The title of this post came to me in a flash. I am attempting to describe some of the food we ate on the trip. Mysteriously, although surely my doing, my post about food has disappeared on me, twice, and so this is my third attempt. I will hopefully see it thru to posting this time.
And, it has occurred to me that quite possibly no one beside me will understand the quiche reference. One Last Kiss is the song Conrad Birdie sings to an audience of screaming teens in the musical Bye Bye Birdie, before he (an Elvis like character) goes off to war. Obscure, I guess.
My half eaten quiche, with salad from the garden, adorned with nasturtium perals.
The food at the Hotel Toliman, where I stayed for two weeks and where I ate virtually every meal during my sojourn, was beyond delicious. One would think that I'd tire of the same menu every day, and after two previous weeks eating nearly every meal in a restaurant. Not so.
The menu was so wonderful, and varied, that I looked forward to deciding each meal, and even after the two weeks there were items I hadn't had a chance to try.
Our group had a limited version of the menu for breakfast, which was included in the trip. But hardly limited. I think there were a couple of menu items on the regular menu that weren't included. And there were so many possibilities, and the staff was very flexible in honoring our requests, ie for extra yogurt, no beans (me) etc. Each breakfast began with a blend of fruit juices. I truly think there was a different blend, and a different color, each day. Watermelon, papaya, orange with moringa (an herb) etc. Maybe because I kept asking, they began to announce the day's blend each morning. That was followed by a bowl of oatmeal, but very different from what we're used to - a very thin gruel, quite sweet, with cinnamon. I got to like it over the course of the two weeks. Some folks loved it. Others didn't.
Then there was a choice of eggs in different styles, fruit platter, etc, all accompanied by yogurt, granola, platanos (plantains, a somewhat savory kind of banana), refried beans, local white cheese, and more.
We broke our mosaic work for lunch every day, but I rarely ate it. Three large meals a day were two much for me, although not for most of the group. I was amazed at how much most people were able to eat, and, I admit, a little distressed by the amount of food some folks left on their plates. I am always bothered by wasted leftover food, mine or others'. And especially in a poor country, where the people serving us may be struggling to support themselves. Although I am sure that Chati pays and treats the hotel employees well. She seems to support a lot of local causes, like the cooperative of mural painters, and the kid's marimba band. It is Chati, who with Cindy, initiated the mosaic project as a way to bring both beauty and tourist income to the town.
A large glass of lemonade made with soda water satisfied me most days, until the mishap where I split open my lip. Then I switched to chocolate ice cream for most of the rest of the trip!
And onto supper: the varied menu included various meats, poultry, vegetarian options, fish, all with lots of vegetables. The lunch and supper menus were the same. On the first night a couple of the group ordered pasta alfredo, which neither liked. I wouldn't have liked it either, the sauce looked exceedingly rich. On the other hand, the other pasta dish, the house pasta, was made with lots of vegetables, a little oil, some parmesan -like cheese, and was fairly light. I believe the pasta was homemade. Others agreed and many beside me ordered it more than once. Another favorite was the kale quiche. The crust was latticed and delicious, and the filling delicious too. I recommended it to others, who agreed. We later found out from the gardener that the ingredients included four other greens besides the kale.
Another favorite was the ceviche. Loring and I had had it elsewhere earlier in the trip, with the same preparation. Guatemalan ceviche is rather different than Peruvian ceviche, which is marinated in lime juice. This ceviche also has lime juice, but is primarily tomato based. It resembles gazpacho, and was served in a tall glass. Someone suggested that I could use a booster seat, and she was right! My only mistake was ordering it a second time right after my lip was cut, when the acidity made it hard to eat. But I persisted! And ordered it another time right before we left. I may have to try it Guatemalan style at home.
And then, there was the tilapia. The menu said something to the effect of "from our own pool." But I didn't realize until about a week in that the pool was the decorative fountain virtually outside my room, that I walked by more than once every day. Sure enough, there were about a half dozen fish swimming around, until a man with a net on a pole came by. They are bony and a bit difficult to eat, but worth it. There was also bass from the lake on the menu, but it was very expensive, and I couldn't imagine it being any better than the tilapia. Besides, not sure I wanted to eat something from the polluted lake, where some of the sewage from the communities goes, where people wash their clothes, etc.
I didn't usually need dessert, but did manage to try most of the desserts by the end of the two weeks. There was the ice cream, several flavors but I always had the chocolate, a kind of cheese cake with a fruit sauce, and plantains with mole. I know mole as a savory Mexican sauce, served with meat. It has chocolate and chile and other things, and is not sweet. This Guatemalan mole was basically a sweet chocolate sauce. The waiter said the other ingredient was sesame, and I did see a few sesame seeds floating in the sauce, but didn't really detect the flavor. So, basically, cooked bananas in chocolate sauce. Delish.
I am going to stop here, partly because I am afraid of once again hitting a wrong key and deleting everything I have just written.
But I will follow up, now or shortly, with one last post, now that I am home, upon some of my experiences and impressions, and perhaps adding in some other details that I subsequently remember.
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