November 02, 2020
One thing I learned while researching DÃa de los Muertos is that while Mexicans may be the only ones who usually celebrate DÃa de los Muerto...
One thing I learned while researching DÃa de los Muertos is that while Mexicans may be the only ones who usually celebrate DÃa de los Muertos, most Hispanic countries have their own variations on the Day of the Dead. One such country is Ecuador, with its celebration of DÃa de los Difuntos on November 2nd. I was very fortunate to connect with Stephanie Scott - a mother, artist, and educator living in Ecuador between the Andes and the Amazon. Stephanie was kind enough to share with me how they celebrate DÃa de los Difuntos in Ecuador.
"On November 2nd people visit the graves of the dead. Normally in Ecuador, people take flowers and clean up the gravesites on this day. This year, because of the pandemic, the government is asking cemeteries to close to prevent people from gathering en masse and risking an increase in COVID infections.
In addition to the specific remembrance on November 2nd, people eat guaguas de pan and drink colada morada during the whole month of October leading up to November 2nd. Then, we typically do not make or eat those foods for the whole rest of the year.
Some indigenous groups may visit graves in a procession and take the guagua de pan as an offering. Guagua means baby or small child in Kichwa, Ecuador's most widely spoken indigenous language. Offering this bread doll to the dead is a symbol of the connection of life/birth and death.
Colada morada is made from the flour of purple corn and many different herbs, some specific to Ecuador and in season during October. It also uses various fruits, of which, mortiño is also in season in October and not year-round. Mortiño is a small berry that is purple in color and it grows in the Andean region.
DÃa de los Difuntos is a Catholic holiday which has been syncretized with native traditions and local foods. However, Ecuador is very diverse and this tradition, which centers on Andean crops and practices, has spread to the coastal and Amazonian regions where it in turn has been adapted to the local foods and traditions of those areas. Which is all to say that not everyone celebrates it nor in the same way nor is colada morada prepared with the same ingredients in the different diverse regions of Ecuador. Indigenous people of the Amazon have other ways of dealing with death, burial, etc...so they may not observe this day or any of these specific traditions at all."
I want to thank Stephanie for taking the time to speak with me and teach me about DÃa de los Difuntos and its traditions. If you want to learn more about the work Stephanie does with rural Amazonian schools in Ecuador, please visit Construyendo Ambientes Sanos on Facebook.
Click below to see how our guaguas de pan and colada morada turned out!
Guaguas de Pan
Colada Morada
November 02, 2020
In honor of DÃa de los Difuntos, we decided to try our hand at making traditional guaguas de pan. I found a cooking website run by Layla Pu...
In honor of DÃa de los Difuntos, we decided to try our hand at making traditional guaguas de pan. I found a cooking website run by Layla Pujol, an Ecuadorian now living in Seattle. I followed her recipe for Guaguas de Pan and filled them with Nutella - the only change I made was I halved the recipe. You can follow our process below!
Dissolve yeast in warm milk, whisk in 1/4 cup of flour, and leave in a warm place to rise and fall, for about 1 hour. My go to warm place for proofing yeast is in the oven with the oven off but the oven light turned on.
Combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mixing between each addition, add the butter, then eggs, then yeast mixture and vanilla or any other flavorings (we used a mix of vanilla and almond extracts). Mix until the dough forms a large ball.
Cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
After the dough has risen, form dough balls about 3.5oz each. We got 6 balls - though the last two were closer to 3oz in weight.
Roll the dough into a flat oval shape and dollop your filling near the top of the oval.
Stretch the dough to cover the filling, pressing down to seal the edges of the dough.
Continue rolling until you reach the end of the dough.
Pinch the ends closed and shape the dough to look like a swaddled baby.
We brushed our guaguas with egg wash and decorated them before baking with dough pieces, sprinkles, raisins, and craisins.
This is what they looked like after baking.
We added a little sugar glaze to make them extra festive and sweet! I think this one ended up looking more like a guinea pig than a baby!
Inside is the creamy chocolatey Nutella surprise!
We had so much fun baking these together. I think we might have to make them again next year with a different filling. I would love to see pictures if you try to make them!
Guaguas de pan are traditionally served with Colada Morada. Check out how we made it with ingredients we had on hand.
November 02, 2020
During the month of October in Ecuador, it is common for families to make guaguas de pan and colada morada in preparation for DÃa de los Dif...
During the month of October in Ecuador, it is common for families to make guaguas de pan and colada morada in preparation for DÃa de los Difuntos on November 2nd. Colada morada is made with purple corn flour along with fruits and spices and herbs native to Ecuador. Using the Colada Morada recipe on laylita.com as inspiration, we created our own thick warm purple drink using ingredients we could find in New Jersey.
I did not take pictures of the whole process, but I did write down my recipe. I only wanted to make a small amount for us to try so I made a quarter of the original recipe.
Spiced Pineapple Liquid
Place a pineapple core, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 clove, 1 allspice berry, 2 spokes of a star anise, 3oz brown sugar, and 2 cups of water in a pot. Boil about 20-25 minutes.
Add 1 piece of orange peel, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain.
Corn Flour Mix
Mix 1/4 cup of corn flour with 1/4 cup of the spiced pineapple liquid until well combined.
Berry Mix
Add 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1/2 cup raspberries to a separate pot and boil about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, mash, and strain into the pot with the remainder of the spiced pineapple liquid.
Putting it all Together
To the pot with the spiced pineapple liquid and strained berry mix, add 3 1/2oz of juice (we used apple cider because that's what we had on hand), and the corn flour mix. Cook over medium heat, stirring to keep it from sticking, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chopped frozen pineapple and 1/2 cup chopped frozen strawberries and simmer 2-3 more minutes, until the fruits are warmed. Serve warm or cold.
Even without purple corn flour, the color of the drink was a beautiful deep purplish-pink. I preferred it warm rather than cold and it was the perfect way to warm up a bit during our streak of cold rainy weather!
I encourage you to make your own colada morada with the fruits and spices your family has and enjoys and serve it with some guaguas de pan!
November 01, 2020
We needed to balance out all those sweets and less than healthy foods we've been eating so we swapped those pancakes and cinnamon buns f...
We needed to balance out all those sweets and less than healthy foods we've been eating so we swapped those pancakes and cinnamon buns for a delicious fruit and veggie smoothie this morning. I'm not quite done with Halloween season yet so I had to dress up the smoothies a little. AI drew Frankenstein-monster-like faces on small mason jars with a black Sharpie and used a little maple syrup to stick some chocolate sprinkles to the rim.
Here's what went into the Franken-smoothies:
- 1 cup water
- 1 apple, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup green grapes (can use fresh or frozen)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup spinach (can use fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
Throw all your ingredients into the blender and let it go until it's uniform in color with no chunks.
The recipe filled two small jars for the kids and one large glass, about 16oz, for me. I thought it was tasty and filling, and just sweet enough. The kids both emptied their jars so I'm going to take that as their approval!
For more Halloween recipes, check out:
Halloween Monster Pancakes and Apple Monster Eye Pops
Halloween Bloody Eyeball Soup with Gravestone Grilled Cheese
Halloween Worm Sandwiches and Crispy Zombie Skins
Pumpkin Jack Smoothie
Halloween Surprise Cupcakes
Eye Scream Sundae
Bloody Guts Cinnamon Rolls
