Page 4C
East Oregonian
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Hiking to Machu Picchu past sacred Inca peaks
tries turquoise mountain lakes,
tiny mud-brick villages, and centu-
ries-old Inca channels.
They also grounded us in local
life, explaining Quechua traditions
like medicinal uses of plants they
picked by the trail, where we also
found mouthwatering avocados and
granadillas (a type of passion fruit).
Their team of cooks and horsemen
prepared eight-course meals and
afternoon teas of mate de coca,
which alleviates altitude sickness.
By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO
Associated Press
SALKANTAY PASS, Peru —
Our hiking group had reached the
highest point of our trek through the
Andes to Machu Picchu. Now our
guide was leading us in a Quechua
ritual. We took turns placing stones
in an “apacheta” pyramid over
herbs and bits of chocolate bars,
offering them to Apu Salkantay, the
spirit of the mountain sacred to the
Incas. Its ice-covered peak shone
above us, spotlit by the sun.
Three days earlier in Cuzco,
the region’s gateway city, I had
watched hundreds of people carry
glittering statues of Catholic saints
in procession around the main plaza,
past rippling Baroque churches and
whitewashed houses with carved
wooden balconies. In another three
days, I would see the dawn’s irst
sunray ill a stone window in the
550-year-old Temple of the Sun at
Machu Picchu.
The Incas’ “lost city” is one of
the world’s iconic destinations, with
over 1.2 million visitors in 2015. But
to absorb the mesmerizing histor-
ical and spiritual signiicance of
this region, I irst explored Cuzco’s
fusion of native traditions and colo-
nial heritage, and then trekked with
locals through the steep 15,000-foot
mountains surrounding it.
Toward the sun
Giovanna Dell’Orto via AP
This May 31 photo shows a panorama of Machu Picchu, built by the Incas in the mid-15th century
nearly 8,000 feet up a ridge between precipices where the Andes meet the Amazon basin in Peru.
World’s navel
Cuzco was built on an 11,150-
feet Andean plateau. By the
mid-15th century, it became the
umbilical center of the Incas’ conti-
nent-spanning empire.
The perfectly-itted, massive
mortar-free walls of their palaces
and temples still line many of
the narrow streets, though most
buildings were rebuilt after the
violent conlicts during the Spanish
conquest a century later. The
rounded boulders of the Incas’
central sanctuary, Qoricancha,
became the foundation of Santo
Domingo, whose convent court-
yard encloses the temple’s tapered
niches.
European
and
indigenous
imagery mixes in Cuzco’s cele-
brated paintings, most conspic-
uously in an 18th century “Last
Supper” canvas in the cathedral that
features a paws-up, roasted Andean
rodent as the meal’s entree.
I preferred seafood ceviche at
Limo restaurant or local charcuterie
at Museo del Pisco, paired with
potent pisco sours. But I did try cuy
Giovanna Dell’Orto via AP
Giovanna Dell’Orto via AP
This June 1 photo shows visitors taking selies with llamas along
a terrace in Machu Picchu, Peru.
(guinea pig) in chiriuchu, a dish
including ish eggs, corn fritters,
seaweed, sausage, dried meat,
cheese, chicken and singeing rocoto
pepper prepared for the Corpus
Christi celebration, held 60 days
after Easter.
That holiday and Inti Raymi, the
winter solstice celebration in late
June, are Cuzco’s wildest mingling
of piety and partying. They fall at
the start of prime hiking season
(May-October).
Above the clouds
From
my
glass-covered
igloo, the swirls of stars framing
Salkantay were breathtaking, even
more so than hiking to this camp at
12,631 feet on the Salkantay trail,
Onion corn bread leaves lasting memory
By ELIZABETH KARMEL
Associated Press
Over the summer, I traveled
to Wooster, Ohio, for a barbecue
summit at the headquarters of
Certiied Angus Beef.
It was a trip illed with
learning, camaraderie — and
lots of smoked beef.
My fellow barbecue pit
masters and I visited a black
angus ranch, talked barbecue
non-stop, cut a side of beef
together — or rather watched as
the “meat doctor” Phil Bass cut
and explained.
I was introduced to several
new cuts including beef
belly — also known as beef
bacon — which I immediately
made when I got back home.
But, the standout of the trip
wasn’t barbecue at all. Instead,
it was a Vidalia onion cornbread
made by Ashley Pado, chef
of the education and culinary
center at Certiied Angus Beef
headquarters.
Pado headed up a team of
chefs preparing that day’s feast
that included a table of smoked
beef, numerous side dishes,
home-baked breads, pickled
vegetables and that memorable
cornbread that sparkled with
a pave of caramelized Vidalia
onion rings set in the bottom
of the cornbread. When Pado
served the cornbread, she
inverted it in the cast-iron pan
so you could see the concentric
circles of onion baked into the
bottom. Even before we took a
bite, the group marveled at the
presentation and wondered why
more people don’t embellish
cornbread.
The cornbread itself is light
and cakey with a little tang and
a little sweetness but the salty
savory almost-fried onions take
it over the top. Pado sauteed
the onions in beef bacon since
she had it in her pantry. When
I made the recipe, I adapted it
using pork bacon but you could
use butter or any kind of bacon
that you can get your hands on.
———
Elizabeth Karmel is a
barbecue and Southern foods
expert. She is the chef and
pit master at online retailer
CarolinaCueToGo.com and the
author of three books, including
“Taming the Flame.”
This May 26 photo shows
a group of Catholic faithful,
dressed in traditional Quechua
clothing, waiting to start carry-
ing a statue of the Virgin Mary
in the Corpus Christi procession
in the main plaza of Cuzco, Peru.
which follows ancient routes and
is considered the best alternative to
the often sold-out Inca Trail.
For four days, we hiked past
glaciers and through cloud forests
to Machu Picchu. Our guides,
Kenneth Leon and Irvin Llacta
from Salkantay Trekking, showed
our group of nine from four coun-
From the village of Aguas
Calientes, I looked across the
river straight up vertical peaks and
cheated, taking the shuttle instead of
1,500-plus steps to Machu Picchu.
In the mid-15th century, the
Incas built this improbable citadel
nearly 8,000 feet up on a skinny
ridge between precipices where
the Andes meet the Amazon basin,
and abandoned it a hundred years
later. It lay covered by the rain
forest until the 1910s, when Yale
historian Hiram Bingham brought
it global renown. (Many artifacts
he took were recently returned to
Cuzco, at Museo Machu Picchu
Casa Concha.)
For two days, I wandered the
main site along steep staircases,
climbed the “you-slip-you-die”
path to the ruins on Huayna Picchu,
the peak overlooking the citadel,
and walked the Inca Trail to the
Intipunku viewpoint.
The nearly 200 gray houses,
temples and agricultural buildings
are haunting, but the practical and
cosmological engineering is mind-
blowing. From every perspective,
the view deies logic: Terraces
clinging to sheer, 1,640-feet drop-
offs hold up colossally heavy
granite palaces and sanctuaries.
Carved stones, foundations and
windows precisely trace the sun’s
travels and line with sacred peaks
like Salkantay.
Late on my last afternoon, a
white llama grazing inches from
my feet woke me from a doze on
a terrace overlooking the citadel.
Most of the thousands of daily tour-
ists had gone, and workers raked
highlighter-green grass in the main
plaza.
Archaeologists still debate why
the Incas built this citadel. As I
watched the sun slant through the
peaks, tinging wisps of clouds at
eye level, the real and symbolic
magic of Machu Picchu’s place-
ment seemed answer enough.
Frozen Bulletproof Coffee thats
creamy without the cream
By MELISSA D’ARABIAN
Associated Press
AP Photo/Richard Drew
VIDALIA ONION CAST-
IRON CORNBREAD
Start to inish: One hour
Servings: 8
Equipment: 9 or 10-inch
cast-iron skillet
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose lour
• ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
• ½ cup yellow corn meal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
thin and kept together as one
piece in rounds
• 4 slices bacon, diced
Heat oven to 375 F
Saute bacon over low
heat in skillet until crisp.
Meanwhile slice thin rounds of
onions, making sure you keep
them intact and in one piece.
Remove bacon from pan
but leave the bacon grease
for the onions to cook in.
Carefully place the onion
rounds in the bottom of the
pan to cover the surface. Let
onions cook until the edges
begin to brown. Be careful to
keep onions in place — the
bottom of the skillet will have
a “polka-dot” pattern. Season
onions with a dusting of fresh
ground black pepper. Turn
off the heat and set aside until
ready to bake the cornbread.
If the pan cools down, warm
the pan on low heat before
pouring the cornbread batter
in pan.
In a large bowl, whisk
together lour, sugar, corn
meal, baking powder and salt.
Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix
together the cream, buttermilk,
oil, eggs and melted butter
until combined — the mixture
will emulsify. Set aside.
Add wet to dry ingredients
and mix until combined. Don’t
over mix. Batter should look
slightly lumpy.
Just before baking, add the
cooked bacon back to the pan
and place in the areas around
the onions, not on top of the
onions or it will interfere
with the onion pattern. Pour
cornbread batter directly into
hot pan. Place in the center
rack of the oven and bake for
30 minutes or until a toothpick
inserted in the middle comes
out clean.
Cool in the pan for 20
minutes, run a blunt knife
around the edges of the
cast-iron skillet to make
sure that it isn’t sticking on
the sides. Carefully turn the
skillet upside down and lip
cornbread out of pan to expose
onion rounds — you can
invert the cornbread and place
it upside down back into the
skillet for serving.
Serve at room temperature
or warm.
Nutrition information per
serving: 419 calories; 211
calories from fat; 24 g fat (9
g saturated; 1 g trans fats);
117 mg cholesterol; 407 mg
sodium; 46 g carbohydrate;
2 g iber; 20 g sugar; 7 g
protein.
I love coffee. My standard
order is simple: coffee with milk,
no sugar. I don’t veer off into
milkshake-land or over-sweetened
hot-chocolate-type drinks with
folds of luffy whipped cream.
So when bulletproof coffee —
usually a mug of joe blended with
butter — became trendy a few
years ago, it was a non-issue for
me. Why mess with 30 years of
simple coffee-drinking perfection?
Proponents claimed bulletproof
coffee helped them lose weight (I
was skeptical), and it gave them
more energy (wasn’t that the point
of caffeine?). And then I tried
it: it was downright delicious;
lusciously creamy. Why didn’t the
PR folks lead with that?
For those of you who have
not tried bulletproof coffee, it is
essentially hot coffee blended up
with a spoonful of coconut oil or
ghee (clariied butter) until the
whole mixture becomes creamy
pale brown, as the oil emulsiies
into the coffee. Usually, a little
vanilla or cinnamon is added.
Basically, it’s creamy coffee,
without the cream, and a coconut
lavor undertone. It appeals to
the dairy-free and paleo crowd
to be sure, but honestly, anyone
who loves coffee should try it at
least once. (Tip: be very careful
when you blend up hot liquids in a
blender.)
Now, imagine that your bullet-
proof coffee and your favorite
smoothie had a child. That is my
recipe today — Frozen Bulletproof
Coffee — and it may become your
new favorite coffee order.
I made this version with peanut
butter, banana and cinnamon, but
feel free to swap out ingredients
and make it your own — add
pumpkin pie spice and you’ll
be super seasonal. Even if you
are addicted to the luffy frozen
dessert concoctions that are made
in the name of coffee, you will love
this frozen bulletproof coffee.
(Fluffy coffee drinkers note:
there’s no added sugar in my recipe,
but feel free to add a small spoonful
of honey if you must.) Bulletproof
coffee is like being on an exotic
vacation — I love it, but I also crave
the homey comfort of my standard
Melissa d’Arabian via AP
FROZEN BULLETPROOF
COFFEE
Start to inish: 5 minutes
Servings: 1
• ¾ cup brewed black coffee (hot)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• ½ banana, frozen and sliced
• 1 tablespoon plain protein
powder (optional)
• pinch cinnamon
• dash vanilla
• pinch salt
Place the coffee in a blender and
add the coconut oil. Cover, leaving
the lid a little askew (so steam
doesn’t build up), and cover with
a kitchen towel. Carefully blend
on medium-high until coconut
oil is emulsiied into the coffee
and it is creamy brown, about 30
seconds. Add the ice cubes and
the remaining ingredients and
blend until smooth, about 30 more
seconds. Pour into a large glass
and enjoy.
Note: It’s important to make
the bulletproof coffee irst before
adding the other ingredients so
that the coconut oil emulsiies
properly.
Nutritional information per
serving: 306 calories; 195 calories
from fat; 22 g fat (14 g saturated;
0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol;
108 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate;
3 g iber; 9 g sugar; 11 g protein.
cup of morning joe. When I feel
like something special, though, this
Frozen Bulletproof Coffee is my
go-to.
———
Food Network star Melissa
d’Arabian is an expert on healthy
eating on a budget. She is the
author of the cookbook “Super-
market Healthy.”