Saturday, July 16, 2011

Vegetarians, Beware

I see that I already had posted about my guinea pig dinner. Kind of thought I might have, but wasn't sure.

Fresh and organic foodies, eat your heart out. This is the Ecuadorean equivalent of our supermarkets. I know there are at least two in town, I stumbled upon them, and maybe more.

An Ecuadorean Supermarket


These places are huge multi-story affairs. The first floor seems to be devoted to produce.

The Vegetable Section


But, being a carnivore at heart, I spent most of my time in the meat section. It was a market onto itself, with what I took to be independent merchants hawking their wares.

A Carnivores Heaven








But they also had an aisle long set of booths or stands where fresh fruit and vegetable drinks were being prepared to either their or your recipe.

Bar Man Loves Blended Drinks


Sadly, no rum. These markets are alcohol free.

The places selling roasted pig were offering free samples, and once I get the taste of pork, well, there is no stopping me.

I Want My Pork And I Want It Now


I was polite about it. Everyone in Ecuador seems to be very polite. A very civil and friendly town. I asked for fried pork skin, one of my favorites. I thought I would get some in a bag. But then this mother and daughter team had other ideas.

Hmm, Not Going To Be In A Bag


What I got was a decent size plate of pork skin, chunks of pork, posale, onions, tomatoes, and potato dumplings. I shared it with the Mysterious Ones and it did for lunch.

Lunch For Three


It doesn't look like a whole lot, but that pork was so fresh and succulent that it was a sensory overload and so rich that it didn't take much to satiate you. And I think that plate was, at the most, two-and-a-half bucks.

Man, if I lived in Cuenca I would definitely be doing a lot of barbecuing. And the fresh vegetables are an inspiration as well.

You know what I didn't see much of, lamb. You see sheep all over but Ecuadoreans just raise them for their wool and for milk. They don't seem inclined to eat them.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

Okay, a couple of things.  I have been a bit lazy since returning from Cuenca and still need to go through and sort out my pictures to catch up on my trip.  Then, on Monday, I went to a birthday party for my friend Arden.  It was held at Waterfront Ale House and I have some pictures of that to post too. 

But first, I wanted to post a blurb about a book my sister-in-law's husband wrote.  Now you might think that would make him my brother-in-law, but you would be wrong.  A brother-in-law is the brother of one's wife or husband or the husband of one's sister.  Husbands of sister-in-law's don't count.

Not Really A Sponsor

The book is a Western Science Fiction tale that involves a time-traveling cowboy, Watt O'Hugh, who has seen his own death and is trying to write his autobiography before he catches up with his vision. Or something like that, I am not quite sure. It is convoluted but interesting. It is the first book of a planned triology, ao you may want to jump on board early.

If you would like to read more about it, or order it, you can check out the following link:


http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/indie/steven-s-drachman/ghosts-watt-ohugh/

Additional information on the book and how to purchase it can be found by following this link:

http:///www.Watt-OHugh.com/

More about my trip to Cuenca tomorrow, I promise. Must tell you about my guinea pig dinner. Or did I already? Everything is begining to blur.