Cheese me*

In Peru, finishing one's plate is a gesture of politeness and appreciation, so to ensure that we don't get a reputation around town as picky and ungrateful eaters, we have instituted the Clean Plate Club, the highest general honor conferred on a member of the EWB-Princeton Peru team during regular mealtimes. To make the Club, as you can guess, you have to clean your plate. This can be accomplished solo or with a food buddy; the only rule is that everything edible on you plate must be eaten by a human being (giving food to dogs not allowed).
Luckily, our meals are usually so delicious that making the Clean Plate Club is a reasonably pleasant task. The people at the Restaurante Malú make great meals with impressive variety for being located in rural Peru. Starchy (read: delicious) items make up 60-75% of the volume of each plate, and we usually have two of either rice, potatoes, yucca (pronounced yoo-ka, not yuck-a as yucca haterz are prone to saying), French fries, and/or noodles. For the non-vegetarians, there is a meat item, most often chicken but also lamb, beef, or fish. On lucky days we get our greens in the form of tomatoes, or beets. (Okay, none of those veggies are green but when you're in the Andean Sierra you take what you can get.) Yesterday we even got lettuce!
In order to bring our diet a bit more to life for our dear readers, I have put together (with the help of my compañeros) a list of the many foods that have kept our bellies and hearts happy here in Samne...
Ají. In America we just have salsa, but in Peru they call their spicy pepper condiment ají. I think it's called that because it's made from the ají pepper, although this might be a lie. Malú makes ají fresh, and we always have to ask for a second helping, mostly because Prakhar inhales ají like it's water. 
Carnero. Chicken is always a safe meat choice, but carnero (lamb) really makes a meal shine. It is usually stewed and goes great with rice, potatoes, and menestra (beans).
Lomitos. A Peruvian dish with cumin beef cut into small strips served with onions, tomatoes, french fries, and the omnipresent rice. We had this dish on our Otuzco outing, and despite receiving our food after people who had ordered other dishes already finished eating, we thought it was definitely worth it.
Cuy. Guinea pig, surprisingly tasty and more chewy than other meat, although it's not a universal favorite. 
Menestra. This delicious lentil/split pea-ish side dish complements any meal perfectly, and we also love it because it means that Prakhar, our token vegetariano, can get protein someplace other than from Clif bars. 
Fresh juice. Samne is located in pineapple country, and nothing beats freshly made pineapple juice. Unless maybe it's freshly squeezed orange juice.
Inca Kola. As our Peace Corps friend Brian says, there are some Peruvian meals that are only good to have with Inca Kola. It's the Peruvian national soda, a radioactive yellow liquid that tastes a bit like bubble gum. Don't be fooled by my unflattering description - it's delicious. I grew up in deep Coca Cola country (what up, Atlanta) and even I would choose Inca Kola over Coke if push came to shove. 
Lúcuma drinkable yogurt. In our adventure to Otuzco, we visited what I have decided is my favorite place in all of Peru: La Otuzcanita Productos Lacteos, where they sell delicious drinkable yogurt flavored like lúcuma, a popular Peruvian fruit. Oddly, not many of us are huge fans of lúcuma fruit but we all agree that the yogurt is fit for consumption by the gods (lúcuma yogurt and ambrosia all the way).
Queso tipo andino. La Otuzcanita also has Andean cheese, a semi-hard locally made cow's milk cheese with a firm but smooth texture and a taste in between that of provolone and manchego. *We polished off an entire wheel in just a few hours, using the shorthand phrase "Cheese me" (quésome) to ask for more.
Manjar. Dulce de leche with a more rich and complex taste. To understand how good manjar is, you should know that the jury is split on whether everyone prefers manjar or nutella. There are different scenarios in which I'd prefer either one - for example, nutella on crepes, but definitely manjar on pastries or shortbread cookies.
Picarones. A cross between Krispy Kreme donuts and funnel cake. Plus honey. Enough said.
Granadilla. A fruit that resembles pomegranate from the outside and inside, but tastes like kiwi. I had to ban myself from eating them this morning after I devoured five in a row last night without even blinking.

In an unrelated update, we're on the second day of the Patron Saint Festival for Santa Rosa de Lima! Lots of soccer-watching and dancing (and eating, of course) as we continue to immerse ourselves in Peruvian culture.