Chullo and friends

Of all the Peruvian hats (including one that Matt calls the "tiny sombrero on top of the head", below), one of the most symbolic of Peru is the Chullo (pronounced choo-yo), seen at left in traditional model and below, its urban cousin. I just gave my little cousin Kate a hot pink model with llamas and Peru inscribed on it.

Apparently, this is somehow all the rage in New York, as the Times recently reported. Although the NYT did call them ugly, they also mentioned they are darn warm. Not to mention, they are "muy barato".

In Peru hat is "gorro" and cap is "gafa". Below I bring to you a variety of pictures of peruvian hats, from the tiny sombrero to the late 19th century bowlers, to the cowboy hats, to the mini tablecloth-with-fringe sort of variety. Enjoy - and if you find a good resource that explains all of them, please let me know.

Peruvian soy milk

Thanks to Lucha, our lovely housekeeper. Hopefully this will keep me drinking more drinks at home and less from street vendors (see, Dami, I'm trying), and hopefully I'll get sick less often.

:)

Makes: about 2 L.

Take about a cup of dried soybeans (you can buy in bulk).
Soak overnight with plenty of water (2-3 times volume of soybeans).
In the morning, rinse out soybeans.
Put in blender, picking out any stones or skins.
Add a little water and blend
Put in a big pot with about 2-3 liters water.
Boil for at least 30 min, adding a bit of cinnamon stick and a few cloves..
Strain and drink (recommend adding a little brown sugar).
Swoon.

Keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, just microwave when you want to reheat.

Apparently, you can use the residual soy bits to make soy meat-subsitute type products which Lucha's sister seems to know how to do. Can't help you there . . .