To Eat or Not to Eat

I am often asked how I like the food in Peru. Peruvians tend to ask me with the underlying assumption that I undoubtedly think it is marvelous- with something along the lines of " Isn't the food here great?" Mis amigos back home tend to ask me in a more weary and less tactful manner, sounding something like " What the hell do you eat over there?"  The truth is I can't really answer either of those questions honestly, people just do no like the answers. 

There are a couple of Peruvian dishes I have fallen in love with. Papa a la Huancaina is one of my favorite dishes here. It is this delicious sauce they pour over boiled potato slices and serve on lettuce with a black olive and boiled egg on the side. Yum. There is a lot of talk in Peru about how Peruvian cuisine is taking over the world and I should consider myself lucky to be eating it at the source of its inception. I had the pleasure of eating at one of the restaurants of the chef (Gaston Acurio) responsible for popularizing Peruvian cuisine and making it international while I was in Lima. I need it to be known that what I had for lunch on the beautiful terrace one afternoon in Lima is not what I am being served in Tumbes. The food over here is great, if by here you mean anywhere but where I am eating on a regular basis.

This leads into the second question of what the hell I am eating over here. In Tumbes I have taken a liking to the delicatsee of Ritz crackers, cereal bars, avocados, eggs,oatmeal and quinoa. Mix all of those up in any combination you can think of and I have probably tried it. Not so Yum. In order to avoid a two year sentence of solitary confinement to the toilet I have decided to cook for myself. This really limits my culinary choices seeing as I do not have a refrigerator,a stove, limited funds for groceries and a petite food selection. While there is no concern that I will waste away, I do not always feel great due to the fact that I am not eating great.

So I have decided to get creative. As a health volunteer, I feel it is important for me to lead by example- I need to eat some balanced and healthy meals. I have been on the hunt for recipes that use mostly the foods at my disposal. The challenges lie in not having refrigeration, I have to eat everything I cook pretty much that day, and I do not have a lot of money. I am going to take pages out of raw food cooking, vegetarian dishes, vegan desserts, easy appetizers and make it so that I can answer honestly next time I am asked what I am eating and if I like it and not have people get mad at me. I am going to create a cookbook of sorts, write down my recipes, take pictures and I promise to share.