The Tamal of My Eye

In Cochabamba (Bolivia), it's safe to say that food tastes better. This tamal was simple enough: the freshest sweet maíz, salty and buttery white cheese, a little lard, and it was steamed in its own 'green' husk. Sustainable? I think so. I've never had food anywhere else in the world where the natural flavors are so mind-blowing as to outmatch the food in Bolivia. One grows nostalgiac for such flavors in times of hunger and nothing quite seems to compare.

Oda a la sandía

Summertime was pending in Cuzco (Perú), and after an afternoon of walking around and inquiring about some gold prospects we went to the market and I purchased a hefty watermelon for about $2. I ate the entire watermelon and enjoyed it amongst friends in the hostel just around the corner from the main plaza. Nothing presages a great summer quite like a cool spoonful of sandía.

Old School Dinner

In Puerto Montt (the south of Chile), there is an enormous fishing market. To the left of the 'table wine' there is 1/3 of a smoked salmon. The entire salmon was purchased for roughly 5$. The cheese (a fresh farm cheese) was also purchased at the local market from a cheese vender whose family has been in the cheese business for a few generations. The whole dinner was rather inexpensive and included some of life's most delicious food groups: fish, cheese, and red wine.

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

To be quite honest, seafood has got to be the most delicious food 'group' out there. This is a black & white rendition of a photo I took while I was in Pimentel (Peru). It was titled on the menu as "Cebiche Mixto". It consisted of many things, for which I know not the English word. This specific dish was particularly tasty because Pimentel is a port city, and the restaurant was right on the beach. Everything was caught fresh and fished in artesnal fashion.