These caught my eye this week. What is everyone else reading? Please leave links in the comments!

Lonely Girl Travels has a hilarious post up about the quirkiness of Latin Toilets and what to do with a plastic bag.

Over at La Vida Idealist, LethalSheethal has an excellent post about spotting fake money in Peru and Bolivia.

Vicky Baker at Going Local Travel has an interesting post about how movies are chosen for the Foreign Film category of the Oscars.

Living in Peru is tapping onto the Easter Spirit with two articles on Holy Week travel: Travel tips and recommendations for Santa Semana and a traditional Holy Week celebration in Ayacucho.

So you made too many black beans when you were trying out last week’s recipe. You could eat them two days in a row, or you could make black bean burgers!

There are probably plenty of actual recipes out there in the internet, but sometimes when you’re hungry you just don’t have internet. Here’s Rob and my imagined-from-scratch recipe.

Take those cooked black beans–you’ll want them to be nice and mushy. All you need to add at this point is an egg and some flour or bread crumbs until you can form the dough into a patty consistency.

Fry ‘em up in some oil, then serve ‘em on buns with your favorite veggies and condiments.

Enjoy!

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I’ve got a guest post up at Cheapoair’s travel blog about street food in Peru. Check it out!

(Dad, you’ll notice I didn’t include hot dogs!)

Trouble has been brewing in Nazca this month, and yesterday Living in Peru reported that the tourists are airborne once more after the 4-day strike, but at a higher price–$70 instead of the usual $50.

On February 28, Stuart at En Peru outlined the shoddy history of the Nazca airlines and their old airplanes, which was brought up by a fatal crash that killed six passengers and the pilot.

The government responded rationally by introducing measures meant to keep tourists safe by updating the Nazca lines fleet. Tourism planes older than 30 years will be decommissioned in August and those older than 20 years will be retired by 2011. The regulation will also require tourist planes to have at least eight seats. (via Peruvian Times)

The airline operators? Well…. They went on strike, claiming that they’d rather renovate their old planes than buy new ones. According to a 2008 article in Peruvian Times, more than 30 of the 38 aircraft used were over 35 years old.

The tourists? Well, they’re probably still paying, and still flying. DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE FLYING!

This is a bit late, but I just saw it: GoMad Nomad posted their top five travel destinations for 2010, and three out of five of them are in Latin America: Ecuador, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Great reasons for each!

There were a lot of games this week, but I just got a job and I am frantically trying to keep up, so there is not going to be a big post this week. However, I can tell you that Ronaldo with the team from Brazil, Corinthians, scored a goal this week. For more specific game stats check out this Website.
Check out some of these photos that I have gathered from some very nice people in the Flickr community. And check out their Photostream.

Photos by Danie Lopez, of the Caracas – Universidad Católica game

Photo by AniPhotoRa, of the Deportivo Independiente Medellin – Corinthians game.

Photos by Juan Espinoza, of the Colo Colo – Vélez Sarsfield game.

This dish might be a bit more complicated than the usual hostelling fare, but everybody’s got to have their comfort foods, right? For me, nothing is more comforting than a hot, mushy plate of black beans and rice with a side of sweet plantains and a fried egg over the top.

While we were in Peru, we made our beans from scratch, which is easy, but time-consuming, making this a great dish for when you’re going to spend a day writing around the hostel rather than sight-seeing.

To make beans from scratch, it’s best to soak them overnight. Drain the beans, bring them to a boil, then drain that water, too (this is supposed to make them–and you–less flatulent. I don’t know how well it works, but I’ve been doing it anyway). Bring the beans to a boil again, and let them simmer until they’re soft (an hour or two, depending on soaking time).

Meanwhile, gather your cast of characters:

From left to right: white and brown rice, tomatoes, yellow onion, spices (cumin, cinnamon and cayenne), olive oil, garlic, red and green sweet peppers, cans of beans for cheaters, jalepeño, cilantro, and plantains.

Start the rice about a half-hour before you think you’ll be done with the beans. Aren’t sure how to tell? Just guess. We always get it wrong, and end up either waiting for the rice or finishing it way too early. If you’re cooking your own beans, start the rice when they begin to get tender, but still aren’t of the eating consistency. If you’re using canned beans, start the rice before you start chopping veggies for the beans.

The vegetable addition can be as involved or as simple as you want it to be. Generally, we chop up some onions, garlic, and peppers of the hot and mild varieties. Saute those in olive or vegetable oil until the onions are translucent and everything smells awesome. Save the tomatoes and cilantro.

Dump that delicious mixture in with the beans, and cook them all together until it seems right. What do we mean by that? The beans should be soft (they already were if you’re using a can), and it all should have a good, goopy consistency. As far as spices, I like to add cumin, cinnamon (just a dash), and cayenne or some other spicy pepper.

When you suspect that you’re just a few minutes from serving your masterpiece, start frying those plantains. Everyone has their own preference, but we like our plantains sweet. When shopping for plantains, the more mature they are the sweeter they will be–I like to eat them when they’re peels are deep yellow and black, right at the point when you’d throw a normal banana out. Always cook plantains before eating.

Arrange those plantains on a plate, toss the tomatoes and cilantro into the bean mixture just one minute before you take it off the burner, and start frying the eggs. Serve it up and enjoy the comforts of Good Home Cookin’!

Check out our other blog post about making Black Bean Burgers out of the leftovers.

Check out more photos at Roberts Photostream.

I’ll admit, one of my guilty pleasures is browsing through all the great crafts on Etsy. One cool thing about the site is that it allows artists and crafters to list their own products and set their own prices without going through a middle man.

Diverso Studio is one such group. I especially love their Mola shoes, which are all handmade out of traditional Colombian fabric in awesome bright colors:

From their Etsy page

We are a group of Colombian artists who make fun stuff. We love everything green, sustainable, natural, fair-trade, organic and of course, recycled.

Claudia makes the stainless steel jewelry, Diana makes the ethnic jewelry and Carlos makes the Mola shoes. Our pieces are handmade in Colombia and Chicago by us.

You will find here the most unique, rare and ethnic objects and accessories. We have fun Mola shoes, stainless steel jewelry and pieces that are truly unique and contemporary, with the earth and our country always in mind.

Check them out!