Warning: This Post May Induce Hunger...



A Traditional Street Food Vendor Selling Patas de Pollo

Cuy Frito

It would be depriving you of something absolutely vital I left Peru without describing the unbelievable Peruvian cuisine. Aside from Cuy Frito (fried guinea pig) and Patas de Pollo (Chicken feet), I have come to discover the Peruvian cuisine is the most amazing food I have ever eaten. 

Here are some of my favorites: 

1.  Ají.  I could eat this condiment with a spoon.  (Okay, so there is a slight possibility that I have done that... on multiple occasions...) This spicy sauce is made from different varieties of peppers, mixed with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Every meal is accompanied by a small dish of this heavenly goodness and I generally end up asking for seconds.  This request is usually followed by a laugh from the waiter because they are not used to Gringos asking for more! I do not know what I am going to do without it when I go back to the US.   American hot sauce is like water compared to Ají.

Ají de Tres Colores

2. Choclo. This white corn variety is served on street corners, where women boil the corn and serve it with nothing more than a dash of salt.  It's gigantic kernals are sweet and juicy and leave you begging for more.  In Southern Peru, specifically the Cusco region, they serve it with a local cheese.  I have dreams of Choclo.  Mmm...

Choclo

3.  Arroz Con Leche.  A silky, creamy sweet rice with a hint of cinnamon.  Plump, juicy raisins are like delicous little pieces of treasure every time you find one in the bowl.  I have this at least 2x/week.  Okay, maybe closer to 4x/week...

Creamy Deliciousness

4.  Humitas and Tamales.  Humitas are made of delicously sweet Choclo, corn meal, and queso fresco. They are wrapped in corn husks and are generally cooked in boiling water. Tamales are a savory variation, and are usually spicy, large and wrapped in banana leaves. They are generally filled with chicken or pork, boiled eggs, olives, and chili peppers.  As most dishes are in Peru, it is accompanied by mass amounts of mayonaisse. 

Tamales

5.  Ají de Gallina.  A delicous dish consisting of shredded chicken served with a creamy, yellow sauce made from ají amarillo, cheese, and crackers.  It is served with Peruvian rice and topped with hard-boiled eggs. ¡Fabuloso!

Ají de Gallina

6.  Lomo Saltado.  Although I do not eat red meat, I did try this (eating off Amber and my Dad's plates!).  For a girl who hates red meat, it is absolutely amazing.  It is a dish that has Asian influences, consisting of thin strips of tender steak, marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and spices, then stir fried with red onions, parsley and tomatoes. Served traditionally over white rice and homemade french fries. Yum!

Lomo Saltado

7.  Cebiche.  Okay, I feel bad even talking about this because I did not have a good experience with Cebiche.  I tried it in Lima, which was the wrong place to try it.  The fish was not fresh and definitely made me quesy.  However, Trujillo and Northern Peru are known for their delicious Cebiche.  Every Peruvian I have spoken with said, "You haven't seen Peru until you try Cebiche!"  Cebiche is fresh, raw fish (or octopus, shrimp, crab, anything that swims, etc) marinated in lime juice and spicy red peppers.  It is served with Camote (sweet potato), red onions, and Choclo. 

Cebiche

8.  Anticuchos.  I am only writing about these unsightly things because Amber loves them.  I could not bring myself to try them.  Anticuchos are brochettes made from beef heart marinated in a various Peruvian spices.  They are grilled, often sided with boiled potatoes and corn. They are usually sold by street vendors and served shish kabob-style. 

Peruvian Street Vendor selling Anticuchos (Beef Heart)

9.  Pollo a la Brasa. This grilled chicken is one of the most consumed foods in this country. It's basically a gutted chicken marinated in a marinade that includes various peruvian ingredients and baked in hot ashes. The dish comes with French fries, salad and various sauces (peruvian mayonnaise, ketchup and ají).  You can either order a 1/4, 1/2, or whole chicken and it is served on a plate with bones and all. 

Pollo a la Brasa

10. Mazamorra Morada.  I did not think I would like this, as it looks like purple goo with fruit chunks floating about.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it is! It is a jelly-like dessert, made from the juice of purple maize (corn), sugar, cinnamon, cloves. When that mixture is cooled, chopped fruit is added. Absolutely delicious!

Mazamorra Morada



If you are not drooling by now, you should be!!  The food is so amazing, and I could literally go on forever describing the delicous food.  MOST IMPORTANTLY, I am so happy to say that in 6 weeks, I did not get Montezuma's revenge.  Well, not anything too vicious anyways :) I consider that, in itself, to make my entire trip a success! 

Tears of Joy and Tears of Sadness

Hospital Belen, Trujillo

Finally, an unbelievable day! Okay, that's not true.  Every day in Peru has been unbelievable.  But yesterday was a day that went even BETTER than planned! I walked into La Sala de Partos (labor and delivery) in the morning to see every delivery room full!  I had my first experience with a screamer, whereas most of the other mothers have barely make a sound. (This mother also left bruises in the shape of grip marks on my upper arm and wrist. In fact, I'm glad to have walked out of the room with all my bones intact!)  She held/deathgripped my hand through contractions, and looked to me for support as I gave her my limited repertoire of Spanish encouragement phrases.  It was amazing to watch, as the 17 year old kept repeating "no puedo, no puedo, no puedo!" (I can't, I can't, I can't!), but somehow she found the strength to delivery a perfect little boy.  The moment she saw her baby, tears of joy started falling down her cheeks and she turned to me to say, "gracias, gracias, gracias... no sé lo que habría hecho sin ti." (Thank you, thank you, thank you... I don't know what I would have done without you.)  If those words don't make you smile, I don't know what will.  It was a moment I will never forget. 

The second mother was 16 and delivered her baby at just 27 weeks gestation.  Premature births are extremely frequent in Peru.  The nurses told me that every incubator in the neonatal unit is always full and they frequently have to put two infants inside a single incubator- just to give you an idea of how often this occurs.  In the US when a baby is delivered that early, there is generally an entire team of doctors and nurses ready to assist the delivery.  Here, there is the normal staff, the neonatologist, an incubator, a pulsoximeter, and an oxygen tank.  The baby is delivered and carried to the warming table where the neonatologist quickly places it in a plastic bag and listens to it's tiny little lungs.  The baby yesterday was probably slightly longer than my hand.  It immediately cried and showed no signs of immediate distress, so they placed a teeny-tiny oxygen mask on the baby and whisked it away in the incubator to the neonatal unit.  Life then continued as usual; on to the next delivery.  Truly fanscinating, and oh, so tiny! 

I then made way to the next room.  Another 17 year old who also had the occasional tendency to scream and crush hands.  She was a sweetheart and I was able to help her through the course of her contractions, holding hands and massaging her aching back.  As I wrote in one of my previous blogs, the women are generally placed in a room with two beds; one for labor and another for delivery.  This poor mother was in a room without a delivery bed, so she had to walk down the hall (while fully dilated and having contractions), climb onto a metal bed, and proceed to delivery her adorable baby girl.  What a trooper she was.  It amazes me how in just one second these young girls change from being children themselves into mothers; forever responsible for a tiny life.

Part way through the progression of her labor, there was a lot of commotion in the hall and I heard, "¡expulsíon!" which essentially means, "he's crowning!"  Down the hall fly three nurses pushing a mother on a table, with the baby clearly making it's grand entrance into the world.  I won't go into any more detail on the birth, but it was the saddest thing I have yet seen.  The baby was stillborn.  The mother had some sort of mental deficit and the obstetrician told me later that the baby had a birth defect that caused premature birth at just 20 weeks.  Apparently, this is also fairly common in Peru so they handled it quickly and stoically.  I however, had to wipe away tears; it was devastating to witness. 

Today was my last day working at the hospital.  It was a busy day- Friday the 13th.  Peruvians are quite superstitious, but for them Friday the 13th is more a day of unpredictability, not necessarily bad luck.  For Peruvians, today is more importantly, Día de la Virgen de Fátima (a day in remembrance of a Portuguese woman, Lucía Santa, who saw many apparations of the Virgin Mary starting the night of May 13th, 1917). They believe that it is a day that many babies will be born.  I think there may have been some truth: babies were born right and left.  I brought my camara and was able to take many pictures of the hospital, the awesome staff, and the delivery rooms (forget HIPAA rules here!).  I honestly am sad to be leaving.  In the course of my time at the hospital, I have made some great friends!  The people are so genuine, kind, and friendly.  Never once during my time there was a treated as a Gringa, and ambrazos y besos (hugs and kisses) were shared as I left.  It was hard to say goodbye to them, but I hope to return some day.  And more importantly, Alaska is calling my name...