December – Texas Annie: Ecuador Adventure

December 29 2013

Cotacachi Honey, Christmas: Oh my La Mirage

chenry 2013, December December

Honey

Fertile agricultural land and irrigation are increasingly scarce resources in the Ecuadorian highlands, and the migration of farmers to urban areas has created social and economic hardships. Honey production represents a viable income-generating alternative. Further, since beekeepers rely on the local flora for their livelihood, they have become advocates and preservationists for endangered forests.

CHF purchases unique Andes mountain honey varieties from the “Association of Indigenous Beekeepers of Cotacachi,” a cooperative of approximately sixty families in a rural area two hours North of Quito, Ecuador’s capital. This year, Cotacachi’s beekeeping association is producing three varieties of honey: Algarrobo, Chaparro, and Eucalypto.

Andrew Sacks, a Junior at Francis W. Parker high school in Chicago, founded the Cotacachi Honey Fund, to create employment for small farmers in the Cotacachi area, and to provide a sustainable source of resources for the ASEAC scholarship fund. Andrew is working closely with ASOPROAC, the Association of Beekeepers of Cotacachi,” to harvest and bottle their extraordinary honey, and has found an export market in the States for both Cotacachi honey and for organic chocolate from the Pacari Company. Please use the following link: www.cotacachihoneyfund.org to read more about Andrew’s unusual initiative, and to purchase gift boxes for friends and family in the States.

We sent Cotacachi Honey and Chocolate gifts to our kid’s for Christmas.

BEE TRIVIA

#1 – The honeybee has been around for 30 million years.

#2 – It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.

#3 – Honeybees are environmentally friendly and are vital as pollinators.

#4 – They are insects with a scientific name – Apis mellifera.

#5 – The honeybee’s wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.

#6 – The average honeybee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.

#7 – Worker bees are all female. They do all the manual work.

#8 – The male honeybees are called drones, It is thought that their main purpose is to mate with the queen.

#9 – Worker honeybees live for only about 30-60 days in the spring or summer but can average about 140 days during the winter.

#10 – A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen.

#11 – The queen bee lives for about 2-3 years and is the only bee that lays eggs.

#12 – During the winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the warmer months. They need about 50 pounds of honey to survive through the winter.

Christmas La Mirage our gift to each other!

We were joined by 6 friends for Christmas dinner at La Mirage. We all headed to the bar which is in a separate building. The bar was decorated for Christmas as well as had a nice fire in the fireplace. After a glass of wine we were escorted to our table in the dinning room for our 10 course dinner. Luckily the portions were petite otherwise we would have never made it though the evening. Every dish was presented exactly at the same time to each guest at our table. The chef came to our table to check on us. The food was good but different than what we have had before. I am not a fan of pate or anything to do with a duck. The same goes for goat cheese. But Bill really enjoyed everything! The rose sherbet is always my favorite.

Bob with his new scarf that Santa gave him.

Birthday Girl!

Oh my! Bill and the Chef…what is he doing?

Little Santa

At the end of the meal the shortest little Santa came by with gifts. The ladies received La Mirage Lavender lotion and the guys were given dashing little alpaca neck scarfs. We were all toasted with champagne and Diane received a little birthday cake.

Christmas Day Dinner Menu

Amuse Bouche

Homemade Duck Pate with caramelized onion, Blueberry Sauce