- Every kind of fresh fruit I can imagine (minus kiwi). We drink fresh juice every morning. I think this morning it was strawberry and something. There are fruits here that I had never seen or heard of.
- Everything is fresh daily. My favorite triangular wheat bread is delivered fresh to the door in the morning so I can eat it with butter and jam (or sometimes avocado and tomato). I can feel and see the difference in my body from eating less preservatives.
- Rocoto relleno. YUM. Look for the photo below. It's Arequipa's own.
- Arroz con leche and alfajores, two of my favorite deserts. Also pictured below.
- We eat our main meal at 2ish and maybe a snack for dinner. It's a great routine. Why didn't I think of that before? If you wait until dinner to really eat, you're hungry all day and end up eating a lot more than you need. Also you go to bed with a rumbly tummy.
- Hardboiled egg seems to be the national garnish. Yuck. Egg also seems to appear in most soups.
- Lots of chicken thighs (at least 2x per week on my plate). Chicken feet and heads are used for soups.
- The potato came from Peru, and the Andes mountain region alone boasts around 3000 varieties. I think I've tried at least half of them since I got here. I did like potatoes, but sometimes potato variety does not equal food variety, and I'm getting a little tired.
- A myriad cheesy spicy sauces that aren't quite up my alley.
- More grease than I'm used to.
Take a look at some of the typical Peruvian dishes with which we are becoming familiar.
Aji de gallina: shredded chicken in spiced milk sauce
Rocoto relleno: Spicy red pepper filled with ground beef and veggie mixture (double yum)
Anticuchos: cow hearts on skewers
Ceviche: raw cod "cooked" in lemon juice with onions and spices
Cuy: fried guinea pig, sometimes including jaws, teeth, a little hair
Papa a la huacaina: potatos in cheese sauce
Lomo saltado: meat and veggies mixed with french fries
Papa rellena: Mashed potatoes formed around ground beef and veggie mixture, then fried (usually yummy)
DRINKS:
Chicha morada: Made from purple corn, kind of tastes like koolaid
Inca cola: Fizzy yellow bubblegum-flavored soda (owned by Coke)
Juice: Of all kinds. Amazing.
Pisco sour: National alcoholic drink of Peru. Has egg white in it, but it kind of tastes like a margarita to me.
DESSERTS:
Mazamorra morada: Also made from purple corn. Jelly-like texture.
Leche asada: Flan.
Arroz con leche: Rice pudding.
Alfajores: Crumbly cookies with caramel filling.
yum all that food left me hungry! Fresh chicha....