Post Tagged with "summer"

Ceviche: The taste of summer in Lima

I’ve become a fierce defender of Peru’s culinary heritage. Home in Australia recently, overhearing a man at the next table explaining to his friends that the unfamiliar “Pisco” on the drinks menu is a Chilean spirit, I had to physically restrain myself from leaping to my feet to correct him. I think with shame of a year working in a Brisbane restaurant, in which we all earnestly explained ceviche to curious customers as a Chilean dish.

When I mustered the courage to confess this to my Peruvian friends, they shook their heads in disgust. “Chilenos,” they muttered darkly.

There’s a long-standing rivalry between the two countries, and this whole gastronomic controversy doesn’t help matters. Peruvians, and especially those from the coastal regions, are fiercely proud of ceviche, their national dish, and Pisco, the national intoxicant. Now that we’re standing on the verge of the heralded “boom” of Peruvian cuisine, their legacy may seem to be assured, but grudges are still nursed, and the uncomfortable fact remains that ceviche, in one form or another, is prepared and consumed in Mexico, south through Central America and Ecuador, and even in dreaded Chile.

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Twenty favourite Italian gelato flavours

On summer evenings, the Italian gelateria (ice cream shop) is the busiest part of town. The shop teems with people inspecting the mounds of gelato on display, choosing their favourites, deciding which two or three to sample tonight (that’s right, you can get THREE flavours in one cone!). Outside, the pavement is blocked with locals congregated to eat their ice cream, or just to hang out. You might run into a relative or a friend here and stop for a chat. Whatever else you’re doing, treating yourself to an ice cream is an important part of the evening.

So you can experience a bit of the magic, here are twenty of the most common ice cream flavours (gusti). Which would you choose?

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Summer Rituals in New Zealand

View from a bach in Marble Bay by Justine Sanderson aka Titine

New Zealand cities tend to become ghost towns in the summer. Kiwis have a fondness for the natural environment and they love nothing more than to get out for some sport, tramping (New Zealand English for hiking), barbeques, or just relaxing.

Monday the 26^th of October is Labour Day and it was the first three-day weekend of the warmer months. The motorways were packed with people who just wanted to be out of the cities and at the beach.

Many New Zealanders own or rent a small holiday home called a bach (pronounced like ‘batch’) in the North Island or a crib in the South Island. Some of these basic cabins have been in families for generations and they are almost always located near the beach, a river, a lake, or in the mountains.

This is Marie’s first post on PocketCultures. Marie lives in Auckland, New Zealand but was born in the United States and is a dual-national. She has lived in five countries altogether but sees New Zealand as her true home. She loves travel, and living in multi-cultural Auckland is the next best thing to being out there.

As a teacher of English and literacy skills she has met many interesting people and is intrigued by the concept of identity. She explores the relationship between identity and food in her blog Three Spoons. She would be happy to hear from anyone interested in New Zealand or who just wants to say Kia ora.

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