Although Santiago winter might be getting the better of me - the smog is causing serious suffering in my lungs and the cold has made me lose all feeling in my feet - I still take pleasure in a few things that I easily take for granted. Today I will give one example.
I encourage everyone to check out this place. Simply put, it is a dried fruit and nuts store. So if you are tired of walking into an overcrowded, stinky and soulless supermarket and are on the lookout for some tasty goods, check out El Mani - the peanut. Upon walking in, this place smells like heaven. There are always a few people milling about and some staff to help you. It's a small place with large, though attractive, bins filled with different kinds of dried fruits and nuts. They have peaches, plums, pears, mango, kiwi, cherry, ginger, at least three different kinds of raisins and all are excellent quality. The great thing is that they not only have candied versions but they also have just the fruit dried, no added sugar. They sell by the kilo and price all things by the quarter kilo. This is a much cheaper and more delicious way to buy the stuff! Then there are the nuts. They have walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, and at least three different kinds of peanuts. They even have unsalted peanuts if you need them for a particular kind of recipe or just prefer them that way! I'm sure they have more, which I can't remember at the moment...
I used to go by El Mani all the time when I was here studying at University. For some reason, I never went in. When I moved just around the corner in January I decided it was time. And what a good decision that was! Going in there puts a smile on my face, mostly because everything I see I want! They also have several imported goods, many different kinds of flour (even ground almond and hazelnut flour!), oats, and even cereals, which are way cheaper than at the supermarket. They sell honey, different kinds of brown sugar, sesame, poppy and sunflower seeds, and have a large selection of teas. I love going here especially because I can walk in and 5 minutes later walk out and have every ingredient I need to make granola that I cook up about once a month to last for my morning munch. If you are ever in the area, check out El Mani on Irarrazaval right in front of the Lider supermarket on the corner of Suecia. And then come hang out with me and we can snack on yummy roasted peanuts from a cute brown paper bag.
And next time I make my granola I'll post with some pictures and the recipe. It's easy and oh so delicious!
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11 comments:
I make granola too!!! Yummm. What extra yummy stuff do you put in yours?
There are tons of this kind of store here, and they're called "dried edible stuff" stores. Hehe. Kuruyemis.
Well, i will have to go to that store. I want to make some cookies and i have yet to find a brown sugar that doesnt look to questionable to me. I have found azucar dorando, but it just didn't look good to me. I don't even know what good to me is. I can't wait for you granola post, i need some new things to try to make. I just wish i had my own place so i could cook as much as i liked!!
well, I'll have to post my recipe asap I guess. In terms of goodies I like to add, they are: unsweetened dried coconut, sunflower seeds, golden raisins, toasted almonds, and yeah, that's pretty much it. I've been thinking about doing a Nigella recipe that includes sesame seeds but have yet to try it.
Annie, perfect description, "dried edible stuff". Take advantage of the goods while you can!
And Shannon I totally know how you feel...it took me a while to feel comfortable cooking up a storm at my suegra's. Once people realize how delicious the stuff you make is, they usually will give you your space! Oh, and I also went out and bought some of the essentials I was missing, like a plastic spatula, for example, and cookie muffin tin. Supplies make all the difference!
your new blog header picture is gorgeous! where is that from??
oh, and the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice IS great! i think i had a crush on Colin Firth for a while after watching that. ;)
mmmm, I love flavored mani!!!
oooohohhhh colin firth ... he was the epitome of brooding yet soul-felt sexy in that film. man perfection.
and kyle, you know what, i can't for the life of me remember if el mani sells flavored mani! by all means, they should, so if they don't ima recommend they do.
oh, and my new photo (i'm just playing around with pictures, since my classic santiago shots are all so smog filled that they just depress me) is from Las Pircas, a fancy neighborhood over by the mountains where Diego's aunt lives. It is gorgeous there, they have an incredible view of the mountains, but this shot is obviously towards santiago. hopefully i'll get some snowfilled pictures later this year at the same spot!
yum, yum, yum, I'm going to check this place out!q
How funny we both posted about these stores the same week. El Mani sounds awesome. I hope I get over there sometime to check it out.
And I was totally going to make granola bars this weekend but was a bit busy and didn't get around to it.
My friend is really excited about this dried fruit place! Do they have pecans? We'd love to make a pecan pie for thanksgiving. Also, I've just graduated from Kenyon this past year!! What year did you graduate?
Que te vayas bien!
-Emily
Hi Emily! I'm not sure if they have pecans, they might, you could always try calling! Good luck, and if you have success finding some let me know! I'd love to make pecan pie too.
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