Cheap retirement living, Ecuador living, French dessertsThe cheap retirement living is the reason most of our friends in Ecuador are living there. Besides the economical feature, Ecuador living is very slow paced. It is a much more relaxed and peaceful lifestyle. Each village in Ecuador is self sufficient. Each one has a product or products which it produces and ships out around the world. Our village of Cotacachi is world known for its production of leather. It is shipped to Italy and many other parts of the world. Purses and other leather items can be purchased right there in the village on “Leather” Street. One village next to us is called Otavalo. It is a world famous Indian market. The hundreds of colorful tables and booths display all kinds of items from handmade jewelry, tablecloths, sweaters, clothes, alpaca items and much more. Customers come here from around the world to shop; many to ship home for resale.
Otavalo is where I headed. I needed to find a tablecloth for Eva, a very good friend back home. I took a beautiful blue and white tablecloth back to my sister from one trip. Eva loved it and wanted a red and white one. These tablecloths are very colorful and most of them are with a white background. After searching through hundreds of tablecloths, I could not find one with just red and white. I settled for one with several shades of pink on white. It is very pretty and I am hoping that Eva can fit it in her color scheme. Cheap retirement living here does not require skimping when good value can be found. After leaving the market, we stopped by the Condor Park, outside of Otavalo. It is a beautiful ride up through the mountains to reach it. On top of the mountain we found many beautiful condors and eagles. (The prophesy of Ecuador is that we from the North are the Eagles and they are the condors. Toward the end of time the Eagles of the North will come to the Condors of the South. This is why they welcome us with open arms.) Anyway, after seeing all the birds, we took a seat in the arena and watched a bird show. Cheap retirement living does not mean you have to skip entertainment. It was a beautiful sight from the top of the mountain.
RICE PUDDING WITH LAVENDER
Pour the half and half and whipping cream into a heavy saucepan. Add the lavender, lemon rind and sugar. Heat until it begins to simmer and add the rice. Stir a little and reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered for about an hour or until the rice absorbs all the cream, stirring occasionally. Fold in the berries before serving. One time when I was back home, Eva made a delicious dessert for a funeral. It is one of those great strawberry desserts. I really liked it and when I returned home I received in the mail many recipes for it. Now I am not sure which one came from who but they are basically the same. STRAWBERRY PRETZEL DESSERT (Can also be a raspberry easy dessert recipe) Crust:
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Lightly spray with oil a 9x13 inch baking pan. Combine the pretzel crumbs, melted butter and 2 tablespoons sugar; press into pan and bake for 8 minutes. Cool. Cream the sugar into the cream cheese. Blend in the Cool Whip and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Combine the gelatin with the boiling water; stir until dissolved. Stir and let set until mixture begins to thicken. Spoon mixture over the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate overnight. Cut in squares to serve.
Please check out my “Chocolate Cake Cookbook” which is now on sale.
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