean-style coffee, there was no going back for me.  Here in Denver, I haven't yet found a store that sells La Virginia.  You can probably find the items you'll need where you live, likely in a Latin or ethnic market.  Better still, if you're headed to Argentina, get yourself a filter and a pot and some coffee.  (These items are available in any grocery-Vea, Atomo or Carrefour) And then try this recipe:

                                                          Cafe con Leche

                                                          Coffee With Milk

4 tablespoons coffee

1 qt. water just at boiling point

hot milk (optional)

sugar to taste (optional)

Pour hot water over coffee grounds.  Repeat until coffee pot is full.  Pour coffee into a cup that's half full of hot milk.  Add sugar to taste, and enjoy with a pastry. 

Beet and Apple Salad

As a wedding gift, we got a new but retro-looking pressure cooker from my in-laws.  I think my mother-in-law worries that I spend too much time in the kitchen-and wanted me to know the glories of time0-saving when using this device.  Never having used a pressure cooker, I had to learn how to even put the lid on!

The first page of the brochure that came with the pressure cooker says:

                                                       Señora, no se preocupe!

(Madam, don't you worry!)  For me, the image of  an apron-clad 1950s Argentinean housewife pops into my head-she's rushing around, trying to get dinner on the table, frazzled to bits.  She's a woman with family responsibilities, who could always use an extra hour and an extra hand (oh, wait-I'm not supposed to be describing myself here-oops!)  and then the Amazing Pressure Cooker whisks in to save the day, restoring calm, tranquility, and a beaming smile to the housewife. Ahhhhhh. 

The pressure cooker really can save time, especially when cooking things that otherwise take too long to make-like beets, for example.  Rather than boil beets for an hour, put them in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes.  See?  No worrie, madam!   I'm still working on mastering the greatness of the pressure cooker, though-it's a process.

My mother-in-law serves this very simple and very delicious salad at lunch or dinner.  It combines beets and green apples, and  it couldn't be easier or quicker to prepare.  The combination of the earthy taste of the beets and the tangy flavor of the apple is a tasty combination, and visually, it's beautiful, too-the jewel-color of the beets bleed onto the white of the apple. It makes a welcome change from the typical green salad, and is the perfect dish to take along to a pot-luck.

'

                                       Receta por Ensalada de Remolacha con Manzana Verde

                                                Recipe for Beet and Green Apple Salad

3 or 4 beets (or 2 cans beets)

1 Granny Smith apple

Olive Oil

lemon

salt

Peel and boil the beets until soft when pierced with a fork.  Cut the beets into bite-sized pieces.  Core the apple and cut into bite sized pieces.  Stir the beets and apples together in a medium sized bowl.  Drizzle with oil, just enough to coat the salad.  Squeeze the lemon over all, and add salt to taste.  Stir to combine.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Where in the World is Matt Lauer?

This morning I woke up, and groggily, with my cup of coffee in hand, flipped on the TV to watch the Today Show.

Every year the show sends host Matt Lauer to a mystery location to do a travel and culture story. The series is called:  Where in the World is Matt Lauer?  This year the answer is:  BUENOS AIRES!! 

How exciting to see my adopted home there, I stayed glued to the TV the whole time.  And in fact, the whole show was dedicated to Argentina and its culture. They did a segment on drinking mate, on the gaucho (including a truly incredible video of a real horse whisperer!) Matt had a tango lesson, watched an artist paint in the fileteado style, and toured Buenos Aires. All the clips are available on the Today Show site, so if you missed it and want to watch, log on and get your free tour of Buenos Aires!  It made me want to book my flight now!  A side note:  The correspondent that did the bulk of the stories, Kerry Sanders, had obviously (like me) fallen in love with Argentina.  He handled the topics of Argentina's culture wonderfully and gracefully-and with respect.

Here is a clip from the show of Patagonian born, French trained celeb chef/restaurateur Francis Mallmann giving Matt Lauer a brief over-view of Argentina's classic cuisine.  Guillermo and I have watched it over and over, drooling!

You may have noticed that the sidebar items on this site have changed recently!  I joined the ad network at foodbuzz as one of their Featured Publishers, and I'm excited to be working with them and networking with other food bloggers.

I've also added links to an Argentinean book, movie and music selection that I enjoy-I hope that you enjoy them, too!  You can follow the link and order them directly from Amazon or get more information. 

The movie is Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens), a thriller in the style of Ocean's Eleven about con men conning con men in a heist of some rare stamps.  This story within a story shows classic scenes of Buenos Aires life, too.

Estancias is a coffee-table book about the lavish estates found outside of Buenos Aires.  The book is by Carolina and Aldo Sessa, the team that has published a series of high-quality photo books including themes like the Tango and the Gaucho, full of their breathtaking pics of Argentinean life.

Miranda! is an award-winning electro-pop band from Buenos Aires, famous for their unusual fashion, looks and music; not to  mention  racy lyrics.

I also owe a big thanks to all the people who have supported me in building this blog-my husband, Guillermo, most of all, but also my friends and family and of course, you, my readers!  Thanks you for all your comments and emails-meeting all of you has been so great and has taken me a step closer to my dreams.  (Especially Lydia, Gretchen, Paz, Matt, & Jaden!)

Sunday Afternoon Barbecue

Sunday afternoon. The smoky smell of asado (barbecue) is in the air, drifting over from the neighbor's house.  People walking down the street seem to stop and sniff the air.  It's late summer in Argentina, and there's no better way to spend a Sunday than barbecuing with friends and family. 

Driving down the street in General Alvear on Sunday morning, all the shops are closed and almost no one is out except for a few weekend tourists from Buenos Aires buying things at artisan market stands to take home with them.  And as we motor along, we pass a vacant lot between a store and some houses and we see this:

"What the...?  What is he DOING?!"  I say (in English-I was so excited!)

"It's a guy barbecuing..."  says my husband, as if it's nothing unusual to see a blazing fire right out in the open as you're driving down the street.

Yup.  A guy, in a vacant lot, barbecuing a whole goat, over an open fire, on a Sunday morning.

My American brain said:  In an open lot? And he hasn't been arrested?  Or, no one has called the fire department?  No news crew has come out to cover the story about the lunatic who decided to light a fire in an open space and barbecue a whole goat?  Nope. The only thing people are doing is walking by, admiring the goat and the blaze, sniffing the air, and hoping for an invitation.

I love Argentina.   

Of course I made my father-in-law drive around the block again and stop. Argentineans are so proud of their culture and are totally willing  to share it-this man was delighted.  He happily shared his techniques on the perfect barbecue and let me shoot some pictures.

He's very dedicated-he goes out to the forested area outside of General Alvear in the early morning-around 5am-to collect the scrub pine branches he uses for the asado.  He uses pine for its fragrance and the special flavor the pine smoke adds to the meat.  He uses larger logs for the real heat of the fire.

Using a long iron rod, the coals are moved around and the fire stoked so that the meat is cooked evenly. The meat (in this case, a whole goat) is fixed onto an iron rack, (I know-it resembles a medieval torture device!) splaying the goat open flat.  The rack rotates on the iron bar stuck into the ground, making it like a spit, so the meat can be turned periodically to get more or less heat.

This is truly a labor of love-from collecting the pine branches for the fire, preparing and racking the meat, and cooking it over an open flame-the cooking process itself takes over 4 hours-Argentineans are dedicated to (and famous for) their barbecue.  This man took such obvious pleasure in spending his time and energy to do this, and to do it well.  It's another example of the way Argentineans are free to enjoy their lives, (no list of Sunday chores) and that they enjoy simple things like food and the effort it takes-to the fullest.