Food & Travel : Quinoa Salad @ Salta

This is one of my favourite dishes of all times!

Just a year ago I visited Salta for a long weekend. I went from Salta to Cachi for a day trip and tasted the most delicious quinoa salad I´ve ever had.

It had grilled peppers (red and green), corn, tomatoes and quinoa: Fresh and fulfilling! The perfect combination!

I had tried quinoa before (in pies, with potatos, etc.) but never in a salad... and it was great!

But apart from its peculiar taste and texture, the quinoa has a story.

It comes from the Highest Andes Mountains and grows all over South America mountain countries.

It was one of the main foods among Inca civilization. It has more protein than any other grain which makes it high quality food. It grows wildly almost anywhere so it was helpful for people living in the high mountains! And it´s still is!

The high iron levels are said to help with altitude sickness, because it improves the oxygen levels in blood.

It recently became very popular and it´s exported to all over the world, but the origins are ancient and I´m sure it tastes different if you are having quinoa with a view like this...

Just fantastic!

Bel & Salta: Part 4 Cardons & Cachi

DAY 4 - Excursion to Cachi

This is the First day I woke up feeling (almost) healthy.

And I`m taking more pictures!

We are so high there are clouds around us!Piedra del Molino: 3348 mts above sea level

All the buses make the same stop in the same place at the same time...

The cardones are column-like cactus plant that exists in areas 3400 m a s l in altitude, and are the symbolic species of this National Park,

located in the central western part of the Salta Province, between the designated Calchaquíes Valleys, occupying a surface of more than 130,000 acres.

I look healthier!

Yeah!!! I´m walking and I´m not moaning!

We finally got to Cachi...

2.280 mts above sea level

This time the restaurant was nice, quiet and I asked to eat outdoors... It was a beautiful clean day, sunny, perfect to get over my bronchitis :)

I ordered a quinoa salad, that was just great and ended up being probably one of my favourite pictures of the trip so far :)

Then I walked a little bit around the town main areas...

I kept walking and walking and walking... and taking pictures!

And I kept taking pics on the road on the way back to Salta!

We are sooo close to the clouds that you can almost touch them...

You can see all the curves of the road behind me...

2.280 mts above sea level/ sobre el nivel del mar
A cemetery...I´m wondering if they got faster to heaven...

Last picture of the day!

California: I´m Loving It

Holaaaaaa

Here I am in California, a day away from saying goodbye to my beloved 2007, that because of Time Zones, will be three hours longer for me! Fantastic!

I spent a lovely Christmas, but we didn´t celebrate Christmas´Eve. It was kind of strange, but ok. So we celebrated Christmas over dinner on the 25. We had Russian food over Anna´s and everything was wamr and cozy. It was so much fun! Oh! I got a new camera for Xmas!!! It´s pink, it´s sony, and I´m loving it!

After celebrating Christmas, we rented a Car in Vacaville -where we are staying at Jean´s apt and drove for a few days to Los Angeles, San Diego and Costa Mesa. We drove through the desert and of course along the Pacific Coast. PCH is awesome! I throw garbage at Leo Di Caprio´s mansion in Beverly Hills and got lots of pictures with sculptures by Noguchi. Got plenty of food and got to see great scenarios.

Back to San Francisco, we did a night tour of Alcatraz and walk the halls where Al Capone walked... It was foggy and scary...

Today we went to Napa Valley, a beautiful area full of wineries, where I had some wine tasting experiences and tours. I think it was the best day of the trip! Beautful landscapes, good wine, chilling out outdoors, just great!

Tomorrow I will be visiting the SFMOMA (Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco) and then closing the 2007 at Anna´s beautiful Russian home. But this time, we will try to grill asado (BBQ Argentina´s way). But we did ask Anna and her mum to prepare the Olivier Salad, because it´s soooo good!! It´s funny that we call that recipe Russian Salad in Argentina and they, in Russia, call it Olivier Salad, after the chef that created it.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys the last day of 2007 and begin 2008 with the right foot !!!!!

Californian kisses and best wishes!!
Bel