VENEZUELA-Land of Grace

                                                        

 

 Land of Grace. Venezuela’s nickname, given by Christopher Columbus after he sailed into the Paria Gulf in 1498 and described the region as a “Terrestrial Paradise” in a letter to The Catholic Monarchs ( Isabella I of Castile and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon.) The stilted houses on Lake Maracaibo prompted navigator, Amerigo Vecpucci, from Alonso de Ojeda’s 1499 expedition, to call the region Little Venice or Venezuela.

Just this week I learned that my dear mother, Maria Siracusa got her nick name "Mara" not from her real name Maria, rather from the town in Venezuela where she spent her early childhood years, Maracaibo. The people of Maracaibo are often called Maracenos and Maracenas.

 

 

While other nicknames and theories for the origin of Venezuela’s name exist, Land of Grace seems to describe the country most accurately.  Its territories are all environmentally different with many protected areas, all helping to make Venezuela the worlds 17th most biodiversecountry. Venezuela is known widely for its petroleum industry, the environmental diversity of its territory, and its natural features.

 

 

 

Venezuela, a third larger than Texas, occupies most of the northern coast of South America on the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Mountain systems break Venezuela into four distinct areas: (1) the Maracaibo lowlands; (2) the mountainous region in the north and northwest; (3) the Orinoco basin, with the llanos (vast grass-covered plains) on its northern border and great forest areas in the south and southeast; and (4) the Guiana Highlands, south of the Orinoco, accounting for nearly half the national territory.

Venezuela’s 26 states host significant biodiversity across habitats ranging from xeric scrublands, coastal mangrove forests, cloud forests, and the particularly rich low land rainforests which host over 25,000 different orchids. It has 1,740 miles of Caribbean coast, plus 16,000 ft peaks within the Andes most northern reaches.

 

 

In the center of the country, vast plains stretch from the Columbian boarder to the Orinoco River Delta in the east. The Orinoco River system is one of the largest watersheds in Latin America.  Near the Brazil and Venezuela boarder, one can find the most northern part of the Amazon Basin, the tallest waterfall in the world called, Angle Falls and huge table top mountains.

 
This week we cooked a Venezuelan feast fit for a king. We started with Arepas. Arepas are a staple food in Venezuela . Arepas are corn cakes that are made from a special precooked corn flour. You can find this cornmeal/flour in Latin food stores, labeled masarepa, or masa al instante. Arepas are delicious with butter or cream cheese for breakfast, or as an accompaniment to any meal. Colombian arepas tend to be thinner than the Venezuelan variety. We used Goya's Masarepa flour. decided to serve this with the very traditional Pabellon Criollo.
 

 

 

Arepas sizzling on the grille.

 

Pabellon Criollo is Venezuela's National Dish. It consists of 4 items, a special mix of Carne mechada(shredded beef), Arroz blanco(white rice), Frijoles Negras(Black beans), and Tajadas(Fried Plantains). These four dishes mirror the national flag and highlight the special mix of races that make Venezuela so beautiful.

 

The carne mechada was very flavorful and tender. The rice and beans were absolutely simple comfort food at its purest. Creamy and hearty topped off with authentic Queso Fresco, it was my favorite part of the meal. The plantains were crispy and sweet on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Really yummy. I must say, I am not a huge fan of Arepas. They were soft and mushy without any real flavor. The only ingredients are cornmeal, water, salt, and a bit of butter. I understand why Pabellon Criollo is the national dish admired by all.

 

Here are the recipes we used for this week:

http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/Venezuelan-Style-Arepas.htm
http://venezuelancooking.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/recipe-pabellon-criollo/