Dec 10 2008
About Laylita
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Published by Laylita
My name is Layla and I love food. I currently live in Seattle, but spent most of my life in Vilcabamba-Loja, Ecuador. A lot of my recipes are inspired by the food I was exposed to growing up, from my mother’s New Mexico cooking to the market food stalls and snack carts in the street serving the best Ecuadorian food (for the record I have never gotten sick from eating anything from a snack cart in Ecuador, but I probably have some sort of immunity because I was born there). I also lived in Texas with my grandmother and she makes some of the best Southern food. Finally, I married a French guy who can cook perfect crepes and likes good red wine, which gives me a great excuse to explore French cooking (but I’ll leave the crepes to Nicolas) with a glass in hand.
According to a 6 year old named Alex I am a “good cooker”.
According to my husband the main reason he married me is because I can cook. My revenge for him using me this way is that I am using him to test all of my recipe experiments, so I guess we’re even. Marc, my 3 year old, is my other “tester”, he’s a little unpredictable and will love something today that he hated the day before, but if he finishes his plate it’s a good sign.
I really like to read/browse cook books and food magazines, I love the ones with pictures, I’m not that good about following recipes, except for baking, but I let the pictures and my imagination inspire me. I also love all types of kitchen gadgets and anything kitchen related (except for doing dishes), though I am currently banned from adding anything new to my kitchen gadget collection due to lack of space.
If you have any questions or comments my email is layla at laylita dot com
Also, if you’re on Facebook and would like to become a fan of the site you can do so here.
![](http://www.laylita.com/recipes/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/layla_mud.jpg "First \\"cooking\\" experiments")
My first “cooking” experiments: mud- but it’s gotten better now…
Brief instructions/explanation on how to use this site
Just a few instructions or tips for using the recipes: I grew up writing mainly in Spanish so you will find some grammar mistakes in the recipes and stories, I’m always open to learning the correct way so let me know if there are any improvements I can make. Also I learned to cook in the typical South American way of “add a little of this and a little of that” so basically without precise measurements just instinct, I do my best to document the measurements and amounts for each recipe, but feel free to adjust for your tastes. Most of the recipes are for about 6-8 people, when it’s just the family we usually have some leftovers (this is intentional) unless everyone is starving; I’ll specify in the recipes if the proportions I’m using are for a large party (10 plus people), I also think that when I include pictures of the process it’s kind of obvious how much is being made.
I assume that all vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, etc has been cleaned properly before using so I don’t specifically say “wash the tomatoes” because I think that is quite obvious. I also assume that you know that raw fish/seafood can be dangerous and that you should avoid it if your doctor has told you so. I also recommend that you try to use fresh, local, organic products are much as possible, I try to do this with as many products as I can, however there are certain ingredients needed to make South American dishes that are not grown or made locally (or anywhere close) so it’s isn’t always possible, though I really wish someone would try growing tree tomatoes or yuca or naranjillas in Washington (or even California) because the food would taste even better.
Finally, if you would like to use any of the content or photos on this site please ask for permission.
Photos and links to recipes on the top image header (as of 12/06/08)
From left to right
Mango avocado and arugula salad
Llapingachos or cheese stuffed potato patties
Mote pillo or hominy with eggs
Empanadas de viento or fried cheese empanadas
Hello Layla,
congratulation to this excellent web site. The way you describe the food and of course the pictures of it are wonderful! I get hungry, when I just read it. Please continue because I know that Iva will definetly try something out from you recipe book.
Many thanks and greetings from Vienna,
Günter
PS: We are back to Ecuador for vacation next Week, Feb. 6th 2008!
Thank you, Gunter. Have a great time in Ecuador!
hey layla, thanks for dropping by and commenting on my photo. loved to discover your blog as well. great stuff. do you mind if i link to your blog? great source of inspiration
Hi Layla,
I am crazy for your blog, it is so fantastic!
Cheers,
Rachael
Hi Layla,
I just came across your site… I love it. I am a food fanatic, and love to cook for my husband. We have been married for a couple of months, and I am intrudicing him to my country’s food, he is colombian, so it is not too hard. Finally, I am definately going to try the Fanesca. Usually my mother does it, but this year, it is my husband and I, so it will be my first time. Hopefully I can buy all the ingredients neede… let’s see!
Thanks so much for your site!
Naty
Layla,
I must compliment you on the new look and layout of your website. I am 62 years old and thought i had seen it all..but your photos and step-by-step instructions are something i have never seen. Your website is outrageously inspiring to me, and the fact that you include personal stories and experiences makes me feel like I know you. Your writing is wonderful, your recipes exceptional, and your mouth-watering photos just make me want to fix whatever you are displaying. My son’s name is Marc, too; he will turn 40 this year. Not only are you a good cooker, you are beautiful. I can see why Nicolas was attracted to you. I love your website. Pregunta: whatever made you decide to start this project? and where did you get the gift of written communication? As you probably know, you are the only person that posts authentic and do-able(sp?) Ecuadorian recipes. Please keep them coming. Our Ecuadorian friends are wondering where I picked up the skills of Ecuadorian cooking. Shall I share the secret?
Fondly,
Christa
Christa, Thank you for the sweet comments! I’m really flattered by everything you say and am glad that the recipes are working for you. I love food, I love photography, I love Ecuador and South America and I think that there are so many culinary treasures in these places that the rest of world doesn’t know about and I wanted to share these recipes. Also like many Ecuadorians who live outside of the country I miss the food and was frustrated with the lack of photos and clear recipe instructions online. Umm, not so sure about the writing, I’m not particularly confident there, but I try and I guess the practice is working (my thing was always the reading and not really the writing).
Hi when you going to have a book to buy
viva Ecuador
Hi Layla,
I was very excited when I came across your website. My husband and I are currently in the process of adopting children from Ecuador and I have been searching for authentic recipes. Your site will be a great resource for me as I want to incorporate Ecuadorian culture into our everyday life for our children. Thank you!
Allison
Oh hooray! A blog on Ecuadorian cooking. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to find this! I lived down in Cuenca for a few months while in college, and find myself craving a little sierra food now and then. Your pictures are lovely, and your recipes look delicious. I’ve bookmarked your site for sure! If you are ever at a loss for something to write up, I’d love to get my hands on a great llapingachos (sp?) recipe, or one for the roasted, crunchy puffed corn they sell at all the street side vendors (kind of like cornnuts, but much tastier!). I swear living in Cuenca I gained 10 pounds just from the empanada lady that sold those amazing chicken empanadas on the corner. WOW. Amazing. Thanks again for the great site!
Hi Ariel, I have llapingachos on my list of recipes to post soon. The roasted crunchy corn is called tostado, and I’ve been told that you can find Peruvian maiz cancha in the US and use it make the tostado, I need to do some more research on the process.
I just love your site! Ther recipes are fascinating and the photos are both instructive and tempting. I tried the goat stew with some meat from my local farmer’s market. I used a cup of passion fruit juice instead of naranjillo and beer instead of chicha–trying to keep it local out here in the burbs, ya know. It was so good I thought I’d go for authentic ingredients at the international supermarket 18 miles away. They had something called “chicha de jora” (tastes like vinegar; is it vinegar? is it spoiled?) and also “chicha limena” (it’s pretty–made with purple corn–fruity, spiced, sweet). Is either of these products what I need to make the goat stew?
Hi Beth, Thank you for your comments. Chicha de jora is made from fermented corn so it has that fermented taste, and you can use it for the stew, you can also use the chicha limena, but since it has added spices you might adjust the amount of spices and panela you use.
Layla, how do I subscribe to your page? I can’t find Posts RSS.
Hi Farida, I need to add that option. I just have the feed subscription right now (http://laylita.com/recipes/feed/), but I can add you manually to the subscriber list until I get that set up. Thank you.
Hi, I was probably running in dumb mode and didn’t realize until now that your main page is in English. Way cool. Congrats again
Don Lucho
Hello!
My name is Inese and I work for the Latvian Fisheries and Marketing Centre. We are popularizing the heartiness of fish products in our homepage http://www.edzivis.lv. I would like to ask your permission for republishing some recipies and photos from your homepage, of course with putting references to your site.
Best regards,
Inese Caune
Hola Layla,
You have a beautiful blog — you’ve done a lovely job on both the text and the pictures. I’m going to add a link to your blog on mine (Eat Real, http://www.realfoodforrealpeople.blogspot.com). I look forward to reading more!
All best,
Sandy Smith
You are a very talented cook, writer, and photographer. Your family is lucky to have you! You should publish. I will be back.
Layla! I am loving your blog, as I lived in Cuenca and traveled Ecuador (Vilcabamba y Loja included!) I fell in love with a myriad of Ecuatoriano specialities that your website has helped me re-create for my family and friends back in the states. The one thing that is missing though…humitas! If there were anyway you could post a sweet & moist humita rellena de queso recipe, I’d be eternally grateful! Thanks so much for the awesome work you’re doing and I agree whole-heartedly with your naranjilla statement!
Hi Claire, Thank you for your comment, I am anxiously waiting for the summer to get fresh corn and make humitas! I will let you know as soon as I post the recipe.
Hi Layla,
I live in the UK and stumbled across your site when searching for new and exciting recipes to go into a local magazine that I put together. Its a new publication and very local to my area 15,000 copies to local homes and features local news etc – each month I like to put in a few recipes, but am always on the look out for food that is different and interesting. I would love to feature some of your recipes and pictures – and would be more than happy to credit them with your website if you would agree?
I love the way you write your recipes and I think it is very appealing to your average person, I am always scared by recipe books that are formal and boring and think my readers would love your ideas.
I eagerly await your response,
Kindest Regards
Sally
Awesome site – I never realised you were Seattle based. I am from England, and now reside in Seattle, with a food blog.
Great food on your site – really great food.
Cheers!
Matt
I just wanted to say that I just stumbled upon your site and it is fantastic! I was an Rotary International Exchange student in 1976-77 in Puerto Viejo, and there were a few recipes here that brought back some wonderful memories. I really had to get used to the cheese and goat milk when I lived there, but the fresh fruit was awesome and most of the dishes were spectacular. While I was there, I think we only used the oven once and that was when I made a breaded chicken. A walk down memory lane.
Que bueno!
Kerry
I LOVE your website!!! I freaked out when I saw all the recipies that you had posted! I was born and raised in Ecuador and there really is nothing like Ecuadorian food. I went back this past July for the first time after 4 years and I COULD NOT get enough of the food there.
Thanks for working on these recipies and posting them!
Cuidate
Chao
Ely
Laylita,
I love your website. It is soooo easy to understand and the pictures help so much. By the way, you have nice photography. My father is from Ecuador and so my Mom, who is from El Salvador, picked up many Ecuadorian recipes from my grandmother that I grew up on as a child. Like you mention, there are so many ways and styles to prepare the different Ecuadorian dishes. Typical dishes like seco de pollo, I learned differently to make. Of course these were recipes passed on from generation to generation and somewhere in the passing, I am sure the recipes changes with each persons unique touch. I am so excited about your recipes and I am going to start adding some of the ingredients that you mention which my Mother never used in many typical recipes. I will surprise her with a better taste to her own recipes.
Thanks a million and keep on posting please!!!
You have a beautiful family.
Jill
In Ecuador we say that each person adds their own “sazon” – literally means seasoning – to a recipe, but it also means that you add a little of yourself to the recipe, and of course within a family it is common for a mother and daughter to have a similar “sazon” that they add to their cooking. One of the “challenges” of posting an Ecuadorian recipe with precise quantities and ingredients is that we usually don’t cook like that, an Ecuadorian style recipe is: “add some of this, some of that, cook it, add some more of X” and then each person adjusts it based on their “sazon” and “gusto”. So, use my recipes as a base and feel free to make adjustments based on your “sazon”.
Felicitaciones, esta web esta genial un amigo mío le envió unas cuantas recetas más, espera haber podido ayudar a incrementar las recetas que posee, y mis felicitaciones muy sinceras, pues en lo particular me ha enseñado a cocinar.
Jack Guayaquil – Ecuador
Hola
Soy nuevo en este blog, dejame felicitarte primero por la linda familia que posees y segundo por la extraordinaria idea de realizar una web con recetas de la grandiosa comida ecuatoriana, he aprendido a realizar unos platos que a mi familia les ha encantado, en lo particular me encanta la cocina, espero poder colaborar enviandote recetas para que las puedas publicar luego, me gustaría saber donde enviartelas.
nuevamente GRACIAS por hacer sentir a los ecuatorianos residentes en otros países, que su patria los quiere y a los que aún estamos en Ecuador, saber que existen personas como tú que les das aliento, aunque sea en la cocina.
Yaco
Guayaquil – Ecuador
This is by far one of the best food blogs I have ever seen, and I highly recommend that you publish a book. I would buy it in a heartbeat.
Thank you and keep it coming!
-Renee
P.S. Is there any way to subscribe to your blog?
Laylita – thank you so much for a wonderful site! The recipes are fantastic – I cna’t wait to get cooking. Two tiny requests: can you identify the pictures at the top? they look deliicous! and: ayacas and humitas pretty please!!!
Hi Renee, Thank you for visiting and for you comments! There’s a subscribe option on the sidebar (towards the top) on the main page, you can also subscribe thru the register option under Meta (at the bottom of the sidebar).
Hi Jessica – Thank you for stopping by, ayacas and humitas coming soon (I was going to make humitas this weekend but the weather has been way too nice to stay inside). Pictures at the top from left to right: pan de yuca or yuca bread, locro de papas or potato soup, seco de pollo or chicken stew with rice, and flan de coco or coconut flan.
Hi Layla,
Wow! I love your site!
I found it when I was looking into healthy foods and they directed me to your emapanadas with swiss chard and beets and goat cheese. What a beautiful “mistake.” I am curious about a soup(?) at the top of the page with cheese and avacado slices…where/what is this recipe?
In searching for it, I have looked at quite a bit of your site, fantastic. I love the pictures, directions and clarity of the recipe. If you translate from Spanish, you do and excellent job
Thank you for a great site, I will mark it as one of my favorites!
Thank you, Ann. The soup at the top is a potato soup called locro de papas, the recipe is here: http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/08/locro-de-papa-creamy-potato-soup-with-cheese/
Hello Layla.. a fellow ecuadorian writing here. (from the coast, Guayaquil to be more specific)
I love your recipes; I love cooking and I will try to make some for my husband soon
Keep writing
Love
Vivian
Hola
Me encanta su blog de recetas, me gusta cocinar tanbien. Estoy mui ocupado pero cuando tengo tiempo me gusta estudiar recetas y cocinar.
Muchas gracias por su blog. Saludos
Gustavo De San Diego Cali
Thank you for welcoming me! What a gorgeous site. WOW. I found it though while on a 14 day fast and if that wasn’t some kind of torture. haha
Hey if anyone knows what the soup is up at the top w/ the avocado chunks in it, I’d love to know. Can’t seem to find that recipe on the site.
Can’t wait to try some of these gorgeous recipes!
Katie in AZ
Hi Katie – Just in case you’re still looking for the soup, it is a potato soup called locro de papas, the recipe is here: http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/08/locro-de-papa-creamy-potato-soup-with-cheese/
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This must is one of the best resources for ecuadorian dishes I’ve seen! Everything looks sooo good and I can’t wait to try many of the dishes here. Yu have done a wonderful job with this site.
Hi! I went with a class to Ecuador earlier this summer and I had to do a creative project that related to the trip when I came back. I chose to prepare a meal of Ecuadorian foods, and I used several of the recipes on your site. Everything came out beautiful and delicious. Your pictures helped me a lot, and everything looks so wonderful on your site.
I also have to create a webpage about the trip, and I put links to the recipes I used on there…I hope that you don’t mind. (I’m still working on the page, but it has to be done by this Monday, so if you check back then, it should be finished! It’s the web address I listed above.)
Muchas gracias una vez mas para las recetas!
Hi Jo – thank you for your comments, your project sounds like fun and I’m happy that you were able to use the recipes here.
Oh, and the background information you have at the beginning of a lot of the recipes is also really interesting and appreciated.
I’m from Kentucky, by the way.
-Jo
Hello Layla – a quick note to thank you so much for putting together such a great website.
As so many others have commented, your writing style is very accessible and the excellent photographs help to envision what lies ahead in the process of preparing each recipe.
I grew up eating my mother’s Colombian food, and have been fortunate to travel throughout much of Latin America. I came across your site while searching for a recipe for Ecuadoran llapingachos and am excited to have found recipes for so many favorite foods from my travels.
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into this site. Congratulations, and keep up the good work!
Alan
Cambridge, MA
Thanks for a rare and wonderful Ecua-recipe site! Remember – we’re all “American” – North and Central and South!
Plantains forever!
Hi Layla,
I’m so happy I found a website like yours. I was born in Ecuador and even though my family came to the US when I was a baby, my mom has always kept the Ecuadorian cuisine alive at home! Now that I live on my own, I sometimes crave for mom’s home-cooked meals and thanks to your site, it will definitely help me satisfy those insane cravings like seco de pollo. Thanks again!!
And yes, plantains forever!!
Stumbled across your site searching for a churrasco recete! You’ve done an amazing job with the detailed step-by-step instructions and great recipes!! Much appreciated!
I’m Peruvian (raised here) my husband is Ecuadorian (raised in Quito,) and we live in Kirkland – so, it was a surprise to read you’re local! He’s a chef, but mostly French cuisine, so I’m excited to surprise him with your postings.
Can’t wait to see what you post next! Saludos!
Hi Saralina – that’s great that you’re local – we need to get together and discuss who makes the best ceviche, Ecuadorians or Peruvians
Hola Layla,
Impresionante! Tu sitio web es realmente impresionante… Me encanta la fotografia… Estaba buscando una receta para la masa de empanadas para celebrar el 18 de Septiembre (soy chilena y vivo en Vancouver). Nunca he tenido una buena receta para la masa. Voy a probar la tuya… pero aparte de eso encontre las humitas, que siempre trato de explicar a la gente lo ricas que son. Ahora los puedo mandar a tu pagina y asi pueden ver de que se trata. Beautiful! En realidad es un sitio web con miles de yummy things para probar, me encanto… Felicitaciones! Y gracias…
Cecilia
Hola Cecilia – Gracias por la visita y por el comentario! Tu pagina de pasteleria esta preciosa! Que rico!
layla i love your site! My mother and father are from cuenca, i was born in new york but spent 3 years on and off living in cuenca. i love cuenca so much… and the food is amazing. Everytime i visit your page i get so excited and show the pictures to my boyfriend and end up telling him a long story about how yummy what we are looking at is.
layla do you know how to make espumilla? the real kind the one they sell on the street outside el mercado or colgios. i havent found any good ones.
Hi Connie – Thanks for visiting the site, I love Cuenca, I have great memories of trips there with high school friends! I haven’t made espumillas in so long (since high school actually) but will experiment a little bit and post a recipe one of these days.
Hola Layli!
You cannot imagine how proud I feel of being your friend!!!
Everytime I see your site I get so excited and lots of very nice memories of our beloved Ecuador come to my mind… thank you for the recipes, not only are pictures amazing but the food also tastes sooo delicious!!!
Take care!
Love
Iva
Hola Iva! Thank you for your comments, now I just need to get you to contribute some recipes!
Layla,
Thanks for making an awesome site. I lived in Ecuador for two years and have been back to visit once. I’m dying to have some encebollado and patacones.
I will try to find the ingredients and follow your recipes. Maybe I can convince my wife to make them
Hello Laylita,
My daughter is in 5th grade and has chosen Ecuador for her International project. Her grandparents traveled there a few years ago on a mission trip to help build a church in Quito. As part of her project, she is to prepare an authentic dish to share. While researching, we came across your wonderful site with its amazing pictures. My daughter is thinking about preparing your Ecuadorian drinkable fruit salad or perhaps one of your empanada recipes. What recipe would you recommend for a group of fifth graders? There are some picky eaters and a couple of kids with nut allergies in the classroom.
We both love your site and we would greatly appreciate any recommendation you can provide.
Sincerely,
Wendy
Clayton, NC
Hi Wendy – I have a few recommendations based on some of the favorites of my kids and their friends, for empanadas they love the empanadas de viento, which are stuffed with cheese and have a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top (the kids love that part); another favorite is the pan de yuca, which are small breads made from yuca or tapioca starch and cheese; they also really like sweet fried plantains. I’m not so sure about the drinkable fruit salad, my kids love it but I know some kids are picky about fruit. Good luck with the project!
Hola que tal, me escanta haber encontrado tu webside tu no sabes lo feliz que me has hecho porque me facina cocinar siempre ando inventando platillos nuevos y tengo ya se me ha olvidado lo que mi querida tia me enseno en Ecuador, Guayaquil. que felicidad no lo puedo creer me encanta tu pagina VIVA ECUADOR… felicidades
Hola Laylita,
I lived in Guayaquil and some smaller towns in the provinces of Los Rios and Manabi for several years, but haven’t been back since 2002. From time to time I’ve searched for recipes from Ecuador, but I have never found any success. Your website is a true gem. My wife laughs at how excited I get just seeing the photos of encebollado, ceviche, arroz con menestra, and other dishes that I haven’t tasted or even seen for over a half a decade. We will definitely be trying some of these recipes in our home.
Also, I can’t help but ask if you have a recipe for arroz con pollo? I saw a recipe for arroz con camarones–which is of course similar, and to which I could just make some modifications–but there were many days in Ecuador when a simple arroz con pollo really hit the spot. I know it is a fairly simply recipe with egg and shredded chicken, but that’s about all I can remember! Either way, thank you so much. I cannot express how much finding this website has brightened my day, and I look forward to more recipes in the future.
Sincerely,
Ecuasteve
Dallas, Texas
Hi Ecuasteve – Thank you for visiting my website, I’m happy that you like it. The arroz con pollo that you are describing almost sounds like a chaulafan de pollo – which is an Ecuadorian version of chicken fried rice. There are a lot of variations of arroz con pollo througout Ecuador and I have it on my list of things to post by the end of the year and will do so as soon as I can document/test the recipe.
Hi Layla! I wanted to let you know that I recently cooked an Ecuadoran meal for a grad student in my department who is from Ecuador – he actually linked me to your recipes when I asked him what I should make and I posted about it earlier today. I really loved the meal he chose from your site and wanted to let you know! Oh, and he loved it also. I was definitely getting two thumbs up from him!
Hi HoneyB – Your meal looks great, I definitely recommend trying the guatita (tripe dish) next time – trust me it is amazing!
Hi Laylita.. I enjoyed reading you recipes!!! It’s so surprising to find a web page full of Ecuadorian food, since I am Ecuadorian. I currently live in California.. but I go to Guayaquil-Ecuador very often since my family lives there. I was wondering if you got a recipe for Estofado de Pollo, and Arroz con Pollo. I love cooking!! I graduated from a culinary school but I mostly learned to cook American and European food, now I am trying to have my husband taste the Ecuadorian fllavor.. could you help me with those?? Thanks!!
Hi Belen – Thank you! Arroz con pollo is coming soon, we’ve been testing it these past weeks (I love testing food).
Hi Laylita…I saw that you linked my blog here, and so I decided to check your blog too. You have wonderful and interesting recipes! not to mention what a beautiful family you have. May I link back your blog? I have to come back and read some more!
Hi Eliza – Thank you for your comment, I love your blog and would be flattered if you link back. Thanks!
Hi Laylita… I just wanted to thank you for posting such a great site. I recently got back from spending 2 years in Ecuador as a volunteer (I didn’t get sick from the food on the streets either)and have had these habas that I brought home and have been saving for a good occasion. Your site was so helpful and seeing all these Ecaudorian recipes puts such a big smile on my face. Thanks!
Hola Laylita,
Gracias por las recetas serranas!!! I lived in Cuenca for several months with a host family while I was studying there, and I really miss the food. Just tonight my husband and I made mote pillo, and I felt like I was right back with my host parents and host brothers, enjoying some mote pillo in front of a dubbed movie on a Saturday night.
My husband has also spent some time in Cuenca (we actually went to Quito and Cuenca for our honeymoon this summer!), but he had never eaten mote pillo … I was glad to introduce him to it! One of my other comfort foods from my time in the Sierra is locro de papas … that is how I found your website, and I am so excited to make the locro soon!
Gracias nuevamente por las recetas fantasticas y las fotos maravillosas!!!
Brittany
Hola, Laylita
I can’t tell you how excited I was to find your website! I was also born in Ecuador (Quito), but moved to the U.S. when I was ten, and then to Seattle in the mid-’90s. I have been looking for Ecuadorian food in this city forever and have had no luck. Do you know of any restaurants that serve Ecuadorian – style ceviche (de camarones!), or maybe humitas? I think I’ll have to try half these recipes! It will be nice to get more of a taste of home here in my own kitchen.
¡Muchisimas gracias, Laylita!
Kathryn
Hey Layla!
I’ve been to Vilcabamba! I studied in Ecuador about 10 years ago and I found your site while searching for a recipe for Empanadas de verdes, which was one of my favorite foods while I was there. Muy ricas!
Thanks for the recipe, I will let you know how they turn out . . . i am clueless on the aji front.
I’ve been following your blog for a while now — found it at the From Argentina with Love blogroll, but haven’t made my way to your About page until now. Your site is great and I look forward to more posts.
Hi Laylita,
Thank you so mucho for the wonderful recipes you have to share. They are all amazing1 I love food, specially Latin food. I was born in Peru and your dishes are similiar to what I used to eat back at home. I do cook some Peruvian dishes on a weekly basis here are my home in Kansas. My kids love my Peruvian dishes. We made some of your recipes and just love it, makes me feel like home when I eat it. I hope some day I can post my Peruvian dishes that my family and I love. My parents still in Peru and when they come and visit, my mother prepares all my favorite dishes.
Thanks again for sharing your recipes.
Thank you, thank you, Thank you Layla! I regularly check your site for my Ecuadorian boyfriend’s favorite dishes! We love learning to cook all of these new meals together, and we’ve even integrated some of your ideas into our family’s Thanksgiving celebration today!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Dear Laylita…
This is the best website I’ve found for Ecuadorian cooking!!! My husband is from Ecuador, and we’re married for 20 years, and I’m always trying to make the dishes for him that his mom used to make for him. This is great…great recipes, great pictures…I’m so happy! I’m making the Seco de Pollo tonight for dinner!!!
Happy Holiday to you and your family!!!
Sheryl Gomez
Congratulations Laylita, your web site is very cool. Good to know you were born in Ecuador and lived in that small piece of heaven called Vilcabamba. If anybody is interested to know more about Ecuador, I have a web site dedicated to this country and the Galapagos Islands
Good luck
Zuri
Your recipes are phenomenal and I can’t wait to start using them. I live in SF and two blocks away from our Ferry Building Farmers Market. I can’t wait to indulge.
I’ve been searching all over for some of these recipes and am so glad that I’ve found your site. I lived in Ecuador for a couple of years and have missed a lot of dishes from there. There are 2 recipes that I still haven’t found and I wonder if you might have any recipes for them:
1: Humitas. At least I think that’s what they were called. They were a sweet corn cake that was steamed inside of a banana leaf.
2: I was often served a simple banana with a chocolate sauce on top. The sauce was thick. I’ve tried to just wing it to recreate the sauce, but have yet to get it right.
Any help would be great, but your site has already been an exciting find.
Layla, I would just like to say you are a goddess!
Thank you so much for sharing a part of your life and recipes with the world. I love to cook foods from all cultures and yours are wonderful!
Blake
Well done, Layla! My family is from Guayaquil and I came across your site because I wanted to find a good aji recipe. You have provided so much more that I bookmarked your page for future use. Your step-by-step photos are beautiful and inspiring and bring back so many good memories! As you’ve mentioned, there is a habit of explaining recipes by telling someone to just use a “little of this and a little of that”. I’m not very good with those kinds of instructions (which may be disappointing to my mother and aunts who are great cooks), but you’ve given me confidence and hope in carrying on the tradition! I can’t wait to try out your recipes and finally learn to make Fanesca myself for Easter! I know my family and boyfriend (who is from Poland) will be impressed.
Thanks again.
Very cool, I am glad I found this. I was searching for ceviche de pulpo and found this. I live in Quito so it’s nice to find Ecuadorian recipes. Great blog!
Hola que tal? me encanta tu pagina!! I use this page whenever I need a fresh idea for a good meal. Good job, keep it up!
Wow!! I have to say.. that I think you are awesome!.. I came across your website b/c I googled a recipe for a “ceviche”. Your recipes are great and the pictures are just expectacular.. I think that the pictures are key to learning how to cook. I’am more of a visual person and your pictures..talk to me!! I love ecuadorian food…
Are you planning on hosting your own cooking show?
Thanks,
ONY
I am so happy to have found your site! My husband’s family is from Cuenca and I’ve been to Loja and the Vilcabamba area. The Ecuadorean recipes I have found previously all seem to be Guayaquil-area and you know that Cuenca/Azuay is just not the same! Thank you, it will be wonderful to share this with my children! If you have any suggestions for something I should try first that a five year old will love, let me know!
Hi Allison – I’m glad you found the site and that you like it, there are a lot of differences between the dishes from the Coast and the Highlands, so hopefully you can find some that are more typical of Cuenca. My kids love the locro de papas soup, very easy and quick to make, as well as perfect for this time of the year.
I just returned from a month in a Vilcabamba (I was also there last year, and for two months in the summer…Vilcatrampa indeed). So anyway, I went online to look for a humitas recipe and yours is the first website I opened…and was tickled to know you grew up in Vilca. Ah, synchroncities.
Great site! Beautiful photos and delicious food! What type of camera do you use?
Thank you, I use a Sony DSC-R1.
Hi Layla,
My wife is from Ecuador, from La Provincia del Oro, not far from Loja where we visited about a year ago.
I just returned from a trip to Puerto Lopez in Manabis, it was great and I am writing about it now. Since I found your site I have put up your link as I think what you do is exceptional, we have something in common, my mother is French.
Hope you will visit my site and post a comment. Oh yeah, by the way I love your rice recipe, I am a chef by profession and your recipe is definitely the best! (shhhh, better than my wife’s and she’s Ecuadorian!)
Muchisimas gracias!
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy – I’ve been to Machala (in El Oro) several times, they have some really good seafood dishes! Thanks for the link, I am checking out your site right now and really like it, the pictures make miss Ecuador!
Hola Laylita,
No más quiero agradecerte por la obra excelente que es tu blog. Hace cuatro años viví en Quito por un tiempo. Me enamoré de la comida, pero no aprendí cómo cocinar la mayoría de los platos que más me gustaron. Pasé la Navidad en Bogotá, y de allí pasé el año nuevo en Quito. Volví con muchísimas ganas de cocinar TODO (me encanta cocinar y siempre lo hago). En fin, tu blog me ayudó mucho. Anoche hice una gran cena para los padres de mi pareja como un regalo navideño. Hice llapingachos con salsa de maní como una entrada, con batidos de naranjilla con crema. También hice un seco de pollo, acompañado con arroz amarillo, aguacate, yuca frita, maduros fritos, curtido/encebollado (así lo llama mi familia quiteña anfitriona), ají de tomate de arbol. Para el postre comimos queso fresco con pasta/dulce de guayaba y manjar. Todo salio muy bien y estuvo riquisísimo. Muchas gracias por compartir tus recetas, y por poner fotos del proceso porque eso también ayuda mucho.
Un abrazo desde Minneapolis,
Raquelita.
Hola Layla,
Estaba mirando tus recetas y son fantasticas, te cuento que extraño mucho la comida Ecuatoriana tanto como a mi familia. Mi esposo es americano/italiano y su comida favorita es la de Ecuador por supuesto!!!!! La receta de la “guatita” es extraordinaria, antes de leer tu receta yo preparaba la guatita de diferente manera y sentia que le hacia falta algo. Me encanto tratar tu receta. Cuando la prepare para la cena todos quedamos encantados.
Gracias por Compartir tus recetas…… con esas fotos maravillosas que solamente con verlas a veces no es necesario leer las recetas porque estan tomadas en una forma muy profesional y artistica.
Muchos Saludos desde New York
Mariana
Wow! I’m so excited I found this site! I just spent 2 years in Quito, Santo Domingo, and Otavalo and I LOVE everything I’ve found on your site. Expect me back here at least once a week to praise another ecuadorian dish. That french stew looks dynamite as well. Thanks especially for the encebollado recipe. I would die without it! Thanks again
Matthew
Hola Layla,
I came across your site after reading an article on The New York Times website (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/dining/11immi.html?scp=5&sq=after work&st=cse) about what immigrants living in NYC cook after coming home from work. The article mentions “guatita”, the Ecuadorean delight. I googled it and came across this site and immediately became a fan.
I am from the Dominican Republic and absolutely love cooking and trying new cuisines, coming across this site made my day.
Gracias!
Rhadames
Thank you Laylita I’m looking forward to all your delicious recipes.I love cooking and so, to your health.
Maryvic
Wow! I was searching for a platano with cheese recipe when I found your beautiful and mouth-watering site. I have book-marked you and will be back often.
Also, I recently did a round-up of Latina bloggers, please consider coming to introduce yourself and adding our link: http://www.bilingualintheboonies.com/2009/02/looking-for-all-latina-bloggers.html
Very, very best,
Carrie
Hi Layla, I’m so glad I found your blog.
I’m in Quito and feel happy I can actually get all the ingredients of your recipes.
Love Vilcabamba as well. I hope we can meet one day.
Beautiful blog – well done.
Hola Laylita,
I’m from Ecuador (Ambato) now living in Michigan. I married an american guy and of course
GREAT JOB!!!!! I like to cook, but sometimes is hard to follow recipes for different reasons. Either they are not clear, the ingredients are hard to find or they are so long that by the time you finish reading the instructions you are not interested in making it hahaha. (maybe it’s just me:)
, but your web site is soo easy to follow. I love your pictures, stories behind each dish and of course the step by step instructions. You are definitely a wonderful communicator.
the way you carefully explain about the ingredients and the origin of each dish. Not to mention how knowlegeable you are about the food you made 
I wanted to introduce him to ecuadorian food. One day I was looking for a specific recipe,
then I came across your web site. Boy, I was very impressed. I have to tell you girl you web side is AWESOME!!!!.
Anyway, I love how you present each of your recipes. I’m sure you have already heard it before
At first I thought you were ecuadorian
Thank you soooo much for putting out this web site. I LOVE It!!!
By the way, you have a very sweet family.
HI
I love your cooking. It is so refreshing to see so many healthy options that are done tasefully and look beautiful They are hard to come across these days. I am really interested in the Ensalada de quinua con cebollas curtidas or quinoa salad with pickled onions, however, the picture is there but not the recipe. Has the posting been removed?
I look forward to tyring it.
Thank you,
Daena
Hi Daena – Thank you for your comment, the recipe for the quinua salad is here: http://laylita.com/recipes/2009/03/02/ensalada-de-quinua-or-quinoa-salad-pickled-onions/
Hola Layla,
Today I was looking for a recipe for Arroz con Camarones and came across your website. Thanks a million, I went to the store and bought all the ingredients and made it for dinner. It is really scrumptious!!!! I have eaten this dish many times but for some reason could not get the taste I wanted and by following your recipe I discovered the secret is in boiling the shrimp before you peel them…
By the way, I am going to try to make the mango ceviche as soon as I find good ones at my local asian market. Also want to tell you that the last time I was in Costa Rica, I tried a ceviche made with boiled green plantains, their version of a vegetarian/vegan ceviche which was simply delicious.
The ingredients are almost the same as for mango or seafood but substituting it for the plantains.
Regards from your new salvadorean friend in Houston, TX
Janice
Hi Laylita,
We clicked on the link in our email to confirm our subscription and it brought us here. So just wanted to let you know that we’d love to subscribe to your recipes
Hi Laylita, I was looking for info on stewed goat and stumbled upon your site. The pictures are amazing and the receipes seem easy to follow. I would like to be able to save the pictures of the chivo. Would you please consider? thanks so much!
Hi Reese – If you click on the print option you can print the entire recipe including pictures. I don’t mind if you save the pictures as long as they are not posted or published without my permission.
Thank you I love your recipes. My husband is from Ecuador and now I can make him some food he misses from home. It is difficult for his mom to give me recipes cause we do not have the things here that they have there but you make it so easy. Thank you.
Hola como estás. Llegúe a tu página por accidente pero llevo más de una hora viendo las recetas, solo te puedo decir que me dió mucha hambre. Soy de Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Una pregunta, al buscar más info de la página llegué al “about” y vi tu foto. De casualidad tu no estudiaste una época en el ITV en guayaquil?
Solo curiosidad jaja, en todo caso saludos y muchas felicitaciones por la página, de verdad está muy práctica y útil. Hoy cocinaré jaja.
Hola Roman – Si estuve en el ITV y claro que me acuerdo de ti, como estas? Que coincidencia que nos encontremos por aqui.
I eat Pupusas at a mexican restaurant here in Tulsa and have not been able to find a recipe for them anywhere. They are absolutely delicous and a favorite of mine and my husbands. We were told it was an Ecuadorian recipe and I hoped that you have had them or know how to make them. If so can you feature them on your site or email a recipe to me?
Hi Susan – I love pupusas, but they are a typical dish from El Salvador, they are also very popular in Guatemala and Honduras. I haven’t tried making them yet, but if I do I will post the recipe. Here are a few recipes I found for pupusas:
http://www.whats4eats.com/breads/pupusas-recipe
http://www.doortoelsalvador.com/Cuisine/pupusas.php
Hello, Laylita! I just returned from a week in the northern Sierra (in and around Cotacachi), and completely fell in love with Ecuador. I was on a scouting trip for a home, as my family is planning to move within the year. While there, we fell in love with the food, but especially the salsa de aji, which we vowed to make as soon as we returned to the US. Unfortunately, good recipes are hard to come by, and I actually found your site while searching on the term “cebolla paiteña”, one of the aji ingredients I came across (I guess the closest thing in the US is the shallot, as you’ve mentioned).
I’ve looked for a recipe similar to the one we had (there are so many, but none using all the ingredients we were told were in the aji we had in Cotacachi…they seem to be closer to the aji we had in Quito, which may as well have been a different sauce altogether). It is clearly a condiment that varies significantly according to region. I guess we’ll just have to be content with the memories!
So thrilled to have found your website, so that we can re-create some of our favorites. Now, if you can just get me that aji recipe.
Best wishes! Tracy
Hi Laylita!
Thank you for your truly wonderful website. I made your beef Empanada Recipe, and they came out perfect, just like your photos! I was terrified of the dough (because I’m not a baker) and it was so easy and wonderful! The filling was fantastic. I had a friend that was from Equador and she used to make this outstanding seafood rice dish. I never caught the name of it, but it had baby shrimps, octopus, clams, peas and who knows what else. It was delicious. Any thoughts? Also, a book with your fantastic photos and easy step by step instructions would be great! For me, and for giving as gifts as well. I hope it’s been a consideration on your part.
Thanks,
Lizette R
Orange County, Ca
Hi Laylita – I just found your website, and I love it! I made fanesca today, and looking around at recipes I found your site. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zamora-Chinchipe, and count many Lojanos as dear friends – Loja is one of my favorite cities, so many good memories there. Your recipes and photos are amazing and beautiful, and I will be coming back any time I have a craving for Ecuadorian food. Please keep up the amazing work, and I would be first in line if you ever have a cookbook coming out!
Hi Laylita,
As a child, with a little help from a friend from Bolivia, I was eating the Empanadas Mendocinas and was in love at first bite. Since then, my childhood friend’s family moved 1000 miles away and that put a halt to my Empanada source. I have been looking at recreating the South American treat I had as a child and after years of searching I found your site!! Thank you for posting your wonderful recipes and beautiful pictures, you’re a star!!!
I stumbled upon your site – I love Ecuadorian food! Some of these receipes bring back so many memories for me!
Laylita,
love the website. especially the pictures of each dish. there’s nothing worse than having a recipe with no idea of how the finished product should look like.
Hi Layla:
I just dicovered your blog today and I´m in love!! Tambien soy latinoamericana y me encantan tus fotos y lo sofisticada que haces cada receta… me declaro tu fan nº 1!
Wow! I’m so happy I came across your website! I’m looking forward to making these Ecuadorian dishes that remind me of my childhood! I love how you have a picture of every step! Thank you so much!!!
I’m americana de sangre, ecuatoriana de corazón, wishing I was back where I grew up (Ecuador – Quito/Pifo/Papallacta area) but living in the Midwest US — and although I have several recipe books from Ecuador, yours have much more detailed explanations of ingredients so I can FIND the stuff up here! Yay! Now if I could only figure out how to use the harina de plátano, cebada, and cebada tostada I have on hand… suggestions? Growing up, every time I tried to learn from someone, they always did it so fast/haphazardly I couldn’t follow! I’ve managed to cook a pretty good fritada, my ceviche (which I figured out on my own by experimenting with flavors) follows yours almost exactly, much to my delight; my llapingachos were okay, but I have no doubt your suggestions for potato type will be very helpful (I was trying to use the Yukon Gold) … I would dearly love a good recipe for empanadas de carne, Locro de Papas, and help on how to find choclo here in the U.S. to make humitas de sal (as it stands I am stuck with fresh/frozen humitas, but they’re better than none!! I’ll be making your ají today — the frozen tomate de árbol and ají peppers have been waiting in my freezer for me to do just that as soon as I found the recipe!! Can hardly wait! ¡I miss my ají! Do you have a suggestion for how to use canned tomate de árbol, or canned naranjillas? I have found the syrup or whatever it is they put them in changes the flavor dramatically and I’m not even sure what to do with them that way.
Hi Donna – Thank you for your comment! I can relate to everything you say ! To answer some of your questions: you can make colada (just like colada de avena or quaker) with the harina de platano, you can make sopa de cebada (with some potatoes and meat or cheese). For humitas, I’ve had pretty good results using the corn here, my suggestion is to buy the corn later in the season (the fresh younger corn is sweeter and more liquid) and then add corn flour to make the humita mix starchier and less sweet.
Are the canned tomates de arbol and naranjillas in a sweet syrup? I just bought some like that and am thinking about using them to make a sweet dessert sauce to serve on top of bizcochuelos or ice cream. Another idea (if you like cocktails) is to use them for cocktails (you can puree the fruits and make fruity pisco sours or mix the puree with some condensed milk and aguardiente or cachaca).
hello. thanks for sharing your recipes. empanada dough led me here. i’ve tried other dough recipes but your sweet empanada dough hit the spot. thanks again.
Laylita,
Your site really helps me do this. I am looking forward to hearing your response to an email that I sent you earlier today.
I love your website. My husband is Ecuadorian. Most of his family lives in the states and I get recipes from his mom but I like to venture out and learn how to make different things to show my cooking ability
I am making my own “cook book” for my girls based off of your recipes. It makes it easier for them to learn how to make traditional dishes as well.
I made your tilapia ceviche this week and it was outstanding!
Good Morning, It was a blessing find your recepies. I’m Ecuadorian, from Ambato and now I live in Georgia in the north side, here I think, I’m the only Ecuadorian, then when I cook, the people always ask: how do you that?, I’m sending your link to all my American friends and they are delighted, and we are planing to prepare together your wanderfull recepies. I have a question for you, when I prepare quimbolitos, the difficult part is find the “Achira Leaves” to wrap the quimbolito, do you know the cientific name to try to buy some bulbs and plant it at home? or maybe, have you been try with other leaves to wrap it up?. Thank you again, my God bless you and your beautiful family.
Hi Fanny – I use banana leaves to wrap the quimbolitos, I buy packs of the frozen leaves in the latin grocery market (same thing also applies to Ecuadorian tamales). Previously, before I could find the frozen banana leaves I used foil/parchment paper.
I didn’t expect to find any recipes or instructions when I did a search for “helado de paila”. It is a disappearing traditional food – only to be enjoyed in an ever-diminishing number of little shops off the beaten path in Ecuador. My pleasant surprise at finding your recipe quickly gave way to elation when I learned that I had discovered not one recipe but a beautiful and painstakingly detailed website dedicated to Ecuadorian cuisine. I’m charmed to see the labor of love you’re sharing with the world.
During my years in Ecuador, I earned fame among my friends as the gringo that was “más ecuatoriano que uno” due to my penchant for street vendors and traditional foods. I’m excited to explore your recipes and rediscover some old favorites. Many thanks!
Hello Laylita
I was searching for “llapingachos” on Google when you were the first on the list. I was born in Ecuador and I will never forget the original taste of the llapingachos. My wife is from Lithuania and cooks something similar but your recipe probe to be the best. My kids love the “llapingachos” with lots of Ketchup. I guess we added the american way for the llapingachos. Keep up with your great blog and work.
Ciao
Hi, Layla…
I would like to commend you on a wonderful website… I was in the process of looking for a good aji sauce and I came across your website by accident… I must say that I am glad I clicked on your link…! I am of Puertorican decent and I love Ecuadorian, Columbian and Peruvian food with a passion… I am excited about trying your recipes on my family… Your step by step instructions and photographs are EXCELLENT… Thanks again, your newest FAN, Norma
Layla, Wow… What a great surprise to find your website. It is marvelous!
I love to cook; I have traveled a lot through Ecuador in the last few years and I have really fallen in love with this place. Your website is wonderful and so are all your recipes… Thank you SO MUCH for sharing them. I have become close friends with a family in Ambato and they just spent 4 weeks visiting my home here in Atlanta and went back To Ecuador last Sunday. I wish I had found your site sooner because my friend Carmela would have enjoyed it (I will send her the link).
Incidentally… To Fanny Jessenia… If you read this; welcome to Georgia! I live on the west side of Atlanta and I have other friends who live here in Atlanta who are from Equador also.
Muchos Saludos desde Atlanta,
Bud G.
Hi Layla,
we stumbled on your website looking for the recipe of the Ecuadorian hornado, which we tried at a South American festival in London last weekend and just loved!
We are a *mixed* couple as well as I am Italian and Rob is English, and we have great fun cooking dishes from our own countries. But we love good food in general and your website is really well made, so congratulations for it and keep up the great work!
Hola Laylita, Yo soy ecuatoriano y vivo en el area de la bahia en San Francisco. Me gusta cocinar y sobre todo me encanta comer una buena comida. Hasta el dia de hoy, tu pagina web es la mejor fuente de informacion de comida ecuatoriana que he encontrado. He cocinado junto con mi esposa algunas de tus recetas y dejame decirte que he estado encantado con los resultados; nada como comer una comida ecuatoriana fuera de tu pais.
Solamente queria felicitarte por el excepcional trabajo que has hecho para hacer estas recetas especialmente las fotos de los pasos en cada comida. Gracias por permitirme disfrutar de una de las cosas que mas extrano de mi pais… la comida ecuatoriana.
Voy a traducir esto para que otras personas puedan entenderlo
Hi Laylita, I am from Ecuador and I live in the San Francisco bay area. I like to cook, but best of all I love to eat a good meal. By far, your Website is the best source of Ecuadorian food information that I have found. I have cooked with my wife some of your recipes, and let me tell you that I have been charmed with the results; nothing like eating Ecuadorian food outside of your country.
I just wanted to congratulate you for the exceptional work you have done to make these recipes, specially the pictures for the steps in each meal. Thank you for letting me enjoy one of the things that I miss the most from my country… the Ecuadorian food.
Dear Layla, what great surprise to find a recipe for Empanadas de Viento they look exactly how my
mother used to make I`m from Quito and I m involve with food as well I work for Alain Ducasse .
i was looking your recipes I loved them they look so Yuummy!! my kids are going to savour the Ecuadorian menu today and I agree with your son you are a good cook or I should said Chef
Congratulations and thanks for bring me good memories of my chidhood
Henry Aguilar.
God bless you
Hi Layla,
I just got married & am not a great cook to say the least. I am always looking for recipes online to cook for dinner but have a hard time following the recipes since a lot of them have no pictures so I was pleasantly surprised to find your site through google. All the food featured on your site looks so delicious & amazing. I cannot wait try all of your recipes. The best part about your site are the pictures you take of your process. It is unbelievably helpful to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your recipes. I look forward to discover new dishes to cook from your site =)
Many Thanks,
Cyril.
Laylita:
In searching the internet and trying to find some Ecuadorian recipes, I found your website and it is indeed marvelous!! Gracis!
I again think that your website is perfect and thank you for all the recipes. My husband and I have just moved from Canada to Ecuador and have been enjoying the food and looking for cookbooks for recipes for the delicious salads and ceviches that we have tried.
I will definitely be trying some of the recipes soon and thank you for taking the time to share these recipes.
The instructions are great for each recipe and you should not be able to go wrong.
Saludos from Bahia de Caraquez
Deborah
Sus recetas me parecen muy sabrosas, soy fan de la quinoa y sus recetas meparecen las mejores.
Dios le siga bendiciendo
This is the best website for authentic Ecuadorian food I have found, thank you for making this “database” of the best recipes of one of the best cuisines in the world!!!, I am so excited about having stumbled upon it, it also has great recipes from Loja, it’s just great! thank you!
Hi Laylita – What a fab site! I was just doing a quick search for ceviche for some of my friends here in Ireland (I’ve done my version a few times and they loved it so I’ve told them to go make it their own!) and this is by far the best site I’ve come across for Ecuadorian food!
It’s bringing back so many memories of my time there in Bahia de Caraquez and I’m seriously craving chifles and patacones as I look out at the grey Irish skies! I keep searching for platain when I go to the supermarket but I’m afraid we;re just too obcessed with potatos to have much demand for them outside of Dublin!
Well as soon as I get my hands on some I’ll be back here for inspiration and in the mean time I’m starving!! I’ll have to settle for some tea and brown bread for now!
Keep up the most excellent work!
Rose
Laylita!!
I love your site!
love it love it love it
Hi Laylita,
I know you have heard this over and over again, but way to go with this website. The pictures are fantastic!
I am originally from Ecuador but moved to the US when I was 14 and never really learned to cook any Ecuadorian food.
My hubby is greek and this year I have invited the greeks and ecuadorians for Christmas dinner. I’m trying to keep it as authentic as possible. I’m planning on making turkey, ceviche and some sort of rice. I know this last minute but any ideas on a good rice recipe?
Thanks for sharing all these great recipes!
Hi Laylita;
I found your website today I’m so delighted. Congratulations!
We have the same passion for food…I love to cook, read cookbooks, find fantastic food markets and Restaurants in Miami (where I live at the moment) and around the World… Like you I have a Latin background. I design cake and of course love to bake. I have a website but I never published. I have it just for my friends.
I wish you all the best with this website and consider me a follower.
Best Regards,
Gia
Hi Laylita, I’m writing from Sydney, Australia and i’m hoping you can post a recipie for espumilla. I was born Ambato and one the best memories of my childhood is enjoying this dessert in the streets of my former hometowm. Hope you can help. Gracias Maidee
Laylita,
You rock! Thanks for putting Ecuadorian food on the map! Just got back from Ecuador from spending to beautiful weeks there. Atacames, Quito, Baños, Ambato, etc. Que hermoso!
Estamos en contacto!
Veronica
Nashville, TN
Laylita,
My fiance is Peruvian and while I enjoy the food she prepares I’m sending her to this website to learn how to cook a few Ecuadorean dishes. I am first generation American, parents are from Portoviejo and Milagro, and I love Ecuadorean food!!
Thanks so much!!
Fabricio Bermeo
Your recipes are fantastic. I have a colombian husband, and brother in law from Quito…so the food is all too familiar to me. Aunque soy americana, I love South American food. Please keep the recipes coming! I love the step by step photos, and pictures of the finished product. Even though I may not post a comment on everything I have tried, I do visit your page often and look for new things
Gracias por la pagina!
Hi Laylita,
I just have to say, your website is beautiful. The photography is gorgeous. I lived in Ecuador for a few years and married a Quiteño who lived here in USA, I actually met him when I we were 10 years old in Sydney, Australia (where I am from). His half brother is married to my mothers sister so I think it was destiny !!!
Anyway, I found your site by accident tonight when I was ‘googling” a recipe for tostada. We are going home to Australia after the US summer and will definitely be using your website back home in Sydney. I also sent it to my brother in Sydney who is a Chef, he also lived in Ecuador for a few years and loves to show his aussie friends the cuisine from Ecuador.
Do you have a cookbook? I would buy it in a snap!
thank you
Patti
Layla,
I just came across your site and I love it. I’m American, but my wife is Venezuelan and we also live in Seattle. I absolutely love Latin American food and I’m always striving to make more and more. Your recipes have just given me a lot more inspiration.
Gracias!
Ryan
Hey Laylita, estaba leyendo tu biografia y te cuento vivo al otro lado del agua de Seattle!mis hermanas me recomendaron tu website, yo nunca cocino comida ecuatoriana (aunque soy bien guayaca), pero hice los yapingachos y quedaron sucu. Congrats!
Hola nena, genial tu sitio, gracias por las recetas hermosas. mi nombre es itzel, vivi 20 años en vancouver, canada, i came back to latin america 5 years ago, and have found my love for food to become an obsession, i just finished my studies to become a pastry chef in buenos aires, next week i have my exames!!! all based on french and europa cooking. and i bumped into your site, it is so refreshing to see recipes from all over latin america. we spend so much time looking at how others cook and forget we can cook! thanks for the beautiful reminder. mucha mierda con tu proyecto! suerte desde buenos aires.
Itzel.