We’ve spent the week preparing for my father’s arrival. He comes to Ecuador about every two to three months to take a little break on his farm. We asked him to bring several things we decided we needed or wanted from the states. I was so excited to get my goodies! It was like Christmas morning when I opened the suitcase! He brought Miss E some birthday gifts from her grandmas, more books (because you can only read Curious George so many times before you want to go crazy), and some clothes; for Cory, some gum, ear plugs and slippers; for the growing Miss P some 12 month clothes; and for me some chili powder, a dust buster, some pants that fit since my waist has shrunk (yay), some new slippers and a few other clothing items. I’m getting excited all over again thinking about all my new (and old) stuff.
On Friday we ran some errands while Miss P was in school. We got some groceries, nearly filled the truck bed with trout food (which smells awful) and stopped at one of the markets for some delicious fruit and veggies. We picked up E and loaded the truck to head to the farm for the weekend. We took a different route to the farm, heading up Turi mountain, stopping to eat at a Brazilian restaurant with a beautiful view of the city. We stopped again atop the mountain and enjoyed the vista.
We were happy to be back at our rural home. Of course we had to visit the rabbits and we collected some fresh eggs from the chickens. Miss E went with her Papa to check out the cows. There was one that was quite tame that she seemed to enjoy.
On Saturday I spent a great deal of my time in the kitchen. I find the garden inspires me culinarily. I love dreaming up recipes while strolling through the verdant patch. For breakfast we had a Spanish tortilla using the eggs we’d collected when we arrived and some of the potatoes from the recent harvest, some onions and my favorite, Swiss Chard (red and white varieties). It was delicious with some fresh sliced tomatoes! For lunch we had angel hair pasta with vegetables primavera (more Swiss Chard, carrots, zucchini, squash, red onion and garlic). I served a simple Red Russian kale and lettuce salad with carrots and red onion alongside the pasta. For dinner we had roast chicken, colcannon (Irish mashed potatoes with kale), and fresh green beans. I even whipped up some applesauce for Miss P, her first taste of apple. It was a hit with her and her daddy! So basically I lived in the kitchen on Saturday, but I do love it there. Plus, we have plenty of leftovers so I won’t need to cook again for awhile.
We took advantage of the beautiful scenery to take Miss P’s nine month (the 24th) photos. My father’s Dahlias were blooming and they made a lovely background and prop for the photos. I put her in the same antique dresses Miss E wore for our family portraits when she was nine months old. Aren’t the Dahlias stunning?
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