December 2009 Newsletter
Giada De Laurentiis // Newsletter
December 2009
Message from Giada – Adventure with Oxfam
In February 2009, I became an ambassador for Oxfam America. As an ambassador, I had the pleasure to travel with a group of Oxfam representatives to Peru for a weeklong journey. It was truly an amazing experience. Peru was unlike anywhere I had ever been.
Lima, the capital of Peru, is located on the west coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. While in Lima, I joined the local farmers at the Gastronomic Festival Mixtura. This festival is a huge farmers market full of many different local foods and dishes from Lima. The air was filled with some of the best smells ever. The bakers had their fresh baked breads made of quinoa, flaxseed and barley. We could sample them hot right out of the oven! There were beautiful chili relishes that were so colorful and spicy hot! The part that Todd would have LOVED was an area where they barbequed slabs of beef over open coals! You can see what I mean below. WOW, best BBQ beef ever!
After Lima, we traveled an hour and half by plane to Cusco. Cusco is a beautiful Spanish city, colonized by the Spaniards in 1533. It is located in the southeastern area of Peru- right near the Andes Mountains and the Urubamba (Sacred) Valley. It feels like a very European city in the midst of the stunning Andes Mountains. Cusco has a very high altitude of 11,000 feet above sea level! To help with the altitude, the locals drink Coca tea and chew its leaves. And, I did as the locals do! Coca leaves are used to make alkaloids like cocaine. Don’t worry, to get high you’d have to drink about 100 cups and chew an entire bush of the leaves!! My advice to you, if you ever want to travel to Cusco, go a few days early to acclimate yourself to the altitude so you don’t experience what I did- altitude sickness is not fun.
In Cusco, we visited the market of Huancaro. It was similar to the farmers markets that we have in that the US. Local farmers of surrounding areas come to the city and sell their goods. There were so many great ingredients to taste and see. For example, the many different varieties of quinoa, corn, potatoes, meats, and fruit. The corn… was… amazing. The kernels were the size of quarters. They were slightly starchier that our normal corn but so huge and delicious.
I also went to other small markets in the area that had all sorts of crafts and trinkets. The local artisans would sell cute knit booties, gloves, hats, ponchos, and rugs that were so vibrant and beautiful. These artisans, the Quechuans, are descendants of the Incas. The colors that they use for their work are the most vibrant colors you’ve ever seen and mostly organic. They use fruits and vegetables as dyes. The artisans also sell beautiful jewelry and rings made of large stones from the Andes. Because there is a lot of mining in the area, they also use lots of gold and silver too. Shopping in the area was awesome. I found a lot of great gifts to bring home! It’s like a bazaar- so many different shops.
In Cusco, we were able to visit many local farmers. There is a huge network of women farmers. Frequently, the Quechuan men seek out jobs in the city while the women are left behind to tend to the farms; or, in other instances there are women farmers who have either lost their husbands or inherited their father’s land. They all work together and help each other find ways to farm and produce items that don’t require a lot of manual labor. They grow herbs, fruits and flowers that are a light and delicate which makes it easier to carry from their homes.
After Cusco, we made the 60 minute bus ride to the Sacred Valley where we visited the Park of the Potato. It’s an area that consists of seven peasant communities also known as “comunidades campesinas.” In the world, there are about 5,000 different varieties of potatoes. The Park of the Potato is home to over 1,300 varieties. The ladies in the Quechean village cooked us a delicious lunch of…
- Boiled potatoes that were sprinkled with salt and topped with a lemony, herby pesto like sauce.
- Fried potatoes topped with fresh oregano and corn
- Potato soup
Yes… it was potatoes all the way. But because they all have different flavors and textures, it felt like a well- balanced meal.
We learned about how they harvested the potatoes and about their struggle to adapt the different varieties of potatoes to the constantly changing climate of the Andes (because of global warming). If they are unable to figure out how to adapt their techniques, a huge portion of the world’s potato farming will be drastically affected; and, the Peruvian economy will suffer severely. And for all you potato lovers (like I am), this means potatoes would become very expensive.
Machu Picchu rests on a mountain ridge above the Urbamba Valley in Peru- about 50 miles northwest of Cusco. It is also known as the Lost City of the Incas. This was an exciting day. We started off by taking a train through the Andes Mountains. It was so spectacular in the train because not only were there windows all around us, but in the ceiling too. We could see the snow- capped Andes, which were breath- taking. We were dropped off in Ollantaytambo. Then we walked about 200 yards and hop on a 15 – 20 minute bus ride up a very windy, steep mountain. (And guess what… no guard rails.) We hiked another 10 minutes and ended up on top of the world at Machu Picchu. It was magnificent…and left us speechless. It should be on everybody’s bucket list, it’s that great!
I was exhausted after Machu Picchu. There was a lot of hiking and walking and it was hot and emotional (I know it sounds weird, but it was! Maybe because it was a lost city and you could feel the Incan energy…) My last day in the Andes I visited a place called Piuray Lake where I met with Chef Gonzalo Angosto and Chef Pio Vásquez de Velasco to prepare a traditional Peruvian feast called a pachamanca.
A pachamanca is similar to a clambake in that they dig a hole, heat river rocks, layer food on top and let it cook in the earth. To keep the food from burning on the hot rocks, they place plantain leaves on then. It’s like a buffer from the heat for the food. Then, you layer the food on top of the leaves- the food that took the longest to cook was placed in the bottom of the hole and then everything else was piled on top. We cooked eight different varieties of potatoes, chicken, lamb, Peruvian sausages, whole pineapples, plantains, corn, and other vegetables. To finish it off, we added herbs, water and wine. It was then sealed with large locally made ponchos and leaves! The food then steamed for about 30 – 40 minutes. Traditionally, pachamancas were an Incan ritual to thank the Gods for their fruitfulness. Everything was delicious! But, I was most surprised by the intense smoky flavor of the whole cooked pineapple. It was soo sweet and juicy. I still dream about it.
I’d say my top 5 memories of Peru are the following:
- The landscape was amazing. It was cool to see how different it was throughout Peru. There are three core components to Peru’s landscape. The coast that is a lot like LA- a large desert with valleys in between. Lima, for instance is a valley surrounded by the desert. Then, there is the Andes with its beautiful mountains and valleys. As the base of the mountain, the Amazon rainforest starts. All this variety creates the most beautiful landscape: beaches to snowy mountains to relatively dense forest in a small space. However, this creates a lot of difficulties for communication. Traveling from one place to another takes 3 – 4 times longer due to the mountains. The terrain, with its steep mountains and ever changing rivers makes it very difficult to build highways. The geography has influenced the products grown in the country. It is due to the way the local people adapt to the ever-changing geography that we can enjoy what they produce! Oxfam is working to facilitate better communication between the regions.
- The Quinoa… It was so beautiful and came in black, red and brown. It has a delicious nutty flavor. I’ve been searching high and low to find that again!
- The children… They were so cute, sweet and have the most beautiful smiles.
- Guinea pig… it’s a local dish in Peru that we would rarely think of eating here. The traditional way to prepare guinea pig is to take the hair off (it’s like plucking the feathers off a chicken) and cook the whole thing in a very hot oven. I had it shredded with a grain that was like a mix between mashed potatoes and polenta. It tasted like lean chicken. You’d never know it was guinea pig!
- By far, the most incredible and touching thing to see was how happy the local farmers were. They are truly content and proud people who want to keep the traditions of their ancestors alive.
Thanks to Lyndsay and Laura from Oxfam and Christine for making my trip to Peru a great experience. It’s something I’ll never forget. Happy Holidays Everyone!!
XO, Giada
