!Buenas tardes, y bienvenidos a la mesa de cenar! Hello, and welcome to my dinner table! I have loved trying new dishes while in Colombia, and I have a new appreciation for food and for meals. In Colombia, and specifically in more rural areas like the Nariño department, meals are an important time where families and friends can come together to share food, but also to share stories and to share space. The work hours are scheduled around lunchtime, always from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., when employees go home to spend time with time with their children, who are picked up from school to have lunch in their house. While lunch is the biggest meal of the day, other meals, like el desayuno (el ayuno means "the fast", so it literally means "undoing the fast", kind of like breakfast is a "breaking of a fast"), la cena and la merienda (the snack) are also important. Coming from N.Y.C. where everyone eats on-the-go, it has taken some time for me to get used to this custom in Pasto.
At the beginning, I was taken by sancocho, a traditional hot soup made from chicken, potatoes, yuca, plantain, corn, onion and garlic. Some people choose to add tomatoes and bell peppers as well, and this soup is usually served alongside a plate of rice and half of an avocado.
