Broad beans for a favour.

I had the pleasure of shelling these beautiful Fava Beans aka Broad Beans. A couple of days ago my honey-bunny, Zach, helped a dude & his son carry his 2 huge costales (think modern feed sacks) full o' beans they'd grown & harvested. They were all on a bus together going to the market in San Francisco and the bus did not indeed drop them at the market as they said they would but, a ways away, downhill from the market, no doubt. Anyhoo...Zach got some great cardio in (hah! I think he about killed himself carrying that 100 lb.+ bag of beans.) For his very kind hardwork he got a 'free' bag of beans that he brought home much to my delight, they are one of my very favourites!! We eat them about twice a week. I will peel the ones in the picture one more time. I usually cook them like this: saute them for maybe 5 minutes with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt then, add water or stock and let simmer until tender! We eat them just as they turn out or I'll mash them and I add them to soups, stews and pasta dishes too. Yum!

Sewing again!

I haven't sewn in some time, let's see...um, over 2 years! I didn't/couldn't bring my sewing machine to Guatemala when we moved. Moving house via luggage is not an easy task. As luck would have it, I was able to purchase a brand new machine in December and bring it back with me! It's taken some weeks to start using it but, I have and I've just begun.

*I got a Brother XL 2600i-love it a lot so far.

Workspace.



My etsy shop featuring my sewn efforts.



I gave my old appleseeds shop on etsy a new life with a new name:

Horse Drawn Wagon // timeworn mayan textiles

I am working with old well loved vintage Mayan traje (clothing). All of it is handmade from the ground up. It's all been woven on a backstrap loom and a lot of pieces are even woven with fiber harvested and made by hand. All of the designs and patters and imagery on the traje is threaded in as the piece is being woven on the loom this technique is called brocade. Guatemala is 65% indigenous Maya Indian and most of them, especially the women, still wear the traditional clothing. All of the clothing is village specific, although plenty of modern Mayans tend to wear whatever they like from which ever town but, for the most part you can tell where someone lives or is from by the huipil they are wearing. Being obsessed with the indigenous culture and absorbing it like a sponge, I find myself living the simple life they do: going to the market everyday, preparing all of my meals from fresh and scratch and just taking life one day at a time. Spending a lot of time in the markets, I have almost become bi-lingual but, not quite, I don't exactly speak 'Spainish' instead I speak 'Guatemalan Market Spanish'. I write this smiling because I think it's funny but, what it really is is just the Spanish I need for my life at the mo'. What I am getting at is I spend a lot of time in the market and that's where most of the used (and new) traje is sold and traded. I've been collecting pieces to sew for a while and it's great to finally be getting around to it!

Deconstructing a vintage Chichicastenango huipil.

The huipil from Chihi is attractive to me in several ways. First, I love the patterns and colours, second, they are thick n' heavy and feel great, third, they are three panels attached by a hand-sewn external seam called a 'randa'. I love the panels because I can simply separate the and make pillows from the outer two panels without even having to cut into them. I have lots of ideas for the use of the middle panel but, haven't gotten to any of them yet. Here are some of the pillows I've made so far:

It's all very exciting to me and I can't wait to venture on to making different things!!

aguas amargas

 We decided to finally go and check out Aguas Amargas. A little hot springs destination not too far away from Xela. So we hop on a bus and head in that direction, getting off the bus in a small pueblo that we have to walk through. Mind you we had to tell the bus where we were going and we had to ask a few people which direction to walk and they all happily told us which way to go to get to Aguas Amargas. What they did not tell us, is that it was completely destroyed in a hot mudslide last year! Classic. It was a fantastic day even though we didn't get to soak in the hot thermal waters there.

What is left of the entrance.

 It's so destroyed and overgrown it's hard to see what's going on. If you see the little waterfalls towards the top right-ish part of the photo....those little waterfalls are going over what was the road.

This was one of the cabana rooms with a tub that thermal water flowed into. Egads, now it's a mudroom!

 

                                        This the road going there. Totally washed out. It was fun walking down through the little river.



flowerheads

Not everysingle time but, a lot of the times I buy flowers and arrange them I am left with the odd flower heads that fell off or can't be used in the arrangement for some reason or another. I can never bring myself to toss the beauties out with the stems and scrappy leaves! The last batch I floated the flowerheads in bowls of water. Floating flowers are so enjoyable to have around. Win win. I've also strung flowerheads and used them for some tipico photos in the background.

Happy All Saint's Day!

Greetings from Guatemala on All Saint's Day (Dia de Todosantos)!!! We'll be in the cemetary today for sure. This is a special day here. Families gather in cemetaries; they clean and decorate their family/loved ones graves and picnic there all day. The traditional dish of the day is a funky mix of up to 50 ingredients called, Fiambre. Flying kites is a popular past-time on this day; creating a link between life on earth and the lives of those that have passed to the other side. This will be our 2nd year participating in the tradition. =)


These giant handmade kites are just amazing.

Fiambre. Putting a 'blue flower' on top is super popular fancy!
We've yet to have the pleasure of sampling some local Fiambre.

(Already walking around today more cars than not that have gone by me have someone with a big ol' dish of 
 Fiambre in their lap! It's kind of awesome! )

frijoles frescos!

                               
I haven't figured out exactly what type of beans these are but, I sure am enjoying them! They are gorgeous and so much fun to work with. We've started drying and collecting our favouritest ones. My boyfriend said the sweetest thing; he says, "One day we won't live in Guatemala and have access to these beans and you'll be so happy to have a dried little collection of them.", darn tootin' sweet boyfriend!

Growing up in the South in a truly 'Southern' family, I was always around bushels of fresh beans and peas. I loved sitting around the backyard in the shade tree shelling them with  my Granny and aunts. We usually 'put them up' (canned) and I am sure I ate plenty of fresh peas and beans but, I don't recall any kind of fresh beans like these at all.

Beans have to be one of my fondest foods. They are beyond healthful and combining them with grains such as rice offers such a complete meal. I recently made sure we ate beans and grains everyday for 2 weeks just to see if we'd feel different and we absolutely did! We noticed that overall we felt way more satisfied in the hungry & craving departments. I'm just going to colour us lucky that we love beans so much!!

xela cemetary = xela dogpark (for us)

Having 2 dogs (Mike and Marcel) and living in a city with no yard puts us in dire need of a dog park. Well, it's probably no surprise that Xela doesn't have a 'dog park'. But, we're lucky that just a few blocks from our house is Xela's gigantic amazing cemetary which serves as a really great dog park for us!

All the boys get to run off their energy....it's a good thing!



Mike really gives Zach a run for his money or rather...honey.

Water faucets for doggie drinks....how perf!



At 1st this is the only way Mike would drink out of the faucet. He owns it now.



Marcel has loved hiding/playing in the tall grass since Day 1.



Yay! Grass & sunshine!!



Not only do we have expansive lawns for dog play;
look at gorgeous Volcan Santa Maria looming in the distance.



PS-These are all pictures from 1 year ago and Mr. Marcel is all grown up now. 

drinking fresh aloe

A leaf of aloe from our local market. Cost: Q5

Drinking or eating fresh aloe may be hard to swallow for many but, with the awesome health benefits in mind, I've choked it down enough times to like and crave the stuff. I first heard of eating aloe when I was a kiddo; I knew a Mediterranean family that ate a nice slice of aloe flesh everyday and they swore by its longevity factors. I always thought of them eating aloe. Especially when I started having kidney stone issues and was turned on to aloe big time! Aloe is an anti-inflammatory and it'll fix you right up in so many ways if you're ailing from: digestive disorders, arthritis, kidney stone issues, burns, scraps, cuts, bug bites, joint and muscle pain, diabetes, high cholesterol, dry skin and any inflammation. Pretty incredible, eh?

Here is a fantastic link that'll tell you some of the truly amazing benefits you can reap from aloe vera!! It also has a great video showing you how to harvest the flesh from an aloe vera leaf.

We blend aloe flesh with water and coconut water. It might take some getting used to but, it's so pure & healthy!! You can also just blend it into a blended fruit drink. =)

luck + me = sweet tv with a dope cozy

Flat screen tv covered, when not in use, with childs huipil from Todos Santos.

Lucky: 1. Recently was given a sweet little flat screen tv*. 2. We have free cable. Me: Really happy to have it. But, it can't just stare me down all the time.
TV Cozy: Used traje. A little girls huipil from Todos Santos.

This is a great solution for me. I get to look at something that I admire so much while at the same time concealing the television screen and keeping it dust free while not in use. Win, win.

*Haven't had tv in over a year. Recently I stayed a long weekend at a besties house in the states and her husband gave me a tv. It's just right, small, light weight flat screen. I surprised Zach with it....we are so grateful! It's so much fun to have it! We get a channel from Germany, one from Italy, and one from France. A bunch from Mexico and South America...it's really cool to see news and stuff from other countries.  Not to go on but, there are a few good movie channels too. El Pelicula plays really old Spanish movies 24/7...always a great go-to and it's really helping me with my Spanish! Oh, another great thing is that they let all the cussing fly here. Nothing is bleeped out and it's great! To just hear people speak for real and uninterrupted. Bueno Onda!

colourful corn

It doesn't take much to amaze me and put a wonderous smile on my face! That's exactly what happened when I 'shucked' this corn. I've never seen corn like the corn I see here. And even more so, I have never tasted corn like the corn here. Truth be told, I wasn't all that much of a corn eater before I moved here. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike corn, I ate it and I liked it whether it was corn on the cob, creamed corn, corn pudding, corn bread, or hello popcorn! But. But, I didn't exactly think corn was offering me all that much. I didn't choose it as a side when cooking or use it as an ingredient much. But, here the corn is exciting and delicious. My favourite way to eat it is boiled then roasted on a grill, topped with lime & salt. This scrumptous treat is served on the street in corn husks. There is nothing like natural packaging!

oat milk.

Finally I will no longer be dependent on buying processed Soy Milk*. I mean, I've felt lucky enough as is, just being able to find organic soy milk here! I can't believe I've waited this long to try making my own non-dairy milk.
So, naturally, ever since I decided that I wanted to make my own milk I've been reading every recipe I can find on it. I've considered making rice milk and soy milk but, then I found the simplest recipe ever for oat milk. Oat milk! I hadn't even thought of it! Sounds good, right? I made it and it's delicious!!! We are enjoying it in our tea and coffee and with granola cereal.

Here's what you do:

soak 1 cup of rolled oats in 5 cups of water for 24 hours

blend & strain

>>Shake well before each use<<

THAT'S IT!!! Oh, and keep it in the fridge.

On top of oat milk being easy to make and tasting great...it's on the cheap, big time. What would have cost me over $2 in purchased soy milk, I spent about 25 cents making my own oat milk = happy me.

*We buy very few processed/packaged items here in Guatemala and we love it. The two main things that we are dependent upon that are not only packaged but, are processed and imported to add insult to injury are: olive oil and soy  milk.

It's so nice to eliminate at least one of those. I don't see us not buying or using olive oil any time soon. At least not until I own that olive grove of my dreams! Do they have olive groves in Spain? South America any where?

growing my own spices

There's nothing like have herbs and spices to cook with! And there's nothing like not having herbs and spices to cook with. While there are many wonderful ingredients to be found in the markets here in Xela....there are a few things that I have grown accustom to cooking with that are not to be found! My solution? Grow them! Mustard seeds are something I incorporated into my cooking while living in Portland, Oregon some years back. I was going to traditional Indian food-themed pot lucks. I discovered a couple of dishes that influenced my cooking still to this day and probably for my ever. One of the dishes I made that had a huge impact on me was Bombay Potatoes. You start the dish by frying a bunch of spices...YUM!

Harvesting mustard seeds is fun but, a wee bit tedious. Thank goodness I've found a huge bag of mustard seeds (the dark ones) in the market...at a pet food stall. They are fed to birds. Who knew? Not me!!! Out of all the plants we had room to grow we only got about 2 tablespoons of mustard. It was a fun project and I've never regretted growing anything!

Mike even loved the plants and helped out, of course he did, he's a very good boy!

fresh herbs....nothing like em.

There are so very many things that are fresh and amazing about Guatemala; fresh herbs being one of them!

Mind you it's really hard to find fresh Basil and that's a bummer but, this bunch of fresh Cilantro is what you get for Q1 (which is about 1/7 of a dollar). ...you can not beat that!

Fresh herbs are so healthful to eat and now I can easily eat them up with every meal! It's a good thing as you know who would say. Oh! And they are grown organically......sweet!

hydrangea :: life-long favourite

I grew up with a giant wonderous Hydrangea bush in my Grandmother's yard situated right at a quiet corner of her house. It was always a small place of refuge as a small child sitting under and behind that magnificent flowering goddess of a bush!

I feel so super lucky to have a gorgeous one in our little courtyard!!!

lovey plants from the market

I ran into these little dears for sale by an even more enchantingly dear lady from Chajul. She dug these plants up out of her garden, nestled them in a leaf secured with another plant fiber and brought them all the way to Xela. I of course could not resist purchasing one of each from her. The grassy plant I'm told will have beautifuly scented white flowers! And I'm a total sucker for succulents. I have to say I love love love the packaging. The cheese I buy at the market comes wrapped in leaves as do a few other things, I think it's rad!


Here's a map (below) showing where Chajul is in realtion to Xela (Quetzaltenango). It's a hellva chicken bus ride, a beautiful one no doubt but, it's a haul! Bless her dear darling heart.

I've never been in love with a peoples or place like I am with the lands and folks in Guatemala...I have immense love for Mayans of their ways and attitudes of life...it's a beautiful thing.

mexican jumping beans!!

Those three cute little things that look like tiny mummified wooden owls are MEXICAN JUMPING BEANS!!! My boyfriend saw a gal with a box lid of them jumping all around for joy on the street in the market. He knew I would love them and thoughtfully got these for me (3 for Q7).

They do indeed jump all around! It's so much fun to watch the little squirrely things. They aren't beans at all, they are seed pods that have a larvae living in them, supposedly they 'jump'

because the lil larvae is rolling over looking for a cooler place. That's the only reason for them 'jumping' that I can find online as of yet. And I'm sorry but, I'm not buying it! It's cold where I am and those critters can't be hot!

Aren't they cute? (That little clay house is currently one of my favourite things.)

LOOK!! I caught one in action jumping !!

homemade natural deodorant

Living in Guatemala has changed me in many ways. And I wasn't about to let these changes (such as not having access to the lovely Weleda products I've been using for years) make me stink so, I had to find a solution and quick! Just kidding about the quickness part but, I am super stoked to have found a super simple solution. I have used and love Weleda Sage spray deodorant for a while now. It's light and airy and effective. I love that it's a simple refreshing herbal spray and I didn't want to compromise by using something un-natural. I won't even talk about stick deodorants...gross!

Well, after a tiny bit of research and thought, Rosemary is really the only fresh herb I could easily find here that I wanted to use. All I did was stuff in a bunch of fresh clean Rosemary in my empty deodorant bottles& fill with quality Vodka. They have been sitting in the dark for a week; I shake them everyday & they already smell really great!!!!

***UPDATE***
I should have removed the Rosemary at about 10 days in or less. It smelt great and was a very effective deodorant. I left the Rosemary in too long and it turned on me. Maybe it's because I used fresh Rosemary instead of dried. Nothing like learning things the hard way!!!!

pink, wonderful.

While cooking dinner the kitchen window (our one street window, high up on the inside of our wall but, on the level with traffic outside) lit up intense purple-pink...I couldn't imagine what car was causing that so, I took a peek outside. By the time I grabbed my camera and made it out to the courtyard it was fading fast but, the whole sky was lit up bright rich intense purple and pink...here's the shot I got of the tail end of it. You can even faintly see the moon. It was breath-takingly gorgeous; so happy I saw what I did of it!!!

i love my dog skull!

Bird's eye view of Xela; the line is the road between Llanos del Pinal & Xela.

Two of my homies/lovies on top of Santa Maria!

Zach & Marcel

Santiaguito...erupts about every 20 minutes!

Zach and Marcel went on a dude hike up Volcan Santa Maria and they brought me a really super cool present. They found an old dog skull up on the side of the Volcan and carefully brought it to me!! It's a favourite prized possesion!!!

Going into the Basket Business!

After yet another hiatus, I am jumping back into blogging and etsying. My main motivation? Amazing Guatemalan baskets!! I have been thinking about doing this for well over a year and it's finally high time! Yesterday we traveled to a nearby town where they are made. We wanted to go straight to the source and we did. We found the main basket making family and they were thrilled we were buying a whole bunch of their baskets to sell online. They wished us much luck and hoped to see us back again really soon.

I have big plans for selling these baskets. I hope to get them in some shops around the States and sell them like hot cakes on etsy. Check out the store: http://www.etsy.tipico.com/

This is Basket Queen, Carmen Alicia (she loved that our names were similar). She made me promise to bring her a photograph and I will....I am going to give her one of just her and her baskets but, I am going to frame the one (below) of her and her husband for them!

These baskets are incredible. They have endless uses and are super sturdy! They can really take a lot of harsh use with no sign of wear! I've had some for over a year that I use for all of my heavy market shopping and they look as good as new!

***UPDATE***
We now work with and alongside several families making and selling baskets on etsy in the tipico store. This enables the basket makers (which are all indigenous Maya) to earn more than they are used to. Awesome!