Images from Ecuador

Sweet & Tangy Salad

Honey-Orange Vinaigrette on Greens with Goat Cheese, Pears, Candied Walnuts and Dried Cranberries 

I invented/prepared this salad the other day for a friend's birthday party.  It was easy to pack up in ziploc bags and plasticware in order to assemble it on site.  The dressing is sweet and tangy, while the goat cheese nicely offsets the sweetness of the cranberries and nuts. I have made this almost every night for the last week.  I cannot get enough! 

Dressing: 

1 garlic clove minced or crushed
1Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Honey
1/8 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Orange or tangerine zest
1 Tbsp Orange jam or marmalade (not the really bitter kind)
Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Whisk the first 7 ingredients together.  Slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream while whisking vigorously. 


Candied (Sugared) Walnuts:

Over medium-high heat toast a cup of halved or chopped walnuts.  After a few minutes (before they brown)  add half a cup of sugar and stir constantly until the sugar liquifies and coats the nuts.  Spread onto a baking sheet and let cool.

Salad Components:

Half cup of dried cranberries 
1 or 2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese
One pear; sliced, pealed, and tossed in lemon or lime juice to prevent browning while waiting.
Lettuce of choice (I used a combination of butter leaf, green, and red curly-leafed).

"Ecuador Hat" Just Doesn't Have the Same RIng to it!

 

(This is EXACTLY what I looked like at the shop)

Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador.  They used to be primarily shipped from the canal zone, hence the misnomer.  We went to a factory in Cuenca, which is considered the home of the Panama hat.  The factory had a little museum with wooden molds. The tighter the weave, the less it will wrinkle, and those super fine hats are expensive.  Although, they are much cheaper here, at the source, than in the States.

 

Happy Chinese Birthday

Ingrid has a book about a real little boy, Named Ernie Wong, living in Chinatown and celebrating Chinese New Year.  It has photographs, and she LOVES it.  She remembers our trips to Chinatown in San Francisco, too. So since Chinese New Year is a bit before her Birthday, she wanted desperately to have a Chinese-themed party.

Auntie Nicole, your gift still fits!  (Only picture I could take with her in her cheongsam.)

 

(image from Pinterest, but I made these!)

Here is another book she loves.  

I grew up reading M. Sasek's

"This is..."  books because my school library had most of them.  I am so happy they are still in print for my daughter to enjoy!