Domino & Palta Hotdogs

Palta (avocado) is used on all kinds of food in Chile - it is pretty much a condiment! One of the more unusual and surprising things we've seen palta used on are hot dogs! I almost feel like these are good for you!


For lunch the other day we ate at Domino, a local sandwich bar chain, that uses super fresh ingredients. These hot dogs are not only topped with palta, but other delicious relishes and tomatoes! Yum!


At Domino, the napkins are arranged in tall towers. I would like to watch this being constructed!

Pueblo Los Dominicos

This past weekend we went to Pueblo Los Dominicos, a former convent, that has been turned into a large Chilean handcraft market. There were around 180 shops of different art and items from local artisans. It was really a beautiful place and one we will include on the "must see" list for visitors! My mom actually recommended the market to us after seeing it on a travel show about Santiago!




Clay Cooking Pots


Musical Instruments




We have seen so many street dogs in Santiago that I began to wonder where all the stray cats go. I got my answer at Pueblo Los Domincos! There were a lot of cats - I had a hard time containing myself! (The cats are eating on the roof, they're not just loitering)




Cute restaurant where we waited out from an hour long downpour. Thank goodness that the Chileans believe in onces (afternoon tea/snack) and long leisurely meals - you have to ask for the check!

Philadelphia Style!

We have some huge news!!!!!! As many of you know, I am a huge ice cream fan! This is a passion I share with most Chileans. They have ice cream/gelato shops everywhere and people seem to eat a lot of ice cream, even in the winter! We by no means have a shortage of ice cream here - there's lots of options.

However..... we were in the grocery store the other day and spotted something familiar, but a bit out of place. Turkey Hill Ice Cream imported all the way from Lancaster County, PA. For those of you not from the Philly area, this is some really wonderful stuff! I love it! I will attempt to branch out and try all the local ice creams, but I must confess that I may not be able to stay away from the Turkey Hill!

Guest Post: New Home

Hello to all my fans!


In my red carrier, AGAIN!!!!

Many of you have been wondering how I'm adjusting to my new home. It has been an eventful and crazy couple of months. Brad & Amy were worried about me and the airplane, but the 13 hour trip was not really a big deal. I did start to wonder, where we were going?

We have been in Chile for a month now & I'm adjusting to my new home. I really love the sunshine that comes in the windows and am looking forward to the warmer months ahead!


I'm enjoying the sunshine and my favorite toy!!!! (Thanks Joe & Carolyn)

Zweiback?

I found this package when I was going through the grocery store one day. I knew that there were a lot of different influences from other countries in Chile, but I was surprised to see the word "Zweiback". The product did not seem to be the same as the Mennonite Zweiback I grew up eating.

Does anyone know the translation of Zweiback to English? I thought it was something like "double buns". Anyway, the pictured Zweiback looks like crunchy bread and not soft dinner rolls. Seeing this package made me feel like the world is smaller than one thinks!

A Coffee Surprise!

A few days ago we received a very welcome surprise in the mail. I came home from eating lunch with Brad and our sweet, smiling conserje (doorman), Jose, handed me a package! Our friend, Crystal, had sent us two pounds of glorious coffee! By the time I got up to our apartment I was of course crying, being the big baby I am, at her thoughtfulness! Thank you Crystal!



Crystal's coffee inspired me to attempt to bake for the first time since being here! Baking & cooking is something I love to do, however, it has been a little intimidating since I have to convert cups to milliliters and Fahrenheit to Celsius and hunt down all the ingredients. Anyway, I felt inspired and made a batch of Cinnamon Rolls that went beautifully with the Coffee

Perros Libres

In Santiago, there are a lot of Street Dogs, or Free Dogs. These dogs hang out on the street - they are not wild and not even that mangy looking. They come in all shapes and sizes and are pretty docile. One evening, Brad & I were escorted home by a charming German Shepherd. He walked us to our gate and sat outside our building for awhile. I felt like we needed to give him a tip!

Anyway, as most of you know, I can go a little overboard with animals and when I first saw all the street dogs, I thought, I'm going to want to feed and take care of all these dogs. However, they seem really happy living on the street and just being free! Here's a few of the locals!

Fun with Food in Chile!

The aji (ah-HEE) pepper is a very common chili pepper in Chile and is used in everything. It has a very mild taste and is not very spicy.


A stir-fry of local veggies and of course aji peppers!


We buy our milk in a box!!! Growing up on fresh milk, this strikes me as very strange. The milk does not have to be refrigerated until opened. I could have my boxed milk in the cupboard for months & months! It tastes fine!

Skiing In The Andes!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Brad & I went skiing this past weekend! It was so strange to ski in July! The skiing area was called La Parva and was about an hour away from Santiago. We left our apartment at about 7am and got home at 9pm. It was great because we were able to rent all our equipment and clothing on the way to the slopes!

This was only Brad's second time skiing and he did very well. We hope to go again at the end of the month and are excited to try more difficult slopes! The powder and amount of snow was crazy, but was great to ski on!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!



Santiago off in the distance, under a cloud of lovely fog/smog!!!