Hot Pepper Advocate
From the front, Javier van Oordt’s one-story house looks like the other residences on his street in the tony Orange County city of Laguna Niguel. There’s a nice lawn, a late-model Mercedes-Benz in the driveway, and a genteel quality to the roof and windows of the ranch-style abode.
Go into the backyard, though, and van Oordt transports you to the Andes—almost.
The small plot looms over the street behind it like a clifftop. One side has been transformed, the terraces that Peruvians like van Oordt have used to farm on hilly terrain for centuries. There, and in pots scattered around the patio, grow (an earthy type of mint), (more commonly known in English as the custard apple, for its velvety texture), and even —a juicy Peruvian lime that makes key limes seem as fragrant as cardboard.
