Food, Food, Food!

 Finally, a post all about Argentinian food! There are many traditional foods and drinks that are very popular here such as asado, mate and terere, empanadas, dulce de leche, and many more! Most of these include some time of ritual/tradition/event that goes along with them.

Asados-Usually done with the family on Sunday afternoons but can also be had with friends before soccer games, etc. If with friends, everyone pays about 25 pesos (6 dollars) for the cost of meat and food but if with family, then no. The meat is beef, pork, lamb, and chorizo sausage (as far as I know), seriously any cut imaginable. I have adapted a principle that it's better not to ask what you're eating and instead just eat off of taste and flavor! The men, the barbecue masters, season the meat with secret spices such as lemon, salt, etc. and then put it in the barbecue over lots of hot coals. For about 2 or 3 hours, the meat cooks, the salads, desserts, and side dishes are made, and people talk. Once finished, the meat is divided and served on huge platters.

The asado barbecue

 Cooking the veggies

   Nuki and her vegetables

 Enough meat to serve the world

Mate and terere-Drank more for the social aspect than anything else and shared between friends and family.  A "mate gourd" is made of a calabash fruit that is harvested mature, hollowed, dried, and formed into a round shape with a hole in the top. The straw or "bombilla" is usually made of silver and has a filter at the bottom to prevent the leaves from entering. The gourd is filled 1/2 of the way with yerba mate leaves that have been dried, chopped, and ground. The leaves are shaken to one side so there is a small opening on the other. You cover the mouth of the bombilla with your thumb and insert the straw into the bottom of the cup in the opening. Then, hot water is added to top the gourd off and a spoonful of sugar is usually added as well, depending on taste preference. There is one person in the group who is the designated "cebador". Mate is always always always passed to the left. The person drink the entire gourd of mate before passing it back to the cebador to refill and pass to the next person. The same bombilla and gourd is used for the entire group. Also, it is very bad and rude to stir the mate with the bombilla so it is best not to even touch the straw! Terere is prepared virtually the same but instead of hot water, cold juice is used.

Empanadas-Pastry turnovers filled with meats, cheese, corn, etc. and then fried or baked. These are often sold at vendors in the streets and are also made in the home.

Dulce de leche-Really similar to our caramel but a million times better or "mas rico". There are many different brands and styles sold but my favorite is the colonial style. I'm planning on giving all my clothes away and only coming home with dulce de leche. It can also be made in the home which we tried to do on Monday. While it was cooking, it was seriously so so good that my cousin and I were just eating it from the pan by spoonfuls. However, when we took it off the heat it crystallized and the sugar became all grainy. We figured out we added too much sugar so we're going to try again with less. A guilty pleasure of mine: take a spoon when no one is looking, reach into the fridge, uncap the dulce de leche and enjoy a big spoonful of it...

There are many other dishes that I've tried as well that are really tasty that don't have any sort of tradition like the others! These include:
Milanesas-Pretty much like chicken fried steak but a little less quality. They are a bought frozen and already breaded and only need to be  fried with some oil. These are really really common for dinner meals.
Arroz con leche-Cooked rice with lots of milk and sugar. My host mom made this on Monday and it was so good. It is usually served cold but I tried it hot as well.
Alfajores-Sweet biscuits with dulce de leche in the middle covered with chocolate and powdered sugar. They are bought in the kiosks here and are eaten as snacks. I really want to learn how to make these!
Criollos-Biscuits specific to the Cordoba area of Argentina. Usually ate in the merienda meal with dulce de leche or butter.
Vivi's birthday cake-Layer of vanilla cake then dulce de leche and peaches, another layer of vanilla cake then whipped cream and strawberries, another layer of vanilla cake all frosted in dulce de leche and cool whip. I don't know the real name of this but we my Aunt Vivi made it for my cousin's 18th birthday and it was sooo good...
Mayonnaise-Seriously, everything here is eaten with mayonnaise-rice, meat, veggies, salad, everything. I think it's kind of like Ranch for Americans.
Well, I think that about sums up my rave about Argentine food. Hope I didn't make you too hungry! Hasta luego