Ecuadorian Tortillas de Tiesto - Maiz Tortillas in a clay pot

Tortilla de tiesto, or toasted tortillas are traditional for Ecuador and especially for the Andean Kichwa people.

They have long been part of Ecuadorian culinary history and some kinds of versions surely were made even before the first Spaniards came to Ecuador.

The oral and written history tells of Chuiquimarca sisters that sold tortillas de tiesto at the train station over a hundred years ago.

They were called “las longas de maíz negro”, or “longas of black maize”.

Longa in Kichwa means a young man but after the Spanish came it became an insult and pejorative meaning indigenous people.

Tortillas de tiesto are also part of lunch box culture in Ecuador.

Before lunch boxes little children would take tortillas de tiesto with them to school in brown paper bags.

These tortillas don’t spoil easily and maintain their delicious taste, even after they are not warm anymore.

They are also very nutritious and fill the stomach of an active child, unlike the modern French fries or other popular foods.

There are different kinds of tortillas de tiesto, some are made only from corn or maize flour, other just from wheat flour, and some use a mix of both.

The important thing is that the corn or maize tortilla isn’t fried but toasted on a clay pot or pan, without any kind of oil.

This gives the tortillas their special flavor, together with the cheese that is used in the mix.

The tortillas are eaten with black coffee with lots of sugar, or sweet hot cocoa made from chocolate leaf.

I enjoy them with iced tea and a bit of butter on them.

Whichever way you eat yours, they are sure to be delicious.

TORTILLAS DE TIESTO

900 gr of raw corn flour

100 g wheat flour

Butter 200 g

4 egg

Salt to taste

150g warm water

250g cheese (grated)

PREPARATION:

1. In a pan mix the corn flour and wheat flour.

2. Add the butter, salt and eggs one at a time while kneading the flour, add water sparingly until the dough is smooth and workable.

3. Let stand about 10 minutes.

4. Heat the clay pot well and proceed to form the tortillas with hands in the center put a bit of grated cheese.

5. Organize the tortillas loosely around the clay pot and let them cook from the both sides until they are nicely browned. remove from the heat and place in a covered a basket to keep warm.

6. Serve and accompany with your beverage of choice. In Ecuador tortillas de tiesto are enjoyed with brewed coffee or hot chocolate.

Enjoy!

Chaucha Kings - Ecuadorian Music

Chaucha Kings, is the result of the union of three of the most popular and representative groups of the Ecuadorian contemporary music of recent times: Cruks in Karnak, Caceria de Lagartos and Tomback.

This project shows that artists from different tendencies can combine their talents with the simple urge to create and project a good rock’n’roll message: share and enjoy.

In the beginning the Chaucha Kings, thought of forming the band as a short time project to make music until their respective groups got back together again.

But the group has had such a huge public acceptance, throughout the country, that we undoubtedly now have Chaucha for long.

Chaucha is a word derived from Quechua and/or Kichwa, that means immature.

It has a different meaning in different parts of South America from little potatoes, to green beans with also some sexual connotation in Argentina.

In Ecuador chaucha means both little potatoes, and chauchipapas, or French fries with little sausages, are very popular here.

But it also means a second job that you do because you don’t enough in the first one and this is the true meaning of the group’s name.

It is in honor of countless Ecuadorians that have had to do two jobs to be able to bring the bread and potatoes to their families.

Many of Chaucha Kings songs reflect this reality, and they sing popular Ecuadorian music with lyrics about going away to get a better job, either to another part of Ecuador or as an immigrant to another country.

They also sing about popular fiestas or parties in Ecuador and about broken hearts, which are all part of the life of Ecuadorians.

The group’s message is share your life and enjoy it with others, an integral part of Ecuadorian culture.

But it has another even more profound message, be proud of Ecuador, of your culture and of being an Ecuadorian.

LA VIDA ENTERA - Chaucha Kings & Rocko y Blasty

Chaucha kings - Delfin Quishpe - CANELAZO

Volverte a ver - Chaucha Kings y Widinson (Juan Fernando Velazco)

Chaucha Kings Tabaco y Ron

CHAUCHA KINGS CON ALADINO "LLORARÁS POR MI"

The Queen With The Frozen Heart 20

A huge boa glided through the water and slid to its place under the the boulder guarding the river.

The yellow dapples in its skin shone in the sun and attracted the eyes of the children playing on the rock.

- Pretty snake, a girl called and giggled.

- A snake, a snake, the boys shouted together, it's a boa, a giant boa!

- There are no boas here, an older boy sneered them, calm down and let everyone in peace!

- Snakes, a scream pierced the air, there are snakes everywhere!

Women looked around themselves with wariness.

Sisa gasped and backed away at the sight of heaps of boas slithering on the warm sand next to the river.

The trees around the water were filled with their colorful sinuous forms.

She could see the reds and yellows gleaming in the sun while the snakes lowered themselves to the ground.

- They are back, she whispered, but what happened to Amarun?

- Where are our husbands, a voice wailed, where are our fathers and sons? What has happened to them? Why have you abandoned them?

A flock of butterflies bursted in the air and only the wind and the sound of the water answered to the anguished question.

- I will hunt them down, a boy bolstered and threatened the boas with his spear, I will kill them all for abandoning my father and brothers.

The sky darkened and a strong wind lifted, the air filled with the hammering sound of tropical rain and the sky was pierced by a sudden lightening.

- Don't anger them, a woman's voice complained, they will call the thunder on us and kill us all!

- But what about my father, a little boy asked with tears in his eyes.

- Yaya, a girl cried, father! I want my Yaya, bring me my father!

The air around Sisa filled with sorrow while people run to their huts to protect themselves from the storm.

She could feel her magic hiding itself under her clothes like a little scared lizard.

Her thoughts were heavy and her feet even heavier while she followed her mother to their fireside.

The rain pounded the earth harder and harder and drooped the leaves and the tree tops, it raised a mist from the river and it was impossible to see around.

She peeled maniocs with her experienced hands while her mind wandered away and filled a pot with them.

It was time to put the plantains on the grill that was waiting over the fire.

An armadillo waited next to her, wrapped in banana leaves.

Its meat was still tender and tasty after waiting overnight for them to finish eating it.

What had really happened, she wondered.

Where was Amarun?

Where were all the men from the village?

Why hadn't they returned together with the snakes?

To be continued ...

This is the twentieth part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1  

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2 

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3. 

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4. 

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5.

To read the sixth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6

To read the seventh part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 7

 To read the eight part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 8

To read the ninth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 9

To read the tenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 10

To read the eleventh part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 11

To read the twelth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 12

To read the thirteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 13

To read the fourteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 14

To read the fifteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 15

To read the sixteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 16

To read the seventeenth part, go to the The Queen With The Frozen Heart 17

If you want to read the eighteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 18

If you want to read the nineteenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 19

Outside the Box - Containers - Photo Challenge

Container is an object, such as a box or can, that can hold something.

It can be a large box that goods are placed in so that they can be moved from one place to another on a ship, airplane, train, or truck.

What if we think outside of the box?

What if there is no box?

What else can be a container?

Here are some Ecuadorian containers.

Leaves are very popular containers here. You just need some twine and you have a package ready-to-go.

Banana leaves make excellent containers.

A container with a banana leaf lid.

Woven basket is an excellent container.

Another container with banana leaves for a lid.

More leaf containers.

This container wasn't orginally made for a cat.

Another kind of container.

Natural containers.

This is a one kind of container also.

A crafty container by a special education teacher.

DIY containers for any kind or size of need.

More DIY containers.

More containers from the same teacher.

How to make Ecuadorian Pinchos or Kebabs

Everybody loves pinchos, or kebabs, in Ecuador.

They are one of the favorite street foods that you can find in every corner.

There are even different names for them, depending on what part of the country you are.

The people at the Andes call them pinchos and the people living at the Pacific Coast recognized them by chuzos.

Whatever they are called, they are always bound to be delicious.

You can find palos de pincho, or pincho sticks, at every supermarket in Ecuador and they are also used as crafts material.

There is a bit of difference between what you put in a pincho, or chuzo, depending on the part of the country you are from.

But the most common form of pincho (not necessarily of chuzo) is chorizo/sausage pincho with potatoe and plantain banana.

People also make pinchos of mean, replacing the or adding to the chorizo, and from chicken.

But chorizo pincho is the easiest and fastest one.

Chorizo Pincho

2 chorizo links

1 red pepper

½ medium onion

6 small potatoes

2 big yellow plantain bananas (not too yellow)

1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

1 scallion

6 skewers

1. Chop the pepper and onion but keep the slices big.

2. Cut the plantain bananas in six even parts.

3. Skew the banana, then the pepper, the chorizo, the onion and at last the potato.

4. Put them in the grill.

5. Cut a third of the white end of the scallion into strips.

6. Use the scallion strips to get oil to the pinchos.

7. Grill on the both sides.

Enjoy!