The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

I was born and raised in Atlanta.  Where does this spite for Northerners come from?  Atlanta is a very diverse culture and what makes the city. Yes there are probably pockets of this 'thinking' but I've never, nor my friends had these thoughts.  Wow...
Ironically, I moved to a town in North GA and someone from Chicago made reference to the black population.  So racism and prejudicial thoughts are everywhere. Consider the individual, their lack of education etc first. I've grown up with many different cultures here and have never had negative thoughts or "prejudice" thoughts.  Isn't grouping all of us to be the same the meaning of prejudice?
Sure hope Ecuador is better.

Don't know if you want to call this a blog, Russianbluemom, as the master of this thing, Nards, claims this is a continuation of his previous non-blog.  Of course you are correct in his great contributions to the greater Cuenca community.  He is also a kind and understanding man, so I am sure he will forgive you of your obviously unintentional misstatement of his status.  Best of luck to you and your cats in your quest.

About McDonalds, I don't know if I read it in the Expat.com or another place but few weeks ago McDonald close their restaurants in Bolivia, not for political reasons but because locals didn't like the food and the fast eating.
I think is the only country in the world that happended something like this.

Vinny

Yesterday, while watching the video embeded in this post, I observed something very, very, unusual.  I enter this photo into evidence:



That my fellow peeps is a plastic bag for queso fresco, a staple in many EcuadorianŽs diet.

According to Wikipedia:

Queso fresco is a creamy, soft, and mild unaged white cheese, commonly used in the Iberian Peninsula and in several American countries, including Mexico. The name queso blanco is Spanish for "white cheese", but similar cheeses are used and known throughout the world by different names.

They are also known as "bag cheeses"

Now, the protagonist in that video--Brandon-- was making Lasagna. My first thought was that using Queso Fresco in lasagna would be blasphemous, although I have never made it myself. After Googling a recipe for Lasagna I realized Ricotta Cheese and Cottage cheese can be used in Lasagna, and both are young cheeses.

Anyway, I decided to get to the bottom of this. I furtively left a comment using the "Anonymous" login since I am persona non grata.

Here is the question and the answer:

Q: Hi, I noticed on the counter "queso fresco". Do you use that cheese as a substitute for Ricotta cheese? Does it taste similarly? Thanks.

A: Queso fresco (fresh cheese) tastes nothing like Ricotta cheese. Queso Fresco is similar to Mozzarella cheese. We substitute a homemade white sauce for the Ricotta cheese when we make lasagna.

Thanks for commenting.

Of course that answer opens up a serious of other questions like how can you use a white sauce for Ricotta cheese, but I will leave it there for now.

vinny66 wrote:

About McDonalds, I don't know if I read it in the Expat.com or another place but few weeks ago McDonald close their restaurants in Bolivia, not for political reasons but because locals didn't like the food and the fast eating.
I think is the only country in the world that happended something like this.

Vinny

Vinny, have you visited the McDonalds in Cuenca?  I wonder if there are any variations for Ecuador.  I visited some fast food spots in the Philippines and they served rice, not available in the USA.

I visited the MacD's in Shanghai and Beijing. The food was dry and tasteless - the place was packed with Chinese peeps. Smart people those Bolivians. In the town where I live (Ashland ORegon) MacDonald's and PZA hut gave up and left town.

The good news is McDonalds is fighting obesity by cutting back on its big fat menu.  Sorry to tell you this Nards, but they already cut out the fruit and walnut salads, and now the latest Bloomberg News rumor is that the House of Ronald is also gonna dump the Caesar salads, McSkillet Burrito and the Southern Style Biscuits.  Still waiting for a report on the Cuenca establishment, like to know what is or is not available.

There's no McDonalds in Cuenca yet, but they're building one.There's someones in Quito and Guayaquil and they're OK.
My kids love it but I prefer Burguer King, is more juicy and bigger than McD.
But what I really like are the ecuadorian burguers known as "Chancrosas" is a very oily hamburguer, with  fried egg and tons of mayo and ketchup. Is impossible to keep all together in your hands for more than 3 minutes.

About the salads, is weird but it was the less healthy food in McD because of their high amount on sugars.

I will do a full reporting when the Mickey D opens up in Cuenca, including photos of the menu board.

Returning to the subject of Queso Fresco, I was noticing there is another young cheese called Queso Mozarrella in the same section by the same manufacturer. I am scratching my head as to why the frugal bloggers didnŽt select that variety instead of the Queso Fresco in their lasagna.


 
Now to add to the confusion there is this comment on a web page about how to make Queso Fresco:

Note from a customer
I have used your Queso Fresco instead of mozzarella in pizzas and lasagnas and my family LOVES it! It melts beautifully, especially if placed on top of a tortilla and heated in the stove.

Knew we could count on you for a full Micky D report.  This cheese dilemna is a real noggin scratcher.  Guess you can't argue with a beautiful melter.

The frugal bloggers have inspired me to make a ricotta-cheese- free lasagna using either Queso Fresco or Queso Mozzarella as a substitute for Mozzarella. 

I will probably try one of these recipes:

http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-lasagna … tta-317761

http://www.food.com/recipe/my-moms-lasa … tta-246084

We are very new to the expat scene.  we are planning on coming to Ecuador after the first of the year for a couple weeks to decide if we want to move there.  We are in our 70's, far from rich, have a dog.  Our initial questions would be can we get a house under $30,000 as seen online, can we Skype or get TV, is it hard to get our dog into the country without 6 weeks quarantine?????  We don't want to live in the cities but want access to drug stores, etc.  We also read the crime rate is growing.  Is it best to get a nearest hotel when we land and rent a car or what?  From the messages on the blogs, it looks like the expats are a tight knit group, that is a plus for us in deciding.

Marionk

Enjoying a glass of the only pasteurized milk sold at Supermaxi:



Lactujubones is a mixed public-private company that sells some of their product to Supermaxi and other shops, while simultaneiously giving away for free the product to thousands of families.

The thing is, you have to drink it fast! There is only a three day period between the elaboration date and the expiration date. With ultra-pasteurized milk you get at least a month with the bag, and up to 6 months with the box.

I gotta say, I've never seen anyone as absorbed by dairy products as you. Between the milk and cheese, you are consumed by dairy. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Ten years ago, it would have been meat for me.
There are certain meals I MUST have milk with, Italian being the foremost. ( others, wine with Italian ) I have a weakness for sour cream. I use it in everything.
But, other than that, I don't " drink " milk, it's mainly used in cooking, and cereal at this point in my life. There is no way I'd beat the expiration date on the milk you're showing here. I'd have to go with the longer shelf life product you've referred to in the earlier posts on this thread.
I really appreciate the info you give on these products.
Stay Well

And I havenŽt even covered yogurt yet.

I mainly use milk for my coffee, followed by fruit smoothies, and then a little for cooking, drinking, and putting on top of oatmeal.

I expected a lot about milk, especially putting it on corn flakes or whatever, after all, you are  both "serial" ex-pats.

Nards, is there kefir down there or should I bring my own starter?

I have not seen kefir which isnŽt surprising since I had never heard of it until now.

They do sell boxed milk with oatmeal added, for added roughage I suppose.

And of course Tuesday mornings Nectar restaurant sells raw cows milk. Bring your own container.

Just when we thought we had heard our last rant from a blogger about the supposed epedemic of complaining expats, a new one pops into my in tray.

Don't come to another country to complain about things here. Stop comparing them to your own country. it is not like your country and your are probably here here because it is not like your country and/or it's more affordable. The affordability is a direct result of the relationship between the wages and the cost of living here, both of which are roughly 10% of that in America.

I really wish these bloggers would stick to first or second hand reporting of these incidents, rather than simply rolling with some unconfirmed anecdote because it gives them something to write about.

What a waste of time to read that blog!  Cost of living 10% of the USA?  So what you can get for the required minimum $800 in Ecuador per month would cost $8,000 in the USA?

mugtech wrote:

What a waste of time to read that blog!  Cost of living 10% of the USA?  So what you can get for the required minimum $800 in Ecuador per month would cost $8,000 in the USA?

I have commented on that particular blogŽs advise articles in the past. 

Apparently, they have recently started a consulting business to help you assimilate into Ecuadorian culture. Your own personal guru, if you will.

I guess if I talk to someone for an hour about living in Chicago, I should charge $350.

Any takers?

18 shot this weekend in the windy city, might be worth it.  Would be hard to imagine what info no one else is gonna tell you that would be worth the $35/hr from Captivating Cuenca.  Saving you the trip?  These are the same people telling us the cost of living is one tenth of the USA.

Schullo is a natural foods manufacturer based out of Quito and Guayaquil.  You see their products all over the Supermaxi.

I got to recommend these cookies, since they are my favorite:

mugtech wrote:

18 shot this weekend in the windy city, might be worth it.  Would be hard to imagine what info no one else is gonna tell you that would be worth the $35/hr from Captivating Cuenca.  Saving you the trip?  These are the same people telling us the cost of living is one tenth of the USA.

I could say, "If you're going for a walk, don't do it at 35th Street and Prairie." Earned my $350 right there. Easily 10x anything they'll tell me.

What's great is that, since CoL is only 10% of US, I'm going to be living like a king on my SS! I had been planning to continue doing some consulting work and writing on the side, but heck -- why bother?

Bob

Tag this one as a "deep thought".

I bought the following bag of spaghetti sausce for my lasagna. The packaging indicates that it contains 400 grams.  That is a measurement of weight.



If you look at a jar of American spaghetti sauce, the contents is provided in ounces which is a measurement of liquid.

Since I am using a recipe that is given in the U.S. standard, I needed to convert 400 grams to fluid ounces.

As ehow.com explains,

Since a fluid ounce is a measure of volume and a gram is a measure of weight, you can't actually convert grams into fluid ounces. However, if you know the density of a liquid, you can figure out how many grams of the liquid are in a fluid ounce

Anyway, I did the conversion using a utility on the internet and it indicated 13.525609023560001 fluid ounces.

I had dumped the contents into a measuring cup before using it and it was around 12 ounces, so it seemed to correspond with the conversion.

P.S. That bag of spaghetti sauce cost me $1.26.

Okay.... since you brought up Italian. My biggest concern is: Hot, Spicy Italian sausage. It can be cased, or bulk. Is it available, Oh food guru?? I know there are Italian restaurants, so it has to be available. I want to see pictures.... and I know you have them! Cost is NO object, I need's the sausage!!!

Ps. I'm bringing my own spices. Sausage doesn't travel that well.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Okay.... since you brought up Italian.

Good question -- and since Italian food (my second favorite) has come up, what about #1 -- Mexican?

I'm not much of a cook, so I need Mexican restaurants. What's available?

I really miss good Mexican food. Heck, I'd settle for mediocre. What they have here is just putrid. My apartment manager here is Italian and he steered me to the one OK Italian place here.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Okay.... since you brought up Italian. My biggest concern is: Hot, Spicy Italian sausage. It can be cased, or bulk. Is it available, Oh food guru??

I would hope the Ital Deli has a spicy sausage that you will like. If so, let us know including names. They all look like variations of Oscar Mayer hotdogs so I never know what to order. Here is the place 10 minutes from you on Simon Bolivar near Sen Sebastian park.



Speaking of Ital Deli, I bought ground beef (carne molida) for my lasagna the other day. If I did my math right, at $5.89 per kilogram, that equates to about $2.67 per pound. They have only one variety of ground beef, and I have no idea what the fat content is.

You Sir, are The Man.
I am in 7th heaven with that place right down the street. Once I get settled in, I'll make an Italian feast, and you're invited. I'm actually Irish, but I met a gal in the service who's parents came from the old country, and she taught me the way they make it.
Did the lasagna turn out good? I'm interested to know how the mozz turned out for you.
Neil

The lasagna turned out alright, although it is a work in process. I had a photo to show, but my computer crapped out on me last night. I am now limited to internet cafes or my IPOD Touch.

For that reason non-blogging is on hold until further touch.

chau for now.

Hope it isn't a big issue with the puter. I just bought a new laptop last week to cover myself. My old one is about 3 years old, and developing issues with the hinges. I'll just leave the old one in one of the guest bedrooms for visitors.
Probably overkill, as I have a smartphone, tablet and the 2 laptops. Gotta be connected at all time you know. Geez, how did that happen?
Yeah, anytime you're making a dish with ingredients that are different, you have to putz with them.
Good Luck with the puter.

Greetings!

xander442 wrote:

Greetings!

ciao

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Hope it isn't a big issue with the puter. I just bought a new laptop last week to cover myself. My old one is about 3 years old, and developing issues with the hinges. I'll just leave the old one in one of the guest bedrooms for visitors.

Probably overkill, as I have a smartphone, tablet and the 2 laptops.

I understand there's a fairly strict limit on how many devices can be brought into Ecuador. Have you checked into that?

Maybe a subject for a separate thread, so I'll start it.

Bob

We leave in 2 weeks. Gad, I'm looking forward to this and a bit nervous too. I hope my piddly Spanish will be enough. I hope I bring the right clothes. I hope my 14 year old doesn't get into trouble while we are gone. I hope the garden gets watered. I'll worry now and relax on the flight. See you soon! Gerry in Oregon

All will be fine..... don't worry!
Are you and your husband bringing any instruments down to entertain me? Sure hope so, I could use some culture in my life.
See you both soon.
Safe Travels,
Neil

After a layoff, I have a lot of pent-up energy for comments.

First for a word on dairy products,

I sampled these two cheeses below, and there is not a whole lot of difference between them in terms of taste or texture.  Since the Mozzarella is a $1 more for the equivalent size package, I will be sticking with the Queso Fresco.



The Frugal bloggers would be back in good standing with me with this discovery, but they suppressed another one my comments on their blog yesterday.

I didnŽt think Gringo Tree would post my comment, but they did.

http://www.gringotree.com/cuenca/articl … 8#c5t_form

non-bloggger
"Two days ago, on May 26, CuencaHighLife ran a story on a new pilot project offered by the University of Otavalo"

A story not properly sourced in my opinion, and since I canŽt comment about it there, I will mention it here.

http://www.elcomercio.com/pais/extranje … 07408.html
#4 - Nards Barley - 05/28/2013 - 16:27