Celebrating Holidays Abroad

Beth and I taking a break from cooking our Thanksgiving dinner in Colombia.

*Melody steps onto her soapbox*

Living abroad is a wonderful experience, and I highly support anyone who ever decides to try it. It doesn't matter where you go or what you're doing (okay, it does a little), living abroad can be highly rewarding. The numerous benefits of living abroad highly outweigh the losses of giving up time at home, but sometimes it becomes easy to forget this. Primarily around holidays.

I'm lucky this year because I am going home for Christmas, and I went home for the Fourth of July (basically my two favorite holidays) but I did spend Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Warren's birthday here, and those rank as major holidays in my life. When I lived in Denmark, I spent Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's Eve/Day in Europe. Holidays tend to be when people get homesick because it is strange to be so far away in such a foreign and odd environment when your family or friends are at home, doing things the way you have always done them. Because of this, I'm giving you my recommendations about how to enjoy holidays abroad. Here goes...

1. Don't pretend there isn't a holiday. Stay in touch with what is going on, because feeling like you are involved is much better than feeling isolated and lonely. Call your family and friends and talk to them. I prefer to do this at crucial moments in the holiday (opening presents on Christmas, finishing or beginning the Thanksgiving meal, etc.). With the advent of Skype, everybody with a webcam on both ends of the conversation can basically be "there" if that's what they really want.

2. Don't spend holidays abroad alone. Celebrate them with friends. If you are the only person from your culture living where you do, invite the locals to share the holiday with you. Explain all the traditions and let them enjoy it with you. We did this on Halloween in Denmark (carving pumpkins, having a little trick-or-treat in our kollegium), and everyone loved it. Of course, it's always better if you have at least one other person from your culture around, because it makes it easier to share the day and make it feel special.

3. Incorporate part of the local culture into the holiday. For us, this Thanksgiving it meant giving a plate of food to our portero. In Denmark we made traditional Christmas ornaments and drank Glogg (mulled wine). Take pictures, too. This will help you create memories for the future. Although I've celebrated many Thanksgivings, the ones I've spent abroad were incredibly special, and I treasure those memories.

4. Do the best you can to recreate the holiday where you are, but don't stress out about getting every detail perfect. For example, we were able to have a pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving in Colombia because Beth roasted a whole pumpkin and didn't stress about not having canned pumpkin. We did not have a whole roasted turkey that we carved at the table because our oven wasn't big enough and there were only 3 meat-eaters. (Besides, apparently braised turkey tastes better anyway!) Some holidays are easier to recreate than others, and some places are easier to recreate those holidays than others, and you just have to accept that you can't make it the same as home. Instead, make your alterations part of the holiday, and they will become part of that special memory.

5. If the holiday is celebrated in the local culture (albeit in slightly different ways), enjoy that part of the holiday, too. In Denmark, celebrating Christmas was fun because we got to experience a completely different set of traditions. For example, although I didn't get to witness it in person, Danish people sing and dance while circling the Christmas tree. My friend video taped his family doing this, and although I thought it was hilarious, it was a special part of his Christmas traditions. Many of the traditional foods served vary from country to country, and this is definitely something special to try. In Colombia, Natilla is a special dessert served around Christmas, and the boxed mix for it has appeared in every grocery store in Pereira. This is the sort of thing adventurous eaters should always go for.

Okay, that's all! Happy holidays to everyone, whether you are at your home, living abroad, or traveling. Keep up those cultural traditions!

Foods that Vegans Should Avoid in Colombia

If you are fluent or close in Spanish, you can probably quickly learn how to ask if something has cheese, eggs, meat, milk, or butter in it (queso, huevos, carne/pollo/cerdo, leche, mantequilla), but Colombian cuisine necessitates asking about these as well:

1. Sustancia. (It's like chicken broth.) It's in almost EVERY soup in Colombia, with lentils being the only almost always safe one.

2. Crema. (cream) It appears in everything from potatoes to corn to dessert.

3. Mayonesa (mayonaise) is a common addition to veggies and salads.

4. Grasa (fat), which is basically added to all bean dishes that are specifically prepared vegetarian. Especially pork fat. Even if there is no meat in your bowl, there is almost always meat fat in the beans!

5. Gelatin is everywhere, appearing in candy, snacks, and many other things.

6. Leche en polvo, or powdered milk, also appears in many desserts and snacks.

7. A lot of bread, especially from bakeries, has eggs, butter, or milk. Even though they look enticing, the famous Colombian bunelos are made with cheese and butter, so either avoid them or be prepared for a stomach ache.

So, what should you avoid? Well, if you don't speak much Spanish, I would say that it's best to avoid breads that you can't read an ingredient list for, all other baked goods, most candy, almost all soups, and a lot of the side dishes. Obviously, avoid meat and cheese dishes. Also, beware, a lot of the food sold on the street can make you sick, so it's best to buy it and make it yourself or buy it from/have it made by someone you know is practicing good hygiene. Rice is generally safe, and other safe foods are listed in this blog post.

Vegan Packing List & Grocery Shopping List for Colombia

Things to pack:

If you are coming to Colombia for a long time, will have access to a kitchen, and can bring food with you, these are my suggestions...

1. Ground flax seeds. Use as egg replacer.
2. Ener-G Egg replacer
3. Real Vanilla (okay, everyone should bring this...)
4. Protein bars or powder, although you can find both here
5. Vital Wheat Gluten flour. Use to make seitan, chickpea cutlets, vegan sausage, etc.
6. Peanut butter or other nut butters, and a lot of it!
7. Any of your favorite vegan "crave" foods that might be difficult to find. For me, it was dried cranberries.
8. Spices! Chili powder, fennel, red pepper flakes... these tend to be hard to find.

Grocery locations:

These places are where I find most of my groceries in Pereira...
1. Tofu-Exito, vegetarian restaurants with weird hours downtown
2. Soymilk- Silk at Exito, Ades at all other stores
3. Protein powder- Soy Plus, all well-stocked supermarkets
4. Veggies and Produce- the best variety is usually found at La 14. Carrefour is the cheapest but runs out faster.
5. Organic amazing fresh basil-Carrefour
6. Canned chickpeas-Exito, La 14
7. Fat free refried Old El Paso pinto beans: Exito
8. Spices: La 14
9. Fresh bread: bakeries at Carrefour and Exito
10. Lee Kum Kee Terriyaki Sauce: La 14 and Carrefour
11. Low sodium, high quality soy sauce: Carrefour
12. Other vegan canned beans: La 14
13. Santander chocolate: La 14, Exito, sometimes Carrefour
14. Wine: Alkosto (cheap)
15. Peanut butter--Carrefour, but it is massively and prohibitively expensive to be a regular grocery item

For good beer, only Carrefour has European brews. Warren wanted everyone to know...

Things that are basically always vegan in Colombia, unless otherwise noted.

Vegans can almost always eat or drink:

1. Juice (jugo) except that you nearly always need to specify jugo con agua, because a lot of places like to put milk in it, making it jugo con leche. I recommend lulo, mora, naranja, and maracuya.

2. Lentils (lentejas). Lentil soup is naturally vegan in Colombia, except in resaurants and homes that like to make things fancy and add chorizo. So, just ask if you are in doubt: Tiene carne o pollo o chorizo o sustancia? If they say no, you´re good to go.

3. Fruits and veggies, although I generally don´t think it is a great idea to eat any of the fruit sold at street vendors, solely because most of them do not wear gloves or wash their hands and I have gotten sick too many times.

4. Some crackers sold in Supermarkets. Most Dux and Club Crackers are okay. Almost no granola bars are. Read the ingredients. Avoid anything with huevos, leche, mantequilla, queso or gelatin.

5. Santander 70% dark chocolate. This is very important.

6. Rice (sometimes it has butter, which is mantequilla, or milk, which is leche.) I like coconut rice best, which is arroz de coco.

7. Salads without dressing (or only oil, which is aceite, and vinegar, which is vinagre).

8. Most versions of plantains, including platano maduro, patacon, and tostones. When ordering a giant patacon (like in Salento), the best vegan topping is a mixture of pina and pimenton, but it goes by different names. Just ask for it. Platano maduro is sometimes served with butter or cheese, so just ask if it has queso. (Tiene queso o mantequilla?) Tostones should be fine no matter what, but avoid eating most Colombian guacamole, because they put mayonaise in it (generally speaking, it is okay in most Mexican restaurants though.)

9. Canned beans in the supermarket that are ONLY beans... basically just garbanzos. Always read the ingredients, and avoid anything called manteca de cerdo or other meat.

10. Fruit popsicles at Mimo´s.

11. The refried beans at many Mexican restaurants.

12. Falafel at most Arabic resaurants.

13. Things you cook yourself.

@ Home Sick: Medicine in Colombia

I'm home sick today, and so I thought I'd give you a short guide and some tips to medicine in Colombia.

1. My number one tip is to know the scientific or medical name of all the medications you would normally use at home (look on the ingredients list). That way, words like acetaminofen will be easy to recognize as the Spanish equivalent to acetaminophen, which is Tylenol. Usually you can look these up online. A good thing to try before heading to a pharmacy (drogueria) is to look up the ingredients in the medication you would normally take and then try to translate them into Spanish.
2. My number two tip is learning enough Spanish (even right before you use it) to explain your symptoms. Try to be specific. If you have a stomach ache, be able to describe exact symptoms and where it is. That will help a pharmacist locate the correct medication. It might not always be as effective as you hope, but it's better than nothing.
3. Don't assume Colombian medications, or any international medications, aren't as good as American ones. When I lived in Denmark I got a horrible cold and desperately needed Sudafed, but they didn't sell it or anything like it. Instead the pharmacist gave me a medicated nasal spray. It worked so much better than Sudafed that I miss that stuff! In June I got a horrible cold in Colombia, and they gave me a shot in my butt, which is a common treatment here. I thought it was odd, but I felt better in just a few hours.
4. When in doubt, go to the doctor (or have one come to you), have him or her figure out what you need, and ask him/her to call the pharmacy for you. Most pharmacies will deliver, and a great deal are even 24 hours.
5. Finally, the easiest tip of all is to bring medication with you from home. Some things are easy to find here (Colombian Tylenol), but other things you'll probably never find. If there's something you can't survive without, or simply always depend on, bring it with you. Make sure it's allowed on planes and you can bring it into the country, of course. Also, if you are bringing prescription medication, definitely bring the prescription with you!

Okay, here's a simple guide to get you started...
1. You can find generic acetaminofen (Tylenol( at any supermarket. The brand name here for it is Dolex, and just like Tylenol, Dolex makes versions for flu (gripa) and colds/sinuses (sinus).
2. Ibuprofen is almost exactly the same word--Ibuprofeno, and is also available everywhere. Don't take it if you are having stomach problems. Ibuprofen needs to be taken with food--take Tylenol when you have a stomach issue.
3. Smecta is the closest thing Colombia has to Pepto-Bismol. It is a powder you buy in packets and mix into water. It has a chalky-orange flavor. Sometimes it takes a few tries for it to work--you are supposed to drink two glasses every eight hours. If you get sick, try this. Colombians might recommend it, but I do not recommend Buscapina. It's a muscle relaxer. I do recommend Pedialyte or Gatorade(they've got the same stuff here) if you have traveler's diarrhea.
4. For congestion problems, it is possible to get oseudoephedrine (Sudafed), but it is hard to find. The only time I've managed to get it was when a SER doctor ordered it for me. Not all pharmacies carry it, either. If you can find it, the medication I got with it is called "Antiss-D". Instead, you can try a few different medications. Descongel Gripa and Sinutab both have Phenylephrine, which is the ingredient in most over-the-counter Sudafed now. It's not as effective, but it will certainly help.
5. Although weird, for sunburn relief, you can try milk of magnesia (leche de magnesia or crema de magnesia), or you could just buy an Aloe leaf at the supermarket, cut it up, and lay it on your skin. I've done both. They work well and are very cheap.
6. Mosquitoes bites here are always treated with alcohol. I'm not sure if that's because it helps dry the bite out or if it is because they are worried about diseases that mosquitoes carry, but it works. Just give it a few hours and don't scratch. Alcohol goes by the same word here.
7. Mosquito repellent is called "repelente de insectos". You can find all sorts of stuff here. I like the roll-on sticks, but we also used a brand called Bacterion, and it was just fine.
8. Contact solution in Colombia... this one is easy! Use Wasser. They have one called Multi 20/20 that you can use for hard and rigid gas permeable contacts (gas permeables) and they have another one called Multi Solution that works for soft contacts. The word for contacts is lentes de contacto. I also bought a contact lens here that I am definitely happy with, so don't be afraid of them if you need them!

Women only:
1. If it matters, tampons with applicators aren't super easy to find, and I'd definitely recommend going for the American brands if you find them. I don't know why, but they just aren't super popular here. They are also EXPENSIVE, so bring generic brand ones (like Target) from home if you can plan for it.
2. I've never found anything like Midol here, but when I'm desperate I just take Tylenol and each chocolate or have something else with caffeine, which is basically what Midol does. You can also do some specific yoga positions when you have cramps/bloating. Buscapina advertises that it helps menstrual cramp pain. It's a muscle relaxer. I've taken it for other things and don't recommend it.
3. Birth control is available over-the-counter here. Just go to the store and ask for it. Mini-Pill seems to be popular. It's a low-dose one. There are other types available, check the ProFamilia website if you have questions. It's helpful. If you don't speak Spanish, don't whine, just translate it using an online translator.

Vegan Chocolate Cake (easily made in Colombia)

I promised a post, and I'm going to deliver! With photos!

This is a very moist and fairly chocolate-y cake, especially considering how amazingly accessible the ingredients are. I imagine it would be easy to duplicate this cake almost anywhere in the world. Well, anywhere that has an oven. (Although, since the batter is vegan, you could just eat the raw cake batter. Mmmmm.) The best thing about this cake is that it is SUPER easy and contains really normal ingredients, so it is a great cake to make any time, even if you aren't vegan. Also, it avoids most allergies (except gluten!), so it's pretty friendly. It's low fat if you use the orange marmalade because you can use less oil... Plus, it's delicious. The texture is somewhat like a light brownie.

Essential equipment for vegan baking in Colombia:
a measuring cup
measuring spoons
whisk
2 mixing bowls
heaving spoon (plastic or wood) to do heaving mixing
Although it isn't essential, I highly recommend a spring-form pan for this cake. Just like a cheesecake, it's very moist and dense, so it would fall apart if you tried to remove it from the pan, and just like a cheesecake, it is prettier when you can see the sides. Obviously, it is up to you, but if you want a 12 inch spring-form pan, I know they sell them at La 14.

Moist Vegan Chocolate Cake, Egg-free, Dairy-free

Here's the basic recipe:
2 cups flour (harina de trigo)
1 cup cocoa (cocoa en polva--my favorite brand is Luker)
1 teaspoon salt (sal, I like sea salt best. It's called sal marina)
2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonato)
1 cup of white sugar* (azucar blanco)
1 cup of brown sugar** (azucar moreno)
2 teaspoons white vinegar (vinegre blanco)
2 teaspoons (at least) of vanilla (again, I can only find the fake stuff here, but it's called vainilla)
1 3/4 cups soy milk (leche de soya. I recently discovered that Exito marked down the price of Silk, and Silk changed its packaging so it is in Spanish on one side. Check near the cereal aisle. I prefer Silk Unsweetened Natural.) You can sub water for this if absolutely necessary. I wouldn't. You could also sub orange juice. That might be a bit better.
1/4 (maybe a bit more) of juice from fresh oranges
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/2 cup orange marmalade (mermelade de naranja, my favorite brand is La Constencia)
3 tablespoons (or more!!) of shaved unsweetened table chocolate. I used about 2 squares of Luker.

*I think it is vegan here because the kind I buy is very unprocessed, but using only brown sugar, which is actually turbindo sugar in Colombia, would not hurt a thing.
** If you like a very sweet cake, go ahead and use 2 cups of sugar. If you like a slightly more bitter cake, I would definitely recommend cutting down the sugar to about 1 1/2 cups, maybe even a tad bit less.

Directions:
1. Add flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly with a whisk to get rid of clumps OR sift.
2. In a measuring cup, measure the soy milk. Add the orange juice to the soy milk and stir. Dump in another mixing bowl (not the one with the dry ingredients!).
3. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and canola oil to the soy milk mixture. Then add the sugar. Whisk until it is well-blended. Then, add the orange marmalade. Stir.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones. It should bubble a bit because of the chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. Stir to incorporate, and then whisk until completely blended.
5. Add Luker shavings. Stir well.
6. Pour batter into a greased and floured baking sheet (9 x 13, 2 small loaf pans, or a 12 inch round pan).
10. Bake at 350 degrees F. Depending on the size of your oven and the size of your pan, this could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 45. Check on it often. The top should set (it shouldn't wiggle if the pan is shaken), and a toothpick should come out relatively clean (read: crumbs okay, raw batter not really) when inserted into the center.
11. Let it cool, and then top it with this quick icing:
Melody's best icing:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup powdered sugar (you can make this, look up a recipe online, or buy it... azucar pulverizada)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon soy milk (may need more)

Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar together. Stir well. Add vanilla and soy milk. Whisk. You might need to add more soy milk, but whisk really well before you do. It should be about the same consistency as liquid dish soap--easily pourable and spreadable. Pour it onto your cake and spread it with a knife. It will set quickly, so if you want to add toppings do it now. For this cake, I added coconut (coco) and Oreos, which are vegan if you eat white sugar. (They don't have Newman O's in Colombia.)

It makes a cute birthday cake!


Variations:
Orange-Chocolate: You can make this extra orange-y by adding shaved orange peel to the batter and using more orange juice to replace some of the soy milk. You can also use orange juice instead of soy milk in the icing, and then you can top it with orange peel.
Chocolate-coconut: Replace up to one cup of the soy milk with coconut milk, or simply reduce the vanilla to 1 teaspoon and add 2 teaspoons of coconut extract. Sprinkle with coconut.
Chocolate-strawberry: Use strawberry (fresa) jam instead of orange marmalade.
Plain old chocolate: Use 2/3 cup canola oil, get rid of the 2 tablespoons and don't use orange marmalade. Add another tablespoon of shaved chocolate to the batter, an extra 1/4 teaspoon salt, reduce sugar to 1 1/2 cups, and add an extra tablespoon of vanilla.
I made this YESTERDAY, and between my friends, my masseuse, Warren, and me, almost half of it is gone!

Vegan MoFo! (VEGAN MONTH OF FOOD)

Two blog posts in ONE day! What what!

Okay, so here's the deal... It's Vegan MoFo, and although this isn't a vegan food blog, I did promise to write about being a vegan in Colombia a long time ago, and I think that as it is Vegan MoFo, and my last month in Colombia, it's probably time for me to keep my promise. So, without further ado, I bring you Melody's Vegan Mo-Fo from Colombia. First topic: vegan birthday desserts, using what's available in Colombia.

I'm a decent baker, and so this past year I've done my fair share of baking. I've even baked non-vegan birthday cakes for some close friends. At home, I would never dream of baking something I can't eat, but it's difficult to find all the stuff I need to make a really good vegan cake here, like vegan shortening or vegan cream cheese or vegan butter. This week I'll post some cake recipes for sure, but first I want to post this fab apple pie recipe.



Ingredients:
At least 8 Granny Smith Apples
2 3/4 cups flour (Harina de trigo)
1/2 cup canola oil (aciete de canola)
1/2 cup soy milk (Exito has Silk Unsweetened!)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (sal)
4-6 tablespoons brown cane sugar (azucar moreno)
1 teaspoon flour or cornstarch (Maizena) (optional)
juice of 2 lemons (I found actual lemons at La 14 the other day!! If you can't find lemons, use 1 orange, not limes.)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon (canela)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (nuez moscada)
1/2 teaspoon cloves (clavo)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (I can only find the fake kind here, but the flavor helps) (miel de maple)
1 teaspoon vanilla (vainilla)

Directions: Peel and core apples. Slice them into small pieces. Pour lemon juice over them, stir. Add sugar and maple syrup. Stir. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla (if using). Stir very well. Add flour/cornstarch if using (it just thickens the juices a bit, not at all necessary). Stir very, very well. Let sit in the refrigerator, stir occasionally, for about 20 minutes while you make the crust.

To make the crust, follow this recipe, but substitute soy milk for regular milk. You might need to double the recipe if you want to make a top crust.I didn't need to chill it, but I did add a bit of extra flour. To roll it out, I put the dough on a floured cutting board and put a floured plastic place-mat on top. I then used a can of chickpeas to roll it as thinly as possible. Put it in the bottom of your pie plate (I bought mine at Home Center), and if needed, push it around the edges. Try to keep the crust no more than 1/8 inch thick. Make sure you have crust that goes all the way up the edge. If you want a lattice crust, simply take leftover dough or make more, roll it out, and use a pizza cutter to make nice strips of dough.

Assemble: After you have your un-cooked crust in the bottom of the pie, stir your apple mixture and then dump them in. Spread them evenly in the crust. It's okay if they are piled up very high--they'll cook down. Put your top crust on the pie, making sure it is sealed to the bottom crust. Wrap the outside edges in foil. Bake at 375 degrees. The time will vary--the top crust should brown and the juices should be bubbling. Also, if you made a lattice crust or no top crust, you can just stick a fork into the apples to see if they are soft. It's probably about 45 minutes to an hour, but it will definitely depend on the oven. Take the foil off the outside of the pie about 20 minutes after it has been in the oven.

Let it cool, and then eat! YUM! We both thought the pie tasted better the second day. No idea why... I guess the flavors just absorbed into the apples better.