Channeling Our Artistic Energies

Even though Karlyn and I both have not had much experience in the kitchen (well me for that matter), we will be returning to the US with a whole repertoire of traditional Italian cooking. Today, we went to our second cooking class and learned how to make pasta from scratch. I was amazed at how easy it was- not just one pasta dish, but three, with sauces included. They also were anything other than the ordinary dishes you can find at every other Italian restaurant in town. They were works of art and that’s why I think half the struggle of cooking goes into presentation. I’ve always considered myself a terrible cook, but in truth maybe I just lack the practice? Karlyn and I have sworn to try out our new dishes on our upcoming visitors and (hopefully) wow them with our adept presentation of Italian cooking in Buenos Aires. See descriptions below to get a good idea of the masterpieces we created today.

After stuffing our bodies full with a full course of hearty pasta, we continued our quest to find the best vintage stores in Buenos Aires. Usually the Internet is a very valuable source for this type of information, but it has been entirely unsuccessful here. I’m a sucker for great vintage stores, but more than not I end up finding them the day before I head off for a new city. So this time we are trying to start early and be able to take the visitors when they arrive.

As we tried to fight off the rain clouds since we forgot our rain jackets, we searched our first destination: Juan Perez. It was a messy collection of hilarious assortments. It was the perfect spot for crazy Halloween costumes, but seeing as how Halloween isn’t widely celebrated here we need something that’s a little more obvious that our “costume” is not our daily guise. Karlyn came across two adorable jackets both with skeptical top-notch designers. None of us felt our designer investigation skills were up to the level necessary to outweigh the hefty (even in pesos) price. Besides that, we left with a few mouthfuls full of dust and completely uncertain as to our upcoming Halloween costume.

Afterwards, Karlyn and I stumbled across an American bookstore to our surprise. We have had some difficulty finding anything other than American classics (which we have both read most of), crime thrillers, and the overstocked bestsellers. As two avid readers, we spent a half an hour trailing the various bookshelves filled with only books in our native tongue. I am on the hunt for a Pablo Neruda book of poems in English. I am currently attempting to translate the book of 100 Love Sonnets. However, it’s been a little difficult to interpret the overall message in my broke down translations and I’ve been running into each bookstore I come across desperately hunting for an English version. Karlyn is the lucky recipient of my daily-convoluted translations and I can’t say that she has taken too much from these poetry recitals. The book remains to be unfound, but we did stock up on some interesting new reads and Karlyn was able to purchase her first book to help her with Spanish! She has conquered a few essentials, such as basta, which will hopefully prove handy in our food servings (but rather unlikely).

With our new collection in hand, we ventured to our last spot: La Quinta Avendida. This location was a gallery filled with small stores with a blend of random items. We lacked the energy to rummage through the jam packed collections and vowed to return another day. I still have yet to find my go to vintage store and if anyone has any advice, please do share, so the search can come to a halt.

Other than that, we had the pleasure of having an asado with an entirely French and Argentinean group. It was hilarious to hear the variations of French, Spanish and English all pulled into one. Most people in attendance only spoke French or Spanish, so as far as Karlyn was concerned she was out of luck. She tactfully managed (or feigned she did) to understand the conversations. Most of the people there, were working for companies in Argentina and it was fascinating to hear about their experiences cross-cultural work experiences. Many of the people had worked in multiple countries, so they gave us amusing renditions about how it was to work in each country. In the background of this hodge podge group, we had a boy trying to dj on soundboards, people randomly taking candid shots with a massive Polaroid camera, and others trying to tell us about their work in fashion. It was quite an artsy clan and we felt inspired, but disappointed in our own lack of obvious creativity. We may have also met the last piece to the puzzle of our future plans- we shall see. However, check out this site to see one of the girl’s latest collections: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MONA-AMOUR-chemises-de-nuit/47949491622?ref=mf.

We’re off for the night. Please feel free to post any comments you might have. We do LOVE hearing from you. BESOS

Today’s Masterpieces:

1) Pici alle Briciole - Pici with Breadcrumbs - Siena

Pici, or pinci, is “poor people’s pasta”, is a thick, irregular, hand rolled strand pasta, usually served with a simple sauce or seasoning. Today we cooked this particular pasta with a simple garlic, red-pepper, olive oil, and bread crumbs sautéed sauce.

2) Baked Anglotti

Anglotti are made from two thin, square pieces of pasta that are sandwiched together around a filling. Egg-based pasta dough works best for this form of pasta. Today we filled the anglotti with a provolone cheese and then baked them inside the oven until they were glden brown. For the sauce we made something a little spicy and modern: a central American style salsa of pureed tomato, green pepper, green onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

3) Langanelli con I Ceci - Irregular whole wheat Pasta - Non-traditional recipe

For the whole wheat pasta, we cut these into I Celi shapes which resemble a trapezoid type shape. For the sauce, we sautéed chickpeas, onion and celery together with olive oil, and added the pasta directly into the pan.

Buenos Aires - Director's Cut (A Tribute From Ferdinand- THANKS FRANZ!)

As my time in Buenos Aires slowly comes to an end, I have the great honor to post a little entry on Karlyn and Jessica's blog so followers get a little more in-depth insight on how life in Buenos Aires really is, uncut.

Our joint adventure began with a Saturday night out and some follow up drinks on a Sunday. Mentioning that I am looking for a place to stay for 3 weeks in a Bar at midnight, I was offered a room around 2am after Karlyn and Jessica must have thought they are dealing with a more or less decent guy, followed by a late night apartment viewing with rooftop drinks at 5am. It was probably the easiest and most enjoyable way I have ever found a place to live.

After I was so proud to have found a room and new friends, I noticed my fortune changing after my first night. The building next door seemed to be being demolished and not a tone had been mentioned that any sleep post 8am is blatantly impossible. Luckily the demolition ended after a week, however my roomies have this incredible ability to set alarm clocks for early mornings and NOT respond to them. I am a big friend of the snooze function myself, but rarely have I seen people use it for over two hours while refraining from showing up at work. But instead of calling it a Duvet Day early, it is absolutely necessary to have an alarm clock going off in the entire flat for at least two hours before showing any kind of reaction :)

That actually brings me to a next great topic: WORK. When Jessica and Karlyn arrived in Buenos Aires, Jessica had a job and Karlyn was still looking for work. I never really understood what Jessica was doing (and still don't), but it was called "My special book". Now MSB to me seems to be an even harder sale then selling sand to the Arabs or ice to inuits. I am guessing that Jessica's track record in selling MSBs might prove my point. Luckily, she gets paid on a full commission basis. But Jessica has come to senses and is getting first hand experience in: How to I negotiate a better salary (or any salary at all)? and How do I quit politely although people at work are so nice? Karlyn had managed to find a job in the mean time as a real estate marketing "director" (titles in Argentina are very important). It sounds like a lot of fun and meets her skills and interest, and also pays the rent. So the girls swapped roles in who gets to go for late breakfasts with me before I head out to my Polo adventures, and the sunny outside mornings were definitely a highlight with both of them. I am sure though that Jessica will find a work worth her while in no time...

Never having lived with two girls at once, this was also proving as an interesting experience for myself: Cold water showers, hour long dressing sessions and no beer in the fridge. At the same time: Clean baths and kitchen, fresh towels and smoothies. The cleaning lady definitely helps making this much easier for all of us. All in all I can say we lived pretty civilized. One fact I also found astonishing was that despite American satellite TV, it was not once turned on during my three week stay.

Obviously one topic that cannot stay untouched in my little post were our nightly trips to various Buenos Aires clubs: While Karlyn and Jessica are both surprisingly able to hold their drink, they did sometimes need to forfeit to the German crowds excessive behavior (thanks Tanksi). "Una mesa con alguna botellas" led to many wild nights and new acquaintances. No evening ended without at least 10 new guys surrounding the girls (I am not sure their phone memories still have capacity for new numbers), but they honestly behaved and came home every night (except for once where I am sure there is a perfectly legit explanation, right?!).

All in all, I must say I am impressed how these two American girls manage to survive so well in Argentina. By now, they have made plenty of friends, found and lost jobs, are traveling from North to South and are also improving their Spanish (go Karlyn...). They know Buenos Aires much better than others who lived here for years and are making sure not too miss out on any event that sounds like a party. One thing that they are still missing is their first Polo lesson. Please don't leave without at least having tried once... and don't fall off the horse.

At this point, it is time for me to pack my bags and continue going West. I want to thank you both so much for making my time in Buenos Aires even more memorable and wish you all the best for your further stay here. Stay in touch and I am sure our ways will cross again.

All the best, F

scrumdidlyumptious

When one thinks of BA a few common words come to mind: tango, nightlife, reggaeton, and many others. Little did we know that the number one thing that would constantly be on our mind is FOOD. We have literally been eating our way through the city, one bite or big mouth full at a time. Since we spend a vast majority of our time dining, we thought it would be worthwhile to document these culinary delights. Also, we can provide wisdom for all different types of people considering that Karlyn and I have very different eating habits. She likes red meat and I like fish. I like white wine and she enjoys red, it goes on and on.... However, we do always seem to share an affinity for desserts and they are never missed in our household! With this in mind, we think any fluctuation in our weight is completely necessary because we're doing it all for the sole purpose of documenting the hot spots for tourists. Therefore, we will just let it be known that no comments should be made upon our return to the States- especially since we're sacrificing ourselves on behalf of our avid viewers. From now on we will try to provide pictures of all dishes for future postings, so that you too can understand our fascination for Argentine dining.

Here are a few of the spots we have tried in the last few days:

Sottovoce: This is one of the incredible Italian restaurants of BA. It was a favorite of our two year veteran we met for dinner who ended up staying after a random visit to the city following her graduation from college. She now has her own real estate business here and dates a local. Who knows if we too will have the same luck? The staff was very attentive and the restaurant had a classic, elegant style. I had an amazing fish that was seasoned to perfection, nestled on a platter of vegetables and mushrooms. Karlyn enjoyed the "mozzarella, basil, garlic, yummy concoction" on a bed of penne pasta where she devoured every morsel on her plate.

Itamae Sushi: Enjoyed the Buenos Aires roll-salmon, lobster, cheese, mango and sesame sauce, and the Tex Mex roll- salmon, guacamole and some other deliciousness. Karlyn even gave the rolls a thumbs up commenting that she could barely taste the fish! Karlyn had the vegetarian roll and we shared stuffed chicken appetizers. We did not receive the girl's night out discount because our roomie came with us, but they did provide us with free champagne following dinner.

Miranda: Neighborhood joint that reminds us weirdly of Houston's. They have waffles here that we have yet to try, but are eagerly awaiting this culinary adventure. We did have the ricotta and spinach ravioli, which was very tasty. However, not the best we have had yet here. One must be critical with the abundance of Italian restaurants in our midst. We did relish every bite of our apple cobbler that was topped with vanilla ice cream!

Bakana: One of our favorite places for lunch or breakfast. They have an amazing breakfast menu, but we have yet to make it there for the special. All of their bread is freshly baked and could not be more incredible! They also make a delicious homemade berry lemonade that is to die for! Karlyn ordered a quesadilla (an Arizonan necessity) that was topped off with caramelized onions and some amazing cheese that featured a very spicy sauce (even for our spicy tastes!). I had a chicken sandwich that was on a crumbly whole grain with lettuce and fried tomatoes and a side of potatoes with a delectable spicing.

Las Cabras: This is a must see restaurant. It is nestled on a corner in our neighborhood and always seems to be jam packed. We had to wait 20 minutes before being seated, but it was well worth the wait. They have a beautiful setting that features candles throughout in a very simplistic environment. The restaurant is bustling with food and people and we were lucky enough to enjoy some wine by the kitchen in order to see a variety of the many amazing dishes they have to offer. I had a white fish on an avocado and tomato salad. The fish was good, but I think many things on the menu were better. Karlyn has an incredible lemon chicken that came with a Caesar salad. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the salad satisfied all our American desires! They also give you crayons to play with while waiting, so needless to say we had some very interesting designs at the end of our meal!

Besides eating, we are trying to become more active to combat our indulgences. We have found a great yoga studio here. It is right in Palermo Soho and reminds us of our favorite establishments back home. The only problem is that the classes are in Spanish, so you have to sneak the occasional peak to the neighbor to make sure you are in unison with the rest of the class. Luckily, we were able to make it through the class, unlike some of our neighbors, and are proudly feeling the effects of our hard workout today. On top of exercising, we have come across an amazing selection of stores right in our neighborhood. Both Karlyn and I were lucky enough to come across some amazing treasures. We now both have a mental note of the locations of all our favorites and even some gift ideas for friends and family for the holidays! At first we were a little disappointed in the shopping, but now it's a constant temptation as we stare adoringly into each store window. On top of all this, Karlyn has found a job! I will let her describe it in detail in her next post, but we are proud to now both be working ladies.

We are also helping to create a business plan for a company here and hopefully will be partners if we are able to acquire some funding and successfully launch the company. We are creating a company that manufactures advertising signs that you would see in supermarkets, streets, etc. The three men we are doing it with all come from a history in sales and manufacturing for a variety of the major name brand companies here. They have a vast contact list that we are going to bring together, organize, publicize, and sell for them on our down time. Since the peso is so cheap relative to the dollar, it offers a great competitive edge to American corporations. Not to mention, there is a huge need for these services since there are only two major companies here and they refuse to cater to smaller clients. It should be an interesting experiment and we are pretty sure this will be one of the many projects we take on while here. Argentina has a plethora of opportunities and it's our duty to take advantage of them!

Tonight, we are heading to an event at the modern art museum. It's a black party and Karlyn and I have already begun searching through our closets for the proper attire. It should be an interesting group and we are excited to meet some new people from the Buenos Aires social scene. Our friend who took us to dinner at Sottovoce, Ariel, invited us as the guest of her and her boyfriend. She also promised us that at some point we would receive introductions from the celebrity polo players here. Until then, we'll let you share in on our excitement for the night's activities and update you on our pending state of affairs. Adieuuu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1jmhbw3JHw

Jessicka & Caroline

Little did we know that Buenos Aires would be such an international mix of people. Each day our group is continually expanding and includes quite a variety of individuals (to say the least)! It has been an eye opening experience to hear about the cultures, traditions, politics and habits of the people we have met here. I have had my palm read by our Italian friend Danny, salsa lessons from our Venezuelan friends, late night discussions about Oktoberfest with our German friends, and so many more interesting times. We even ended up at a German/ Argentine mixer where we were assigned name tags and given either a Spanish or German word where we had to find the other equivalent! Karlyn and I did our best to transition from German to Spanish and back again and answering the many questions of why we were there. I was able to fit in as a probable German, but the people there were dumbfounded when it came to Karlyn. Needless to say, our names were butchered in the process and we ended up with name tags bearing the name Caroline and Jessicka, but figured it was easier to submit to these names then attempt to change them.

As far as the Argentine front goes, I could not love Argentine people more. They have been so kind and eager to assist us in adjusting to the Argentine life. It has been an incredible experience to now be working for an Argentine company. I work outside Buenos Aires in San Isidro, the residential area here. The office is a renovated old stable that features art work throughout and has an open air garden in the middle. Each day I am greeted with besos from each employee and there is a major emphasis on personal relationships in the workplace. They move at a completely different pace and take the time to develop these relationships at a deeper level than common in the American corporate world. Every day all of the employees gather together for lunch and we eat together at one big perfectly set table with a beautiful flower arrangement. We have had some hilarious discussions ranging from typical holiday traditons to some necessary words for women to know here. It feels like a small family. When remarking on the environment to one of my coworkers, he responded, "Why of course! We're in the business to make people happy. How could we not have this environment?" I am responsible for bringing MSB into the US and am thoroughly enjoying bringing the company into the US thus far.

On a different note, each day I am supposed to be taking the bus to and from work. The only problem is that San Isidro is 40 minutes from the city. Each day I wake up a little too late to try out the buses and metro, so I have been forced to take taxis. I have learned so much from these daily rides because this is the time when you truly learn about the people. It's been surprising to see how much the people here hate the government. I have yet to meet one person that has a positive impression of the government. I have resorted to the typical American question often when attempting to keep up with these debates by asking, "Then, why don't you change it?" No one here really has known how to seriously respond to that, besides the fact that the corruption is completely ingrained into the whole political structure. It's in all parts of the judicial system- judges, attorneys, politicians, government, business, and the list goes on. This is one reason why they feel there is a crisis here every five years. I have always been one who believes in trying to learn from your mistakes and for some reason BA is unable to do that. When I questioned about this all participants responded, "Are you willing to make the commitment to change Argentina?"

It seems as though everyone wants to change Argentina, but does not possess the urge or eagerness to do so. It's almost as though they think it's impossible to change it. Maybe it is for that matter, but I am a strict believer that anything is plausible if you truly believe in it. Here we have met a great deal of entrepreneurs who have all given us stories about how they have had to "deal" with the government. One of their biggest complaints is the large export and import tax and how it is virtually impossible to transfer funds outside of Argentina. Regardless, there is a huge market of possibilities, but you have to be willing to work out the disorganized fragments and get creative.

Only having been here two weeks it is hard to epitomize the Argentine people. I always try to avoid this because you can't possibly try to stereotype one large group of people. However, in saying that here are a few things we have learned about men, or Argentines, for that matter. All men and women here cheat. People are very straight forward and will tell you a passionate account of what they are truly feeling, often featuring the three magic words the first time they meet you. People here like to voice their opinions, whether it be by honking, whistling, or screaming out interesting phrases they want you to know they are interested. Argentine people are very family oriented and spend a great deal of time with their families, especially on Sundays when they have their "asados" or steak barbeques. These are just a few of the recurring details we have heard personally when others describe Argentines. Who knows how our experience will be, but it's always interesting to hear the various interpretations.

Golden Oldies

Is it possible to be in a constant state of bliss? Yes, when you live in BA it's pretty standard. Each day we are falling more in love with our neighborhood. Tonight, we had an amazing steak dinner for not even 20 dollars a piece (well, Karlyn did for that matter) at La Cabrera courtesy of Mike Lewis. They literally brought us a feast that could have served a family of ten and we accompanied that by a $5 bottle of amazing malbec wine. We have begun collecting cards- business and pleasure. We have two baskets, one filled with business cards we receive each night from people offering us jobs and the second with all the restaurants we want to try. Our favorites so far include: Bandot- a great pisco bar that is so posh and has two for one deals on Wednesdays, Historieta Nacional- bar documenting the comics of Argentina for the last 50 years with great pastries, and finally our neighboorhood Mexican establishment called La Flor Azteca where we will most definitely go to get the necessities. These are just a few of the many bars. Those that need business inspiration should come here immediately.

Our new highlight of the day is that I got a job. I now work as sales director for the US for my special book. See link.It could not be a better environment. Karlyn is coming tomorrow to also apply for the position so we can work together. We are thinking of doing a few days at this place and then also working somewhere else to gain experience and contacts. The office is an old stable that has been turned into an office with amazing paintings all over because the owner's dad was a famous artist here. All the doors open to a garden in the middle of the building where all the employees dine daily for lunch. The company is a family owned business and they could not be nicer. The whole group greeted me with open arms as I sauntered in an hour late because I had no idea the office was located 40 minutes outside the city. The office is located in the suburbs complete with a polo court and their local golf club with Spanish mansions featured throughout. The company creates autobiographies for people and is a multinational company seeking to expand their sales in the United States and Karlyn and I are the ones who can make that happen.

So now that we are finally employed, we can say goodbye to the older creepers. Last night was quite eventful and full of people who do not comprehend that at a certain age they cannot attend certain bars and pretend like they own the place. We went to Museum, the Wednesday night spot, that featured over 3,000 people dancing to reggae music. Luckily, we managed to have a comfy spot away from the crowd that allowed us to sip our champagne at ease (despite the many requests for our number). It's too funny that both of us seemed to be texting boys with the name Mariano this morning, only mine were in Spanish. I have also become a full time translator. For the majority of the night Karlyn will have men whispering sweet nothings in her ear not understanding what they are saying, but smiling from ear to ear. I do my best to translate, but this accent and my Spanish skills need improvement. Regardless, we're getting by and our daily phrase is how could you ever leave this place? For those of you that are considering to visit, pack heavy. You might not leave once you visit. Actually, there's a pretty much guarantee that you won't, so you might as well look into a visa now.