Pizza de Nexar

Ever since our friendship with Nexar the bread man began we have toyed with the idea of buying dough from him. He IS the maestro, why should I struggle, when he makes the best? The other day when we were having coffee with him, Mike told him he used to make pizza, and would Nexar be interested in making pizza in his bread oven? Nexar got really excited, and the wheels started turning, we decided we needed a trial run, so he asked us to come back at 2pm.

We went home, made sauce, thawed the pepperoni, shredded cheese and charged the camera. When we arrived, Nexar had the dough making table ready, but Mike realized it had been too long since he made pizza, so Nexar and his wife Maria conferred and made a dough for the crust.

Here Nexar is telling Mike to take over to make the pizza crust

Mike's pizza crust...

And...the maestro! Haha, we just let Nexar do it! Many laughs were had at this point.

Time to dress them. We did two large pizzas, we stayed simple and did vegetarian sauce, topped with pepperoni and mozzarella/Parmesan cheese blend.

Into the oven they go...and we wait

While we waited, Nexar and Maria continued to do their afternoon chores, we sat and watched our town.

Finally done!! It turned out very good, was tasty and not bad for a trial run. We gave some pieces away to get feedback, and when we go for breakfast this morning we will see if he wants to do it again for sale this weekend.

So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Something new

This week we started something new...instead of me going to get bread in the morning, and bringing it back...WE took our coffee and went to Nexars. He has tables and chairs where we got to sit and watch our town come to life.

Muy Rico!!! We really believe his bread is the best we have ever eaten, just a hint of salt on the crust, and warm soft fluffy inside...oh my!

Almost like croissants, they are so yummy, but I know they aren't made with all that butter!

The little cupcakes are good, they stay moist for several days. The rolled up cake has dulce or flavored marmalade in the layers, just enough, never too sweet, and the donuts...I'm pretty sure are baked, I've never seen a fryer inside the shop.

He said recently he arrives at 5am and as we sit with him, we watch as he rotates the trays so every new customer is getting hot bread. I have found that means harder crusted bread, when I show up late to purchase, so I try to get there around 8 am. 

As we sit and watch our town, we get to say Good morning to everyone who comes to buy bread, walk past to the other stores, drive down the street, a very nice way to spend a couple hours. Joffre is across the street, and we saw him loafing the other morning. Mike couldn't resist taking his picture...

Neighbors Fernando Father Fishermen and his neito Zadkiel, son of Fernando Romero and Melissa showed up to buy bread for those working nets.

Such a cutie, he used to be sooooo shy, but now he knows us. Looks for us, when he is in front of our house, and if he sees me walk by his grandmothers house he yells, "hola Amiga".

Another new thing this week, Mike has a new fan, possibly an apprentice. Meet Luis, he showed up in the vacant lot the other afternoon, and just watched Mike sculpt over the fence. Mike tried to engage him, but apparently Luis is a boy of few words.

The next day he showed up again, and Mike asked him to come in. I personalized a ocean themed necklace and he promptly hung it around his neck. I'm sure if he shows up again, he will start to open up and be less shy, so more to come...

We moved Mike's table away from the fence, where small arms could reach over. Little by little we are getting the outside studio space set up. (His new apron, I painted for him.) Talking with Nexar, he asked us if we wanted to have a tent in front of his shop during the Art Event, heck yes!! I was going to ask Jenny if we could be in the small vacant lot next door to her tienda but Nexars is great!

So, with that, I must get busy. I'm concentrating on shell and driftwood things this week, want to have a good variety of things for sale. Mike has been busy with clay, and painting and coming up with new things to try. He is so talented! So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Baby showers, and Birthdays

Way back in April, the day of the earthquake, to be exact, I was invited to Jenny, the tienda owners, daughter in laws bridal shower. Gisela and Xavier have been together for over six years, this was the natural progression of things...

I arrived "fashionably late" about twenty minutes after the invitation start time, and the tables hadn't been delivered yet, awkward. Many ladies were still bustling around, trying to get things ready, tables came, and we (the guests who had arrived already) helped put the table clothes on. The banquet hall was really decked out!

There were some games, the normal Ecuadorean snack foods, little corn dog things, popcorn, tiny sandwiches, cookies, and sweets. They served a cold green mint drink, couldn't tell if it was alcoholic or not, the mint may have just been strong.

Because I had been there since 2ish, as it approached 6pm, I'd had my fill. Some ladies had started drinking beer, and it was getting a little rowdy. I didn't understand most of what was going on, so I snuck out. (Why I'm not in any pictures)

This was the table I was sitting at, Darcy who works at Jenny's store, Cecilia who used to work at Jenny's and was the reigning Queen of San Jacinto for 2015, another young lady who is related, and our friend who works at the pharmacy. Cute little picture "frame" they made.

I got home from the shower about 30 minutes before the earthquake. Glad I was home. Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Last Saturday we were invited to Nexars grandsons birthday, Nexar said he would pick us up, and take us to the party after he was done with work at the Panderia. He picked us up a little before 4pm, and the party was already started (the invitation probably said 2pm, hahah!). In true Ecuadorean fashion, the chairs were all around the outside of the room, and nobody was talking to each other, maybe because the music was so loud. 

Some kids decided to dance, but really nothing was happening except snacks, guests on phones and breast feeding. (Nothing out of the ordinary here!) The normal snacks, corn dog things, little sandwiches, popcorn, jello (sometimes they put condensed milk over the top of the jello) one of the uncles finally got the cerveza out, and the adults could enjoy a little more. 

A couple uninvited party guests who came to check out the festivities. They were just running around the neighborhood, they were about the size of the chihuahuas, pretty cute. Porkita one of the moms said.

The "piñata" was fun for a minute. Here the piñata's are different, a little trap door is pulled and the candy falls out, no violence, nobody hitting anything, no blind folds, but that means the whole process is over in seconds, big scramble, then just confetti on the floor.

After we were all full of snacks (and beer) they brought out food, yikes! Most of the moms got the food to go, and it ended pretty quickly. The decorations came down, and balloons were sent home with the guests, along with cupcakes, and goodie bags. We ate, shared another beer with some family, and as it was all winding down, Nexar got us a taxi home. 

Birthday boy, still not sure of his name, need Nexar to write it down. Another great afternoon and Eve with some of our Ecuadorean family. We love being invited, it really means a lot to us, to be included even tho we don't know the language or customs, but we are learning. The more we've been to, the more we realize there is a progression of events. The little corn dogs come first, then the little sandwiches, maybe more corn dogs, then popcorn, and jello. We are getting the hang of it, so stay tuned...the adventure continues!

Monday Monday

On Saturday Vecino told us if we bought the supplies, he would put up a fence for us on Monday. We discussed what was needed and he arranged for Fernando Father fishermen to take him to buy the supplies on Sunday. We had already invited Nexar and family over for lunch (his birthday was the 7th) but knew the job wasn't so big that it couldn't be done by lunch possibly. Bright and early Vecino and a helper got started.

I had strung this black plastic across, as a visual barrier, but the wind had blown it down, luckily our pups don't really want to leave us, so it wasn't an issue, but security is important.

It really didn't take long, the posts holes were dug, bamboo split, and then the slats were attached. The pups pretty much sat outside all morning watching the men work. Around the time Nexar and family arrived another helper had come, and made quick work of pounding down the nails, and voila!

While I was cooking, Mike showed off his clay creations, and kept the family occupied. They live in Charapoto, and really enjoyed just sitting in the ocean breeze. Lunch was hamburgers on Nexars wonderful bread with potato salad and fruit. Nexar asked about rice, and we told him that North Americans eat either rice OR potatoes, but not usually at the same meal. Everyone enjoyed the burgers, and after some chatting we decided to walk the beach, as it was getting to be low tide.

The girls were picking up shells, and the pups were running around like crazy. But the boys...found the water!

The kids enjoyed a swim with Nexar, and we all got a kick out of the pups.

Veronica runs with such velocity she is often sore the next day, and therefore grumpy, so Mike carried her awhile, she didn't seem to mind.

I had made bread pudding in the crockpot, with Nexars day old bread, so we headed home for dessert.

A wonderful day, beautiful sunny skies in the morning, and just a little cloud cover to keep it cool in the afternoon. Good food with good friends, and new security from our caring neighbor. Our life in Ecuador does not suck! As always, stay tuned, the adventure continues!