A suprise drink Matthew and I tried in Arequipa. I misunderstood the menu, instead of cocoa powder, the drink contains coca powder (thus the green color). Tasted ok, but reminded me of a drink I dared to try at the co-op that made me gag.
Dear Readers,
After nearly five years of a vegetarian lifestyle, I started eating meat the day after Thanksgiving, with the idea of working meat back into my diet before heading to Peru. It was turkey leftovers, dry and unexciting. Nothing dramatic like a McDonald´s chicken nugget binge, but it sent people into a frenzy. Well, not exactly, but lots of people couldn´t believe I was eating meat again. I think my cousin fell off her chair at Christmas dinner when I went for the turkey plate.
I struggled deciding what to do about being a vegetarian planning a trip to Peru. After some research about typical dishes (including beef hearts and guinnea pig) and talking to our friend who lives here, I decided I´d go for it. I´d do my best to have an authentic experience in a country that doesn´t exactly embrace the idea of a vegetarian diet. (I usually don´t even try to explain my beliefs about consuming meat; it´s just easier not to. For example, the other day someone asked me what "my problem" was with meat.)
My food adventure has been much more exciting than I would have imagined, or wished even. Eating meat here in Peru isn´t limited to things like chicken sandwiches or a hamburgers. It´s much more diverse! It seems that Peruvian cooking doesn´t like to exclude any usable part of the animal being consumed, which I completely embrace. No waste. However, this sometimes means that there are animal innards (i.e. intestine, liver, heart...) in some soups, or maybe even a chicken foot. Actually consuming these parts is harder for me to embrace.
I am trying new things and discovering that I actually like some of them, so my decision to be open to eating meat on this trip hasn´t been totally fruitless (duh). In fact, there are many dishes that I really enjoy. Lomo Saltado (stir fried beef, served with rice and/or french fries), Pollo a la Brasa (rotisserie chicken) and Palta Rellena(avacados stuffed with chicken salad) are delicious. And, get this-I have refused to eat watermellon for the majority of my life with the excuse that it´s "too watery." Lame, right? It was dessert for an enormous lunch yesterday and I loved it!
Matthew and I have been staying with a family in Ilo, and eat three meals a day in the house. It has changed the dynamic of our days. We don´t wonder what we´re going to eat for the next meal, which restaurant we´ll go to, which menu item we´ll commit to trying (sometimes the food is good...sometimes not so good). For the past week or so, it´s been really nice not to worry about what we are going to eat, we just sit down when it´s time and eat what is given to us, so when food is served to me here, I usually just eat it.
When I was a vegetarian, I thought that I could easily switch back to eating meat if I ever wanted to, or felt like I needed to for health reasons. The idea of consuming meat again used to really appall me, and once I started again, I realized there´s no switch in my brain I can turn one way or the other-eating meat or being vegetarian. My decision wasn´t just a physical thing; there is a whole mental component that I didn´t expect. It´s not hard for me to eat a chicken sandwich, but it is difficult to have Chaque, even if I don´t eat all the parts. Today we had Cerviche, a typical seafood dish, which is raw fish seasoned with lemon. My problem wasn´t with the taste (slightly spicy and delicious), but with the sight of the fish gills sparkling metalic. oye. For this reason, I don´t think I´ll be able to commit to a meal of cuy. At least, not a plate for myself.
I haven´t decided whether I´ll eat meat when I get home or not. Not that I really have to make that decision right now, but I feel like I´ve eaten enough meat in the past few months to "make up" for not having any for the past five years. The chicken trucks we occasionally see really bother me, even when they´re empty. It´s impossible to go to a market without seeing some kind of meat just sitting around waiting to be bought (zoom in on the photo of the San Camilo market in Arequipa if you want an example). Monday we went to the market and actually saw some cuy, both dead and alive. Lovely.
So it´s all a process. Putting myself out there, trying new things, seeing what I like and don´t like. I can´t believe all the new stuff, not just food. The always crazy combi rides, getting by on broken Spanish, hiking into the second deepest canyon and back out, living in Peru period. We´ve only been here about a month, so who knows what´s next.
Happy meals,
Sara
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