There has always been an obsession with food. But I had also been extremely picky as to what i would eat. That all changed back in 2001-3 when I lived in Venezuela for approximately 2 years. The Thing is, you have to eat what's available, Specially when there is a national strike and food production come to a stand still. My most memorable(in a bad way) meal was that lunch where my plate was full of fish leftovers...yep, fish leftovers. It included fish eyes, lungs, intestines, and lots of it. It could have had some flesh, but who knows. I opened the hatch and down it went... two spoon fools and i was done.
It wasn't all bad. Some of the best meals I have ever eaten were there too. Such was the dish they call Pabellon Criollo, their trademark dish. I could eat that every day. This plate consist of fried plantains, black beans, rice and shredded beef. Of course the beef is cooked in its own juices and seasoned with spices. The plantains are ripped an at times had cinnamon added to them. the rice is usually white. and the beans, well if you know me you know I'm not a fan of black beans, but these beans are to die for. In the Eastern part of Venezuela it is not uncommon to add sugar to the black beans with country cheese...Wow, it makes my mouth water as I think of it. The combination of the lightly sweet beans with the ages cheese brings back good memories of walking in the rain, about 100 degrees still and walking into a friends house where the smell of this dish over took me and brought a smile to my face.
When i ate any lunch at any house there were either arepas or casabe on the table. Arepas resemble flying saucers, kind of like a pupusa or gordita. It's made from corn flower. not fine flower but a little granulated. They would either be fried, baked or some times but not often boiled. commonly we would use the arepa how rolls are used here in the U.S. but other times we could have them stuffed with something, be it beef, chicken, chorizo (not Mexican) or hotdog. I've been known to fry some up every now and then for the wife and kids. Always with a little guitar to give it a light sweet flavor and a golden color.
Casabe was my enemy, Oh how i hate this food. Its like having a round flat Styrofoam about 12 inches in diameter. It looked and tasted just like it. Casabe is made from yuca. Technically its a yuca flat bread. I was unfortunate to live in a town that had a few factories. The yuca is ground and spread on a large round metal serface which had a burner under it. It was let to cook and flipped over so the other side cooked. and that was that. there isn't much science to it. Casabe is actually a very old food eaten by the natives of that area. come to think about it Christopher Columbus could have eaten some being that he landed in that region before he died...
I hope You enjoyed this posting, See you next time, END TRANSITION!!!!
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