Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation

Oso recently wrote that he has been ill. Jokingly I suggested to him that he go to the mercado and get some chochitos. Many Mexicans use homeopathic medicine when they are not feeling well - part of this consists of going to the local market and buying chochos, which means little pills or sprinkles (a cookie with sprinkles has chochos and a medicinal capsule also has chochos).

Not knowing what chochitos were, Oso googled it and got this page. As it turns out chocho has multiple meanings. It is one of those words in Spanish that can get you in trouble if you use it some place other than your native land. In Spain, chocho is a vulgar term for vulva, which Oso believes would make him, or anyone else for that matter, feel better.

In my attempt to find proper uses of the word online, I came across a recipe from Venezuela where chochos seem to be a type of food (yet another meaning!). I quickly ran it through the google translator. I did not get a translation of chochos - however if you keep in mind the Spanish definition, this is a quite amusing recipe. Never mind that it calls for some pope and a pricked onion. Moreover, you get to guild yourself and the pope. Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Locro of chochos

Ingredients
- 1 cup of bare chochos
- 2 pounds of Pope, in slices, heavy half, half thin.
- 1/2 milk cream cup
- 1 1/2 liters of water
- 1 milk cup
- 1/2 cup of pricked white onion
- 2 spoonfuls of mantequilla
- 1 avocado in slices
- 1 tomato in rodajas
- sauce of red pepper to the pleasure
- encurtidas onions
- salt and pepper to the pleasure
- lettuce leaves

Preparation:
To warm up mantequilla, to add the onion and to fry until I gilded myself.

To add the Popes and to fry to upper middle fire of five to ten minutes, to remove constantly until the Pope is gilded.

To add to the cream and milk when boiling to add the hot water, the salt and the pepper. To cook by twenty to thirty minutes or until the thin slices of Popes undo partly, to thicken locro.

To liquefy half of the chochos with a little soup until forming a cream, reserving until the moment for serving.

To add the rest of the chochos, to the soup and to let boil, add the cream of chochos and extinguish the fire.

To serve adorned with a slice as avocado, average leaf of lettuce, one rodaja of tomato and encurtidas onions.

Taken from the recipe book of the national program of leguminosas station Santa Clara. (July 1998)

Envoy by Sara N. Boada Andrade
Resident of Caracas, Venezuela

You can find the original Spanish version here.

I still am not sure what Venezuelan chochos are. There is a Venezuelan take out place a couple of miles away that I have been wanting to try. Should I ask there? What is they are people who have lived in Spain? I might get into some trouble.

In any case, Oso did not take my advice. Instead he listened to others and had Sopa Azteca, which as far as I know has only one meaning (although several ways of preparing it). It seems to be working and he is feeling better, just in case you were concerned.