¡Buen Provecho!

I hope nobody's hungry, because today we are going to talk about FOOD!  Luckily for me, Ecuadorian food is not extremely different from what I generally eat in the States.  The diet here is based largely on corn, potatoes, breads, fruit and meats, and is very mildly flavored (unless you add ahí - then it is spicy).    Usually the largest meal is lunch, eaten in the late afternoon, while dinner is often a late sandwich or bread with coffee or tea.

Traditional Almuerzo (Lunch)

A traditional Ecuadorian meal always starts with a soup.  There are no exceptions: today we ate at a chinese restaurant and started the meal with chicken soup, and KFC includes soup in all their combo meals.  The soups are very filling and often could be a meal in themselves!  They are one of my favorite foods here.  I have had all kinds: chicken, pork, beef, corn, lima bean, noodle; they are all excellent!  However, soup has still managed to "culture shock" me.  Yesterday at a country restaurant with my family, I plunged my spoon into my soup and pulled up a nice steaming chicken foot!  Ok, Kate, it's just a foot, it's fine.  I took a deep breath, set it aside, and pulled up another spoonful.  This time I pulled up some dark looking meat.  "Oh, you have to try the chicken kidney, it's very rich!" my grandmother said happily, as two chickens with very intact kidneys and feet wandered in through the open door.  Oh my.  However, the broth and vegetables were very good and I tried the kidney; it mostly just tasted like meat!

Candied figs with cheese

 Every traditional meal has a large portion of rice, and usually some kind of meat or fish (many of you know that fish and I don't usually get along, and will be surprised to hear that I have eaten fish here twice).  The corn in Ecuador is very different from the midwestern sweet corn I am used to.  Corn, or Maíz, has large irregular kernels that are thick and not very sweet at all.  Maíz comes in many varieities, such as choclo (on the cob), mote (cooked kernels), tostado (roasted dried kernels), and canguil (popcorn).  Often people eat their choclo with mayonnaise - a custom in which I do not take part.  Another staple is freshly juiced fruit of almost every kind imaginable: orange, tangerine, peach, tree tomato (it is sweet), papaya, pineapple, raspberry, taxo, guanabana, and more.  The juices are delicious!  Other components of traditional meals include potatoes, small vegetable 'salads,' plátanos (another favorite of mine), and empanadas filled with potato, plátano, or cheese.

"Snot Fruit" - it's better than it looks!

Breakfast foods are very similar to those in the US, but more substantial than a normal weekday morning in the states.  For example, for breakfast I might have sliced fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit juice, and a croissant with mozzarella.  The breads are fresh and delicious!  We often eat them with breakfast or with dinner (or both).  I have to restrain myself from eating 4 croissants a day!  The fresh coffee is excellent, but unfortunately we don't usually have any in the house.  Another warm drink I enjoy is "avena," which is blended oats sweetened with fruit juice.  There are two main beers in Ecuador, Pilsener and Club, both very light bodied.  They aren't the most interesting, but they are pretty good.

Although there have been a few things I dislike, such as drinking jello with dinner or putting mozzarella cheese in hot chocolate, these foods are few and far between.  Overall, I am very happy with the food in Ecuador!  I think it's time for some warm avena and bread!

Plátano, llapingacho (potato with cheese), pork,  choclo, and veggies

Photo credit for the figs and snot fruit goes to Katie Appleby.