Corpus Christi started today, and not many places celebrate it as largely as Cuenca, Ecuador. Also known as Septenario, this was originally an indigenous celebration of the June Solstice, but was co-opted by the Catholic Church in the 1600’s and turned into a Christian event. One of the highlights for many is the booths filled […]
Another Senior Moment
Evelyn blows out the candle on her special dessert cake Burt turned 65 in February. Evelyn caught up today, so she now qualifies for the Ecuadorian term of Tercera Edad or Anciano, meaning she is now in her Third Life (aka Senior Citizen). In Ecuador, that is a major milestone, which qualifies for half price […]
[Recipe] Buffalo Wings (hot!)
This is another of the appetizers that I now make for parties. Very easy to make, though there is a fair amount of elapsed time for this recipe. These are for those that like their wings hot and spicy! [Recipe] Buffalo Wings (hot!) Recipe Type: Appetizer Author: Burt Johnson Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: […]
[Recipe] Breakfast Sausage
When we were living in California, we used to like Jimmy Dean spicy sausage as a frequent side for breakfast. Now that we live in Ecuador, we can no longer get Jimmy Dean. Some searching on the web, and a bit of tweaking on my own, and we now have breakfast sausage whenever we want […]
[Recipe] Spinach Cream Soup
Last week I took three cooking classes from Maite Eusebio, here in Cuenca. She is Peruvian-born, and her recipes are highly influenced by that origin. She has been living in Ecuador with her artist husband, Alberto Soriano since the 1970’s. Alberto has been Evelyn’s art instructor since we arrived here. There was an interesting article […]
[Recipe] Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
This is our new favorite appetizer for when friends come over. It is SO delicious that everyone who has had it raves about it. Since it combines three of my favorite treats — bacon, shrimp and jalapenos — it had to be a hit! 🙂 There are two parts to this recipe. First, we’ll make […]
[Recipe] Apple Pie
Yesterday we saw how I make a dough-based pie crust for fruit pies. Today we will make the pie itself. After a few spectacular failures, I finally have this down to a process that comes out delicious every time. [Recipe] Apple Pie Recipe Type: Desert Author: Burt Johnson Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 40 […]
[Recipe] Pie Crust (dough)
It has been awhile since I have posted any recipes. There have been a lot of new recipes developed over the past few months, so let’s try to catch up. I have been particularly busy working with recipes for desert and appetizers, so we will start with what has become a favorite of dinner guests […]
“Persona De La Tercera Edad” or “Person of Age”
Burt earned the status today of “Tercera Edad”, also known as “Senior Citizen”. In Ecuador, seniors are revered and benefit from discounts when they reach the age of 65. Not only do they go to the front of the line at banks, Burt can now get 50% discount off all in-country transportation or flights initiated […]
New York, Here We Come
We have spent the last couple of days in New Jersey, visiting with Zoya and Vladimir (friends we first met in St Petersburg, Russia in 1992), seeing the last of the Fall Colors, visiting the New York PhotoPro expo, and shopping for last minute items for Iceland. Today we moved to East Village in New […]