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.