Edible Fun

I know I haven't talked much about the food here, but that's because I keep thinking it deserves it's own entry and hence I keep putting it off.  However, it's time to put that aside and tell you that almost everything I've eaten here has been delicious!  I'm sure I still have lots of things to try, but so far I've encountered several 'traditional' items that I thought you all might like to hear about:

_Arepa:  kinda like a cross between a tortilla and a pancake, these can be made from either flour or cornmeal and are served with nearly everything.  They can also be their own meal when piled high with meet, veggies, guacamole and pretty much anything else you might like. 

_Cazuela:  a stew-like dish with a base of beans that are then smothered in corn, meat, cheese, potato strips, and any number of other goodies depending on where you're eating.

_Mondongo:  a soup traditionally made with cow stomach, ...um...and lots of other things I don't remember at the moment because I was focused on the chewy stomach bits.  Was super yummy other than those parts, and is served with rice, avocado and banana, all of which you scoop up together while you're slurping up your stew.

_Pantacones:  Squashed plantains fried in oil and served with various toppings.  These are what I really want to talk about since I had the pleasure of learning how to cook them the other night.  We had invited a friend over for dinner and mentioned that we'd like to learn some Colombian cooking, so that's what we got.  Really quite a simple recipe, but oh so much more delicious when made fresh at home.  For those of you coming to visit, I'd be happy to show off my newly acquired knowledge with an edible exhibit.  For the rest of you, you'll just have to make do with a couple mouth watering pictures.