Comida Cochabambina
For all you foodies out there, the time has come.
One of the first pieces of Bolivian culture that I experienced was the food. In fact, that is currently the majority of the photos that I have uploaded to facebook as of this moment. In fact, Cochabambinos specifically are especially known for their food (and love of food). Now, I would like to take some time to actually explain a little bit of the food I have experienced thus far…
My first impression:
Now, this really isn’t much. Just a cookie and some juice. BUT this was my first taste of the first of my favorite Bolivian food items: Juice. Not only do they have choices of juices that you don’t see too often in the U.S. (peach, mango, guava, etc.), but most of the time when you order them at restaurants, you can expect to receive real freshly squeezed juice (complete with pulp for you pulp lovers out there). Infinitely better than the juice from concentrate that we’ve complacently accepted as standard in the U.S. It is something that I can already tell I will miss.
Next, something else I have loved from the beginning: Salteñas
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151466706842901&l=8480328541
My host mom bought me this on my first day in Cochabamba. It is pretty similar to empanadas except juicier- much juicier. In fact, it’s basically another form of soup in a bread bowl. Delicious.
My last picture for this post is one showing my daily breakfast (yes, I’m actually eating breakfast. My host mom won’t let me leave the house without eating something haha).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151466709497901&l=89cd1bf8e3
Simple, yes, but perfect for me. As many of you know, I am a big tea fan, so I’ve got my cup of tea (black with cinnamon, a very popular choice here) and I’ve got some bread. This is actually the second piece of Cochabamba cooking that I will miss when I’m gone, homemade, oven baked bread. It’s really quite a yummy start to the day.
Well, I’m almost out of time, but never fear! I will be sure to update the food section more as time goes on.
Chau!
Laurel Bingman