"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Fancy trying the flavours of Bolivian Cuisine + other Latin American dishes in London? This is your chance !!!

Sabor Latino ALBA Food Festival / feria gastronomica del ALBA
The ALBA countries of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela will be represented by exhibitors offering typical cuisine from each of these countries.

From Bolivia the tasty "chicharrón de pollo" will be a welcome treat for those who enjoy chicken, whilst Cuba will be offering the famous "congri", a dish of rice and black beans. From Ecuador, the appetising "hornado" plus seafood dishes from the coast will bring a taste of the exotic to London, whilst Venezuela's traditional Christmas dish of "hallacas" is a delicacy not to be missed!! 

 
from 12:00 until 18:00 
At the Bolivar Hall :
56 Grafton Way. 
London W1T 5DL.

Time to discover hidden gems of Colombia in London... Pop Up Colombia comes to town...



For 5 days only, a group of Colombian designers, artists and entrepreneurs will gather under one roof to display and sell their work. A unique offer of fashion, accessories, jewellery, lighting and furniture will be available in our pop-up Colombia store.

Workshops in Colombian literature, music, film-making, photography, food and Spanish language classes for children will be held across the five days.

There will also be a celebration of Colombia’s Christmas tradition, The Dia de las Velitas, with the lighting of a candle to symbolise the start of the festive month and positive energy for the new year ahead.
Carajillo cocktails – made of coffee, aguardiente, rum and cinnamon - will be served on that evening in celebration of the Dia de las Velitas.

On Saturday 7th December, there will be a free 100% Colombian coffee tasting with Juan Valdez, in collaboration with Shelton’s Coffee. There'll be food as well, by Sabor.. everything Colombian.

As a Colombian / Latin American lover...Can't wait to go and  visit !!

Pop Up Colombia
4th – 8th December 2013
632 Kings Road
SW6 2DU
http://popupcolombia.com/agenda.html

Monday 25 November 2013

Opening tonight:Chakana.. could this be the Latin American club London was waiting for?

Brand new 300 capacity late night lounge and dance club in the heart of the buzzing West End, designed along a South American theme and open until 3am.
Available for private hire on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays and for group bookings on other nights.

Chakana is a Latin-Pacific late night lounge bar and dance club, with venue and entertainment inspired by Tarantino's cult film 'From Dusk Till Dawn', it is already giving the Mayfair bar and club scene a run for its money. 

Chakana offers an extensive range of super-premium South American, Andean super food cocktails, and an amazing international roster of DJ talent.

I already have been impressed by the decor and the list of cocktails !! I can not wait to check it out !!

Chakana
23 Orchard Street,
Marylebone,
London,
W1H 6HL

FREE BURRITOS :: today courtesy of Benito's Hat in Farringdon

To Celebrate opening in Farringdon ( and November) Benito's Hat will be given away FREE Burritos today 25th November from 12:00 - 3:00pm.

Free burritos will be given away to customers donning a moustache. Real, fake, drawn ;) hundreds of stick on 'mo's will be handed out during the run up in the queue so that no one misses out in the fun.
Don't forget to make a donation in one o the charity pots to November.

Benito's Hat 
12-14 St. John Street.
London 
EC1 M4AY 
 

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Fancy a FREE LUNCH ?.. That's The Pig Idea !!


Free lunch tomorrow in Trafalgar Square .. Pork pibil tacos from Wahaca ..and other dishes from other various restaurants, to chose from ... From 12-4pm .. on a first come first serve basis..

The team from Wahaca has teamed up with food waste campaigner Tristam Stuart to raise awareness of The Pig idea and the fight to get food waste back on the menu for pigs.

"Over the last 7 months, the Pig Idea team has been rearing eight pigs on London's Stepney City Farm on a healthy diet of spent brewer's grains, whey, unsold fruit and veg and okara (a tofu byproduct) - all food which would otherwise have been composted or sent to landfill. The pork produced from the pigs is to be served up for YOU by some of the UK's best restaurants and chefs."

more info on :
http://thepigidea.org/

Free lunch

Thursday 21st November
Trafalgar Square : from 12-4pm .

Monday 11 November 2013

Jamie Oliver Goes Peruvian !! With his recipes from South America.....

 

Latin American Food has proven to be popular in the UK .. with many Latin American restaurants recently opening in London. And now Jamie Oliver shares recipes from South America.
I found interesting to find recipes like sancochado, aji de gallina and alfajores (my favourite) from Jamie, recently on a news paper magazine. I admire the way he approaches food, always doing and trying something new.

And the recipe that I like the most is Alfajores ;) :

Alfajores ( Dulce de Leche Biscuits )
Makes 30 biscuits -15 sandwiches

125g Cornflour 
125g self-raising flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
50g soft unsalted butter
70g icing sugar
1 large free-range egg yolk
1 shot of Pisco 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling :
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
300g Dulce de Leche (sweet caramelized milk) 
icing sugar for dusting
20g desicated coconut

Sift the cornflour and flour into a large bowl, add a good pinch of sea salt,the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and mix together.
In another bowl, beat the butter and 50g of the icing sugar until pale, then beat in the yolk, pisco and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in the flour mixture until just combined- don't overwork. Spoon into a large piece of clingfilm, split into two balls and flatten into discs. Wrap in the clingflim and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees gas 2-3 and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper. Place each dough disc between sheets of greaseproof paper and roll out into the thickness of pound coins. Use a 4cm cutter to cut out 30 biscuits, pushing the dough back together and re-rolling as needed.
Transfer the biscuits into the lined trays, leaving at least 2cm between them. Place the trays in the fridge for 20 mins so the dough firms up. Bake, in batches, on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes, or until pale on top and golden underneath. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Mix the cinnamon and a good pinch of sea salt into the dulce de leche, and beat. Turn over half of the cooled biscuits and cover with the mixture, then sandwich with another biscuit. Repeat with the rest, dust with icing sugar, then roll the edges in coconut.

Provecho ! :)

Recipe taken from his Sunday cooking article in the newspaper :)

lindsey.funes.obleas@gmail.com.