popcorn and pig pots

Last night I decided to go to a movie called "se busca" with another girl who lives in my neighborhood. We hopped on a bus and went to the mall, getting there just minutes before the movie was suppose to start. We rush up to the third floor only to find out we were at the wrong theater. There are two theaters in the mall, really I think they are two malls that are connected by a skyway only that happened to be locked since it was 10:00. Eventually we made it to the second theater and bought our tickets. Upon walking into the theater I immediately smelt what I thought was kettle corn... and to my delight, my nose was right! Kettle corn at the movie theater- what could be better. Upon walking into the movie we see a bullet flying towards us (0n the screen of course). Little did we know that the movie was about an assassin fraternity, lets just say the previews didn't really tell the whole story. It was a good movie, just a bit more intense than we expected. Taking the bus home turned out to be an adventure. We got on a bus that said Miraflores (b/c that is where I live). The only problem was is that it was coming from Miraflores, not going to Miraflores. Anyway, we ended up in Valpo, had to get off for about five minutes while the driver took a smoke break and then he picked us up again. In the end we got an hour long tour instead of a direct ride home.

On Friday afternoon, I made banana bread for my family. About a week ago we were talking and somehow banana bread came up. They had never heard of it before and since it seems like a staple in our household and as CSB I decided to had to make it. It turned out well, maybe a little overdone but they loved it!! Next cooking/baking adventure- peanut butter cookies.

Today the whole group went to Pomaire. We left at 10 am and returned around 8 pm. Apparently I mis-read our itinerary because I thought Pomaire was half an hour away when in reality it was at least a two hour bus ride. The ride was beautiful but long. Pomaire is a neat little town that is simply overflowing with pottery- pots, pots and more pots. It is all insanely cheap too, I wanted to buy everything but decided that filling my suitcase with piggy banks, pots, vases, plates, turtle shaped planters, chicken cassrole dishes, etc might not be the best idea. Pig pottery was absolutely everywhere, not exactly sure why but apparently they must be important in Pomaire. I did end up buying a pig sugar dish, for a whoping $2.

After wondering the streets for awhile we headed to a restaurant for lunch. It was an amazing meal but I could hardly walk out of the restaurant b/c I ate so much. We started with the hugest empanadas ever (turnover filled with diced meat, onions, olive, raisins and a piece of hard-boiled egg) They were very good, much better than the little cheese empanadas I had at the shopping mall food court.

Next came the pastel de choclo (a typical Chilean summer dish. Ground corn and meat, chopped onions small pieces of chicken, pieces of hard boiled egg, olive raisins - baked in clay or regular oven. Similar to a shepherd pie). Once again very good. This was probably my favorite part of the meal.

Then came the parradillas- the hugest amount of grilled meat you have ever seen! These can be beef, chicken, pork or sausage. Ours today were all pork (chops, ribs, etc) and sausages, going along with the pig theme I guess. After three or four different kinds of meat I was feeling quite full. There was also salad and amazing rolls to go with the meat.

To everyone's surprise we were not done once they cleared away the parradillas. We still had desert!Personally I was hoping for something chocolatey but instead we got mote- cooked dried peaches and stewed barley served as a drink. Not my favorite but all the chileans (some profs from the university and the bus drivers) loved it.

After lunch we went to a pottery studio where we watched a short presentation about how they make pottery from begining (digging up the dirt, making the clay, etc) to end (firing and glazing). Then we watched a guy make some bowls and a candle holder. He was amazing!

After the quick demonstration, we all got to hop on a wheel and make a bowl. With some help from our expert, most of us succeeded in making a bowl, vase, or ashtray.

My bowl (I had a little help)