Guatemalan Cooking Lesson

So I'm on my way out the door from work yesterday when Dr. Karla (our Guatemalan doctor in the clinic) pulls me aside and asks what my plans are for the weekend. I was caught a little off guard because she and I don't really have much of a relationship. She's cool, I like her, but we're just not the "hang out buddy-buddy" type. I thought she wanted me to teach English to her kids this weekend (something we'd talked about but hadn't put into action yet) so I hesitated to answer. After my trip to the farm, all I wanted was some quiet time in my beloved hammock. I guess she saw my hesitation because she quickly added that she wanted me to come to her house for lunch. Her mother in law had heard about my deep love for pepian and wanted to show me how to make it myself! Amazing!! I happily gave up my hammock dreams and took the bus to Chimaltenango this morning for my cooking lesson.

First of all, let me just say how great her mother in law is. She was super friendly and funny; she made sure to explain everything as she went along and let me take a bunch of pictures. She's Mayan and dresses in the traditional Mayan garb (I'm used to this by now since about a third of the folks around here dress traditionally, but I still get a kick out of it). She speaks exclusively Kaqchikel at home, so she was constantly having to translate into Spanish for us. On top of her being a really cool person, she's also a lawyer. She went back to school as an adult and now has a successful law practice in Chimal, so yeah, pretty awesome.

As soon as we got there, she pulled us into the kitchen and got to work. Her kitchen was one of the nicest I've seen so far in Guatemala. It was really large and similar to American kitchens (full cabinets and counters, kitchen table with chairs) but it also had my new favorite kitchen appliance, the wood burning stove. I had drooled over some wood burning stoves during some of my homesteading research, but they were put on my dream list since they tend to be so expensive. They're so gorgeous though:

Cooking with wood is definitely something I'm interested in, and now I'm learning that they're all the rage here! (Mostly because folks can't/don't want to pay for gas) The Guatemalan wood stove is the same premise as the fancy ones I like, just done way cheaper. It's basically a brick counter with a long trough. A chimney is built on one end and the other is left open for wood insertion/air. A thick piece of steel (?) is placed on top which has adjustable openings for heat strength.

I love these stoves!! I'm definitely going to put something like this in my cabin :) Anyway, here's how to make my favorite Guatemalan food, pepian.

First, we put chunked meat into a pot. You can use any kind of meat, I've had pepian with chicken, pork and beef, but I think pork is my favorite (no big surprise). Usually we use meat that has bones in it here since it's cheaper and tastes just as good.

On the stove (or in a broiler, I suppose), roast a large onion, four tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic and two chili peppers. When they're blackened, put in blender and puree. Pour over the meat (you should have enough to nearly cover all the meat. If not, roast some more.) Add one tablespoon of chicken bouillon and salt to taste. Add water to cover. Add a cup of breadcrumbs to thicken, then boil until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender (an hour or so).

We made our own breadcrumbs by toasting leftover rolls

The pepian came out SO good. It's really similar to a stew, just serve it over rice. I'm really excited to get home and cook up a big Guatemalan dinner with Kayla for everyone. A few weeks ago the lady who cleans the clinic showed me how to make arroz con leche (rice with milk- it's like a wet rice pudding that you drink) and I already know how to make tortillas. The last thing I want to learn before I leave is how to make the awesome pureed black bean dip that the dentist makes, then I should be good to go :D