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Recipe of the Week: Thousand Island Dressing

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This week’s Recipe of the Week for Thousand Island dressing is especially for one of our readers, Urufish. Thanks for following our blog. We hope you enjoy your Thousand Island dressing!

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sweet pickles, minced
  • 1 teaspoon onion, finely minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Dash black pepper

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a small bowl
  2. Mix until blended
  3. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use

Tips and Modifications:

  1. Makes about 1 ½ cups of Thousand Island dressing
  2. Optionally add 1 teaspoon of minced celery for more crunch
  3. Optionally add 1-2 teaspoons of minced hard-boiled egg
  4. Optionally substitute chili sauce for ketchup

To make a preservative-free Thousand Island dressing, use the from scratch mayonnaise and ketchup recipes found in The Expat Cookbook.



Boycott Uruguay Taxis This Friday

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NoTaxis We apologize for the short notice, but wanted to let everyone currently living in Uruguay know that there is a call to boycott taxis on Friday, October 30.

The boycott was organized after two young people were killed in two separate incidents where taxi drivers ignored stop signs in Montevideo. One of the victims was a passenger in a taxi and the other was a young mother of two who was killed while walking down the sidewalk. A third young woman has been in a coma for a month.

We’ve talked about Uruguay driving on our blog in the past, but these stories really drive home the point. So, if you want to make a statement against reckless driving in Uruguay, please join the boycott of taxis for the day.

You can read more about the reasons behind the boycott of Uruguay taxis here.


Uruguay Rated #1 for Prosperity in South America

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The third edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index was released this week. This index ranks 104 countries (accounting for 90% of the world’s population) based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth with measures of happiness and quality of life.

The 9 areas the Legatum Prosperity Index looks at are:
1.    Economic Fundamentals
2.    Entrepreneurship and Innovation
3.    Education
4.    Democratic Institutions
5.    Governance
6.    Health
7.    Personal Freedom
8.    Security
9.    Social Capital

The highest-ranking South American countries are Uruguay (33rd), Chile (36th) and Argentina (38th). The lowest performing country in South America is Venezuela (74th), just ahead of Bolivia (73rd) and Ecuador (71st).

Uruguay scored especially well in 3 areas:
•    Personal freedom at 14th
•    Safety and security at 26th
•    Health at 28th

Full details about Uruguay’s rankings in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index can be found here. If you want to see how Uruguay’s ranking stacks up against the US, click here.

Since Ecuador was our second choice if Uruguay didn’t work out for us, we were surprised how low it scored on the Index given its preference as a hot spot for expats. In fact, International Living named Ecuador the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2009. It just shows how it important it is to get your information from multiple sources when deciding where to live as an expat.

Read the Index’s key findings related to South America here.

More information on the Prosperity Index, including full country rankings, background on data and methodology, and profiles of each country can be found at www.prosperity.com.



Recipe of the Week: One-Day Sour Dill Pickles and One-Day Sweet Pickles

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A few dishes we make require pickles, and we also like to eat pickles with hamburgers and sandwiches from time to time. We’ve found that there isn’t a good selection of pickles in Uruguay (or pickle relish for that matter).

Since produce is so inexpensive in Uruguay, we decided to make pickles from scratch. But, we didn’t want to go through the canning process and wait weeks or months to enjoy our pickles.

So, these recipes are for “quick” pickles. We’ve included a recipe for sour dill pickles (my favorite) and another recipe for sweet pickles (Brian’s favorite).

And before the jokes start, no, I didn’t make these pickles to eat with ice cream… I may be pregnant, but I’m not crazy ☺

One-Day Sour Dill Pickles

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Ingredients:

  • 1 large cucumber (or 3 small pickling cucumbers)
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 small bunch fresh dill
  • 3 cloves coarsely chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

  1. Thoroughly wash the exterior of your cucumbers
  2. Slice into uniform, thin rounds
  3. Place your dill, garlic, salt and peppers in a 1-quart canning jar or other container of similar size
  4. Add cucumbers
  5. Add vinegar to cover the pickles
  6. Seal jar or container and refrigerate for 24 hours
  7. Serve

Tips and Modifications:

  1. The skin of these pickles will retain a fresh green color and the flesh of the pickles will be fairly white
  2. These pickles are very tart; to reduce tartness, dilute vinegar with ¼ to ½ cup of water
  3. Sour dill pickles will keep for about 10 days in the refrigerator
  4. Optionally add some sliced pepper and onion with the cucumber in step 4


One-Day Sweet Pickles

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Ingredients:

  • 1 large cucumber (or 3 small pickling cucumbers)
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)

Directions:

  1. Thoroughly wash the exterior of your cucumbers
  2. Slice into uniform, thin rounds
  3. Loosely pack in a 1-quart canning jar or other container of similar size
  4. Combine apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard powder and turmeric in a small saucepan on medium-high heat
  5. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 5 more minutes
  6. Pour hot liquid over the vegetables in the container
  7. Seal jar or container and refrigerate for 24 hours
  8. Serve

Tips and Modifications:

  1. Sweet pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 10 days
  2. Optionally add one sliced sweet onion or sweet pepper with the cucumber in step 3
  3. Add some crushed red peppers for a little spice



Uruguay Presidential Elections: Outcome Still Uncertain

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The Uruguay Presidential elections were held yesterday. In order to secure the Presidential post, the candidate must receive 50% plus one of the votes. Jose "Pepe" Mujica was just shy of that number, with 47.5% of the votes. Luis Alberto Lacalle received 28.5% of the votes and Pedro Bordaberry received 17% of the votes. (for more details on the political parties in Uruguay, click here)

Because no Presidential Candidate received 50% plus one of the votes, there will be a runoff election on November 29 between the top two Uruguayan Presidential Candidates (Mujica and Lacalle) to decide who will be the next President of Uruguay. For more information on this year’s Uruguay Presidential Elections, visit El Pais, the Uruguay newspaper.

What we’ve found most interesting about the Uruguay Presidential Elections is the level of involvement by Uruguay’s citizens. It seems that everyone is passionate about politics and gets deeply involved. There are people on every street corner handing out information on the candidate they support. And it seems like there’s a rally every other day for one of the candidates.

It’s not uncommon to see one of the Presidential candidates on a street corner giving a speech to a large group of people. Lacalle has a small campaign office across the street from our apartment and has given speeches there.

This picture was taken from our balcony:
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Even though voting is compulsory (there’s a fine of UY$400, or less than U$S 20, for not voting), the people of Uruguay care deeply about what happens with their government and take their freedom very seriously. 

In a country of a little over 3.4 million people there are approximately 2.5 million people who are eligible to vote. It’s reported that voter turnout for the Uruguay Presidential Election was above 90%. That means over 2.25 million people voted in the 2009 Uruguayan Presidential Election.

Perhaps this is because Uruguay was under the rule of a dictator from 1973 to 1984 (when the first free elections were held). So, the people of Uruguay still remember what it was like to be oppressed by their government.

We never saw this level of involvement in politics in the US, or anything close to it. In the 2008 US Presidential elections, there was a 56.8% voter turnout.  This was the highest voter turnout for a US Presidential Election since 1968, which was still only a 60.8% voter turnout. (source)

A lot of US citizens go to the polls uninformed about the candidates and issues on the ballot. Perhaps many US citizens take their freedom for granted because they have had it for as long as they can remember…

Whatever the reason, it’s refreshing to be part of a community that truly cares about the direction of the country.



36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay

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It’s always neat to see US newspapers running stories on the tiny country of Uruguay that we’ve come to love. Today, it’s the New York Times highlighting Montevideo.

The news story, titled “36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay,” gives a breakdown of the writer’s stay in the capital city. It’s a nice story, especially if you’re planning a trip to Montevideo.

He gives some detail about museums, hotels, architecture, food, nightlife, markets, mate and more. For only spending 36 hours in Montevideo, he made good use of his time.

Read the story on the New York Times Website.



It’s Spring in Uruguay… Time to Plant a Garden!

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We typically have a garden of some sort every year, even if it’s just a few tomato and jalapeño plants. Now that Spring is here, I’m getting that urge to plant a garden.

But, we’re living in a Montevideo apartment, so that doesn’t leave us much room for a garden. Our front balcony has three small planters on it so we decided to plant a basil plant, rosemary plant and cilantro plant in them.

We’ve seen a couple nurseries around Montevideo, but we came across one the other day that we really liked, Ciudad Jardin. They have a great selection and their prices are reasonable. The basil, rosemary and cilantro plants ranged from UY$15-25  (U$S 0.74-1.23) each. Large bags of soil (tierra) are only UY$50 (U$S 2.46) each.

They even deliver to your home! If you want to have a small garden, or just need a couple house plants, check out Ciudad Jardin.

Ciudad Jardin is located at Av. Brasil 2528 esq. Brito del Pino. Telephone: 708-0504.



Our Expat Family Makes the Front Page of InfoNegocios

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Yesterday our expat family was featured on the front page of InfoNegocios, a Spanish News Magazine. You can see the article on their website.

We wanted to thank all of our readers and the Uruguayan community for all of the kind emails we received yesterday and today. We love living in Uruguay and are happy to share our experiences with you on the Exploring Uruguay Blog.

Here’s a screen shot of the article:
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Uruguay Restaurant Review: Las Papitas

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A few months back a new restaurant, Las Papitas, opened downstairs so we decided to check it out. And, we’ve been going there ever since. The staff is extremely friendly (most of them speak English), and the food is great.

Las Papitas has a concept unique in Montevideo… they just serve French fries. French fries with every type of dip imaginable. In fact, they have more than 20 dips to choose from. They recently added a picante dip to the menu for us (it’s not posted on the menu, so you’ll have to ask for it especially if you want to try it). Thanks guys!

But, we recently discovered our favorite item at Las Papitas, Revuelto Gramajo (UY$129). Revuelto Gramajo consists of skinny fries, egg, cheese, panceta (bacon), green onions and red bell peppers fried together. If you ask for picante, they’ll throw in some diced chile pepper or Tabasco for you. It’s delicious, and the closest thing to Carne Asada Fries I think we’re going to find in Montevideo.

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They also serve sweet potato fries (boniatos), which are good. We haven’t tried their Canadian Poutine yet, but it’s a dish that originated in Quebec and is supposed to be good. They also serve smoothies, which we haven’t tried yet (once the weather warms up we’ll definitely be sampling the smoothies).

Prices start at UY$49 for a small cone of fries (no dips), and go up to UY$139 for a large cone of fries with 3 dips.

Las Papitas is located at 21 de Setiembre 2853 esquina Ellauri. Telephone: 712-4033.

Become a fan of Las Papitas on facebook.

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Recipe of the Week: Empanadas from Scratch

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Empanadas

Ever since we moved to Uruguay, we find ourselves picking up Empanadas frequently. Il Lolo is our favorite, but MLCalentitas seems to be open more frequently, so we often go there.

Empanadas are great, but we are tired of going out for them. We decided we wanted to make Empanadas from scratch. We’re sure glad we did, they came out fantastic. 

Here’s the recipe… we hope you enjoy.

Empanada Dough Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup cold water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons lard (or vegetable oil)

Empanada Filling Ingredients:

  • 1 cup steak or chicken, pre-cooked and chopped
  • 1 cup red bell pepper, minced
  • 1 cup onion, minced
  • 1 cup Magro cheese, grated
  • (or your favorite fillings)

Other Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil
  • Extra flour for work surface

Directions:

  1. Beat the water, egg, egg white and white vinegar in a bowl and set aside
  2. Mix the flour and salt in a separate bowl
  3. Cut the lard into the flour mix (use a pastry blender or two butter knives)
  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix with a fork until it becomes stiff
  5. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth
  6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (do not keep longer than 24 hours)

  7. Make several small balls out of your empanada dough
  8. Lightly flour your work surface
  9. Place a ball of dough on your floured work surface
  10. Roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch thick layer
  11. Cut the dough into circles with round cookie cutters or a bowl (we used a 5.5 inch round Tupperware bowl)
  12. Remove the excess dough from the circle
  13. Place filling in the center of the circle
  14. Fold the circle and contents into a semicircle (the dough is stretchy, so don’t worry, it shouldn’t break easily)
  15. Crimp the edges with a fork (If the edges won’t stick together, wet your finger and rub it along the inside edge of the dough and try again)
  16. Continue until all of the dough is used up

  17. Add 1-2 inches of vegetable oil to pan and heat to 180° – 200°  C (360° – 400°  F)
  18. Deep fry the empanadas for 1 to 2 minutes per side (they should be lightly golden)
  19. Drain on paper towels and serve warm

Tips and Modifications:

  1. You can freeze the dough if you want to keep it longer than 24 hours
  2. Makes about 16-18 empanadas
  3. We like dipping our empanadas in hot sauce

Share a comment about your variations and modifications for empanadas.