Cuy = Guinea Pig

They warned us not to eat it but we did...

CUY FRITO


It has a beautiful, crispy golden crust - like fried chicken, but with claws intact. And it's a bit more moist and stringy. Apparently, given that the animals breed like rabbits and can be raised in an urban environment, selling them is a profitable business.

Andean peoples have been consuming cuy for centuries, though initially it was reserved for special occasions or ceremonial meals -- like the Last Supper, of course.

No, really. Yesterday we visited the Monastery of San Francisco in the historic center of Lima and saw an interesting rendition of Jesus's last meal with the apostles. No photos were allowed inside the walls of the monastery, but you can see the painting here.

If the thought of guinea pig at the dining table makes you uneasy, I invite you to spend a few minutes thinking about dessert instead... for instance, the last morsel of "pye de limon," with its decadent touch of meringue on top.

Until next time...

Alive and well

We’ve left you all hanging quite a bit, no? Now that we’re in week 2 of the trip, better orienting ourselves in the city, figuring out the suicide showers and tweaking our internet connections, we’re ready to give you more of a flavor for our time in Lima. Of course this entails stories and photos of what we’ve seen so far, but for now I’ll focus more literally on the flavor.

A short anecdote to begin… At the end of a packed week, we celebrated mother’s day with our host families and then moved into our second homes. My future host mother called up the first one to find out the essentials: what I ate for breakfast, any food allergies or preferences. Apparently, she was told that I was pretty easy going and would eat anything, but was warned that I would take pictures of all the food. This is true. And apparently this makes me the GSE foodie, so it’s my job to share this:

LOMO SALTADO

On Saturday we went to Pachacamac to see where the world was created. Then we ate lunch at a "restaurante campestre," which was arguably the most photogenic site on our trip so far. (And it had a petting zoo.) We watched them make these french fries as we walked in and they were the most delicious I've ever tasted.

CHUPE DE CAMARON

Sandee hadn't tasted this since 1969...

CHICHARRON DE PESCADO

It doesn't have to be pork fat, it's also delicious with fish! This is at a cebicheria on the avenida Rosa Toro. Heavenly.

PARRILLADA

Mil gracias, Rafael Paz. We also had chorizo sanguches (one bastardized spelling of sandwich), mini potatoes, salad, and palta (aka avocado). MmmMmmM...

Stay tuned for more. And, if you’re lucky, a few recipes!

Un abrazo,
Madeleine