Nap for lunch, bread for dinner

We eat a lot of bread here. And not just because we live at the bakery. 

Breakfast is bread with cheese or butter and tea or coffee. Dinner is more like a late-night snack. Around 7 or 8, we usually have a few slices of--guess what--bread and tea.

I like bread, so I'm not bothered by it. In fact, I sleep better at night not having just chowed down a huge steak hours before bedtime. 

But what is new for me is how important lunch is in Peru. Lunch is when you get your nutrients for the day. Lunch is when you socialize with your family. Lunch is when you take a nap, to recover from eating so much! 

Many stores close or run on low staff from the hours of 1-4 p.m. It's easy to see why, when the food is so good!

Here is a good picture of a traditional lunch:

First, comes your soup. Then your segundo, or main dish, which in this case in caigua rellena. Usually everyone orders a liter of soda to share. I guess we bought some Fanta for the house. 

Caigua (kai-wa) is a vine fruit, says Wikipedia, but I sure thought it was a veggie. Anyway, they boil the caiguas, then stuff them with ground beef, raisins, olives, hard boiled eggs and pecans, if they can find some. Then, with a little bit of tomato sauce and some rice, the dish comes out looking good. 

This picture gives a glimpse of the stuffing:

While you're eating your sandwich and bag of raisins and running back to work, think of me. I'll be bloated and napping.