Tag Archives: dominican

Mango Time!

Posted by on April 24, 2012 No comments

It is mango season here in Dominican Republic. I have been watching the trees in the park laden with mangoes. A soft green color just waiting for them to ripen.

It finally happened. They are ready for pickin’ and eatin’. Oh yeah!

I cannot reach the trees from the park. All the mangoes fall into the Marine base grounds so I got this young boy that lives somewhere around there to get me some. I gave him a large bag from the Colmado and Teli (my dog) and I waited for Jimmy to return.

He came back in about 20 minutes with a bag full of mangoes! They smelt sooo good. I gave him some money for it. He was happy and so was I.

I was told that Dominican dogs love mangoes. My Teli is a Dominican dog but she turns her nose up at them. I kept trying to give her one and she finally gave me the look telling me “Thats enough! I do not want a stupid MANGO!”

Now I had to figure out what to do with all these sticky fibrous amazing fruits. Posted on Facebook to ask friends and I took a few of their ideas.

I made mango salsa. It was really good. I would have never thought that a sweet and a spicy would go together.

I made mango ice milk ice cream and froze it.

I made mango smoothie shakes which I love with any fruit I have at the time.

I made mango bread.

Today Ill make a mango enchilada.

Who knows what tomorrow mango goodies we will come up with…

mango bread sliced mango mango smoothie and coffee

This was my breakfast – All Things Mango. By the way, that is not mango coffee. I had to put my foot down someplace.


Christmas Sancocho d’Pennsylvania

Posted by on December 30, 2011 No comments

Here are bits and pieces of an email I got and because of it I made some new friends. I love being able to make new friends.

First email from Greg:

(edited) I stumbled upon your writing while I’m researching a Christmas gift for my brother’s girlfriend who originates from the DR. She’s new to the family and none of us knows much about her. Your Christmas page was helpful in many ways but I think most helpful by being a friendly voice and a potential advice giver:)
As it turns out, we live in Pennsylvania! (Thanks a lot for including your current temperature on the site!). You’ll be aware that I can’t do much in the way of fireworks here…but I’d like to give her a piece of familiarity as part of her Christmas. I’m thinking about making a special food. Any suggestions about what that might be and recipes? I don’t know her family’s traditions so I’m looking for a truly universal DR food.
Thanks for your time Janette and thanks for such a great website.

I sent him some suggestions about making Sancocho or some other Dominican type food. Maybe getting some Mamajuana or some Dominican rum and got this response:

(edited) I think I’m going to make Sancocho d’Pennsylvania. There’s no cob corn available now and goat meat isn’t readily available….but it is Pennsylvania it is deer hunting season after all so I might adapt with some venison. My thought is that squirrel or rabbit might be better replacements but that venison will be gamey enough as a substitution. We have plantains aplenty though…amen to our diversifying population:)
My favorite thing about that recipe is its size! You can tell that it comes from people who value large family gatherings. There will be about 12 of us on Christmas day and I’m quartering the recipe. I wish there were 50 of us:)

We sent another email or two and we agreed that in PA Sancocho game meat could be a substitute, as the recipe is not set in stone.

On December 24th Greg sent an email:
(edited) Janette….It has begun. Venison defrosting now:) Debbie took over so I’m reduced to writing about the project….but hey, she’s a better chef than I am and doesn’t swear while dicing vegetables:)
I think this is going to work out well. Rick gave me a big Venison roast and probably 20 pounds of pork that his father raised. When I got the beef today, the butcher severely cut his price on the beef (just nice…I didn’t know until I was paying)
Anyway….Christmas music on and dogs asleep everywhere…kids cleaning the play room and Sancocho started. It’s a good Christmas Eve. Thanks for being part of it, Amiga:) Merry Christmas.

The next communication I got had the end results and the picture included.

(edited) PA Sancocho was a hit! Lorena was thrilled and surprised. She didn’t know it was coming but coincidentally had been describing it to my brother the night before.
We made a few substitutions based on availability. We used a turnip to replace one of the root vegetables and of course, the venison instead of goat. The first substitution went unnoticed but we asked for feedback about the deer. She said it tastes just like goat:) I even found fresh corn on the cob:)

The whole family really enjoyed it and my mother’s lasagna went un-eaten….which means I got a lasagna to bring home. (Bonus:)

They got to enjoy their PA Sancocho and all I got was a lousy picture..jejej. I am so happy that I could help them show their new Dominican friend a good Christmas. That was so nice of them to care about her and work to make her feel comfortable and at home.
Sancocho made in Pennsylvania

There are still many good humans in this world and this family is some of them.

Guagua trip to Rio Nizao

Posted by on October 26, 2009 1 comment

>I decided to take a guagua (small bus)trip by my self on Sunday. I have only taken a guagua alone to Boca Chica so this was all new for me. I wanted to be around some water (my son Billy Jay died 6 years ago on this day and I like to be near water this day and someplace away from the city) and someone told me about this river so I went. I didn’t know what to expect so I didn’t take any swimming stuff. I wanted to check it out before I committed to carrying a bunch of stuff with me.

I figured out where to get the guagua thanks to a friend that told me about the place. It cost me $70 pesos for the 1 1/2 hour ride (it took so long because of all the stops the guagua made). The ride was uneventful. I did get a bit of sun on my left arm from the window.

I didn’t know where to get off the guagua so I asked the cobrador (the guy at the door of the bus taking the money and helping people off and on) and he said he’d let me know. But when we got to the town on Nizao he jumped off the guagua. There was only about 4 people left on the guagua at this time. A group of 5 guys got on so I asked them where I needed to get off the bus. They said to follow them. The next stop they pointed for me to get off.

They took me to the river and a little colmado to get my first beer. The river was deep and wide. It was wonderful. The water was cool and clean.You could see the Caribbean sea way in the distance. There were lots of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon. Young and old. The Colmado was playing Dominican music and some people were dancing. It was very comfortable and relaxing.

I sat with them and we talked. I was surprised that my Spanish just pored out of my mouth quite easily. My new friends and I talked all day. Drank some rum. Danced a little. Ate some fresh fish (yes, the fish had the heads attached). It was a good day.

At 4 I said I had to leave cause I didn’t want to take a chance of missing the last bus at 5. The bus came about 4:30 and one of my new friends waited for it with me. The new friends told me to call them next time I was coming and they would cook fish for me. They also said there was an inexpensive hotel near by the river if I wanted to come for a few days which for sure I will do that soon.

So now I know how to get to a river to relax for a day. I have been wanting to do that for so long but no one seemed to know how to tell me to take a guagua to a river not far from the capital. Of course, many people here told me that it was dangerous to go alone but yet no one offered to go with me to protect me. I have been many places alone and I never found any place to be what I considered dangerous. If I didn’t feel comfortable I would just leave. No problem.

Sunday Sancocho at Barrio Santa Barbara

Posted by on February 11, 2009 1 comment

>A friend of mine, Chino, who lives in Santa Barbara which is a section of Colonial Zone, invited me for some sancocho (sancocho recipe-opens in a new window)) so I happily obliged. When I got there all the neighbors were out and about near the small Colmado. Chino introduced me around and we got ourselves a bottle of rum waiting until the food was ready.

After we mixed our drinks he took me by the hand across the street to see the cooking that was under way. In a giant pot (picture of a lady cooking sancocho-opens in a new window) over a small fire the typical Dominican stew was already cooking. they had a large sheet of tin across the pot to protect it from the constant drizzle we were experiencing. The smell coming from the pot was wonderful. The man cooking the stew was cutting up ingredients and adding them to the brew. He had the pinion with garlic and other herbs and spices and was mashing them up to add to the pot. Everyone kept coming over to look, smell and sometimes add other ingredients and some dumplings as we all waited.

A man came by with a bunch of cangrejo (picture-opens in a new window) and we haggled on a price for a dozen or these crabs. They were still alive, all tied together, with their little pinchers opening and closing. I felt bad, but not too bad, that I was going to kill them when their little beady eyes were looking at me. I got over the feeling bad part as we took those tasty crustaceans and threw them in a pot on the fire alongside the sancocho. We added a few green herbs to their pot and waited for the water to boil.

The crabs were ready. We got a tray, dumped them on it and enjoyed them with a little lemon. Man, they were tooo yummy! While I was eating the crabs the pot of sancocho was ready to eat.

All the neighbors came out with they’re bowls, pans, foam food containers and their spoons. The cook guy ladled out the stew into everyones containers. People found a place to sit and everyone was enjoying. It was a real neighborhood feast. I got me a pink plastic bowl and a plastic spoon and got my share, sat on a plastic beer crate and ate every drop.

Funny, I usually do lots of talking (ask anyone), but I can tell you that for at least 10 minutes the only sound that came out of my mouth were yummy sounds. That stuff was sooo good. It hit the spot for sure. The hot stew made the cold (yes, it was cold, maybe about 76 degrees Fahrenheit…brrr) go away.

Then, when the entire kettle was empty and our tummy’s were all filled, everyone started to disappear into their homes. I did the same. I walked directly to my home and did the worst thing ever, went to sleep with a full, happy stomach and did not fell in the least bit bad about it (except for a little heartburn later in the night and a few more pounds added to my gutt).

I can’t wait until the next time to do exactly the same thing again. They also told me if I ever know any tourists that want to join in to bring them along.

Dominican Spanish

Posted by on August 7, 2007 1 comment

>I came across this video and had to share. It made me laugh. The words. The tone of the guys voice when he speaks Dominican Spanish is so perfect (It should be since he is Dominican duhhh).
So as you practice your Dominican Spanish make sure you listen to your teacher Sir Nube Negra and you will be speaking Dominican Spanish in no time.

“>
Remember to check the Dominicanismo Dictionary here. I will post new lessons as they come available. I want you to learn the proper way to speak your Dominican Spanish so you can feel like a native on your next visit. I do all this because I care.(jejee)

New York Dominican Day Parade 2007

Posted by on July 28, 2007 No comments

>Sunday August 12 2007 is the big Dominican Republican Day Parade. This years parade on 6th Avenue from 36th Street to 62nd Street will be hosted by TV host Karina Larrauri. For the first time in the history of the parade it will be aired live on satellite from NYC to the DR. Television Dominicana which broadcasts on Dish Network channel 844 and 434 by way of Direct TV, will have live coverage of the parade from 2 to 4 P.M.
The New York Dominican Parade and “Fiesta” will be attended by an estimated 500,000 people. There will be lots of great Dominican food, music and cultural events. Our friends from Mabi Refresco will be there with their new product right behind the Goya Foods float.

So if you are in the area go enjoy the sights sounds and scents of the event. If you can’t be in Dominican Republic at least during this parade you can pretend you are. Even if it is only for a few hours.
I wish I could join everyone! Enjoy!

A little more information..