FOOD

The first thing anyone should know about Cochamaba is that its the eating capital of Boliva. Cochabambitas love nothing more than to eat delicious food. I´ve been busy sampling all kinds of food both in my homestay and on the streets.

In my homestay lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Sopa y sugondo. My abuela is soup master! The soup normally has fresh veggies, some of which are familiar and some of which are new to me. But all are delicious. Segundo is some combination of potatoes, pasta, rice, and a little meat. Normally delicious, but always and overload of white carbs. There is always some kind of refresco made from anything from piña to barley to dried peaches to sesame. sometimes deliciously refreshing, sometimes very.....interesting. Dinner is tiny and consists of leftovers from lunch. Breakfast is a piece of bread with jam and some tea (we had peanut butter for a while which made it so much better but that was finsished a few days ago). In summary, lots of white carbs, which often leave me feeling hungry soon after eating. Today I´m going to venture to a supermarket in hopes of diversifying my diet a bit.

Traditional (and delicious) food from Cochabamba: Pica Macho; always to share, a big plate of beef, hot dogs, eggs, tomateos, onions, potatoes, with ketchup and mayonayse. Grilled cow heart (i can´t remember the name in spanish); surprisingly delicious, thin strips of cow heart served with potatoes and spicy peanut sauce. Salteñas; yummmm pockets of dough filled with a spicy mix of beef and veggies, a traditional midmorning snack. and many more.

Yesteday was american food day. There was lots of family around the house as monday was a Cochabamba´s holiday. My 25 yr old uncle made 13 amazing pizzas. My favorite had corn and ham. At the urging of the entire family, after gorging on pizza, I made a batch of cream cheese brownies for my family. They turned out pretty well and were thouroughly enjoyed. (difficulties encountered: i couldn´t find baking chocolate anywhere; i used a strange version of margarine rather than butter; altitude; the only controll on the oven is on or off, there´s no such thing as temperature controll).

I´m loving my time here! If you made it though this unedited ramble about food i´m impressed. Thanks for reading!