Throwing Culinary Caution to the Wind

Posted on September 2, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Celebrations, Food, Peru

Sunday afternoon Matt and I returned to Baños after spending the afternoon in Cajamarca and discovered a festival in our town square. We checked it out and deduced that it had something to do with sugarcane.

Cutting the Cane

Should a Drunk Guy Have a Machete?

Machete Action

Cut Cane

Sugarcane Alley

Like most things here, it was unclear whether the festival was winding down or starting up: some shops were closing while others were being built out of pails of cement, wood poles and tarps. Today we learned that the festival had just begun and will last all week. Apparently it draws the farm folks and is looked down upon as a lowbrow event, but we thought it was a hoot.

View of the Festival

Ubiquitous Fruit Stand

Erecting a Stand

Taking a Break

Our Wisconsin roots run deep and as soon as we saw all the fried fair foods, we decided to heck with intestinal distress, let’s eat! Our first selection was a fried elephant ear type item with some sugarcane syrup (when asked if I wanted it sweet I answered with a big yes – I was going all in). Matt then decided to have some sugarcane juice. Well, I saw how those glasses were being cleaned and decided I was not partaking of that treat!

Juicing the Cane

Tapping the Juice

Matt Enjoying His Cup ‘O Cane

Instead I bought a package of cut sugarcane, which you chew to and then spit out the stalk. Delicious, if not very ladylike! We passed on buying the huge stalks of sugarcane as we do not own a machete. We also passed on the sugarcane syrup. While it was very tasty on our elephant ear, we now realize why the farm ladies root through our garbage for our plastic bottles. Perhaps we can bring our own bottle to be filled…

These ladies were very friendly and I bought my cut sugarcane from them.

Back to the fried yumminess. Matt ordered a papa rellena but wisely passed on the salad that accompanied it. I had one bite and had to order

Papa Rellena

my own and even asked for the ají sauce to go with it. I am becoming quite a fan of the pepper sauce. A papa rellena is mashed potatoes that are filled with savory items (in this instance chicken, peas, corn and egg), seasoned with cumin and other spices, shaped into an oblong and fried.

We then bought some bread and cookies from this woman.

Baked Goodies

We ended it all with another package of cookies. Those weren’t very good so we threw them out. We came home about 7:00 but the fair lasted until at least 2:00 am, or at least that is the last time I woke up from the music. Neither of us suffered ill effects from our unhygienic gluttony and we didn’t get around to having the cotton candy Matt wanted or the churros I wanted, so we may just have to tempt fate and go back to the fair this week.

Tasty Treats

Cuy update

Posted on August 12, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Food, Peru

Apparently, cuy is hung out with the laundry. Who knew! It also was served at the Last Supper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcos_Zapata I bet those guys went hungry!

Food Part 2 – Dining Out (Safe for Reading)

Posted on August 8, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Food, Peru

Apart from the cuy (see Food Part 1) Peruvian food is delicious: many fruits and vegetables (more on those in another post coming soon), meats of all kinds, seafood, excellent chicken, the best French fries ever, good bread, delicious seasonings. The list goes on. Peru is well known for its potatoes, there are over 1,000 varieties (and dozens in daily use), and cholco, which is corn with huge kernels. Peruvians love their starches; many meals come with both French fries and rice, in addition to a roll or slice of bread. Juice is also quite popular and while I have yet to find a food processor in a store, I have seen countless juicers and numerous street vendors sell freshly squeezed juices.

It is quite cheap to get a good meal in a restaurant. A couple of weeks ago we had lunch at a cevicheria, La Base, in Cajamarca. This time there were no French fries, but there were the best cancha, or corn nuts, ever. These were freshly roasted and came to our table a little warm, crunchy on the outside and creamy/starchy on the inside. Nothing like the hard teeth breakers we buy at the bar at home! We each had the ceviche misto, which was a plate of fresh ceviche made with shrimp, octopus, and squid. There were two root veggies on the plate, which appeared to be boiled, and cholco. One root veggie was similar to a sweet potato and the other was white. Neither of them did much for me, so I focused on the ceviche instead. Total cost for the meal, including waters and a tip was 29 soles or $10.88.

Cancha

Ceviche Misto

Many restaurants offer only a special menu at the lunch hour. The menu usually includes a roll; choice of salad or soup; a choice of entrée, often fried fish, breaded fish, lomo saltado (beef/veggie stir fry served over, you guessed it, French fries), chicken, a pork dish or cuy (we are done with that!); fresh juice and sometimes a dessert. The entrée comes with a veggie and a starch or sometimes two starches. Matt and I went to Tuna Café in Cajamarca and for 9 soles ($3.38) each we had the following: a roll, glass of fresh fruit juice, chicken soup or salad (we had soup, see the water blog), chicken with sautéed veggies and rice (Kerry) and a beef stew with rice (Matt), and a caramel pudding. Everything was fresh and delicious and our entire meal and tip was under $10.

We have also had some lunch misses. We have tried a few cheaper joints both in Banos and in Cajamarca. At one place the daily lunch special (soup, main dish, juice) was 4 soles and the food was not very good. Plus the place was just too dirty for me to feel comfortable with the food and I kept hoping the soup had been boiled for 3 minutes! We ate at another place in Cajamarca that was packed with locals for the 5 or 6 sole lunch, and while it was a little better, it was not a place we will return due to the lack of cleanliness and sub par food. For the low price at a “good” place, we do not need to eat at a bad one!

One day we treated ourselves to lunch at one of the nicer restaurants in town, Querubino. They do not serve a daily lunch special so we ordered off the menu. I had a lovely fish, although I cannot now recall what kind, served with sautéed veggies and rice. Matt had a beef carpaccio appetizer and a steak served with French fries and sautéed veggies. We each had a drink and bottled water. Total price was 87 soles or $31.32.

Rotisserie chicken is a specialty in the area due to the farming, and we have had excellent chicken both at home and in restaurants. For 10 soles at our local restaurant we can get ¼ chicken, salad and French fries that are to die for. Condiments are usually served with meals and while I have never been an American condiment fan (no ketchup, mustard, mayo or ranch dressing for me!), I love the Peruvian condiments. Aji, is a pepper sauce and ranges from mild to really spicy. Then there is an herb, garlic, olive oil sauce that is incredible. Often there is a mayo type item and ketchup, but I ignore those.

We are doing our best to return to low carb eating, but it is difficult, if not impossible, with the type of foods prevalent here. So we try to keep carbs like bread, sweets, rice or potatoes out of our house and to eat them in moderation when we are out. I am never very successful with the French fries, though, and fear the cancha will be another one of my downfalls!