We've shared a lot so far about what we've been doing, but we've left you hanging a bit about what we've been eating. So sit back, relax, grab an apple or piece of celery, and read on.
Full disclosure: We are eating well here in the Amazon. Given our work day starts at 7 am, we've fallen into a bit of a routine by getting up at 6 and making coffee while we watch the sun rise over the river and the monkeys wake up in the trees. Truth be told it isn't just instant coffee. It's fancy. I enjoy using the little cappachino machine in the voli (volunteer) kitchen and I've mastered the role of barista (might be a summer gig at Starbucks in my future). The steamed powered milk is a frothy bit of goodness to start the day!
At 9:00, after we take care of the animals, breakfasts are provided by the staff cook, Vero. She works her magic daily, whipping up different breakfasts for 20 - 30 people, including fried plantain and egg, boiled plantain and egg, fried yuca and egg, bread and egg, and on Wednesdays my favourite, fried empanadas with jam. And if you feel you need a little fibre to go with the egg or plantain, you can always make yourself porridge. Bagged ketchup and mayonnaise are also always sitting on the table, squeezable and ready, if you so desire. Not sure how it works, but the ketchup and mayonnaise are not refrigerated here. Seems ok as far as we know, and I've managed to dodge diarrhea after 4 weeks!
Lunches are also master-minded by Vero as well. There is usually some variation of rice and chicken, with a vegetable like cooked broccoli, cauliflower, or a cabbage or lettuce salad for good measure. Often beans or lentils round out the lunch. Last Friday, Vero whipped up a yummy beef sauce for lunch. When I asked her how she made it, she curtly replied that is was a "sauce secreto". Guess I won't be making that when we get home. Ketchup and bagged mayonnaise remain an option for lunch. Everyday we also have DELICIOUS homemade juice from local fruits. We are spoiled.
Now for the suppers. A volunteer task on the rotation is “cena”, where you cook supper with one or two others for all of the volunteers. This can be quite a challenge given the size of the volunteer group, the limited kitchen and what groceries remain after the biweekly food delivery.
Every second Friday a “viveros” (grocery) delivery comes by truck to Ahuano. We send a canoe and volunteers to load it onto the boat and bring it back to Amazoonico. Much of this is in bulk - 50kg of flour, 100 kg of rice…etc. Everyone chips in to bring everything up 100 steps to the kitchen. As the end of the 2 weeks approaches, the stores have been depleted and creativity kicks in!
And let me tell you given the diversity of cultures many restaurant caliber dishes have been served from seemingly flour, oatmeal, beans, rice, veggies and eggs! For example, we've had:
- gnocchi with a homemade tomato sauce
- pasta with a peanut sauce
- fried corn tortillas with veggies
- homemade lasagna
- mushroom risotto
And there is often dessert!!! People on their days off like to bake. Hooray. We've enjoyed a few banana cakes, German cookies by Cristina, Welsh cakes thanks to Maria, cinnamon buns by Kaja, peach cobbler, pancakes with maple syrup (yes, we brought it from home), donuts courtesy of Adam, and tiramisu. You read that correctly, Andrew made tiramisu and not just once, but twice!
It's been super fun figuring out creative dishes with limited groceries. And kinda like meals when camping, everything tastes so much better in the Amazon. Perhaps that's because we've carried it in off of a canoe delivery, or we're so hungry from all of the physical work.