They Eat What! Latin America's Most Exotic Foods - Part 2

->Vulture
So you're back for more, huh? Well if I didn't get to youYup, you read right - Buzzard, is eaten in some towns
in part one with "treats" from Colombia, Brazil andin the Central Highlands of Ecuador. It's caught, plucked
Mexico you're gonna just love what you'll get here inand thoroughly cleaned (I wouldn't want THAT job!).
part two of this three-part series. We're going to travelThe high Andes mountain range runs from Colombia
into the jungles of Colombia and up into the high Andessouth through to Chile and is home to vast flocks of
mountain range in Ecuador to introduce you to someCondors. Condors are carrion-eating birds. I don't have
"Eye-opening", high-flying specialties that'll maketo tell you what "carrion" is, do I? The cleaned,
partly-cooked greasy pork liver seem like "Hauteprepared bird is normally prepared in soup with
Cuisine". Hungry yet? Tighten your belt then and let'sseasonings, broth and vegetables like yucca, potato,
go.plantain, celery and carrots.
Three-Toed SlothCow's Eye
Called "Oso Perezoso" (lazy bear) in Spanish, theseEver wonder what happens to the "unwanted" parts
dense-haired, slow moving creatures live off of jungleof food animals like the reproductive organs? Well in
foliage and leaves. You would think they'd be easy toLatin countries, these parts are eaten same as the
catch, but in fact, they can live high up in the trees andrest of the animal. Consisting mostly of liquid, cow's
be extremely difficult to spot. Cleaning and preparing toeye is sold fresh, of course. It's most frequently
cook one takes several hours. Most of time beingcooked by being stirred into a hot pot of chocolate
spent just to remove the coarse, dense hair which isand served as a drink or a thick "soup" of sorts.
done by dipping the carcass in boiling water andAlthough it's relatively common and popular in
painstakingly scraping or pulling the hair off. The resultColombia, I haven't taken the plunge yet. Several of my
is worth it though as it has the most delicious meat I'veacquaintances say the concoction's quite tasty. How
ever tasted when cooked in a thick, rich stew. Slothswould YOU like to try it?
are kept as pets since they're actually quite harmlessIn part one of this three-part series, we traveled
despite having up to four-inch long claws.through Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to sample ants,
Bofepiranha and green iguana. In part two you were
Pronounced "bow-fay", the dried, roasted lungs of aintroduced to sloth, vulture and cow's eye and lungs. In
cow are this snack food. Often available at airportthe final part of this series you'll meet more of the
restaurants and street food vendors in Colombia, it's a"good stuff". From the Pacific coast to the mountain
somewhat acquired taste, but not one that'shighlands of the Peruvian Andes we're going to rock
unpleasant by any means. Most people simply have toyou with even more "treats" of Latin America you'll
get past the thought of what it is (believe me; younever forget. Brace yourself for this one. It's definitely
DON'T want to see it before it's cooked). It's difficultNOT for pansies.
and time-consuming to prepare. Ready to eat, it's aIf you'd like to get part three of this series "They Eat
dark, unappetizing looking concoction cut into bite-sizedWhat! Latin America's Most Exotic Foods", please
cubes for easy munching.e-mail me at: . I'll be waiting.