PERUVIAN FOOD!

One of my absolute favorite parts of going to other countries is eating the local cuisine. It is always an experience! Some things are so awesome and some things are misses, but at the end of it, you can say you've tried it and will know if it is something you want to repeat. In Peru, I am living with a host family, so we get to eat what they typically eat. Graciela or someone in the house typically prepares the food first thing in the morning, then we warm it up for lunch and again for dinner. Haha. Not the most appetizing way to go about eating hot food, but it does the trick, well at the least the food is warmer than room temperature when we eat. 

I have taken pictures of some of the lovely things we have eaten, so let me explain... 

1. Ceviche: Yum yum yum. Absolutely a repeat over and over and over again. Ceviche is unique to Peru/South America. It is raw white fish that is "cooked" with the acid of lime juice. It is mixed with lots of onions, bell pepper, cilantro, chili peppers, and you can get creative with other things. It was served with a piece of iceberg lettuce. We also had corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, and popcorn to go with it. Typically, it is eaten during the summer, so everything was cold, but Wilfredo made an exception for us, so we didn't have to wait 4 months to get to taste it. He is kind of famous for his mad ceviche skills in the family. And his sister Consuelo sells fish at the market, so he called her up the night before and we got the prime selection of fish. Having connections doesn't hurt. If you're ever here, you MUST try ceviche (but be careful, because it isn't cooked, make sure it is served in a clean place)! 

2. Lima Beans: My family loves them baby lima beans, so I am quite familiar with them. However, I have not seen full size lima beans before now. Same great taste, but 3x as much bean. They are boiled and then you peel of the skin and eat them. I'm not sure why, but vegetables are way bigger here! These make an excellent snack or side dish, kind of like edamame from a Japanese food restaurant. 

3. Bean Salad: I will have to get back to you with the name on this guy, but it is white beans mixed with a little water, salt, oil and cilantro. It is sold in a plastic bag and everyone just goes to town on this stuff when Gomercindo brings it home. Another tasty treat here. Btw, Peru is HUGE on snacks! This is another example of a fairly healthy, fresh snack that tastes great. 

4. Pizza: Admittedly, not a home-cooked meal, but this is what meat and Hawaiian pizza look like in Peru. Again with the huge size of meat and pineapple. It was pretty much normal pizza. It was lacking in sauce, could have used more. Otherwise, it was quite tasty and nice to eat when we got home from church at 10pm and didn't have enough food left to reheat for everyone. (PS - We are supposed to try Domino's or Papa John's at some point and I am curious to see if that is all the same...or not.) 

5. Arroz con Pollo: When I heard everyone raving about this dish, I was a bit unimpressed. We eat chicken and rice nearly everyday, so I couldn't believe this would be so spectacular. I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely request this dish too! The rice was mixed with spinach, which is why it is green. I'm not sure what they seasoned the chicken with, but there was also some spinach in that. There were some carrots mixed in there. It was served with a side salad of avocado, tomatoes, and onion. 

6. Anchovies: Hahaha..yup, I learned how to eat anchovies. If you fry fish, it is edible. Holds true for these guys too. We popped off the head, then took out the spine, and good to go to eat the rest. It just takes like fish, nothing spectacular to report, but it's not gross, like I thought it would be. Totally edible. 

7. Soup, Split Pea Puree, Rice, Fried Fish, Broccoli: This has been our most popular dish of late. We eat this at least once a week. It's good. It's even better when you add some ricoto - some sort of spicy pepper. 

8. Milk: So, this isn't food, but it worth mentioning. They have started selling milk that has to be refrigerated, which was not the case when I was here in 2011. But, the standby, especially for winter is evaporated/condensed milk. Add hot water and a spoonful of sugar and it isn't so bad. 

9. Manzanita: These bananas are just delicious. They are the perfect size of banana too. The flavor is different than a regular banana, kind of like an apple, hence the name (manzana = apple). They are my favorite. We have also eaten regular banana, plantains, orange colored bananas, and a smaller banana that is super sweet. You just can't go wrong with bananas and I love that there is variety here! 

10. Cancha: As I said before, the vegetables are bigger here. That includes the kernels on the corn. Take those huge size kernels and pop them like popcorn and you get cancha. And some salt and enjoy. Definitely one of my favorite snacks here! 

Well, this is only a small account of the things I have tried so far, but I will be sure to post more in the future when I get pictures. Time to go enjoy me some more delicious Peruvian cuisine. :) 

~nos vemos~