Flavors of Chile

-Humitas: Corn mush cooked in husks with chopped onions and served swamped in fresh, sun-sweetened  tomatoes.

-Jugo de frambuesa: Ice cold raspberry juice, tart on the tongue and refreshing down the parched throat.

-Mote con huesillo: Lye softened wheat grains flavoring dehydrated peaches soaked in sweetened juice and served ice cold on a hot summer day.

-Corazoncito de alcachofa: An artichoke heart, dipped in lemon and oil,  so tender it practically melts in the mouth.

-Guinda corazón de paloma: Dove- heart cherries, sweet-sour blood red juice tinting hands in the picking and lips in the savoring.

-Empanada de horno: Surprise olive, a burst of vinegar, in an oven baked meat and egg pie.

-Sopaipillas pasadas:  Fried squash pancake swimming in hot molasses-like syrup, energizing sweetness on a cold, rainy, winter day.

-Once:  Fork squashed avocado scooped onto warm bread with a slice of moist mild white cheese and a cup of hot tea sweetened with several spoonfuls of sugar.

-Pan amasado con manjar: Hot bread, baked in a clay oven, and dripping with melting butter and sweet caramelized milk.

-Asado con ensalada Chilena: Sliced raw tomatoes and onions accompany a chunk of charcoal broiled beef.

-Guatitas:  Pungent flavor of tripe, the lining of a cow´s stomach, floating in a soupy broth.

-Mate caliente con azucar: Hot water percolating through a gourd packed with tea leaves with a spoon full of sugar sprinkled on the top along with slivers of lemon rinds and drunk through a silver straw with a filter on the tip; creating an intimate space for conversation and friendship.