Tomatoes. Over 9000 of them! (That's not too far off, there were countless amounts of them in the tomato patch this year).

MY FEET ARE BIGGER THAN YOURS. SEE???

An elusive bug in my software was finally found. This one looks advanced enough to be a feature!

Another bee picture :). There will be more but I promise to space them out a bit.

One of many photos I took of the bees in Grandpa's sunflower field.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

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My favorite hymn :).

Anyway if you wondered where the wolf pictures came from a couple posts back, it's here. You need to be friends with me on Facebook to see it. I generally approve anyone who asks, unless I literally have absolutely no idea who they are.

One of the many flowers growing in the Mountains around Cuenca. Didn't know this photo was vertical until I uploaded it, but I rather like the format this way anyhow :).

A stained glass window in the Basilica del Voto Nacional, in Quito, Ecuador. A must-see sight for any vacation to the country. Sorry about the long delay in updates! Trying to do one a day.

Another wolf I met on my trip :).

One of twenty-six wolves at the Wolf Creek Habitat in Brookville, Indiana. If I remember correctly, her name is "Tikaani." She is the omega of their "visitor's" pack (the pack socialized to visitors).

One of the couple hundred Iguanas that inhabit Iguana Park, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

An array of colorful, metallic pop cans.

Random Impromptu Recipie #1

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast
1 Jar Hot Mustard
1 Jar Aji
1 Onion, (2-3 vertical slices, diced)
1 Portobello Mushroom
2 Cherry Tomatoes
15-20 French Fries (thin)
1 Stick Butter
1 Jar Olive Oil
2 Handfuls of Rice

Instructions:

All ingredients are cooked on medium heat in a stove-top skillet. Add butter to the "veggie" frying pan whenever needed.

1. Start steaming/boiling the rice. When done, let it drain and cool.

2. Add olive oil & some butter to a pan and start cooking the chicken breast, whole. Flip occasionally.

3. Add butter to a second pan and sautee the diced mushrooms and onion together. It is important to use butter for the extra flavor. Keep up consistent stirring until color has noticeably changed darker/browner, and pieces sizzle around the edges, even after movement. This will take quite some time. Set aside on a small plate.

4. Throw a few of the thin french fries into a deep fat frier. Let cook, then set aside to cool a little bit. This ingredient is important to add texture.

5. Add the rice to the pan you sauteed the mushroom/onion mix in. Stir around constantly until rice has obtained a pleasant, solid texture (as opposed to the disgusting mush obtained by boiling or steaming). Add in the Aji sauce (any sort of hot sauce will likely do, but I had Aji), and stir around for another two minutes until all the rice kernels have changed color. Set aside on another plate.

6. Add the fries to this pan now. This will take around 8-10 minutes. Cook until color has changed to a darker brown. Take them out and dice them into small pieces. Ideally they will be crunchy clear through, although this may be difficult to achieve without burning.

7. At this point, the chicken should be nearing completion. Each side should have a good amount of red/brown "burn" marks on it. Using a butter knife, spread the hot mustard on either side in a relatively thin layer. Flip over and let the mustard cook into the chicken. Do this for each side. The mustard loses almost all of its potency, but adds a nice smooth flavor that will contrast with the Aji sauce you added to the rice (which retains some, but not all of its spiciness).

8. Remove chicken from skillet, and dice into bite-sized cubes. Add all ingredients back into the "veggie" pan, and cook for 5 or so more minutes. This will reheat any cooled ingredients. During these last few minutes, you add in the diced tomatoes. The dish is done when the tomatoes have disintegrated (absorbed by the other ingredients) and left only tiny strips of the "skin."

~~~

As this is a total "I made stuff up" recipe, the amount of ingredients can be changed to suit your tastes, and the size of the chicken breast you cook. The sauteed ingredients should all have mild flavors and textures when cooked. They are not intended to be overpowering, they are intended to amplify the flavor of the other ingredients, without being very noticeable. Olives, hot peppers, and things of that nature are not good choices. The rice and diced french fries are intended to add flavor and texture, as things items both absorb flavors from the frying process and retain a pleasantly crispy texture. You will probably use about half a stick of butter throughout this entire process. Be sure to keep a small amount in the "veggie" pan at all times. You need to boil the rice first because simply sticking it in a pan will do nothing. Frying it simply removes much of the moisture, allowing it to soak up the hot sauce and butter, and changing the texture so that it isn't all mushy/nasty/sticky.

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As you can probably tell, I'm a big texture freak with my food. Taste is somewhat important, but texture is everything. I hate the way rice is normally prepared. It is mushy, nasty, and vile to 4 out of the 5 senses - it still tastes OK. Frying it gives it a beautiful, perfect texture.

I wish I had a picture to give you of my culinary masterpiece, but I neglected to take a shot. Use your imaginations!

Aesthetically this dish falls short of perfect. Sautee some green pepper along with the onion/mushroom mix, and this should make a lovely-looking dish for any meal.

I am quickly discovering that there appears to be a positive correlation between the preparation time & complexity of a dish, and that dish's appeasement of my taste buds.

An elderly woman local to the area around the Ingapirca Ruins in Ecuador.

A misty, rainy day in the lonely mountains of Parque Nacional Cajas, near Cuenca, Ecuador.