The quest to nest

Most mothers-to-be go through some kind of nesting behaviour, weird though it may sound. Some prepare the baby's room months in advance, buy a zillion cute little outfits and spend hours washing and folding them away, or go on a baking frenzy. One friend in Canberra decided on a whim to repaint her kitchen and now all her drawers and cupboards are alternate shades of bright green and blue. Who knows why we do these things but it only hurts your bank balance and your husband's waistline, and possibly your eyes if multi-coloured retro kitchens are not your thing. But better to have all those outfits and a cot, pram, nappies etc ready on hand than to leave it all to the last minute, like my sister, who then went into labour a month early. The gods of preparedness were laughing that day.

For me, it is combination of the above (but without the painting); I feel strangely compelled to bake cakes and pies, make curries and roasts and stews and other recipes I've never tried. There's a bacon and egg pie in the oven as we speak. I'll post the recipe soon. I'm also sneaking onto children's clothing websites and buying the odd little number here and there, trying for neutral colours (two more weeks till we find out the sex) but boys can wear flowers, right? I have in my head all the things we'll need - nappies and snappies, singlets and socks, bottles and sterilisers. There's a lot to plan but it's fun for the nesting mother - or it could just be me.

But I can't prepare the baby's room because we'll be leaving Chile a couple of months after the birth and because it's difficult to organise a room in a house which is located in another country, if not physically impossible. I know this from good experience.

When I was seven months pregnant with Maya, we lived in Hanoi and I had to fly back to Sydney. I spent six weeks leisurely waddling around Newtown, then a further six weeks with a squawling newborn in a serviced apartment, before her passport and visa were ready and we returned to Hanoi. There, we spent another six weeks showing the baby round and packing up house, sending all our belongings to Chile by ship and farewelling friends. Then we returned to Australia for two months, living in another serviced apartment in a different city before finally moving to Santiago when Maya was five months old. 

At the time of our planning, it all seemed a series of perfectly logical and easy steps but the reality - unsurprisingly - is that it's not very ideal to drag a newborn baby around the world. Once I had Maya, I just wanted to stop and settle in one place. And the logistics of trying to plan and buy and pack and move all the stuff that seems necessary for a new infant was immense. Added to which that most of our baby stuff we couldn't buy in Hanoi and so had bought whilst I was pregnant and on holiday back in Australia. Considering our zero knowledge beforehand of babies, I think we did a great job.

Anyhow, we arrived in Chile and settled into our first apartment. Early readers of this blog might remember it as the very noisy apartment with the funny blue furniture. It was a long six months before we moved out and into our present home. And then, I could finally set up Maya's room, long overdue by about 18 months. Coincidentally, her room just happened to already be painted a lovely shade of pink. 

The patchwork owl mobile given to us by my sister before Maya was born

Pooh Bear motifs finally put up two years after they were bought

Paintings we bought in Bali when I was five months pregnant

A gorgeous framed Charley Harper reprint from friends in Hanoi

I can now say that Maya's room here in Santiago is perfect. I am completely content with it. Baby #2 however... 

Best laid plans

I have spent most of this week recovering from last week's bronchitis. It's not been fun but at least I am no longer contagious and can see friends. Then, on Wednesday, I woke up with a throbbing ear ache. Big ouch. I have some drops for it now and will go back to the doctor (for the third time in two weeks) tomorrow to hopefully unblock it properly. Until then, all I can do is take panadol and get lots of rest (as much as Maya will allow, anyway).

It is most strange only hearing out of one ear. It gives me a lopsided, dizzy feeling that I don't enjoy. I guess there's nothing for it but to slowly recover, get lots of vitamins and hope another bug doesn't get me in the meantime. 

With all this going on, yesterday was our date night, something that we try to do most weeks when I'm not contagious and az's not travelling. We have to make the most of affordable babysitting while we can, ie, in Australia, date night will become tinned spaghetti night as we sit at home and reminisce over all the great restaurants we went to in Chile. It's the stuff of great romance. 

So, last night, despite feeling slightly off-balance, I put on my shoes and out we went to a wine bar. In my present condition, I'm not really drinking wine because I can't smell or taste it properly and the little tadpole in my belly doesn't much care for it either but I'm a proud supporter of wine bars in general, and besides, az was so excited to try it out. Kudos to me. 

Well, a long story short, sadly we didn't make it to Bocanariz, Santiago's new place to be in the suburb to be, Lastarria. It is all the way downtown for us and in peak hour bumper-to-bumper traffic, the only sensible travel means is by metro. So, we waited on the platform and watched train after train, packed to the rim like a tin of sardines, pull in to the station, squeeze out a couple of people, then pull out without anyone having gotten on. For 30 minutes. 

It reminded me of the horribly packed trains I used to have to catch in Sydney to and from work, oh so long ago. Peak hour traffic at its worst and Sydney's train timetables are nowhere near as reliable and functional as Santiago's. Nor were people as polite and patient as they are here.

So, after the 7th or 8th train, we gave up. I needed to sit down. Feeling a bit letdown, we set our sights for somewhere closer to home though not as new or exciting. We had a nice dinner at Noso (at the W hotel), place which az really enjoys. These days though, I find myself at fancy restaurants and all I want is a green salad. Which isn't usually on the menu. But Noso delivers tasty food and good service nonetheless and I had a big bowl of fruit for dessert. 

Meanwhile Bocanariz awaits us for another day. 

Casa Botha

Day trips for our family rarely occur without the promise of a good meal, and preferably a winery as well. That was our basic expectation yesterday when we decided on a day out of Santiago and into the coastal wine region of Casablanca. 

Casablanca is on the other side of the coastal range, about an hour's drive out of Santiago. The difference in weather when you pop out of Tunel Zapata is quite amazing, I never know if we'll be greeted with fog or rain or blue skies. This time it was rain, though as the road weaved down through the mountain and into the valley below, the rain eased though the dark, heavy clouds remained. 

Casablanca is also home to Morandé, Veramonte, Emiliana, Vina Indomita and several other big wineries, and is one of our favourite places for a day trip. This time, we wanted to check out William Cole winery, which is a bit off the main road. I don't mind their pinot noir but haven't tried any of the other wines. The plan was to have a tasting there first, then lunch at Casa Botha. 

Well, the short of it is that we didn't find William Cole. This isn't at all a surprising occurrence in Chile. Despite being 'wine country', road signage for wineries is sketchy and we usually work out where things are after driving straight past them (which then leads to swearing, u-turns and doubling back on the highway). Nor is there much of a map for the wine region or on William Cole's website. So, we took the wrong road and drove for half an hour through pretty pastures and rows and rows of grapes without ever finding an actual vineyard. Despite low expectations, az was quite disappointed. Later we learned that the winery is on a road much further down the highway than we had thought.

Such is life. 

But Casa Botha we did find and I'm glad because it is a gem.

It sits right on the highway just past Morandé and Emiliana but you have to take the calle local (local road) that runs parallel to the highway. A friend had recommended it as a nice family restaurant ages ago. It is owned by a South African couple who emigrated here a few years ago. 

The first and nicest thing I found was that the owner, David Botha, is there to greet you, pour you a glass of wine and have a chat. In English. Gosh, it is a refreshing thing to be able to partake in an intelligent conversation about food and wine with a restaurant proprietor. In Chile, you rarely see a restaurant owner at their own restaurant. Instead, we would be greeted by a waiter or front of house person and my contribution to the conversation is to smile and nod politely while az chats in Spanish. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be so reliant on someone else for basic conversations but even after 18 months here, I still can't understand half of what Chileans say.

But this is different. It's not just polite chit chat but real interest in the area, the wines, the food and the people who come into the restaurant. It's a taste of service that I take for granted at home but have rarely experienced in Chile. 

The restaurant itself is all wooden, furniture, walls, timber beams in the roof, and an open fireplace in one corner keeps things warm. Outside is a little rock garden that Maya adored, and lots of puddles from the recent rain for her to splash through. 

At least twenty wines line the bar, most from the Casablanca region and many available by the glass. We start with a Quintay pinot noir and a local carmenere, recommended by David. They're both delicious and az buys a bottle of the latter to take home. 

The food is also excellent. There's no menu as such but David runs us through the options with familiar ease. We start with a vegetable soup and an antipasto plate. Maya happily scoffs prosciutto and the basket of fresh bread. 

I have the filet for mains with potatoes and an earthy mushroom sauce. It also has a little side of greens, a nice touch for such a meaty dish. I certainly miss the salad side that is so rare in this country of meat-eaters. Unfortunately the photo I took of my dish is even blurrier than the one above so I'll spare you my lack of photography talent. It was a very nice steak and cooked to perfection.

Az had the gnocchi with salmon and a vodka sauce. The alcohol is burned off in the cooking but it is really delicious. Maya had mouthfuls of both of ours. 

For dessert, we shared the cheesecake which was light and and fluffy with a singed caramelised top and crumbly biscuit base, very tasty.

Then, breathing in as much fresh cold air as we could muster, we waddled out of the restaurant, through some puddles and back into the car. It was time for home, and a snooze in the car for some. 

On the mend and goodbye Liz

This week has been a write-off but I'm finally feeling on the mend. Still congested and tired and with a cough that sounds as though I smoke two packs a day. The doctor says it's bronchitis and that's probably what Maya had as well. The cough is set to linger on for a couple of weeks to come. It's good that we both got through it without antibiotics though if given half a chance, I would have taken them immediately.

A friend of mine here leaves Santiago for good this weekend, back to the artificially greener pastures of Arizona. It's unlikely our paths will ever cross again. It sounds sad to say that but realistic. I've spent my life making friends in strange places and saying goodbye; some you hold onto and some you don't. But the real sadness would be if we had never met at all.

This week, though, being sick, I have unfortunately missed out on all the farewells - lunch, coffees and tonight, dinner, at my favourite wine bar, Baco. Yes, I know wine bars and pregnancy are an uncommon and socially-frowned-upon fit but don't try to come between me and my Leyda Valley pinot noir. Surely a fitting farewell to Chile anyway with the best of Chilean wines, good cheese, good friends and (albeit rarely in this town), good service.

Anyway, it's not to be for me tonight. Soup and early to bed. And another nap right now, just after I finish my bowl of steamed broccoli (yes, I like broccoli) and a glass of berocca.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm on the mend and this weekend, I will finally write up my post on the Sisters of Mercy in Lima. They have such an inspiring story. 

We are also taking a drive out of the city and back into wine region of Maipo valley. It's rained here this week and the rain clouds are, astonishingly, still lingering. The snow on the mountains all around Santiago is breathtaking. I can't explain how beautiful it is. I just want to get out there and breathe that fresh, cold air into my tired, bronchial lungs. Az is always keen for a chance to visit wineries. For Maya, it's just another winery and another weekend with her intrepid parents. 

Back on the merry-go-round

Children are a merry-go-round of infection. Maya has had her latest illness, a bad cough, for about three weeks now. She's too young to cough up the muck so the only option is to 'thin' it out and eventually it will go away. Well, that's according to the doctor. In the meantime, she's collected all the other germs to go with her cough - blocked nose, runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever, tiredness, sore throat, etc. Eventually, these hangers on are disappearing though the cough remains. 

But not before passing them on to everyone in our house. 

Az was the first to go with a cold last week. He promptly self-diagnosed and put himself on antibiotics (no prescription needed in Chile). Then Jenny spent three days racked with fever and chills and coughing. I'm the latest victim with an extremely blocked nose, headaches and a sore throat. 

I know it's normal for kids to go through these endless bouts of sickness, recovery and sickness again. It builds up their immune systems. I just didn't realise that I'd be catching everything too. And I didn't bank on the endless mood swings and crankiness that comes with feeling poorly. She's not eating well, probably because of her throat or just because she feels out of sorts. Yet she still can't verbalise the problem so it's only guesswork at my end. Yesterday, it took me an entire hour to get her to eat some veggie soup for dinner, an hour of crying  and tantrums (her) and pleading, cajoling, coaxing and bribery (me) before she eventually ate some broth with beans and onion. None of actual pieces of vegetable. I gave up after that point and made her some vegemite toast but she only picked at that too. 

Of course, I'm not feeling myself either with a bun in the oven, wakeful nights and a blocked nose so it's a tedious process for us both.

Before Maya started jardin I dreaded this inevitability but since she had her system completely cleaned out with her first round of antibiotics two months ago, I feel more relaxed about it all. After that, we went to Peru and Maya was in a fantastic mood and ate everything in sight. Now, I almost want her to spike a fever so she can have antibiotics again. Isn't that terrible? But I really don't see how she is going to get over this endless cough and she obviously isn't herself.

Incidentally, when she's at jardin - which she is most mornings as she isn't 'sick' enough to be home on antibiotics but is just 'sick' enough to drive me round the bend if she stays home - Maya is as good as gold. Felice (happy) and comida todo (eats everything) are the reports that come home every day. 

Clearly, she saves the worst for her long-suffering parents. And we want another one of these?

Santiago restaurants: Vietnam Discovery

When I tell someone that I lived in Vietnam, the usual first response is "Oh, you're so lucky. I love Vietnamese food!"

Which I have to take with a grain of salt. I didn't love the food in Vietnam. I can say I love Chinese food but I've never been to China, so I'm basing my culinary views on the Chinese restaurants I've been to elsewhere (but not in Santiago, sadly). It's not quite the same thing.

And of course, in most countries food specialities differ from place to place, due to availability of ingredients, weather, culture and other circumstances. For example, in Vietnam, food in the north is completely different from that of south and Hanoians are fiercely devoted to their own cuisine. Their most famous meal is pho (noodle soup), served super hot and subtly scented with fresh herbs. It was the staple that gotten northerners through the war and post-war years of hardship when there was no meat and not much of anything really. These days, it's usually served with bo (beef) or ga (chicken).

A typical pho stand you see all over Hanoi

I don't mind a hot noodle soup but it's not my favourite thing. To be honest, north Vietnamese food is too subtle for my tastes but then, I grew up in Sri Lanka and ate hot, spicy, coconut-based curries every day. 

I do like the concept of Vietnamese food though - using the freshest ingredients bought at the market only an hour or two before preparing the meal. Lots of veggies, herbs, seafood and rice or rice-paper noodles.

Rice drying along the banks of the Mekong Delta

This past week, I have had a real craving for Asian food. It's always unfortunate to have cravings like this when living in another country. When I was pregnant with Maya in Hanoi, all I could think of were fresh salads, sandwiches and pasta - typical 'Western' food, and now here in Santiago, I long for any kind of Asian food. The merest thought of a dish immediately makes my mouth water. It is a desperate kind of craving.

There are lots of Japanese and Korean restaurants here which is great. I do love a bibimbap (rice, meat, veggies and a fresh egg in a hot stone dish) and sushi is our regular delivery meal in Santiago. 

And I still make my Sri Lankan curries almost every week and they are fabulous though I do tire of the monotony of beef, beef, beef - give me some fresh prawns, lamb or duck any day of the week. But what I would really love is some Thai or Indonesian food - stir fries, pad thai, nasi goreng, laksa, red duck curry, etc. The kind of thing I could get at any of Sydney's 20,000* Asian restaurants. Sigh. 

On Tuesday night, I made a stir-fry with Japanese noodles (that happened to be in the cupboard), veggies and lots of soy sauce. It was okay but didn't satisfy my craving. On Wednesday, we walked down to our local Thai restaurant (and the only one we've found in Santiago) - Lai Thai at Luis Thayer Ojeda 0108, Providencia. We had lunch and also got enough take away for dinner and lunch the next day. It helps that Maya is a fan of Asian food too. 

Then, on Thursday, az and I went to Vietnam Discovery for dinner, in Bellavista. I consider it our duty as foodies to check out even the slightest chance of finding half-decent Asian food in this town. I had seen the menu online and was so excited that they had pato (duck), not duck curry but duck dishes of some variety. Good enough for me. So, off we went. 

The restaurant is in an unassuming backstreet of Bellavista with a very ordinary shopfront that opens out onto a lovely covered courtyard. It is lit with candles and decorated with bamboo, fresh flowers and Buddha statues. All very pretty. We were late for our booking (for once) but at 7.30pm, it was only half-full. 

 Photos from Vietnam Discovery website

We ordered the nem (spring rolls), one of the duck dishes (naturally) and a chicken coconut curry. The waiter then informed us that they didn't have any duck. Az said that from the expression on my face, he thought I was going to cry. I thought I was too. So, so disappointing. Instead, we finally ordered a 'Pad Vietnam'. 

The food was okay. Not great, not particularly authentic but Vietnamese-inspired and tasty. The nem was deep-fried but also came with fresh herbs to wrap the rolls in; typically this is done with fresh spring rolls, not fried ones. And that I've never heard of nor eaten Pad Vietnam or coconut chicken in Vietnam is not to say it doesn't exist there but it's not a traditional dish. We had a good meal and took the rest home - in styrofoam boxes wrapped in plastic and carried in plastic bags - that at least is typical of Vietnam. Walking out of the restaurant, we peeked into the kitchen and saw that the head chef was a tall, white fellow, maybe English. So that would make it an English take on Vietnamese food in Chile.

They also do delivery though I'm sure how far the range is. I'd try it again but only for the duck!

* Ok, I made that figure up. I have no idea how many Asian eateries there are in Sydney but there's a lot. They are everywhere. Sigh. 

Vietnamese Discovery is at Loreto 324, Barrio Bellavista. You can get by without a booking by 9pm mid-week. 
 

Chilean winery: Santa Rita

The weekend before last, we went to Santa Rita winery. It poured with rain that weekend, amazingly, and it was also Mum's last few days with us in Chile. We had been meaning to visit Santa Rita for ages and thought, what a nice way to spend a rainy Saturday.

Santa Rita is another huge wine company with vineyards all over the country. It also has the distinction of 'rediscovering' the lost Carmenere grape. In the 1800s, this was one of six grapes used to make Bordeaux. Then the phylloxera pest came along and wiped out the Carmenere grape in France. But in 1990s, it was found again in Chile, growing quietly alongside, and assumed to be part of, Merlot, and there you have it. Carmenere has now reclaimed its fame as Chile's signature grape. 

With all that history, you'd think Santa Rita must have a kick-ass Carmenere wine. But sadly they don't. Maybe it's yet to come. Their signature wine is the Casa Real (pronounced 'ree-al') Cab sauv.

I wish this were my cellar

Santa Rita is only about 40 minutes from Santiago in Maipo valley, where Concha y Toro is also situated. Incidentally, we took my mum for lunch there the first time she visited Chile. Yes, we are very predictable hosts; if you come to visit us, you can see museums etc in your own time but we'll take you to the wineries. 

The Santa Rita winery is housed in a long, low, white-washed building over 100 years old. The restaurant itself is beautiful, a single room with white walls, high ceilings and exposed wooden beams, a black tiled floor and old, polished wooden furniture. Sombre religious oil paintings line the walls. Unfortunately though, when we arrived, the scene was somewhat offset by 80s pop music blaring through speakers. This eventually changed to Kenny G's saxophone renditions but it did lend a weird touch to an otherwise very elegant setting. 

The restaurant has a good reputation but we were sadly disappointed with the food and, even worse, the vinos de copa (wines by the glass). There wasn't even a Carmenere on the list! At first, we had asked to do a wine tasting at the table, which is typically done in Chile as part of a wine tour. Our request confused the waiters no end and eventually, a manager was brought in from the bottle shop to confer with us (and say no). Then we asked for a degustation menu (food with matching wines) but there wasn't one of those either. The menu basically intends for you to order one or two bottles of wine to have with lunch. Which is all very well but, hello, it's a winery. Surely, it's not unusual for people to come there to try the wine?

I always find it amusing and slightly frustrating in Chilean restaurants that the first question asked directly after sitting down at the table is Que quieres tomar? (What do you want to drink?). The waiter then stands there looking at you expectantly. This is before being given a menu, so I have to think, well, what do you have? And then we always have to request a wine list.

Az ordered a couple of glasses for my mum and himself and I had an agua sin gas (still water - bottled of course. It's very rare to get free agua normal at a restaurant in Chile). I have to say it is convenient to have a reliable designated driver at these things, even if that driver has to be me. Then the waiter got the glasses of wine confused and they didn't have some wines available... it was all a bit silly. 

They served bread rolls and empanitas (baby empanadas) to start which were tasty and popular with Maya. For mains, we all had different dishes and none of them were great. I'd ordered, as a change, the pork ribs. I was imagining a few salty spare ribs, perhaps served with a delicate sauce. What arrived was a massive chunk of meat on a bone, about a kilo worth, and thickly slathered in herbs. After a few bites, I started to feel ill, pushed it away and ate the avocado salad I'd ordered as a side. Later, when the waiter took the plates away, he didn't ask why I'd hardly touched my meal.

Mum had the swordfish and az had some kind of meat stew. They said they were nice but nothing particularly special. Certainly, az's looked particularly undesirable so I've skipped the photo here.

Mum ordered dessert - the highlight of the meal - and we all helped her eat it, a nice tiramisu, subtle on the coffee and served with freshly whipped cream. Yum. 

Maya wasn't too fussed with the whole thing. She scoffed down her vegemite and cheese sandwiches and then explored outside. She really just wanted to play in the rain.

Afterwards, we ran through the rain to the museum across the road. It holds an excellent collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos (even without a flash) but it was very interesting. What I saw of it, that is, Maya just wanted to run around playing hide n seek. 

And then it was back home again, driving through the nice, pouring rain. 

Recipe: Simple nut cake

I made the most delicious nut cake yesterday, though it was flat as a pancake. Probably because I didn't whip the egg whites enough? No matter, it tastes really good, is healthy and Maya loves it. 

I found a basic nut cake recipe on the net and changed it round a bit. I used raw sugar and half the amount from the recipe (which must be American, their recipes always have so much sugar). I added a banana, sultanas and used whatever nuts I had in the house. I'm sure any unsalted nuts would taste good.

As I used an electric mixer, I didn't bother chopping the nuts and, as such, some came out whole, others chopped. I don't think it really matters. Another banana or other fruit, fresh or dried, would also be nice.

1 banana

handful of pecans

handful of macadamias

handful of sultanas

125g butter

2/3 cup of raw sugar

2 eggs, separated

4 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups plain flour  

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

fresh cream to serve, or vanilla ice cream

 

Heat the oven to 180C and grease a cake tin. 

Mix the baking powder into the milk. 

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and vanilla essence. Add the flour and the banana, then the milk mixture, nuts and sultanas.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the cake mixture and pour it all into the greased cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. 

Serve with a dollop of fresh cream or just plain for the kiddies. 

Uno mas

"All children are horrible. I can't imagine that anyone would ever want to have any."

These were my very words to az about two months ago as I lay in bed and bawled. I admit it unreservedly. I was tired and vommiting, had paralysing headaches and stomach cramps and was nauseous around the clock. Az helplessly patted me on the shoulder. There's really nothing you can say and I'm glad that, for once, he didn't try to solve all my problems. 

That's pregnancy for you. Sickness and despondency and all the while a tiny little person is growing inside you, absorbing all your nutrients and multiplying cells at an astounding rate. You'd think your own body would be working in harmony with this miraculous process, not seemingly against you. 

Thankfully, that horribleness only lasts three eternally long, debilitating months. 

Until, at last, I can say, dear reader, that we are pregnant with baby number two. Uno mas (one more).  (Incidentally, that's one of Maya's favourite expressions, though usually said in the context of watching another episode of Playschool and not in sharing the reins of her kingdom; population: one, slaves: infinite).

This first trimester was so much harder than when I was pregnant with Maya. I guess I'm older and tireder and have had lots of broken sleep over the last two years. But I am eternally thankful to have had Jenny here taking care of the house and Maya and other stuff in general that (in reality) I should be doing. 

I'm now almost four months but I [irrationally?] wanted to wait for yet another doctor appointment before writing this post. Just to triple-check it's still in there and kicking. It is. In fact, it wriggled so much yesterday, the doctor had to chase it around my tummy to pinpoint the heartbeat. Nice and strong. 

I am due mid-November and will find out in about five weeks whether it's a boy or girl. Yes, I want to know. I don't want to be 'surprised'. I always think the biggest surprise is just having a baby; it's certainly a surprise (or a shock) to your senses when it jerks you awake howling at 3am.

Besides, there are many cute outfits to buy before then. 

And so, though unplanned and unexpected, there you have it. Another baby is on the way to turn our lives upside down. But isn't that what happens while you're busy making other plans?