potato and quinoa soup.

we all know i love me my potatoes and i love me a good soup.  other things i love?  quinoa and ecuador and cheese.  hence, this soup is my PERFECT soup.

i love sneaking protein into my meals in the form of delicious crunchy grainy things.

as with most of my ecuadorian recipes, this on is based almost entirely on one from laylita.  also i made an ENORMOUS batch so i can freeze some for a cold and lazy day! (feel free to halve the recipe).


potato and quinoa soup.

ingredients.
4 T achiote oil
4 medium onions, diced
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 t cumin
2 t oregano
1 t coriander
12 small to medium-ish russets, peeled and cut into small-ish chunks
2 c uncooked quinoa, rinsed
16 c water or broth (i did half and half for this batch)
2 c milk
4 c grated monterey jack cheese
one of those plastic trader joes packages worth of cilantro, finely chopped
salt and peppa

directions.
1.  heat the oil in a huge pot.  add the onions, garlic, tomato, cumin, oregano, coriander, and some salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
2.  add the potatoes, mix em up real nice, and cook for 5 more minutes, giving em a stir every once in a while.
3.  add the water/broth and bring to a boil.
4.  add the quinoa, reduce the temperature, and simmer for about 25 minutes (until the potates are tender).
5.  stir in the milk and cheese and cook for about 5 more minutes.
6.  stir in the cilantro right before serving.  also, you'll probably need to salt the buns offa this thing.

normally i would put a few avocado slices on top of this bad boy, but
today i was forced to accept that the ole brown paper bag trick
takes longer than six hours to work....

sad gypsy.

(cat) feeding time in this household is kind of an ordeal.  they are all on meds.  amanda is on three.  and they are all food-obsessed.  seriously.  the moment my alarm goes off in the morning or i walk in the door from work at night i am surrounded by all the different mews just begging me to please save them from imminent starvation.  oh and on weekends did i want to sleep in?  HA.

in the rare event that i do walk in the door to a quiet apartment i IMMEDIATELY know something is wrong.  that something usually being gypsy has managed to open amanda's food container and eat SIX CUPS of food (for context, she normally gets 1/8 cup twice a day...).

that isn't actually the topic of the post, but you needed to know how much gypsy loves food for this story to make sense.

gypsy gets quarters of pills hidden in a delicious pill pocket which she eats directly from my hand before i can even walk over to her food station.  quartering pills usually leaves a nice bit of accumulated pill dust in the bottom of the pill vial.  so, in a moment of laziness, i decided to put that pill powder to use.  instead of giving her a pill i decided to just sprinkle an amount of powder that looked-ish like a quarter-ish directly onto gypsy's food.  i figured, she'll eat anything even remotely food (dairy) flavored, so there was no way she would turn down her food.

wrong.  wrong wrong WRONG.  well, kind of wrong.  she did eat it.  but SO slowly.  and all the while sadly looking up at me as if i were poisoning her.  i mean, there was no way she wasn't going to eat it, but she was real sad about it.  i'm sorry gyps!  i'll stick to pill pockets from now on!

so sad.
and yes, she eats on a plate.  under normal circumstances this
slows down her ravenous gulping and sometimes make her chew.

chocolate birthday.

why hello!

a few weeks ago it was my birthday and cait brought me to the taza chocolate factory!  something i've always enjoyed is finding out wonderful things about a person/company/place/entity of some sort that i already liked a lot and the new information makes me like it even more!  REALLY convoluted way for me to say that taza has exceeded my expectations and i love 'em!  who would have thought that such an awesome chocolate company comes from right here in boston.

why are they so great?  okay, well i'm not trying to sound like an advertisement here, so i'll keep it short (check out their website instead).  but one superfantastic tidbit is that they buy their beans DIRECTLY from farmers in the dominican republic.  i feel like nowadays this is practically unheard of.  but i think its great that there is no middle man and the farmers can get direct support.  pretty neat!!

oh, and their chocolate is freaking delicious.

boston, meet llapingachos.

i've referenced llapingachos maybe more than once.  if you know me in real life it's likely that i've mentioned them many a time.  even though i recently feasted upon them in ecuador, it still wanted em!  plus i wanted cait (my roommate) to experience their glory.

so lets just think about how potatoes are really high up in my favorite foods.  i love potatoes in every form. now, lets think about how mashed potatoes are my favorite form of potatoes.  the potato king.  okay, now lets talk about how things are better when they're cripsy and browned.  oh, and we can't forget about how cheese makes everything more delicious.  so, are you ready to behold the glory of llapingachos?

make some mashed potatoes, form them into cheese filled patties, fry the patties on both sides.  SERIOUSLY.  i'm gonna have to say that the ecuadorians do this better than the jews.  its a wonder that llapingachos haven't globalized more.

the recipe i use is from one of the best websites ever to be created, but i shall post my version of it here.  thank you laylita.


llapingachos.

ingredients.
5 russets, peeled and cut into chunks
2 T achiote oil (i will explain this in a post soon i promise)
1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped
salt to taste
1 c shredded monterey jack cheese

directions.
1.  boil the potatoes in salted water until a fork easily goes into them.
2.  saute the onions in the oil over medium-high heat until the onions are soft (perhaps 5 minutes).
3.  mash together the onions and potatoes til you get orange mashed potatoes! let it sit for about an hour.
4.  form the potates into balls perhaps the size of a plum.  make a hole in the center, fill it with cheese, then seal the hole.  squoosh the balls into little round patties.  let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
5.  heat up a nonstick skillet but don't oil it.  cook the llapingachos until browned on both sides.  they can be finicky.  i will bestow what advice i have.  let them sit for about 5 minutes before even touching them.  then when you want to flip them, make a quick, smooth jab under them because the delicious crispy brown part has a  tendency to want to stay on the pan.  let em sit on the other side and put em right onto your plate!  they are kind of like muffin batter....you want to mess with it as little as possible for best results.


BEHOLD.

one had more success than the other in retaining the crispy part.

so, as you can see, i like to eat my llapingachos with a fried egg.  they are also usually served with rice (ecuadorian style, of course), but my impromptu llapingacho making necessitated some TJ's harvest grain blend as there was no white rice to be found.  i did adapt it for ecuadorian style preparation though!  also, this dish is perfect with avocado slices.

i provide you the evidence of the rice and avocado from a previous
llapingacho-making voyage that was poorly documented with my
computer camera.

oh and by the way, one of the other reasons llapingachos are like gold is that ladies all over the place just have these outdoor cooking carts set up where they make and sell this meal (llapingachos, rice, beets, fried egg) for like 70 cents.  


i should mention, for those of you who didn't learn spanish, that llapingachos is pronouced like yah-ping-GAH-chose.

kolaches.

(something terrible is happening with the line breaks and i can't fix it.  i'm sorry for the ugly.)


you probably don't know what kolaches are unless you're from texas.  which is funny, because they're czech.  you might be able to find kolaches (kuh-LAH-cheez) in other parts of the country, but even if you do, i bet they aren't like the texas one.  these are a very specific blend of cultures and cuisines...think tex-mex...tex-czech?


anyways, i haven't had a kolache in my mouth since i moved away from houston eight years ago.  I WAS REALLY CRAVING KOLACHES.  thankfully, i found this absolutely amazing blog that provided a solution to my problem.  now, i've been eyeing this kolache recipe for a few months but it just seemed so intense with the whole yeast dough thing.  but i finally built myself up to it and i did it.  i made kolaches.  and i am so happy i did.


now, usually i adapt recipes to my own liking, but i'm not going to lie.  i almost word-for-word used the recipe from Homesick Texan.  so, i'll put it down here, but i want to give credit to the original source.


kolaches.


ingredients.
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt


directions.
1.  in a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
2.  beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
3.  add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
4.  stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. the dough should be soft and moist.
5.  knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
6. put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
7. after dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. in your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. brush with melted butter.  if you are making jalapeno cheddar kolaches, place some cheese and jalapeno in the center of each piece, roll it up, seal the edges, and place seam-down on the cookie sheet.
8.  place flattened and/or rolled pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
9.  to make fruit-filled kolaches: after second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).
10.  ake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. serve warm.


i decided to make two types of kolaches: apricot and jalapeno cheddar.  the jalapeno cheddar ones are self-explanatory and use shredded cheddar cheese and the pickled jalapenos from the jar (cut them into smaller pieces first).


here is the recipe for the apricot filling (you could use any dried fruit).




apricot filling.


ingredients.
1/2 pound of dried apricots
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t lemon zest


directions.
1.  soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours (i put them in water as i started the dough).
2.  when fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes with cinnamon and lemon zest.
3.  mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.




posypka.

ingredients.
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
directions.
1.  mix all ingredients until crumbly.


so these were a grand success if i do say so myself.  i think i liked the jalapeno ones better, but that could just be because i was craving those more.  hopefully this can hold me over for a few more weeks until i build up the courage to make them again!

apricots!

jalapeno cheddar surprise!!

this is what happens when i turn my back for five minutes.
gypsy's face full of flour gave her away.

a journey to ecuador.

i did it again.  i abandoned my internet friends.  but this time i have a really good excuse.  I WAS IN ECUADOR.

ecuador is my favorite place in the world.  i spent a semester studying abroad there and have been itchin' to get back ever since.  enter Darwin Animal Doctors.  basically, i was volunteering with some ecuadorian veterinarians down on galapagos islands giving free treatments to any animals who needed it!  but that is longer story for another time.

one of the MANY reasons ecuador is my favorite place in the world is the food.  boston, for all its wonderful food offerings, is totally, one hundred percent, lacking in the ecuadorian food department.  i did manage to learn to make some things during my two years back in boston, but going back to ecuador and eating everything in its perfect authentic setting was a dream come true.  (literally, i dream about food.  whatevs).

so get ready for a photojourney through the food of ecuador!  oh, and most of the time i forgot to take a photo until i had already started eating, so i apologize for the many half-eaten meals!

jose, the vet for isabela island, had a lovely wife who made
lovely meals three times a day!  cheese empanadas?
banana empanadas anyone?

paco, the vet for santa cruz island, has the best
improvisation skills i've ever encountered.  he whipped
this up for lunch at his house one day.

we all know that almuerzo means lunch in spanish.  in
ecuador, almuerzo specifically means that you pay $2 for
whatever the restaurant is serving that day.  it comes with
soup, main course, juice, and sometimes dessert!
here we have rice, beets, llapingachos (cheesy fried
potato patties), and a fried egg (instead of meat).

wonderful ladies sell delicious cheese empanadas on
the street.

they also sell grilled plantains.

totally unexpectedly i had one of the best salads i've
ever had.  ecuador is NOT known for its salads.

lets talk about patacones.  they are made from plantains
when they are still green (not black like the sweet ones).
you fry em, then smoosh em, then fry em again.
better than french fries.

menestra is a staple of ecuadorian cooking and one of my
absolute favorite foods.  i usually make it with lentils, but
was served the pinto bean version the majority of this trip.
always served with rice and i mix the crap outta it.

oh and i usually get a fried egg with it too!

this water kills me.  babies don't drink water.

naranjillas.  you can't find them in boston (maybe even
the US, who knows).  but they are the source of my
FAVORITE juice.  it is normal to have homemade juice
with every meal.

i went to visit my host mom (the BEST cook in all of
ecuador!) and she totally pulled this one out of thin air.
fried tilapia and cauliflower (i used to eat fish back when
i lived with her...i bit the bullet and just ate it.  truth).

perfect breakfast that i am going to make all the time.
scrambled eggs with green plantains, bell peppers,
onion, and cheese!

something when terribly wrong with their translation.
"popes join themselves sea breams, with sauce of meat,
fréjol, cheese."

but i did end up ordering a veggie burrito that was
particularly nicely presented.

i love street food.  stopped at a gas station
and bought these fried dough things
from a guy in the parking lot.  didn't
even have to leave the car.

you can also just yell what you want out your window to
the fruit guy and buy it that way too.

drinking a coconut!

oh batidos.  when ecuadorians are feeling
a little fancier than juice, they blend the
fruit with milk instead of water.  we might
call this a milkshake (no ice cream).  and i
drink them ALL THE TIME in ecuador.

we had a dog come in who had been gored by a wild pig.
after sewing all his guts back into his belly (he lived!), the
owner took us up to his coffee farm and showed us the
whole process.  from left to right the beans go from just
the way you pick em to roasted and ground.  pretty cool way
to get paid, considering we give free services!

SO.  there you have it.  a tiny sampling of the delicious wonders of ecuador.  soon i will teach you all how to make some of these wonders.  get excited, because your life is about to change in the best way possible.