Close but no Ceviche
Peru is known for delicious eats, but unfortunately I was so stingy at this point in my trip that I skimped on sampling most of the goods (for example, I didn't try ceviche here even though it's supposed to be amazing...and I missed my chance to eat that guinea pig after all...I guess I can still give it a shot in the US when some unsuspecting kid isn't watching their precious pet!)Still, I did munch on some stuff...here are the gruesome details.
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| This unhappy-faced chicken breast was an "in-flight" meal...on a bus! I figured it was worth capturing digitally. I ate it so fast (tenia muy hambre!) that the guy working on the bus asked if I wanted another one. I didn't. |
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| An ok empanada (ham and cheese inside...yum!) but the real star of the show here is the Inca Kola. It tastes like bubble gum and this stuff is advertised everywhere in Peru. It's like the national beverage. |
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| This was arroz con pollo served up at the public thermal baths in Santa Theresa. This meal was sort of like something your mom would make (actually, a mom did make it, I sat with her and her daughter for a while and talked), and it was super comforting after a long day of hiking along the train tracks, in and out of the rain. |
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| Part one of a $1.25 lunch special in Puno. This was a scrumptious veggie soup that I would like to re-create sometime. Super wholesome. |
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| And part two...fried fish with rice and potatoes. Lots of different types of potatoes in Peru...these ones were purple and sort of sweet. The fish was lake trout...yummers. |
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| Ice cream by Lake Titikaka. It wasn't that good, actually, but I caught the sneaky lady trying to sell it to me for double the price (50 cents? I don't think so...25 please). So this was a triumphant moment. |
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| I am now addicted to these. Deep fried corn bits...sort of like corn nuts but better. They're called cancha. |
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| This was my lunch on Easter Sunday in Arequipa. A rich, brothy soup with a giant piece of pork in it. I walked into a restaurant that was sort of closed, with this family sitting in the back getting super drunk. They welcomed me in and the patriarch, who was really sauced and quite old, kept trying to kiss me on the mouth. |
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| Best free hostel breakfast of my whole trip! An egg? A crepe? Yes please! Plus that was passion-fruit juice or something...my mouth is still watering just thinking about it. |
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| Now here's an empanada I can get down with. There's some sort of beef stew or something inside there...delicious! I'm telling you, I vow to master the empanada once I'm home (along with baking my own bread and making fresh juice every morning). |
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| Just a moment to say, I love bakeries. Why aren't there more of them on every corner in New York? Or are there and I just never noticed them? |
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| I haven't really spent too much time on postres or deserts...this one was an amazing flaky pastry filled with dulce de leche. Sooooo good. Sort of a variation on the alfajor, which I also love and vow to make at home. |
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| And now a word on juice. Throughout my journey I enjoyed so many delicious glasses of fresh juice and batidos. Basically, they just take pieces of fruit and blend them with water (my preference) or milk. So easy! I won't be able to buy cheap mango and papaya anymore but it may still be worth the splurge to sip a little memory juice from time to time. |
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| Yucitas! Croquette-ish morsels with cheese inside of pureed yuca. So good. |
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| And the old standard...rice and beans. Sigh. I need to cook more. |
