A Peruvian Breakfast to Savor
Every time I visit Peru - usually once a year, sometimes every other year - I perceive changes. Often, these changes are more related to life out and about on the streets, than to ways of living in the home. Lima, where my brother and his family live, is becoming a very crowded city, with such a congested transit system that going from one side to the other takes an eternity! Cajamarca is also changing: there are more people in the streets, and cars compete with popular moto-taxis, a cheap and easy way to transport one or two passengers, using an adapted motorcycle that functions as a taxi. In the narrow streets of Cajamarca, the hundreds of cars and moto-taxis make it almost impossible for pedestrians to travel well and safely.
But feeling at home, both in Lima and Cajamarca, doesn’t change. Whether at my brother’s home in Lima, or at my father’s home (now his widow’s home) in Cajamarca, I always find the same welcoming spirit, the same warmth and energy and attention. Always, the house is made ready to receive each visitor as a special guest. It has long been so: my grandmother, my mother, and my aunts did the same whenever relatives came to visit.
The attention to food is a shining example of this hospitality. There is always a special breakfast when I visit Cajamarca or Lima - and it is the same breakfast that my mom once gave to guests visiting our own home; and the same breakfast that we had on the Sundays of my childhood.
I clearly remember how it was the thought of that breakfast, and of how delicious it was going to be, that kept my mind far from the lessons and sermons in Mass. I couldn’t wait to go home! I remember how wonderful it was to hear the typical sounds of my mother working in the kitchen, and to catch the aromas that came from the food that she was preparing. My mouth would begin to water in anticipation of the special feast we were going to have.
I loved the whir of the blender, which I knew meant fresh juice; the whistle of the kettle, which marked that the water had boiled; the sizzle of the meat and eggs in the frying pan, accompanied by the smell of fried onions and bananas; and of course, the aroma of fresh coffee, which was always prepared highly concentrated - this was our beloved esencia de café . Hearing and smelling the foods that my mother was preparing, I knew that breakfast would soon be served!
My mother would announce - “!El desayuno está servido. Pasen a la mesa!” (Breakfast is ready, come to the table!) - and it was music to my ears! I seated myself at a table beautifully dressed for the occasion. My mom, as is customary for any hostess in Peru, showed her pride and her hospitality through the display of her best table linen, napkins, china and silverware. And by personally serving the food she had prepared. She blessed the table, reminded us of our manners when eating - and then our breakfast began!
Our glasses were filled with jugo de papaya, made fresh in the blender early in the morning. My mother then served the main dish, which all of us were anticipating: a thin tender piece of fried steak, which she had rubbed with her magical mix of garlic, cumin, salt and lime juice. On top of the steak she served us fried onions and tomatoes; and on the side, she placed a fried egg from our barnyard hens, and a fried banana. In the center of the table, for all to reach, was a basket of tortitas, fresh baked buns that my mother received every day from the oven of “la Señora Trini” our neighborhood baker.
Before she sat to eat with us, my mom poured boiling water into each of our cups, so we could add esencia de café and sugar to our own taste.
My mouth and my soul became one in the pleasure that I experienced enjoying this delicious meal, pausing from my plate to combine bread and coffee, and to savor what my mother, the perfect host, had made for us, who were her perfect guests!
This special, memorable breakfast is called Bistec encebollado con huevo y platano fritos. I hope that soon Andina will have it as part of our menu, as I am sure that our guests will enjoy it as much as I - and all Peruvians - do.
Mama Doris