Frog juice

Monday 7 April 2008

Here is Ryan, brave soul that he is, drinking "extracto de rana" - frog extract. It is a common drink in this part of the mountains (we asked the guy who made it for us - he gets 12 to 16 orders a morning, and he's just one guy in one market), and is supposed to cure bronchitis, asthma, impotence, tiredness, and anemia, as well as returning your youth.

I'll give you directions, in case you want to make it. Take one live frog, give it a knock on the head, and peel off the skin. Put it in a blender with hot water and a raw quail egg. Blend well. Strain. Add honey, carob syrup, beet and carrot juice, and maca (an Andean tuber) powder. Mix. Enjoy!

Ryan drank the whole two glasses, and said it wasn't bad. I had a few sips, but didn't care for it. It wasn't terrible, and if you didn't know what was in it probably wouldn't notice, but there was definitely a slight icky background flavor. And, Ryan ended up pretty sick that night. We can't say for sure it was the frog juice, but . . .