Recipes and Roaming

In my last post, I had the pleasure of presenting to you the alfajor. But all I had to show for this Chilean phenomenon was a wrapper (sporting a brand that wasn't particularly good). Well, as I've mentioned before, my family is all about homegrown treats. Sure, my Chilean mamá likes to cook, and she's good at it ... but more uniquely, my host parents pride themselves on making things that can otherwise be bought in the store (i.e. garlic mayonnaise, blackberry marmalade, fruit juice, etc.). I recently announced to Mamá that I'm in love with alfajores. And what did I find greeting me the next day when I returned from school? I'll let your imaginations guess ... and then I'll show you these pictures!

Practicum número uno: How to make an alfajor

Step #1: Smother shortbread/gingerbread-esque cookies in manjar (caramel sauce).

 

Step #2: Dip two-tiered cookies in melted dark chocolate.

Step #3: Place on aluminum sheet, about one inch apart.

Step #4: Swirl white chocolate on top.

Step #5: Make a crafty design with a long needle-looking thing like this.

Step #6: Voila! Enjoy! 

They may look like Little Debbie cupcakes, but don't you be fooled. The alfajor constitutes its own class of mass-produced deliciousness.

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As Madeline mentioned, we recently added the cutesy little town of Pomaire to our repertoire of excursions outside Santiago. Since Mads and I are considering converting our Chile Cheese Blog into a food blog anyways (what? Chilean food is just so good!), I thought I'd add more food photos to the stash.

There's Mads, about to scarf our empanada full of meat, onions, eggs, and a surprise olive.

This corn pie (pastel de choclo) is not for the faint-stomached. It contained egg, chicken (off-the-bone! Just swimming around inside!), and of course corn. And maybe potatoes?

Yeah, it looks delicious ... but I wouldn't know. I opted for the alfajor.

Believe it or not, Pomaire had more to offer than just food. Like ostrich-sized Disney theme eggs. And pots. And Peru's national drink.

Speaking of Perú ...

Allison, Madeline, and I recently booked tickets to Perú for early October! We plan to fly into Lima, then fly to Cusco, where we'll spend a day before catching a train at the crack-o-dawn for Machu Picchu (pictured below). That night we'll catch an overnight bus to Arequipa (in Puno, situated on Lake Titicaca on the border of Bolivia) and wander around the Islas Flotantes (Floating Islands). We'll then fly back to Lima, do some super-efficient sight-seeing, and depart for Santiago.

Ahhhhh glorious!

Yes, a whole civilization sits atop those big, floating grass pads.

To prepare ourselves, Madeline and I are taking a class at la Católica called "La Lengua y Cultura Quechua" ("The Language and Culture of Quechua"). Besides taking the class because of the indigenous music our professor plays in the background during lectures, we just really wanted to be able to hold our own in conversations with the indigenous population in southern Perú (or Ecuador, Colombia, northern Chile, Paraguay, or northern Argentina, for that matter). We have high hopes for that dialogue ... if we were to go right now, this is what we'd be able to say:

Madeline: Ñoqachu Madeline kani. (Translation: Am I Madeline?)

Abby: Arí, qam Madeline kanki. (Translation: Yes, you are Madeline.)

Madeline: Ñoqachu junt'achini. (Translation: Do I write?)

Abby: Arí, qam junt'achinki. (Translation: Yes, you write!)

Madeline: Añaychayki. Tinkuykama. (Translation: Thank you. See you later.)

Impressive, no? We've learned how to help each other through identity crises, and I can affirm Madeline's literacy. I'd say we're golden.

One last thing before I leave ...

If you'd like to see more photos than what's offered on our blog, you can check out my Picasa Web Albums here. Since Madeline and I are together a lot, many of the pictures will pertain to both of our experiences! Woo hoo!

Hasta luego!