Mood and Food (Comida Chilena Pt 8)

Its been 2 months since returning from Chile and this is the last of the comida chilena series... :) Reminiscing the food from the trip... Its been fun sorting through memorable meals during the long stay there, and the entries have been somewhat chronological and loosely thematic.   For this post, I wanted to put the food in context, of the place it was served in and the feelings it inspires!

mountains and me.... its always hard to convey the majesty of standing before it in a photo....

Can you see the Vicunas ? ( deliberately made it photo xtra large to help you!) We were really lucky to see a herd of them coming out to drink after our group left. ( Photo courtesy of Shet Fern) 

As part of the trip out to Laguna Miscanti, we drove on the road that would eventually lead to Argentina ( if we stayed on it for another 2 days).  The Lagoon was a brilliant cobalt blue , hidden amongst the undulating peaks of the Andes range making a natural border of Chile and Argentina to the east of Chile.  At a high altitude of 4k+ m above sea level, the place certainly commands a charming air of tranquility (probably due to the depth of blue) :) Wide open skies and mountains does something to lift the spirit !  Happy for the sunshine, for it was also really windy and chilly and we were not totally prepared to be outdoors for long, so we trod along as best as we were able and huddled for warmth!  It was no use jogging to keep warm as the thin air could have made us giddy from the lack of oxygen....

homestyled wonders! Egg, grains and veggies-heaven!

Awesome thatched roof in the village.

...And it was indeed this sign of altitude sickness I felt shortly before lunch time.  We had stopped at a small village and a local kitchen for a group lunch as part of the trip.  As we were early, the guide mentioned we could walk around abit, but cautioned we should be back in time to keep on schedule.  Great! I wanted to see the pretty stone church we had passed on the van at the head of the village. Probably too excited for my own good, I skipped in that direction after cajoling the other 2 to join me!  And suddenly I felt short of breath and my vision blacked out for a bit while my eyes were wide open.  It was rather scary and fascinating all at once.  And I had to stay on the spot, holding onto my friend to steady myself while the head whoozed for a bit.  And within 5 minutes or so, I was back to normal but slightly shaken from the experience... my first taste of altitude sickness.   ( Its important to keep hydrated fro ALS) And this is also the reason why I dont have a photo of the stone church, as we decided to turn back after this little sobering episode. 

Lunch was a rustic and heartwarming meal. (Maybe more so after the little episode, where you give thanks for really simple joys like warm food) Homemade vegetable broth followed by a vegetable torta (omelette) with rice, quinoa and salad.   The only seasoning was salt but everything else tasted like itself, the sweetness of the onions (sans the sting) and tomatoes- the fluffy fragrance and slight nuttiness of quinoa.  It was food at its best- simple and delicious.   

a view of the ocean

In a different town by the coast, about 10 days later... we were out visiting Isla Negra, one of the house-museums of the poet Pablo Neruda.  We stopped by a small inn cum restaurant for lunch and it turned out to be a delightful little place !  Run by an artist/musician couple, the rustic Hosteria Candela shared a piece of Neruda as he stayed and dined here while he was building his house nearby.  In fact, there is a creepily comedic life size doll of him seated on a corner table at the restaurant.  The food was amazing, but a bit too rich for my palette that day after a couple of hours on the road.  I felt ready to dive into the pacific!  

We had a Caldillo de Congrio which was Neruda's favourite dish at the restaurant.  It was a tomato flavoured ocean in a pot, with all sorts of seafood swimming in it! Clams, mussels, shrimps, and fish fillets ! Sharp, tangy and savoury- it was so good it inspired an ode from the wordsmith himself!  Although it was kinda touristy, it felt quite lovely that I was having a dish Neruda had too while he was here..... not so many years ago... (in the 60s) ....and that gives a slightly personal touch to the trip out visiting his house.  I could imagine him penning his prose at his desk at dusk, nourished by food he made in his kitchen and bar also facing the ocean- wow! ... and also Chao from Chile.

And here in his own words ( in a translation) : Oda al Caldillo de Congrio

Ode to Conger Chowder

(translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)

---

In the storm-tossed
Chilean
sea
lives the rosy conger,
giant eel
of snowy flesh.
And in Chilean
stewpots,
along the coast,
was born the chowder,
thick and succulent,
a boon to man.
You bring the Conger, skinned,
to the kitchen
(its mottled skin slips off
like a glove,
leaving the
grape of the sea
exposed to the world),
naked,
the tender eel
glistens,
prepared
to serve our appetites.
Now
you take
garlic,
first, caress
that precious
ivory,
smell
its irate fragrance,
then
blend the minced garlic
with onion
and tomato
until the onion
is the color of gold.
Meanwhile
steam
our regal
ocean prawns,
and when
they are
tender,
when the savor is
set in a sauce
combining the liquors
of the ocean
and the clear water
released from the light of the onion,
then
you add the eel
that it may be immersed in glory,
that it may steep in the oils
of the pot,
shrink and be saturated.
Now all that remains is to
drop a dollop of cream
into the concoction,
a heavy rose,
then slowly
deliver
the treasure to the flame,
until in the chowder
are warmed
the essences of Chile,
and to the table
come, newly wed
the savors
of land and sea,
that in this dish

you may know heaven.