3 Things I Loved Eating These Holidays

February 27, 2009 by Monica  
Filed under Family Food

berries I tried in ibarra, ecuador

Monday and Tuesday of Carnival are holidays in Ecuador, and we took Wednesday as well to visit our family in Ibarra. I love it’s a smaller city where you don’t have to drive long distances to get what you want but instead you can walk, take a short bus ride or drive to the market or grocery store and find free range eggs, unpasteurized milk, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

So here my list of the top 3 things I loved eating at my aunt’s house. There’re 4 in fact:

1. Real Milk! Have you tried, tested and compared the flavor of fresh, real milk from grass fed caws. I don’t drink processed milk because my stomach doesn’t tolerate, but if you talk of real milk there I am!

-Home made cheese. As a result of having real milk available I made real cheese. It was so easy and fun to try my aunt’s way. She lived in a farm for more than 20 years, where she made or helped making cheese for several years. It was easier and faster to make cheese with the milk I got there than with the milk I used to get in Quito, since in Ibarra the milk we get is really-really fresh.

2. Free range eggs. Delicious! I can usually find free range eggs in Quito, but those my aunt gets in Ibarra have a slightly different and more delicious flavor. They have a slightly blue/green shell and very yellow yolk.

cherries-ibarra3. A new fruit I’ve never tried. They call them cherries (cerezas) but the only similarity is their shape and size. My aunt has it on her backyard (see both pictures). It has a peach-like skin, an acerola-like flavor and really small and soft seeds inside. It was fun to try it and felt my sore throat alleviated instantly. Do you happen to know this fruit?

All of this for less than I’d pay in Quito.

1 liter of fresh real milk = US$0.60
1 delicious free range egg = US$0.25
A bunch of “cherries” = free!

I’m wondering how easy it is for people around the world to get real food in their communities and how affordable real food is. What about your community?

Thanks for coming back to this blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Breastfeeding Landmark in Ibarra, Ecuador

February 26, 2009 by Monica  
Filed under Places & Trips

breastfeeding landmark in Ibarra, EcuadorJust got back from Carnival Holidays. We went to Ibarra, 2 hours to the north from Quito. This means we had to cross the equator line to the North Hemisphere ;)

My mom is from Ibarra and we have close relatives there, so it’s a common destination for us.

One thing I’m sure natural parents would love from Ibarra is this statue located at the city’s entrance. Public breastfeeding is obviously widely accepted there. We need more of this kind worldwide!

Fulfill My Birthday Wishes…And Enter to Win Some Great Gifts!

February 26, 2009 by Monica  
Filed under Misc

Help me fulfill my birthday wishesMy 31st birthday is coming soon (March 10th) and I want to invite my new readers to help me fulfilling my online wishes while giving you the opportunity to win some great gifts.
It’s this simple:

You fulfill one or more of my wishes and I’ll give you a number to participate in the give away.

On March 11th (the day after my birthday) I’ll announce the randomly chosen winners of some great natural family friendly products.

How to fulfill my birthday wishes

* Send one or more of these to msalazarponce [at] gmail.com

- An original natural/traditional parenting picture (up to 7, each one is a chance)

- Your original traditional recipe – could be something you got from a book but must be rewritten and include personal comments or recommendations. (again, up to 7 chances)

- Send me your birthday celebration traditions (include country/region)

- Sing Happy Birthday song in your language and send audio transcription and English translation (if not English). All birthday songs count. I’ll choose the one I like best for a special prize.

I’m already preparing some great prizes, including a Mei Tai shipped worldwide, so stay connected! I’ll announce the prices in the blog and to my mailing list as son as I get them ready! You can start gifting me now!!!

* By sending this info you’re authorizing me to publish it here or in my Spanish blog.

* You can subscribe to my 100% spam-free mailing list on the top-right of this page

* Keep an eye on the blog, I could be giving away some prizes before my birthday ;)

Wanna donate prices for my readers? Go ahead and contact me!

Next Page »