Saturday, January 26, 2008

2 Years Old: Happy Birthday Peru Food!



Al final, tengo un comentario en español.

Two years I began this Peruvian food blogging adventure on a lark; I like writing, I had started my fledgling blogging steps, and I am passionate about Peru. I thought it might be fun to write about Peruvian food, since it seemed a lot of people were beginning to talk about it. And, a blog seemed an easy way to do it. Peru Food was born.

Little did I know that two years later I would have tens of thousands hits and have been visited from people over 180 countries. Over these two years, I've received countless e-mails and comments (not as many comments as I'd like though, so don't feel shy about leaving yours!), I have learned so much about Peruvian food, and most importantly, as a result of this humble blog, I have met many interesting people, some via e-mail only, and others in real life. More than one, I now consider a friend.

So far, it has been a great two years of this blogging life.

I always get asked the following questions when asked about this Peruvian food blog: Are you a chef? No. Do you own a restaurant? Negative. Do you import or sell Peruvian food products? Not at all. What part of Peru are you from? Actually, I was born in LA. So, why do you this? It's a hobby that has become greater than me. Long-time readers know I take the occasional hiatus from blogging, but I always come back because of you, and because I am still committed to writing about Peru, its cuisine, its culture, and ultimately, its connection to myself.

Some of you know I am teacher of little ones, so if I disappear now and again, I'm probably just too exhausted to research and write and post. Bear with me.

Thanks for making Peru Food what it is today: one of the main sources of information about Peruvian food in English on the Internet.

In closing I just want to acknowledge two women who have a hand in this blog: one is my late grandmother with whom I grew up in the central Andes who instilled in me a love of Peruvian food and culture. The other is my mother who marvels at what I do with this blog, but who always told me: You should be a writer. This blog could not exist without their influence in my life.

And now, go out and eat some Peruvian food! And, toast with Peruvian pisco, but as I said in my very first post here, the first sip is ALWAYS for the Pachamama.

And, I know that cake isn't Peruvian but the good folks at Pink Cake Box are very good at making clever and eye-catching cakes, and were kind enough to allow me to use their picture.

Ahora en español...un poco más breve pero igual de sentimiento. Quiero agradecer a todas las personas que han llegado a este humilde blog que comenzó como un pasatiempo y se ha convertido en algo más grande que yo. Gracias por leerme, por apoyarme, por los correos, los comentarios (aunque más comentarios ¡siempre son bienvenidos!) A través de este espacio virtual he llegado a conocer a muchas personas, algunas sólo por correos, otras en persona, y otras que hoy en día considero amigos y amigas.

Mucha gente me pregunta: ¿Eres chef? No. ¿Tienes un restaurante? Tampoco. ¿Importas o vendes productos peruanos? Menos. ¿De qué parte del Perú eres? Mmmm, nací en Los Angeles... Entonces ¿por qué este blog? El blog nace de mi pasión por el Perú, tierra de mis padres y mis antepasados, de mi curiosidad por siempre aprender sobre él, y de difundir lo que aprendo. Nace de mi afán por redactar. Y de tratar de entender, por medio de su cocina y su cultura esa parte peruana que existe dentro de mi.

Algunos saben que soy maestro de los bien pequeños, por lo tanto, si a veces desaparezco, es sólo que estoy muy cansado para investigar y redactar. Pero siempre regreso a Peru Food por una sola razón, ustedes los lectores de esta página. Gracias por todo.

No podré concluír sin hacer mención de dos grandes influencias en mi vida que de alguna forma están presentes en este blog: mi abuela, ya desaparecida, con quien viví algunos años de mi niñez en la Sierra Central, quien me inculcó un amor por el Perú y por la comida peruana, y mi madre que alucina con este blog, pero que simpre me dijo: Hijo, escribe.

Y ahora a comer algo rico y peruano, pero primero brindando con buen pisco del Perú ... pero, como dije la primera vez que escribí algo en este blog, cuyo enlace les dejo aquí, el primer trago siempre es para la Pachamama.





Peru.Food@gmail.com
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Click here for the Peru Food main page.

TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday feliz!

Anonymous said...

My heartfelt congratulations on this the second anniversary of Peru Food, Alejandro! As a Peruvian, I am grateful for blogs like yours that make it possible for Peruvian food and culture to have such a strong presence on the Internet.

Here's to many more posts, and cheers with pisco sour or cóctel de algarrobina, of course!

Gretchen Noelle said...

A very happy birthday wish! I think it is great what you do and I think it is fantastic that you have made it through 2 years! That is quite an accomplishment!

Giancarlo said...

Happy birthday, Peru Food!
I'll drink a toast to you with a homemade algarrobina cocktail...
Kampai!

KirkK said...

A very happy blogger-birthday! Thanks again for all the great content over the last 2 years!

qc.carlos said...

Felicidades Alejandro!

Peru Food is a very good blog, and not just because of its great content but also because of your talent as a writer.

Keep it up and thanks for including me among your blogger friends.

Salud!

Carlos

::Alejandro:: said...

Thank you all for your kind words!

Kampai! Salud!

Charles C Stirk Jr said...

Looking forward to many more years ......

::Alejandro:: said...

@cstirk: Thanks my friend for always coming back! Saludos!

@Carlos: Gracias por lo de 'your talent as a writer', viniendo de ti, es un gran elogio. Un abrazo!