Transitions / Kaqchi de Habas

This is my last week living in the center, and am moving into another district into an apartment with a nurse missionary from the US.  As in any other place, there are advantages and disadvantages to living in the center of a city.
I am especially thankful that my travel time to the orphanage will be cut down by about an hour per day.  It will be nice to be in a quieter, less busy/ less tourist-minded area.  (Everywhere you go in the tourist areas you are constantly offered to buy hand-made products, massages/ manicures/ pedicures, food, etc.  Also, in the plazas, every weekend there are craft sales and live music, entertainment, fireworks, etc, which can be very loud in the evenings). Of course, it will also be nice to have a bit more living space, and a roommate to share it with. 

I will miss the conveniences and friends that are downtown.  I've discovered that the vegetarian food in Peru is absolutely delicious, and have a couple of favourite places that I will miss being close to!

Above: Rocoto Relleno
Below: a Vegetarian dish with Haba
beans and tofu

In Peru, it's common to have a small breakfast & supper and the largest meal of the day at lunch, which is usually an extended lunch time, or followed by a siesta.  The typical Peruvian restaurants and usually most touristy restaurants (if you ask) have what they call the daily "menú".  For a range of prices as cheap as 2.50 Soles to upwards of 15 Soles, this meal usually consists of a drink, a soup, a segundo (a second- or main course) and sometimes a postre (dessert).  I am learning to find more economical options, and have been finding places in the 7-10 Sole range.  The drinks are usually a freshly squeezed fruit juice, or sometimes something similar to a lukewarm tea.  Being that the potato originated in Peru, the soup almost always has some type of potato or variation like the yucca or camote (sweet potato) in it.

Some of my favourite vegetarian segundos have lentils, or haba beans (a broad bean) or some kind of stir-fry that usually has fried potatoes in it.  Rocoto Relleno is similar to the popular Peruvian Papa Rellena dish.  Rocotos are a hot chili pepper, Rellena means "stuffed" and Papa means potato- and usually is a soft mashed potato formed and fried around a stuffed 'surprise' inside. Both the Papa Rellenas and Rocoto Rellenos typically are stuffed with rice and minced meat or other vegetables, but I have had some delicious vegetarian variations.
White rice is very common here and occasionally quinoa as a side to the segundos.  The dessert is most often a little dish of flan or jelly, or a small piece of sweet chocolate or orange flavoured cake.

Kaqchi de Habas

I'm looking forward to learning to make some of these recipes, or making my own variations.  It's been a few months since I've cooked anything!  Apparently, cooking and baking in the Andes takes some adjusting to that of at sea-level.  Because of different atmospheric pressure, water boils at a different temperature.  Apparently, things like rice can be tricky, eggs take a bit longer to cook (because they have more water in them), and baking powder or soda have more rising power.  From American missionaries I've met, it can take some experimenting and practice.