We have had such a great time on our travel to Ecuador from home! It was fun to add a little South American flavor to our trip around the world.

 

A little bit about Ecuador

• Ecuador is a country in South America.
• Ecuador is about the size of the state of Colorado
• Most people in Ecuador speak Spanish
• The Andes mountains in Ecuador are the tallest in South America
• Ecuador grows the most bananas of anywhere in the world
• The beautiful Galapagos Islands are off the coast of Ecuador and have some of the most amazing wildlife in South America.

What to make for your Ecaudorian food from home

My kids have been clamoring for another dessert ever since we made hokey pokey ice cream for New Zealand. I was happy to oblige.

I was able to find a reference to a meringue that is served in a cone like ice cream, and after doing a deep dive on the internet I found this recipe for

Espumilla

Espumilla is an interesting a different dessert, you expect it to be cold like ice cream, but it is room temperature. It is fluffy and melts in your mouth like meringue, but it is flavored with fruit. It is different than we were expecting but so delicious!!!

Esentially, espumilla is Italian meringue with a fruit puree.

If you have never made Italian meringue before this may be a little out of your comfort zone, but rest assured it is easier than it may look at first sight.

The recipe is very straightforward and the only thing I changed is that I made my fruit puree in my vitamix. With the vitamix you can puree everything down to the point that you don’t have to use the strainer at all and you can mix up your sugar in the vitamix as well.

Some tips about Italian meringue:

• Once you add the sugar and water together do not stir them (you rise incorporating sugar crystals in your mixture that will keep your meringue from being smooth.)
• Use a candy thermometer, there is no good guess work in candy making.
• Start your egg whites whipping for a few minutes before you add the fruit puree, it will ensure that your meringue will get to stiff peaks.
• Drizzle the cooked syrup in slowly but get it in before the mixture hardens.

Here are a couple of videos of what your mixture should look like at each stage. (CLICK THE LINK TO OPEN THE VIDEOS!)

Right before you add the hot syrup:

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How to add the hot syrup:

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Here is how it looks when it is complete:

Final tip: It takes a long time fore the meringue to reach stiff peaks after the addition of the syrup, basically it has to cool to room temperature. If you want to speed that up, get a dish towel slightly damp, pop it in the freezer for 3-4 minutes. Pull it out and wrap it around the bowl of your mixer, repeat until the meringue is room temp.

We topped our espumilla with these cute sprinkles from sprinkletopia and some mashed up mango. It was delicious.

What to watch for your movie about Ecuador

If you followed along when we traveled to France last week you had tons of movies to choose from. This week the offerings are not as bountiful but the movie we watched was a big hit!

 

“The Emperor’s New Groove”

Emperor Kuzco is a selfish and arrogant leader who doesn’t have much in common with the people he rules. He is turned into a llama and teams up with a commoner to help him get back to his palace. Along the way he learns about being a better person!

This comedy is truly funny for the adults in the room as well as the kids. Clever, and quick paced you will find yourself laughing out loud. Don’t dismiss this as a kids movie or you will be missing out.

Rent on Amazon here.

 

 

What to read about Ecuador

If you have kids who love all animals, this book will be a treasure. Beautifully illustrated and easy for kids to understand.

Click here to buy

 

How else can you travel to Ecuador from home?

Go on a virtual field trip to the Galapagos Islands. 

Enjoy a 30 minute field trip where you and your kids can learn all about the amazing diversity of animal life on the Galapagos Islands. This is a must for any animal lovers!

Videos to learn more about Ecuador

This weeks supplemental video from Ecuador is from one of my favorite travel vloggers, Wolters World. They are a family that travels all around the world and documents it through their YouTube channel. Here is their video on Ecuador.

National Geographic has a fabulous series called “Are we there yet?” is so amazing for kids. There are 4 videos about Ecuador and this one focuses on the Equator. Narrated by kids, for kids it is a great family resource.

 

What to craft from Ecuador

A cute Llama Stuffie 

Llamas are native to Peru as well as several other South American countries. They are used as transportation in the highest parts of the Andes mountains. This week we are going to be making llama stuffies.

This is the coolest thing about this week! One of my oldest and dearest friends is Caroline from Sewcanshe.com She agreed to make a tutorial for all my readers and it is FREE printable pattern. If you already follow her, you know that you are in for a treat. If you don’t, well what are you waiting for!

Download your free printable Llama Stuffie pattern here.

Music from Ecuador

We try to listen to music from each country while we do our craft projects. My kids were not fans of the music of Ecuador and kept turning it off when my back was turned for a minute. Maybe your kids will enjoy it more? Here is a short clip of music from Ecuador played on the traditional Andean flutes.

 

More of Travel the World from Home

I have a  Travel the World from Home Facebook group where we can swap ideas and stay connected during this time where we are all physically disconnected. It is an invitation only group and you must be subscribed to this blog series to join.

If you haven’t joined or you aren’t sure, please add your email in the subscription box below and I’ll get you into the group asap.

Please invite your friends! We have a long time ahead of us and we need all the community we can get!