Everyone Loves a Parade

We stumbled upon another parade on one of our walks last week.  This one with children celebrating their sports teams, beginning at San Sabastian.

Mostly boys, but at least one group of girls.

A parade must have music and flags!

Each team also included a doggie mascot and a beauty queen.

This cute little tyke represented the 'tiger team'.

Traffic on the side streets didn't mind stopping and waiting patiently for the kids to pass on.

Just another fun moment here in Cuenca.








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New signs at the Square.

A new fun photo opportunity next to the famous horses.

Yet more fun street art (near La Cuadra conplex.)

And, more street construction, this time at San Blas.

Cooking in Cuenca

Some have asked about cooking here:  how to find ingredients and favorite foods, cooking at our altitude (8300 ft), what to bring, what we miss.......


We are always delighted to stumble upon yet another cooking ingredient that we didn't think we could find here.  Recently, we found cardamom and dates in a spice shop! 

You just got to ask around and keep looking for some things. 

(These pictures are items from SuperMaxi.  Imported, so you will pay more with the tax.  The perfect tomatoes are from one of the people's markets.)

We don't have special, serious diet requirements, except that we do work on eating more produce and whole foods...which is easy to do here.  Produce is inexpensive and top-quality (so is the ice cream!)





Chicken here does taste different to us, as compared to chicken in the US...really tasty!  Easy to buy chicken parts/feet for broth, too.
http://richandnancy.blogspot.com/2010/08/cooking-with-chicken-feet.html

**Note from Nancy:  Chicken and cow feet broth are pretty routine now in our kitchen, happy to report.  It just got easier, but wow!, those first times...
http://richandnancy.blogspot.com/2010/08/cooking-with-cow-feet.html


 Eggs are fresh, and depending upon what kind of chicken (or duck or quail or whatever) laid them and what they ate, eggs are VERY tasty indeed. Eggs are not refrigerated here.   Some have orange yolks, they are our favorite.  For awhile, we were able to get really fresh eggs from a friend's Mom, until the chickens became stew.  Some of these eggs were blue and green, yolks a brilliant orange.  We always cracked them into a saucer first to check that they were still eggs and not the beginnings of a chicken!  The eggs at SuperMaxi seem to be just fine...just like those from Safeway, except probably fresher and without hormones or other bad stuff. 

An Ecuadorian cooking friend of ours shops each day in the markets.  If she wants chicken for the family, she buys a live one so it's extra-fresh.  If you'd rather not, you can get good, fresh chicken all ready to cook at SuperMaxi, the Coopera, Ital-Deli and the other meat markets.

Finding familiar cuts of beef can be hard...sometimes we haven't a clue what the cut is.  We usually go for the lomo fino (filet mignon) rolls for steaks. The other cuts can be tough, unless you add to a slow cooker or tenderize it.  Beef is generally pretty lean and usually grass fed.

There are several expat blogger/cooks here and all have shared some lessons and we are grateful!  We're still learning, too.

Mick and Kathy recently wrote about some ingredients they have found.  They are from the US South, and they were missing some key items, like grits.
We learned about several items from them that would be nice to have...like chantilly cream (good alternative to cool whip).  You can read more here:
http://mickandkathy.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-cant-find-that-in-cuencareally.html

Nancy W also shared some southern treats she's found ingredients for, here:
http://watsontravels.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year.html

Karen and Randy discovered some items:
http://kimblerstravels.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-discoveries-since-moving-to-cuenca.html

So did Jason and Donna:
http://expatsagin.blogspot.com/2010/06/traditional-food-and-home-cooking.html

Sharon has blogged about her experiences cooking and finding items related to her gluten-free diet.  More here:
http://cuencachronicles.blogspot.com/

Patty shared some valuable info on how to cook at our altitude, here:
http://grimmstraveltales.blogspot.com/2011/09/high-altitude-cooking-and-metric-system.html
More info from her on veggies and fruits:  http://grimmstraveltales.blogspot.com/2011/10/pitihayas-babacos-camotes-y-platanos.html


Someone shared that they just cook or bake something until it's 'done'...we usually do that as well, as our oven isn't that trustworthy.  (Ovens are not common here, by the way.)

You will find you will cook more from scratch here than you did in the US.  It's harder to find processed food or low-sodium or MSG-free items. 












Takes time, from scratch, but we think it's worth the time and trouble.












We managed to make a delicious beef stroganoff with Bob and Rox one night!  Yes, all ingredients we needed are here:
http://bobnrox.squarespace.com/journal/2010/9/10/barbara-and-howard-join-us-for-beef-stroganoff.html

We have been cooking and eating more quinoa...also easy to find here. You can add it to your morning oatmeal or make quinoa fritters!

Here is Barbara's easy recipe:
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Quinoa

1-1/4 cups water
1 cup quinoa (washed very well)

Bring both to a simmer, cover and cook 20 to 25 minutes until it's light and fluffy. This can be kept in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Side note:  Some days it takes less time to cook (for some reason), so watch the pot.

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Probably the only things we really miss are a good spicy curry and Thai food.  But, you can find most ingredients here to 'fake it'.
Friends from Texas brought us a special treat of Penzeys' Vindaloo (curry spice mix) and it made our day! We'd been trying to fake it and our experiments weren't even close.




Since Ecuador is known for their chocolate and coffee, easy to find good types of both in the markets at good prices.  Buying Ecuadorian products will save you money, as imports are more expensive with additional taxes. 

Be sure to try out all the local new-to-you items and try out some 'foreign' produce.   Loretta and Bill's blog has a good summary and pictures of fruits and what to do with them.  We still refer to this entry all the time:
http://ourecuador.blogspot.com/2010/03/fruits-of-ecuador.html

There are some good cooking classes offered here, too. 
We learned alot from Leslie's!  Her classes are really fun.
http://richandnancy.blogspot.com/2010/04/cooking-class-with-friends.html

Another good idea is to hit the bookstores for cookbooks.  At Carolina's, you may find cookbooks in English, but another fun experience is to go for the Spanish books!  You can learn all the Spanish words for cooking terms and ingredients which will come in handy as you shop and cook.
  
Be sure to search all the blogs and forums for even more info! 

Bien Provecho!

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If you don't feel like cooking, there is some good food in the restaurants here!

CA Kitchen's latest...

Asian salad with lomo fino.

Smoked trout.











Very yummy!

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Speaking of food... 

We're really looking forward to a Thanksgiving feast with friends!  We have so much to be thankful for here in Cuenca.  Good food, good friends, and so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving to our US friends and family and to all others who celebrate tomorrow. 

Christmas is Coming in Cuenca

Today, it was bright and warm until these afternoon rains.  As we write this blog, it's pouring outside!  No complaints here...Spring showers bring spring flowers!

Remember, our seasons are the flip-flop of North America.  As our Northern friends are moving into Fall/Winter, we're heading into Spring/Summer.

We walked to Town, sat on a bench and watched the world go by.  Church was just letting out at the Square. 

Always something fun to see, like these wonderful baskets.

Sunny with a little shade.

A Mom and child checking out ice cream.

Feels kind of funny still to see Christmas trees in weather like today.

And, these beautiful flowers all in bloom.

We can dream of a White Christmas, but no snow in Cuenca...ever.

It can get downright cold and feel like it will snow any moment, but it won't happen here!

Update on Av Los Pinos

The roadwork on our street has begun.

That huge rig is delivering goods from a container for a neighbor.

New signage at Edificio Amazonas.
This building is coming right along.

One of our favorite doggies is alive and well.

New garage doors at Terrazza.  We hear folks will begin moving in soon!

While the road crew was working, half of our street was blocked off.  The work was noisy and loud!  Hopefully, the crew will be done soon.

Av Gran Colombia

We've posted pictures of this street before, but there is always something that gets our attention.  We walk this path often.

Gran Colombia begins at our end of town (west), at the roundabout at Av de las Americas, another busy thoroughfare. 

If you cross the roundabout coming from Town, probably the most dangerous intersection in Cuenca if you're on foot!, Gran Colombia becomes Av Ordonez Lasso, back in our neighborhood. 

If you start the walk from Lasso, as we often do,  consider taking a taxi or a bus for a couple blocks to avoid hoofing across the roundabout.  Stay safe!  Even Sundays, lately, the traffic has been nuts.  Cars wait for no one.

This roundabout is the area that will begin construction soon.  The project is now expected to begin later this year.  It's at least a year long project.  We're hoping once it's completed, crossing this street will be alot safer.  Side streets (including ours) in the area are now being all fixed up to make it easier for re-routing traffic.



Note the price of gas.  This sign is painted, hasn't changed as long as we've been here, going on 3 years. 

Early morning view about half way to downtown.  Worth crossing the roundabout to get to this quiet!

Back on G Colombia and walking toward Town, we passed the Cuadras where we stayed when we first got here.  This is construction right in front of the Cuadras complex.  Progressing just fine.

Another view.

Gran Colombia is long and will take you all the way to downtown (deadends into H Capac).

We passed some interesting-to-us sites. 

A clothing shop with an American flag!

A upscale chocolate shop.

One of our favorite restaurants owned by an old family here in Cuenca.

A Mom was teaching her child how to feed the pigeons at Santo Domingo Plaza.  They were throwing rice.
 The little girl didn't know what to make of all the birds!