Hey there adoring fans,
After gorging ourselves the past week on Coconut cookies, Galak (aka – greatest vanilla butter cookie sandwiches ever), and every other pre-packaged treat we could find, a gross dull stomach ache began to seep into the group. Why can’t we avoid these gelatenous treats, these potato chips, these short-sighted hunger solutions? Eventually, some group members said “Enough,” and a running bet began to see who can go the longest without eating any processed foods on the trip.
With junk food out of the question we still needed our treat fix, so after arriving safely in the sleepy coastal town of Mompiche, Ecuador, about half the group decided to bake banana bread. Correction: chocolate banana bread with fresh coconut shavings. Unfortunately, our hostel had no communal kitchen, nor was their outdoor clay oven available for use. No worries – those were future problems. We set out shopping for ingredients anyway, and sweet talked a local bakery into letting us set up shop in their kitchen. An hour later, we were eating the best banana bread EVER. Walking around town like little banana bread fairies, we donated a piece to the bakers for their hospitality, a piece to a friendly ex-pat named Sirena for showing us around and gifting us some baking powder, a piece to the woman who ran the batido stand across the street for loaning us some vanilla extract, and the remaining extras we shared with the rest of the group.
I’d trade some fresh banana bread for a package of Oreos any day of the week. So far, my stomach would say the bet has been a success š
l know it’s just a tad bit late, but…pictures huzah!
Colin gettin all that chocolate banana-y goodness in there.
Martha and Kate pouring our delicious creation.