Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Old Friends, New Food



The "Churchill" drink of Puntarenas



Margaret and Jerry visited for the day. They arrived into Puntarenas off of their cruise boat, and we grabbed our own private taxi and toured the area seeing some great things (see the above crocodile). There is not much to see in Puntarenas, and the beaches are NOT very nice. So...that's why we got out of dodge. We also went to one of the highest points in the area and saw the entire bay - it was a site that only being there in person can do justice - no picture could take in the beauty! A great day of visiting and being with family! WooHoo!

We also had the opportunity to try a few new foods. The first was ceviche. Me GUSTA!! (I liked it very much!) Madison...not so much...to "citrusy". Ceviche is a Peruvian Dish, a form of citrus marinated seafood salad that originated in the northern region of Peru. The marinade used in ceviche is citrus based, with lemons and limes being the most commonly used. This being said, all citrus will work. In addition to adding flavor, the citric acid causes the proteins in the seafood to become denatured, which pickles or "cooks" the fish without heat. The result tastes more like a cooked dish and less like raw fish preparations such as Japanese sashimi. The other neat thing we tried was the Churchill. The Churchill is a frozen non alcoholic cocktail that contains ice cream, condensed milk, red sugar syrup, powdered milk and with a long spoon and a straw. Yes, as rich as it sounds, but oh was it good :-) See above picture. Don't know the history - if it was named after Churchill or not, but odd that it has the same name if it wasn't. If anyone knows - let me know.

All in all - a long two days, but well worth the trip.

No comments: