This being the first of what we hope to be many posts about beautiful Tarija it's going to be a stream-of-consciousness post to start with. As things come to mind we'll write about them and post some pictures. And if you have any questions or comments, let us know. We'll do our best to answer them. It will be a combination of our purpose for being here and daily life. Altho the two are tightly bound together. For those that don't know or are not yet aware, our purpose for being here is to preach and teach the Bible and that IS our daily life.
So, on with the post...here is a photo of a local delicacy known as a salteña. They are delicious and addictive. At the local "tienda", Hamacas you can buy a salteña for 5.5 Bolivianos which is around $.75 and it's about the size of your hand. We just learned that the "tienda" is actually a franchise that is based in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
The following info about salteñas is from Wikipedia: "A salteña is a type of Bolivian baked empanada. Salteñ
as are savory pastries filled with beef, pork or chicken mixed in a sweet, slightly spicy or very spicy sauce, and sometimes also containing peas, potatoes and other ingredients. There are also some vegetarian versions available for sale at certain restaurants. Other ingredients included in a salteña are eggs, olives, or raisins. Another characteristic is that they are juicy, like a stew in a pastry. They are more football shaped than flat like empanadas. The trick to eating them is to hold them upright, nibble the top corner and work your way down without spilling any of the hot juices. The juiciness is achieved by making a stew out of all the ingredients and adding gelatin, so that the stew hardens in the refrigerator, and then slowly melts when they are baked. This ensures that the dough does not get soggy even while providing a very juicy filling."
as are savory pastries filled with beef, pork or chicken mixed in a sweet, slightly spicy or very spicy sauce, and sometimes also containing peas, potatoes and other ingredients. There are also some vegetarian versions available for sale at certain restaurants. Other ingredients included in a salteña are eggs, olives, or raisins. Another characteristic is that they are juicy, like a stew in a pastry. They are more football shaped than flat like empanadas. The trick to eating them is to hold them upright, nibble the top corner and work your way down without spilling any of the hot juices. The juiciness is achieved by making a stew out of all the ingredients and adding gelatin, so that the stew hardens in the refrigerator, and then slowly melts when they are baked. This ensures that the dough does not get soggy even while providing a very juicy filling."
