Allie loves food.

You all probably figured that out already...

Salteña:



I don´t know why we don´t have more breakfast food like this in the US. Cheap ubiquitous, handheld real food for breakfast. Or anytime really. What more could you want??

Salteñas are like little empanadas stuffed with mostly potatoes but also a little ground meat and a piece of a hard boiled egg swimming in a slightly spicy sauce. The spice combination is amazing. I must figure it out. I haven´t been able to find a cook book with a recipe for them here so far. Also, they are a perfect example of the way I prefer to eat and cook with meat. There is such a small amount of it that it´s almost as though it´s just a seasoning. If Americans learned to use meat as a compliment to vegetables and grains rather than the main thing on the plate, we´d have a lot less obesity and heart disease. Grocery bills would be a lot lower. I´m not going to even go into what it could do for global warming...

Anyway...

I love food. I love everything about it. This has been my first big trip where I have not been a vegetarian, meaning that besides things containing nuts, I can try whatever I want. It´s been so much fun!!

I enjoy nothing more than wandering a market. I´ve actually found that I don´t eat too much while doing it either. I mostly observe, ask questions, take in the smells, watch how it´s done. Then I stop for lunch.

The US is missing out on a market culture. I´m not talking about farmers´markets full of local, organic produce that is simply unaffordable to most, we have that. I´ve referring to markets of the people. Accessible markets for normal, average, everyday people to buy affordable raw imgredients and to eat.

As far as I´ve seen in Bolivia, the cheapest place to get a meal in any city is at the local central market, not at McDonald´s. And this is a real meal. Freshly prepared unprocessed food from all the food groups. A menu completo at one of the market food stands costs between 10 and 13 Bolivianos ($1.50-$2 ish) and includes a soup, main course, and sometimes a fresh juice (which will probably give you as a foreigner food poisoning, but that´s another story...). You can order just a main course for less than 10 Bolivianos. Even though there is a huge income difference between Bolivians and Americans, I think that this type of meal is still affordable to most.

So, my question is how do they do it? And how can we do this in the US?

One thing I´ve certainly noticed is that sanitation regulations do not exist (or they aren´t enforced, at all). I´m sure that this cuts down on the cost a bit. It also allows entrepreneurs to enter the market with no qualifications or experience. Many producers and few barriers to entering the market keep prices low. I´m not saying that we should go in this direction, but it is something to think about.

Second, the food stalls aren´t necessarily pretty or very comfortable. You go to them for food, and that´s what you get. You might be sitting on an awkwardly low wooden bench, at a packed table full of strangers, or even standing at a counter, but you came to be fed and that´s what will happen.

Third, I don´t know how, but these talented food stall ladies are able to cook in the tinniest of spaces. Ingenuity, creativity, adaptability. We need more of this.

Fourth, there isn´t much variety at each stall. Each person makes a few dishes per day from the standard repertoire and that´s all there is at this kind of joint. I think that in the US, we´ve gotten a little too used to 5 page menus. How can a restaurant possibly make 100 or more menu items from scratch every day? They can´t, and they don´t. Much of that food you are paying tons of money for was frozen, canned, or processed in some other way. Why not just microwave it yourself for a fraction of the price??

When you go to a restaurant in the US, much of what you are paying for is comfort, ambiance, cleanliness, choice, and service. But what about the food???

That´s what I want to know.

Fruit...



Veg...

Love it.

Besitos,
Allie