Unused Tastebuds, On Guard!!
“What is that?” and “How do I eat it?” have become common
questions these last couple weeks as we become acquainted with the Peruvian
food.
We’re settling in and making friends. The neighbors have stopped staring; instead,
they smile, wave and greet us in a language we’re just starting to
understand. We know we’ll never be “one
of them”, but we’re trying our best to blend in. As such, we can’t carry our camera around
taking pictures all the time…that would make us intrusive outsiders. Here are a few snapshots of the new foods
we’ve encountered:
Jack LOVES spicy food, but even he has limits. At the market, Chris followed the standard
pepper rule which says the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is. This medium size pepper seemed that it would
offer the perfect amount of spice to our otherwise bland pasta dinner. Boy, were we ever wrong. One bite is all the majority of us (Karen,
Katelyn, Anna, Jack and Michael) could handle.
Chris took one for the team and choked some of it down, but even he
could only take so much. Despite
grumbling tummies, we all went to bed hungry.
Our first week was filled with coconuts and plantains,
neither of which we knew what to do with in their raw, natural state. We went to our neighbor’s house, coconut in
hand, seeking help. The 14 year old girl
grabbed her machete, plopped down on their dirt floor, and started chopping
away. She sliced off the outer layers
and then cleaned up the inner seed. By
making a small hole in the top, she drained the milk into a cup (which we drank
for breakfast). Lastly, she broke it
open to allow us to enjoy the meat. It
was delicious!!
Katelyn
utilized her blossoming culinary skills to create a delicious, sweet treat of plantains
(which need to be cooked).
The neighbor kids shared their favorite snack with
Anna. We see people eating them all
around town; they’re a local favorite.
None of us love them yet…
Juanis are a local favorite that we do love!! Juanis are rice, vegetables, scrambled eggs
and an olive steamed in a large jungle leaf.
After unpeeling the leaf, people eat the rice loaf without utensils and
then throw the leaf into the weeds. It
is similar to the pasty eaten by immigrants in northern Michigan while working
in the mines.
We’ve also come to love “chupetas” - homemade
popsicle-like treats served semi-frozen in thin baggies. They’re made by the people here in town with
either ground water (or maybe river water), so they could have parasites in
them. Please pray for our health and safety as we “eat what is set before us”.
Yucca is another local fare.
We’ve eaten them several times, but haven’t had the chance to photograph
them. Imagine a long, thick white banana
that tastes like potatoes…
Apples have always been a Carmody family mainstay. Unfortunately, they don’t grow around here so
they’re really expensive. We splurged
last week and bought three small ones to share.
After soaking them in bleach water to kill the parasites, we gathered
‘round to enjoy a little taste of home.
“What is that?” and “How do I eat it?” – We’re learning the
answers to these questions as we become acquainted with the Peruvian food.
