Playing Cuy

September 2

Crazy for cuy: Last night I confirmed as valid my choice of URL for this blog. Cuy, for those unfamiliar with the finer points of Peruvian cuisine, is a savory, festive dish with a unique, musky undertone. For those unfamiliar with Spanish zoology, Cuy is Guinea pig. My crispy little rodent arrived accompanied with a large kernel-ed corn, potato slices, and stuffed peppers. That meal, and the three subsequent meals I've had in Peru all qualify as some of the best cooking I've ever experienced (the cuy also qualifies as an act of dissection finer than anything I've ever preformed in biology classes). I suspect that gushing on about Peruvian food will be a reoccurring theme is this blog, so I'll go light here, but OH MY GOODNESS IT IS ALL SO TASTY! The ingredients in restaurants determine "La menu," or the daily multi-course special. Consequently, the food is fresh and varied. I can hardly pronounce most of the foods I've been eating, but the flavors are universal favorites: Spicy, savory meats, vibrant fruits, and thick, hearty soups. There is, of course, also the Giardia-laced lettuce and fresh tomatoes a la salmonella, but viscous bouts of diarrhea really do seem like a small price to pay for the food here.