Not for Vegetarians....

Remember the chicken we bought at the animal market ?

Well, we needed dinner last night. 

Zeb went to get our rooster

We all learned how to kill & eat a chicken straight from the farm. 

Are you in shock this is happening in my kitchen sink?

I was- I thought it happened in a barn.

After it is dead, you boil it to make the plucking easier

The boys all plucked and plucked.

Wash it in cold water to remove access feathers

Cut off and remove parts you don't want to eat

Brown it over the fire

Dinner.

Zeb is still saying "Momma- you ate my chicken?"

While he walks around the coop

Viente Cuatro de Mayo

                   At home fresh organic foods are not always my thing.  I wish they were.

Fast food is more our thing unfortunately.  

A fast paced day equals no time to grocery shop or cook.  Here- things are very different.  One of my favorite outings is our Saturday market day.  24th of May is the name of my favorite vegetable market.  It is where I have bought all of our produce.   It is one full city block and has hundreds of vendors selling their organic farm produce.  

We practice our spanish as we buy our fruits and vegetables, and we learn about many foods that we do not grow in the states.  It is amazing how helpful people are when they realize you intend to speak spanish with them and learn about their culture, not just gawk and get by as a tourist speaking english.  

Here is what I brought home yesterday.  The zucchini is the size of a football.  All of this cost under 9$.  This should be enough to feed our family for a week.  

Now I will go cut and chop for a few hours. .....

Our friends Erma and Patricio

Erma and Patricio are from nearby villages up in the mountains here. 

They are married and help run this hacienda  "San Juan de la Vega".

We would be lost without them.   

I wouldn't trade our chaos- and I think they are enjoying the change in pace too.  

It is no longer a quiet farm.  Now there are 4 very loud boys running everywhere.

On a practical side, they know everything about farming and the mountains. 

On the relational side, they have taught us much in that they are always contenta (happy), 

even when working long, backbreaking farm hours. 

They give chores to our kids to keep them occupied, and teach them how to do new things.

Everyday Patricio comes and gets Bleu and Liam around 9am and gives them their duties.  

From hauling manure, to building a new coop for all our animals -- the boys love it.  

They always want to go on an adventure. 

 I have watched and learned much from Erma this first week in terms of attitude.
She is quiet, shy and quick to smile at my poor spanish.
 She feels no entitlement that we suffer from back home.
She loves her job and is content to do it, and no more, and no less.
"It is what it is" she says.

They both only speak spanish, so there is much demonstrating and waving of the hands.
I hope by the end of our time here the boys can converse better.
It shows me how universal our hearts and our duties are though,
to have friends who you laugh with, who protect you and who you learn from,
all without ever speaking a word.

A little fall off a BIG horse..

I knew it was going to happen.  Will warned me not to panic if it happened- and thankfully I held it together in front of the boys...  Bleu and Liam left with their trainer for a 2 hour ride up the volcano and I  prayed for safety as always- the big horses terrify me.  

15 minutes into the ride, the horses return and Bleu jumps off 

....running to me, limping and  bleeding he yells(with much drama) 

 "I fell off my horse mom!!!!!

Carnilla (our ranch dog) 

 chased my horse, bit his heel and then he jumped and bucked and threw me off" 

the culprit of it all

Hugging him, I am crying as I try to soothe him.  

Out walks Will from the house....

 "What happened?" 

 "I fell off"Bleu sniffles. 

 "Well go get back on. "  

"Please no, I don't want to, my arm and hip hurt and I'm bleeding." 

"Go get on." 

 "No, Please, no"  

"GET ON NOW!"

Will helping him get back on.

Wow- I am stunned, as Will is normally very compassionate and gentle, 

so I begin to plead for him to let Bleu come inside with me- and he shoo's me away.  

He will never ride again if he doesn't get back on now and show that horse he is in control.  Wow- so glad I am not the only parent right now- it wasn't in me to train him that way, I am probably more scared than he is now of the horse and don't ever want him back on that horse.

posing for me before he rides again

Stepping back, I witnessed a little piece of my husband training my son to be a man, and to be brave.  It is only a horse, but it was a huge life lesson for me and for Bleu.  

Thankful God has given my boys such an amazing father--

So he rode that big horse, and he rode and he rode and he rode...yesterday he jumped 2 creeks on the way up the volcano.  Thankfully Liam is still content to walk through the water following behind on his horse.

proud daddy of Bleu's perseverance and courage

It reminds me of dad and how proud he would be whenever 

I accomplished something that was really hard for me.  

He taught me to perserver,  and now the legacy lives on for my sons..

Happy Fathers Day to all...

A new salsa

This hangs on the wall in the kitchen the farm.  

Ecuadorian Salsa.  Makes my mouth water.  You must try it. 

 This will be a staple in our home from now on.  It is easier than Pico di gallo our "old" favorite salsa.  Unlike pico- you can put this salsa picante in everything to add heat.  Here the Ecuadorians use it as a condiment and it is on every table in a restaurant.  There are many different recipies  and they differ based on the region you are in.  Here in the Andes, they serve the Aji over ChoCho beans (lumipi) and with purple onions on top.  

Esta Muy Rico.

Enjoy!

This is the finished bowl of Aji.

Boil and peel 3 Tomate de Arbols

Add 1/2 Aji pepper without the seeds.

Add 1/2 Onion

1 clove of garlic

Tbs of sugar (they only use brown here)

1/3 cup of Oil Oil

and a little water

Blend Well

Serve over ChoCho beans 

Top with purple onions

Locros Papas

When I named our family travel blog Better Things, I did so to describe my quest for the better things.  Not better things of this world, or material things, but the better things that God has called us to.  The work God has given us to do and the best life we can live while serving and glorifying him.

I want to better serve him, and my family, and the people he has put in my live to love.

San Juan De La Vega Household…

I have been trying to cook Ecuadorean food.  It has really tasty so far.  

Yesterday I decided to make Locros Papas(potato stew) for everyone on the hacienda.  

We love our new friends and are trying to find ways to serve them as they are serving us.  

The class system here is very strong so we didn't even know if they would feel comfortable enough to eat a meal with us.  Thankfully they agreed and we all enjoyed a typical andean meal together on our back porch.  Grateful for the opportunity to serve.

The line was out our kitchen

We were able to pray together to the One True God 

Here is the Recipe- KIDS LOVED IT! 

-You all back home should try this-

LOCROS PAPAS (POTATO STEW)

recipe from /www.gourmet.com/recipes/diaryofafoodie/2009/01/potato-stew

First you make annato seed oil.  

You may be able to buy the oil pre made at central market.

I had to do all from scratch and use the seeds, then drain.

Next Cut and peel potatoes.  I did a 7 pound bag. 

Next Sauté an onion and half the potatoes in the oil

soak other half of the potatoes in cold water

add water and boil

when soft, mash up the broth

Add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cheese

Then add the other half of the potatoes and boil until soft.

This simple dish is fantastic.  Serve with Avocado slices

 Even better when you add Aji Sauce for spice.

That recipe will follow.

..Troops Come Marching In

Yesterday the police came marching through our valley and our farm.  They were headed up the mountain for target practice.  In Ecuador, firearms cannot be bought or sold by civilians.  Most of these young officers were holding guns for the first time.  The boys were so excited and followed them up the mountain.  I stayed home with Zeb----

ready to call the US Embassy if no one came back in an hour :)

Troops marching through our valley

Will and David, (our Ecuadorian friend), were able to talk to the Captains for a while.  David is very politically minded, as is his family and the Captains recognized David's family name.  He knows the current president of Ecuador- Correa.  He was one of his university professors.  I am amazed as I truly learn how small this country is especially in its elite ruling group. Presidente Correa is about to be elected for the 3rd time and will be in office for 11 years once that term is finished.  

practicing formations

Will says they were treated like visiting dignitaries.  They were given a tour of what the men were doing.  They were learning to shoot a 223 rifle. When he told them that was Bleu's first gun and the men did not believe him.  Nor did they believe that Bleu was already a good shot at 11.  In Ecuador, no 11 year old would be allowed to shoot a gun.  In fact, the captains explained that if the officers made a mistake with a gun in training even once, they would never touch a gun again in their police career.   

After a long visit, 2 soldiers escorted our crew safely home.