Alright folks, I'm rewinding a bit here with an old post that I never put up. Back in April I started taking a salsa class. I loved it, and I learned a lot, but my attendance only lasted a month. The schedule for the class didn't mesh very well with my own, the class ended close to 10 at night, and the studio was located half way across town. Anyways, for various reasons, I dropped out of the class but hoped that I could pick it back up later in the year, and in turn,  finish writing this post. 
Welp, life happened and I never made it back to salsa class....but...I decided I'd go ahead and finish the post anyways. If nothing else, you get a nice little salsa recipe out of it, and you get to chuckle at my attempts at some fancy footwork. 
Que disfruten!

Salsa for a crowd
Ingredients:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed (alternatively, you could use fresh sweet corn roasted on the grill, which would probably be fantastic)
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic (more or less to taste)
1 large avocado
7-8 roma tomatoes
1-2 limes
1 bunch cilantro
pinch of salt

1. Dice up your tomatoes and onions and toss them in a large bowl with your rinsed and drained corn and beans. 
2. Finely chop the garlic and toss it in. 

3. Grab a big bunch of cilantro, give it a rough chop, and toss it in the bowl.
4. Dice up your avocado. 

5. Squeeze the lime all over the mixture and stir it together gently. At this point you can add a pinch of salt, but generally there is enough salt in the canned beans that I don't add it when I'm eating this myself. If you do add the salt,  make sure you serve the salsa that day, as salt will draw out the liquid in the tomatoes as it sits in the fridge, making your salsa a bit watery. It still tastes good, but doesn't make for the nicest presentation.
P.S. I also really like to add chopped mango to this salsa when its in season. That salty sweet combo just can't be beat!

Voila!! Perfecto!

And now for a different kind of salsa. 

Ok so I'm dancing with Jake here.  He and Fabian (dancing in the video below with our female salsa istructor) introduced me to the class, which is called La Escuela de Salsa Golden Boy (yes, our male salsa instructor calls himself Golden Boy....I don't think I actually ever learned his first name, haha). In any case, they are much better than I am. I am just trying to keep up!!

I rolled out of bed with the sunshine and made a hop-skip-and-a-jump to the beach. The early morning sun was already warming up the sand between my toes and causing the tops of the rippling waves to glitter like diamonds. 
But I was on a mission. I was determined to make my way to Playa Frontón. 

The beach in Las Galeras is fine. The water is nice and shallow and great for a dip, but the shoreline is a bit rocky and the sandy parts are mostly covered in washed up seaweed. The real attraction of Las Galeras are the surrounding beaches: Playa Rincon, Playa Fronton, Playa Madam, Playa de Amantes, among others. Many of these surrounding beaches, like Playa Fronton, are virtually virgin. Unlike the other beaches throughout the D.R., you won´t find any beach-side restaurants, lounge chairs, piña coladas, or vendors disturbing your peace to sell you sea shell bracelets and massages. Nope, these beaches are relatively untouched. In the case of Playa Fronton, you can´t even get there by car, you must rent a lancha (small boat) or hike your way through the jungla (jungle). 
After chatting with some of the locals at the boat launch (there is always a gang of 8-10 guys hanging out at the beachfront waiting to take you wherever your heart desires), I was told that the next boat for Frontón would be leaving soon and it would cost me 800 pesos (20 dollars). 
Do NOT pay that much.
I bargained down to 600 pesos, although a sharper bargainer than I (and maybe one that doesn´t look quite so American) could probably get the price even lower. 
While waiting for the other passengers to arrive, I struck up a conversation with one of the boat guides to find out what was what at Playa Fronton. I asked him if I should be bringing along any food and water since I hadn´t packed any and hadn´t had breakfast. 
The next thing I knew he was leading me through town and back behind a row of shacks to an abandoned lot with a mata de mangos. We scoured the ground for the good fruit and then climbed up on top of the roof of the decrepit cement building to pick even more. By the time we were finished I had a bag full of mangos to make it through the day and plenty to share.  

I rinsed two of the mangos in the sea and ate them right there, the juice sopping all down my chin and fingers. There´s just no way to eat a fresh mango without getting a little messy, but that´s the beauty of it.  
Soon enough I was hopping into a boat and headed off for a jostling little ride on turquoise waves. 

And this is where I ended up. 

What I loved most about this beach is how the mountains meet the shoreline. Simply stunning. 
If you wander around behind the palm trees a little bit, you´ll find some stony ruins built alongside the cliffs. 

I was particularly lucky on this day because I found even more than that! I found a cliff-climbing couple from Spain scaling a vertical wall of rock with ropes and hooks. They were professional mountain climbers and took their gear with them wherever they went on vacation. 
And they let me strap up and give it a go!!
Regretfully, I don´t have any pictures to document this little escapade....so since there´s no photographic evidence, you´ll have to trust me when I say I climbed to a frightening height. Once I couldn´t feel my arms any more from clinging to the cliffside like a terrified spider, I decided it was time to let go. I unpried my fingers from their death grip and rappelled down the mountain to safety, wondering the whole time what I had been so scared about. 

After thanking my new friends for the adventure, I made my way back to the beach to cool off in the crystal water (mountain climbing is hard work!) and soak up the sun. 

One can only do so much soaking though, and soon I was ready for another adventure. One of the boat guides, Daniel, mentioned he was going to hike back to Las Galeras on foot. Seeing a chance for a little exercise and a nice trek through the jungla, I opted to join him. 

I´m glad I did! It was a sweaty up and down climb, and Daniel wasn´t one to wait up for slackers, but it was fun trying to keep up. He really was an excellent guide though, and every time we passed a mango tree, which was a lot, he stopped to tell me the variety and point out the differences between one type of mango and another. And I tried them all! Big ones, little ones, round golf ball sized ones, flat football shaped ones, greenish blue, greenish pink, yellow, and sunset colored. The forest floor was littered with them. Each and every one delicious. 

Is there anything more beautiful than a mata de mangos?
I ate nothing but mangos the entire day and have never been so happy in my life. 

After about an hour the path diverged into two, and we had the option of heading up to the top of one of the tallest mountains in the area, or down to Las Galeras. 
Of course I chose to go up. 

The view was worth every step. 

I made it back to Las Galeras, tired to the bone and happy to the soul, just in time to see the sun sink beneath the sea. 
Soon, I myself was also doing some sinking...into the soft sheets of my bed, where visions of mango juice danced in my head. 

The next morning I sprung out of bed like a grasshopper at 6:30 a.m. I had spent part of my long trek home the day before arranging the details for my next quest.....

Harpoon fishing!!!

After rounding up the gear and ironing out some details (like going to the house of our sleeping harpooner to wake him up), I found myself  in a pair of flippers walking backwards into the sea through the shallow coral and trying not to step on any sea urchins. 
Jónaton (pronounced Joan-ah-tone), my guide, and I spent nearly 3 hours snorkeling and navigating our way through the coral reefs hidden below the glassy surface of el mar. 
Jonaton probably took me farther than a half mile from the shore line and we covered at least several miles of water in our journey. Surprisingly enough, I never got tired as the sea water was salty enough to keep me bouyant on the surface without too much effort. 
I wish I could put into words how absolutely amazing this experience was. I felt like the Little Mermaid. Except I was a little mermaid on a mission: to find and kill Nemo. Ok, that sounds pretty gruesome, but in all fairness, harpoon fishing is a pretty fair sport. The fishies have as much chance to escape capture as the harpooner has to catch them...knowing where they are and anticipating their movements is a practiced skill. Which is why I didn´t actually do any harpooning myself; I wanted to avoid any possible scenario in which I had to explain to my parents that I had accidentally harpooned my own leg. Maybe the next trip. For now, I left the tough stuff to Jonaton, who was an expert. Shy and sweet on land, he turned into a barracuda under the water. I trailed behind him, taking in the scenery and keeping a lookout for sharks (I don´t actually think there are any sharks in that water...but when you are in the middle of the ocean you can´t help thinking about it). The scenery, by the way, was breathtaking and I learned a few new vocab words along the way too. For example, the two giant sting rays sailing beneath me like kites I came to find out are called Manta Rayas...or in slang Cholos. The striped eel was appropriately nicknamed a pez machete. I also saw an inky black octopus, a blue crab the size of my hand feeding himself with his crabby claws, a vibrant orange star fish bigger than my head, tons of tiny jellyfish which lit up like they had live wires for veins and which I vigorously tried to avoid, and fish in every color imaginable, including the bright red pez cotorra (parrot fish) that Jonaton was stalking through the deep. 
In the end we ended up with 5 nice little red fish, a giant conch shell, and a lobster. Not a bad little catch. 

"Pero tu ´sta peligroso!"
"Wow, you´re dangerous!" That´s what the onlookers said to Jonaton as as we walked back along the beach to the boat launch with our prizes. Sweet, shy Jonaton just smiled, and I couldn´t stop smiling either.  

Look closely, you can still the scuba mask outline on my forehead. I know this because a little Dominican boy made fun of me for it when I was coming out of the water. 

One of Jonaton´s friends at the boat launch cleaned the conch shell for me as a souvenir and removed the critter (lambí in Spanish) still inside so we could cook him up with the rest of the catch.

We gave the catch to the señoras at Restaurante Modesta, an authentic little thatch-roofed Dominican joint right on the beach, and run by a smiling, wrinkly Señora Modesta herself. They had everything cooked up in a matter of minutes and served it with tostones, arroz, and ensalada. Since Jonaton and I clearly did not need 5 fish to ourselves, we shared with the rest of the boys on the beach and made sure nothing went to waste. 

This was my first time trying real lobster! And nothing tastes better than the lobster you caught yourself. 
Ok, I didn´t actually "catch" it myself, don´t get so technical on me, mister. But I did make sure no sharks ate Jonaton while he was harpooning and that was an important job. Definitely worthy of a lobster

I would love to tell you exaclty how to go about finding your own harpooning expedition at Las Galeras, but all you really have to do is ask around. Find Jonaton if you can. The whole 3 hour excursion, including full rights to whatever we caught, only cost me 700 pesos. (plus I gave 200 to the ladies at El Restaurante Modesta for cooking the catch). If you went out to any restaurant and ordered lobster, it would probably cost you about that much, and you wouldn´t get the 3 hours of fun and the extra 5 fish and conch shell souvenir to boot). 
Best experience ever!

The Dominican transportation system can only be described as a blessing and a curse. On the blessing side, you can generally get to wherever you need to go for rather cheap. On the curse side, you will travel at snail pace. Case in point: I left at 9:30 in the morning from the Transporte Pepe bus stop in Santiago. I switched buses at Samana, and made it to my destination, the sleepy fishing village of Las Galeras, at 2:20 p.m. That's 4 hours and 50 minutes my friends. On the other hand, my traveling companions for this first leg of the trip, Rolexis (Alexis and Rolando! Rolexis is their celebrity status name. I just made it up. They don't know I'm calling them that yet.), left by car a little after 11 a.m. and ended up in Las Galeras just minutes before I did. 
Hrrrmmph
Moral of the story. Rent a car.
However, if that's not a viable option (you don't have enough money, you don't want the hassle of actually renting a car, you're just plain scared to drive in the crazy free-for-all that is the D.R.), a guagua is really your only choice.
So with that in mind, I've put together a few survival tips for you in case you find yourself dealing with the Dominican transportation system.
1. Don't expect to find bus times posted online. Or even bus services. Virtually the only way to find a bus stop is to ask a local, then you need to head to the station yourself to find out when the buses leave and where they go. 
2. Find a seat next to a window or door in the front, some place with air flow. Do NOT sit in the back. It looks like a nice spacious back seat, but it's a trap! The bus will definitely pick up more luggage and passengers than its capacity and the back is where most people will be squished. 
3. You will leave each city at a snail's pace. This is because the driver will pick up (or try to) more riders along the way. He must drive slowly so that anybody mildly considering jumping on the bus has the opportunity to do so. This will drive you crazy. Grin and bear it. 
4. If you are sitting next to a window or door for an extended period of time, make sure to cover yourself properly. You will get sunburned.
5. You are going to be mildly uncomfortable, accept that fact and focus on something more positive. The scenery is beautiful. The people are friendly. If you are willing and open, you can always have an interesting conversation. (my most entertaining conversations have taken place on buses) If not, there's always bachata or merengue on the radio to listen to. Or you can work on developing your ability to sleep in any position. This will serve you well for future trips. 
6. When you arrive in your destination town, you will begin dropping people off one by one randomly along the route. You can simply signal the driver wherever you want to be let off, and he will do so. Once again you will move at a snail's pace and once again, this will drive you crazy. Take a deep breath and smile though, you're almost there. 

And if you are lucky, you're final destination will look something like this...

A little slice of heaven. 
The last bus stop at Las Galeras almost literally drops you off in the sand on the beach. Which was quite lucky for me because that is exactly where Rolexis had decided to park their car minutes before my arrival. I flagged them down and we went to look for accomodations for the night. 
Since our first choice, El Cabito, was closed for the month of July (bummer!), we ended up staying at La Plantacion, which was where I stayed on my last visit. The major draw for this place being its close proximity to the beach and its beautiful pool, which I dove into first thing. 
Rolando and Alexis opted for a picture instead of a swim. 

Adorable

Soon it was time to eat, and we stumbled upon a stylish little restaurant/bar just steps from our hotel. 

The place had pizazz, with a carved wooden monkey guarding the entrance, a funky little parrot-filled lounge, and a bamboo trimmed bar. 

Free focaccia and veggies with dip tied us over until the main event. 

Alexis and I split a big garden salad. 

She ordered a pizza for one, which probably could have fed two...although that was perfect for the mama-to-be. 

Rolando and I both went for grilled fish.
I was trying to be healthy, but I'm pretty sure my orange sauce and mashed potatoes were high in butter content. Oh well, I tried, lol. 
Tummies full we headed back to the hotel to rest up. We each had big plans for the morning!

So you´ve got leftover chinola juice from those chinola mojitos you whipped up the other night. Now what are you going to do? Well I´m not about to tell you how to use that liquid gold, but if I were......I would tell you to bake up a pan of these world famous chinola bars. 
Ok, I lied. They are not world famous.....yet. But one bite and I PROMISE you´ll think you bit into a ray of sunshine. That´s a pretty hefty promise there, but it´s one I´m willing to make. It´s like you´re EATING THE SUN. How could you not try it? 

So ignore my humble photography skills, which do not do justice to these deliciously gooey little treats, and give it a go for yourself. 

Chinola Bars (recipe adapted from Margaritas in the Rain)

Crust Ingredients:
1 stick (8 oz) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/8 tsp course salt

Filling Ingredients:
6 large eggs
2 cups sugar (although I think you could easily cut this dow to 1 or 1 1/2 cups)
2 T grated lemon zest (optional)
1 cup fresh squeezed passion fruit juice (chinola)
1/2 cup powdered sugar for finish

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Dough will appear dry and crumbly. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Chill, and then bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on while making the filling. 

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, chinola juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. If you want to be able to cut nice, pretty bars, you´ll need to pop the whole thing in the fridge for about and hour to let them set up even more. But if you don´t mind your bars a bit gooey, well then, dig in!

Buen provecho!

One Friday, gabbing over a pair of juicy burgers at Tio Pappy's, Alexis and I looked at each other and decided, we should do this EVERY Friday. And from there a tradition was born.  Since then Alexis and I have been taking Santiago by storm, testing out a new restaurant every week and playing food critics. Besides being a nifty little way to get to know more about our fair city, it was also a great way to wind down after a long work week, and catch up with one of my favorite ladies. So every Friday for the past 2 months I´ve been callin´ it a day at 8 p.m. when my last class finishes, and then callin´ up a taxi to head out into the night.
And now that the semester has come to a close, I can share with you the final round up. So without further ado, the Molexis (Molly and Alexis) Foodie Tour of Santiago!!

First up, Bené, an upscale restaurant lounge. 
The food is a bit underwhelming, but the service is good, and the atmosphere is great,  nice and chill with low lights, comfy couches in the back, groovy music and a large selection of fancy schmancy drinks and wine to keep you happy. 

We ordered the taquitos appetizer to share, and for the main course I chose a pesto pizza while Alexis went for steak with tostones. 

Second, Ristorante Trinacria.
This was a little Italian gem. We opted to sit outside and enjoy the perfect Santiago night air, but I regret not taking pictures of the interior which was decorated with funky art work in odd shapes and bright colors, adding a bit of magic to the place. Very cirque de soleil-esque. 

We were joined by the lovely Sydney on this particular night.

The menu consists of all different types of pastas and sauces, and you get to mix and match to create your favorite dish. 
I opted for the Gnocchi in Vino Rosso sauce and it was TOP NOTCH. I ate the whole thing up...hence there is no picture of the actual dish. 

Sydney went for a traditional spaghetti with tomato sauce and Alexis opted for the grilled salmon and salad. 

Take 1!

Take 2!

The dessert menu was too tempting not to try. Especially since one of the items listed was "Peach egg and chocolate sausage." What?! It had to be ordered. True to its word, we received part of a peach surrounded by whip cream and soft chocolate cookies resembling sliced sausage. 
We also ordered tiramisu, but it came out still a little frozen. 

Overall, it was a bit pricey (by Dominican standards), but the atmosphere was charming and the main courses were great. 

Our next stop: El Zócalo, a trendy little Mexican restaurant. 

We decided to sit inside since Alexis was all dolled up for a wedding later, but there is a fantastic outside patio that intersects with several other bars: very lively and a great place to people watch on a Friday night. 

Just take a look at that heartstopper: choriza and cheese dip with fresh fried tortilla chips. 

I ordered Gorditas with Chicken Molé filling. 

Alexis had a super scrumptious Pozole soup. I´d say you can´t really go wrong with anything you order here. 

Final Score: The food is delish and very authentic (the owners being from Mexico), the service is sub par, and the price is right. 

We also visited Sushi Ya and a little outdoor (literally, all the seats are located under a tent) Arabic place whose name I forget, although sadly I forgot my camera at home those two nights. Rookie mistake. Anyways, to break it down,  once I figured out that Sushi Ya delivered, they went onto my speed dial button. As far as sushi goes, its the best quality you´ll find in Santiago. (Having now burned through almost the entire menu, I can safely say, go for the yuyito roll and the elf roll, the specialty dishes are also good). As for the Arabian place, it was cute, but the portions were small and the food pricey. If you are looking for Middle Easter fare, I´d go for Shawarma King.

So there you have it folks, a tour of Santiago in food. But as with all things in life, it´s not where you are or where you go, but who you´re with that´s most important. I couldn´t have chose a better partner in crime..er...food ¡Que les aprovechen!

The semester ended last Thursday and many of us are going our separate ways for the month-long summer holiday...back to our homes in the U.S., Canada, Brussels, and France, some of us permanently. So it was only fitting that we have a last hoorah to celebrate the end of the school year and all the good times we've had together over the past months. Being the last hoorah, we had to make things special, no average potluck would do. No, this was going to be a Dominican Barbecue, Bobby Flay Throw-Down style. 

The night started, like all good nights, with homemade mojitos and appetizers. 

These little mofonguitos were a cinch to put together and a huge hit. You can find the recipe to make your own at Tia Clara's website.

No fiesta is complete without a good bottle of wine!

After a few drinks and some snackity-snacks, everyone's tummies were rumbling. Luckily, Davíd was manning the grill. 

Oh my! I´m pretty sure Bobby Flay has nothing on Davíd. 

Just look at those smiling faces, they agree. 

One last glance at that gorgeous stack of manly meat, just for kicks. YUM!

Next up, passion fruit (chinola) mousse, and my mom´s world famous cookie bars (recipe coming soon). 

With happy tummies, we spent the rest of the night laughing and chatting and reminiscing.

I´m gonna miss these crazy kids!

Hey kiddos, I'm back and comin' atcha with a can't-miss make-ahead mojito mix. (Try saying that 3 times fast!) Now we're not messing around here so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Here's what you'll need. 

2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 cup of lime juice
2 cups light rum
Club soda
Extra sliced limes and mint for garnish


Flavor Variations: Chinola, Strawberry, Blackberry, Mango

Step 1: Minty Simple Syrup: Toss the sugar, water, and mint in a pot and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the burner, cover the pot, and let the mint steep in the simple syrup for a half hour. 

While your simple syrup and mint are getting all cozy together, you can start in on the next step. 
Step 2: Limes: Grab about 10-12 limes and get to squeezing. You need 1 cup of lime juice. Sure, you can buy the pre-bottled stuff, but where's the fun in that? Plus you'll be missing out on a serious flavor punch. Squeeze the limes fresh, trust me on this one. 
Step 3: Put the Lime in the Coconut and Shake it All Up: Ok, I lied, there is no coconut....maybe a pina colada will be my next drink attempt. In any case, strain the mint out of your simple syrup and toss the syrup into a pitcher. Add in your 1 cup of lime and 2 cups of rum. Pop it all in the freezer until you are ready to serve. It shouldn't freeze, on account of the alcohol, but it may get kind of slushy. You can keep it there for several months in an air tight container and it will stay good. 
Step 4: Serve: Here you've got two options: Pitcher style or Individual. If you are going pitcher style, simply toss some extra lime slices and mint leaves for garnish into your pitcher full of mojito mix, and top the whole thing off with a good dose of club soda and some ice. 
If you prefer to serve the mojitos individually, you can set up a nice little bar cart or drink station where your guests can make their own. Just set out the limes, mint, club soda, ice, and mojito mix and let everyone assemble according to their own preference.
But if you want to blow everyone's socks out of the water....read on! (Or if you want to knock their socks off and blow them in out of the water)

If you are feeling super adventurous...and really, truly want the best mojito ever, you're going to need chinola, LOTS of chinola. (That's passion fruit to the folks back home. You might be able to find the pulp at a whole foods store.) About 15 should do the trick. Crack em' open and scoop out the goopy yellow frog eggs inside. Wait, did I just say frog eggs? I mean pulp, scoop out the chinola pulp. Can you blame me though? Chinola pulp DOES look like yellow frog eggs (and I should know, I spent half my childhood wading through a creek trying to catch frogs and raise tadpoles). Very tasty frog eggs though! Nature is weird. 

Toss the chinola pulp into your blender and give it a quick whiz. Then just strain the mixture to get rid of the seeds, and you'll end up with a beautiful canary yellow liquid, speckled with little flecks of black. Just gorgeous darling. Throw it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Then when you are ready, toss the juice into your mojito pitcher or set it out for guests to add to their individual mojitos. 

If that smile doesn't convince you that she just made the best chinola mojito ever, I don't know what will. 
Cheers!

I've been wanting to make pollo guisado for quite some time now. Sure sancocho and mofongo are everybody's traditional favorites, but those are your special occasion dishes, your once-every-couple-of-weeks dishes. Pollo guisado, on the other hand, is the every day go-to meal. The people's food. The daily bread of the Dominican diet. Serve it alongside some moro, a fancy way of saying rice and beans, and there is nothing more standard. So of course, I had to learn to make it. 
The adventure began, like all good culinary adventures, at the supermarket. 
Many Dominicans buy their goods from nearby colmados or sometimes passing "marchenas," local women who travel through the streets (usually on donkeys, but sometimes with wheel barrows) shouting out their wares. 

But if you are looking for a one-stop shop, La Sirena, the closest thing the D.R. has to a Wal-Mart, is the favorite choice of your average middle-class Dominican.  No, you can't bargain for your goods here (darn!), but you get the convenience of finding everything in one place and not having to chase la marchena down the street.  
Plus, air conditioning. 
Those are two very magical words in the D.R. 

In any case, I snapped some pics to give you an idea of what grocery shopping is like with a tropical flare. You can also get an idea of the prices if you take a look at the signs posted above each item. Just remember that 1 U.S. dollar is about 40 Dominican pesos. So that means 10 pesos= $.25, 20 pesos= $.50, 40 pesos= $1.00, 100 pesos= $2.50, 200 pesos= $5.00, and so on. 
Above, we've got mangos (finally in season, yes!!!!), and zapotes...an odd pumpkin-y fruit. 

Lechoza, or papaya, is sold year round. It turns nice and yellow when it is ripe. 

Here we've got chinola, or passion fruit, on the left (It gets all wrinkly when it is ripe), and Dominican oranges, which for some reason, are not orange at all! but rather a mish-mash of orange and green. 

And of course, this is berenjena, or egg plant, which strangely enough is a very common veggie here and is featured in many traditional Dominican dishes. I never would have guessed that. 

Now onto the ajies verdes (green peppers) and tomates bugalu (roma tomatoes). I really just took this picture so that I could say bugalu. Best word ever. Bugalu. bugalu. bugalu. bugalu. bugalu. hahaha.

Next up, the "viveres," which actually translates to "supplies" or "provisions" in English. However, here in the D.R. the word generally refers to root vegetables and plantains. The variety of tubers here far exceeds anything we have in the U.S., and many of their names don´t have English translations (ñame, yautia). What I love about the word viveres is that the word actually stems from the verb "vivir," to live. These are the veggies that Dominicans live on. Cheap and filling, they are usually featured in at least one (but possibly two or three) daily meals for the average Dominican. 

And of course we have plaintains. Don´t be fooled, they don´t taste a thing like bananas. Both are tough and starchy and nearly impossible to eat raw. They are usually boiled or fried. The green version of course, is less ripe and has a bland potato-y flavor, while the yellow version is mildly sweet. 

The next isle over we´ll find conflé and leche. The funny thing is, all cereals, from Lucky Charms to Coco Puffs, are referred to as cornflé (cornflakes). And the milk here is often sold in powdered form, as in the Nido brand packages you see above. 

And we can´t skip the dessert isle! 

The most common desserts (The ones sold by vendors at the beach or on buses) are dulce de mani (a very sweet peanut brittle), dulce de coco (same concept as the peanut brittle but with coconut flakes), and dulce de leche  (a condensed milk treat). All of these are overpoweringly sugary (but still delicious)-- in true Dominican fashion. The island was initially colonized to grow sugar cane after all!

Certainly no Dominican grocery store would be complete without salami. The typical Dominican salami is called longaniza, but there are tons of varieties. Most look, and taste, more like giant seasoned hot dogs than anything else though. Not my style, but if you are a hot dog lover, well the D.R. is the place for you. 

The eggs are never refrigerated. And look! You can even buy cute little speckled ones!

And I couldn´t not mention guandules. They are officially called pigeon peas in the U.S. but I´d never heard of them before. Really, they are a bean, not a pea, and they are often served in moro. 
Which brings me back to the pollo guisado with moro! 
Well anyways, I found myself a real Dominican (a friend of mine) and he dragged my all through La Sirena looking for our ingredients.

Red peppers, green peppers, garlic, onion, celery, cilantro, oregano, tomato paste, soy sauce (salsa china), rice, black beans,  and a whole chicken. 

First step, hack the chicken into pieces. There does not seem to be a method to this. Just take a sharp knife and go at it! Cut off the excess skin and rinse the pieces in water to clean. 

Second step, I have no idea. 
I tried to get Diego to explain to me the process paso a paso of making pollo guisado with moro, but that plan did not work out at all.  Turns out Diego is more of a tosser...you know...one of those people that continuously tosses things into a pot until it tastes right. No measurements, no recipe...not even a real method as far as I could see. Part of the veggies went into the pot at the beginning, some of them went in a little later, and some of them went in later still. "Why don´t you put all the veggies in at one time? What are you going to do with these extra veggies?" I kept pestering. But he just laughed and said, "Tranquila!"  Every time I turned around he was tossing something new into one of the pots or asking for another random ingredient. "Do you have olives?" "I need some rum." "Hmmm, more celery I think!" 

Finally I just gave up, popped open a cool bottle of wine in the now very steamy kitchen, and took his "tranquila" advice while he did his thing 

The finished black bean moro, served with red peppers which is not super traditional, just a little bit of Diego flare :)

I´m not sure how he did it, but he sure did it well! 

Pollo guisado con moro de habichuelas negras y tostones: Braised chicken with black bean moro and fried plantain chips. Yum!

Since I couldn´t get the whole recipe out of Diego (which makes perfect sense actually, since the D.R. has a primarily oral culture, meaning stories and recipes and traditions are passed down by word or mouth and learning processes rather than written down) I did a little research and found what seems like a really good pollo guisado recipe online. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Every semester I start my Conversation class off with a discussion about culture. I ask them to think about their own culture and what elements make up Dominican culture. Inevitably, someone will mention mofongo. This comment will be followed in quick succession by another: mofongo mocano. 
That is to say, according to my students,  the truest form of mofongo (and the most delicious) comes from Moca, a smallish town about 20 minutes outside of the Santiago city limits. 
And every semester, I experience the same expressions of horror and chorus of gasps when I mention I haven't yet tried this national treasure. 
So when the lovely Alexis and her beau Rolando invited me for a little Sunday road trip to remedy the situation, I could barely contain my excitement. 

The road trip started, like all good road trips, on a lazy, sunny Sunday with an ice cold beer to go and a crispy fried quipe (a Dominican street food staple). 
Rolando had the radio turned up and the windows rolled down and I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling the whole 20 minute trip. 

We made Rolando pull off to the side of the road so we could pop out and snap a few pics by the giant Moca sign. 

A is for Alexis!

M is for Molly!
(Poor Rolando, there wasn't an R)

Soon we were pulling up to the famous "Mi Terraza," a thatch roofed shack worthy of any "Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives" episode. 

The menus,  fittingly, are in the shape of a pilón, the wooden mortar and pestle used for mashing the mofongo into creamy deliciousness. 

We decided to order two types of Mofongo: the clásico (mashed plantains, garlic, and chicharrones), and completo (mashed plantains, garlic, longaniza, chicharrones, cheese)
Chicharrones, you may remember, are crispy fried slabs of pork belly. 
Longaniza, on the other hand, is a typical Dominican seasoned pork sausage. 

We sat right next to the kitchen, close enough to hear the pork rinds sizzling in their own fat (yummm) and to catch a few glimpses of the chefs pulverizing the plantains.
I was too shy (and with that realization any notion I had of being a sassy world-traveling journalist was instantly shattered, haha) to ask to snap a photo, but luckily Rolando saved the day and snuck around the door to capture these candid pics.
(Resolution number 1: be more brave!)

See that  blue garbage barrel-- it´s full to the brim with chopped plantains!!  just waiting to hit the hot oil. 

Soon our server was bringing us two heaping, HEAPING, mounds of mofongo. 

That was my best attempt at a look of shock, haha, although it looks more like I am frightened than anything. And actually, probably with good reason. Mofongo is not for the faint of stomach. Basically, its fried plaintains, fried pork belly, and a handful of garlic all mashed together, smothered in cheese, and served with a side of beef broth. 
Imagine mashing together French Fries, bacon, and garlic and then stuffing the mixture with sausage and cheese, and you´ll get something similar. 

Here´s a closer look at the beauty, or I suppose, the beast, depending on how you  want to see it. 
Whatever you decide, you simply can´t call it anything else but delicious. 
Creamy, crunchy, chewy, gooey. 
Smiles all around. 

(My personal favorite part, finding a bite with a particularly crispity-crunchity morsel of pork rind.)

By the time we left, a line was filling out into the street just to get their hands on their own helping of Dominican gold. 

With my diet thoroughly and happily ruined for the day (did I mention I ate brownies for breakfast?), we decided to go all out and continue the binge back in Santiago with the newly opened Sweet Frog.

The idea is that you get to pick your own frozen yogurt and top it with anything you'd like from the eye-popping selection of goodies. You then pay by the weight of your cup. For those who like their ice cream chock-full of chunky topping goodness, like me, this is paradise. 

I opted for 4 different types of frozen yogurt (pistachio, turtle, snickers, and sweet coconut), and an eclectic mix of just as many toppings (twix bars pieces, cookie dough bites, mango bubble things, and gummy bears). Don't  mock my selection!

P.s. I realize gummy bears and ice cream make a fairly odd combination, but I just really wanted to eat some gummy bears!

Tummies full up, we decided it was time to roll ourselves home. Alexis and Rolando deposited me at my doorstep, and I waddled myself up the stairs and onto my bed where I took a nice little Sunday afternoon snooze (i.e. fell into a food coma). What a perfect way to spend the Sunday. 

Yuca is a staple of the Dominican diet. 

Served mashed in the form of Mangú...

Boiled with pickled onions...

Simmered in sancocho...

Or fried in a delightfully cheese-filled ball, you can pretty much eat it morning, noon, and night. And most Dominicans do. 
So in my attempt to conquer at least a few  recipes from the D.R., it seemed only natural that I should tackle this giant tuber. 

Ok so it may look a bit intimidating, being about 3 times the size of your normal potato and having dragon-scale tough skin, but that just means you get to pull out the big knife and have fun pretending you're a samurai warrior. 

That yucca will stand no chance against your awesome knife-wielding skills, which you probably learned from an ancient, wrinkled sensei in a hidden mountainside buddhist temple shrouded in mist. 

Once you've adequately kung fu chopped your yucca into 1 inch chunks, its boiling time. Simply add enough water to cover the yucca and a heaping teaspoon of salt and let those babies boil until they are fork tender, which will probably take about 10 minutes. Then drain them and add them back to the hot pot (the hot pot will continue to evaporate any moisture left in the yuca) and start your mashing. This entire process, by the way, is an excellent form of anger management and much cheaper than therapy. Perhaps why Dominicans are ranked as some of the happiest people in the world?? Perhaps :)
At this point, you could stop and add a few pats of butter and have some delicious mang'ú. Or, if you are looking for an added challenge, read on. 

Add a little milk and a little seasoning to your lovely yuca mash, and then the fun part, squish it around some hunky chunks of cheese and roll it into nice lumpy little ball. Warning: things could get a little messy here, just enjoy it. 

Dip the balls in a little egg wash, roll them in some bread crumbs, fry them up, and voila!

You now have a rave-worthy appetizer: crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside,  and dripping with ooey-gooey cheddary goodness--its kind of tastes like a baked potato that took a walk on the wild side. 

It will be hard not to eat these little guys all yourself, but you must remember to be nice and share. Trust me, your friends will thank you for it!
The complete recipe can be found at Aunt Clara´s Kitchen. 
(P.S. This recipe will make quite a few bollitos, so if you don´t think you can eat them all up in one night, it´s good to know that they freeze wonderfully. Just put them in an air-tight container in your freezer before the egg wash step. Then when you throw together a last-minute shin-dig, just defrost them in the microwave, batter ém, and fry ém. Easy Peasy.
 Also for your gringos who can´t find yuca, (or cassava in English), you could probably substitute potatoes and achieve a similar result)