Mas comidas!

Just thought I'd give a good run-down of what we've been eating lately (since we always get asked):

We finished up our sites the other day with some daylight and warm temperatures to spare, and were greeted in the living room with cocktails! Kike made us these drinks with a liquor from Brazil, mixed with some sugar and lemons. It tasted like a lemon drop or a simple margarita. 

One of our recent meals was friend chicken breasts, breaded with a crunchy coating. They were served with round fritters, that I think were a mixture of potato and onion. They were pretty awesome.

The chicken and fritters were served with some delicious deviled eggs, with eggs gathered from their own chickens here at the estate. We decided they didn't have any mustard in the yolk mixture, so were more mild than the deviled eggs we typically have back home.

One of our desserts lately was something we have every time, but is still a bit of a mystery. I love it, but I'm just not sure how to make it. The texture is unlike anything else - smooth like gelato, but molded kind of like a flan or custard. This time it was peach flavored with a delicious sauce on the side. It's always good and refreshing.

Another meal recently was cheese ravioli with a beef bolognese sauce. So good!

Another dessert was a great way to use some of the leftover fruit we didn't eat at breakfast - made into a salsa, and served with a strawberry sorbet.

And, my all time favorite, crepes (called panqueques here) filled with dulce de leche sauce and drizzed with chocolate. I was so grateful I didn't have more to do that day, so I could just retire to bed with a food coma. 

And luckily Ben is starting to sleep better, so we could all enjoy our food-induced sleep.

First few days...

We're finally settled in a little bit, and I have a chance to post photos from the last few days. La Corona is as beautiful as ever, and the sun and warm weather has been such a welcome change from the wet, dark days we left in the Northwest. 

We got the "presidential" suite this time - apparently all you need to do is bring an adorable baby with you. :)

And speaking of adorable babies, Ben even arrived to find a bed all for him. 

The large suite is great, and we were so excited to have it, since we have a lot of luggage and supplies to store while we are here. We managed to squeeze most of our things into the armoires and cabinets available, so it doesn't look too bad in our room.

When we met up with Cat in Miami, Ben even got a new toy, who has been christened Mr. Lobster (as the new best friend to his other favorite toy, Mr. Crab). His nickname is Boston, of course.

It's been harder for me to take as many photos of Ben as usual, because now I am the parent working more hours, and John is the primary caregiver. The boys have kept themselves busy while we're working out in the field.

It seems that each day, more baby stuff arrives at the house. Ben's biggest fan has turned out to be Sonia (which was no surprise to us). When I get back from the field, I compete for time with Ben. :) Although it's been great to have someone so eager to hold him, walk him around, and talk to him while we eat lunch. He's learning more Spanish than we are, I think.

Ben even got a new Uruguayan toy - a purple maraca!

He's having so much fun, in fact, that he sometimes tires himself right out.

 In other news, there's been a couple changes at the house. There are some more dogs, a few more kittens, and some sheep that now call La Corona home.

And, as always, there has been fantastic food. So far we've had milanesa (like chicken fried steak) with mashed potatoes and salad; beef roast with sweet potatoes, squash onion rings, and fried mashed potatoes; spaghetti with three sauces (tuna cream, marinara, and pesto); fried fish with cheesy scalloped potatoes, and for today's lunch we had "Uruguayan chow mein," which was noodles, beef, and vegetables, in a yummy asian (mainly soy sauce) sauce.

So far, desserts have included gelado (vanilla with dulce de leche and little chocolate pieces), flan with dulce de leche, and an apple and ricotta upside down cake.

So, yeah, life is pretty rough at La Corona, as usual.

To Uruguay Again!

So, I've got another (shorter) field season to do down in Uruguay, but this time it's a family trip. I didn't want to leave Ben behind since he's still so young; he'll be celebrating his 5-month birthday while we're here. And John is taking vacation from work to come with me and spend the days with Ben while I'm out in the field with Cat.

Wonder what it takes to prepare for a three-week international trip with a 4 1/2 month old? Our spare bedroom became full of things to fit into our luggage. Our bed was the drop off zone for everything we wanted to put in our checked luggage. And along the wall was our zone for carry-on items.

Notice that the foot of the bed is all our stuff (for the grown-ups) and the head of the bead is all for Ben (except for some work-related stuff on the left). We tried doing the math on how many diapers and wipes we'd need for three weeks, and then only packing enough to definitely get us through the plane rides and a few nights in case the local diapers aren't great. And we are packing 7 canisters of formula, because that's definitely something we don't want to chance on buying local.

Our travels went well, and we arrived safely in Uruguay earlier today. Ben travels like a champ, and thanks to an awesome flight attendant at the counter at SeaTac, we got an open middle seat between our two ticketed seats so he could lay flat. During the overnight flight, we ended up putting him on a blanket on the floor below us, where he promptly fell asleep...and stayed asleep most of the 9-hour flight.

We arrived at La Corona this evening, after a quick lunch off the parilla at the Mercado Del Puerto and a long drive north to Tacuarembo. Ben is already a complete hit. :)