For email Blogicito readers

For some reason that I don't understand, my video in yesterday's article, How to Harvest Cinnamon, was not included in readers' emails though another referenced video was included. I'm going to try to include it again below:





If you don't see the video (it's usually included near the bottom of the email, please go to the original blog article to view it. Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you'll watch it. I spent days editing it!

How to harvest cinnamon

Our lopsided cinnamon tree after pruning
(It was more lopsided before)

We have a big cinnamon tree that we planted about 9 years ago. It was about 12 inches tall (30 cm) and cost around a dollar when we planted it. Cinnamomom zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon or true cinnamon) is a beautiful shade tree with small, dark, glossy leaves.

See the little berries towards the bottom

It blooms once a year with white flower clusters, followed by small, acorn-shaped 'berries' (terrible tasting – don't try them!). Tender new growth sometimes has a pinkish hue.

Even if you aren't interested in harvesting the spice, I highly recommend this attractive tree as an ornamental shade tree in your tropical garden. CURLA (north coast Honduran agricultural university) recommends that it be grown below 500 meters altitude, though it can be grown up to 1,000 meters (3,200 feet). Cinnamon trees can grow to 10-15 meters in height (~30-45 feet).

Tree at about 1 1/2 years (Nov. 2006)

Cinnamon needs to be grown in tropical climates where temperatures are mostly in the 27-30°C (80°-86°F) range and the rainfall is heavy, 1,500-4,500 mm per year (~60-180 inches). It does not like prolonged dry periods. Be careful where you purchase the tree, though, as my CURLA tropical fruit book mentions that the trees grown from seed in the Lancetilla botanical garden are subject to fungal problems. CURLA propagates from cuttings of a Puerto Rican variety which doesn't have problems with fungus or insects on the north coast.

We've trimmed the tree several times to remove low hanging branches and to try to correct its lopsidedness. This was caused by dog damage, overcrowding, and rainy season neglect when it was young. The tree generally has a very nice shape which doesn't require much, if any, pruning. Trimming emits the most wonderful smell of cinnamon (canela in Spanish), as does crunching up a leaf. I always wanted to harvest the cinnamon but didn't know how. (We didn't have internet for several years.) This time I searched until I found some information that made it clearer how it was done so we decided to give it a go.

How the professionals do it

On cinnamon plantations, I've read that they allow the young tree to grow for 3-6 years until it is 2-3 meters tall (~6-10 feet) and then cut it back a few inches above the ground. This allows multiple new stems to shoot up. The cinnamon can be harvested from this first cutting. The new stems are allowed to grow for 2-3 more years and then the cinnamon is harvested by cutting the stems almost to the ground again. In this manner, the individual plantings can be kept going for many years. There is the added benefit of having long, straight, mostly branchless stems from which to harvest the cinnamon. I may try that with some of the many seedlings that pop up under the tree every year.

The best time for harvesting cinnamon is right after the rainy season, but not while the ground is saturated. Unfortunately, we trimmed this tree right before the rainy season, so we soaked the wood overnight. This supposedly is to make the bark easier to remove, though we aren't sure if it made much difference. I'll skip this step next time unless the bark proves hard to remove.

The recommended sizes for harvesting the cinnamon are branches or stems with diameters from 1.2 to 5 cm (about 1/2 to 2 inches). Smaller diameter branches don't have a thick enough layer of cinnamon and larger branches are used for making cinnamon oil because the cinnamon will be bitter.

The harvesting process

First, any leaves and small twiggy branches shooting off the branch that you are going to use should be removed. Unless you are a pro, you'll probably want to cut the branch into shorter, easier to handle pieces. Around 60 cm (24 inches) worked well for us.

Then the dark outer bark is scraped off being careful to remove it all but not to scrape into the thin orange cinnamon layer. A paint scraper worked well for this. Initially, the cinnamon may appear yellow, but after exposed to the air for awhile, it will be more orange.

Next the branch is firmly rubbed all over to loosen the cinnamon layer from the wood. We just used a short piece of wood to rub the cinnamon layer but in Ceylon they apparently use a special tool, a brass rod. It was mentioned that you shouldn't use any other type metal for the rubbing as it can darken the cinnamon.

A long lengthwise cut is made through the cinnamon layer with a sharp stainless steel knife and one or more cuts are scored around the circumference of the branch, depending upon the section length you feel comfortable working with. Ceylon professionals cut the entire length of 1-2 meter branches into one piece of cinnamon, but being beginners, and not having long straight twigless branches like they grow specifically for this purpose, we had better luck sectioning the cinnamon into about 4-5 inch cinnamon stick-sized pieces. 'Knots' from side branches make it more difficult to remove the cinnamon in large sections.

After scoring the sections, begin to carefully pry up the cinnamon layer in as big a piece as you can with a knife or metal spatula. With practice, you'll be able to remove most sections in one piece. The cinnamon will quickly start curling up into a cinnamon stick as it dries. A few pieces can be rolled together or a big piece can be filled with the smaller scraps of cinnamon to make cinnamon sticks.

The sticks needs to thoroughly dry in the shade for about a week. Sun will leach out the flavor. I also put the cinnamon sticks in a barely warm, turned off oven to help them along since we have such high humidity here. Wow! Did my kitchen smell good!

After it was dried, I ground some cinnamon in a coffee grinder. I had to do it several times to get all the chunks out, but eventually I ended up with a jar of finely ground cinnamon. I put the rest of the sticks in a glass jar. I use the sticks for cinnamon tea, a new favorite of mine.

It's a lot easier to show than tell, so here is a video that our part time garden helper Ever helped me to make. He did a great job explaining.



Watch my video on YouTube if it is not showing above.

This turned into quite a popular project, with some neighborhood kids coming to learn how and Yamileth, my housekeeper, getting enthused about helping, too. She told me that her neighborhood pulperia charges three lempiras for a very tiny piece of canela about two inches long. The boys told me their mom was going to make arroz con leche (rice with milk, sort of a rice pudding) with some of their cinnamon. We all have enough cinnamon to last a long time. The boys have since come back to get some of the seedlings to try to grow their own cinnamon trees.

This was also a very 'green' project. We accomplished trimming the tree, used the small twigs and leaves in the compost, harvested enough cinnamon for workers and friends, and gave the left over wood to a poor man who sells leña (firewood) to those who still cook with wood stoves. No waste at all.

Soaking the branches might have removed some of the cinnamon flavor. The soaking water certainly turned into cinnamon tea. But my sister-in-law says that it takes much less of our cinnamon to make tea than it does the cinnamon she's bought in La Ceiba before, so I'm not sure. We have some more trimming to do where the tree is hanging over the fence but I'm going to wait until after rainy season next spring as recommended. It will be interesting to see if the flavor is any different next time.

Uses

This cinnamon is very sweet and mild, which was really good in iced coffee and made a great flavored cinnamon ice cream. I've used it in cinnamon bread, cookies, and a few other recipes. I used a little more than I do with store bought cinnamon, which has a harsher flavor.

Besides a cooking spice, cinnamon tea has been used in home remedies for thousands of years but has recently become very popular as a means to aid weight loss, blood sugar control, stomach upsets, and other health concerns. Scientific studies sometimes disagree, but users swear by it.

Two varieties of cinnamon

Less expensive Cassia cinnamon is more often found in US grocery stores, though you can get Ceylon cinnamon (true cinnamon) in specialty stores and online. Cassia is stronger flavored and is considered a less desirable cinnamon. Some people even consider it unhealthy because it has much higher levels of coumarin, which can cause liver damage.

Image from Cinnamon Vogue

Ground cinnamon will generally be labeled as to the type but other ways you can tell which type you have is that Ceylon cinnamon is lighter colored, more of a golden or oranish brown, while Cassia cinnamon is dark, reddish brown. In stick form, Cassia is much thicker and the stick usually consists of one layer, hollow inside. Ceylon sticks may consist of several thinner layers or small pieces rolled up inside like a cigar. You can break the Ceylon cinnamon sticks and cannot break the Cassia. 80% of the world's Ceylon cinnamon still comes from Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon. Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Chinese cinnamon are all forms of the cheaper Cassia cinnamon.

If you buy a tree, make sure that you get true cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum. I believe it is still sold at CURLA here in La Ceiba. You might consider buying two, one for growing a shade tree and one for harvesting the spice. That way you can have the best of both worlds: a beautiful shade tree and your own small cinnamon plantation.

More cinnamon info

To see how Ceylon professionals harvest cinnamon, check out this beautiful video, The Cinnamon Story. They are amazing! This man was getting cinnamon pieces at least 1-2 meters long. In the last part of this video, they are making cinnamon oil. There is no 'cooking' involved in harvesting the spice, though drying ovens or rooms are used to speed the drying process on cinnamon plantations.

For everything you ever wanted to know about cinnamon, check out Cinnamon Vogue.

Dealing with the Honduran government

(Video in Spanish with English subtitles)

This video will give you a taste of what it is like to deal with the Honduran government. Hee-larious! I'm not sure what country this is from, but while this has a happy ending (oops, I shouldn't have given it away), these guys were wusses compared to Honduras.

In the end, no matter how many hoops you've jumped through, no matter how well prepared you are, no matter how much time you've allotted to your tramite, they always have the trump card (the system is down, come back mañana; we are out of paper, come back mañana; the only person in the entire world who is authorized to sign your document is a) in San Pedro (substitute any city you are not currently in), b) out to lunch, or c) on vacation, come back next week.

I have to say that I've experienced that look of disappointment and even annoyance when I've arrived at the window with all my paperwork in order. Even worse, don't dare to bring something to read while you are waiting — it's highly frowned upon.

Just expect it and get used to it. You have no control over it. ;-)

Mel Zelaya interview translated to English

Here is a special treat for those of you who don't get Honduran TV and/or don't speak Spanish. This is an interview of Mel Zelaya last Sunday, the day after his return to Honduras, by Amy Goodman of DemocracyNow!, translated word by word to English. If you've never heard Zelaya, I highly recommend that you watch this to get a flavor for what he is all about.




And here is part two of the interview:




This interview was much more tightly controlled, in the US style, than most of Zelaya's interviews on Honduran or Venezuelan television in which he allowed to ramble on and on for hours. The interview came to an abrupt end to Ms. Goodman's surprise when apparently Zelaya received an important phone call. Probably only the "Commandante" could draw Mel away from the cameras.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Quantitative Easing in layman's terms

Since the last guest article mentioned 'Quantitative Easing', a little more explanation in layman's terms might be needed. This video is priceless!





The last half gets a little more political than some may be comfortable with. Feel free to leave a comment.

Hat tip to Henry via Steve.

A terrible thing happened last Wednesday

Pancho, 2 years ago

A terrible thing happened last Wednesday.

We didn't find out until Thursday afternoon. I was feeding the chickens chopped up boiled egg (their favorite) and I noticed that Pancho, our main rooster wasn't with the hens. I panicked because he's always with at least one of the hens and they were all there.

He's a gentleman and will stand guard while they eat. If I throw him some egg, he'll check it out, then cluck for a hen to come and get this treat that he has for her. If a hen doesn't come, he'll pick it up in his beak, toss it down, and cluck some more until he attracts one of the hens.

We had some workers coming in and out of the gate spreading mulch and I was afraid that he had wandered out and had been stolen or run over by a car. We searched the yard, and El Jefe finally found him. He called me and gave me the sad look, saying, "Pancho is dead".

"Oh, no! Did he get run over?", I asked. "No, he's over there," pointing to an area near the front porch. I went toward him and just then Chloe the Rottweiler came running over to sniff Pancho. Pancho squawked and weakly flapped his wings.

"He's not dead!" I screamed. I ran over to get him. He was soaking wet and cold and his eyes were rolling back into his head. It had been very cold the day and night before and we had 3.5 inches of rain (9 cm.). Not only did we have that much rain, but he was in a spot where roofs on three sides poor rain into that area. He was probably floating in cold water at least part of the time.

(Sorry, but this is pretty graphic....)

I found that his ankle had gotten tangled up in some roots. The worst part is that he apparently tried to chew his foot off to free himself. Chickens have three long toes facing front and a small one facing back. He had chewed off the small back toe and the other three were were bleeding badly. We could see the bone and tendons on the bottom of his foot. Two of his front toes appear to be broken or maybe just inoperable because he had chewed the tendons or nerves or something.

We felt so badly that we hadn't found him sooner. I can't imagine why he or the hens wouldn't have squawked to alert us, but maybe they were afraid to attract the dogs. I felt so guilty that I hadn't noticed him missing.

I took Pancho inside and washed him up with some warm water, then blow dried him and wrapped him in a towel to try to warm him up. I slathered an antibiotic ointment all over his foot and loosely bandaged it. I didn't know what else to do. In this photo, you can see how pale his comb and wattles are.

The first few days, I really didn't think that he was going to make it. He was so weak and wouldn't eat at all for the first day. I started feeding him yogurt (which is another chicken favorite) thinking that would at least get some liquid and some protein in him. He wouldn't eat much. This photo is from Saturday. His foot it covered with cream.

Gradually he has improved somewhat and is even doing a weak crow reply a couple of times a day when he hears the teenage roosters crow outside. I roll a towel around and under his chest to keep him propped up a little. He can't stand and it isn't looking like his injured foot is going to be functional, though it is healing and there is no infection.

He's living in a big box in a closet and I feed him several times a day. He does occasionally help himself to the yogurt and cracked corn and scoot around the box on his chest a little. I can tell when he eats because it leaves a dried 'Got Milk?' residue on his beak. When he eats the corn, he ends up with a corn crust stuck to the yogurt on his beak.



Here is a video of his pitiful crowing.

But now I don't know what to do! I'm wondering if trying to save him was the right thing to do? If he won't be able to walk, there is no way that he can survive. It's not the first time I've done something like this. I once kept a blind chicken in a box in the studio for seven months, at night anyway.



Update: Pancho the Rooster recovered fully! He limped for a long time but now walks and runs completely normally and is back to ruling the roost.

Exploding floor, part 2

Carlos busting concrete

Well, we have been living with the busted floor for a few months now so it time to DO SOMETHING, El Jefe says. (I've adapted very well to the mañana culture.)

The weather has been rainy again and our old reliable worker Carlos needed indoor work so we have been filling his days with this awful job. For the background on what happened, please see The day my floor exploded.

Bad news gets worse: It turns out that at least 75% of the ceramic in this large room is loose to one extent or another.

Tip: Here's how you can tell if the ceramic is loose. Drag the head of a hammer or other heavy metal object across and around each tile. You'll hear a tinny, sort of metallic sound from the secure tiles and a distinctively different, louder, hollow sound from the loose tiles.

In a twist of cultures (or perhaps it's a male-female thing), El Jefe was set on removing all the loose tiles and repairing it properly. Me, knowing what we were in for since we've been through this before, said, "Just kill me first" as I picked up a screwdriver and made a motion of sticking it through my heart.

See, the problem (besides the noise and mess) is that though the tiles are loose underneath, the grout in the rest of the floor is still 100% intact. That means that the grout has to be sawed first and then scraped out to remove the tiles. The chances of doing that without damaging more tiles than we have replacements: 0%. The chances of finding replacement tiles: 0% (I know, we've already called every tile store in Honduras.)

Sawing also means that concrete dust will seep into every corner of our house, into every nook and cranny, coating every dish, every spoon, every book, everything. We will clean and clean and still be breathing concrete dust for weeks.

So, with a sad face and a few tears, not to mention the threats of suicide, I convinced him to just do the immediate repair and if the others get worse, repair them later. The tiles will, of course, get worse, and I will, of course, later hear, "I told you so", but always put off to mañana what you don't want to do today, I say.

Carlos is on day two with probably at least a day and a half to go. I encourage him to take a break often, not only because it is hard work, but because, I'll admit, sometimes I feel that I cannot take another minute of listening to the pounding. The best part of the day is when I say, "Carlos, that's really hard work. Go ahead and quit early!".  Here's a video of Carlos working. It's less than a minute but I challenge you to listen to the whole thing! For the full daily effect, replay it about 360 times. ;-/




In case you didn't read the original article, the reason the concrete has to be chipped away is so that when we replace the tile, it will be level with the rest of the floor.

Thanks to a reader, we got the idea of wetting the concrete before chipping it out. That makes a huge difference in the amount of dust. Thank you, Reynaldo! We still have two tiles in which we'll have to use the saw to cut the grout and for that Reynaldo recommended placing a wet sponge nearby to absorb the dust before it has a chance to take wings. Isn't it great having expert readers?

New Year's Eve celebrations in La Ceiba

Image by freeimageslive.co.uk - christmashat

I took 8 minutes of video beginning around 11:55 p.m. last night to give you a flavor of the La Ceiba New Year's Eve celebration. There is nothing to see in the video, just the bougainvillea outside the window. The point of the video is the sound, which I cut down to about 3 minutes.




If you are receiving this by email and don't see the video, click here to go to YouTube to watch it.

Keep in mind that we live in a relatively sparsely occupied area outside of town. The camera picked up the night sounds of crickets and such louder than the bullets and bombs, but trust me that wasn't the case in real life! It sounded like an old west shootout or a World War II movie.

The celebrations actually started around 6 p.m. and went on until about 4 a.m. There was actually a 4.8 offshore earthquake around 4 a.m. as well, just to add to the festivities. They seemed to be loudest on the hours, so it may be that people were celebrating for other time zones as well. ;-)

This used to be disconcerting but now I'm used to it. Even the dogs rarely bark at the war going on outside our walls anymore. Sometimes it takes me by surprise but I think for a moment and realize it is a holiday or that Honduras was playing an international soccer game or something like that.

So, if you are thinking of moving to Honduras, now you are prepared for New Year's Eve celebrations....and Christmas Eve, and Christmas night, and winning soccer games, and birthday parties, and, well, you get the idea. There is always a reason to celebrate.


Happy New Year, readers!

Celebrate 2009

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Enjoy the 2009 highlights video. Funny!

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El Jefe and I have been enjoying a movie marathon during the past week or so.

I recommend The Hunting Party with Richard Gere, if you haven't seen it. (This is from 2007; don't confuse it with the 1970's Hunting Party.) Richard Gere and Terrence Howard are journalists who decide to capture a war criminal in Bosnia, though it isn't near as dark as that may sound. The movie gives a shocking view of the "international community", the incompetent United Nations, and the duplicitous US.

Another movie that we enjoyed was Defiance, a movie about Jews fighting back in Belarus during World War II. Both of these movies are based on true stories. By the way, El Jefe gives both movies a thumbs up as well.

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For the first time, I cooked a traditional pork leg for Christmas. Yum! I will do that again. That made for a lot of lazy meals of sliced pork sandwiches on homemade rolls − a favorite holiday meal in La Ceiba, believe it or not.

Yesterday − all day − Arexy and I made tamales with the leftover pork. That was another first. It was a bit of the case of the blind leading the blind since Arexy had only made them once years ago, but we muddled through it and they turned out pretty well in the end. The photo shows some of the 36 tamales that we made.

There was a bit of a disaster but with my gringa ingenuity, I repaired that. For those who have been in on previous tamale conversations, steaming is the way to go. I will never let anyone talk me into boiling tamales (the Honduran way) again.

I made a new ice cream which is a delectable substitute for my former all time favorite: Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar, which I haven't had in nine long years! I'll give you the recipe some time. Remind me if I forget.

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Since I can never just sit and watch television, movie watching came with a lot of crocheting. I was working on using up some of my plastic bag stash. These are some of my latest recycled plastic bag bags. Pretty cool, huh?

I've been having a great and hugely needed break and will probably get back to regular blogging after the New Year.

Discover Honduras!

Take a four minute trip around Honduras. Enjoy!

North coast Honduras flooding

The video above includes some of the noon Channel 10 news of the flooding in Honduras. Hardest hit were the departamentos (states) of Atlántida, Cortés y Yoro. The state of Colón also experienced some flooding. Flooding was most pronounced in the Rios Ulúa, Chamelecón and worst of all the Leán.

Here in La Ceiba (Atlántida), we had over 24 hours of rain, much of it very heavy, resulting in a total of 11 inches (28 cm.). Transit between Tela and La Ceiba was halted for a few hours yesterday because of flooded roads. Ten families were evacuated in La Ceiba.

There has been a lot of crop damage. Landslides and fallen trees were also a problem. A tree of about 40 feet (12 m.) fell behind our property.

See some of the local news articles for more details:

El Heraldo: Rain affects Yoro, Atlántida y Cortés - [Google translation]

La Tribuna: Storms leave houses flooded in the northern zone - [Google translation]

La Prensa: Leán River wipes out crops in Atlántida - [Google translation]

The 3 lies of Chávez

The 3 lies of Chavez video
Jorge Ramos Univision interview in 1998

In this 1998 video, a much slimmer and more charismatic Chávez promises to turn over presidential power in five years. Not only that but he proposes a change in which if the people are not happy with their leaders, they may remove them before their term is up. (Mel Zelaya, Raphael Correa of Ecuador, and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua also offered the same, calling it muerte cruzada.)

Chávez promises to not nationalize any media. He says he has good relations with them and that they should continue being private. He has since closed or threatened to close nearly 100 media outlets.

Chávez also promises not to nationalize any other company. He says that he wants private capitalistic companies to come to invest in Venezuela. Just last week, Chávez nationalized a Hilton Hotel because they were "cheeky" with him. Other businesses nationalized include electric utilities, cement, steel, oil services and banking.

At the end Chávez admits that Cuba is a dictatorship but that the people of a country have the right to determine their own fate and that the world has no right to interfere. Of course, he has taken the exact opposite stand regarding Honduras, calling President Micheletti a dictator and demanding that the world interfere in Honduras.

The most interesting part of this interview is how well Chávez hid his true nature. He looks and acts like a nice, sincere guy! "I'm not the devil!", he good naturally chuckles at suggestions that he would do any of these things.

Now that he has done these things and more (the latest being turning the education system into a font of propaganda and brainwashing) and consolidated his power (through control over all sectors of government), he is free to show the world what a megalomaniac he is.

Even if you don't speak Spanish, it is worth watching this video and then comparing it to a more recent one, like this for just one example.

Mel Zelaya was trying to follow in his footsteps. Believers base their opinions on what Zelaya said, or more accurately, what they found reported. "Zelaya never said xxxxx", they proclaim! Review of videos of Zelaya speeches show that he did suggest that presidential term limits would be changed and that the congress and courts might be dissolved, among many other things. Videos also show his complete disdain for the laws, the other powers of government, and the media.

Hondurans are generally non-confrontational, but they aren't stupid. They saw what was happening in Honduras and took action to stop it. They should be applauded! Instead they are facing the wrath of the 800-pound US bully and the 800-pound Chávez gorilla.

Honduras: Defending our democracy video

Wow!

Don't let the first part put you off. If you only watch one Honduran video, watch this one.

If you don't read Spanish, the first part says, "These are not Hondurans....if they are, they are not doing what true Hondurans do......Enough!"

"These are the true Hondurans and we want peace and to live in democracy...."

Near the end, the video states:

"We are a free and pacific country.

Let the world see us and listen to our voice and know the truth.

We are united defending the truth.

We will defend our democracy.

Honduras is free. Tell the whole world."

Jumping chihuahuas

It just made me laugh. How about you?



(Email readers: click the download link, or click the title of the article to go to the blogicito to see the video.)

Announcing the egg

The hens look so content and peaceful, don't they? Don't let that fool you! Watch and listen to the video below:



While roosters are notorious for their crowing, which can occur all hours of the day or night − forget the notion that roosters crow to announce the beginning of the day − hens sometimes make their own commotion during and after the egg laying. Not always, but when they get into it, they are a match for roosters any day.

We call this loud squawking 'announcing the egg'. Others call it the hens' 'pride of accomplishment' call. Some of the others hens will offer their own "you go, girl!" encouragement during the ruckus. Thankfully, the hens are a little more considerate and don't get into this activity at 3:00 a.m.


Isn't it a cute little chicken coop that El Jefe made? By the way, the chicken coop is no longer on the terraza, thank God! El Jefe ran into the typical Honduran problem of not being able to get the end caps to finish the roof. We waited about a year while they ordered them for us. (Yeah, right.) Good thing it wasn't for our house!

Can you hear me now?

A video of some of the street noise in La Ceiba. The video includes part of a mall concert. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the group. Reader Ruthy tells me that the name of the group is "Bullaka Family", a Honduran reggeaton group.

Warning: Turn down your volume.

Or ... crank it up for the full flavor!

20 Tortillas

Corn tortillas

Tortillas are a staple of life here in Honduras. Both corn tortillas and flour tortillas (vastly different) have their proponents. Others prefer guineo (banana) or plátano (plantain) as their "staff of life."

The following video was taken at the now defunct La Palapa Mexicana restaurant here in La Ceiba. It was one of my favorite restaurants, but I dawdled too long before doing a review!

Watch a pro form and cook 20 tortillas in less than 5 minutes.




Try to ignore the cough.


Related articles:

How to make flour tortillas, with recipe and step by step photos

Must have tortillas

"Whole grain" tortillas

My tortillas are better than yours

On the road in Honduras, part 2

Mountain on the north coast, Honduras

Below is another part of the north coast road trip video discussed in this article (part 1) as well as a few more of El Jefe's mountain side photos.

There have been a couple of comments about what good shape the road is in. Yes, it is right now! We've definitely seen a lot worse over the years and have had a few blown out tires.

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember exactly where this video was taken. I'm pretty sure it was between San Juan Pueblo and Tela, but I had so many videos that I may have gotten them out of order. Maybe one of the readers can help me out here.

We have another trip to San Pedro coming up soon so I will ride in the backseat and get some video of the mountains passing by. Normally I can only film on the trip to San Pedro because it is usually dark on the return trip.

(Oops! Did I say that? Well, do as I say, not as I do. Don't try to make this trip at night. El Jefe is an expert and has every turn in the road memorized. We still have had a few close calls, once with a cow, another time with a horse, and once we rounded one of those dead man curves to find that our lane was completely blocked with a huge pile of dirt -- thankfully, there were no cars coming in the other lane or I wouldn't be here to tell you about it.)

Here is the video:



If you like it, please let me know by giving it a rating at YouTube.


Related videos: On the road in Honduras, part 1

Driving through San Juan Pueblo, Honduras

Driving through San Pedro Sula (coming up soon)




If you are reading this article from the daily Blogicito email, look for the video attachment below or simply click the title of this article to view the video at the Blogicito.

Storm coming in

Driving through San Juan Pueblo, Honduras

Welcome to San Juan Pueblo

San Juan Pueblo is medium-sized town about halfway between La Ceiba and Tela on the Honduran north coast highway. It is about a 30-40 minute drive to either city. Just driving through it over the years, I notice that it seems to have grown quite a bit since 2001. These photos are actually from 2006; the video is more current.


We've been told that 'better' north coast beef comes from this area. (The best beef is supposed to be from Olancho.) I can't say that I'm really tempted by the sides of beef hanging outside in the hot sun and covered with flies. There are rumors about another product contributing to the town's growth. ;-/


Funny story about this photo: The woman with the worried look on her face and her husband, for some unknown reason, thought we were with the health or meat inspection department (what health department?!). I have no idea why she thought that except that I was taking photos. Maybe she had been in trouble before. Behind the man, you can see some beef parts hanging in the open air. To the left, you can see the chicharon (pork rinds) in the making.


We had actually pulled over to ask where we could buy a soft drink because the first place we stopped only had glass bottles (which they wouldn't allow to leave the premises) or plastic bags (which LG has still not gotten the hang of, especially in a moving car). She said, "Then you aren't an inspector?" El Jefe reassured the lady and she seemed so relieved.


In the background of this photo (click to enlarge if you dare), you can see the tattered slabs of pork fat being dried to make chicharones (pork rinds). No wonder I don't like chicharones!


Thanks to the series of gigantesco speed bumps in San Juan Pueblo, the video below was taken at a little slower driving speed than the others. (El Jefe doesn't always have patience with my blogging needs.) You'll see the camera go almost sideways as we traverse them. ;-D Watch also for the escaped horse stampede. Here is the video:





All the usual disclaimers about my on-the-road videos. I know these videos can be pretty boring to those living here, but for those Hondurans in other countries, they are a taste of home. Some day, hopefully, we will have more time and I can get some better photos and video.

As always, if you are reading this from the daily email and cannot see the video, please click on the article title and it will take you to the Blogicito where you can watch it.

Peeling Plantains in La Bomba, Jutiapa, Honduras

Girls helping out the family budget

The following video was taken at a empacadora (packing plant) in La Bomba, Jutiapa. Local small farmers sell their plátano (plantain) crop to the empacadora who in turn has a contract to provide peeled plantains to a processing company in San Pedro where the packaged tajadas are made. Larger plantation owners are more likely to develop their own contracts directly so that they can receive better prices.

Currently, a plátano sells for about L. 4 (US $ 0.21), but they were as high as about L. 4.50 when the price of fuel was elevated. When we came to Honduras in 2001, plátanos were selling for two for one lempira (about US $0.03 each at the exchange rate at that time). Since boiled or fried plátanos and bananas are a staple of the Honduran diet, the increase in price has had a big effect on the family budget of poor folks.

Packaged tajadas are thin, crispy, salty, fried plátano or banana slices. Though plantains and bananas are very similar, you can tell the difference because bananas will have a whitish or greyish look, while fried plátanos will be bright yellow. Tajadas are Honduras' preferred answer to potato chips and they can be bought just about anywhere, from the tiniest little plastic bags to giant family size bags, as well as homemade which are generally thicker slices.

Generally, plátanos verdes (green plantains) are peeled by cutting off the narrow pointy ends, then running a knife blade through the thick peel lengthwise. Then either using a knife or fingers, the peel is pried open and then peeled off sideways. The simple technique of peeling back the skin in sections as most people are familiar with doing with ripe bananas does not work on green bananas or plantains. The skin is much thicker and tougher and much more securely attached to the fruit.

The women and children in this video are paid L.14 (US $ 0.74) per plastic crate full of peeled plantains. The plastic crates hold about 40 pounds of peeled fruit. The peelers generally work in pairs or families form a group working together. You'll see in the video that one person does the knife work, while another peels the skin off.

As each crate is filled, the tally man keeps track of the number of crates per group. The peeled plátanos are packed in large bags and loaded onto a truck, which will carry them to San Pedro Sula, about 3-4 hours away.

Plantains blacken pretty quickly after peeling, especially if any small part of the peel is left attached. Keeping the plantains in water as long as possible helps to prevent this. I'm not quite sure how that problem is handled during the waiting and shipping time. Peeling green plantains also leaves a sticky latex residue on the hands that will turn black and is very difficult to remove. The latex also ruins the workers clothes.

The peels are not used for composting and enriching the soil for future crops, because Honduran farmers are generally pretty attached to their chemicals despite the ever-increasing cost. The peels are taken in this small trailer to be fed to cows, who are said to love them, so at least they don't go to waste.

In this area of plantain production, plátano rustlers, often young boys on horseback, scout around the plantain fields for ripened crop. A cell phone call to his compatriots alert them to the area where the thieves swoop in and steal the plantains. Most plantation owners must have guards to protect their crops.

So here is the video, I think you'll like it:



Even though the pay isn't much, it appears that these people are happy to have a job.