We had the pleasure of joining a Peruvian family for a home hosted lunch and yes cuy, which is a traditional delicacy, was on the menu. That’s a hot pepper in his mouth. We decided it taste a little like duck.

We shopped at the local food market.

In Peru you can find more than 3,800 varieties of potatoes.

As well as a huge assortment of all different kinds of fruits and vegetables.

We helped prepare the meal. Here Kerry and Margaret make some guacamole.

And Laura and Cynthia did their share.

Our host lit the stove. We made Peruvian tortillas.

The purple corn makes a delicious healthful drink — Chicha Morada.

“So what’s with the guinea pigs?” we wanted to know. In some houses they run around on the kitchen floor.  Our hosts kept them on the roof of the house. “But we don’t name them.” Cuy can be found on the menus of the finest restaurants, raised on special ranches. They can also be gotten as street food. At all levels of society, Peruvians are crazy for cuy… the meal of choice for special occasions.

Cuy often are found running around on the kitchen floor. Their diet consists solely of barley greens.

You can witness the whole preparation of cuy on the street.

Just how important cuy has been historically to Peruvians is demonstrated in this painting of The Last Supper which hangs in the Cusco Cathedral. It was painted in 1753 by Marcos Zapata, a Quechuan artist.

Rich grasses for animal feed grow on the Peruvian hillsides.