Sea lions relaxing on the beach
If you read our last post about being able to afford an off the beaten path dream trip to the Galapagos, you know that we are big believers in saving up for a trip instead of resorting to charge cards. We like to research our next location and then try out recipes from the destination that will save us cash to pile away to spend on the actual trip. For the Galapagos, we suggest trying "Locro," the Ecuadorian soup built around the inexpensive friend of any budget - the potato. It's delicious and with some add-ons can be a satisfying meal when paired with a salad. We've played around with the recipe and are very happy with this version of it:
Locro
6 baked potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
6 cups of milk (nonfat, 1 or 2 percent, or whole depending on the richness you like)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of shredded Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese (either sharp or with jalapeno)
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup of Wondra flour
Toppings: avocado, chives, bacon, more cheese, salsa, corn kernels, etc. - almost anything works!
Mash the baked potatoes. Saute a couple of cloves of garlic and an onion in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add Wondra flour to the saucepan and add the milk slowly while stirring. When it comes to a boil and starts to thicken, turn off the heat. Add the mashed up potatoes, the cheese, and the chicken broth. Use an immersion blender to blend it all together and add the sour cream, salt and pepper. Your end result will be 8 yummy soup bowls and your dinner at home entitles each person to add $20 to the dream catcher fund each time you make this soup for lunch or dinner. You would have spent at least this much to go out for a similar Ecuadorian meal.
Simple ingredients become a delicious soup
To top off your party mood, you can try an Andean Sunset, an easy concoction whose beauty belies its simplicity.
Andean Sunset
2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce grenadine
3 ounces orange juice
Combine the ingredients in a pretty glass with ice and stir gently. The end result will look and taste like a $20 New York City drink. Have a couple and stash more cash in your dream catcher fund.