First of all happy Halloween everyone!

Today I feel like blogging about this traditional Colombian arepa dish. Arepa with butter and quesito (fresh cheese) is what I usually eat for breakfast everyday. It is simple and quick to make and one of my favorites.

In my hometown of Antioquia, there are a couple of foods that almost everyone eats daily. One is bean stew, which is usually eaten for dinner and the other is arepa with butter topped with quesito and hot chocolate, which is served for breakfast. Read more…

I thought that I would give everyone a couple of days to absorb my tamales recipe from yesterday, so I did not post a new recipe today. I did, however, make some changes to my About page and thought that I should mention that to my regular readers who may otherwise not have looked. I wanted to share a little more information about myself to allow you to know me a bit better as well as include some additional information pertaining to my blog. I hope you like the changes and thank you for visiting.

There are many variations of tamales in Colombia, but they all have something in common and that is that they are all wrapped in banana leaves. I am going to post many types of tamales recipes in my blog but to start let me introduce you the tamales Antioqueños, from the region Antioquia, my hometown. This tamales recipe is my mom’s and they are delicious. Nobody makes them as good as my mother, but these came pretty close . It is a tradition in my family to make these tamales for Noche Buena, our traditional Christmas Eve celebration, although we eat them year round as well.

Some Colombia tamales variations are: tamales tolimenses, tamales Vallunos, tamales de pescado, tamales de pipian, tamales de Nariño, tamales Santandereanos and there are more. One of the secrets for making good tamales is to marinade the meat overnight. Read more…

Sopa de arepa is another traditional Colombian soup and one of my favorites. For this recipe you have to use corn arepas, you cannot use arepas made with masarepa or precooked corn meal. Trust me, I tried, and the soup was not as it should be. You can find these corn arepas in Latin supermarkets or online. This soup is simple and easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients
(4 servings)

7 cups chicken stock
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup hogao
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper
3 arepas, cooked and cut into pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a medium pot place the chicken stock, potatoes, cumin and hogao. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender. About 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Add the arepa pieces and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes more. Add the fresh cilantro and serve.

Do you remember the dulce de leche and coconut roll I made last week? Well, if you don’t, it’s ok, here’s the recipe. After I made the roll, I could not stop thinking about making a variation of it. However, I wanted to be sure that my vegetarian husband could eat it, so that is how this roasted vegetable pionono was born. I love sweet and savory together and let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious. Please try it Read more…

Patacón is one of my favorite Colombian dishes. We use it as a side dish with our seafood or as an appetizer served with our Colombian sauces. We make a large version of these delicious things called tostadas and this recipe is just one example of the many variations of tostadas.

Hernan Patacón is a restaurant in Colombia. I know there are a couple in Medellin and Capurgana, but I am not sure if there are more in the rest of the country. When I lived in Colombia, I used to go there a lot with my best friends and we loved the giant Patacones with different toppings. If you ever go to Colombia, you must find one of these restaurants, the Patacones are absolutely delicious! I will be posting other tostadas recipes with my favorite toppings soon! Read more…

I love beans! In Colombia we may eat beans two or three times a day. I never get tired of eating beans so I have a long list of bean recipes. This one is a delicious white bean –roasted pepper dip. It is great as a light and healthy snack with pita chips, as an appetizer for your next party or for that unannounced visit, as it is quick and simple to prepare! Read more…