Ancient History, Volume X

Way back in 2007, Ness and I were emailing each other at work multiple times a day very occasionally because we're both total professionals. And whenever one of us was having a bad day, it was invariably followed by "Ugh, I should just quit my job and run away to South America!". And then one day, we decided that maybe our jokey statement wasn't such a terrible idea after all. (Except that Ness failed to follow through on the quitting her job part... Hmmmmm...) Which is how we ended up at the travel agent in 2008, forking over a bazillionty dollars with every visit. Ness left a month before I did to see Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. I was then to meet her in Peru for a nine week trip through South and Central America, culminating with four days in Las Vegas. These - to paraphrase Law & Order - are those stories.

Flying from Melbourne to Lima is...complicated. And more than a little time consuming. (I'm just going to assume it's the same now as it was in 2008)

I'm pretty sure the flight path to Chile wasn't that wonky at the end. I just can't draw straight lines.

First, I flew to Sydney at stupid o'clock in the morning. Then boarded a plane to Auckland. Arrival in Auckland introduced me to a truly amazing New Zealand quarantine video. I've tried very hard to find a copy of it over several years (read: I occasionally search Youtube for it), without success. Basically, it's talking about the quarantine procedures, and features a woman having her hand luggage inspected. From her hand luggage, she pulls an entire salami, a wheel of cheese, and A PINEAPPLE WITH THE TOP STILL ON IT. I have no explanation for this video, but it was astonishingly brilliant.

Anyway, I eventually made it to Santiago, where I was to meet Ness. By that time, I was jetlagged, starving (and had no local currency), and attempting to work out what the little old Chilean lady next to me was saying when she periodically tried to engage me in small talk. Eight hour layovers in these circumstances = no bueno. Eventually Ness turned up, and spent the last of her Chilean currency shoving a hamburger into me so that I didn't pass out (although I *did* nearly fall asleep at the table!) before we had to board our flight to Lima.

Arrival in Lima brought us to one of the world's longest Immigration queues. Four international flights had landed at once, and there were six queues waiting to get INTO the queue for Immigration. It was insane. And took over an hour to get through. But eventually, we got through Immigration and the bizarre Customs system of "push a button and if the light goes red, put your bag through an x-ray machine that no one's manning", and to our hotel.

The following day taught us that "el pan tostado con mantequilla y mermelada" sounds FAR more exotic than it actually is (toast with butter and jam), and that supermarkets in Peru sell shrinkwrapped suckling pig. Also that people like to parasail off cliffs in Lima.

The day after that taught us that museum signs that have been translated using Babelfish are HILARIOUS, and that downtown Lima is pretty:

And that taxi drivers in Lima are FUCKING INSANE. The trip from downtown Lima to our hotel in Miraflores took place at speeds between 80km/h and 120km/h (I know, because I could see the speedometer!), with no seatbelts, and periodic almost-side-swiping-nearby-vehicles. There was much screaming.

The day after that taught us that papaya juice smells like vomit, that Inca Kola is the nectar of the gods, that I can't eat a chicken drumstick (Ness found this hysterical. I still don't know how to eat a drumstick. Her description got as far as "slide your knife between the tendon and the bone" and I started gagging...), and that catacombs in monasteries are cool.

While the catacombs were cool, the number of pigeons here
freaked me the hell out. (I have bird phobia.)

And the day after THAT taught us that you shouldn't get your legs waxed at a Peruvian beauty parlour on a whim, because you'll be there for 45 minutes while the wax is melted in a saucepan on a hot plate. And you'll spend the next 24 hours picking wax off your legs (ahem, VANESSA). Also, that if there's an archaeological site within spitting distance, I'll want to go there:

Huaca Pucllana, for anyone who cares.

Oh, and we also left Lima with our tour group, via the first of our many MANY bus rides. This one was to Pisco. We also discovered that pisco (the drink, not the city) tastes like lighter fluid. Mmmm, lighter fluid...

Next up, Peru's answer to the Galapagos, dune buggying, mummies, and the tiniest aeroplane of ever.

K xx

Challenge recipe 15: Chicken fajitas

I realised the other day that the last time I made anything for my Cookbook Challenge was waaaaaaaaaaay back in JUNE when I made Portuguese custard tarts and raspberry souffles in the one weekend. I figured it was about time I rectified my slacking and make use of my cookbooks again!

I bought this book a couple of years ago, but I think the only recipes I've ever made are some kind of salsa and guacamole. I actually cheated a little on the recipe - you're meant to make the tortillas from scratch. But I was trying to make dessert at the same time. Plus, I didn't want to buy an entire container of lard (yes, seriously. And EEEEEUW.) for the small quantity the tortilla recipe called for. So I cheated and bought pre-made ones. They were fine, not surprisingly!

Anyway, here's the book:

And here's what you'll need:

Start by zesting the limes. If you're lucky and live in somewhere that's NOT Australia, you probably won't be sobbing over the amount of money you had to spend buying 2 limes as you zest (Seriously - they're $2.50 EACH):

Once you've finished zesting, stick the limes in the microwave for 15 seconds or so, and then squeeze them. When it comes to limes, I never bother with a juicer. I just squeeze them straight into the bowl:

Then add two tablespoons of caster sugar...

...a teaspoon of dried oregano...

...a teaspoon of cinnamon...

...and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Mix it all together. Trim and slice up the three chicken breasts, and dump them in to marinate for at least half an hour:

While the meat is marinating, thinly slice the three capsicums and the onion:

When the meat has had its half an hour of marinating, heat a couple of spoonfuls of oil in a frying pan and dump the meat in, marinade and all:

Let it cook for about five minutes, then add in the vegetables:

Cook for another couple of minutes. While it's cooking, prepare some toppings:

I had intended to use mashed avocado, but all the avocados at the supermarket were rock hard, so we had to make do with store bought guacamole... Oh, and the cheese is not included in the list of toppings suggested by the book. But this is me we're talking about, so cheese is pretty much obligatory! Feel free to leave it out.

Dump the chicken mixture into the bowl and forget to wipe down the sides before you take a photo make it look all purdy:

Serve thusly!

The verdict? They're pretty freaking awesome. It's quite a bit different to your stereotypical fajitas. It tastes clean and fresh thanks to the lime juice, rather than having that smoky taste that fajitas tend to have. The cinnamon adds unexpected flavour over the lime. And veggies were quite moist and juicy rather than having that slightly caramelised outside crunch. I guess that's the difference when there's a marinade involved rather than a dry spice mixture! The next time I make it, I might try not including the dregs of the marinade and see what happens. I might also try cooking the veggies first, taking them out of the pan, cooking the chicken and *then* combining it at the last minute to see if it'll retain some of the crunch.

Basically? It's really quick and easy. The marinade took about five minutes to make, and you'd have to chop the veggies and the meat even if you were using the packet spice mix. Sure, you have to allow half an hour for the meat to marinate. But it's totally worth it. Oh, and don't replace the limes with lemons. Sure, they may be four times the price for something half the size. But you can really taste that gorgeous, tropical, lime flavour in the end product.

Give them a go and let me know what you think!!

K xx

FINALLY! Also, nom

Remember back during the grand celebration of Kirsti-mas when we tried to go to Mamasita, which doesn't take bookings and we got there at 6.30pm and were told that we wouldn't get a table until 9.00pm? Oh, you DON'T remember every single thing I've ever mentioned in the past? Huh... ;)

Since that experience, I'd kind of forgotten about Mamasita. But then last weekend, I was arranging to meet up for lunch with my good friend Chelle, and suggested that we go to Salsa's for delicious Mexi-crinkle fries Mexican food. As her office is just around the corner from Mamasita, she suggested that perhaps we should go there and have some REAL Mexican food rather than eating at a food court. GENIUS!!

I figured that at lunchtime, the crowds might be less intense than they are in the evenings. And I thought I'd been proved correct when I got there at 11.58am and there were only four people waiting for the doors to open. But by about 12.10pm, the place was starting to fill up and by the time we got our food, it was absolutely packed.

So the moral of that little story? Try for lunch rather than dinner, and get there early either way.

Anyway, the food. It was INCREDIBLE. We started out with this:

Elotes callejeros, otherwise known as chargrilled corn on the cob covered in a chipotle mayonnaise and cheese. With the lime wedge squeezed over the top of it, it was to die for. Incredibly messy, (I think I probably hit three nearby tables with juice when I bit into the corn...) but to die for. I'm sure I came across pretty much this exact thing at a street stall in San Cristobal de las Casas in 2008 and was too much of a chicken to eat something so messy while walking down the street. I've always had a tinge of regret about not getting one in Mexico, so it was nice to finally rectify the situation!

After the corn, we moved on to the tostaditas.

They're just so CUTE! And despite being small, they were pretty filling. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it's a little teeny tiny 5cm-ish fried tortilla, topped with avocado, roasted chicken, chipotle mayonnaise, and cheese. And it was delicious - the avocado perfectly balanced out the chipotle flavour, and the cheese just topped the whole thing off. The logistics of eating them were somewhat troublesome though - do you attempt to shove the whole thing in your mouth at once, or do you bite it in half and risk having the other half of the tortilla crumble and dump the whole thing in your lap? #dilemmastoogreatforaMonday

I'm so glad I was able to finally go (after the immense disappointment of April's attempted visit), and I'm definitely going to go back and try a ton of other stuff on the menu. Because it all sounds amazing. Not to mention, authentic Mexican rather than Tex-Mex - OMG EXCITEMENT!

Has anyone else been to Mamasita? What did you think?

K xx

Challenge recipe 12: Phad Siewe

I actually made this one the day after I made the ninjabread men, but posting two recipes back to back seemed waaaaaaaaaaay too much like hard work. Anyway, my point is that it's been a couple of weeks and I might be struggling to remember what I did here!! Here's the book:

Phad siewe translates as 'fried noodles with sweet soy sauce'. And as usual, I've probably mangled it so much that it's unrecognisable. But the good thing about the recipes in this book is that they tend to ENCOURAGE you to do that! Anyway, here's what you'll need:

Start by placing the rice noodles in a saucepan:

Cover them with cold water and let them soak for half an hour:

Meanwhile, julienne a carrot (and make a note not to use red chopping boards in the future...):

Slice a capsicum thinly:

Chop up a bunch of bok choy:

And slice up some chicken:

By the time you've done all of that, the half hour for the noodles will probably be up, so drain the water off:

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil:

And add the noodles, a little at a time, and cook for 30 seconds or so.

Then pull them out and dump them on a plate:

Do the same with all the vegetables, only forget to take photos... While all of that is going on, you can make up the sauce. Put two teaspoons of garlic into a small bowl:

Add two tablespoons of sugar:

And 4 tablespoons of light soy sauce:

At this point, you're meant to add like 5 drops of dark soy sauce. But I didn't have any, so I left it out... Instead, I added the juice of half a lime (because lime makes everything better) and some pepper and stirred it all together:

Next, heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil in your really gross $15 wok that rather needs replacing:

And cook the chicken until browned:

Once the chicken's cooked, dump in the noodles and the vegetables and the sauce:

Stir it all together:

And serve with lime wedges and more cracked pepper:

The verdict? It was pretty good. Although it mostly tasted like lime and black pepper, so I'm not sure how much resemblance it bore to the original recipe! But it made enough for four meals, and it was pretty quick and easy, so I'll probably make some variation on it again.

K xx