From Bolivia, with Love.

I have the coolest friends ever. Leslie, who I have mentioned twice before, showed her madre my quinoa post and she decided to send me Bolivian treats. The package came yesterday morning, I was very excited when the office called me to say it arrived.

Lovely whole grain treats and a fun post card.

First of all, there was a lovely post card with a picture of hot air balloons and a nice message on the back. It made me smile :-) She also sent these little grain bars. Some are quinoa, some amaranth, and some canahua. I tried one of each, they were all delicious. They aren't sweet or salty like most American-made granola or cereal bars. Since there are no fancy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or chocolate, the grain flavor really stands out (proving the point that when you use quality ingredients, you don't need to add all that other stuff). The amaranth is my favorite, it kind of has a nutty flavor.

Loved them all, but the amaranth is my fave.

The other item in the package was popped quinoa, which I've never had before. I've had "puffed" rice (aka Rice Crispies) and seen other puffed grains in the health food store, but I have never tried them before. They look like Rice Crispies, just rounder. I must confess, they look yummy but I am not sure what to do with them. The most obvious answer is quinoa crispy treats, but I feel like its a tragedy Americanize a lovely Bolivian gift. Despite the writing being in Spanish, the ingredients in the recipe on the back were straightforward enough I could figure out what it says. It suggests making like a quinoa yogurt parfait with fruit, which does sound good but I am not sold on the idea yet. I started researching recipes for how to use it, but ended up getting side track with Bolivian recipes.  So, look out for an upcoming Bolivian food post with popped quinoa in it somewhere.

Not sure how to use it yet, but can't wait to try it.

Thank you so much Beatriz for my package! I really want to come visit now. Leslie sent me a post card last time she was there, it has gorgeous mountains and cute fuzzy llamas on it. I hanged it over my desk as inspiration to graduate so I can come see Illimani for myself. I'm going to look for Hawaiian things to send you both too.