This Global Kitchen | Day 21: Ecuador
I’m Tina Ferry and our family of four lives in Ecuador. We’ve been abroad about five years and still feel like we are getting our feet wet. When I saw that Taking Route was planning “31 Days of the Global Kitchen,” I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate. Food and the kitchen are central for our family’s hobbies, health, sense of home, and our ministry — which often centers around hospitality. Upon returning home from any trip or the start of any week the question is always, “What should we cook?” This is a family discussion with many opinions and much excitement. My husband has taken on bread making and pasta making. Much to my amusement, he babies a sourdough starter. This sourdough starter is like his child - fussed over and cherished. Just 7 months ago we moved into this new house within the same town in Ecuador. Our first home of in Ecuador boasted a galley kitchen fit for a RV - I likened it to my own personal sanctification chamber; a great exercise in gratitude and the acceptance of limitations. The small kitchen didn’t stop us from hosting and creating and it certainly grew our ingenuity and flexibility but you can imagine my joy when we moved into a home with a large kitchen - perfect for hosting and creating!
This is my kitchen after my dear house helper, Gloria, scrubbed the grime from a week of cooking off every surface. I know I don’t have to explain to you why she is one of my favorite Ecuadorians. Having weekly help with cleaning is one of my biggest gifts. The kitchen is usually sparkling clean for an hour or two. With two teen bakers-in-training the flour flies at all hours of the day! Morning muffins? Yes. Homeschool-break afternoon cookies? Yes. After dinner microwave mug-cakes? Yes. Clean kitchen 6 days a week? No.
My two favorite teen chefs and dish washers… Here you see our kitchen from a different view. We love the breakfast bar feature and often have kids sit here while adults sit at the dining table. It’s not uncommon to have 15-20 people eating in our home at one time. We love this and have learned to make extra rice and buy extra bread to fill tummies.
Each day around noon homeschool math is also done at this breakfast bar as I work on making lunch. Note the chipped tile on the edge of the counter - this place is great for catching drips and the cockroaches love camping out in there in hopes of finding a yummy morsel. Ecuador expat tip - make loud noises when approaching the kitchen at night. You may even want to keep your eyes closed for a couple seconds after turning off the lights. This will allow ample time for the bug population to scatter. Out of sight, out of mind is my motto. Ignorance is truly bliss.
My husband built me a storage unit for our large and commonly used appliances. This is also the “control center” of our home with a weekly calendar, meal plan and daily chores. Before moving abroad I never owned a rice maker or pressure cooker. Both are used almost daily in our house. I’ve learned to use the rice maker to make not only rice but couscous and quinoa. On the top shelf you will also see our sourdough baby. My husband has taken on bread making and pasta making as a hobby. Every day he’s feeding his sourdough baby and planning his next creation. This daily routine of his actually sets a rhythm for us in a life and country that is often driven by others. Our small town has a drop by culture and is very event, not time, oriented. So, we’ve found our own rhythms to act as an anchor.
On the refrigerator we have communication central. We fill in our weekly calendar at the beginning of the week to be sure we leave spaces for drop by visits and unexpected shifts in work/ministry schedules. Also, here we list our meal plan and snack options for hungry teens! The popcorn popper is often popping away to keep their stomachs full and mom from losing her mind constantly trying to source healthy snacks.
One of our two boxers, Lola, is my true kitchen companion. She’s trained to sit on her mat and catch scraps of chicken skin or other non-desirables. If only she could wash dishes and prep vegetables….
On top of cockroach havens in the cracks of our counter tile - we also boast a nice red rectangle that demonstrates our inability to pull out a paintbrush and just match the darn paint color! This was left from a vent removal 7 months ago and, if I’m honest, it will probably live on for another 7 months. Hey, I’m feeding hungry 4 mouths 3 meals a day with little convenience food availability. The red rectangle stays for a a while :)
My Must Haves for my expat kitchen:
The appliances I love are the InstaPot and my VitaMix. Both heavy carries from the US and substantial upfront investments BUT I can make an icy raw meat-chunk transform to a juicy pot roast in 1 hour. And don’t even get me started on the VitaMix. I can make breadcrumbs from stale bread in a second, creamy soups, smoothies to hide chia seed, probiotics and spinach for my teens and more. We are bonded. We came to Ecuador with 8 bags and these two key appliances made the cut.
My Favorite Expat Friendly Recipe:
Egg Frittata
by Tina | TakingRoute.net
This recipe is my go-to easy meal. It can be breakfast served hot from the oven, brunch sitting on the table and served room temperature to guests sipping coffee and chatting, lunch or dinner with a nice salad or some fruit. Another winning feature of the egg frittata is that it can be made with any variety of ingredients you have on hand. Vegetarian with veggies and cheese. Vegan with just veggies. Meat lover's frittata with salami, ham, sausage or even diced up turkey lunchmeat. Mediterranean with artichokes, spinach and feta. Frittata Lorraine with Swiss cheese, bacon, and cream. Italian frittata with Italian seasoning, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.
Here's the basic recipe but you should definitely not be confined by any ingredients. They sky is the limit!
- 6-8 Eggs
- 1/2 cup milk or cream (low or non-fat not recommended)
- 1/2 Grated or Crumbled Cheese - if using
- salt and pepper to taste
- paprika to taste
- Cooking fat of your choice (butter, oil, bacon grease etc)
- Veggie/meat add-ins - if using
Heat your chosen cooking fat in a large skillet on the stovetop burner on medium heat. (I like to use a cast iron skillet but any skillet without a plastic handle will work - you don't want to put your plastic handled skillet under the broiler. However, if you do have a skillet with a plastic handle you can wrap the handle thickly in foil and it will keep it will prevent the handle from melting.) While preheating your skillet, turn your oven-broiler on high and check to be sure the rack is in the middle of the oven. (A rack too close to the broiler will leave you with a crispy-topped frittata with a raw interior.)
Add any veggies or meats to the skillet and cook through to your liking. While the veggies/meats are cooking, whisk together the eggs, milk or cream, cheese (if using), salt, pepper and paprika. Once the veggies or meat is cooked through pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook (without stirring) for 1 minute. Then, place the skillet on the middle rack of the oven under the broiler and shut the oven door. Watch the frittata for anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Cook time depends on the broiler heat and oven size. A nicely cooked frittata will be puffed and a little golden. If the frittata is still a little raw in the middle, no worries! Just pop it back in on the bottom rack for a couple more minutes and done! Once cooked, remove the frittata from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or two. Then, serve warm or at room temp.