Foods

We´ve spent a lot of time on specifics throughout this blog, but i thought maybe i´d fill ya in on what we´ve been chowing down on ( or making excuses to avoid) here. FYI, my spelling sucks today, bear with me.



First and foremost, we need to mention the ¨Plato tipico¨( even those of you which no hablo can figure this phrase out), which essentially contains beans, rice, tortillas, and usually eggs as well. This honestly appears arround once a day within our diets, and perhaps more frequently in the diet of Hondurans of average income.

I´ve started to develop a comfort food complex over it, probably based more on its frequency rather than its quality; but its nothing a little hot sauce can´t remedy. Other mainstays in our diet include plantains, (usually pan-fried and served with mantequilla, a butter like product), slices of ham (also pan-fried) and the occasional serving of chicken, pork, or sausage. Needless to say, i relish the oppertunity to cook for myself in the next couple weeks and reduce some of the oily nature of our food.

Some other types of foods indigious to Honduras include: the ever popular Baleada, which is similar to a burrito but better...and served in every honduran town everywhere by baleada ladies.



Pupusas are also popular, though more Salvadorean-you can find them in the Western regions of the country. Pupusas are tortillas which are prepared with cheese in the middle, and Catrachas, a nickname for a person from honduras and also a tortilla which is fried and then covered with refried beans and a crumbly cheese called quesillo. Here in Siguatepeque is my new favorite food, the pastelito. Apparently, this food was brought to Siguatepeque by a woman from Nicaragua. It consists of a mixture of meat (usually chicken) and spices which are stewed, then placed between two pastries and fried. The result is similar to a hot pocket and is absolutely wonderful.

Of course Crystal has found a whole bunch of new fruits that she loves. There is a odd-looking fruit here called leeches, which look like red balls with spikes on them, and contain a sweet fruit inside.



Also there are a fruit known as tamarindos, which grow on trees but look similar to a nut or legume. The have a extremely tart fruit and are often used to make a juice similar to lemonade. Our training center in Santa Lucia has a grove of orange trees which are much different than our concept of oranges, as these are usually much more green and acidic. Honduras has pineapples, bananas and coffee amongst its principle exports, but they are different varieties than what remains here. However, the bananas, pineapples, and coffee that we have had here has far exceeded the stuff we are used to in the states.

As far as food we don´t like, there are a couple worth explaining. Foremost is Mondongo (which translates to intestines) Soup, and consists of a white-ish soup made from beef tripe.

Sopa de Mondongo-Nasty tripe soup.

Also, we have yucca, which is more or less a potato type tuber, without any of the charm of a real potato. Due to the use of harsh pesticides and herbicides, a majority of our food needs to be pealed or washed in iodine to prevent illness, and leafy items such as lettuce or cabbage pose preparation issues. Also, any meat we consume needs to be thoroughly cooked to prevent illness, and in pork products to prevent potentially lethal illnesses. My dreams to have a perfect medium rare steak with a mixed green salad are gonna be on hold for a while.

Other popular, cheap Honduran foods include Anafre (beans with chips baked in a clay pot thing) and fried whole fish-with the head and plaintains with rice.

Anafre Plate

Fried Tilapia with plantains and rice

This is all i can think of for now, and i'm sure that food and diet will resurface in the future. In other news, hurricane gamma is giving us some rain right now, and we think we know where our site is!!! We do know that it is pretty large, has internet, electricity, water, and a bunch of stores. Our boss told us that we are going to have a brand new house when we arrive!!
We´ll post as soon as we know for sure, in about two weeks.

Enjoy the autumn everyone!! Drop us an email when you have time!
much love
Simon