When the Universe Says "No"

Hey! I'm back. Sure, it's been a few years, but what with the pandemic and all, is anybody really surprised?

Sunset somewhere over Mexico

You'll never guess, but we're back in Ecuador, just for a visit. It was time to flee the winter in Eastern Canada and we had to renew our Ecuadorian ID cards, so back we came to Cuenca. We thought we were pretty smart, we hired someone who knows the system to help us get new cedulas, had all of our paperwork in order and had (hopefully) booked enough time to get it all done.

The first step was to have our visas transferred from our old passports into the new "electronic" visas, then get our marriage registered in the Registro Civil. (This, despite the fact that our cedulas clearly indicate that we are, indeed, married to each other. Classic government bureaucracy.) Then, after those two hurdles, we'd be ready to renew our cedulas. Sounds pretty staight forward, right?

The New Cathedral from Terra Restaurant

Alas, no. As Ron is the primary visa holder the agency in Azogues wanted to see him first. He and our fixer dutifully went out there and after a brief wait they were told that they wouldn't be tranferring the visa, as we'd been out of the country for too long. When we left in 2019, permanent residents could be out of the country for up to 5 years. What we didn't know, is that in 2021, the rules changed and that term was cut down to only two years. We were a year too late.

Full moon over the city

We really weren't that surprised. Disappointed, to be sure, as it was nice to have the possibility of moving back here should the need arise. The universe had already given us several indications over the past several years that our time here might be done, but the nudges were subtle, or we were just being thick. 

Sunrise over Ecuador

You'll hear a lot of negative things about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Azogues office, They are intractable when it comes to the rules. I've found my dealings with them to be incredibly frustrating, mostly because they kept telling us "no". That's on us, really, not on them. Just be forewarned. Many people opt to use the Quito office, to avoid their incredibly narrow interpretation of the rules. All that being said, they did us a solid. They didn't cancel our visas and kick us out of the country. That means that, technically, we're still residents, but it's a very narrow technicality. We have two ways to remediate the situation. Apply for residency all over again starting from scratch, or let our residency go. Because of the new 2 year out of country rule, we've decided to take the second option. 

Anyhow, this leaves us with some free time on our hands, so we've decided to run off to Columbia for the end of our trip. So, here we come, Bogota and Medellin! I guess we're making lemonade.

Ron's Big Dinner

Milestone birthdays are a bit strange. What makes it a milestone? Every year is the only year we'll be that particular age, so why is one year any different from the others? I think it's a legitimate question and yet, I acknowledge that we still mark certain ages as more noteworthy than others.

Wicked tall wine glasses are gifts

We were supposed to be travelling in South East Asia this year, as we've got a whole host of "important" dates...we like to call it our "big year", but then we relocated to New Brunswick and there's the whole COVID-19 thing happening, so here we are in Moncton, watching our hair grow and the grass get greener and generally contemplating our navel lint. It seems that our big year is going to be a big bust, but I refuse to surrender...yet.

Masks from friends

Because I have so much time on my hands, and one of the way's I show love is to cook, I started imagining Ron's perfect dinner, not his death row meal, but a meal that would incorporate as much of his favourite foods as possible and how to make it all special. The result? Ron's Almost Perfect 8 Course Dinner.

What was the craziest part? I decided I'd actually execute it. I don't think a general has ever gone into a battle more prepared than I, to tackle this challenge. And I actually pulled it off. Was everything perfect? Heaven's no, but it was all really good, the plating was attractive and the hot food was hot and the cold food not. (Yes, I'm giving myself a bit of a pat on the back.) I think he enjoyed it, as did our friends and we certainly enjoyed having a bit of company, now that some of the restrictions have been lifted.

Without further ado, the meal (missing is the cheese plate as we just forgot to take the picture):

Roasted pepper and smoked gouda

Smoked salmon with capers

Pan seared scallops with crispy onion and
lemon chicken broth

Red pepper bisque

Spring salad with  caramelized onion dressing

Mango sorbet

Roast lamb with mash and roast veg

Lemon tart, chocolate pate and
raspberry mousse

Most of it came off really well, and the few problems were dealt with and no one was the wiser. Did I mention we did wine pairings? Oh, hell yes. (I lost my mind, somewhere in the planning, but except for one wine, (a rose with the salad I switched from a citrus dressing to onion and apple cider vinegar...oops) it was paired fairly nicely. I might try it again, but no time soon. The planning took well over a month, but that's why "self-isolation" worked, in this case. So, happy birthday, dearest. Glad you enjoyed the culinary adventure.

Culinary Adventures

Cravings...they suck on so many levels. It's almost always something you don't have and require getting out of comfy clothes and "peopling". Ugh.

I was minding my own business, cruising through my Pinterest feed. (If you don't have Pinterest, just don't...it's a chronic time wasters, almost as bad as TikTok.) Anyhow, I digress. I'm scrolling through make-up tutorials, knitting patterns, cute animals and exotic travel locales, when I scroll to a post about gyoza. Yes, those delicious Japanese dumplings, with a tangy dipping sauce that is always so satisfying.  

Happy little dumplings just waiting for the fry pan

I'd already scoured the stores for pre-made gyoza, something we used to buy in Vancouver with some regularity and that I was excited to have available again. Alas, nothing. There's a few pot stickers and various dumplings, but no gyoza, specifically. Then comes that little post and it planted the craving in my little pea brain. A few days pass and I'm still thinking about them and I do a quick search to find a recipe. The ingredients are pretty basic and I decide to make some. Why not a restaurant? Peopling and budget. As I still don't have a rolling pin, I decided to try and buy pre-made dumpling wrappers. (Aka: skins, as I've discovered.) The two big grocery stores had nothing, nor did our beautiful little local grocer. Long story short, I found some skins at a Korean specialty store. (Phew...didn't want to make my own on my first go.)

Browning two sides with a steam in between

They really aren't that tricky, except the folding. There are tons of videos showing various techniques, but it is a learning process. (It also helps if you wrappers aren't too dry.)
 

The final result

Anyhow, I pulled it off and they were delicious - even if I do say so, myself. Not every dumpling was perfectly folded. In truth, many looked like Franken-dumplings, but they tasted good. (Yay!) It was worth it and now I'm excited to try more types of dumplings like Korean steamed veggie dumplings and maybe a quick foray into some dim sum. Perhaps it's the lunar new year, but last night I made Vietnamese salad rolls with peanut dipping sauce. Gung hai (hay) fat choi!