
Today is Spanish Friday: Blog post in Spanish; English translation below.Sé que ya escribí sobre mi amor por comida casera, pero no he escrito sobre cómo me encanta cuando alguien cocina para mí.
¡Tortillas hecho en casa!No me entienda mal: A mí, me gusta mucho cocinar, hornear y recibir amigos para cenar. Pero aquí en El Salvador (y en muchos países en vías de desarrollo), el costo de trabajo es barato. Entonces el costo de algunos servicios (pero no de muchos bienes) — como los de limpieza, de jardinería y de salones/spas — es más económico que en Los Estados Unidos.Tenemos una empleada que limpia el apartamento, lava la ropa y los platos y, lo más importante, cocina. Ella hace comida tan deliciosa como tortillas de maíz, pollo con bolitas de masa y rollo de pavo (aún Kail, que juró que él no comería rollo de pavo a menos que estaba cocinado con tocino, a él le lo gustaba).Yo quisiera que ella me enseñe como hacer pupusas.Posiblemente usted está pensaba, “¿Cómo una empleada salvadoreña sabe cocinar tan bien comida norteamericana?” Aquí tiene la respuesta:
Cocina Betty Crocker: Recetas Americanas Favoritas en Español e Inglés.Compramos este libro después de que nuestros amigos nos lo recomendaron. Tiene recetas en español e inglés, uno al lado del otro, y tambien tiene información nutricional. Antes de que el libro llegó, encontré recetas bilingües en linea de Los Institutos Nacionales de Salud. Estas recetas son mas saludable que los en el libro.Sabor o salud: el problema perennial.English TranslationI know I already wrote about my love of homemade food, but I haven’t written about how I love when someone cooks for me.Homemade tortillas!Don’t misunderstand me: I love cooking, baking and entertaining friends for dinner. But here in El Salvador (and in many developing countries), the cost of labor is cheap. So the cost of some services (but not many goods) — like housekeeping, gardening and salons/spas — is more affordable than in the United States.We have a maid who cleans the apartment, washes the clothes and dishes and, most importantly, cooks. She makes delicious food like corn tortillas, chicken and dumplings and turkey meatloaf (even Kail, who swore he wouldn’t eat turkey meatloaf unless it was cooked with bacon, liked it).I would like her to teach me how to make pupusas.Perhaps you are thinking, “How can a Salvadoran maid know how to cook American food so well?” Here is the answer:Cocina Betty Crocker: Favorite American Recipes in Spanish and English.We bought this book after our friends recommended it to us. It has recipes in Spanish and English and also nutritional information. Before the book arrived, I found bilingual recipes online from the National Institutes of Health. These recipes are healthier than those in the book.Taste or health: the perennial problem.
When I saw those tortillas, I thought you had made them! I was like, “No way! She learned Spanish quickly and can now make Salvadoran tortillas like a pro?!” LOLIf I had someone to cook for me I would gain so much weight. Sometimes the only thing that keeps me from eating too much is that I’m too lazy to go make it 😉
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Haha no I definitely need a couple Salvadoran cooking lessons. I am a little bit worried about maintaining my waistline here. The Betty Crocker cookbook has nutrition information so that helps but I think I need to work on translating some healthier recipes or we are going to have a problem!
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My husband recently got into baking bread and just last week made tortillas for the first time. My oh my! =) We have literally gotten sick over some of the breads he’s made because it’s so good (rosemary bread… mmm!). My favorite would have to be his pretzels. Oh. My. Goodness. There is nothing better than freshly baked, warm, salty, chewy-centered, golden pretzels. The only down-side to this baking (other than the unfriendly spike in insulin levels in my already hypoglycemic body) is that bread doesn’t last long. Since it’s only the 2 of us, we do our best and give away the rest! =) Let me know if you find a good pupusa recipe! I fell in love with those at La Union in Arlington, VA. =) Happy eating!
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Yum. Warm pretzels are the best — I can’t imagine how good homemade ones are. Yeah, cooking for two is always a problem. For me, desserts are the biggest issue. Luckily all our baking supplies are in our HHE and the ice cream I’ve purchased from the grocery store is not good!
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Ordering that book today!!
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Do it!
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Our housekeeper cooks for us once a week and it is amazing. Some people here have cooks that are ok and some have cooks that are good but honestly, the Indian food our housekeeper has made for us could be served in a very high end restaurant I think. It’s that good. Totally hear you on the loving to cook and bake but it is nice to have someone else do it once in awhile. We have a 1x week thing going here but if I get busy with work I’m sure we’ll up the ante to 2-3 times!
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Yum. Indian is the one kind of food that is not available here in San Salvador. So far we’ve given our empleada recipes to cook from — I would like her to give me a list of ingredients to buy and then have her just make something authentically Salvadoran.
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is it weird having someone cook and clean for you? i think i’d feel a little guilty! especially if i got used to it.
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Sadly, no. It was far easier than I’d like to admit getting used to the idea of having household help! The only weird thing is I feel like I’m in the way when I’m at home, but I live here!
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[…] I’ve been spending more time in the kitchen (but we still have our regular supply of homemade pupusas, don’t you […]
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ALGUNAS CORRECCIONES:Pero aquí en El Salvador (y en muchos países en vías de desarrollo), el costo de trabajo es barato. (… la mano de obra es barata)Posiblemente usted está pensaba, “¿Cómo una empleada salvadoreña sabe cocinar tan bien comida norteamericana?” (Posiblemente usted está pensando or Posiblemente usted se estará preguntando…)Estas recetas son mas saludable que los en el libro. (Estas recetas son más saludables que las del libro or Estas recetas son más saludables que las que hay en el libro)Sabor o salud: el problema perennial. (Sabor o salud: el problema de siempre or el eterno problema or el dilema de siempre or el eterno dilema)Good luck!
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Gracias! No puedo creer que comité los segundo y tercero errores (ellos son errores negligentes y yo sé las formas correctas).
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Hi! more correctionsGracias! No puedo creer que comité los segundo y tercero errores… (.. No puedo creer que COMETÍ EL SEGUNDO Y TERCER ERROR … )
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Having a housekeeper is the best!! My husband thought that I was a spoiled kid when I told him that I have always had a housekeeper… He understands now that he lives here in El Salvador with me ♥
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It really is the best! Yeah it sounds crazy to people back in the States because the cost of having a housekeeper is SO expensive (at least in DC), like $100+ for a day.
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A 100 for a day! OMG!! We better be rich before we move to the US hahahahaha.
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Yeah, I don’t know how I am ever going to adjust back to life in the U.S. …
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[…] is that wages are low and services are cheap. Which is why it’s affordable to employ a housekeeper or say, spend four hours at the salon, which I did yesterday. Life’s […]
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[…] Cheap labor. That means affordable housekeeping, childcare (if applicable), mani/pedis, massages, dental care, diving classes, you name […]
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