Peru: The Images

We're back in San Jose. Not that I don't already have enough cravings, but I will now add a good Pisco Sour, Causas, and amazing Ceviche to my list. The cuisine in Peru was incredibly fresh, new and always surprising, but I am happy to be back in the kitchen with a new found inspiration and a beautiful Peruvian cookbook.

Here are some short descriptions of the photos above:

Mmmm. Llama. These native people spent much of their day trying to convince us to "buy" a picture with them and their livestock of choice. I snuck this one in for free, sorry lady.

These pigs begin the series of meat photos. I guarantee these pigs were not stuffed into some 2,000 sow building without fresh air or proper room to move around. They probably had the pleasure of being surrounded by the Andes, peacefully rolling in the dry dusty earth. It didn't smell as bad as it looks, and there were minimal flies buzzing about the hanging meat. The 3rd image is of the skinned frogs. The black tube like structures to the left are butterfly larva, which are apparently fried and consumed. I would have liked to have tried those!

Oh corn and potatoes! The International Potato Center in Lima lists over 2000 known species. They come in a fascinating variety of colors and shapes. Potatoes were a staple of the ancient Peruvian culture and continue to be today. Corn is also a fundamental ingredient, with Choclo being my personal favorite. Its large, light-yellow kernels were often added to stews, fish, and ceviche.

Remember how I said I seemed to have arrived at the market during nap time? Here is the proof.

This is a famous and delicious Causa. A Causa is a cooked and cooled mashed yellow potato, topped with goodies from the sea and the occasional avocado concoction. My boss David referred to them as "potato bombs" (as they were sometimes heavy and filling) but I grew to love them. They were a great first course and Peru's fresh seafood was always the star. This particular one was served with 2 different sauces on the side. The purple one seen in the foreground was fantastic: a creamy black olive sauce that I'm dying to investigate.

Next blog coming soon: In the kitchen with Miss Diva Niva Smith.

GIBNUT: The Inspiration

Eat gibnut? What is the heck is gibnut anyway? Here is the explanation of my blog's name. More to come on Peru soon. It's our last night here, and we've been eating so much I've actually decided to skip dinner.

I knew an embarrassingly little amount about Belize when I first stepped foot there last December. I will be the first to admit I did minimal research. I just sort of showed up under my bosses wings’, and expected to have a good time… like attending a wedding of someone you don’t really know and taking full advantage of the open bar. I was unaware that Belize had one of the lowest populations densities in the world, or even that English was their primary language. The heavy Caribbean influence struck me immediately, with its brightly painted buildings, Creole English, and scorching sun that made carrying around a 25 lb baby a bit more of a workout.

After enjoying a short stay in Belize City last December, I joined the CAVU team of 8 as they all met in late February to begin producing CAVU’s www.cavuussite.org next film on Belize’s most priced possession: the second largest barrier reef in the world. Named a world heritage site in 1996, the reef is home to more than 500 species of fish and 70 species of coral. It is also the backbone of Belize’s economy, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year and driving the country’s fishing industry. Sadly, the reef is under immediate threat due to unsustainable and poorly planned development (which causes massive amounts of mangrove destruction) and a variety of environmental and economic factors. The goal of CAVU’s film is to highlight the reef’s importance and prompt the country to create a coastal management plan. Check out their website, it’s great stuff!

Taking caring of Miss Niva was my full time job, but I was also hired on as a caterer to cook some meals for the CAVU film crew to help defer some of the extensive costs of eating out. We spent our time just outside of the town of Placencia, a place that became so familiar to me that after 3 weeks I was up on the town’s gossip, chatted frequently with the owners of several restaurants, and knew exactly which Chinese groceries to avoid. A small fruit and vegetable stand, David Perez, became a regular stop, the owner always reassuring me that my desired ingredient was “coming in tomorrow”. The diversity of produce (and freshness) was incredible: beets, lettuces, fresh tamarind, papaya, plantains, 4 different colors of peppers, herbs, etc. I grew so fond of the place I even tried hugging the young woman who ran the stand, only prompting one of the most awkward embraces I’ve ever experienced. (who IS this crazy American, she was thinking to herself) Then there was the gelateria “Tuitti Fruiti” ran by a darling Italian couple who also served the best espressos for miles. The fisherman’s co-op, steps from the bay, was an eye (and nose) opening experience. Fresh dorado, snapper and conch came in daily, and I learned quickly that whole fish on the grill again supports my theory of simple is best. Keep the scales on, give it a nice bath, and fill with fresh herbs, garlic, salt and pepper, coat with oil, and you are ready to go. My mouth is watering just thinking about it now. Local foods were the usual rice and black bean staples, with roadside vendors selling chicken tacos and coconut water. I had the pleasure of cooking a vegetable risotto, 13 pizzas from scratch, grilled fish tacos with red cabbage slaw, and a variety of other snacks and dinners. I even met someone worthy enough of helping in my kitchen during mid-meal madness. For me, this is a miracle in itself!

After the shoot was over, film editor Tony Hale and I took a 5 day adventure into the western part of the country. Below are some clips of some of the culinary adventures we found along the way.

The first video was shot at a rural restaurant called “Sheena’s Bistro”. We had the pleasure of meeting Sheena herself and enjoying gibnut.

After arriving in San Ignacio, I decided to try a local restaurant's special of “boil-up”. Turns out that boil up is a pig’s tail, boiled up with a bunch of other junk. Not the most gourmet meal I've enjoyed, but worth a taste for sure.

Mmmmm rodent! from Lizz R on Vimeo.

Boil-Up from Lizz R on Vimeo.

A Big Tease

The Smith family and their au pair (that’s me) are back on the road in a cloud of moose milk! Last Saturday Jordan, Niva and I left San Jose, Costa Rica destined for Lima, Peru. I actually did some research this time, and couldn’t wait to dive into Peru’s famous cuisine. Our first night in Lima I inhaled some causa limeña. They are a typical dish of Lima, consisting of some sort of fish in a delicious sauce. In short, I would compare them to a gourmet version of a western “tuna or chicken salad”. I had a combo of 3, each mindfully placed upon a circular bed of boiled potatoes, one of Peru’s 200 varieties. From what I could decipher, one was a squid based salad in a black olive crème sauce. Another, tuna (gulp, not a sustainable choice) with avocado and pepper, and finally a whitefish in a pink saffron infused crème. All were delicious and left me wanting more.

After our night in Lima we were headed to Puerto Maldonato, a lazy, hot jungle town in Southeastern Peru which rests on the banks of the Madre de Dios River, literally meaning “the river of the mother of God”. When we weren’t wiping sweat or dodging the countless swarms of Mototaxis, Niva and I enjoyed exploring the town’s small market or cooling off in our hotel’s pool. Niva, being the adorable 15 month old she is, didn’t need a swimsuit during our short dip. She did, however, use her sign language to tell me she was about the relieve herself on the pool deck, and well, she wasn’t kidding! I can now add to my list of nanny experiences that yes, I’ve picked up warm, fresh caca off a pool deck in the middle of the Amazon and deposited in the appropriately labeled “organic” bin. Think this is just a food blog? Think again. What goes in must come out!

Our next destination was the famous Cuzco, from where I write this blog. Cusco is the historic capitol of the Incan empire, and sits at 12,000 ft in the middle of the Andes. It’s chilly here, but I am warmed hearing the locals speak Quechua and by admiring the beautiful Incan and Colonial architecture. We were given some guidelines upon arriving to help curb the altitude sickness: don’t eat too much (ya right) and rest often (not a problem). CAVU’s (cavuussite.org) right hand man/friend of mine Dave Sherwood (http://wildfilephoto.com/index.php?x=about ) and I needed a “light snack” upon arrival on Tuesday. After deciding that 2 full entrees were not enough, we added a plate of chicerones to our order. After polishing off the deep fried meat with unknown origins, I dove into my plate of llama. Tough and rubbery at first, it’s deep and fresh flavors captured me immediately and I couldn’t help but finish the entire plate. Dave ordered some local trout which was also delicious. Fortunately, the altitude did not affect my digestion, and I was well on my way to fueling my quixotic appetite.

After a light breakfast at our hotel on Wednesday, I made my way towards the local central market. Passing by the beautiful Plaza de Armas, I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d be getting myself into. It turned out to be one big, giant tease of culinary heaven.

There’s not much that couldn’t be found at the market: fruits, vegetables, cheese, giant round discs of bread each boasting their own unique design, grains (including Peru’s famous quinoa), meats, handicrafts, fish, algae, olives, spices, shoe shiners, seamstresses, local cuisine, you name it. I’d like to expand my description of the meat section. Here, my zoology and anatomy courses came in handy. Not only did you see the usual cuts of thigh and shoulder, you may also purchase cow and pig heads, hearts, lungs, livers, intestines, stomachs, and small plastic bags of an unknown intestinal juice, all hung about in dishabille. I also dodged some frogs leaping for their lives out of a small plastic bin, wearily eying their former brothers and sisters lying skinned on a platter next to them. There were entire pigs for sale, and through a combination of my bad Spanish comprehension and the woman’s heavy accent, and I unable to decipher the price of the entire hog.

I had some wonderful cultural exchanges as well. I arrived around 11 am, which seemed to be during the vendors “pre-lunch siesta”. A local woman and I exchanged chuckles and she struggled to awake a snoring woman selling herbs. I purchased some cumin seeds, which are hard to find in Costa Rica for some reason, and also some local herbs to aid in digestion. The woman was quite annoyed after the third time I asked her to repeat its name, and I still don’t remember! I smiled at a tiny Peruvian girl, clad in her Alpaca sweater and hat, being drug around in a plastic produce basket. I longed to plunge my hands deep into the burlap sacs of corn, quinoa, and grain, but resisted in fear of being pelted with slimy frog carcasses.

So far I am quite impressed with Peru. The people are friendly, the cuisine is surprising, and the weather is a much welcomed change from the constant heat and rain of a Costa Rican July. I really dig the locals constantly saying “ya” in agreement with my restaurant orders, etc. It almost sounds like someone from northern Wisconsin or Minnesota.. just like home.

More to come soon. Pictures, Machu Picchu, guinea pigs, and more pisco sours are in the works. I am so blessed to be here and can’t wait to share more of my experiences.