Super Desayuno

We were pleasantly surprised to find that breakfast was included with the hotel stay. With seven days of vacation, I had a chance to try most of the options on the menu.

My husband was happy to stick with huevos rancheros all but one day when he tried their molletes. Divorciados are the same as rancheros, except that they come with two sauces.

divorciados

rancheros

molletes

Day One, Wednesday:

Americano, freshly squeezed orange juice, Benedictinos

Day Two, Thursday:

Americano, freshly squeezed orange juice, Waffle= made of rice flour and banana, served with strawberries, banana, and chocolate sauce

Day Three, Friday:

Green Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, Enfrijoladas= whole wheat tortilla filled with Oaxaca cheese and poblano peppers, covered with a bean-and-mushroom sauce

Day Four, Saturday:

Red Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, cheese Enchiladas with red sauce

Day Five, Sunday:

Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, Bom Chia= chia pudding, granola, guayaba with cinnamon, and banana slices

Day Six, Monday:

Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, Avocado Toast= sliced avocado fanned over beetroot hummus spread on homemade bread garnished with peanuts and beet sprouts/microgreens

Day Seven, Tuesday:

Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, Grilled Queso Panela and Nopales

Shopping

Before Covid-19, my husband and I used to travel a lot. Now we do a lot of “armchair” traveling: on YouTube a video blogger bicycles around Bogota, expatriate madrileños show us around their new homes, and Venezuelans report on their broken nation’s situation; Netflix shows present historical fiction with stunning backdrops that display the beauty of foreign lands, and provide the drama of competition between amateur bakers in the UK.

Books take us places as well: we had hoped to make it to Wales this year so that my husband could gather information for his PhD dissertation, but I read my way through the UK using Susan Branch‘s travel journal instead.

Covid didn’t only cut short our international plans. Days off used to be spent exploring bigger US cities, their bookstores, and restaurants. During quarantine, we observed how much money we saved by staying at home.

This week we got back on the road. My husband decided it might be interesting to visit a few grocery stores that sell Indian and Asian food. He wrote down a list of three or four that were north of us—not quite in Harrisburg. Meanwhile, I flipped through a paperback designed to introduce the reader to Indian cooking, scribbled down all the ingredients, then checked our pantry to cross off the ones we already had in stock.

Although the first store was not open when we arrived, the second, a storefront shop called Indo Nepali, had almost everything on my list; Joel picked out a box of curry powder and a shiny bag of spicy fried potato noodles (Aloo Bhujia) to snack on. Asian Mart was in the same shopping center, so we looked at their shelves and purchased a few cans of curry paste. The last store was named Bombay Bazzar. If we had started there we would not have needed to explore any further; the place isn’t as huge as Sagara in Columbus, but it was big and well stocked.

Somewhat Simple for St. Patrick’s Day

We survived the Ides of March, yesterday, and look forward to St. Patrick’s Day, tomorrow. Between the two, today, I celebrated my birthday by taking the day off from work.

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

My husband and I were planning to drive up to NYC to walk around the Upper West Side, but we reconsidered when the weather forecast changed to lower temperatures.  Instead, we drove down to Philadelphia. It was somewhat strange to drive past the Philadelphia Museum of Art and not see anyone in line to have their picture taken with the Rocky statue. The colors of the country flags that line Benjamin Franklin Parkway seemed especially bold against the clear blue sky; the sycamore trees were no competition without their green leaves. We found a parking space in Chinatown and walked a few blocks to Reading Terminal Market.

At Reading Terminal Market

City Kitchen had advertised that a cooking demo of a traditional Irish dish would begin at 11:30 a.m. We arrived in time to secure seats in the back row. After forty-five minutes we had sampled “Irish potatoes” (a Philadelphia sweet confection of cinnamon and coconut flavors), soda bread with honey butter, shepherd’s pie, and a platter of bangers and mash laid out with the colors of the Irish flag.  The instruction wasn’t too complex; it seemed more of a sampling, though he did explain the preparation as he put the ingredients together. Overall, the experience was comfortable and inviting.

Joking About Showing Off

If you’re looking for something simple to serve at your St. Patrick’s Day celebration, I recommend the bangers and mash flag:

Green beans in garlic butter, mashed potatoes with seasoned salt and sour cream, Irish sausages, and sliced carrots in honey butter and whiskey.

Bangers & Mash Flag