My host mother claims marmalade, of all things, is absolutely necessary. Something about the antibiotics and my liver.
Entonces, mi desayuno:
Whole wheat crackers with plum marmalade. Banana. Cinnamon tea.
At noon, I went to the ridiculously amazing apartment of my program director for a "reunion" about our experiences studying abroad so far. We were promised lunch. It was delicious but strange:
About 20 of us were given 20 minutes to stand around a too-small wooden table and eat fondue. There were four pots, two with oil, two with gruyere. The oil was for the meat: partially cooked steak, chicken, and tiny hotdogs and sausages, to be finished off in the pots and then dipped in a variety of condiments, including a spicy thin reddish sauce (finally, some actual HEAT in food in Argentina), ketchup, mustard, salsa golf (sort of like Russian dressing but I should find out what's actually in it) and what is that creamy yellowish sauce with the French name? Obviously that could describe many things but I feel like this one is very common. Not Hollandaise. Maybe Provencal? It was for the chicken, specifically.
The gruyere was for chunks of bread as well as an array of boiled/steamed vegetables--brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli--plus raw cherry tomatoes.
Dessert was fondue, too: strawberries, bananas, and ladyfingers in your choice of chocolate or dulce de leche.
Then, I met my best Buenos Aires friend Annie to take her for a badly needed post-hangover meal. She made the mistake of ordering "risotto" off the menu of the very standard neighborhood cafe. It was not risotto but rice, chock full of overcooked vegetables, chunks of shredded chicken, and--inexplicably--noodles, seasoned with some kind of bland packaged curry but yet still topped with parmesan...bizarro. She pushed it aside and ordered our favorite and least healthy B.A. snack: medialunas made into sandwiches of jamon y queso, toasted a little, panini-style. SO INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS and heart clogging. Meanwhile, I had the overpriced afternoon special: a cup of black tea, two medialunas (without jamon or queso), and a copita (basically a shooter) of fresh OJ. The orange juice here is really, really delicious--tart and sweet and just so much more flavorful than any I've had in the US--it really bursts. Is it because the oranges are different? No se.
Fatties that we are, after all this we headed to Freddo, one of the biggest and best helado chains in the city, for the Monday-Friday until 6 pm special--a small cone with two flavors for $6.50 (2 US dollars and some change). I had maracuya (passion fruit) and banana split (banana base with flakes of chocolate and ribbons of dulce de leche); Annie got banana split and dulce de leche con brownie.
Ricisimo, but I might have to skip dinner...I'll let you know.
3 comments:
YAY!!! Welcome back! :) Yum yum yum. Sounds so good, as usual. Cinnamon tea is interesting - can you describe? I'm sorry that you are (were?) sick! I hope you're feeling better. Do they have apple butter in B.A.? And what is a medialuna? I love that you went for helado after your meal...I was drooling reading about it. :)
I think the tea bags just have cinnamon mixed in with the leaves--it's actually not that good. Much more exciting is this honey tea I found, which tastes SO much like honey, but I found out that in addition to honey in "dust" form, the mixture in the bag includes aspartame. Bust.
I have not seen apple butter, but I should look! They do have really interesting marmalade flavors--like carrot-mandarin-ginger.
Medialunas are half-moons: croissants! They are literally EVERYWHERE here, in restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, kiosks, and I can't get enough.
Just saw your other apple butter comment--I salute the cheddar cheese move, I've always loved, too, just eating a really fresh apple with a chunk of Cabot's Extra Sharp, and it tastes really good on hearty whole wheat bread, or pancakes or even waffles. Yogurt sounds good--or cottage cheese.
Also, have you ever heard of apple tatin butter? I don't know what the difference is, but we get some after every apple season as a gift from a foodie family friend.
Post a Comment