Math

Today I did a little math and figured out about how much money I will be saving by eating my fresh canned goods all winter. Here it is.
I figured a rough estimate (on the low end) of $140 for all of the supplies I bought including, 4 oz jelly jars, 12 oz jelly jars, 1/2 pint jars, pint jars, vinnegar, canning salt, fruit pectin, canning tools, and of course, a preassure canner.
At the grocery store today I wrote down the prices of the things I would have bought. Not that I would have typically bought these canned food items at the grocery store, but since I had the fresh food and needed to do something with it... I canned it. My estimate came out to about $170 dollars. Most of that cost was 30 jars of jelly.
Now I realize this is a very rough estimate, but if it is even close, then I have already broke even on my investment, or at least come close.
But of course we have to take into account the fact that normally I would not be buying some of this stuff in the grocery store, so if I had not canned okra, for example, I still would not have spent any money buying it. So perhaps it was actually alot more work and money for me in the end, even though I acquired the food free of charge.
On the other hand, I can reuse the jars for quite a few seasons, and the pressure canner and accessories should last for many years. So every year that I can preserve free fruits and veggies, the cost goes down. Next year, if I just buy jars, salt, pectin, vinnegar, and spices (even though I won't need as many jars), my cost will already be cut in half, due to the price of the canner.
Of course all of this is pretty irrelevent, but I feel so good knowing that the food I will be eating was grown locally and that I spent my time doing something I enjoy instead of walking around a grocery store. And probably most important, in the long run, less and less of my money will support businesses that do so much damage to our health and the envirnment.

Good deal.

Adventures of the Heartland

~~~~~Shaun and I have made it back to the good ol' U S of A, and the dogs too. The flight back was pretty long, but the dogs did much better this time around. I drank a cup of strong Argentine coffee at 3:30 in the morning before we got on the plane. They put cinnamon and liquor in it and topped it with whipped cream to convince me to drink it and I just couldn't resist. Of course, I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, but I'm pretty sure I am one of only three people (the 2 captains of the plane) to witness one of the most amazing sights ever, the sun rising over the amazon jungle. I saw the curve of the earth, and the full spectrum of the rainbow, and managed to catch a bit of it on camera.

~~~~~I have decided I love the Miami airport. It is the nicest airport I have ever been in, it is so easy to navigate, and the people who work there are just great and always so helpful. There are fenced dog break areas every 100 yards, and they even provide bags! It was definitely a pleasure to spend time at the Miami airport and I can't wait until my next stop there!

~~~~~Since returning to Iowa, Shaun and I have been busy busy beavers. Our first day back in town, we were offered a job at a Japanese grill. We have taken over the two sushi rolling positions, and I keep hearing from all my asian co-workers, "Not bad for a white girl!" It is very nice to be working again, but I'm really not sure we are going to be able to make much money there, so we will probably be looking for second jobs as soon as things settle down.

~~~~~We now are proud owners of a red mini-van, and soon to be 'first-time-home-buyers'. Between the van breaking down and needing repairs, at least one of us working split shifts every day, and constantly making appointments with bankers and realtors, we have hardly had a minute to can and pickle the 60 pounds of vegetables we picked from a friend's garden a week and a half ago!

~~~~~Finally, just today, I almost have it all finished. It has been alot of work, but our pantry will be full of delicious foods for winter, saving us a whole bunch of money and shopping time, not to mention holiday gifts for all! (Sorry friends and family. No secret here...You're all getting hot pepper jelly for Christmas!)

We have:

canned okra - I am very interested to see how this turns out since it was so slimey when I put it in the jars

canned green peppers -a mix of anaheim and dark and light green bells

jalapenos and garlic in oil

Dulce de Tomate - a recipe straight from an Argentine chef

spicy hot tomato jalapeno jelly - which I made from the seeds, juice, and scraps of the tomatoes for the dulce de tomate

hot pepper and mint jelly -which I made from the scraps of the canned peppers

and a few jars of dilly beans!

~~~~~I am ready to be done canning things, but really, after our southern vacation, it feels good to wake up early in the morning and spend the entire day doing things. Tomorow, I will pickle three heads of cabbage, then hopefully have some time to work on a sweater that I am knitting for myself. The sooner I can finish it the better because I promised Shaun I would make one for him before it got cold.

~~~~~By the end of September we should be moved into our new house (not that it will take much since we only have a couple bags), and we will be able to translate our computer hardware to english. After that I will get all my recent pictures up, I will have room for my shoes and yarn, plenty of kitchen for making more time consuming food products, and all will be good.

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Now keep up! Just because we've left Argentina doesn't mean the adventure is over!

Ready For Take-Off

I am pretty amazed that we only have 2 days left here. I am a little bit nervous...ok very nervous... to go back to the states. The flight and drive from Florida i'm sure will be fine... but once we get back to Iowa, I feel like I have so much to do. We have been so sedentary here and especially this last couple weeks, pretty bored. We have some big plans and need to make some money to get them started. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed to start over in Iowa with nothing. I only have one box of possesions anyway, and that is in Montana.

But, at the same time, I am so excited! Everything will be so fresh and new and I really feel like I will be so motivated to be active and work hard. Shaun and I are very ready to get out of the city and back to the states to start planning our next move, and our next international trip...

I'm thinking an english teaching course in Thailand.... Hmmmm.... But for now, let's just start with finding a house in Iowa.

Cemetery...This Aint No Grave Yard

Today Shaun and I walked a few blocks past the McDonalds's and the Burger Kings, and past the empanada shops and 'genuine argentine leather' shops to the large wall surrounding the world famous Recoleta Cemetery. The Cemetery includes graves of some of the most influential and important Argentinians, including the internationally famous Eva Perón.

And I have to say, it was a little bit creepy, and very impressive. Some of the tombs there were obviosly newer. I think we saw one dated 2006. The newer tombs were equally mixed with older, well cared for tombs, and old decrepid tombs with their glass broken out and doors falling off. Every single one had a cross or an angel on top. Some of the older less important tombs had been kind of turned into janitorial closets, with buckets and garden tools just sitting in there with the coffins. Also, there were a lot of cats. I guess a whole colony of feral cats live there. And people feed them. Just like the 'Botanical Gardens' we walked around in Palermo.

If you ever come to Buenos Aires, the zoo and botanical gardens aren't really worth the effort, but by all means, get to the Cemetery!

Flea-Bitten Beasts

Yesterday at the park, a woman let her whippet off leash as she entered the park, but before she got to the fenced dog area. For those of you who don't know, a whippet is very similar to a greyhound, just smaller, and similar to greyhounds, they love to run. As the woman and her whippet approached the dog area, the dog ran up to the fence to say hi to our dogs. Suka got excited and ran toward the fence to say hi also. He must have startled the whippet a little because the whippet took off sideways at a full sprint. Suka followed playfully. The fenced dog park area is just a big circular fenced area and the whippet started sprinting around and around the outside of the fence with Suka chasing from the inside. Harvey thought it was pretty cool, so he chased also. Trying to follow the whippet in his path around the fence, Shaun and I got dizzy. Oh, boy was he fast! And we were all laughing so hard! Finally, a chunky little bull dog cut Harvey off, sending him head over tail, and starting a fight that distracted Suka from his chasing and the Whippet lost interest and wandered off to another part of the park.

I'm really glad they had so much fun, because sadly that was their last trip to that park. A couple hours after returning home, we found fleas. Fleas! All over Suka's belly. We immediately took them outside and applied our frontline medication. The instructions say to apply it once a month. The vet told us to apply it every 6 weeks. It had been 5 weeks since our last application, so I think i'm going to stick with the instructions on the box. Poor, poor dogs! I feel so bad for them. Since our wretched discovery, they have been banned from the house, confined and quarantined to the small patio upstairs. We have been cleansing the house and washing everything in hot water. Today, Suka's number of fleas has decreased significantly, and I really can't tell if Harvey has any or not since his hair is so thick. I went after Suka with the tweezers and pulled off 7 and drowned them in a cup of bleach water, then flushed them down the toilet just in case. Hopefully the frontline will do the trick fast and furious, but since their skin has been so dry from their poor diet, i'm afraid it will take a couple days, and probably a little longer than the instructions say.

Poor guys. I feel bad for them sleeping out there on the porch, but hell if they're getting in my bed with fleas!

Pizza

Take a close look at this beautiful, colorful slice of culinary wonder.

Now prepare yourself for the tingling of salivary glands: The crust is brushed lightly with tomato sauce, then baked. Then it's topped with a white onion-y cream sauce. Add tender white asparagus heads, real creamy fresh tangy Roquefort cheese, whole slices of sweet roasted red pepper, delicious Argentine green olives, and, just to make it extra pretty, sprinkle with flakes of oregano and toasted walnuts.

MMMMMM oh so delicous! And the day before we had one with mozzarella, chicken, sauteed mushrooms, and smothered with a savory demi glace sauce.

With all the great grilled meats, empanadas, and pastas, I can't wait for our next pizza. Oh who am I kidding... I can't wait for more of all of it! And wine to go with! And desert to follow!

What I really can't wait for is Americans to take gourmet pizza creativity to the next level. And as an American, although being very excited about the possibilities, I have to admit that I was a bit turned off by the combination of pizza topping offered to me, since I was pretty much just thinking of grabbing a quick pepperoni to go. Alas, pepperoni on pizza doesn't exist here. Just lots of olives, cheese, basil combos, Roquefort, and ham. Ham and boiled eggs.

Actually there seems to be boiled eggs in lots of food here, except breakfast. Eggs in empanadas and on pizzas. Imagine one single whole boiled egg suspended in the center of a loaf of deli meat. One in the chicken, one in the deli ham, one in the roast turkey...

So give me delicious, creamy, saucy, melty, savory, unconventionaly topped pizza...or give me death!

Famous Last Words

Hello family, friends, neighbors, acquaintences and unsuspecting passers-by. Stop now! Please take this time to prepare yourself a cheese or sausage plate, with olives perhaps, or grab a cup of coffee or tea. Use the restroom and stick a pillow behind your back because this post is going to be long...

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When I think of famous last words, ´Geronimo!´, ´They´ll never take me alive!´, and ´Here, Hold my beer...´ are a few that come to mind for me. I think we may have jinxed ourselves from the beginning since Shaun and I have based our entire trip on the phrase ´If everything goes as planned...´
So far, not much has gone as planned.

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Our original plan was to rent an apartment in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires for one month in order to buy a car. Once we accomplished that, we would drive to Missiones in the North East, spend a couple months there then drive to Salta and Jujuy in the North West. After a couple months camping there, we would drive south to Mendoza in the central region, then further south to Bariloche where we would be able to cross the mountains with a two hour drive to Osorno, Chile to meet up with a couple friend who live there. And adventure would ensue and we would drive in a big loop all around Argentina.
Of course, everything didn´t go as planned since we were unable to buy a car and decided that it would have been a bad idea anyway, unless we went through a dealer and bought a new car.

So..... on to Plan B: Take a taxi to Tigre, 30 minutes north of Buenos Aires. Camp on an island called Rama Negra for a couple weeks while we buy a canoe and supplies, then canoe 650 miles over the course of a month up the Rio Uruguay directly to the farm in Missiones.
Didn´t go as planned...

Plan C: Taxi to Tigre. Camp for one month on island Rama Negra then rent a car and drive to Mendoza where we would easily be able to get to camping, rafting, hotsprings, and skiing in Bariloche where our friends from Osorno can borrow a girlfriends car and drive 2 hours over the mountains to meet up with us for a weekend or so.

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Following our Plan C, Shaun and I took a taxi to Tigre, found the boat station, and bought some tickets. When I tried to ask the man at the boat ramp when the next boat was leaving, he took my tickets and waved me toward the boat. I tried to ask if it was the boat we needed to be on to get to the island we needed to go to and he got impatient with me saying, ´Si! Rapido, rapido!´ Aparently, the boat was leaving very soon.
When I tried to reconfirm what someone had told me, that it was ok to take our dogs on the boat, he paused for a moment, then continued his hurried waving and repeated, ´Rapido!´
So, we hurried, but when Shaun and I stepped onto the boat, the attendant wouldn´t let me enter. Before I even had time to comprehend what he was saying or why he wouldn´t let me on, they were grabbing Harvey and Suka, hoisting them onto the roof of the boat, and tying their leashes to a rope stretched across the top of the boat between the two incredibly low guard rails.
We were ushered into the packed seating area and the boat was on it´s way. Shaun and I were terrified and nervously watched out the windows for any sort of splash in the muddy river. The 15 or 20 minute ride seemed painfully long and every time we stopped at one of the soggy, decrepid staircases to let someone off, the dogs on the docks and shores would bark at them. The top of the boat was simply smooth polished wood offering no foothold or any sort of brace, so Harvey and Suka were at the mercy of their spiked collars as they boat pitched with the starts and stops of its motor as we crossed the wakes of other large boats.

Of course, we made it to the island without incident and the dogs didn´t seem to be phased by their ride.

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After camping for a few days in a soggy, sandy swampland, we realized that we were pretty much stranded on a deserted island between uninhabited summer homes and boats tied to docks, drifting about in lonely winter season disrepair with no food for the dogs and absolutely nothing for us to do besides read in our tent and wander around amongst the weeds. We stayed almost a full week then tied the dogs to the top of the boat to return to the Tigre mainland where we would be able to use a computer and phone and figure out where to go next or how to rent a car. We stayed for 3 days in a beautiful, peaceful bed and breakfast, eating empanadas and croissants and lounging in the gentle warm winter sun between the orange tree and the lemon tree in the garden, reading and watching the humming birds flit about the flowers in their bright full bloom. Even though our stay in the bed and breakfast was nothing less than amazing, I was in a state of unrest. The following is my journal entry from the second night of our stay.

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Late at night. It´s probably friday by now. It started on our soggy, sandy, deserted island and since we´ve left that dreary place, I haven´t been able to shake this insomnia. My eyelids seem immune to the lead weights that come with being tired and at some point in the night, they actually start to sting and burn when I try to hold them closed. I have taken to covering my face and head with a blanket or pillow so my brain won´t know if my eyes come open. I´m surprised I´ve been able to function on the 2 or 3 hours of sleep I get between 7 and 10 in the morning when my head finally succumbs to the exhaustion of battling with my eyelids all night. I´ve heard that eyelids are made of the same skin that ball sacks are made from. I would probably sleep much better if I had the gentle weight of balls resting on my eyes to hold my lids closed. I imagine it would be similar to one of those sand filled eye masks my mom used to buy at craft fairs when I was young, although I prefer fresh lavendar to the smell of crotch. And I don´t feel so willing to sleep with my head stuck up between fatty hairy thighs all night praying against the chance of a roll over or the farts that seem so often to acompany snoring. And I don´t think any guy would be willing to sacrifice that pair of tender dangling testes just for my sleeping pleasure, and I´m sure that he, as I do, prefers them warm, full of blood and life, and attatched. Now, if instead of balls, men came equiped with little detatchable sandy bags smelling sweetly of lavendar or chamomille, I could solve two birds, birth control and insomnia, with one stone (or ball, as it were), but then I guess we´re getting into another matter there and the wandering of my brain in the fashion isn´t helping me sleep.

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Our newest plan. Plan D (or F or H?...What plan are we on again?): We have rented another apartment in Buenos Aires, in the neighborhood of Recoletta, where we are surrounded by restraunts and parks, shopping and beautiful architecture. The sidewalks are wide, our apartment actually has laundry, and just last night I stuffed my face so full of 3 different kinds of cheeses, 3 different kinds of cured meats, olives, fresh baked bread, and island oranges dipped in honey, that after 2 bottles of wine I almost mistaked the bidet for the toilet and tried to splash my hands around in the toilet water.

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Alas, our two year trip has turned into a two month trip and, dare I say it, if everything goes as planned, we´ll be on a plane and back to the states with time enough to catch the last half of summer in Iowa.

Don´t forget to look at the pictures!