eG Foodblog: Panaderia Canadiense - Salt Cod, Squash, and Sweets: Semana Santa in the Sierra

[Panaderia Canadiense]

1 hour ago, Tere said:

 

I missed off organic fairtrade banana *cough*. They are all house branded and sadly they don't mention the company at all. I can see the odd fair trade sticker on the banana pictures but nothing that's obviously Chiquita, for example.

 

The loose large ones can come from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Windward Islands, or Panama. The bagged up ones don't even give you that amount of info! The small ones are grown in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ghana, or Windward Islands. The organic ones are grown in Dominican Republic or Peru.

 

I think I am demonstrating that to the UK consumer a banana is a banana is a banana really. Probably a tasteless one grown for easy transport.

 

This kind of goes against the whole fair-trade labelling thing!  If you can't take a look at the co-operatives who produced and picked the fruit, then how can you determine if Sainsbury's is really holding up its end of the bargain?  Yeesh.

 

1 minute ago, Darienne said:

A question about the carambola.  I've eaten them in Ontario and in Utah and found them in both places not really to be worth the eating.  Bland.  Pretty tasteless.  But then I suspect that buying them from your market might be a different experience? 

 

Ed wants to know what currency you use and how it compares to any other which you might want to suggest.

 

I strongly suspect you had carambolas that were picked quite green then gassed to ripeness.  That would make them bland and tasteless for sure.  Tree-ripening makes a huge difference on this fruit!  When they're ripe they should be crisp, crunchy, and have a vibrant flavour somewhere between granny smith apples and gooseberries.

 

Tell Ed we're on the US dollar, so…. $0.77 Canadian as of today's midday mark?

[Tere]

Here's what they say about their Fairtrade bananas:

 

https://livewellforless.sainsburys.co.uk/fairtrade-bananas/

 

Not a whole lot of info. I would expect Sainsbury's to be legit with Fairtrade, it would be lethal to their brand if they weren't. But yeah, not much info.

[johnnyd]

Beautiful blog, PC!

 

When I was a child in Brazil, we'd drive from Sao Paulo to the coast for the day.  Along the way, children were selling tiny unripe green bananas from a big stalk on their shoulder.  When we drove home at the end of the day, any they had left were ripened to a spotted deep yellow.

 

Another treat in Brazil were avocado creams.  Much like the Florida variety, you'd mix one avocado with a 1/3 cup lime juice and equal part sugar and blend.  Served often for dessert but makes delicious ice cream too.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

51 minutes ago, johnnyd said:

Beautiful blog, PC!

 

When I was a child in Brazil, we'd drive from Sao Paulo to the coast for the day.  Along the way, children were selling tiny unripe green bananas from a big stalk on their shoulder.  When we drove home at the end of the day, any they had left were ripened to a spotted deep yellow.

 

Another treat in Brazil were avocado creams.  Much like the Florida variety, you'd mix one avocado with a 1/3 cup lime juice and equal part sugar and blend.  Served often for dessert but makes delicious ice cream too.

 

Avocado creams!  Here, we pour that into a cup, stick in a popsicle stick, and freeze it.  One of my absolute favourite ways to eat avocado.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

So, this afternoon was spent at the Mall de los Andes (which, since it's the only mall in a city, one can reach by simply telling the cabby "to the Mall!").

 

To start it off, we lunched in the food court.  This is a big modern North American style mall, and it's got a big modern North American style food court on the top storey…. With a bit of a twist.  The only chain up here that a North American would recognize is KFC - they're everywhere; you can't escape Cl. Sanders!

 

Las Palmeras is an Esmeraldan seafood chain; Gus is a chicken roaster; American Deli and Cajun are collectively the worst hits of mall-food internationally.

 

There's KFC, way back at the back….

 

And there's also an obligatory fast and nasty "Chinese" food joint.

 

Unique to Ecuadorian food courts, however, is a top-notch Ceviche place.  (And if you ever want to start a small war, you can go ahead and protest that ceviche is a Peruvian dish; Ecuador also claims it, and in my humble opinion does it a whole lot better than Peru does.)

 

The final choices came down to Menestras del Negro, a place that specializes in grilled meat swimming on a bed of really excellent stewed beans or lentils, and….

 

TropiBurger - the singlehanded conquerors of McDonalds in Ecuador.  There is a Tropi in every major and most minor cities, but there are only 2 Mickey D's in the entire country.  This is because TropiBurger beats them at their own game: fast, cheap, and tasty.  Tropi is 100% Ecuador owned and operated and uses exclusively local produce, none of which is ever frozen (the company motto is "Fresco Sabe Mejor" - Fresh Tastes Better.)  And that's why they win.

 

Menestras had a huge lineup, which could mean waiting up to 30 minutes to be served, so we settled on the relatively deserted TropiBurger instead.  I took this opportunity to try something that has recently appeared on their Ambato menu: fried chicken with arepas and a side of slaw.  Mom went for the dependable standby, chicken strips.

 

I was underwhelmed by my choice.  The chicken, which adheres to the usual high standard of TropiBurger's goodies, was delicious and piping hot.  The arepas, though….

 

They are fried pucks of…. something?  Mom and I couldn't decide if these were the strangest llapingachos we'd ever eaten, which would mean they were potato, or if they were a poor imitation of Arepa Colombiana, which would mean they were corn.  Based on flavour and texture, it was completely impossible to tell.  I ate 4 and a half of them and I was as in the dark at the end as I was at the beginning.  They were improved greatly by dipping them in the ají (hot sauce) but that's not a glowing recommendation by any standard.  I found myself wishing I'd decided to have a bacon cheeseburger instead.  This is the inevitable pitfall of deciding to try something new at the food court….

 

I'd also like to show you Ecuador's equivalent of Starbucks, Juan Valdéz.  If, while in the country, you have a hankering to pay far too much for a giant cup of caramel-drizzled, foam-topped, whipped-cream drowned coffee with a vaguely burnt aftertaste, then Juan Valdéz is where you go.  There's at least one in every major city, often more, and they're almost always as empty as this one so you won't have to wait too long.

 

In this photo you can also see the edge of a Baskin Robbins kiosk, which is very infrequently patronized by Ecuadorians (who are used to helado de paila) and constantly busy with visiting missionaries who crave a taste of home.

[rotuts]

so there is a Juan Valdez after all and he is hiding out in Ecuador at a chain he started !

[Anna N]

  The food court appears almost deserted. Were you there at an odd hour or is it Easter week or perhaps it's never busy.  

[Tere]

I am cheering TropiBurger on.

 

The most miserable meal I have ever eaten I think was just outside Ueno in Northern Tokyo, back when I couldn't read Japanese and I missed lunch service (and there are some good joints there). And I ended up with a Teriyaki McBurger because I was that starving. Saddest meal I have ever eaten for sure. Hypoglycemia and desperation in a bun.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

  The food court appears almost deserted. Were you there at an odd hour or is it Easter week or perhaps it's never busy.  

 

I was there, purposefully, at an off hour on a Monday.  It's hellish when it's packed, as it often is within the "normal" lunch hour of 11:30am - 1:30pm.  Easter week won't deter people - they'll bring their visiting family up to eat at Menestras and take in a movie at the cinema that's on the same level.

 

But we weren't really here to be disappointed by the food court.  The main event at the mall was a visit to MegaMaxi, the largest local supermarket.  Megamaxi would not seem out of place in North America or Europe.  It's got one big advantage over North American style supermarkets, though - to the right, you can see a counter, and that's the baggage check.  If you've got packages from shopping at other stores in the mall, you can check them here (in fact, they will politely demand that you do) and shop unencumbered.

 

Well, it wouldn't seem out of place except maybe for the giant, ravingly nationalistic beer display just inside the main gates….  Ecuador has a pair of World Cup Football qualifying matches coming up this week.  There's a huge array of beer on display here, all of it lager.

 

The brown-boxed bottles on the right of this picture are something I've only ever had in Ecuador: sub-zero lagered chocolate porter.  It's surprisingly good.

 

Like every other large chain supermarket in the world, there are things that it is much, much cheaper to buy at the mercado….  Pineapples this size were 3/$1.00 yesterday.

 

Hands of bananas this size were $0.50 - the minimum price at the Maxi is $0.98/kg, which is almost in range, but you haven't got nearly the selection available.

 

And melons… Watermelons this size will cost nearly $5 at the Maxi, and are about $2 at the mayorista.  Coconuts are $0.50 each at the market.

 

The rest of it is very much what you'd expect of a chain supermarket.

 

The cheese aisle, however, is an entire aisle long.  To anyone who disputes that we've got cheese here…..

 

Especially for @Anna N - Andean-style blue cheese made with goat's milk.  This is at the supermarket, you don't even have to hunt for it.

 

And I was wrong - the sharp sheep's milk cheese I was trying to remember was Angochagua, not Pategras.  Don Galo, which is under black wax as part of those mixed wheels, is an even funkier goat's milk cheese.

 

European cheese styles are also well represented by local cheeseries.

 

Where I draw the line, though, is over $7 for 200g of feta.  This is because I know how to choose Queso Fresco and can get an equivalent cheese, locally produced, for a fraction of the price.

 

But where Ecuador really shines is the selection of Queso Fresco.  These are cheeses that are less than a week old, and without a skilled interpreter who knows their stuff, you'd suspect that they were all the same.  They're not.

[Tere]

So, do you think of your enormous outdoor market as a farmer's market? Or is that actually more flexible than that? Amazed at some of the prices of the fruit.

 

[rotuts]

I love all these markets.  thanks for taking the time to share

 

One thing I might have missed at either market, perhaps you didn't go to that area ?

 

Fresh Meat.   Cow, pig, goat   etc

 

also, what is the temperature range in you area these days ?

Edited March 21, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[kbjesq]

4 hours ago, Tere said:

I think I am demonstrating that to the UK consumer a banana is a banana is a banana really. Probably a tasteless one grown for easy transport.

 

Apparently a banana is a banana is a banana here in the US, as well.  Even here in FL where we can literally grow them in our own yards without any trouble!  Oh, the folly of it.  

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'm honestly not sure what else to show you of the MegaMaxi, folks, so here are the things that make the food aisles a little different from every other supermarket in the world.  Trying to make this interesting is like trying to sell a tourist to Canada on the grand experience of shopping at Safeway.

 

There is a truly amazing array of ají (hot sauce) on offer, most of it from small local companies.  Olé, heavily featured in this photo, wins international awards.

 

There's an entire aisle devoted to Chicharrones, which you might know better as pork rinds.

 

Ecuadorian chocolate is heavily represented in the candy section.  The past decade's gold medallists are all represented here.

 

Lest you think that all we have is lager, here are the microbreweries and the ales.

 

The Frozen section is mostly ice cream, fruit pulp, and fish steaks.  I have yet to see ready-to-reheat anything in this area.

 

Because ready-to-reheat is in the fresh case at the Deli!

 

And so is whole fresh octopus.

[rotuts]

Its the legacy of United Fruit 

 

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/United_Fruit_Company

 

I recall perhaps in the WSJ  that in the last few years  the USA Banana was changed to a New USA Banana as the previous one

 

died out due to a broken heart.

[kbjesq]

@Panaderia Canadiense  I really think that you should work in the PR department of your new homeland.  The more you write about it, the more that I want to move there.  Bravo!  Great blog!  Thanks ever so much, although I confess that reading your blog made me late to an appointment today.  And will likely do so for the remainder of the week!

[Panaderia Canadiense]

6 minutes ago, Tere said:

So, do you think of your enormous outdoor market as a farmer's market? Or is that actually more flexible than that? Amazed at some of the prices of the fruit.

 

 

Sort of, and also sort of not.  The big market I was at yesterday is mostly a bulk food-distribution point with a small farmer's market tacked on, on the weekend.  It's hugely more flexible than "just" a farmer's market, but the way that food production is set up in this country means that the people who wholesale at the Mayorista are usually also the farmers.

 

6 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I love all these markets.  thanks for taking the time to share

 

One thing I might have missed at either market, perhaps you didn't go to that area ?

 

Fresh Meat.   Cow, pig, goat   etc

 

also, what is the temperature range in you area these days ?

 

I haven't gone to the market that specializes in fresh meat yet!  That's probably tomorrow or Thursday - I want lamb.  The Mayorista has a small butchery corner, but the meat's really suspect by my personal standards - I wouldn't buy beef that's just been hanging on a hook at the front of the open-air shop, with flies crawling all over it, all day, in the hot sunshine.  I have a bespoke butcher instead.

 

Temperatures around now range from +10 C at night to about +25 C in the daytime, and up to +35 C if it gets sunny.  It's technically just past the fall equinox, but all that really means for us is that it rains in the afternoons and evenings.

 

5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Its the legacy of United Fruit 

 

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/United_Fruit_Company

 

I recall perhaps in the WSJ  that in the last few years  the USA Banana was changed to a New USA Banana as the previous one

 

died out due to a broken heart.

 

UFC is alive and well in Ecuador - take a close look at the banana box just above those blocks of raw sugar.  You're referring to the replacement of Gros Michel by Gran Nain and Cavendish.  That happened due to TR2 Panama Disease, and is material for an entire other post and a long-winded rant against the irresponsible monoculturing of a crop known to be susceptible to this kind of disease.  It sounds very offhanded to mention it this way; the death of Gros Michel nearly crushed the economies of a number of Latin American countries and led to at least one political revolt and a civil revolution in Panama.

[rotuts]

"""   bespoke butcher  """

 

nice

 

 

there used to be a couple of those in the Boston North End  ( Italian ) 30 - 40 years ago.

 

small shops.  nothing really to see.  you had to discuss your ideas w the Butcher, who creaked when he walked.

 

you couldn't just order some Veal scallops.  you had to mention what you wanted to do with them, then maybe, only maybe  would he cut them to order for you.

 

most times for me, they  would get a different cut, that ended up being much better for the Plan of Action.

[rotuts]

In Ecuador, do people eat more Fish than Meat    independently of personal Economics ?

 

I recall your many past posts on the availability of very fresh fish of all types.

 

would more beer be drunk than wine for dinner meals ?  

[Panaderia Canadiense]

33 minutes ago, rotuts said:

"""   bespoke butcher  """

 

nice

 

 

there used to be a couple of those in the Boston North End  ( Italian ) 30 - 40 years ago.

 

small shops.  nothing really to see.  you had to discuss your ideas w the Butcher, who creaked when he walked.

 

you couldn't just order some Veal scallops.  you had to mention what you wanted to do with them, then maybe, only maybe  would he cut them to order for you.

 

most times for me, they  would get a different cut, that ended up being much better for the Plan of Action.

 

Mine's younger than I am, but he still creaks when he walks.  He raises a herd of Charolais cattle on the edge of the Amazon, and sells his cuts to a select list of clients - and it's not like you walk into the shop and convince him you need 2 lbs of tenderloin from the filet end, it's more like you phone and beg in the most dignified manner possible, describe what you're going to do with the meat, and then he delivers what he deems to be the right cut to your doorstep.  I've asked for T-bones and received Porterhouses from him before, but I don't complain because his prices are really really good and so is the meat.  Plus he'll often take carrot cake in trade.

 

30 minutes ago, rotuts said:

In Ecuador, do people eat more Fish than Meat    independently of personal Economics ?

 

I recall your many past posts on the availability of very fresh fish of all types.

 

would more beer be drunk than wine for dinner meals ?  

 

Ecuadorians actually eat more pork and chicken than any other meat, followed closely by seafood of all types.  They don't really know how to deal with beef the way that, say, Argentines or Uruguayans do, and that means it's on the menu less often than the other meats.  It's not really a ranching country, except for one small portion of the coastal province of Manabí (where there are Brahma herds.)  Personal economics dictates how much protein is on the plate at lunchtime (lunch being the biggest meal of the day), but there's always meat of some sort.

 

And of course, right now it's a majority Catholic country during Lent, so throw all that out the window.  Fish is everywhere on the menu, because all other meats are proscribed for the 40 days; those who wish to do harder penance give up other things on top of meat.  I was actually surprised that Juanito's price on swordfish steaks didn't fluctuate; fish prices normally skyrocket during Lent.

 

Alcohol isn't really a with dinner thing in most working-class and middle-class families.  The upper crust will usually take wine with dinner as a sort of showcase of economic superiority.  Beer, on the other hand, is the drink of everybody who can afford it (and the big bottles of Pilsener are $1.05, so everyone can afford it) at lunchtime.  In the case of football games, beer is the sandwich of choice.  People buy cases of the big bottles and empty them between friends when there's a big match on.  You'll get to see a bit of this on Thursday, when Ecuador plays Paraguay; football is a second religion here, and beer is its sacrament.

[rotuts]

""   he'll often take carrot cake in trade ""

 

nice

 

"""    Personal economics dictates how much protein is on the plate  """

 

well said.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Now, as I've been discussing various and sundry with you all today, bakery things have also been going on for the coffee-break delivery rounds tomorrow.  Among the things on the menu are:

 

Peach Crisps.  This is why we needed the Duraznos at the market yesterday.  The fruit that we didn't use will be frozen in convenient baggies for use at a later date.  Crisps are a very Canadian thing, and they're popular with clients who've missed breakfast.

 

Pasteis do Nata, sans crusts.  My now departed paternal Grandmother was a custard wizard - she whipped up cream and milk custards seemingly without measuring or even really thinking about it.  I use her base recipe; it took me nearly a year of experimenting to figure out what her spice blend was; I'm still not even 80% sure I'm using the same thing (I'm certain that Gran didn't have ishpingo in her cupboard), but it tastes the way I remember it, so I'm calling it close enough.  Gran's recipes have that tantalizing and frustrating means of notation that includes things like "a generous dash of spices" and "a handful of coconut" which I've had to standardize by trial and error.  She would have whacked me on the knuckles for making custard tarts without crusts, but I have clients who've given up grains for Lent and these are specially made for them, so that they can eat rich sweets without sinning.

 

Then there's the bread.  I'll show you the Quinua Herb once I'm done with it, but I wanted to show the difference in colour between the blue cornmeal mixture that is the base of the black bread, and the final colour.  Both styles are done with short-ferment poolish.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

And I'm also enjoying a nice hot chocolate with bourbon in it.  Black Owl is a Kentucky bourbon imported at bond strength and diluted in Ecuador; this is the only way that bottling companies can get around import duties on foreign-produced spirits.  Bond-proof whiskey is considered to be "flavour concentrate" and it's not taxed; spirits bottled in the exterior come in with a hefty 45% duty tacked on.  I'm fortunate that Black Owl is very good bourbon, and you can't beat $12 a bottle.

[Deryn]

I feel as though you have already written a whole book, complete with pictures! It is a very good day when I learn something new - today and yesterday have been epic, thanks to you. How you have managed to fit us into everything else you have been doing I cannot imagine but I am so glad you are taking us along with you as you go about your day/week. This is an adventure not to be missed!

 

Please tell your parents from me that they have an amazingly talented and generous daughter - and thank them for taking the path that led you all there.

 

p.s. I wish you were on Gusto TV - a show featuring a genuine person like you taking people around the culture (especially the cuisine) of Ecuador would be 10 thousand times better than what that channel is edging into - 'perky personality, non-cooks' pretending to be FoodTV/HGTV stars!

Edited March 22, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Dinner!  Juan-Carlos kind of decided it for me, that it would be swordfish, but it remained to be seen how that would shake out.

 

 

Now, if I were a "perky personality non-cook pretending to be a cooking TV star," I'd describe the outcome as "Chimichurri seared swordfish rillettes on a bed of wild-mushroom rice, covered in a Chenin Blanc-mushroom reduction and accompanied by organic carrots and romanesco."

 

Thank goodness I'm not that pretentious.  I had chunks of panfried fish and chimi, with mushroom gravy, rice, and steamed veggies instead.  I did use Chenin Blanc, from an Argentine winery - it's the $4 a bottle equivalent of two-buck chuck here.  I'm quite happy with how the gravy turned out; I deglazed the pan with wine and then simmered red onion and mushrooms in it.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

There's also what happened with the 144 oz, give or take, of bread I produced earlier in the day. 54 oz of that became Cheese Spirals, giving me another opportunity to talk about Ecuadorian cheese.  Cheese spirals contain a mixture of whatever I happen to have in the fridge; this varies depending on what the cheese shop has in any given week.  I normally tell curious clients that if they can tell me the names of the 5 cheeses I use, I'll give them a spiral for free - I have yet to have one winner, because while most Ecuadorians can name 5 kinds of queso fresco, they can't do the same for mature, melting cheeses.

 

From left to right: fresh Mozzarella, Hard Andino Añejo, Gouda, Pesto, and Young Andina Hierbas

 

The Gouda is a sterling example of its kind; this is produced by a small cooperative founded by Swiss immigrants decades ago, up in Salinas de Guaranda.  They brought their cheesy know-how with them, and were thrilled to find that the town they chose is famous for Guernsey herds.  Cheese from Salinas is sought-after, and the closest big market for sales is Ambato.

 

Pesto Cheese.  As the name suggests, this is a semimature cheese filled with basil and a hint of garlic.  The colour is a bit off-putting if you're used to pale cheeses but the flavour and creamy texture more than makes up for it.

 

The black bread spirals also contain chunks of Pernil, an artisan-produced ham.

 

 

Apart from the spirals, there are also bagels in both black and white.

 

Aaaand, empanadas, which stepdad makes; today's stock are Chicken Vindaloo, Chicken Pizza, and Pernil and Cheese, all of which are popular favourites.

 

To round out the sweets, there's Death By Chocolate Cake.

 

All of this will be packed into the basket and totes, and dragged around the city Tuesday morning as part of what, in a normal week, is 3-day weekly coffee break service (Tues-Thurs-Fri).  Because of Easter's holiday schedule, it's only Tuesday this week.  I deliver to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, the IRS, the Bishop and diocese officials, Central Hospital, the Property Registry, City Council, the Governor, the Superintendent of Police, a number of provincial organizations, the Comptroller of the Province, and a number of small businesses in between.  I will also stop for anyone who's hungry and expresses interest in what I'm carrying.