Family Meal Plan: Cinnamon Peruvian Churro Bites + Machu Picchu Bananas + Ancient Inca Chocolate Sauce

Cinnamon Dusted Peruvian Churro Bites

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• boil :

  to cook a food in liquid heated to the point of gas bubbles and steam forming (boiling point is 212 F at sea level).

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• crack :

  to break open or apart a food to get what's inside, like an egg or a coconut.

• dust :

  to lightly cover food with a powdered or granulated ingredient, like flour or sugar.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• pan-fry :

  to fry in a pan in a small amount of fat.

• shape :

  to form food into a specific shape by hand or with a cutting tool—examples are cutting cookie dough into shapes with cookie cutters, forming bread dough into a roll or crescent shape, and rolling ground meat into a meatball.

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

• stir :

  to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!

History of Churros!

• The origin of the Churro (pronounced CHU-rro) may have begun not in Spain but in China, where Portuguese merchants first tasted "youtiao" (YOO-teeow), strips of golden, fried, salty pastry traditionally eaten for breakfast. The Portuguese recreated this Chinese delicacy in Iberia, adding sugar rather than salt, and sometime after, it was introduced to Spain. The Spanish eventually formed their churro dough through a star-shaped nozzle, and the now-familiar ridges were born. 
• Spain has another theory about the Churro's beginning. They say that nomadic Spanish shepherds, high up in the mountains, created an easily packed dough that did not have to be baked, which they could easily cook in a pan over an open fire. Originally, these churros were about the size of a breadstick. 
• Spanish conquistadors are said to have brought the churro to South America in the 1500s. They returned with chocolate and plentiful amounts of sugar, turning the simple dough sticks into a sweet sensation. 
• Churros are now tasty, deep-fried, sticks of dough, sugar-sprinkled, and served with warm chocolate sauce for dipping. While Brazilians prefer a chocolate filling, the Cubans like their churros with guava fruit stuffing, and Mexicans eat churros with dulce de leche or vanilla. In Uruguay, a savory combination arose with cheese-stuffed churros, and in southeastern Spain, they eat the pastries with salt rather than sugar, closer relatives of the original Chinese "youtiao."
• Churros are made with a type of dough called "pâte à choux" (paht-ah-shoo), or choux pastry. It is prepared on the stovetop by boiling water and butter, adding flour, and stirring for a few minutes while the dough cooks and comes together. After it cools a little, eggs are added one at a time until the right consistency is reached. Steam from the moisture in the dough causes it to puff while it bakes, creating the space to fill pastries like churros, cream puffs, or eclairs.

Let's Learn About Peru!

• Peru is the third largest country on the South American continent, after Brazil and Argentina. It is on the western coast, next to the Pacific Ocean.
• Peru shares borders with five countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile.
• Lima is Peru's capital and largest city. The country's official languages are Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, and other indigenous languages.
• Peru is a unitary presidential republic with a president, vice-president, prime minister, and congress. Its currency is the Peruvian sol. 
• The land area of Peru is 496,225 square miles. It is larger than the state of Texas but smaller than Alaska. Over 34 million people live in Peru. 
• Peru's landscape has beaches, deserts, mountains, and rainforests. Most people live along the coast, where the capital, Lima, is located. 
• Machu Picchu, the "lost city of the Incas," is located in Peru and is one of the World's New Seven Wonders. It was built by hand in the Sacred Valley over 8,000 feet above sea level and rediscovered in 1911. You have to hike or take a bus to get to Machu Picchu. 
• The Giant Andean Condor is the largest flying bird on Earth and can be found in Peru.
• Guinea pigs are a delicacy eaten in Peru! They are called "cuy" (pronounced "Coo-wee").
• The Amazon River starts in Peru and runs through six other South American countries. Some consider the Amazon the world's longest river; however, other experts say that honor belongs to the Nile River in Africa.
• The Andes mountain range, at 4,300 miles, is the longest above-water mountain range in the world. It runs through seven countries, north to south, including Peru. 
• Over half of Peru is covered by forest, much of it rainforest.
• Peru is home to an extensive and diverse selection of plants and animals. Yet Peruvians have not impacted their natural world like many other countries, and many of these ecosystems have been undisturbed.
• Did you know that in less than half a square mile of the Peruvian rainforest, there are more than 6,000 kinds of plants?
• Some of the main crops of Peru have been cultivated for thousands of years. A few of those crops are quinoa, potatoes, beans, peppers, maize, and tomatoes. The potato originated in Peru. 
• Peru's cuisine has been influenced by its indigenous population, including the Inca, and cuisines brought in by colonizers and immigrants from Europe, Asia, and West Africa. Without familiar ingredients from their home countries, immigrants modified their traditional cuisines with those native to Peru. 
• "Chifa" (CHEE-fa) is one of these cuisines, combining foods Chinese immigrants brought to Peru in the 19th and early 20th centuries with Peruvian ingredients.
• "Ceviche" (seh-VEE-chay) is a seafood dish that originated in Peru. Chunks of raw, fresh fish are marinated in key lime juice, seasoned with chili peppers, coriander, julienned onion, salt, and pepper.  

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Peru?

• Peruvian kids attend school from March to December. Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, so its seasons are opposite those of the Northern Hemisphere, with summer months from November to March. 
• Families are close in Peru, and kids enjoy family gatherings with many relatives. 
• Peruvian kids like to play a game called Sapo, where they try to toss coins into holes on top of a box. The winner is the first to get a coin into the frog's mouth (one of the holes in the box). Kids also enjoy playing with marbles. 
• Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Peru, so you can often find kids playing football together. They may also play volleyball or basketball.  
• There are several sweets kids like to eat. "Alfajores" are Spanish sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche. "Picarones" are Peruvian doughnuts made from squash and sweet potato. They are often covered with "chancaca," a syrup made from the raw sugar of the sugar cane with added orange zest. Finally, kids may have ice cream or shakes made with "lúcuma" (an Andean fruit) for a cool treat.