Pique, Old Bay and Terere

So I´ve finally conquered my first rite of passage. I got pique. It´s a little parasite that digs into the skin next to your toe nail. It then lays eggs which start hurting. That´s when I knew. It´s really not very painful or difficult or harmful for that matter unless it grows. All you have to do is quickly pull it out before more start accumulating in the same region. And so I did. Well that is I tried to do so...first I tried to squeeze it out with my fingers. No go. Then with tweezers. Again no go. Irritated that this was taking too long, I grabbed my nail clippers and just clipped all the skin and pus out of the area. The egg sack of the pique came out which was a slimy yellow color but very cool and then lastly the actual pique it self, which is just a black dot. The egg sack was really cool to pop as well. Hehe.



Also as a Marylander, I introduced Old Bay © to the family. They liked it. I was ecstatic but now … THEY ARE EATING IT ON EVERYTHING! Freaking a dude, I love to share the wealth and flavor of Maryland just as much as the next person but seriously ....my Old Bay? It’s not easy to find down here. I mean I´m in a land locked country. Old Bay is hard enough to find outside of the east coast. So, I’m not pulling it out. Sad. Pathetic. I know but its not like the yerba used for terere and mate.

So what exactly is terere you may wonder. Terere is an iced tea. Folks sit in a circle and discuss the happenings of the day or what not. There is a person who pours the ice water from a pitcher into the small, usually wooden, cup, called a guampa. The guampa contains the yerba (the tea) and a metal straw with a mesh bottom, called a bombilla. The guampa with the yerba, bombilla, and water gets passed to each person in the circle, who sucks all the water through the straw then returns it to the pourer. It´s a fantastic way to rehydrate especially in the hotter months. In the colder months, folks drink mate which is basically the same thing except for the fact that hot water, and I mean steaming hot water, is pour into the guampa. The first few times you try mate its a bit rough on the lip and tongue because the bombilla (metal) heats up VERY quickly and burns a little. You get used to it after a while though. You can also add yuyos, roots and herbs that can be added to the water to enhance the flavor of the t-ray and mate. My favorite is mint and camomille.