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Casa Singer: The World of Spices

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As avid cooks, we’re always looking for new specialty foods stores in Montevideo where we can procure our favorite ingredients. We came across a store in Centro, Casa Singer. Thank you Clara.

Casa Singer carries a wide range of spices, flours, grains, dried fruits, extracts, condiments and ethnic foods. The prices are a bit high, but you’ll find foods and spices here you won’t find elsewhere in Montevideo.

We picked up some dried chilies (52 grams), ground cayenne pepper (62 grams), ground cumin seed (52 grams) and a big jar of mixed peppercorns (225 grams) for UY $680 (U$S 32.77).

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For the Spanish translations, click here.

Casa Singer is located at Av. 18 de Julio 1612. Phone: 409-7846.

Pictures of Casa Singer's interior:

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Getting Health Insurance in Uruguay:
Asociación Española

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We mentioned on previous blog that we had decided to pursue private health insurance through Hospital Britanico in Montevideo. We went this route because we were told time and time again that it was the best health care in Uruguay, and the best place to have a baby in Uruguay.

While the care we received there was great, we decided to go another route. This decision was mostly due to the fact that every time we talked to the Hospital Britanico Scheme office, their price for delivering the baby kept changing. So much so, that the amount they wanted up front more than doubled from our original conversations! Yikes.

Nuevo_edificio So, after doing some more research, we decided to pursue medical coverage through Asociación Española, one of Uruguay’s largest mutualistas. Asociación Española is named a "Baby Friendly Hospital" by the Ministry of Health, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF initiatives. And, they have the most comprehensive Pediatric Department in Uruguay.

In addition, their health insurance rates are much lower than Hospital Britainco’s health insurance rates. Brian and I will each be paying UY$1446 per month (U$S 69.69 as of today’s exchange rate), which includes funeral coverage in addition to health care coverage (tax included). The rate for Zoë is UY$ 867 (U$S 41.78) per month, including health care coverage and funeral coverage (tax included).

There is an additional fee of UY$ 1085 (U$S 52.29) per month if you want a private room, but we decided to forgo that for now. You must pay 12 months of fees before you can actually have a private room (only 7 months for delivery of the baby). So, she said we can think about it and pay the full 7 months of fees later if I decide I want a private room.

Asociación Española has arrangements with SUAT for emergency services, so we also signed up with them. The rate is UY$ 290 (U$S 13.98) per month, and they currently have a special for 4 months free.

That brings us to a total of UY$ 4629 per month, or U$S 223 (if only the US dollar would stop losing value!) for all three of us to have health insurance, emergency service coverage and funeral coverage. This is UY$ 1302 (U$S 62.75) per month less than Hospital Britanico (and we did not have funeral coverage with them).

Getting health insurance with Asociación Española was very simple. We just went down to their Departmento de Socios office at Rivera 2341 and met with a woman who spoke English (we were told you must get there between 8 am and 1 pm to be able to meet with someone who speaks English; no appointment necessary).

We told her we wanted to sign up with the hospital, provided our passports and signed a couple of papers. They didn’t even ask us any medical questions like they did at Hospital Britanico.

She recommended that we get photo ID cards for the hospital since we don’t have our cedulas yet (Uruguayan ID cards). There is an extra fee of UY$ 17 (U$S 0.82) each for the cards, but they make them for you on the spot. We paid the cashier; they took our pictures and gave us our Asociación Española ID cards.

Then she walked us over to the SUAT representative and gave her our information. We signed a couple papers and she provided our SUAT ID cards. Our coverage was effective immediately and we don’t have to pay anything until next month.

It was a very easy process to get health insurance through Asociación Española. Now, the next step is to find a good English-speaking Obstetrician at Asociación Española. Any recommendations are welcome!



Halloween in Uruguay!

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Someone once told us that the closest thing to Halloween in Uruguay was dressing up in costume for Noche de la Nostalgia. We were very pleased to discover that this statement is completely untrue!

While out and about in Centro last week we discovered Superfiestas, a store jam-packed with Halloween attire. From wigs, to “mad hatter” hats to masks to make-up, they had a pretty good selection of Halloween attire.

While Halloween isn’t quite the same in Uruguay as it is in the States, we’re excited that it is celebrated here. So if you’re looking for a Halloween costume in Uruguay, check out Superfiestas. The location we visited was on Colonia 921, but there are also locations at:
 
18 de Julio 1527
Justicia 2373
Arenal Grande 2425
Colonia 1348
8 de Octubre 3694
Punta Carretas Shopping, L. 322
Maldonado Sarandi 965

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Yesterday, we also came across Party Center, another store with Halloween decorations in the windows. Party Center is located at 1717 Constituyente.

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If you like Halloween, you should also be aware that Dia de los Muertos (aka Day of the Dead or All Souls Day) is also celebrated in Uruguay on November 2. Most businesses, including banks, shops, the post office and even schools close for the day. Rather than a vibrant celebration, Dia de los Muertos is more of a day of quiet respect for the dead. Typical activities include remembering relatives who have passed or visiting cemeteries.

Does anyone know of any family-oriented Halloween events going on around Montevideo? 





Bambu Asian Market in Montevideo

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We’ve been to Bambu a few times now and realized we haven’t written about it yet. Bambu is a small Asian market located in Montevideo where you can pick up a variety of Asian foods, spices and more.

It’s a small store, but you’ll find the staples to make an Asian meal, such as rice noodles, chili sauce, sesame oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, wasabi powder, etc. They also have prepared Asian meals available for take out. And, as unusual as it may sound for an Asian market, one of the things we frequently visit Bambu for is their rice “Cheerios.”

We’ve mentioned before that you can’t get Cheerios in Montevideo (at least not that we’ve seen). There are a couple of imitations at the supermarket, but we don’t even find them edible.

Bambu has private-labeled their own version of Cheerios, but they’re made with rice (instead of wheat) and sweetened with honey. I’d actually say they’re better than the “real thing.” This trip we picked up 4 of the big bags (250 grams each) so that we won’t run out for a while. The large bag runs UY $37 (U$S 1.78).

We also purchased a bag of rice noodles (340 grams) for UY $74 (U$S 3.57), and chili sauce for UY $115 (U$S 5.54)… both for yesterday’s Recipe of the Week.

Bambu is located at San Jose 1290. Phone: 902-7720.

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Recipe of the Week: Spicy Beef with Sweet Chili Sauce

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Ingredients:

Marinade:

  • 1/2 cup of hoisin sauce
  • 1/3 cup of vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of crushed red peppers

Sweet Red Chili Pepper Sauce:

  • 2 cups red chili pepper hot sauce
  • 4 tablespoons white granulated sugar

Spicy Beef:

  • 2 lbs of thin sliced beef (rib eye) cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon of ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic minced
  • ½ green bell pepper cut in thin strips
  • ½ red bell pepper cut in thin strips
  • 4 cups of red cabbage cut in thin strips
  • 1 cup of green onions cut diagonally
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 1 package rice noodles

Instructions:

  1. Marinate the beef in the marinade for 30 minutes
  2. Mix white granulated sugar with red chili pepper hot sauce and set aside
  3. Cook the rice noodles and keep hot
  4. Heat sesame oil in pan over high heat
  5. Add the cabbage and green onions; stir-fry for 4-5 minutes
  6. Add the ginger and garlic; stir-fry for 1 minute
  7. Add the green and red bell peppers; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes
  8. Add beef and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes
  9. Serve over rice noodles
  10. Garnish with sweet red chili pepper sauce


Tips and Modifications:
For the veggies out there…  Omit beef and double up on the vegetables and oil, and then add the Marinade in the last minute of stir-frying.



4th Annual Expo Tattoo Uruguay

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The 4th annual Expo Tattoo Uruguay is happening today Oct. 9, tomorrow Oct. 10 and Sunday October 11.

Thank you to everyone who thought of me and told me about this tattoo convention when you heard about it. 

We just got back from the 4th Annual Expo Tattoo Uruguay tattoo convention. There are approximately 25-30 artists slinging ink. When we walked in at approx. 3pm this afternoon, almost every booth was buzzing away with people getting tattoos done. The place was packed.

There are some really good artists working this convention… I’m quite impressed. If you want to get a tattoo done or just want to see what a tattoo convention is all about, this would make a great stop. There’s art and piercing there too.  

Some tips:

  1. Be sure to look at the artist’s portfolio; if you don’t feel comfortable with the artist, find a new one.
  2. If you have an idea of what you want to get, take a picture with you.
  3. If you want something drawn up, go to the convention and pick an artist to work with, give him a deposit and make an appointment to come back later to get the work done. Don’t expect a tattoo artist to draw something up for you without a deposit.
  4. Small tattoos with lots of detail look great for about 10 months to a year, then they tend to blur because your skin stretches. If you want a tattoo with a lot of detail, make sure it’s large enough to see the detail. 
  5. If you are going to get a tattoo on your leg, be sure to wear underwear because you’ll probably have to take your pants off.
  6. If you are getting your 1st tattoo, it won’t be your last tattoo… no matter what you think right now. Try to keep a theme in mind in case you want to expand in the future.

The convention is being held at 18 de Julio 1865. Check out the Expo Tattoo Uruguay website for more information.

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Playing at the Park in Pocitos

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We often write about how we take Zoë to the park, which is just over a block from our apartment. The park we go to most often is called Parque de Juan Zorrilla de San Martin. It’s located on Ellauri and Vazquez Ledesma (where the Villa Biarritz feria is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays).

Yesterday I realized that we have never posted pictures from our trips to the park in Pocitos. So, I snapped a few pictures to share with you today.

Here’s a broad view of the park. Now that Spring is here, all of the trees are turning green and the park is looking much prettier.

There are two slides at the park. I don’t yet feel comfortable letting Zoë go down them alone (notice the “side rails”). But she loves when Brian takes her on them.

There are a bunch of swings at the park and Zoë absolutely loves to swing. When she wants to swing she starts yelling, “Wee!” and running over to the swings.

Zoë also loves these teeter-totters. However, it takes both Brian and I to put her on them, so we only occasionally use these. They’re mostly for the bigger kids.

This is Zoë’s favorite activity of all – playing in the sand. It’s funny, if she falls down and gets grass or dirt on her hands while she’s playing, I have to dust it off immediately or she freaks out. But she loves getting dirty in the sand. She usually requires a shower after a trip to the park just to get the sand out of her hair.


Recipe of the Week: Sour Cream and Salsa Chicken

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We love to cook… It’s fun, relaxing and typically very rewarding. Every once in a while something doesn’t come out the way we were expecting, no worries there… because we have several restaurants all within a couple of blocks of us.

Today marks our first Recipe of the Week. Every week we plan to bring you a recipe.

All of our recipes are “from scratch.”

That doesn’t mean necessarily mean they are healthy… What it does mean is, they taste very good.

We made this Sour Cream and Salsa Chicken the other night and it was fantastic.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F)
  2. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased shallow baking dish
  3. Season with the taco seasoning mix
  4. Pour the salsa over the chicken
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender
  6. Remove the chicken from the baking dish, stir sour cream into salsa, then return chicken to baking dish
  7. Serve chicken and sauce over Mexican rice or with warm tortillas
  8. Top with guacamole and shredded cheese

Zoë enjoying the left over sour cream before dinner


The Exploring Uruguay Forum is Now Live!

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Thank you to all of our blog readers for asking so many great questions about Uruguay. The number of questions we’ve been getting has increased significantly, so we decided it was time to create the Exploring Uruguay Forum.

We’ve been working hard on getting the forum ready over the past several days and we’re excited to announce that it’s finally live.

So, come by the Exploring Uruguay Forum today and post a question about Uruguay. Or, share your experiences with living in Uruguay, or visiting Uruguay.

Thanks in advance for contributing to the community!

7 Things to Know About Uruguay Driving

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Well actually, these apply whether you plan to drive, be a passenger in a Uruguay auto (including taxis) or simply plan to walk down the street where cars are present.

Driving in Uruguay is a whole different ballgame than driving in the US. I think the funniest joke we’ve heard about the Uruguay taxi drivers is that “They drive like they do because they’re training for jihad…” Okay, that joke is in poor taste, but it’s still funny.

Maybe the drivers are so aggressive because they’re all angry they have to drive a manual transmission through city traffic? I don’t know what the case is, but I have never seen anything like Uruguay driving.

That said, here are the top 7 things to know about Uruguay driving:

  1. Lines in the road are more of a guideline than a rule. Just because there are only two lanes lined out on the road, don’t be surprised to see 5 cars across the road at the stoplight with a moped sneaking up on the far right side to pass the traffic.
  2. Bumpers are for bumping. Seriously. If you need a little bit of extra space to park your car or get out of your parking spot, it’s no problem! Just use your bumper to move the car in front of you or behind you out of the way. I was shocked the first time I saw it, but now it’s an everyday occurrence.
  3. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Even if the signal says cross, be careful. Just because someone doesn’t have their turn signal on doesn’t mean they aren’t going to make a turn.It seems most Uruguay autos do not observe traffic “laws” they way they do in the US. If they can go, they will, even if that means coming within ½ of an inch of hitting you. This goes for buses too. Keeping the bus schedule is more important than preserving your life.
  4. Look both ways when crossing the street, even a one-way street. Actually, you better watch the sidewalk you’re walking on carefully too because you just might get hit by a motorcycle if you’re not looking. Again, I’m not joking. Nearly every store and restaurant in Montevideo delivers, and the deliveries are made via motorcycle. Rather than going around the block, the motorcycle delivery drivers will just go the wrong way down a one-way street, or even down the sidewalk to reach their destination in the fastest manner possible.Whether you’re driving or walking down the street, be aware.
  5. Horns are made to honk! In Jamaica, you hear a lot of horn honking, but it’s a friendly way of saying “Hi” with a quick “beep beep.” In Uruguay, you will find this to be quite the opposite. A lot of people tend to lay on the horn non-stop for minutes at a time.Note to “The Honkers” – Just because you got stuck waiting for someone to park for an extra 60 seconds doesn’t mean you need to give the rest of us a headache. Really, your time is not that important. There is not enough traffic in Montevideo to warrant 1/100th of the horn honking that takes place.
  6. What’s the speed limit again? Wait, there isn’t one posted. Don’t be surprised to see Uruguay autos reaching speeds of 60 mph (95 kph) on a busy city street.There are 2 types of drivers in Montevideo, the fast ones and the ones who get honked at.A lot of people drive as fast as they possibly can, and then get upset when they have to stop or slow down due to traffic. You’ll often see cars swerve out around traffic, drive down the wrong side of the street and then swerve back over just to get a little bit ahead of the pack. For being so relaxed, Uruguayans sure are in a hurry to reach their destination.
  7. Who’s that guy in the orange vest? You’ll see what we refer to as parking attendants on pretty much every street in Montevideo. They’re there to watch your car while you go into the restaurant to eat.They’re also there to help you park correctly, so you don’t take up two spaces on the street. Or to help you get out of that parking spot when you just couldn’t do it on your own. Yes, you’re expected to tip these guys. $5 -10 UY Pesos will suffice.A running joke we hear is, “That’s not bad to have a little security for your car… That is, if they aren’t the ones breaking into the car.”

We would like to hear your observations about Uruguay Driving… Comment Below…