My Ecuadorian friend Olguita and her son Ismael invited me to their granja (small farm) in Mayancela, in the mountains north of Cuenca, for a family get together. June is the month of Inti Raymi, which is the indigenous celebration of the winter solstice, and a good time for harvesting everything planted last September. Yes, winter. Remember, I am south of the Equator, in the land of opposite-to-you.
I had an amazing day but it was a bit bittersweet. The last time I was here was with Kirk, Olguita and her sister, and Ismael, and Kirk and I had what was probably the best day we had together in Ecuador. We took a long walk in the countryside by a river, helped cook lunch in the outdoor kitchen, and worked in the afternoon harvesting the various veggies. Today was much the same, but with many more members of Olguita’s extended family.
Her granja has a small enclosure for sleepovers, an outdoor kitchen, a bathroom, an open area for gathering, and many different types of vegetables. I’m sure I’m going to miss a few but: choclo (corn with large grains; maíz is corn with small grains); tomates de arbol (tree tomatoes, the basis of ají, the Ecuadorian staple hot sauce); limones (basically a lime); beans climbing the cornstalks; hot peppers; nasturtiums everywhere (no one but me knew they were edible); granadillas (a fruit in the passion fruit family — you can Google); sorrel; and amaranth.
Ismael just bought a SUV so we had a nice ride about a half hour or so out of Cuenca and up in the mountains. Olguita had spent the night and was already there, cooking away. I started by helping to take the kernels of choclo off the cobs. The kernels are large and you pop them off the cobs one at a time with your fingers. Theoretically, in my case. I am much slower and worse at this than the ladies I see in the mercados who sit and do it with practiced hands.
Then Ismael and I got to work harvesting the rest of the choclo. He used a machete to chop the stalks and I stripped the ears. Each stalk had one or two ears, and most had some beans to harvest as well. Various people came and helped as well.
Some stalks also had nasturtiums climbing up, which I was setting aside. That confused everyone, until I explained the various culinary uses of the leaves and flowers. A few of them ate a leaf; I’m not sure I convinced anyone. But I certainly had as much to take home as I wanted.
After a break for breakfast (arroz con cerdo, pimientos, y cebollas, y café — rice with pork, peppers, and onions) we finished up the choclo harvest. Then my new friend, the son of Olguita’s boyfriend, taught me how to play some Ecuadorian card games. One was called burro, and the other was I think adivinaremos — that one was basically Concentration with cards. And we traded gorras (baseball caps) for the day.
Later in the afternoon the adults played cuarenta, the most popular card game in Ecuador. It’s played with a standard deck omitting the 8s, 9s, and 10s which are used to keep score, giving you forty cards for the game. Hence, cuarenta. It looked like a lot of fun.
Soon lunch was ready. First course was a delicious sopa de pollo (chicken soup) with small bow tie pasta. There were bowls of choclo to add, and also ají made from the tomates de árbol and hot peppers from the farm. Tan rico! (So so delicious).
Next was an plate loaded with flavorful rice, potatoes, chicken, sausage, beans, and lettuce, with ají added to taste. Everything was cooked and grilled in the outdoor kitchen. You can’t imagine how good it was. The meats were all from the mercado which means they are extremely fresh – usually sold the same day. It’s a completely different taste experience. The closest thing I’ve had is the fresh killed chicken in the NYC Chinatown restaurants.
And the potatoes! Ecuador has hundreds of varieties. When I go to the mercado, I tell them what I’m going to do with them, and they give me the right potato. I don’t know which potato it was, or how Olguita cooked them. But I could eat a plate full of just that, and be totally happy and sated.
After lunch I helped separate the choclo stalks. Practically nothing is wasted. What we were doing was removing the tassels and tough bottom part from the stalks. The middle green part is used for animal food. Another group of people was shucking the choclo, saving the outside leaves to wrap humitas. Someone saved the silks, not sure for what. And in the kitchen, someone was grinding the choclo into a paste for the inside of the humitas. That paste is combined with a bit of queso fresco, wrapped in a corn leaf, and boiled. We had those later in the afternoon with some coffee, when it started getting chilly. And everyone got some to take home.
Another highlight was the homemade chicha that Olguita’s mother made. Traditionally this is “corn beer” but she made a non alcoholic version. I’ve had chicha several other times but this was so different and the best ever. She added some spices that made it so tasty. I didn’t dare ask what they were. Abuela has her secrets!
Ismael, in addition to his job at Casa de la Cultura planning tourism for the area, is an accomplished musician. He plays the charango, a traditional Andean instrument somewhere between a guitar and a ukulele. It’s maybe close to a mandolin. Also he plays pan pipes, and sings well. His friend had a guitar and the day concluded with a singalong. Well, everyone else sang and I clapped. I recognized a couple of the songs but the lyrics were well past my level of Spanish.
I hated to leave but my goodness what a day. I am so fortunate to have made such good friends. Ismael, Olguita, and I have an intercambio (language exchange) every Monday where we practice our respective second languages. And for them to include me in their family traditions is so incredibly special, and important to me. Thank you so very much, Olguita and Ismael, from the bottom of my heart.
