plato tipico

In fitting in with the last post about mangoes, I thought it might be appropriate to write about what I eat on a regular basis in Honduras. I have tried to take photos of some food, but realize I lack photos of the day-to-day stuff. Mostly because I forget to take them, but also because my family would think it weird. Here's a rundown, to give you an idea:

Breakfast: Always coffee...made with WAY too much sugar. I was almost able to drink coffee w/o sugar before I came, but that has gone out the window. Coffee is made by boiling water on the stove and filtering it through a cloth sieve thingy. Not great coffee...apparently Honduras exports all the quality stuff and sells the overpriced crappy stuff to Hondurans. But let's not get into that now.

Most days I eat tortilla con quesillo which is 2 tortillas with melty, salty cheese in the middle, fried til crispy. Some days its just sweet bread and rosquillas (salty, hard bread) with coffee. Randomly we have pancakes (or panqueques in Spanish) or occasionally "plato tipico" for breakfast, which will be explained in the dinner section.

mini watermelons!

Lunch: This is the main meal of the day. I am lucky I live close to my office and I go home for lunch every day. We usually have some kind of meat, rice, a side of veggies or potatoes and tortillas. Some days, my host mom will make tacos or enchiladas, which are my favorites. On the not so lucky days (and always the hottest days) we have soup. Sometimes with beans and eggs, sometimes with large pieces of meat and lots of startchy add-ins: yucca, potato, green banana, rice...yes, all 4 at the same time.

kitchen stove with tajaditas and pork

Dinner: Our dinners are pretty standard at my house, so it's called plato tipico (rough translation: typical plate). We usually have scrambled eggs, beans (red, of course :), queso seco (salty, dry cheese) and tortillas. Most Hondurans will eat all of this with "mantequilla" which is basically runny sour cream. I'm not such a fan, so I usually leave it for the rest. Occasionally we'll have fried plantains or fried green banana...or some variation on the beans/cheese/eggs theme. I really love it and have gotten used to having this almost every night. When I am away for a few nights, I really miss my plato tipico.

Then there are Honduran specialties and snacks...

Baleadas: These are one of my favorite things...a flour tortilla (freshly made!) with liquified beans (think refried, but better), cheese, mantequilla and occasionally scrambled egg. These are eaten any time of day...breakfast, mid-morning snack, dinner, late evening snack...you get the picture.

Pupusas: These are also popular. More for when you go out to eat or for a special event. It's dough with melted cheese in the middle, some times with beans or a bit of sausage added in. Also delicious. I helped make these to raise funds for our church (see previous post about pupusas).

Tajaditas: Fried green banana. Sounds weird, but kinda turns out like a potato chip. Can be thin and crispy or thicker and more like potato wedges. Often served with a tomato sauce and cabbage salad. The downside is, when not made at home, they come with chicken feet!!! It totally grosses me out. I pick those out for my brothers and then eat the rest :)

 <--yes, thats a fried chicken foot on top of my snack. g-ross.

sushi boat!

My Honduran diet is also made complete by other random treats now and again...this could be a sushi splurge with my girlfriends, pizza out with the family (they love Little Caesars!), frozen yogurt at the mall, or bumming a meal from MCC friends who have their own kitchen and can decide what to eat.

Let's just say, I do not lack for good food...but I am looking forward to some home cooking when I get back.