Facts About Nicaragua
* Nicaragua is in the Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sean and the North Pacific Ocean.
* Slightly smaller than the State of New York
* Largest country in the Central America that contains the largest amount of freshwater.
* It climate is tropical in the lowlands and cool in the highlands.
* It is an extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains interrupted by volcanoes.
* Lowest point is Pacific Ocean 0 M. The highest point is Mogoton 2,438 M.
* Natural resources- gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, and fish.
* Natural Hazards- earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and hurricanes.
* Current Issues- deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution.
* Industries- food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum, footwear.
* Agriculture- coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans, beef, veal, poultry, dairy.
More About Nicaragua
The year 1502 marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus-the first European to visit and scout the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. It was not until 1524 that the cities of Granada and León were founded. The hospitality and civility of the Nicaraguans made a significant impression when Chief Nicarao welcomed Captain Gil Gonzalez Dávila. Chief Nicarao´s cunning and intelligence surprised the Spanish conquistador who intended to explore beyond the lakes. They were unsuccessful due to the resistance of Chief Diriangén, who forced the invaders to return to Panama.Nicaragua became independent from Spain on September 15, 1821, when the five provinces of Central America united. In 1979 the Sandinista Revolution changed many things in the country. ( http://www.solentinametours.com/web/intro.html )
Agriculture
The country's relatively low population density and its wealth of land resources have both held the promise of solutions to poverty and been a major cause of it. The importance of one or two crops has meant that the country's entire economy has undergone boom-or-bust cycles determined primarily by worldwide prices for agriculture exports.
Coffee became the country's principal crop despite the growing importance of other crops. Cotton gained importance and was the second biggest export earner. In the early 1900s, Nicaraguan governments were reluctant to give concessions to the large United States banana companies, and bananas never attained the level of prominence in Nicaragua that they reached in Nicaragua's Central American neighbors; bananas were grown in the country, however, and were generally the third largest export earner in the post-World War II period. Beef and animal byproducts , the most important agricultural export for the three centuries before the coffee boom of the late 1800s, were still important commodities in 1992.
The agricultural sector declined precipitously in the 1980s. Until the late 1970s, Nicaragua's agricultural export system generated 40 percent of the country's GDP, 60 percent of national employment, and 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Throughout the 1980s, the Contras destroyed or disrupted coffee harvests as well as other key income-generating crops. Private industry stopped investing in agriculture because of uncertain returns. Land was taken out of production of export crops to expand plantings of basic grain. Many coffee plants succumbed to disease.
( http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/nicaragua/nicaragua70.html )
Good Food
Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
When cake has finished baking, pierce it in 8 or 10 places with a fork or skewer, and let it cool. Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk and liqueur and pour over the top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Whipped Cream Topping: When ready to serve, combine the whipping cream and the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup of sugar, whipping until thick. Spread over top of cake.
Because of the milk in the cake, it is very important that you keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve chilled.
Caribbean Version: Replace the sweetened condensed milk with ½ cup of Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut in the milk mixture. You can also add ¼ cup rum.
Southern Version: In addition to the three milks, add 1/3 cup peach schnapps. You can add ½ cup of diced, drained peaches to the batter. About ¼ cup of pecans can be added to the batter or sprinkled on top of the cake before serving.
Now, if you like cherries, blueberries, raspberries or apples, you can add them to this cake much in the same way. Well, what about chocolate? Why not add some chocolate syrup to the three-milk mixture, or temper in some white chocolate. This is another one of those great recipes that allows for culinary adventure. Plus, it is just plain delicious.
( http://www.texascooking.com/features/sept2002treslechescakerecipe.htm )
Vocab
Farming- labranza
Plow- arada
Crops- siega
Harvest- cosechar
Trade- quehacer
Flour- harina
Vanilla- vainilla
Sugar- azucar
Butter- manteca