Surprise Visitors at our Gate

Yesterday afternoon about 15 riders surprised Joe and I at our gate. There was a parade in San Jacinto the next town down from us and our dear friend Patricia and another long time friend Pablo, decided to bring their crew to our home for a visit.  After a short welcome, we brought out the beer for our dusty travelers and shared a laugh or two.

The most amazing thing besides the beautiful horses and some pretty fancy silver harness sets were the wooden saddles.  In my life, I have never seen a wood saddle and it was amazing how many were form fitted for what looked to be a very comfortable ride.  Our friend Pablo was riding bareback, he is such a wonderful horseman I guess he can do that. I am sad that the photo of him was just too blurry for me to post, I am sure they will be by to visit the next time they are coming by our home. The great thighs are Patricia’s by the way.

Enjoy, just another glimpse of the beauty of Ecuador and our own Manabita people.

Plum and Fig Tart or is that Fig and Plum Tart?

I found beautiful fresh figs and large purple Italian plums this past week. Figs are a favorite since living in Playas, Ecuador.  Our guardian would pick figs and bring a bag to our home when they were perfectly ripe, soft and sweet. I would cut them in half, wrap half a slice of bacon around it and bake it in the oven just until the bacon was crispy.  That was a real treat. I can tolerate a Fig Newton, if there is nothing else in the house but unless you have had fresh ripe figs you have not lived.

I loved them so much and our friend Yusuf said I needed to plant a tree in the yard in San Clemente, Ecuador. Where was I going to fit another tree in the San Clemente yard?  Well I found a tree and found a place for it and enjoyed a small harvest a few times from that tree.  That is only one of the things I miss about San Clemente, but don’t get me started on that.

I made a shortbread crust, with flour, butter, sugar, dash of salt and vanilla and an egg.  No rolling necessary as it was going to be a tart, free form and rustic.  I cut up 6-7 figs and plums and arranged them on the pastry which I had placed on a baking sheet covered with a silicone baking liner, this will stick as the sweet juices ooze from the tart. Turned the edges up and baked it for about 15 minutes.  The crust was wonderful and the fruit just so sweet and soft.

We will do that again…

Thank You Ecuador, Hello Uruguay

It has been an amazing seven years. We have lived in several different cities and visited many more in our time in Ecuador.

We are sad in many ways in leaving Ecuador and excited in many ways for yet another adventure. It was a difficult decision to make the move, leaving behind many great friends, but we have all those wonderful memories.

Our new adventure started on January 17th, saying good-bye to our neighbors and neighborhood and making our journey to Guayaquil.  The next morning we traveled by Latam from Guayaquil to Santiago, Chile and then on to Montevideo, Uruguay.

It was a very easy trip with overnight hotel stays both in Guayaquil and Chile. We made it and arrived at our new apartment on January 20th.

The apartment located on 26 de Marzo has a beautiful view of the water.  Small and compact it will be a breeze to keep clean.Montevideo is a big city with much to see and do.  I will be posting as we travel around the area looking for our more permanent home. We are now in the Buceo, or Nuevo Pocitos, area of Montevideo and enjoying it – we are right by their World Trade Center, Buceo Yacht Club and Montevideo Shopping Mall.

 

 

 

Cranberry Walnut Scones: What a Wonderful Breakfast Treat

Last night before bed I was thinking what wonderfulness can I make tomorrow morning.

I have decided that we can eat “good for you” food every weekday but the weekends are special and we should have something even better.  So Sundays I make something wonderful like Lobster Rolls or a Pork Tenderloin Roast with Homemade Sauerkraut and Root Veggies or a Moroccan Roast Chicken with Guava Paste.  But Saturday morning should be special also.  So I remembered making scones once before.  The recipe was from a Rachael Ray cookbook and honestly it did not do it for me.  So I got on the computer and found a recipe from All Recipes.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/79470/simple-scones/

I of course made some changes and this is what I came up with:

Cranberry Walnut Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts I used walnuts
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen or pretty hard
• 1/2 cup sour cream (fresh heavy cream with 1 teaspoon vinegar added)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (soaked in warm water for a few minutes and drained and patted dry)
• 1 tablespoon regular white sugar

Heat the oven to 400 F.  In a medium-sized bowl mix the top 5 ingredients.  Grate the butter into the flour mixture and with a pastry blender or two knives cut the butter into the flour mixture. Do not use your hands as it will melt the butter. Add the walnuts and mix well, place in the fridge until ready to add the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl add the sour cream or the cream and vinegar mixture and set aside.  Add egg to cream and mix well.

Add your egg/cream mixture to your dry ingredients. With just a few strokes incorporate it – it will have dry ingredients that have not mixed well.  No problem just turn out onto a work area (I use a large plastic place mat).  With your hands knead gently until you have a soft dough.  Do not overwork, you do not want to melt the butter pieces. Just a few strokes with your hands should incorporate it into a nice dough.  Shape into a disk about 1/2 inch thick and approximately 7 inch diameter. Sprinkle top evenly with cranberries and pat into the dough. Sprinkle with the white sugar. Cut like a pie into 8 pieces.

Place on a baking sheet with parchment or another non-stick mat. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.  Watch that the bottom does not burn.

Serve hot with honey butter mixture or my favorite cream and honey.

Cream or Butter Sauce:

• 2 tablespoon butter or heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light honey

Mix together and serve on the side with the hot scones.

Great with a good cup of coffee sitting on your porch watching the street come to life.

Homemade Toothpaste

I am a crazy tooth brusher. I brush with such force that my dentists have suggested first soft bristled brushes which I can destroy within a week and currently an electric toothbrush which is difficult to find here. I found an Oral B electric and have been using it for the past two years. It has to my astonishment cleaned my teeth to my satisfaction as well as allowing my gums to get back to where they belong. But over the years my teeth had become dingy. Sorry I love coffee and am not going to give it up, and with no teeth whitening strips available in this area, I turned to Colgate Triple Action. The tube shows blanco (white) as their second feature. I did not see a difference in the color of my teeth, plus it seemed to be really harsh on my gums.

Then I started to read things about fluoride and triclosan that is an additive in toothpaste and that made me cringe. At my age do I really need fluoride?  And what is triclosan? The bottom line is do I really need this in my toothpaste?  I don’t think so.

I have seen several articles on using organic turmeric and coconut oil as a tooth paste. I gave it a try and was very surprised at the color change in my teeth.  It does not irritate my gums – actually turmeric is anti-inflammatory, contains antioxidants, and is antimicrobial.  Whereas coconut oil is antibacterial, this combination is the dynamic duo as far as I am concerned.

Toothpaste

• 1/4 cup of baking soda
• 1/4 cup of organic turmeric (Use Organic only or it yellows the teeth)
• 1/4 cup of organic coconut oil
• 10 drops of mint essential oil

Mix all ingredients together to form a thick paste and place in an airtight container. Brush as normal for about 2 minutes a few times a day.

If you try this let me know about your results, I really think my teeth are much whiter.

 

 

Baba Ganoush

I know the name sounds a bit strange but it is a wonderful tasting and very filling dip. Especially good with cut up raw vegetables or my favorite fresh pita bread*. So guess what I am making today?  Baba Ganoush. This is going to be lunch.  Joe and I have always talked about just having dessert first and forget about the lunch or dinner.  Well I say let’s have an appetizer for lunch and forget about the lunch!

So let’s talk eggplant, what a wonderful vegetable.  I make a delicious eggplant lasagna as well as a ratatouille recipe that I will post in the future. Both are excellent ways to use this very versatile veg.

Baba Ganoush

• 1 large or 3 smaller fresh shiny eggplants
• 1/2 head of garlic just cut the tops off to allow the oil to penetrate the cloves
• 1 clove raw garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala – it is a traditional Indian spice blend that usually includes cumin seeds, cinnamon, coriander seeds, black pepper, clove, nutmeg and chili.
• Olive oil for baking the veggies and a few tablespoons for the top of the dip
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

First take your eggplants, wash them and cut them in half. In a small tin foil wrapper add half head of garlic and just trim the tops of the garlic to show the clove below. Place all on a cookie sheet that has been lined in tin foil, less to clean up. Sprinkle all with olive oil, add the oregano and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until soft.  Squeeze any excess olive oil from the garlic tin foil into your mixture, what a wonderful flavorful oil it has made.

In a large bowl spoon all the eggplant flesh and squeeze the bottom of the garlic head –  the cloves will just pop out and add them to the bowl.  Mash all together and add your tahini, lemon juice, garam masala, salt and pepper. Finely grate the one raw clove of garlic on top of the mixture. Mix well. It should be dip consistency, pretty thick with no big chunks of eggplant if it seems too thick add a little water until you get the right consistency.  Taste for seasoning add more salt if necessary. Refrigerate. Right before serving add your cilantro and mix well.  Serve with sliced vegetables, crackers or pita bread.

*Pita bread recipe can be found by searching for Pita Bread and Hummus above from my August 2016 post.

12″ Banana Bread for $2

On our way home from Manta earlier this week, Leigh stopped to buy a banana bread from a man on the side of the road. Of course, I had to try one myself, how could I resist.  It was still warm from the oven and at $2. it was a bargain to me.

As soon as I got home I cut a few pieces added a nice pat of butter and we went to town.  I really think I need to cut it in half and put that in the freezer for another day.

Laughter is Great Medicine

Our friends Leigh and Rick took me into Manta with them yesterday.  We told stories, laughed having a great time. We had breakfast at a local restaurant with Angie and Raphael, the restaurant served Llapingachos – but not with potato – with yuca, they have a different name which I failed to catch. They also serve the traditional Ecuadorian breakfast meals from Chicken and Rice to Encebollado which is a soup of Albacore Tuna with onions as well as over-easy eggs.  My kind of place. I love encebollado but had to have the over-easy eggs with the llapingachos and a café con leche.

Of course we had to take a few of the llapingachos to go. They are now in the freezer waiting for the perfect day to bring them out for another feast.

We then went to the mall and SuperMaxi for some shopping while Rick took his truck in to get detailed -you cannot call it washed as it looked like a new truck when he came to pick us up.

We then went out to lunch, fish ceviche, excellent.

It was a laughter filled busy day, thanks Leigh and Rick for such a fun day.

Beach Home for Sale, San Clemente, Manabi, Ecuador – Completely Furnished $85,000

This updated and comfortable single family home on one floor has a total of 1,076 sf (100 square meters) under roof, lot size of 2,260 sf (210 square meters). The property is completely walled, private and secure. It comes completely furnished.

The 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is light filled and airy. The well laid out kitchen has new custom cabinets and shelving with plenty of counter space. Included is a four (4) burner gas stove/oven with top broiler, a sizable refrigerator, blender, coffee maker etc.

Kitchen and Living Room:

The living area has a full wall built-in custom shelving unit at one end, couch, coffee table and Sony flat screen TV.  A spacious master bedroom measuring 10′ x 17′ has a sitting area and en suite bathroom. It comes with a queen sized bed, side tables, a large free-standing closet as well as a 12,000 BTU split unit air conditioner. The second bedroom includes a double bed and side table. The third bedroom can be used as an office or formal dining room. The second full bathroom is at this end of the house.

Master Bedroom and en suite Bathroom:

Second Bedroom:

Third Bedroom Currently being used as Office:

Guest Bathroom:

The 10′ x 27′ covered porch faces west to the garden. It has a storage / laundry room with American style heavy-duty washer with clothes drying rack. Electric and plumbing have been completely redone including main outside breakers, inside breaker box, 3 outlets in each room, water pump and pressure tank.  Ceiling fans with light fixture in all rooms and the porch plus extraction fans at the roof peaks. Tile flooring throughout. Many other extras.

Entrance is through a new large wood gate with an easy access door. This gate has security bolts and locks.  The newly repaved granito driveway sits between the covered porch and the garden. This can be used for parking your vehicle or for extra outdoor living space. There is an outdoor shower for the beach bum in all of us.

The garden has several producing fruit trees including lemon, fig, star fruit, pomegranate and a large guava tree that shades a tile and granito 11′ x 22′ patio.  There are two 5-year-old coconut palms on the property that have not started to produce fruit yet. Mature Bougainvillea hang over the front wall from the garden, providing a bright splash of color.

Lemon:Star Fruit in Flower:

Guava:Pomegranate: The home is located in the beautiful Punta Bikini area, also called Barrio Norte, of San Clemente in the province of Manabi, Ecuador. This quiet fishing village is within 45 minutes of Bahia de Caraquez and 1 hour from Portoviejo and Manta. It is a very peaceful stretch of flat beach great for swimming, sunbathing, walking, surfing and fishing.

End of the Street looking North towards the Bluffs:

End of the Street Looking South towards Downtown: Our comfortable, fully equipped home is in the less busy, northern part of San Clemente walkable to downtown with a variety of small stores, restaurants, drug stores and other basic shopping.  Vendors pass the house daily selling everything from raw fresh milk to fruits and vegetables to fresh eggs and butter and toilet paper. Live lobster is available across the street and jumbo shrimp, fresh off the boat, can be purchased 2 blocks away.

This is the third house from the beach, about 150 feet from the front gate to the sand, with refreshing ocean breezes. Our Ecuadorian neighbors are welcoming and helpful. It is a very safe and friendly neighborhood, mostly year round lifelong residents who will help you out if you need anything. Several Expats live nearby. There is a small grocery store at the ocean end of the block.

Internet and land line telephone are available through CNT and electric service from CNEL. Cable TV and Direct TV are available.

Property taxes last year: $21.00, Internet and Land line telephone: $35.63 per month, Electric: $30 to $40 per month, water $12 to $30 per month and gas for the stove/oven $2.50 a quarter.

We are moving due to “itchy feet”. We have loved our 7 years in Ecuador, as we did our almost 4 years in Panama before this.

All papers are in order and ready for the buyer.  Contact our realtor with any questions.

email: tom@ecuadorbeachfrontproperty.com        telephone: 099 635 9373

Fully furnished at $85,000

Wanderlust

Joe and I are feeling the call to more adventures. Itchy feet as our one friend calls it. We have decided to leave Ecuador for other travels in South America.

Ecuador has been a wonderful home since 2009. If you go back through my posts you will see just how much we have learned, enjoyed and expanded our horizons by being in this country.  We have met great people (you know who you are), visited and lived in different areas and have spent many hours just sitting on the beach living the good life.

As to where next, well we don’t know yet.  Those of you who’ve been following the blog from the beginning will remember that I wrote a bit about our time in Panama. Now it’s Ecuador. Stay tuned to see where our next stop will be.

When Joe and I were first thinking of moving out of the US, back in Kennesaw GA a dozen years ago, we found an article on living outside the US. Doing some research we found a lot of info on being a tourist but not much on health care, grocery shopping and the like.  Then we found some of the cruiser sites (for the uninitiated like us, these are people who live and travel around the world in sailboats). These were practical sites with info we could use.  Pictures of fruit and vegetable stands instead of museums, prices for haircuts and doctor visits.  We wound up on a blog by a couple on a sailboat and the quote under the title said it all – “Our Fifteen Year Journey to say Goodbye to the World” Wow.  What if we had fifteen years, what to do – where to go.  We don’t travel well. Joe dislikes planes and I don’t care for hotels for too long.  So we decided – what if our traveling was to move somewhere for a few years.  Every trip to shop is an adventure – so it was to be 5 places for 3 years each or 3 places for 5 years each.  Well it’s been about 10 years since then and we’ve been 2 places so far, and they’ve been just spectacular, each in their own way and for different reasons. And all of these amazing adventures will stay in our hearts forever, as they have changed us forever and in very good ways.  But it’s time. It’s time.

Ecuador you will be missed. Stay tuned……