Day 1 of The Rambling Larder’s Week in Food

When we travel, food always seems to be a big part of our journey.  On this trip the food and shopping for the food has given us an amazing entry and exposure into the culture.  We have been feeling very fortunate that we are able to cook and maintain a larder.  We love our fridge so much that we have given her a name.  Dora the Refrigeradora.  Yeah corny, but that’s her.  We decided that it would be interesting, for us as much as for you, to document The Rambling Larder’s week in food.  We will make a post for each day of this week with details of our eating.

Day 1 –  El Chalten

We have been about 6 days without real coffee and have been suffering considerably.  In general, we have been feeling a little bit out of sorts food-wise.  Between being in Chile on the remote Carretera Austral (where food in general is a little scarce), border crossings (where you can’t bring fresh fruits, veggies, meats or dairy products) and being in a remote part of Argentina (where traditional supermarkets are several hundred kilometers apart) there is not much food in the larder.  This is pretty unusual for the us.  Between Alex’s hording tendencies and Todd’s appetite we usually have plenty of food.  However, we have visited a few produce stands over the last week that have been quite fruitful.  El Chalten is a remote, tourist town and they have “Supermarkets” but everything is painfully expensive.  We bought some stuff to get us by but not much more.

Breakfast – Alex cooked up some home fried potatoes and served them with fresh tomatoes and avocados.  Truly a decadent meal.  Especially after returning from a backpacking trip and one of the windiest nights we have experienced in Lola.  Every few minutes as gust of wind would shock the van like we were out at sea.  I was worried, at first, about the fan or the solar panels being ripped off, until I remembered that Lola survived a direct hit by Hurricane Matthew in Jacksonville Florida while waiting for the boat.

Mid Morning Snack – Wonderful cherries that we picked up in the Argentina’s cherry capital, Los Antiguos.  (There may be other cherry capitals.)  The cherries that we have had in Chile and Argentina have all been incredible.  They have a wonderfully sweet, firm flesh that keeps you reaching for another.  Yakima’s cherries just don’t holding up in comparison.  We also had the leftover potatoes and a few stolen cookies.

Lunch – We had a salad made from tomato, avocado, tuna and a bit of onion (with Alex’s permission).  And a frappe made like the Greeks do it.   Instant coffee is not my favorite, but a frappe is pretty luxurious when you don’t have any real coffee.

Supermarket Visit – Alex loves visiting the supermarkets and produce stands.  She likes the that you never really know what you are going to find and should not walk in with your heart set on anything.  Rather you walk in with an open mind.  Open to the best stuff they have on the shelves (or in boxes scattered around).  If you plan ahead, inevitably, what you want will be molding, and look like it was picked a year ago and belongs in the compost bin (even by Alex’s standards).  Without a plan you have the opportunity to pick up wonderful cherries, the creamiest pumpkin you’ve ever tasted, crisp lettuce picked only hours prior, or the most fragrant honey dew melon you’ve ever tasted.  The kind of melon that you hold in your mouth a little longer than you should because you don’t want the experience to end.

Today we went to a supermarket called La Anonima.  We started seeing these as we entered Patagonia and the big ones have it all.  El Calafate’s is no exception.  Although not as awesome as Diarco or complete as Carrefour, it is still the best we’ve seen in about a month.  We stocked up big time.  Some fresh veggies and meat but lots of the other stuff that you can’t find, at reasonable prices, in the smaller towns.  Cookies, chocolate, tomato sauce, chips, granola, cheese, grains and of course booze and wine.  La Anonima was the first place we went when we arrived in El Calafate.  We left with an incredible, cart bursting, $235 worth of groceries. (Afterwards we realized the prices were 30-40% higher than normal) Nevertheless, we seemed to be unable to stop ourselves.

In Argentina the best place to buy produce is at the small neighborhood produce stands (in some towns every other corner has a Verduria & Fruteria shop).  We looked for one in El Calafate, but were completely unsuccessful.  Alex even stepped out of her shell and asked at a few places, but was always directed to the same small supermarket that had miserable looking produce.  We are planning to go back on our way back with hopes of a fresh shipment.  We are pretty far south now, and the vast majority of produce has to be shipped in from a long ways away.  We have been spoiled.

Dinner – We decided that the best thing to have for dinner was Juicy Lucys.  An incredibly extravagant meal of hamburgers made with a slice of cheese inside.  When made with the flavorful Argentinian beef the cheese is truly gilding the lily.  We had the Juicy Lucys with a fresh arugula and cabbage salad and our Argentinian cocktail of choice, Fernet and Coke.  Fernet seems to be the nation’s favorite liquor.  After mate it is the go-to beverage.  As simple and juvenile as it may be, our favorite way to drink it is with coke.  The coke seems to complement the complexity of the Fernet wonderfully.  In the states Fernet lives in the realm of snobby mixologists.  They treat it as royalty and only add it sparingly to cocktails.  It is wonderful that Argentinians drink the spicy, smack you in the face spirit without a second thought.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of The Rambling Larder’s week in food.  We will try to get them posted as soon as possible as we have internet.  So, don’t expect it tomorrow, but soon.