food and dogs (aww yeah)

So there are lots of stray dogs here. They're often dirty, and some are sad, while some are happy, but all are super adorable. I think that by the end of this trip, I'll be able to have a slideshow of only stray dogs in Peru. They're everywhere, something would be amiss to walk a block and not see one or more strays. Like I said, they're all super cute (if you go "aww" when seeing a dog, this is the place for you)

A stray in Cuzco

Now onto food. OH my god the food. It's amazing, and well, incredible comes incredibly short of describing how good the food is here. Meals traditionally consist of a light breakfast, with tea (mate de coca leaves is the predominant tea here. It's sooooo good, especially with some brown sugar), light bread, and either jam or what's called jamonaba (I think, it's kinda like balogne, but made with pollo). Lunch and dinner are pretty similar, with lunch being the bigger meal. There's usually a starter dish, which can be soup (of mushrooms, chicken, kimwah) or an appetizer (like potatoes y queso). After the starter, there is the main entree, which can vary, but usually consists of a meat or vegetable dish that's accompanied by pasta or rice. After that, comes dessert, which is usually either a drink, or gelatin/flan. One of the different things here is that in restaurants, they serve drinks after the starter and entree. I'm starting to become accustomed to drinking mate tea after meals now.

Two of the most common things one can eat here will be chicken and potatoes. There are hundreds of  varieties of potatoes in Peru, and chickens are just about everywhere, so it's generally the predominant meat eaten here - there are lots of polerias (chicken restaurants) in the city. The potatoes are different too. Potatoes, corn (which has gigantic kernels here, think the size of a blueberry per kernel), and rice all have a starchier taste here, which is pretty interesting. Some of the potatoes are what we're accustomed to, but some have a more powdery and starchy kind of taste - I'm not sure if I'm a huge fan of that kind just yet. Everything here is just more fresh - the juice, the meat, the vegetables, etc. This morning, Chris and I were served plantain juice by our host mom, and it was maybe the best juice I've ever had. The chicken here is so fresh, since the people keep and kill them at home. There's basically a whole coop by my host casa, and that would explain why the chicken I had last night was absolutely delicious and fresh. If you like chicken, come to Peru.

Arroz con Pollo

#nom #gettingfat #sogood #dogsarecute