Reading: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Let me just start this off with the fact that up until coming to Ecuador, my life, in terms of food has been fantastic.
That is to say, I grew up with parents that are excellent cooks and raised on fresh produce with minimal junk food. Perhaps this factored into my college days, when I became a bona fide foodie. Most people talk about their college days of Ramen noodels and boxed mac & cheese...
I, on the other hand, was lucky enough to have friends that were on par with my parents in cooking abilities and we were self-proclaimed beer snobs (Dogfish Head, perfection. Sierra Nevada, acceptable. Lionshead, only when broke. Natty, absolutely not). I worked at arguably the best cafe in town which supplied a great number of my meals. I had a access to a wonderful natural food store and great grocery store (which Sioux Falls also doted on me). When I did cook for myself, it usually consisted of veggies from an Amish market or maybe a box of instant couscous if I was short on time... but boxed mac & cheese, of course not. The most I could complain about was my campus cafeteria salad bar, which to be fair, is a 5 start restaurant compared to the average ecuadorian restaurant.
It's safe to say that coming to Ecuador, in terms of my eating habits, has been a reality check.
Ironically, this has resulted in my new found obsession with all things "America" that I was barred from eating when I was little and grew to dislike when I was in college. Oreos, Shoprite Peanut Butter and Kraft Mac&Cheese scream comfort to me now and sometimes it feels like I would take them over my favorite Cherry Alley tofu salad (I have yet to succumb to ranch dressing).
So, when Heather gifted me a package of Kraft Mac&Cheese that some friends had sent her from the states, I could hardly contain myself. I have been saving this little package of gold for a few weeks now, waiting for the opportune moment to relish in it's greatness and I figured, after a rather stressful day of a grumpy counterpart, bunches of children running through my house and unsuccessful math tutoring, a little dose of America was long overdue. Except, I didn't have any macaroni...
But I had quinoa (college staple that is infinitely cheap when you actually live in the country where it's grown) and I figured that anything would make quinoa taste better then the pathetic curry powder that I found at the Ecua grocery store...
And that was the birth of my new found favorite food - Kraft Quinoa y Queso - with the hopes that it's somewhat healthier than its predecessor. Its even great as cold left overs.
Let me just start this off with the fact that up until coming to Ecuador, my life, in terms of food has been fantastic.
That is to say, I grew up with parents that are excellent cooks and raised on fresh produce with minimal junk food. Perhaps this factored into my college days, when I became a bona fide foodie. Most people talk about their college days of Ramen noodels and boxed mac & cheese...
I, on the other hand, was lucky enough to have friends that were on par with my parents in cooking abilities and we were self-proclaimed beer snobs (Dogfish Head, perfection. Sierra Nevada, acceptable. Lionshead, only when broke. Natty, absolutely not). I worked at arguably the best cafe in town which supplied a great number of my meals. I had a access to a wonderful natural food store and great grocery store (which Sioux Falls also doted on me). When I did cook for myself, it usually consisted of veggies from an Amish market or maybe a box of instant couscous if I was short on time... but boxed mac & cheese, of course not. The most I could complain about was my campus cafeteria salad bar, which to be fair, is a 5 start restaurant compared to the average ecuadorian restaurant.
It's safe to say that coming to Ecuador, in terms of my eating habits, has been a reality check.
Ironically, this has resulted in my new found obsession with all things "America" that I was barred from eating when I was little and grew to dislike when I was in college. Oreos, Shoprite Peanut Butter and Kraft Mac&Cheese scream comfort to me now and sometimes it feels like I would take them over my favorite Cherry Alley tofu salad (I have yet to succumb to ranch dressing).
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| The newly remodeled kitchen |
But I had quinoa (college staple that is infinitely cheap when you actually live in the country where it's grown) and I figured that anything would make quinoa taste better then the pathetic curry powder that I found at the Ecua grocery store...
And that was the birth of my new found favorite food - Kraft Quinoa y Queso - with the hopes that it's somewhat healthier than its predecessor. Its even great as cold left overs.
wow. good job. I have to say though... I can´t really eat the Kraft Mac & Cheese anymore. It´s too processed after eating this ecua-food for almost nine months. You´re welcome to my surplus of cheese packets anytime :)
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