Glory without the guts

We have not written much about food, but we think about it all the time.  There is an amazing assortment of food here.  I still cannot tell which foods are unique to Oaxaca and which foods are just “Mexican,” but I can tell you that most menus contain at least as many dishes identified as being Oaxacan as other dishes.

We have approached the food somewhat conservatively.  Most importantly, we have wanted to give our bodies time to adjust to the different diet, and we especially have not wanted the kids to get sick.  We waited about a week to eat food from stands on the street, and we still favor restaurants over “street food,” although that is starting to change.  Just yesterday Max and Helen insisted on getting breakfast at an empanada stand in the market even though Natalie and I voted for a nice looking restaurant we passed on the way to the market.  And while we have not stuck to this religiously, we have tried to eat only fresh fruits and vegetables that we can wash first at home.  That did not stop Max and me from eating the lettuce that came in the tacos we bought at a street market this morning, but we passed on the cucumber slices served on the side.  

We also have used food as a way to combat the kids’ homesickness and as a reward for being such troopers.  For me and Natalie, a reward for being here comes in the form of a delicious omelette from La Olla restaurant like the one we had last week, made with cabbage flowers and zucchini, and topped with fresh tomatoes, the herb epazote, and locally-made cheese.

Omelette from La Olla

But for the kids, it could mean Cocoa Krispies for breakfast or orange soda with dinner, two things they would not get at home.  It also has meant buying imported lox for Helen’s birthday dinner, making Kraft macaroni and cheese or frozen pizza, and keeping a supply of salami in the refrigerator.  On the one hand it feels like a waste of being here to eat those kinds of foods, but anyone who has travelled knows there really is such a thing as comfort food.  And do not think only Helen and Max partake in the comfort foods.  Natalie made me line up the ingredients of my breakfast the other day so she could document it.  (Try it before you criticize it.)

Peach yogurt, bananas, and Cocoa Krispies.   Yum.

What makes it ok in my mind to eat some of the less exotic foods from time to time is that, for the most part, one simply cannot avoid eating the local fare.  Take today, for instance.  We had omelettes in the morning – nothing special, although we did mix in some homemade cheese mixed with herbs and chili peppers.  And we had some leftover macaroni and cheese before bed.  But in between, Max and I had the tacos at the outdoor market, I tried an horchata (rice) drink mixed with a fruit (or flavor?) called tuna, and all of us except Helen ate a variety of empanadas, taquitos, chili rellenos, and other goodies that the owners of our house served in a spread in the backyard this afternoon.  (Helen was in a bad mood and would not leave her room.)  There is no doubt in my mind that the foods we ate today between the omelettes and the mac and cheese are the kinds of food we will remember when, six months from now, we go home.

That is not to say we will take advantage of every local culinary offering.  It is a safe bet we will never buy anything from the stand across from where we ate the empanadas for breakfast yesterday.  (Yes, the kids got their way.)

Visceras Juanita

The stand sells liver, brain, and other unrecognizable parts of pigs and cows.  The name, translated loosely:  Juanita’s Guts Stand.

Changing subjects, briefly -- yesterday we had yet another birthday party for Helen.  We planned this one before we realized there would be a party at her school.  It was at an indoor playground called Poing Poing that offers all-inclusive birthday packages.  My favorite part was when the manager introduced me to our “chica,” a 20-year old who handled everything from serving the pizza to cutting the cake to swinging the piñata.  There should be a chica at every birthday party.  For anyone keeping track, this was the last fifth birthday party we plan to throw.  -- Harrison