Yesterday I turned 35. For many years, I always felt I had to do something to celebrate my birthday. Trips to Buenos Aires, the beaches of Uruguay, parties on terraces, etc. etc.  Perhaps it was because for most of my life before I moved to South America, my birthday always fell smack in the middle of winter. In fact, I was born during a blizzard. The novelty of having a summer birthday has not worn off and I usually feel the need to “maximize” it.

Perhaps it’s maturity, or maybe a heavy travel schedule (most likely the latter!), but I was perfectly content with not doing anything for my birthday this year. At first, my husband eyed me with concern as it was so unlike me. Birthdays are about doing what you want, and this year I had zero anxiety about laying low. I didn’t feel like producing a dinner party to surround myself with friends…and then have to shop, cook, and clean it all up. Too big of a project. I didn’t need to get on a plane, in a car, a train, or any mode of transportation to go anywhere other than my own feet. After moving around so much in Peru for two weeks and our next trip closing in quickly (10 days in Uruguay), the idea of being at home seemed like the biggest luxury of all.

So my birthday theme evolved into “chilling at home”. A mini-staycation if you will. I had an amazing facial and manicure this weekend at Ambar Spa, 1.5 blocks from my front door (facial seriously did wonders for my skin). We ordered my favorite sushi from Kintaro, and kicked a great bottle of Cariblanco Sauvignon Blanc from Kingston Vineyards. A girlfriend unexpectedly came over for a Happy Birthday visit (what a great gift). I talked to family and felt the love on Facebook from everyone with the birthday greetings. Late afternoon, we went on a long walk through Parque Forestal and meandered the side streets of Lastarria. We climbed Santa Lucía for stunning views of Santiago and sunbathed on the terraces as a strong, balmy breeze enveloped us and we could see up to the ski resorts with a naked eye. No cake for this birthday girl, I had my eye on one (big) scoop of mocha ice cream from Café del Opera, laced with cinnamon. With the mercury near 88F, it was the perfect ice cream afternoon. So I have arrived to the second half of my 30s. It’s a good place to be, honestly.

We are in the middle of summer and I have decreased my consumption of red wine ten-fold. A big, heavy Malbec with this heat? Pass. That being said, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is so crisp and delicious it makes for the perfect aperitif any time of the year. One of the classic pairing is Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese. If you have not tried this, you really need to try this reference. There’s a reason it works. The tang in the cheese and the acidity in the wine make it “pop”, which creates momentary bliss in your mouth. Yay.

Goat cheese in Chile hails predominantly from the Northern semi-arid region known as Ovalle where goats graze free range on the short grasses of steep hill sides peppered by cacti. Only partially pasteurized, this cheese has a tangy flavor that can range from soft to hard in texture depending on the time of year and aging. In this video, I pair Emiliana Organico’s zingy Sauvignon Blanc with a zesty chevre-style goat cheese is a natural partner for this Sauvignon Blanc. The acidities of the cheese and wine gently coax out the cheeses’ creaminess while capitalizing on the wine’s juicy fruit. A crunchy topping of sweet cherry tomatoes that are in season (these are as sweet as candy!) and a touch of green herbs make the flavors grow in-crescendo. It’s an easy way to start any meal. You’re in winter? No worries, just add these toasty croutons to a steaming soup like pumpkin, lentil, or roasted tomato. Works like a charm.

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Summer is the best. I wait all year for this season in Chile. Hot, dry sunshine-filled days that feel like a loving hug. The nights still dip into the mid-50s and there’s light until 9pm. At 4pm, it can feel hot but find a shady tree, and that balmy summer breeze blows. It is when you want to be outdoors all day, forget the A/C.

Summer has something that’s eternal, nostalgic, full of fresh, vibrant flavors. It connects us with other periods of life like childhood when we were free to roam, play, and forget about all our worries. Summer does coincide with a mental attitude of relaxing, seeing friends, getting out of the house, enjoying. Stress would seem to have taken a vacation and let’s us all breathe a little easier than the rest of the year.

For me, summer time is synonymous with intense food flavors, provoked by the heat. These are the tastes that I yearn for in rainy, cold July when I am glued to our central heating. While many of these flavors may be enjoyed around the world, in every country, region, home, and cook, they express themselves differently. Summer is about abundance, sharing.

These are the flavors that dominated my childhood in Pennsylvania; memories of sticky nights with little gnats and fun thunder storms. In contrast, my summer “reality” is now Chile. I love both.

Corn
Then: I was raised on some of the best sweetcorn in the US–Silver Queen. The Amish farms near our house would put up stands by the road and we’d load freshly cut ears into paper bags. Poached for 4 minutes and eaten on the cob, with melted butter and sea salt, it was truly heaven.
Now: Corn is the king (of starches) in Chile during summer and I love, love, LOVE  humitas, fresh tamales, my obsession at this time of year. This could be my year to learn how to make them from scratch. Then again…

Berries
Then: My family always called me “Strawberry Girl” since I would run out to the garden to pick our homegrown strawberries. With those, my grandmother would put together her deliciously famous “Strawberry Shortcake”. That spongy cake absorbed the juice of the strawberries and with homemade whipped cream, divine simplicity.
Now: I really adore living in a country where there are more blueberries than I know what to do with. Seriously. Right not, La Vega appears to be a berry festival and the head-lining act is the blueberries. Well, maybe the plump, juicy blackberries too. My breakfast. Every. Single. Day.

Tomatoes
Then: Until I turned 24, I couldn’t deal with raw tomatoes. It was the seeds. Slimy, acidic, unwieldly things. Trying to eat a Capresse Salad was a scandal, complication, disgust. Tomato at our house was typically in the form of ketchup on a hamburger or hot dog off the grill. Am I proud of this? No. But, it’s the truth.

Now: Yes, I have gotten over the tomato issue. It didn’t take hypnosis, just the same attitude as learning to eat oysters, sushi, and tartare. Result? Gazpacho fiend. Love tomato salads. Pop cherry tomatoes like they are candy.  But let’s get back to that gazpacho. Eating a soup that’s a liquid salad never bores me. Tomatoes must be good for me since I feel a zip when I eat them. Vitamins!! And of course, since I have professed undying allegiance to humitas, their companion is the ensalada chilena, Chilean Tomato Salad.

Fish & Shellfish

Then: We lived only an hour from the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, famous for its crabs. In summer, crab season, we’d head down to Baltimore or the Eastern Shore to the crab shacks where the boats would roll in to pick up buckets of crabs steamed with Old Bay. On picnic tables, with only a bib and hammer, we’d dissect the crabs, sucking out the sweet and salty meat. Dirty fingers? You bet. That was half the fun.

Now: Ceviche, in any form with any fish: Peruvian, Chilean, Nikkei, or my own invention. Invigorating, flavorful, and fresh thanks to the mighty Pacific lapping at our feet in Chile, it’s the perfect high protein, zero carb meal. With a chilled Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. Always.

Ice Cream
Then: I swam competitively in the summer and after the races, my parents would often reward us with a sundae at our favorite spot in the forested area of Mount Gretna known as the “Jigger Shop”. Part of the fun was the excursion in our convertible as we zipped through the fragrant Pennsylvania pine forest and ate colossal sundaes on the wooden deck.

Now: I am not really a dessert person at this point in my life. If I am having a rare “sugar moment”, I would usually go for a handful of cherries over ice cream, maybe a piece of dark chocolate. However, if you invite me to Café del Opera nearby, I probably will reconsider for their Mocha gelato.

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I have been hard at work on holiday season gift for you all (no Santa nor magic elves involved though). In fact, you’ll find a couple goodies in this post.

Let’s start with the one that is most time sensitive

Eat Wine Santiago 2012 is LIVE

That’s right, Eat Wine Santiago’s latest annual edition is now on sale. Woohoo!

It’s been a while in coming but it’s ready to roll. Here are the specs on the update of Santiago’s premier English-language guide to food, drink & travel:

• Dozens of new restaurants: the culinary scene is seeing boom times and we have updated from new Korean barbeque joints to Peruvian Chifa and the hottest bars

• New neighborhoods: There’s a renaissance happening in the barrios of the city and this guide is a low down to navigating these areas like Yungay and Italia

• Primers on where to eat: Only in town a few days? Look at my personal recs on setting up your restaurants, thematically. Dive into a lesson on Chilean colloquial eats, Ethnic haunts, or farm-to-table.

• Expanded wine list: need I say more? Every year I rack my brain and put my liver in danger to taste hundreds of wines. This is my short list of what you should be drinking in Chile.

• New hotels and travel suggestions: Boutique hotels are on everybody lips and tourism is on fire in these latitudes. We’ll keep you plugged into that juice.

• Sync to your device: As an e-book in PDF format, keep it on your iPad, Kindle, iPhone, or smart device to have it with you wherever you go.

For a limited time to celebrate the announcement, you can pre-order Eat Wine Santiago 2012 for 50% off the normal price. Instead of US$27, you pay US$13. The offer expires on December 31, 2011 at 11:59pm. You have read it. No exceptions. So pre-order your copy now or you’ll have to deal with paying full price. Your decision.

To celebrate the arrival of 2012, we’ll be sending out Eat Wine Santiago on New Year’s Day, that is, January 1, 2012 for all those pre-orders.

You can cancel anytime up to the ship date so there is no downside, only locked-in savings—and lots of yummy meals and wines in your very near future.

Why buy the new edition of Eat Wine Santiago? Four reasons:

• You’re sick of getting stuck in mediocre restaurants: For less than one main course or bad bottle of wine, here’s your ticket to foodie bliss.

• You actually want to cook at home: Where to get the goods? Though. Here you’ll find just about anything and everything—that’s not illegal.

• You’re visiting Santiago: Cannot bare the thought of sacrificing a meal to a bad recommendation from a colleague? Now you know where to go. We are your local source.

• You’re a wine buff abroad: You’re so over the big brands dominating everything and think Parker’s ratings are for the birds. Here’s your chance for comprehensive on-the-ground wine recs on the best Chilean juice out there.

So want your free copy of Eat Wine Santiago? We’re having a holiday contest to give away three free copies in honor of the announcement. Here’s what you need to do to be entered:

1)   Get in the Holiday Spirit and Spread the word in next 72 hours: Send people to this blog post and get the word out. Facebook like, Facebook sharing, retweets, Tweets, e-mail everybody you know, e-mail signature. Get creative.

2)   By 5pm EST on December 24th, leave a comment on this post telling me what you did. Please quantify the impact (clicks, page views, tweets, etc.) and follow these rules to be considered:

• Tell me why you want Eat Wine Santiago and how it would be of use to you.
• Entire comment of 200 words or less.

We’ll consider all the submissions and be choosing the folks who did the best job.

Happy Holidays to all!

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Editor’s Note: I am so honored to have my colleague, Robin Asbell, based in Minneapolis, joining us to share a delectable vegan recipe with y’all “Eat Winers” this week. Robin is a chef, cookbook writer and master of natural foods: grains, vegetarian meals, and now her latest book is Big Vegan, which came out this fall with Chronicle Books and has now made many a top list. 

As many of you know, while I am far from ever being a true vegetarian, I am totally obsessed with vegetables and health food. I try to eat vegan 70% of the day. For me, it’s about kicking up the amount of vegetables, nutrients, and variety in my diet. Don’t look at this book as just a “vegetarian” cookbook. Robin, who is also a culinary instructor giving classes across the US, will share tons of tips on how to utilize whole grains, beans, tofu, and even make delicious cheese out of nuts –delicious as cheese and healthier– with a Global perspective (Asian, Indian, American classic, French, etc.) Honestly, this is a great addition to any cookbook collection, especially if your New Year’s resolution is losing those extra pounds, upping your vitality (eat veggies!), or getting in the best shape of your life in 2012. Big Vegan HAS to be part of that strategy. Thank you Robin for sharing your passion with us!

I’ve been knocking around the whole-foods cooking world for my entire adult life, and have cooked in restaurants and delis where we catered to vegetarians and vegans most of that time. I also cook omnivorous food, and I now work as a private chef, while writing books, and I really believe that it makes me a better vegan chef, as odd as that sounds. People often hire me to cook special diets, which run the gamut from gluten free to Paleo, and I develop recipes for magazines of all sorts. I know how to cook, work with flavors, and make things work. It’s all food.

These quesadillas feature a really fun transformation, and that is a nut-based cheese. For folks avoiding dairy, most of the alternatives are very processed and not all that great. Homemade nut cheese is a far better alternative, made from a nutritious, natural whole food that tastes great. When working without cheese, I look for other ways to get the same qualities-richness, creaminess, tanginess and saltiness, with a touch of umami. Toward that end, raw nuts are a perfect and simple solution.

You can give vegan a try, and you don’t have to commit to anything. Just enjoy some delicious plant-based cuisine, and see how you feel. Every vegan meal is better for you and better for the planet, so if you find something that you like, enjoy it.

Three-Nut “Cheese” Quesadillas with Fresh Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

• Nut “Cheese”:
  1/3 cup/40 g macadamia nuts
  1/3 cup/40 g raw cashews
  1/3 cup/40 g slivered/flaked almonds
  1 acidophilus capsule (make sure it´s dairy free)
  1 tbsp cold-press corn oil
  1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  1/2 tsp salt
• Salsa:
  1 large mango, diced
  1 large jalapeño, chopped
  3 tbsp chopped red onion
  3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  2 tbsp chopped fresh mint or cilantro/fresh coriander
  1/4 tsp salt
• Others:
  2 scallions/spring onions, chopped
  1/4 cup/7 g cilantro/fresh coriander
  1/2 tsp chili powder
  Eight 6-in/15-cm whole-wheat/wholemeal tortillas

SERVES 4

1. TO MAKE THE NUT “CHEESE”: Put the nuts in a bowl, cover them with cold water, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the nuts, then puree them with 1/2 cup/120 ml fresh water in a blender or food processor. It may take some scraping down and repeating to get it smooth. Add the contents of the acidophilus capsule and puree to mix. Transfer the mixture to a glass or ceramic bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap/cling film, and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. It should form some bubbles and smell cheese-like.
2. The next day, stir in the oil, lemon juice, and salt, then refrigerate.
3. TO MAKE THE SALSA: Put the mango in a medium bowl and add the jalapeño, onion, lime juice, mint, and salt. Toss to mix and refrigerate until needed.
4. When the nut “cheese” is cold, mix in the scallions/spring onions, cilantro/fresh coriander, and chili powder. Divide the mixture among four of the tortillas and top them with the remaining tortillas.
5. To cook, preheat a large cast-iron frying pan on high heat. When it is hot, put one quesadilla in the pan, and cook it for about 2 minutes per side, until it is dappled with brown spots and the “cheese” is heated through. Transfer it to a cutting board and slice the quesadilla into six wedges. Repeat with the other quesadillas. Serve hot with the mango salsa.

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Forget it in the freezer: I know that many a sommelier will cringe to hear this, but it’s the truth, and come on, we all do this in a pinch. Stick a bubbly or white wine in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to get it ice cold. It works like a charm, but only if you don’t forget it. Case in point—hosting clients last month we served espumoso right off the bat and had my assistant put another bottle in the freezer. The night got busy, we were tired at the end, and the next morning, I opened the freezer in search of ice cubes for my smoothie and found a frozen wine mess. I was ticked at myself for sacrificing a great bottle of Cruzat for no good reason and had to defrost the whole freezer to clean. Duh!!

Heat it up: I had never seen this costumbre, habit, until living in Chile. One chilly winter night, my husband’s uncle went to fetch a nice Cab. He pronounced the wine too cold and he wanted to “warm it up” by the roaring fire place. That was like a scratching a record with a needle to my ears. Fingernails on a chalk board. Don’t do that, you’ll ruin the wine and it will taste like wine-flavored scotch. Repeat after me. Thou shalt not heat up red wine with any form of heat.

Omit drinking water after several bottles: We’ve all been there, no? The night gets fun, the buzz is long, and the wine keeps flowing. At some point, you get bleary eyed and can only dream of your pillow. Hit the sack though without some precious, life-quenching H20 and you’ll pay hell the next day. Did we really need to kill 3 bottles among 4 people? Maybe or maybe not, but try to balance out your wine with a big glass of water per glass of wine. Your head will thank you.

Label it after a tasting: This latest mishap happened last night while shooting a new wine video for this blog (coming soon!). After filming some b-roll of pouring and swirling, we had a mélange of glasses whose order I remembered—on the table. I moved them to the kitchen and arranged them next to the corresponding bottles, or so I thought. I started to funnel the undrunken wine back into the bottle. At one point, I realized the Cab was low and then, s-h-i-t, I had done the unthinkable and funneled my Chilean Cab into the Uruguayan Tannat. One whiff and my suspicion was confirmed. In all fairness, the result was passable, although it was far from my intention to start my own international wine blending experiment. Do yourself a favor and use a sticky note to avoid confusion.

Label your wine that’s destined for vinegar: This sounds really obvious but on a couple occasions now, my mother-in-law who was house and cat-sitting for us, had consumed some leftover wine I had designated for homemade vinegar (couple weeks into the process actually). In fact, I was so stumped the last time as to where the heck the vinegar bottle had gone I called her. She confessed to drinking it and that explained why it was so nice and añejado, oxidized (which some people like here in South America).

Drive with a decanter on your front seat: This sounds really obvious but by far, this was the funniest wine mishap I encountered. In Houston back in October, I was invited to a blind tasting among some wine buff clients called “Bad Judgment Night” (everybody pulls a bottle from their cellar that pains them to open). Everybody arrived early at the host’s home to decant their wines and assign a sticky note letter on the decanter for the blind tasting later. One of the participants rings the host’s doorbell and is covered in red wine. He’s flustered and announces, “We’ve had a bad judgment accident”. Apparently he had decanted the wine at home to avoid any evidence of the wine’s origin, strapped the decanter in the front seat and headed out to drop if off at the host’s home. En route, he got cut off in traffic, slammed on the brakes, and the better part of his wine (which we later discovered was a 2002 Chateau Margaux, gasp!) ended up on the console, floor of car, and part of his white shirt. How would you explain that one to your spouse? Oh honey, I stained the car with wine. At least it was “baptized” with a premier grand cru.

So what wine mishaps have you guys had? Feel free to share in the comments some of your tips of what NOT to do with wine. Have a good weekend and see you next week.

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Oh, Salta. There you go again…showing up in my dreams. As if two trips already this year weren’t enough, as Kylie Minogue sang it, “I just can’t get you out of my head”. Visions of ruby-colored mountains, majestic cardon-covered canyons, ancient adobe towns, and sitting down to a table filled with empanadas salteñas and humitas en chala paired with some crunchy Torrontes. I woke up so enchanted and full of saudade to go back, that Francisco and I decided to share the vision with you guys. Anyways, isn’t Christmas a time of year to dream? If not of all the good things in the upcoming year (and all those yummy trips), then how about of presents, and places far away that aren’t so dang cold. Sweet dreams guys.

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I have a confession to make. We don’t have a TV. Yes, it is by choice. (You can gasp now.)

After the initial shock, most people grapple with the idea of how I can survive, let alone function without a TV. It’s not hard, I swear. In fact, getting rid of the boob tube was the best thing I have done for my mental sanity, emotional health, marriage, and personal life.

Ninety-nine percent of North American households have a TV, and I would bet that is true in Chile, too. Many households have more than two or three. Now here is what is disturbing…the TV is on an average of six hours per day in most households. Think of all the things you can do in six hours per day, 25 percent of your whole day, instead of watching TV. You could write a book probably in a month, pursue a new hobby like yoga or cooking, you could play with your kids, get in shape, endless possibilities.

I gave up TV a long, long time ago—like when I moved to college. My parents declared that there was no way they’d be buying me one while they were footing my tuition bill. “Who has time to watch TV when you should be studying?” they said; and somehow, I coped and adapted to life without TV (they were right, don’t you hate when your parents are right?!). Ever since, it’s never really been too much of a priority to sit in front of a screen and surf when I can be out living life.

Ironically, folks like my mother (who just installed a flat screen in her kitchen and to her dismay, had it creamed with mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving), don’t understand my perspective. Now that I am an adult, I should somehow own a TV right after buying my own bed. “How do you stay informed?” That’s precisely why I don’t have TV. I went on an Information Diet and never looked back.

Let’s face it, is the programming on TV, cable, and even special channels really all that great? There are, no doubt, some good shows, but mostly we sit down to flip around 1,000 channels and cannot find a thing to watch. Seriously? Then, people automatically, without thinking, turn on the nightly news in an effort “to stay informed.” Have you ever noticed all the news tends to be bad? A laundry list of daily local and world disasters, the latest political fight, another murder, another war, another bleep in the global economy, and other scary things. I would love to turn on the news just once and have them applauding how the number of entrepreneurs in the country has grown in the past year. I would love to see Nobel-Prize winners be mentioned in the first five minutes of headlines. No, no, no. That doesn’t sell. Remember, watching TV is being spoon-fed what the channels want you to hear, see, and influence how you feel. It’s all reactive and driven by commercial interests to instill fear in people. While it’s simply a point of view, many rarely stop to question what they are taking into their precious minds. So do I want to subject myself to that? NO WAY.

Ask yourself this. Is watching this “news” going to let you sleep easier at night? Does it inspire you creatively? Does it give you faith in humanity? If not, I suggest you go on an Information Diet.

Just because I don’t watch the news doesn’t mean I am not informed. I surf my Google reader and headlines of my favorite international papers in the morning and afternoon. I only click on headlines that inspire me and will add to my day. It is a self-edition to ensure that I live a happy, healthy life on all levels.

At night, instead of endlessly surfing, hoping for something, I read a novel, business or self-improvement books, or occasionally watch a movie from sites like Cuevana. I still enjoy following some TV series and have a serious addiction to Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiam, and Pan Am, but I treat them like short movies. And I choose. Not somebody else.

We all have the choice to control what goes into our minds. TV is a powerful medium and is often taken lightly. Just like the food we eat nourishes our body, what we feed our mind can greatly impact our quality of life. For me, ditching the TV habit was like ditching processed food. I got back to basics of what made me be the best, most vital, and happiest Liz.

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The U.S. is a culture of convenience and self service. Here, the great hamburger empire, McDonald’s, was born along with fast food of all kind from the transfat culprits to salad bars in the supermarket. In fact, it’s amazing to think that Starbucks was able to shift a relaxing moment like sipping a latte in a café and turn it into “latte for the road”.

My last day in Texas, driving the huge highways between Dallas and Fort Worth, I was struck that from the highway, I could only see the signs of fast food restaurants like Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks. There they were, seemingly floating in the air high above like clouds for the hungry masses who spend hours and hours in their car every day. I was amazed to see the lines in the drive throughs. I watched people speed by me talking on their cell phone, shoving a big Mac in their face and driving at 70mph. Yes, us gringos are definitely the kings of convenience food. On this last trip, even though it really seemed like even though everybody’s obsessed with food, I saw that few people made the time to sit down to eat let alone cook.

I saw a lot of people eating in their car. When I worked on Wall Street, I had the unhealthy habit of eating in front of my computer working, without thinking that was something odd. I was shocked in even the most gourmet of supermarkets that there was a whole section of pre-cut and pre-washed vegetables. Right…save time chopping veggies so you can watch more TV. Is it really that hard to peel a carrot? On this last trip, I started to question what is the limit of efficiency and convenience. That is, with the perks of convenience, there’s also a dark side. What is that sacrifice? What is lost? And where does this attitude of constantly seeking convenience and efficiency come from? I have never seen it so dominant in any other country like in the U.S.

In his book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Scholosser explores the boom behind the fast food industry in the U.S. along with its history and “exporting” to the rest of the world. Fast food, processed food and convience. Let’s face it, the surge of the use of cars after the Second World War was the beginning of this era. U.S. cities expanded with non-human distances that only were accesible by car. Even today, the urban planning of every U.S. town, city, and greater metropolitan area still is car-centric. A total dependence on cars was generated and people spent more and more time in them to take care of daily business. If you have visited other areas of the States outside New York, Chicago, or San Francisco, you know it’s i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e to get around without any wheels. People measure distance in minutes, not miles. If there is no parking, all hell breaks loose. Obviously fast food adopted with drive throughs—and it’s not just McDonald’s. I couldn’t get over Krispy Kreme doughnut drive throughs and lines for coffee at Starbucks. Sure, why not order your venti frappucino and suck it down on the highway.

So what’s the dark side of all of this? The United States is one of the most obese countries in the world. Not fat, not overweight, OBESE. Deformed bodies are the majority, a self-inflicted condition by years of bad nutritional choices eating “convenience” food, a result of their own decision and ignorance. As far as I know, nobody puts a gun to your head before downing 36 ounces of Coke, a double whopper and supersize fries. What I also sensed on this trip is that people live very isolated—in their car, in their home, in their bubble. They come into contact with the masses at the bank, the mall, the supermarket, but there’s little sincere human contact. In many instances, the only contact is reduced to the cashier since it’s all self service, an almost robot-like interaction for the repetitive nature of the transaction. People are certainly nice, polite, and helpful but there are no relationships in the stores. No face-to-face, “Hiya Liz, it’s been a while, how’s your family?”. This goes even for exquisite places like Whole Foods. Everybody’s a number. Just one more in a sea of people.

This hit home during the Walt Disney World part of my trip where I participated as a Guest Chef in the annual Epcot Food & Wine festival. I couldn’t believe that our five-star hotel, didn’t include a decent breakfast in the rate. Nope, we had to walk down every morning to a mini-market to select our food  from dispensers, and then get in another line to pay separately. The options were the typical U.S. breakfast food full of carbs and sugar: doughnuts, muffins, panqueques. Even the “natural” yogurt and fruit I had still had a list of ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. Among the other dozens of guests, we felt like cattle everything morning being given our ratio of pellets. It was not fun. This sensation was repeated again and again among the masses there where fresh food seemed to be a precious commodity.

So that’s the life of convenience in the USA? Drive everywhere, live alone in your car. Of course, everything you can ever imagine is at your fingertips–accesible, available, and most importantly, fast. You know what? I arrived home in Chile and made a beeline to see my caseros in La Vega. I walked there to buy fresh produce, not a single processed piece of food entered my home. Then, I walked down to Chinese Mark to see the gals who stock my Asian ingredients and make homemade tofu with only two ingredients: soy beans and water. After, I went to Tostaduria Talca to stock up on Chilean hazelnuts, quinoa, toasted peanuts, and other dried fruits and nuts. All from the countryside. Everything was five blocks from my apartment.

At each stop, everyone received me with a big smile and my first name. They asked me about my trip, what I was cooking, we chatted and caught up. I went home happy, not just to replenish my pantry and frig but the human interaction that took place. It filled my heart with something more—humanity. Maybe it takes more effort to wash and chop up all the ingredients for my own salad than heating up a can of soup for lunch. It does take a few trips to buy all my weekly supplies rather than pulling into a mega-market and shopping among the masses below flourescent lights. I shop on a human scale in every sense, using my own feet and senses. I don’t feel a number nor cattle, although perhaps, some will argue it is “inefficient”. Most important, I enjoy every minute of the process and those familiar faces whose businesses I support.

This is a plea to everyone in Chile, and South America, as the continent is booming and developing so rapidly. Please, let’s not loose that human scale and touch that still exists here in the search for modernization and the eagerness to look at everything that comes from the United States as golden. It’s not like that. There is a dark side and we must keep that present to make better, informed decisions.

This column was published in the November 2011 edition of Placeres Magazine in Chile. Its content was translated and adapted for this blog.

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Photo by Eduardo Amorim at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombeador/

Having just spent 10 days in Texas, a true study in a very unique subculture within the United States, I was struck by the similarities between Texas and Argentina. They seem to be two “countries” (or perhaps, Republic is a better word) that are kindred spirits. Soul cousins at two opposite extremes of the American subcontinent. Here are a few that caught my attention:

Geography: Driving around the hill country of Texas, it reminded me of the arid scrublands in parts of Mendoza between the northern and southern “oasis”, where they plant vineyards and orchards. Parched earth dotted with thorny bushes, mesquite trees and pump jacks drilling for oil. If it weren’t for the irrigation, Mendoza would be a desert. Texas, particularly with this year’s severe drought, reminded me of that thirsty landscape with its vastness, the open spaces, and a wide horizon. Obviously, omit the Andes.

Cattle is King: Texas is a frontier state with huge ranches where cattle is raised for beef. Hmm, what other country springs to mind when you think “steak”? Argentina, claro. Beef is taken very seriously in Texas where rib eye, T-bone, even the ubiquitous hamburger are revered by locals. I won’t even touch the subject of the ubiquitous barbeque (more on that below).

Cowboys & Gauchos: Argentina has its gauchos and Texas has its cowboys. Essentially, their functions are similar. They are horsemen and ranchers, who herd their cattle from one field to the next. Both have an iconic, romantic notion and garb. Rodeos are huge in Texas, as is western Argentina in the Mendoza province. Heck, folks in Dallas told me about a glitzy affair where the cowboys, and cowgirls, get decked out in their diamond-studded jeans, boots, and bling.

BBQ is a religion: The phrase “Don’t Mess with Texas” should really be, “Don’t Mess with Texas Barbeque”. Want to spark a spirited foodie debate? Ask who has the best barbeque. There’s a list longer than you’ll be able to eat in this lifetime. In fact, Texas Monthly recently launched a Texas Barbeque iPhone app to identify the best spots in the state, convenient on road trips. On this particular trip to Houston, my clients took me out the “hood” to eat at Burns Bar-B-Q (previously ranked the best the month before). Sure, we were the only Caucasians in there, but man, those ribs were memorable as was the sauce, a key component to the BBQ lovin’. Like Texans, Argentines mean serious business when it comes to asados, barbeques. More than grilling up some meat, it’s an art, a social occasion, a way of life—usually involving a lot of alcohol too.

Gettin’ Saucey: Argentines love to slather their grilled meats with pungent sauces like chimichurri and the crunchy salsa criolla. I could hardly believe that chimichurri has gone so mainstream that you can now buy it ready made at Costco. However, in Texas, the preferred “fixins” for BBQ is sauce. It usually has a tomato-based component that can be mixed with vinegar, spices, fruit jams, soy sauce, here the only limitation is the cook’s creativity. As the meat, or poultry, crisps over the fire (infused with aroma of mesquite wood), the sauce is brushed on—or served on the side. Central Market has nearly a whole aisle dedicated to barbeque sauce. I confess to wanting to import Salt Lick’s flavors by the case. Any ideas on how to ship?

Other lesser similarities would be an intense love for fútbol—in Argentina that would be soccer and in Texas, American football, particularly college and high school. I noticed in a couple places where “pies” were actually empanadas, folded over turnovers that were fried and stuffed with fruit, or my favorite, peanut butter. I didn’t get out to the Texas State Fair in Dallas, which everyone said was a good time—especially to see Big Tex, the huge Ferris Wheel, and observe this weird phenomenon of frying anything and everything. Hmm, I wonder if the idea for fried Snickers bars took off in there…

Photo: by Mark Norman Francis at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mn_francis/

I had an awesome time in Texas. The hospitality balled me over. In fact, one afternoon in Houston I got semi-stranded with no car after a meeting somewhere near Buffalo Highway. In despair with no taxis in sight, a nice lady offered to give me a ride to the West U area. Turns out she had friends in Santiago. No, she wasn’t a pyscho (would I be telling this story otherwise??). She was simply kind, and I must have looked desperate enough to offer help (when I suggested walking, she burst out laughing). I gave her some South American wine recs in exchange for the ride. That type of congenial attitude though I encountered again and again. Just don’t make me drive on Texas highways again—e.v.e.r.

So y’all Texans that have been to Argentina, any other similarities you’ve found between the two countries? Feel free to chime in.

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This week I am on a flash “trip” at home in Santiago between my latest viaje in Argentina and upcoming three-week US tour starting this weekend. More on that at the end of this post.

Traveling like a fiend for business this past year has made me truly understand, and appreciate, the phrase,“There’s no place like home”. As I go from one destination to the next, one airport to another, I started to really reflect on what home means to me; what makes a place home. Does it depend on family and friends? The place itself? A feeling? I would say all of the above plus some creature comforts that you miss by the end of a trip.

I should qualify that while I have become endeared with homecomings from trips, I certainly have an insatiable wanderlust that penetrates the depths of my heart, and has, since I was a little girl. It’s something I cannot shake, I won’t get over EVER, as it’s part of the essential fabric of my being. And I am thankful to be able to travel so much since I know that it fundamentally changes me, for the better, with each and every trip.

That being said, here are five things I totally relish about being home in Santiago de Chile right now:

Cooking

In my business of culinary & wine travel, there is certainly one amazing meal after the next. By the end of a week, I am basically c-r-a-v-i-n-g a big bowl of stir-fried veggies or a huge green salad. Wine? I’ll pass. I love eating out until I have done it to the point of saturation. I am a cook. I start to get antsy if I cannot chop an onion for a whole week or make a pot of stock. I have even pleaded with hotel kitchens to let me clean the spinach for my salad. I need to have my hands in the ingredients. My weekly ritual of eating and cooking heavily involves Santiago’s vibrant fresh markets like La Vega. I miss my caseros who give me the best produce to transform, like alchemy, into wholesome meals whose fat content, exact ingredients, and final texture I can completely control. It is a luxury when you’re on the road to have a home-cooked meal. But more than eating by myself at home, it’s also knowing that at lunch and dinner, I sit down with my husband to share. That is truly the taste of home.

Not All Beds Are Equal

Let’s face it, as humans, the home may be our larger “nest” but bed is where we recharge our bodies every night. Not all beds are made equal. Comfort from the mattress itself to fresh 400-count Egyptian sheets, a cool, silent bedroom, and good blackouts are a must. While I am lucky to stay in mostly deluxe hotels with great beds, it’s still a hotel. Your own bed is a safety zone, much like the blankey we had as kids (err, well I did at least!). There’s something reassuring that feels so good when crawl back into it. I, for one, sleep like a baby that first night back.

Well-being Every Day

While I religiously follow Bodyrock workouts every day in my home gym, on the road, I get pooped and they become more intermittent. An early, full day of activities or meetings, followed by a lunch with wine and lengthy dinner, I get really tired. Going for a run seems, somehow, very secondary to another 30 minutes of hitting the snooze button. Once I get home and am back in my routine, even though my hours are the same, I somehow effortlessly wake up at dawn to workout. I get to see my amazing acupuncturist every week. I feel vital. That’s not to say that I don’t feel awesome when I travel. It’s simply a different stimulation for the mind and soul.

Reflection

One of my daily habits is to wake up early, meditate and read. It’s one of my sacred moments of silence. Of reconnecting with something larger than myself. I don’t like being rushed in the morning either. I need time to pull myself together to confront the day and be mentally ready to crush it. In these moments, I often have insights into the experiences I just lived on the trip. In the midst of travel, you’re in a perpetual state of sensory overload—new sights, sounds, tastes, smells, textures, people. It can be overwhelming–or mostly exciting. Then you arrive home and it all settles. All of a sudden, there’s an AHA. Perhaps it emerges as a new direction I want to take in life in general or business, a blog post (umm, like this one?), a product, or something I now comprehend on a larger experiential level. A shift in consciousness. Something that would have been impossible to understand without going through the process of that trip and coming out on the other side.

People

When I am on the road alone, or with clients, and leave my husband at home with our cats, I suffer. We are very united and for long periods of time (anything over a few days), it is trying and I feel like I leave half my heart at home (I do…). Talking on the phone twice per day is not the same. It’s also not the same to maintain my friendships through e-mail and get togethers every 3-4 months, which seems to have been the case as of late with my schedule (working on that!). Part of what makes home is the people. Your family, friends, pets, caseros, even the characters in your neighborhood like the organ grinder on Sundays or the whistling dude who washes everybody’s cars on Parque Forestal. People are what make a place. The more I travel, while daily life can be different on a physical level, we all experience the same things as human beings. Above all, we want to be accepted, loved, supported, and have a place to call home.

Details on my US Road Show

So back to my upcoming USA road trip since some of you are asking. I will toot my horn for two seconds. After a couple days to see family in Saint Augustine, Florida, I will be a chef at Disney’s Epcot Food & Wine Fest. I would LOVE if you guys who are in the Orlando area could join me on Thursday, October 6 and Sunday, October 9 for live culinary demos (quinoa salad) and pairing with Emiliana Orgánico’s delicious wines. If I have not met you, please come and introduce yourself. I will be tickled pink!

Next stop is Texas, as “y’all” know, one of my favorite states in the US. I will be back at Central Market’s cooking school kicking off a South American Entertaining & Wine Pairing Class where we’ll be “traveling” through recipes, wines, and dynamic presentation through Chile & Argentina’s wine country. We’ll be pairing local appetizers from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay with the lush wines from Torrontés to Malbec to Chilean Syrah. Classes are: October 10 in Austin andOctober 12 in Houston. There are a few seats left, so sign up soon at links above. I would love to see you all! There will be lots of delicious food, wine, and fun.

In between Central Market gigs, I will be hosting private client events with some of our favorite repeat travelers and their friends. In Dallas, I’ll be hosting a talk with our local partner, Epicopia about the Culinary Signature Tours to South America for small groups that I am personally leading in 2012 in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Hope you can all join in. Please drop us a line if you need more information about any of the events. Hasta pronto!

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