Recipes from Abroad // Learning Where Chocolate Comes From in Mindo, Ecuador

Quality chocolate is hard to come by in Ecuador. The good stuff may be grown inside the country's borders, but Ecuadorians rarely get a taste—most of it is saved to be exported. In all honesty, it is pretty safe to say that most baked goods in Ecuador are not on par with my expectations from back home in the U.S. The cookies are too crumbly and the cakes fall a little flat.

I don't mean to knock Ecuadorian bakers. There's a real reason why the treats are mediocre. That familiar yellow box with the arm and the hammer? You just won't find it on shelves here. Baking soda is a controlled substance that can only be purchased from a pharmacy in small quantities.

Needless to say, after living in Ecuador's capital city, Quito, for several months, I was definitely craving sweets. When my friend mentioned there was a “Chocolate Tour” that we could take on our mini-vacation to Mindo, I had my fingers crossed that my $3 would buy some quality baked goods. As it turns out, El Quetzal makes some deliciously rich and smooth chocolate that fully satisfied my cravings—and everything is grown and made right in Mindo.

Mindo Chocolate Tour - The BE

This is where it all begins. Who knew?

Mindo Chocolate Tour: beans

The “pods,” the “nibs,” and the beans. The slimy outside of the pods tasted melon-y.

Mindo Chocolate Tour: Fermentation

The pods get taken here to ferment in boxes.

Coffee Drying

Next we went to the drying tent.

Dried chiles.

El Quetzal was drying chiles for some spicy chocolate experimentation.

Mindo Chocolate Cocoa Goo

Next the beans are roasted. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture—I think at this point I was mainly concerned with eating the chocolate. Which means I took a rather generous sample of this cocoa-goo that tasted awfully bitter without any sugar added.

Ecuador chocolate bars

A whole bunch of other stuff happens, and then voila! Chocolate bars. (Hey, I can’t give away all their secrets)

At the conclusion of the tour, you get to nibble on a brownie and then choose either a scoop of homemade ice cream or a hot chocolate to enjoy. Did I mention an Ecuadorian specialty is to melt cheese into hot chocolate? I will spare you the details of my stringy hot chocolate misadventure, but I would like to say that the chocolate tour in Mindo is well worth your money. If you’re like my friends and me, you’ll probably go back the next day to buy more brownies to snack on during the bus ride home. And to hoard for breakfast throughout the next week.

Recipes from Abroad // Chilean Sopaipillas

On rainy days, my boyfriend often laments about sopaipillas (so-pie-pee-ahs). When the weather was gloomy, his mother would fry up a big batch of these Chilean pastries, as is the rainy day custom in her native country. She'd keep the finished sopaipillas in a basket and the family would snack on them all week long, choosing to cover them with either sweet or savory toppings. Sopaipillas have actually been known to be eaten in Chile since the early 18th century. Today, Chileans with a sweet tooth eat the pastries with a caramel-like sauce called chancaga or with honey or jam, while those looking for something savory cover it with avocado, butter, cheese, or pebre, a spicy Chilean condiment.  

My boyfriend's mother passed away more than a decade ago and, to further complicate things, he has since discovered he has a gluten intolerance. Still, we were determined to re-create this Chilean staple. We tried once with not-so-good results, but this recipe — adapted from just cook already — gave us what we wanted. Although not as fluffy as normal sopaipillas, they did the trick and satisfied our rainy day craving.

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Gluten-Free Chilean Sopaipillas

9 ounces butternut squash (or any orange squash) 4 cups all purpose gluten-free flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt two tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup butter PLUS vegetable oil for frying

• Cut squash into half-inch cubes and boil until they easily slide off a fork.
• Drain, reserving liquid, and mash with butter.
• In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir in squash mixture.
• Knead dough on lightly floured surface; add reserved liquid or flour if needed.
• Cover with a towel and let rest at least 10 minutes so the dough can rise.
• Roll dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness; cut into circles with a glass or use cookie cutters for desired shapes.
• Poke each disk/shape a few times with a fork.
• Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook until golden on both sides.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Serve plain or with jam, honey, or fresh fruit.

Note: if you don't have a gluten intolerance, you can substitute regular flour to create sopaipillas the traditional way.

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Recipes from Abroad // Spike Your Coffee the German Way

siegfriends-mechanical-music-museum-rudesheim-copy

Walking around the narrow, cobbled streets of Rüdesheim felt like a trip through a movie set designed to look like a “typical” German town. It was all there: half-timbered houses, taverns that open up into old courtyards, overhanging signs carved out of wood with gilded letters, and even some token characters dressed in traditional garb. To make things even more Disney-esque, our first stop was Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet, a museum filled with automated musical instruments. At first Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet seemed like a musty tourist trap filled with weird antique toys. That is, until our guide started showing us how the 18th- and 19th-century instruments worked. Puppets came to life and danced to music and player pianos and violins with mechanical fingers sang to us. I even got to hand-crank a melody from a giant music box (with the help of our tour guide, of course). We were still looking at weird antique toys, but these were fascinating weird antique toys!

siegfriends-mechanical-music-museum-rudesheim-2

There were about 350 self-playing musical instruments in all at the museum, some so tiny they could fit in your hand and others that filled up entire rooms. It was truly impressive.

drosselhoff-rudesheim

After the museum, we wandered down the famously cramped pedestrian street named ‘Drosselgasse’ or ‘Thrush Alley’ that is lined with wine pubs and restaurants on both sides. It was a brisk morning, and we soon found ourselves warming up with some Rüdesheimer Kaffee, a local treat that is similar to Irish coffee. This coffee, however, is served in a traditional cup (see top image) and the key ingredients are some flaming brandy, a huge dollop of whipped cream, and some shaved chocolate on top. How could you go wrong?

rudesheim-kaffee-2

Of course, you don't have to have a special cup — or even travel all the way to Germany — to enjoy this treat. Here's how to make it at home.

Rüdesheimer Kaffee

• Place three sugar cubes in a coffee cup
• Add a shot (1.5 fluid ounces) of brandy and set alight with a long match
• Stir with a long spoon until sugar is dissolved
• Fill the cup with hot coffee and top generously with whipped cream and chocolate.

For the most authentic version of this drink, the brand of alcohol used in Rüdesheim is Asbach Uralt, which is manufactured there.