La Comida

 

For those of you who know my eating habits, you would be proud: I have tried more foods in the past few days than I probably have in my entire life... and loved it all (well most of it)! I was a little nervous coming into it, seeing that the national food of Peru is fried guinnea pig (cuy), originally eaten by the Incan king. I have yet to try this royalty cuisine, but I´m sure I will at some point over the next few weeks. The food here is always adventurous and a surprise! I honestly never know what I am eating but I do know that it most likely contains potatoes and/or corn. There are over 4,000 different kinds of potatoes grown in Peru. And one of the most traditional and popular foods eaten by the people here is purple corn - we even drink the juice that it has been cooked in - delicious with a little lemon! You can literally find every kind of food you want on a street corner or in a near by market ...my personal favorite are the fruit bars you can go sit down at and have some fresh squeezed orange, mango, papaya, pineapple, etc drink or smoothie for about $1.00. The markets are amazing with vendors selling all products from woven or wood carvings, to bread and cheese, fruits and vegetables, slabs of meat, rice and grains, fresh pastries, full cooked meals, dirt and flowers, cleaning supplies, dvds and cds, clothes, furniture ...literally everything; it is so wonderful like a Walmart but even better because you^re supporting local vendors. Another new, favorite expierence of mine is the incredible freshly baked pastries or dulces. These bakeries can be found on almost every street and so easy to spot or maybe I am just always looking. I have of course made it my new goal to try out each one and discover all the Peruvian sweets while sipping some delicious coffee. I am so appreciative of the time that I have here to simply live and rest...something I rarely experienced at home. It is so exciting to see the way God has revealed to me over the past few days that He has been desiring this time with me to simply live and not be so distracted by the things of life that normally surround me and that I allow to consume me. I have seen Him more alive in my life lately when I am doing nothing, than when I was involved in many different ministries.

Other than discovering new desserts, though, I have not had much opportunity to eat out and have not wanted to because mi mama is an incredible cook and always has food for us should we ever be the least bit hungry. I love my breakfasts of fresh bread, cheese, and avacado.  However, I had a hardcore hankering for cereal (it had been like 2 weeks since) so I went and bought some from the grocery and stopped by the Casa De Leche on the way home. How awesome ...a house of just milk and yogurt (cool I know!) The sign said all organic and natural so it sounded great to me! The young girl behind the counter dipped me out about a liter and put it in a bag for me. So I bring home my bag of milk and proudly show it to mi hermana who laughs and explains that it is fresh from the cow and is absolutely not drinkable as is. So we had to go through the process of boiling the milk and I ended up just having hot chocolate (very rich and delicious I might add) and dry cereal. My family drinks evaporated milk and the yogurt that they eat is stored on shelves and the bottles say that refridgeration is not needed!  I am positive that the people here truly have the strongest immune systems. We eat all of our meals together as a family (all seven of us), but the most grand and important meal of all is of course almuerzo around 2:00 every day. Almost all of the food prepared is topped off with very spicy piemento sauces. I have learned that I have to pace myself in order to simply get through the meal. It always starts off with a soup but not just the Japanese type broth soup. The soup usually contains potatoes, pasta, rice or quinoa and some type of meat and vegetables, usually including a half an ear of corn ...I literally could be full simply off of the soup alone. The first time I ate with my family I thought that it was the whole meal. But next, you are served a huge helping of the main course, always containing potatoes or corn (I am definitely getting the carbohydrates I need).  Though there are not excessive ingredients that are affordable and accessible to cook with every day, the meal is always extravagent and so very different than anything we have had before. After I stuff all of this down (partly because wasting food here is not an option and partly because it is so good), dessert follows, which I cannot pass up. My family^s personal favorite is ultra-sweet flan, but it is always delicious. I love how much they appreciate this middle of the day meal; not just the food but the time to take a break and rest, time to spend together and simply time they have to share and love one another.