Sopa de Queso

On Holy Friday, no meat is allowed to be consumed and since Nicaraguans love to eat, they have created a delicious dish called:  Sopa de Queso.

Sopa de Queso (literally translates to Cheese Soup) is a simple yet delicious dish. 

It consists of a broth with fried dumplings,  I am using dumpling on a loose sense for you to get an idea. The fried dumplings, some are shaped like a donuts (rosquillas) or circular shaped.  

Ingredients: 

Rosquillas y tortitas (fried dumplings)	Soup  (broth)
4 cups of tortilla flour (maseca) 2 cups of cheese    (since I'm not in Nicaragua, I use feta) 1 cup of mashed potatoes     (around 4 potatoes) 2 eggs 3 cups of water To your taste: salt, achiote.  Oil (vegetable) to fry the rosquillas.	2 liters of water 3 Vegetables bouillon cube/stock cubes  (cubitos Maggie) 3 eggs, To your taste: Salt, onions, sweet pepper, tomatoes, cilantro or mint (Hierba Buena)  Recado (soup thickener) 1 cup of tortilla flour (maseca) + 1/2 cup of water + achiote.

Preparation: 

Let's do the easiest and delicious thing first. The Rosquillas. 

Mix all the rosquillas (dumplings)  ingredients until you form a malleable dough.  In other words, until you can use the dough and make different shapes with it. 

Take a bit of the dough and start making rosquillas (donuts) shape or dumplings. 

Heat oil in a pan and fry the rosquillas & tortitas. 
Once cooked, set aside.   

Let's do another easy thing:  The Broth or actual soup. 

In a big pot, add water, dissolved the vegetable bouillons cubes, add cilantro, salt and let simmer (boil slowly).

In a shallow pan, sautee, the onions, sweet pepper and tomatoes with a bit of vegetable oil or butter.  Once they are all friends, place them in the pot. Add the recado, then add the fried dumplings, beat the eggs and add to the pot.  

Let it all simmmer and voila, you've made Sopa de Queso, Nicaraguan style. 

Note:  You don't have to add eggs at the end. In my family we do, but I know that some people in Nicaragua don't add eggs to their soup. 

The following video reminds me of my mother land, specially my grandmother. 

God bless the lovely woman making Sopa de Queso typical Nicaraguan style: Link: http://youtu.be/S_gKjiFH2MA

Holy Week 2012 in Nicaragua

Holy Week 2012 (April 2-9), coincides with the start of Nicaraguan's Summer Vacation. 

Two extreme things happen, lots of prayer and lots of party.

Travelers beware, the country comes to a halt, usually government offices are close for the entire week, and many businesses cut their hours to half or even close, sometimes for three days or the entire week. 
 
The weather is hot and the beaches are packed with locals trying to enjoy their vacations, have fun and relax.

What is Holy Week?  (Semana Santa) 

A short summary is that during this week, Christians remember the last week of Jesus' life and is the most important time in the Christian year. There are many church services and the big thing in Nicaragua is processions.

Holy Monday:
 
The following video is from the city of Leon. The procession is for Señor de la Reseña.
This procession carries over 150 year of tradition. It is said that El señor de la Reseña performed a miracle and stopped cholera in the city of Leon.

Link:  http://youtu.be/9DWXFoRz92E

Holy Tuesday: 

The following video is the procession of San Pedro y Sangre de Cristo. The video was taken in Chinandega,Nicaragua and created by Navegaciones Franks.

Link: http://youtu.be/QOQfaib8UfU

Holy Thursday aka Maundy Thursday. The Last Supper, a Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples the night before his death. During the meal, Jesus broke bread and offered his followers wine, saying “This is my body, given up for you.”

Good Friday: Jesus was taken into Roman courts, before Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas, who sent him back to the Jewish court. Roman soldiers took him to Golgotha, the place of the skull, where he was crucified. Jesus' crucifixion is performed in the 14 Stations of the Cross. 

The following images are actually made of colored saw dust on the streets of Leon specially for the processions of holy week. In my opinion, they are art creations. 

Pictures taken by Mr. Marlon Cruz.