If you are not from Mexico, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you talk about Mexican food?

- Burritos: Most of the time they would be the first answer.
- Fajitas
- Tacos
- Chilli

Mexican cuisine’s perception all over the world is way too different from reality. Chilli is of course part of the daily food; however it doesn’t mean that each and every Mexican includes it in all their meals. There are many people that decide not to add spicy sauce or chilli and it is a great surprise for any foreigner when they notice that a Mexican says NO to spicy food.

Burritos on the other hand are not so popular as a taco or chilli. Although they were created in Chihuahua, a state from North Mexico, burritos and even fajitas are classified as part of the Tex-Mex culinary specialties. Tex-Mex refers to the dishes created by Mexican families living in Texas. Burritos are mainly eaten in Chihuahua, some other states in the north of the country and United States.
Apart from Chihuahua, the rest of the country wouldn’t recognise burritos as a traditional Mexican dish. Before a burrito a Mexican would choose tacos, quesadillas with spicy sauce o a big plate of enchiladas.

How were burritos created?

This story has been written and shared by many people but for those who don’t know it yet, here it is!
Everything started in Juarez (Chihuahua) during the Mexican Revolution in 1910.
A man called Juan Mendez had a small food business and in order to keep the food warm he created a big tortilla to roll the food in it and wrapped it with a napkin. The dish became really popular in the area and some parts of United States closer to the border with Juarez. It was then that Juan decided to get a donkey to carry the food and cross the Rio Bravo to United States so he could sell and satisfy the demand of his clients in that country. In Spanish a donkey is translated as burro and the diminutive would be burrito. Everyday people would wait impatiently for the “burrito” to enjoy Juan’s specialty.

Burritos became one of the favourite dishes of many people but do not define Mexican cuisine.
What would a Mexican answer if someone ask about food in their country? These are only some of the many traditional and popular dishes:
1. Tacos.
2. Enchiladas or quesadillas.
3. Mole.
4. Chiles en Nogada.

Having written this, if you ever go to Mexico and would like to have an original burrito you know where to find them but don’t ever miss the opportunity to have a big and tasty taco!

[Español]

¿Qué es lo primero que piensan las personas cuando hablamos de comida mexicana?

- Burritos: En la mayoría de las ocasiones es la primera respuesta.
- Fajitas
- Tacos
- Chile

La percepción que se tiene de la comida mexicana en todo el mundo es un tanto diferente a la realidad. El picante, por supuesto, es parte de la comida diaria de un mexicano. Sin embargo, no significa que todos y cada uno de ellos lo incluyan en sus alimentos. Existen muchas personas que eligen no agregar salsas picantes o chile a su comida y causan grandes sorpresas cuando en otros países deciden NO comer chile.

Los burritos, por otro lado, no son tan populares como el chile o los tacos. Aunque tienen su origen en Chihuahua, un estado del norte de México, los burritos e incluso las fajitas se clasifican como un platillo Tex-Mex. El término Tex-Mex se refiere a la cocina de familias mexicanas que radican en Texas y son consumidos principalmente en Chihuahua, algunos otros estados del norte y Estados Unidos.
El resto del país no reconocería los burritos como parte esencial de la comida mexicana. Antes que un burrito, los mexicanos en su mayoría preferirían los tacos, una quesadilla con mucha salsa o un gran plato de enchiladas.

¿Cómo surgieron los burritos?

Ésta historia ha sido relatada por muchas personas y para aquellos que aún no la conocen, aquí se las contaré.
Todo inició en Cd. Juárez (Chihuahua) durante la Revolución Mexicana en 1910. Un hombre llamado Juan Méndez tenía un pequeño negocio de comida y para evitar que se enfriara creó unas tortillas de gran tamaño y en ellas enrolló la comida para mantenerla caliente. El platillo adquirió gran popularidad en el área y hasta en algunos sitios de Estados Unidos cercanos a la frontera con Cd. Juárez. Juan entonces compró un burrito para transportar la comida y cruzar el Río Bravo hacia E.U.A. y así satisfacer la demanda de las personas que vivían del otro lado del río. Todos los días la gente esperaba con ansias al famoso “burrito”.
El “burrito” se convirtió en uno de los platillos favoritos de muchas personas más no define la cocina mexicana.

¿Qué contestaría un mexicano si le preguntaran acerca de la comida de su país? Éstas son sólo algunas opciones:
1. Tacos.
2. Enchiladas y quesadillas.
3. Mole.
4. Chiles en Nogada.

Dicho ésto, si alguna vez visitan México y desean probar un burrito original ya saben qué zona del país visitar pero nunca se pierdan la oportunidad de comer un gran plato de tacos.

[English]

Welcome to the 2011 International Recipe Advent Calendar!

Our calendar’s third edition presents the most delicious recipes from bloggers all over the world. During 24 days, you’ll be surprised by a daily new recipe just by clicking on the boxes below.

Remember that recipes will be available depending on the day but you will also be able to visit and enjoy recipes from previous dates.

Find out what people are cooking for this season and have fun creating your own menu to delight and enjoy with your family and friends.

Buon appetito!

A la fin d’une journée à l’école, les écoliers français se voient souvent récompensés avec une bonne viennoiserie, fraichement sortie du four de la boulangerie avant de s’attaquer aux devoirs du soir. J’ai eu la chance de grandir avec cette tradition et je dois l’admettre, ça donnerait presque envie de faire ses exercices de maths. Enfant, on a la viennoiserie de 16 heures, adulte, on a le café à emporter du matin.

Chocolat, pommes et raisins secs

Il y a quatre types de viennoiseries. La plus connue d’entre elles, et internationalement s’il-vous-plait, est le croissant. En soi, le croissant est tout à fait banal : une pâte sucrée et beurrée sans artifice. Si vous vous sentez d’attaque pour un peu plus, il y a le pain au chocolat, aussi appelé chocolatine dans le sud de la France et au Canada. Contrairement au croissant en forme de lune, le pain au chocolat a une forme de pain normal, fourré de deux bâtonnets de chocolat.
Vous pouvez aussi vous décider pour le chausson aux pommes. Une pâte feuilletée fourrée à la compote de pomme et parfois parfumé à la cannelle. Idéalement à savourer tiède, tout juste sorti du four. Et enfin, mon favori sur l’étalage, le pain aux raisins. Malgré son nom, il est presque toujours préparé enroulé et avec des raisins secs, le tout recouvert de glaçage.

A qui doit-on donc ces viennoiseries ?

Malheureusement, il n’y a pas qu’une seule réponse à cette question. Bien entendu, les français se réclament auteurs de ces merveilles gustatives. Pour être tout à fait honnête, de toutes les boulangeries que j’ai pu visiter, les françaises servent les meilleures. Cependant, une inspection rapprochée du mot nous amène à penser qu’elles nous viennent de Vienne. Les viennoiseries seraient-elles donc une recette autrichienne ? Il n’y a pas de preuve solide pour supporter cette théorie à part leur nom.
Si l’on prend le problème sous un autre angle, on se rend compte qu’en anglais, les viennoiseries sont souvent appelées « Danish pastries ». Nos viennoiseries seraient-elles danoises ? A nouveau, cette théorie n’est pas complètement erronée, mais pas juste à 100% non plus. Même si ces « Danish pastries » viennent bel et bien du Danemark, elles sont d’un autre type. La pâte est préparée de manière similaire, cependant la garniture est différente. Traditionnellement, on retrouve du massepain, de la confiture de fruits et de la crème custard.
J’ai aussi déjà entendu dire que le croissant serait une recette turque. On retrouve la forme de croissant sur leur drapeau. Par ailleurs, les pâtisseries arabes sont aussi couramment en forme de croissant. Une piste à explorer ?

Quelle que soit la nationalité de leur inventeur, chacun lui est reconnaissant ! Consensus. Par chance, les viennoiseries peuvent être achetées à peu près partout dans le monde – bon appétit !

[English]

Upon finishing their school-days, French pupils are usually treated to a tasty viennoiserie before facing their homework. Thank God I did not escape that tradition and I must confess, it did make my day a lot better – I was almost willing to do my math exercises. French children have the 4 PM viennoiserie, we have our morning coffee to go.

Chocolate, apples and raisins

There are four main types of viennoiseries. The most international one is probably the croissant. It is a plain, buttery sweet bread – nothing more, a classic. If you desire something extra with it, you can go for a pain au chocolat – also known as chocolatine in the south of France and in Canada. Unlike the croissant, it has a regular bread shape, with 2 sticks of dark chocolate in it.
You can also opt for a chausson aux pommes. An airy type of sweet bread filled with apple mousse and cinnamon. It is best eaten warm, right out of the oven. Last but not least, and my personal favourite, are the pain aux raisins. This one is a whirly pastry, prepared with raisins and covered with glazing.

Who should we praise for such a delicacy?

There is no obvious answer to that question. The French will claim the ownership of the concept and truth be told, of all the bakeries I have been to, the French ones were always serving the best viennoiseries.
However, looking at the word itself, it stems from “Vienna”, so are viennoiseries Austrian recipes? No forensic evidence backs up this theory.
Approaching the situation from a different perspective, it might have occurred to you that in English, we call similar pastries “Danish”. Is this where the recipes come from? Again, not 100% true, but not completely erroneous either. Danish pastries do come from Denmark, but they are a bit different. The bread type is very similar, but the toppings are different. Most are done with custard, jam or marzipan.
I have also heard that the croissant would be a Turkish invention. Indeed, the same shape can be seen on the Turkish flag. Arabian pastries are also often shaped the same way – is it something we should look into?

Whoever came up with the recipe, regardless of their nationality, is a genius. No argument there. Quite fortunately, viennoiseries can now be purchased almost everywhere in the world – so enjoy!

[Français]

What kind of food do you eat every morning and is easily found anywhere in the world? If your answer is "bread", that's right! A few days ago I came across the phrase "One's daily bread" which is the equivalent expression to the Portuguese “pão nosso de cada dia”. I didn’t resist the curiosity and I decided to research more on these idioms that have the word "bread" in its structure.

Not only the matters of the expressions are curious, but also the fact that bread is food present in human history for thousands of years. Bread origins are so ancient that it is even difficult to define where and when it first appeared. However, it is estimated that it happened in ancient Mesopotamia about 12,000 years ago. That's enough time for various nations and languages to develop and incorporate “bread idioms”.

Bringing together a few phrases I could see how meanings vary completely. Not all languages have the same expressions and there are a few phrases that can’t be translated literally. The expression “ser mamão com açúcar” (“papaya with sugar” in Portuguese) is equivalent to "ser pan y miel” ("bread and honey" in Spanish), or "to be a piece of cake” in English.

An expression easily found among the three languages mentioned above is "to take the bread out of someone’s mouth," "tirar o pão da boca de alguém" (in Portuguese) and "quitarse el pan de la boca" (in Spanish). I wonder how such expression, which means harming someone so bad that the person loses their living, has emerged. After doing small research, I discovered that in the Ancient Egypt, bread was used as currency for work payment. Such phrases could be related to that time? Hard to say if we consider how much time has passed.

In contrast to such phrases, in which bread is considered essential in one's life are the idioms: "to get on bread and water", "ficar a pão e água" (in Portuguese) and "estar a pan y agua" (in Spanish). They all mean that someone is going through hardship and have his or her resources reduced to meager bread and water. Suddenly the bread has lost the character of "majesty" as in previous expressions.

For some people “bread” has strong religious connotation and the word can be easily found in Christian prayers. Another curious Portuguese expression, without similar translation, is “comer o pão que o diabo amassou”, whose meaning is to go through terrible trials and difficult situations and the literal translation would be “to eat the bread devil has made”!

Are there any curious expressions involving the word bread in your mother tongue? I’ll be awaiting your comments!

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bread

[Português]

Que alimento você come todo dia de manhã e facilmente encontra em qualquer parte do mundo? Caso sua resposta seja “pão”, está certo! Há alguns dias me deparei com a expressão “One daily’s bread” que equivale ao nosso “pão de cada dia”. Não resisti à curiosidade e resolvi pesquisar mais dessas expressões idiomáticas que tem a palavra “pão” em sua estrutura.

Não foi somente a questão de as expressões serem curiosas, mas também o fato de que esse é um alimento presente há milhares de anos na história do homem. A origem do pão é tão antiga que é até mesmo difícil definir onde e quando ele apareceu. Entretanto, estima-se que tenha surgido na antiga Mesopotâmia, há 12 mil anos atrás. Isso é tempo suficiente para diversas sociedades e línguas se desenvolverem e incorporarem esse alimento às expressões idiomáticas de cada dia.

Reunindo algumas frases pude observar como os significados variam completamente, além de verificar as inúmeras situações possíveis em que se apresentam. Nem todos os idiomas possuem as mesmas expressões e são poucas as frases que podem ser traduzidas literalmente. O “ser mamão com açúcar” (“muito fácil” em português) equivale ao “ser pan y miel” (“pão e mel” em espanhol), ou ao “to be a piece of cake” (“pedaço de bolo” em inglês).

Uma expressão facilmente encontrada nestes três idiomas citados é “tirar o pão de alguém”; “take the bread out of someone’s mouth” (em inglês); e “quitarse en pan de la boca” (em espanhol). Fico imaginando como tal expressão, que significa prejudicar alguém a ponto de essa pessoa perder seu sustento surgiu. Depois de fazer uma pequena pesquisa, descobri que na época do Antigo Egito o pão era utilizado como moeda de pagamento. Poderiam tais frases estar relacionadas a essa época? Difícil dizer considerando todos os anos que já se passaram.

Em contraponto a tais frases, em que o pão é considerado fundamental na vida de alguém, estão as expressões: “ficar a pão e água”; “bread and water” (em inglês); e “estar a pan y agua” (espanhol). Todas significam que alguém está passando por privações e tem seus recursos reduzidos a míseros pão e água. De repente o pão perdeu ser caráter de “majestade” como nas expressões anteriores.

O pão, para alguns povos, possuiu forte conotação religiosa e a palavra pode ser facilmente encontrada em orações cristãs. Outra expressão curiosa em português sem traduções similares é “comer o pão que o diabo amassou”, cujo significado é passar por terríveis provações e situações difíceis.

Há em sua língua materna expressões curiosas que envolvam a palavra pão? Aguardo seus comentários!

http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/default.aspx?pal=p%C3%A3o

[English]

It is true that speaking English makes it easier to communicate with locals, but we will always find people who don’t speak it and we’ll have to use maps, books and even hand signs to make them understand (which by the way is not the best option but could be one of the most creative ways of express what we need). Nevertheless, we must not forget that even body language is different in many countries; a long time ago during a trip to France, I tried to order a burger in English and Spanish but none of them worked and even when I pointed exactly the one I wanted, I got French fries! They were really satisfied and happy because they had been able to understand me so I just smiled, paid and left.

Before any trip we should learn some basic words from the country or city we’ll visit because even if they speak the same language, some words usage might be different. Among the basic words we should learn are:

- Food.
- Sleep and hotel.
- Toilet.
- Bus or train (depending on which is the most popular).
- Entrance and exit.
- Numbers from 1 to 10 at least.
- Right and left.
- Water, bread and chocolate because we can find them in any part of the world.
- Why, how, when, what, where and how much.

We will not be able to hide our tourist look, especially if we have our camera hanging from our neck or hands, but even if we have no idea of how to structure questions, locals might understand what we are looking for because they are used to seeing and talking with tourists. We can also write down a list with common questions such as: What time is it? How much is it? Do you speak English? etc. There are some guides that already include phrases like these but we can use some online translators and listen to the pronunciation or show local people our list and point at the question we want to ask.
Once I was close to having an accident with a bus because I didn’t pay attention to traffic rules, we should always observe how people and cars move on the streets and just to avoid any trouble we can cross the streets at the same time as locals so we don’t get confused or scared.

Food problems are a bit complicated due to the reason that every country has its own traditional cooking. I have heard that Indian and Mexican dishes are difficult to digest and usually people get stomach “troubles” after trying them. It doesn’t mean that their taste is horrible, but some ingredients are too much for our stomach. I strongly recommend carrying medicine with us all the time to prevent stomach aches and enjoy our trip.

There are cities all over the world that are safe but we should keep our bags in the front while we are travelling by bus or underground, this way we protect our personal stuff and passport (which we should carry with us all the time).

We all have experienced getting lost and it’s always a good idea to have the underground map to identify and mark the tourist places and also the station closest to our hotel because we will have the chance to go back if we don’t know where we are.

Tourists also deal with weather because it can spoil the trip and even mess with our mood. It’s important to do some previous research to know how the weather will be during our trip and mostly because it will give us a better idea of what we should pack and to be sure if the culture will be ok with the clothes we’ll be wearing. We must not forget that we are just visitors and therefore we should show some respect for the local culture and beliefs.

Travelling is without any doubt amazing but going back home is just as good, sometimes it makes us realise how wonderful our own countries and traditions are. What do you think? Have you ever discovered something new about your country after your trips? Do you still think the same about your country?

[Español]

Antes de cualquier viaje podemos aprender palabras básicas del país o ciudad que vamos a visitar porque aunque se hable el mismo idioma, el uso de algunas palabras es diferente.

Entre las palabras más importantes están:

- Comida.
- Dormir u hotel.
- Baño.
- Autobús o tren (dependiendo del medio de transporte más popular).
- Entrada y salida.
- Los números del 1 al 10.
- Derecha e izquierda.
- Agua, pan y chocolate porque son alimentos que podemos encontrar en cualquier parte del mundo.
- Por qué, cómo , cuándo, dónde, cuánto.

Nunca se puede ocultar el look de turista y mucho menos si llevamos la cámara en mano, pero aunque no tengamos idea de cómo formular preguntas, las personas locales entenderán lo que estamos buscando porque están acostumbradas a ver y hablar con turistas. También podemos hacer una lista con las preguntas más comunes, por ejemplo: ¿qué hora es?, ¿cuánto cuesta?, ¿habla inglés?, etc. Hay algunas guías que ya contienen estas frases pero las podemos complementar si usamos algún traductor en línea para escuchar la pronunciación o también tenemos la opción de mostrar nuestra lista a las personas y señalar lo que queremos preguntar.

Una vez casi muero atropellada por un autobús por no fijarme cómo era la circulación de los coches, así que siempre debemos poner atención en cómo se mueve la gente o de plano seguirlos para no correr ningún riesgo, muchas veces es más fácil si atravesamos las calles junto con ellos.
La comida es un tema un poco más complicado porque cada país e incluso cada familia tiene su propia manera de cocinar. He escuchado que la comida india y la mexicana son difíciles de digerir y casi siempre provocan problemas estomacales. Esto no quiere decir que el sabor sea desagradable, pero los ingredientes pueden llegar a ser demasiado para nuestro estómago. Lo más recomendable es tener medicamentos con nosotros todo el tiempo, sólo para evitar accidentes y disfrutar del viaje.

Existen ciudades que son bastante seguras pero siempre hay que tratar de mantener nuestra mochila o bolsa en la parte delantera mientras viajamos en metro o autobús y sobre todo para mantener seguro el pasaporte (que obviamente siempre debe estar con nosotros).
Nadie se salva de perderse en cualquier momento, siempre es bueno tener un mapa del metro para identificar las zonas turísticas y también la estación más cercana al hotel para tener la opción de regresar si nos llegamos a perder.

El clima influye mucho durante el viaje y hasta en nuestro estado de humor. Es importante investigar acerca del clima para saber qué tipo de ropa empacar y sobre todo para conocer si la cultura de aquel país acepta el tipo de prendas que usaremos. Somo visitantes y debemos guardar cierto respeto por sus ideas y creencias.

Viajar es sin duda alguna increíble pero siempre es agradable regresar a casa, muchas veces nos ayuda a darnos cuenta de las maravillas que tiene nuestro propio país y cultura. ¿Tu qué opinas? ¿Has descubierto algo nuevo de tu país después de haber viajado? ¿Aún piensas lo mismo de tu cultura?

[English]

Da italiana all´estero, la cosa che più mi ha colpita la prima volta che sono andata a fare la spesa fuori i confini del mio paese sono state le dimensioni parecchio ridotte dello scaffale dedicato alla pasta. Non c´era uno scaffale dedicato solo alla pasta – cosa che in Italia ho sempre dato (assai ingenuamente, devo ammettere) per scontata. Giustamente, paese che vai usanze che trovi, e più di una volta ho rinunciato (nemmeno con tanto dispiacere) ad uno spaghetto aglio e olio in favore di un piatto di Jiaozi (link) o di Folienkartoffeln (link) perché c´erano solo i fusilli.

In generale, ci sono quattro categorie di pasta. Se si considera il formato, si parla di pasta lunga e pasta corta; se si considera l´impasto, si parla di pasta normale e pasta all´uovo. È questo il motivo per il quale i supermercati italiani hanno corsie dedicate soltanto alla pasta.
Ecco perché nei supermercati italiani ci sono enormi corsie dedicate soltanto alle decine e decine di diverse varietà di pasta, dove bisogna passare un bel po´ di tempo a scegliere tra pennette, mezze penne e pennoni prima di trovare le penne da fare all´“arrabbiata“. E va poi ricordato che ogni varietà è disponibile in due tipi: liscia e rigata – con un conseguente raddoppiamento dello sforzo.

Lasciando da parte per il momento la distinzione tra pasta all´uovo e pasta normale, concentriamoci sui diversi formati. In sostanza, in Italia la grandezza conta così tanto (nessun doppio senso!) che la parola generica "pasta" non si usa poi tanto. Quello che invece si usa è il nome specifico di una "grandezza"; ad esempio, di solito si dice "orecchiette alle cime di rapa" o "bucatini all´amatriciana". A dire la verità, è difficile dire quale sia il principio che regola l´abbinamento di formato e condimento. L´unico suggerimento che mi sento di darvi per ora è quello di fare sempre riferimento alla tradizione e usare le ricette della nonna.
Di seguito, alcune ricette da cui trarre ispirazione:

Orecchiette alle cime di rapa
Pappardelle al ragù di cervo
Bucatini all´amatriciana

Infine, una prova video della pignoleria italiana in fatto di formati di pasta: una pubblicità della Voiello degli anni ´80 con una Marisa Laurito d´annata.

[English]