In the fall of 1995, I spent four weeks in the beautiful town of Antigua, Guatemala. The purpose and quest was to brush up on my crusty college Spanish in one of the city's many language schools. Which I did.

But I also ended up falling in love.

I fell in love with the sound of feet, hooves and paws shuffling over the ancient cobblestone streets. The crisp, herb-scented morning air I would draw deep into my lungs upon awaking. The year-round tropical, yet temperate, mountain climate. The brief and refreshing rainfalls in the afternoons. The shy, friendly smiles from the indigenous Mayan people. The rich smell of roasting coffee, wafting through narrow alleyways. I even fell in love with the peeling paint and crumbling walls of the city's regal buildings - witnesses simply to centuries of destructive power from the three surrounding volcanoes.

And of course, I also became enamored with the local culinary offerings. The fantastic hot chocolate at 'Frida's' (to which I developed a minor addiction). Coffee at the 'Rainbow Reading Room'. Pastries at 'Dona Luisa's'. And - chicken soup at 'La Fonda De La Calle Real'.

I don't know if it was a result of the area's financial lack, preventing them to invest into any kind of fertilizer and therefore making all agricultural products automatically 'organic' and every chicken 'free range' - or if it was my overall sense of rapture. But the local veggies, fruit and poultry tasted simply ... better than their North American or European cousins.

And so it was that I found a meal - a soup, to be precise - that in its unpretentiousness and simplicity came to represent all that I loved about Antigua: the Caldo Real ('Caldo' meaning 'soup'; 'Real' meaning 'royal').

Every so often - especially on chilly winter nights like tonight - I now like to make it. It's easy, satisfying and uniquely delicious. Here's how you too can enjoy a piece of Guatemala.

Caldo Real

- Chicken stock: either made from scratch or the good organic, free range stuff you can buy in your local health food section
- 2 skinned, boneless chicken breasts: whole, fresh, or thawed from frozen
- White rice: separately cooked to a dry, firm finish
- 1/2 onion: raw, diced into small pieces
- Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Ground Cumin
- Optional: a ripe avocado, diced, and some corn tortillas


Preparation:

It honestly couldn't be any easier. Put the chicken stock in a pot, bring to boil. Add the chicken breasts. Turn down heat to medium high, cover and cook until the chicken is done (about 15-20 minutes). Take them out, let them cool until ok to handle. Tear them along their grain into pieces, about the thickness of a half finger. Return to stock, let them sit for a couple more minutes to get hot again.

To serve, put a couple of tablespoons of cooked rice into your soup dish first. Ladle stock and chicken over it. Serve onions, cumin, cilantro, avocado and tortillas in separate bowls on the side, so everyone can season their soup to taste.

And voila - you have an exquisitely delicious, soul-satisfying meal. Needless to say that with simple ingredients like that, quality rules. Make sure everything is super fresh, organic if possible. The cumin is key too. And with a good, flavorful chicken stock, resist the temptation to add salt or any other kind of spices. You don't need them.

Enjoy!

Yes - this marks the return to my blog. Do I hear a chorus of white-clad angels sing "Halleluja"? Oh, wait - that's a bunch of little red horned devils with tiny pitchforks dancing the conga instead...

I know I've neglected the blog (and with it my writing prowess), but one of those pesky New Year's resolutions has been to be better about it all, and get back into the swing again. So what better way to start off the New Year with a sweet, sweet, story, fresh off the BBC:

Child elopers' Africa plan foiled

Two German children - aged five and six - have been stopped by police from eloping to Africa to tie the knot in the sun, reports say.

The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport.

They even had the presence of mind to invite along an official witness - Anna-Lena's seven-year-old sister.

The three got as far as Hanover railway station before police intervened.