Staples: starch – rice, corn, millet, yam

Vegetables: wide variety, but peasants must sell & not eat them, they eat wild greens that they gather in open fields

Fruits: citrus fruits, avocados, breadfruit, mangoes

Meat: nonexistent, when raised by ordinary people it is sold

Pois ac duriz colles – rice & beans

Petit mil – sorghum (eaten by the poor)

Peasants’ breakfast – strong coffee, disk of sour bread baked form bitter manioc flour: Peasants’ lunch – light & eaten in the fields: Dinner – rice & beans, or a stew with a small piece of meat if the family can afford some: *Summer season before crops are ready – one meal a day such as porridge made from corn, sorghum, or rice – to cure the hunger pangs the may chew on sugarcane stalks or green mangoes

Sugar: consumed in enormous quantities: Rapadou is a syrup produced in the refining of sugar, it sweetens tea and coffee, it is the basis for clairin a raw & concentrated rum, sugarcane stalks are plucked from the fields and eaten

Mealtime

Upper-class tastes: Creole cooking – spiced shrimp, pheasant with orange sauce, green-turtle steak, wild duck, salad made with hearts of palm

Rice djon-djon: rice-&-bean dish is found nowhere else because it requires Haitian black mushroomsCalalou – mixture of salted pork, crabmeat, pepper, onion, spinach, okra, & chili pepper

Tassot – grilled meat

Pain patate – pudding made of grated potato, figs, banana, & sugar

Sauces: ti-malice – tomato & onion

Staples: starch – cassava, taro, sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, seafood, guandules/pigeon peas, rice and beans together to form a complete protein

Comida criolla / creole food - Spicy food, not hot. Has black or red beans, white rice, plantains, sometimes meat.

Sancocho – stew made with chicken, cassava, plantains, pepper, coriander, vinegar

Mondongo – made with tripe

Drinks: Juice drinks (jugo or batido=with milk) tamarindo, nispero, jaugo, guanabana, pineapple, mango, guava, orange, grapefruit, papaya

Coffee three times a day with meals

Beer and rum – evenings, weekends, special days

Breakfast: plantains, cereal or bread with coffee and juice

Lunch: rice and beans, meat, stew

Supper: boiled roots, eggs, bread, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, mangu, sweets

Mealtime

Plantains: must be cooked before eating, high in starch and low in sugar, similar to a potato in texture, they are often sliced, fried, and served in place of French fries

Siestas except for in the cities

Desserts: from staples used in candy sweet potatoes & red beans, corn puddings, rich cakes, caramel custard, flan

National priority is providing basic meals for everyone, very poor, food lines

Spain and Africa is the basis for flavor, not hot but still slightly spicy

Crocodile meat – believed to be an aphrodisiac

Staple: rice

Moros y cristianos - white rice and black beans

Arroz con pollo – chicken with rice

Picadillo / minced meat – ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, olives. Raisins with rice and sometimes a fried egg over the rice

Drinks: rum for social and festive occasions, recently beer and rum became almost unavailable for local consumption. Cervecerias (bar) are rarely open. Guaraperas, bars selling drinks of freshly pressed sugarcane, a product in abundance, are closed.

Coffee is most popular and is drunk from tiny cups and sipped with ice water. It is thick and syrupy. Stalls serve only coffee.

Herbal tea and drinks are popular – medicinal properties

Staples: Red or black beans usually cooked in large batches with some sort of salted meat such as bacon for flavoring. Rice is the staple starch in the diet and is generally boiled. On special occasions rice will be cooked with coconut milk for added flavor and richness. Coconut milk is a standard in Creole cooking.

Mayans in the South substitute corn for rice as their staple. Near the coast people eat more seafood. Inland people depend on chicken for protein. Garifuna eat fish regularly and on special occasions they will cook it in coconut milk.

“Quick” bread: made from wheat for cakes, johnnycakes. Jacks, and fritters (eaten for breakfast with fruit preserves) or corn (Mayans for tortillas and tamales) Bammie – cassava starch Breadfruit and bananas – dried and ground into flour for bread.

Meats: Forests and wild game – gibnut or paca (rabbit like rodent), wild ducks, iguanas, iguana eggs, deer, armadillo, peccary

Sea and rivers – conch, shark, sea turtle, lobster, squid, red snapper, shrimp, sea bass, barracuda OR “boil up” a stew made form whatever could be caught that day cooked with coconut milk and spices

The Paca, known as the gibnut in Belize, is a nocturnal rodent. Inhabiting the forest floor, this solitary animal feeds on fallen fruit, leaves and some tubers dug from the ground. The gibnut is most often found near water and are found throughout many habitats of Belize, from river valleys to swamps to dense tropical forest. The gibnut is the most prized game animal of Belize and the Neotropics. They are easily hunted by day with dogs which can sniff out the paca's dens, or during the night with headlamps while they feed. While thriving in Belize's many protected areas, the paca has been hunted to extinction in many parts of its range from Mexico to Southern Brazil.

In many of Belize's protected areas, gibnut can be heard and seen at night. This large rodent makes lots of noise while walking through the dry leaves of the forest or while chewing on the hard shells of the cohune nut, one of its favorite foods. The gibnut also produces a hoarse bark or a deep rumbling when disturbed.

Vegetables and fruit:

Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkin, avocados, guava, mangoes, pawpaws, bananas, plantain, grapefruit, breadfruit

Drinks:

Fresh fruit – combined with water or ice

Soft drinks – produce their own

Rum & Beer – Belikin is the local brand

Garifuna – cashew wine and “local dynamite” made from rum and coconut milk

Energy drink: Chicory-flavored coffee; Mint and hot water for a tea

Did you know?

The pawpaw is the only temperate member of the tropical Annonaceae family and is the largest tree fruit native to the United States. Pawpaws grow wild in the rich, mesic hardwood forests of 25 states in the eastern United States ranging from northern Florida to southern Ontario (Canada) and as far west as eastern Nebraska. Pawpaws flourish in the deep, rich fertile soils of river-bottom lands where they grow as understory trees or thicket-shrubs. In addition to the tropical Annona relatives, there are eight members of the Asimina genus that are native to the extreme southeastern states of Florida and Georgia.

PawPaw

Eaten in-hand as fresh fruit or processed into desserts. Twigs are source of annonaceous acetogenins which are being used in the development of anti-cancer drugs and botanical pesticides.

Franesca – a soup eaten only at Easter, the most representative dish because it contains ingredients from so many regions. It includes fish, eggs, cheese, corn, onions, peanuts, rice, squash, beans, lentils, and peas, but no meat.

Serviche – raw fish or seafood marinated in lemon or lime juice and served with onions and peppers.

Rice and plantains or bananas, boiled or deep fried.

Cassava (a food and a drink) and river fish, including enormous catfish and the fierce but delicious piranha.

Soups and stew in the highlands – range from thin with potato, chicken, or meat, to barley and quinoa soups.

Locro or Chupe – which is a thick cram soup.

Stews are made from corn, plantains, potatoes, cabbages, onions, and other vegetables.

Hot sauce – is made from chili peppers, or aji, spices up many stews.

Cuy or guinea pig – at one time provided the main source of meat in the Andes ad was kept by indigenas in their homes, but today it is a delicacy.

Hot and Spicy, or at least have a variety of peppers served as a side dish. An intact fruit of a small domesticated Habanero was found in Pre-ceramic levels in Guitarrero Cave of the Peruvian highlands. The chile was dated to 6500 B.C., making it evident that mankind has been growing these fiery fruits for at least 85 centuries!

Dishes:Papas a la juancaina – potatoes with a spicy sauce is a favorite dish

Coastal dishes are based on fish

Serviche – raw fish marinated in lemon juuice with onions and red peppers

Escabeche – fish with onions, hot green peppers, red peppers, shrimp, eggs, olives, and cumin

Highland dishes include potatoes and corn

Soups and stews – cooked for many hours and containing many types of vegetables, with pieces of pork, chicken, or beef

Tamales – boiled corn dumplings filled with meat and wrapped in a banana leaf

Guinea pig – a delicacy that is raised in Native homes for special occasions

Chinese restaurants (chifa) – easily found

Aymara people: have domesticated animals such as sheep, cows, donkey, and mules, plants such as barley, beans, and onions; plus cereals quinoa and cañawa, potatoes, and totora reed that grows in the shallow water of Lake Titicaca’s bays. The roots and shoots of the plant are delicate and white. The plant is used to feed people and cattle. The reed is also very useful for making things such as reed bundle rafts (balsas).

Small gardens are kept by Native American women where their primary crop is yucca.

totora reed

Staples: potatoes, quinoa (a cereal rich in protein), rice, bread

Little meat is eaten, though pork, chicken or mutton (the meat of a mature sheep) are added to several dishes.

Varies region to region:

Highlands: soups and stews are popular and can include all kinds of vegetables and chunks of chicken, pork, or occasionally beef. They are very spicy, since strong aji peppers are often cooked with the dish or added as a sauce. On the table there is always a small dish of locoto another very strong pepper, which can be green, yellow, or red.

Lowlands: yucca (a tuber which takes the place of a potato), rice, bananas and other fruits are the most common foods, mainly because they are locally grown.

*Because of the heat, which would spoil fresh meat without refrigeration, beef is often cut into think slices and dried in the sun. It is fried and served with onions, tomatoes, or green pepper sauce.

Bananas – often the first meal of the day; are fried

Potatoes: more than 200 potatoes originated in the Andes, these peoples have developed a unique way to preserve them long after harvest has finished. The potatoes are spread on the ground, and women step on them to press out water. The potatoes are then left to dry in the hot sun and freezing night air until they become small and hard. In this state they are know as chuño, or tunta, they only need to be soaked in water and boiled in order to be used like fresh potato.

Quinoa: pronounced keen-wahDuring the period when the Incas thrived in Bolivia, relay teams of barefoot runners would carry news from one region to another, often covering 150 miles in a 24-hour period. Bolivia's elevation is over 12,000 feet above sea level, an altitude where oxygen is considerably reduced. How did the runners perform this unbelievable feat? A practice still prevalent with today's Bolivian athletes involves combining coca leaves and ash from the quinoa plant and holding it in the cheek. The combination increases the body's oxygen because quinoa ash releases alkaloids in the coca.

Quinoa is a member of the goosefoot family, and yields a supergrain. Quinoa is an annual herb that has been cultivated for thousands of years in the west Andes Mountains of South America. It was a staple food of the ancient Inca Indians and their Empire. Quinoa was such an important food of the ancient Incas that they considered it the "Mother Grain."

Quinoa is a plant that is very hardy and drought resistant. It bears clusters of seed on top of the plant that can range in color from white, orange, red, purple, to black, depending on the variety. The ancestral seed color of Quinoa is black and the other colors have been obtained from mutations and breeding. The Quinoa seed, about the size of millet, resembles the grain of some cereal grasses, but it is not a grass.

Quinoa is a very versatile food plant that can be cooked many ways and tastes excellent. The green leaves can be used in salads or cooked like spinach. The grain can be sprouted, like alfalfa; used as a hot cereal; used in soups, casseroles and souffles; used in the place of almost any other grain, including rice; ground into flour; and toasted.

One cup has more calcium and protein than a quart of milk. Ounce for ounce it has as much protein as meat, contains all of the essential amino acids, and has high amounts of iron and calcium. All in all, it comes closer than any other food in supplying all of the nutrients needed for life.

Most people eat a lot of meat and fish

Fruit is plentiful but seasonal

Traditional dishes:

Sopa Paraguay – dumpling made of ground corn and cheese

Chipas – a corn bread flavored with lots of cheese and a small amount of anise (a licorice-flavored herb)

Native Americans – eat by gathering natural foods and really like land tortoises

Drink:

When men gather to talk they pass around a small gourd filled with Paraguayan tea, or mate, which is known as terere when cold water is used. It is sucked through a metal straw called a bombilla

Staples: Meat, dairy products, fish, fruit, cheese, salamis, sausages, and hams are locally produced and are plentiful at the market stalls.

Lunch in the city such as Montevideo: parrilladas – very like a large barbeque, metal grills the size of doors are propped up over open charcoal fires at angles, on the grills are huge pieces of beef, pork, mutton, veal, and spicy sausages

Pizzas & pastas

Drinks:Yerba Mate – Legend of the Guarini Indians: There is an old Guarani Indian legend that relates the origins of the Guarani in the Forests of Paraguay. According to the legend, the ancestors of the Guarani at one time in the distant past crossed a great and spacious ocean from a far land to settle in the Americas. They found the land both wonderful yet full of dangers; through diligence and effort they subdued the land and inaugurated a new civilization.

The Guarani tribes looked forward to the coming of a tall, fair-skinned, blue eyed, bearded God (Pa' i Shume) who, according to legend, descended from the skies and expressed his pleasure with the Guarani. He brought religious knowledge and imparted to them certain agricultural practices to be of benefit during times of drought and pestilence as well as on a day-to-day basis. Significantly, He unlocked the secrets of health and medicine and revealed the healing qualities of native plants. One of the most important of these secrets was how to harvest and prepare the leaves of the Yerba Mate tree. The Mate beverage was meant to ensure health, vitality and longevity.

It was like this: the tribe would clear part of the forest, plant manioc and corn, but after four or five years the soil would be worn out and the tribe had to move on. Tired of such moving, an old Indian refused to go on and preferred to stay where he was. The youngest of his daughters, beautiful Jary, had her heart split: to go on with the tribe's youths, or remain isolated, helping the old man until death would take him to Ivy-Marae's peace. Despite her friends' pleas, she ended up staying with her father.

This love gesture deserved a prize. One day, a unknown shaman arrived at the ranch and asked Jary what she wanted in order to feel happy. The girl did not ask anything. But the old man asked: "I want new forces to go on and take Jary to the tribe that went away".

The shaman gave him a very green plant, perfumed with kindness, and told him to plant it, pick the leaves, dry them on fire, grind them, put the pieces in a gourd, add cold or hot water and sip the infusion. "In this new beverage, you will find an healthy company, even in the sad hours of the cruelest solitude." After which he went away.

Thus was born and grew the "caá-mini," whence came the caá-y beverage that white people would later adopt under the name of Chimarrão in Brazil and Yerba Mate in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Sipping the green sap, the old man recovered, gained new strengths and was able to resume their long journey toward meeting their kinsmen. They were received with the greatest joy. And the whole tribe adopted the habit of drinking the green herb, bitter and sweet, that gave strength and courage and would comfort friendships at the sad hours of utmost solitude.

Yerba Mate cont.

MEAT! Meat! Meat! Asado con cuero – beef barbecued in its hide over an open fire, is the traditional food of the gaucho (cowboys of Argentina)

A variety of cooking styles because the country is a melting pot.

Noquis / Pasta and potato dumplings – Italians brought

Morcillas / Black puddings & blood sausages – German & European immigrants

Locro – a thick soup with meat, beans, potatoes, & peppers – Native Indians

Empanadas – pastries stuffed with meat or seafood

Pucheros – stews of chicken or other meats with vegetables

Drinks: Yerba Mate – a hot drink made form the bitter leaves of a shrub called Paraguay holly, a major crop of northeastern Argentina. The drink is named from a Native American word mati, which means gourd. It is still drunk from a gourd shaped container. It is sipped through a silver straw called a bombilla, which strains off the leaves. It is seen as a mark of old fashioned hospitality. In certain areas it is sweetened with sugar & flavored with herbs or spices, such as anise seed. Other areas drink it bitter. A drink of the gauchos.

Southern Argentina produces olives, citrus fruits, and grapes.

Wine – Produce a good quality for hundreds of years, and the grape harvest is celebrated in this area with a special festival to bless the wines

In cities such as Buenos Aires cafés are the center of social life.

Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni is the oldest coffee shop in the wholecountry. With a very rich history, it is visited at all times by intellectuals, politicians and artists. http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/

Recipe for Making an Argentine

Add in the following order:- one Indian woman - two spanish horsemen - three mestizo gauchos- one English traveler - half a Basque worker - and a pinch of African

Allow to cook for 300 centuries at low temperature. Before serving, quickly add five Italians, a Russian Jew, a German, a Galician, three-fourths a Lebanese, and finally a whole Frenchman.

Allow to sit for 50 years, then serve.

If there is a single food that can represent Argentina, it is beef. The rich grassland plains, the pampas, rest in the shadows of the Andes and feed the people not only their wheat and corn, but also the grazing land for the cattle and sheep. Argentine beef is highly prized for its flavor and tenderness. The cattle were introduced in the 16th century, and were running wild in vast herds less than 200 years later. As with the US, the romantic image of the cowboy, or "gaucho," pervades the culture. The cooking method of choice in Argentina is, without a doubt, grilling. Beef steaks, sweetbreads and kidneys crackle over the flame, along with vegetables, fish and sausages. The tender skirtsteak, the churrasco, and the bistek, or flank steak, are some of the most popular cuts. Ropa viejo ("old clothes") slowly simmers less tender cuts until they can be shredded easily.

"A vegetarian in Argentina is like a duck out of water." - anonymous

Fish is the most widely eaten food – lots of coastline

Fruits and Vegetables are abundant and are grown in the central valley

Country families grow plantains, bananas, potatoes, beans, corn, fruits, vegetables, yucca, cassava and raise livestock and dairy cattle

Poor: most common meal is mute, a soup with boiled corn, cabbage, squash, and potatoes. It is often the first and only meal of the day until evening. Some Indians chew coca leaves to sustain them during the day

Dishes: Porotos granados – made of corn, squash, beans, onion, garlic

Empanadas – pastries filled with eggs, olives, cheese, seafood, or finely chopped meats: often eaten as snacks

Mixture of Spanish and Native Indian and African Foods:

Native: Sweet potatoes, Cassava, Yams, Peanuts, Chili, Tobacco, Corn

Spanish Settlers: Cash crops, vegetables, meat and spices such as coffee, coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, oranges, plantains, potatoes, onions, sheep, cattle, pigs, hens, goats, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, coriander, cumin, chiliTaino Foods: corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, peanuts, starchy roots, birds, iguanas, guinea pigs, oysters, clams, turtles and other seafood / bread from smashed cassava root , tea from campana tree (hallucinogenic effect)

Fruit: custard apple, quenepa (Spanish lime), hog plum, genipap, plantains,and bananas

Breakfast: cities – boiled or fried eggs and coffeecountry – ground cereal with hot milkLunch and Supper: rice and beans (white beans, kidney beans,garbanzo beans, and pigeon peas) cooked in a sofrito sauce

Mealtime

Because of work schedules: no real siestasLunch at fondas (roadside stalls)

Pork dishes: cuchifrito (internal organs), mondongo (pork tripe with sofrito sauce), gandinga (liver, heart, kidneys mixed with vegetables), lechon asado (served at Christmas spit roasted), chicharron (dry crisp skin a delicacy)

Steak dishes: carne mechada, piononos, al caldero

Fish dishes: salted dried codfish, serenata (fish not as often eaten)

Others: pastelillos (stuffed plantain pies), flan de coco, bienmesabe (coconut sauce)Important IndustruiesRum: from the development of the sugar industry

Coffee: less important because of production costs. Yauco coffee (stronger than ours) served half coffee and half milk, it is served at small roadside stalls more as a stimulant than as a thirst quencher.

Tortilla making: mano = handstone to grind dough on a metate = grinding stone, then fried on a comal = hot griddle

Poor in rural areas: Malnutrition a problem, only get 2/3 of of calories they need Staple diet in rural areas: beans, rice, tortillas (meat, poultry, fish a rare treat) Wealthy city dwellers: vegetables, fruit, poultry, shrimp, lobster, swordfish

Pupusas, national “fast food” filled tortillas are sold at food stalls, markets and small restaurants MealtimeBreakfast: cities – coffee, bread, fruitcountry – coffee and a hot tortilla, sometimes diced and soaked in warm milkLunch: cities – tortillas with rice & beans (not necessarily biggest meal)country – soup, tortillas, rice, corn, or beans, & rarely meat (biggest meal)& siestaSupper: cities – vegetables, rice, beans, tortillas, fish or meatCountry – lighter meal of vegetables, tortillas, beansDrinks: Tic-Tack is a strong spirit made from sugarcane it has been nicknamed the national liquor of El Salvador it is colorless and has a very high alcohol content

Specialties:

Pupusa are small thick corn tortillas filled with sausage, cheese or beans and served hot with salad or salsa.

Tamales – steamed rolls of cornmeal stuffed with shredded meat, peppers, and corn and wrapped in corn husks because they take a great deal of time to prepare they are a dish for special occasions

Sopa de pata – hoof soup, made from the hoof of a cow or an ox, with vegetables and sometimes with beef tripe, although it is made year round it is most popular for holidays and family gatherings

1980-now Costa Rican households cook with wood fuel instead of electricity even when it is available

Staples – Starches, red meat, rice, beans, plantains, & potatoes. Prefer beef and pork to fish. Love sweet pastries, breads, and cakes. Commonly used spices: coriander and mild jalapenos.

Americas + Spain = Olla de carne – beef & vegetable stew made with beef, yucca, potatoes, corn, plantains, squash, and other vegetables

Gallo pinto – breakfast dish consists of black beans, white rice, onions, sweet peppers, & coriander

Ceviche – seafood as an appetizer: shrimp, shellfish, sea bass marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, onion, garlic, coriander

Bocas/Boquitas=Appetizers: made of black beans, chicken stew, or potato chips

Corn (tortillas), Tamales (festival food) filled with tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, sweet peppers, and deer or turkey meat

“Rundown” stew made along coast with available ingredients (*coconut milk)

Fruits: melons, pineapples, mangos, passion fruit, guava, apples, papaya, & rose apple, star apple, breadfruit, coconut pejibaye (must be cooked to eat)

Drinks: Coffee – strong, very sweet, hot milk (even given to kids and babies) Juices, Coconut water by punching hole in it with a machete Refresco – juice with milk or water Horchata – milky drink made from cornmeal and cinnamon Agua dulce – boiled water and brown sugar Alcohol – Chicha & Guaro both from sugarcane (Ginger beer non-alcoholic) MealtimeCampesinos: Breakfast – coffee and gallo pinto with a fried egg, or tortillas and sour cream with dry, white bread. Lunch & Supper – tortillas or white bread, black beans, rice, plantains, and maybe meat or sausage, with agua dulce to drink.

Urban: Breakfast – processed and convenience foods, cereal, egg, juice, white bread and coffee. Lunch – soup, beef steak, plantains, bread or tortillas, salad, cooked vegetables, eggs, milk, fruit dessert, coffee. Supper – sandwiches or leftovers from lunch.

Passion fruit

Staples: White rice, cassava, pineapples, plantains, corn (tortillas), red beans When beans & corn are eaten together they are a complete source of protein. When beans are eaten alone, the body misses out on the essential amino acids that mixing corn with beans provides, thus people eat this for almost every meal.

Most rural families own a cow, from the milk, cuajada, a kind of cottage cheese is made. Milk is not drank as a beverage but they eat the cream, sour cream, & cheese the milk provides.

Rare to have meat, fish is more commonly eaten, fried chicken is a favorite. Few green vegetables. Hot chili peppers are eaten with many meals.

Fruits are eaten for a sweet treat. Fried bananas are a popular snack. Tajadita, or crispy fried banana chips, and sliced green mangoes sprinkled with salt and cumin are sold in bags on the street. Sweet bread is is eaten regularly, on the coast a coconut bread is eaten daily.

Drinks: coffee for every meal (no tea), Culey a very sweet fruit juice drink, Guifiti tea-like drink to detoxify the body, sodas and colas, 4 beers, licuados – milk blended with fruit, very little alcohol (aguardiente – fire water)

               

                               

Cuajada around the world!

Breakfast: red beans and tortillas, eggs, cheese, plantains, salty butter on bread, coffee, homemade cereal with milk. Poor have coffee with bread.

Lunch:Meat if the family can afford it. White rice with pork, beef, or chicken, a soup made of red beans, fish or chicken, and tortillas. Culey is often drunk.

Supper: soup, red beans, eggs, plantains, butter, and tortillas, fried beans with onions eaten with a tortilla, meat is not commonly eaten at this meal.

Dessert:Not eaten because they cannot afford the luxury. If there is one (maybe at a fiesta) sweet cake and ice cream are favorites.

Dulce de rapadura – a candy made from sugarcane juice

Nacatamales – large corn cakes stuffed with vegetables and meat bought in the marketplace

Tapado – stew made with meat or fish, vegetables, and cassava

Sopa de mondongo – stew made with tripe (part of a cow’s stomach)

Baleada – tortilla, refried beans, cheese, and sour cream

Tortillas con quesillo – 2 crisp, fried tortillas with melted white cheese

Mealtime

Staples: (SPICY) rice, corn, beans, coffee, potatoes, fish, shrimp, lobster, marlin, sea bass, snapper, chicken, beef, yucca, cilantro, onions, peppers, tomatoes, pineapples, coconuts, papaya, avocados, watermelon, citrus fruits

Sea turtle eggs – close to extinction Iguana – eggs and meat: close to extinction = hatch and rear three different species of iguana

Breakfast: thick, deep-fried tortillas with a white cheese; sautéed liver, garlic and onions; and fresh rolls or bread. Urban areas also eggs. Coffee.

Lunch: soup, chicken or steak with a mixture of cooked rice and red kidney beans or pigeon peas, salad.

Supper: meat covered with a spicy sauce, rice and salad

After dinner= coffee such as espresso

Dessert: usually fruit indulge in cake, chocolate mousse, pie, cheesecake.

Drinks: Beer= chief industrial product, 3 local favorites: Panama, Soberna, Cristal Balbo Panamanians also like rum

Mealtime

Specialties:

Corivna – Sea Bass = Ceviche – appetizer, Bolita de pescado – breaded and fried balls of fish

Ropa vieja – beef, green peppers, spices, plantains, and rice

Empanadas – fried meat pies

Lomo relleno – steak stuffed with spices and herbs

Soups: Sancocho – chicken, corn, plantains, yucca, coriander leaves, potatoes

Guacho – very liquidy and provides complete nutrition

Desserts:

Sopa borracha – pound cake topped with syrup, rum or brandy, cinnamon raisins, and cloves with whipped cream it is sopa de gloria

Arroz con cacao – chocolate rice pudding

Resbaladera – rice, mlik, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon

Empanadas

Sancocho

A weak economy has caused food shortages for many

Outdoor markets for the freshest food – Mercado Oriental in Managua – biggest, six vendors deep

Goods sold out of homes: common for people who have refrigerators to buy milk in large quantities and sell to their neighbors each day & people who have ovens make tortillas to sell to neighbors

Most working-class people, even in cities, raise a few turkeys, chickens, ducks, or pigs for the eggs or occasionally meat. Almost every backyard has coconut, banana, or mango trees

Staples: rice and beans, fortunate families have cheese, butter, milk and tortillas, and once a week or so a stew or some other special dish

Sharing: Nicos believe that you will have bad luck if others see you being stingy with a special meal, you have to share with everyone who saw you fixing it or anyone who even heard you were fixing it

Vegetables: tomato, cabbage, sweet potato, avocado, yucca Fruits: for juices, jams, sauces. Bananas – porridge, milk shakes and cakes

Outdoor markets for the freshest food Mercado Oriental in Managua biggest, six vendors deep

http://209.15.138.224/inmonica/b_mercado2.htm

ASESINATO DE NINO DE LA CALLE EN NICARAGUA

4 de junio de 1998El martes 2 de junio, el joven WILLIAM ADOLFO AGUILAR LOPEZ de 17 años recibió un disparo en la parte de atrás de su cabeza por parte de un hombre adulto no identificado. El hecho ocurrió en el Mercado Oriental de Managua, Nicaragua.William, un joven "huelepega", fue mortalmente herido por una bala que entró por detras de su oreja derecha y salió por su frente. Fue encontrado -todavia con vida- por dos policias que estaban fuera de servicio y quienes también trabajan como guardias privados en algunas tiendas de dicho mercado. Uno de los policias llevó a William al Hospital Alemán, donde no aceptaron darle servicios médicos al muchacho. El joven fue transferido al Hospital Militar,donde fue atendido; pero murió poco despues de ingresar. William, quien habia estado varias veces en el programa Quincho Barrilete, fue enterrado el 3 de junio.En este momento parece que las investigaciones policiales se están llevando a cabo correctamente, y la madre del joven hizo su declaración formal el dia de ayer. Aparentemente habia otro joven con Willian, de quien se dice habia robado la billetera a un hombre que se encontraba ahí con su esposa y dos niños. Este hombre sacó su arma y le disparó a William en el momento en que este salia corriendo del lugar.

Fun & Friendly or Dangerous & Deadly

Drinks: Refrescos: fruit juice, sugar, and water: locals can tell what the flavor is by the color- mango is light orange, papaya is yellow, and tamarind is brown; they are sold with crushed ice in a plastic bag tied at the top, people hold the bag in one hand, bite off a corner, and suck the drink out.

Pinol: toasted cornmeal mixed with water or coconut milk and a flavoring like cinnamon or ginger, with cacao it is called pinolillo: commonly served in a hollowed-out gourd

Breakfast: two slices of bread with butter(if available), an orange or a banana, heavily sugared coffee Lunch: beans and rice (or chicken), leftover bread from breakfast, cheese, fruit drink made from lemons or oranges picked form the backyard and heavily sweetened Dinner: gallo pinto, tortillas, fried cheese

Gallo pinto – painted rooster, a mixture of red beans, rice, onions, garlic, and seasonings all fried in oil – named because of the colors of the beans and rice: families eat it at least once a day

Mealtime

Indians - Staples: Corn (tortillas), beans, squash & meat rarely eaten

Urban Areas –Guacamole (mashed avocados & onions) on rolls made from steamed corn dough and filled with beans, chicken, and hamburgers

Breakfast: eggs, beans, and tortillas, with sour cream sauce, bananas: for some even mosh which is a mixture of oats and milk, beans may be eaten

Popol Vuh chilis – were believed to be made by the gods out of corn, a bowl of these raw or pickled are always served at restaurants

Chilies are essential in the food, they are used for sauces, many levels of taste and heat are possible, restaurants include a guide to how hot each dish is according to the amount of chilies it contains

Drinks: Coffee is drunk with sugar and is weak, Tea without milk, Fruit and vegetable juices, Beer, Cocoa, Aguardiente is a strong sugarcane drink known as “White Eye”(Indians sometimes pour a small amount of it over the statue of the saint they are praying to), Ron or rum is the most common alcoholic drink which is sometimes poor quality and mixed with soft drinks.

Comedors – small inexpensive eating establishments found near

the main market, serve rice & beans

Frying plantains

The World: Corn, tomatoes, chocolate, vanilla, varieties of squash such as pumpkins, peanuts, assorted beans, avocados, chilies, guava, coconuts, pineapples, papayas, turkeys

Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn CornTortillas – a table is incomplete without them Chilies – the smaller the hotter

Traditional Meals: tacos, enchiladas, tamales, quesadillas, tortillas, chalupas, gorditas, flautas

Chiles rellenos – long green peppers are stuffed with cheese or ground meat, dipped in egg batter, fried, then simmered in a bland tomato sauce

Chile en nogada – stuffing is ground pork, and chilis are decorated with sauce, seeds, and parsley to make the red, white, and green colors of the Mexican flag: it is made to celebrate Mexican Independence Day for a two-month period beginning in mid-August

Drinks: Coffee (high-quality coffee is grown in Mexico), served at the end of a meal, not drank on an empty stomach, very strong and served with a lot of sugar. Cafe con leche – a blend of strong black coffee and hot milk served in a tall, thick glass

Hot chocolate – pre-Spanish times, breakfast and supper, touch of cinnamon, Aztecs used honey and cinnamon instead of sugar

Atole – basis in corn (masa/corn flour), dilute masa in water and boil it until it is as thick as a milkshake

Alcoholic – made from fruits and cacti, Tequila (mescal) & pulque – agave plant

Breakfast: 6am–8am coffee with tamales or a piece of bread or pastry Brunch: 11am-Noon eggs with meat or tortillas, with coffee & milk or fruit juices Lunch: 2 or 3pm soup, rice or pasta, beans, tortillas, or bread, dessert, fruit juice or beer (siesta time) Merienda/High tea: between 7 and 8pm hot chocolate, coffee, or atole, some pastries and tamales Dinner: 7:30pm-Midnight (9-10pm) a light meal leftovers form lunch

Mealtime

Tiendas

small grocery stores

Conasupos

government owned stores

Supermercados

large stores

Fondas

Food stalls

Dishes:

Pabellon criollo – shredded meat with onions and green pepper, beans, rice and fried plantains

Arepas – are small flat pancakes of fried or baked corn or corn-flour dough, can be filled with beef, cheese, avocados, tuna, and beans: a food of the poor people who eat several a day

Huallacas – corn pancakes filled with chicken, beef, pork, onion, garlic, olives, raisins, tomatoes, green pepper, capers, and sugar and spiced with cumin, parsley, and black peppers. They are wrapped in plantain leaves, which are not to b eaten, and boiled. A Christmas specialty because they take a long time to prepare.

Moriche Palm is a part of the diet on some of the islands in the Orinoco delta – flour for making bread, grubs which they eat, and seeds that they prepare a sweet honey dish, wine, and the sap becomes a drink called majobo.

Staples: cassava, plantains, and bananas, nuts, seeds, plants for medicine

Siestas are still a way of life.

Arepas

Bahia area has been called “Africa in Exile”- Typical food of the coast has its origins in Africa. Women of the coastal area cook with oil from the dende palm, coconut milk, coconut, and sugarcane syrup, as well as cashew nuts, corn, and cassava flour. Many of the dishes prepared by these people have religious connections as well as being a meal. Certain dishes are made for individual ancient gods and are left as gifts for them at their shrines on a feast day. Caruru which is made with dried shrimp, peanuts, and ginger is offered to Xango, the god of thunder. Acaraje containing garlic, dried shrimp, and dende oil is sold by street vendors in Salvador and given as an offering to Iansa, goddess of the tempest.Amazon Forest Area: cassava is the staple diet of the tribes that live in this area. Cassava is a poisonous tuber, but it can be made edible by soaking it in water, grating it, and squeezing it through a tube woven from palm or vine. It is then used to make bread. Other crops include corn and yams. People collect food from the forest in the forms of plants, fruit, nuts, honey and spices. Fish is an important part of their diet as well as forest animals of all sizes.

Cassava - [kuh-SAH-vuh] Though native to South America, the majority of cassava now comes from Africa, where it's an important staple. Also called manioc and yuca, the cassava is a root that ranges from 6 to 12 inches in length and from 2 to 3 inches in diameter. It has a tough brown skin which, when peeled, reveals a crisp, white flesh. There are many varieties of cassava but only two main categories, sweet and bitter. The bitter cassava is poisonous unless cooked. Cassava is available year-round in Caribbean and Latin American markets. It should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days. Grated, sun-dried cassava is called cassava meal. Cassava is also used to make cassareep and tapioca.

Cassava

A traveler of the Albert Schweitzer School for the Humanities detailed an experience with cassava.

An early morning walk takes us to the fields on the outskirts of the village. First we help one of the women hoe in her freshly sewn rice seed. Then the people demonstrate the technique of harvesting  mature cassava tubers. Loaded with the long, potato-like tubers we head back. Each cassava tuber is washed, trimmed, and peeled. We all take turns grating the cassava to form a wet starchy pulp. The pulp is drained, squeezed and dried overnight in conical woven bags called matapie. The following morning we pound the cassava cake into a course tapioca flour. The flour is sifted and sprinkled onto a round metal baking sheet. The final product tastes like pizza crust.  We eat some later coated with piles of delicious  local banana-peanut butter.

http://crh.choate.edu/science/Morris/projects/Updated%20version/6.%20Jaw%20Jaw/Cassava_bread/making_cassava_bread.htm

Cassava