Just when Lima was beginning to charm the heck out of me, and I was getting all nostalgic about leaving this weekend, Lima betrayed me.
I have bed bugs. Ewwewwewwewweww...
I awoke one morning to discover little itchy bites in random locations on my body, but mostly on my ankles. I didn't think much of it until the following morning when the number of bites tripled and I found a little tiny bug at the bottom of my bed! Groooooosssssss! Thankfully, Hayley and my other roommate Johann left that day so I took over his bed for the remainder of my week here.
Lima, how could you do this to me?!
In other news, I just found out today that I received a grant from the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation!!! The grant will pay for five months worth of rent and food in Ollantaytambo! This makes the UNpaid internship a lot more financially feasible. So, Thank you, Theta! And to those who say sororities are only covers for partying ditzes, TAKE THAT!!! (there's a kite called a Theta kite.... you girls know what I'm talking about ;)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Chapter 7: Turkey Surprise and Chocolate Success
La comida de Peru is something much chatted about with taxi drivers. In fact, it is almost ALWAYS the first thing they ask you about as soon as they hear your English accent. That is, unless they ask you if you're single first (for some reason, it is entirely appropriate here...).
In short, the food here is DELICIOUS. There are several types of food: creole, de la sierra (Andean), seafood, chifa (Chinese fusion), among them. The classic dish, ceviche, is unbelievable. Served as a starter course at the main meal of the day, lunch, it shines in Lima where fresh fish straight from the docks transforms into a lime-y, spicy, onion-y, deliciously raw dish. Yep, no cooking involved. Yummy :)
Aji de gallina is another great dish that highlights the country's wide use of the aji, or chili. It is orange, and when boiled first, adds a slightly spicy but complex taste to any dish. Aji de gallina is an aji sauce mixed with shredded chicken and served over rice or pasta. Which brings me to... starches. There are a lot of them here. Potatoes, of several hundred varieties, are served at nearly every meal. Rice is also served almost always alongside the potatoes. Peruvian cuisine is great, but it is the fruit that really gets me out of bed in the morning. Literally. I wake up, put the kettle on the stove for coffee, and shuffle out to the elevator in my pjs, down 12 stories and out to the fruit stand on the corner. The man who runs this fruit stand now knows Hayley and I and immediately starts finding the best looking mangos and grabs a few bananas from the gigantic bundles for us. And he never rips us off, which is really nice of him, because in that sleepy state in the morning, I counld't bring myself to barter even if I tried.
Another side of la comida in Peru is la comida that we have cooked right in our very own kitchen! Thanksgiving last week was a huge success! I was obbbbbbsessed with finding the PERFECT recipes for my first Turkey Day feast away from home. I put myself in charge of the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and dressing (because I smuggled some wild rice all the way from Minnesota here in my suitcase!). I found a turkey (thank the Lord, I might have passed out if I had to cook chicken on Thanksgiving) and settled on an herb butter recipe.
The morning of Thanksgiving, there was no Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for us, but that didn't get us down. After morning coffee, Hayley and I dug right in, me making the wild rice stuffing right away and Hayley tackling apple crisp. Both turned out beautifully! Then, I turned to our massive 14 pound turkey (I only suspected there would be 6 people at dinner, but there ended up being more, so the turkey was perfect!). I unrapped it, found the gibblets that I had expected. THEN came the surprise. Out of the main cavity, I pulled the turkey's two FEET!!! Claws and all!!!! Screaming ensued. But it didn't end there. There was something else inside the turkey. Could it be the neck? I knew they sometimes included that for those who like to make stock with it. I started to pull on it, and indeed, it was the neck. Then I saw the beak. Chaos. Screaming. Jumping. Howling. Running. Yelling. Shaking. Screaming. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww. They had put the enitre turkey head inside the turkey. Hayley swore she wouldn't eat a bite of it.
But I knew I had to go on. Surprise head or not, I had to cook this turkey. So I closed my eyes, pulled out the head, put it straight into a plastic garbage bag and threw it down the garbage shoot. There. I did it. And I hope I never have to see that again. You're lucky I didn't swear off meat forever after that.
After our turkey head surprise, everything passed with flying colors! We had no numbers on our oven and no meat thermometer, but somehow, 4 hours in the oven was just right and the turkey was delicious! Friends Alex brought vegetables, Thea made homeade bread as I was making the gravy, and roomate Johann and girlfriend Katya supplied amble wine. We were also joined by Dan and Tracy who we met at a Thanksgiving dinner on the previous Sunday and who coincidentally live in our apartment building one floor above us, and new friend Joe. Dinner was delicious and ended with all of us sprawled on the couches and in the hammock, full and sleepy. A Thanksgiving I will never forget.
Another adventure in cooking is happening right now! Yesterday at the orphanage/school where Hayley and I volunteer, I promised the boys that I would bring them cookies on Thursday! Volunteers normally give presents and treats the last time before they leave, but I was thinking, How silly is that! I want to be there to see them enjoy their presents and win them over with treats way before I leave! So again, I spent the better part of last night scouring food blogs (I just discovered these.. genius!) for the best chocolate chip recipe ever. I think I found it. And, my cook-self-confidence has skyrocketed, since I made this recipe without measuring cups or spoons and no numbers on my oven (only two settings, max and min). Secret ingredient: browned butter. Why have I never thought of this before?!?!?!?! Sooooooo good. If you comment on my blog, maybe I'll bake you some :)
Well, I think that's it for now, but keep checking the picture album on the right sidebar b/c I'll keep updating that as I take them. There are some cool ones from Thanksgiving that my friend Thea took too.
Missing everyone and getting revved up for my last week and a half in Lima!!! (waaaahhhhhh)
In short, the food here is DELICIOUS. There are several types of food: creole, de la sierra (Andean), seafood, chifa (Chinese fusion), among them. The classic dish, ceviche, is unbelievable. Served as a starter course at the main meal of the day, lunch, it shines in Lima where fresh fish straight from the docks transforms into a lime-y, spicy, onion-y, deliciously raw dish. Yep, no cooking involved. Yummy :)
Aji de gallina is another great dish that highlights the country's wide use of the aji, or chili. It is orange, and when boiled first, adds a slightly spicy but complex taste to any dish. Aji de gallina is an aji sauce mixed with shredded chicken and served over rice or pasta. Which brings me to... starches. There are a lot of them here. Potatoes, of several hundred varieties, are served at nearly every meal. Rice is also served almost always alongside the potatoes. Peruvian cuisine is great, but it is the fruit that really gets me out of bed in the morning. Literally. I wake up, put the kettle on the stove for coffee, and shuffle out to the elevator in my pjs, down 12 stories and out to the fruit stand on the corner. The man who runs this fruit stand now knows Hayley and I and immediately starts finding the best looking mangos and grabs a few bananas from the gigantic bundles for us. And he never rips us off, which is really nice of him, because in that sleepy state in the morning, I counld't bring myself to barter even if I tried.
Another side of la comida in Peru is la comida that we have cooked right in our very own kitchen! Thanksgiving last week was a huge success! I was obbbbbbsessed with finding the PERFECT recipes for my first Turkey Day feast away from home. I put myself in charge of the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and dressing (because I smuggled some wild rice all the way from Minnesota here in my suitcase!). I found a turkey (thank the Lord, I might have passed out if I had to cook chicken on Thanksgiving) and settled on an herb butter recipe.
The morning of Thanksgiving, there was no Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for us, but that didn't get us down. After morning coffee, Hayley and I dug right in, me making the wild rice stuffing right away and Hayley tackling apple crisp. Both turned out beautifully! Then, I turned to our massive 14 pound turkey (I only suspected there would be 6 people at dinner, but there ended up being more, so the turkey was perfect!). I unrapped it, found the gibblets that I had expected. THEN came the surprise. Out of the main cavity, I pulled the turkey's two FEET!!! Claws and all!!!! Screaming ensued. But it didn't end there. There was something else inside the turkey. Could it be the neck? I knew they sometimes included that for those who like to make stock with it. I started to pull on it, and indeed, it was the neck. Then I saw the beak. Chaos. Screaming. Jumping. Howling. Running. Yelling. Shaking. Screaming. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww. They had put the enitre turkey head inside the turkey. Hayley swore she wouldn't eat a bite of it.
But I knew I had to go on. Surprise head or not, I had to cook this turkey. So I closed my eyes, pulled out the head, put it straight into a plastic garbage bag and threw it down the garbage shoot. There. I did it. And I hope I never have to see that again. You're lucky I didn't swear off meat forever after that.
After our turkey head surprise, everything passed with flying colors! We had no numbers on our oven and no meat thermometer, but somehow, 4 hours in the oven was just right and the turkey was delicious! Friends Alex brought vegetables, Thea made homeade bread as I was making the gravy, and roomate Johann and girlfriend Katya supplied amble wine. We were also joined by Dan and Tracy who we met at a Thanksgiving dinner on the previous Sunday and who coincidentally live in our apartment building one floor above us, and new friend Joe. Dinner was delicious and ended with all of us sprawled on the couches and in the hammock, full and sleepy. A Thanksgiving I will never forget.
Another adventure in cooking is happening right now! Yesterday at the orphanage/school where Hayley and I volunteer, I promised the boys that I would bring them cookies on Thursday! Volunteers normally give presents and treats the last time before they leave, but I was thinking, How silly is that! I want to be there to see them enjoy their presents and win them over with treats way before I leave! So again, I spent the better part of last night scouring food blogs (I just discovered these.. genius!) for the best chocolate chip recipe ever. I think I found it. And, my cook-self-confidence has skyrocketed, since I made this recipe without measuring cups or spoons and no numbers on my oven (only two settings, max and min). Secret ingredient: browned butter. Why have I never thought of this before?!?!?!?! Sooooooo good. If you comment on my blog, maybe I'll bake you some :)
Well, I think that's it for now, but keep checking the picture album on the right sidebar b/c I'll keep updating that as I take them. There are some cool ones from Thanksgiving that my friend Thea took too.
Missing everyone and getting revved up for my last week and a half in Lima!!! (waaaahhhhhh)
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