Summer vacation is quickly approaching, and the world is on fire to pack their bags and travel. Myself way included. When Chris and I first got married, we promised ourselves an international vacation at least every other year. And very quickly, the reality of adulting caught up with us and the rose colored glasses we were wearing. There was daycare bills, and then 2x the daycare bills and when that was finally about over, there was a once in a lifetime global pandemic. The hard life of the old millennial.
This does not by any means mean that my life has not been void of vacations – just different ones that I always envisioned. Think van life versus conjoining rooms at the Marriott. Alot more water slides at the resort hotel pool for Spring Break than backpacking uncharted territories in my wanderlusting spirit.
So this summer, our original plans were to finally take our 10 year anniversary/MBA graduation trip that was canceled three summers ago due to Covid. We were going to take two weeks split between Portugal (Lisbon) and Italy (Rome, Cinque Terra, Florence, Tuscany). But holy moly, plane tickets these days, times four! Eek!
But we have an awesome backup plan and are heading to Belize. We went to Costa Rica back during the summer of 2021 and it was a dream. Several days traversing in the jungle, by horse, foot and water and several days sitting beach side with ATVs by the afternoon. I also really enjoyed learning about the ancient cultures that lived in the Central America area as well. Mesa Verde National Park is on my bucket list and one of the very few places we haven’t yet been to in Colorado. Which brings me back to the actual point of this post – Honduras and a Baleadas recipe.
FYI – I got an updated favorites of the Global Kidchen list from Jake. This is the new number one and could surprisingly beat out the french fries and Canadian Poutine. “It’s even better than the bean burritos we get in the cafeteria.”
But First a Quick History Lesson:
In lieu of the fun facts for the week I’ve really been digging into my research. Belize and Honduras are two separate countries, however, they share a common history in the dwellings of the Ancient Mayans. I’ve been doing a good amount of reading about the Mayan ruins for our summer vacation planning!
It is widely known that Honduras was largely inhabited by the Mayans prior to Spanish colonization on their quest to find gold in the 16th century. Less known, the Mayans had already been experiencing their demise long before Spanish takeover. Centuries of drought and internal conflict between varying regions resulted in war and reduced resources.
The Spaniards who had been the final blow to this mighty ancient empire, and Honduras, being a coastal country, had a hard time holding their new lands. They were constantly bombarded by attacks from British pirates also seeking gold. Unknowingly, many of the mines had already been heavily depleted.
Honduras: Baleadas
(These are really built mostly to taste so I don’t have much for directions and ingredients. These are just the essentials!)
Ingredients:
- Soft shell tortillas
- Refried Beans (The recipe we used is below, or you can use the already made stuff)
- Sour Cream
- Cotija Cheese
Directions:
- Layer the beans on one side of a tortilla. Heat the tortilla on a skillet until golden and the beans are warm.
- Remove from the heat, layer on some sour cream and cotija cheese. Fold in half and enjoy!
Honduran Refried Red Beans
Ingredients:
- 2 cups small red beans (dry)
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 tsp. cumin powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. water
- 4 tbsp. lard or vegetable oil
Directions:
- Start by preparing the beans. Clean and then boil – they can take about 45 minutes to cook through. They are done when the are soft to squeeze and the skin can easily fall off. Drain and set to the side.
- Cook the onions on a dry skillet at high heat. When the edges start to char, remove from the heat. Much of the onion won’t be cooked through – that’s ok!
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor blend for about a minute until the beans and onions are entirely processed.
- Heat the lard (vegetable oil) in the skillet and add the bean mixture. Cook through for about five minutes.
File: Honduras – Baleadas
