Ecuador!

This post’s title is dedicated to Charles at Five Euro Food who posted a link to this video in his comments on our Ecuadorian beans. Since then, I cannot say the word “Ecuador” without yelling it in my head (or out loud) just like in the song. Fortunately it makes me laugh every time too, so I’m not annoyed…yet. But I’ll give you fair warning, if you listen to the song you will never hear the word Ecuador the same way again. Ever.

In addition to our bean stew on Sunday, we also made a wonderful fruit dish. This recipe is again adapted from Laylita’s Recipes and would be wonderful on a hot summer day. We also thought it would be a great complement to our hearty and spicy beans. (Translation – just in case I hated the beans, I needed something to fall back on!)

The dish is called Come y Bebe, or Eat and Drink. It’s a brilliant concept for a fruit salad. It’s basically an Ecuadorian drinkable fruit salad with a name that the kids loved to say! Especially Miss A who loves all things “baby,” never mind it didn’t mean that kind of baby.

It’s very simple to prepare and can be done in advance. Although if you’re making it ahead of time, make sure to reserve chopping and adding the bananas until it nears serving time to avoid discoloration. We started our come y bebe by peeling, seeding and chopping a papaya. 

Next we peeled, cored and chopped the pineapple.

Then came the bananas.

Mr. N was back at it with his favorite kitchen gadget again and squeezed the oranges for us.

We then tossed everything into a mixing bowl and added some agave nectar simply because so many of Kelly’s recipes with agave inspire us!

Finally we chilled the fruit salad for about 20 minutes and then served it up in our “fancy” plastic goblets.

Fortunately I didn’t need a fall back plan for the meal, because the stew turned out pretty good. Miss A, however, made her entire meal out of the come y bebe after trying the beans. She definitely enjoyed her fruit salad and gave it a good 3 spoons. In fact, we all did. It was a solid side dish which could easily be served as a summer appetizer (grown-ups could add a bit of rum) or dessert (serve with a drop of whipped cream). It was sweet and tangy, very tropical. The kids liked being able to drink the juice and fruit right out of the cups too.

This is certainly a recipe we’ll come back to again next summer. Or perhaps even in the dead of January when we could use a taste of summer.

Print this recipe: Come y Bebe

40 thoughts on “Ecuador!”

  1. thefooddoctor says:
    Reply

    There is a famous place here that makes something very similar but with different fruit combination
    the syrup is some sort of mango, apple, banana and orange thick “juice” I am guessing the combonents because that is what the taste suggests and the chop strawberries, kiwi, apples and bananas in it..you can make it a dessert with cream and a drizzle of honey or have it as such as a drinkable fruit salad…my kids are addicted to it lol

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    • Kristy says:
      Reply

      Oh now that sounds really good! I love the combination of kiwi and strawberries. And with bananas and mango! Wow! The apples have to provide a good texture in there too. I have no doubt my kids would be addicted as well. 🙂

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  2. smartfoodandfit says:
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    okay, we just watched the video. It’s a great song to exercise to! You know when you workout hard in cardio training and you’ve reached your anaerobic threshold (zone 4); can’t breath anymore and feel like saying a bad word, well you can just scream out “Ecuador”! lol

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  3. smartfoodandfit says:
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    This is a great way to serve fruit to kids! I love this idea, you can use one of those spoon straws to drink and eat it at the same time! Okay, I’m going to watch that video with my kids! I’ll let you know what my kids think of it, can’t wait!

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  6. Mel says:
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    Hello! I just found your blog through the sidebar on Greg’s blog – Rufus’ Food & Spirits Guide. I have so loved my visit here today – your site is so charming and the pictures make me smile! Will bookmark & return.

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  7. thecompletecookbook says:
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    Oh I love fruit salad and a couple of other ingredients I always add to what you have here is grated apple (just doesn’t take right being chopped) and tinned peaches (fresh just isn’t quite the same).
    Have a super day.
    🙂 Mandy

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  9. A_Boleyn says:
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    Looks lovely. I have texture issues so fruit salad type things aren’t my cup of tea but it’s nice that the little ones found a way to eat fruit that they liked.

    On a side note … your exploration of international cuisines is inspiring me to check out some of my cookbook collection and trying new things. Right now, I’m browsing through:

    Arto der Haroutunian’s “Middle Eastern Cookery”
    Copeland Mark’s “False Tongues and Sunday Bread – A Guatemalan and Mayan Cookbook”
    Jeff Smith’s “The Frugal Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestors”

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  10. Stefanie says:
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    What a fun way to serve fruit salad, being able to eat it or drink it! Love the fruit combo, and I’m assuming you could mix that up a little too depending on what’s in season!

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  13. Kelly says:
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    Thanks for the mention Kristy!

    Loving the fancy plastic goblets. The tropical fruit reminds me of our recent trip to Mexico… every morning we would have fresh papaya before breakfast – so different for us and delightful! I agree this is a perfect complement to a spicy bean dish and you know what else, this time of year, as the sun sinks a little lower in the sky (well, for some of us anyway) and flu season nears, we could all use a big dose of vitamin C and this fruit dish delivers in spades!
    p.s. Mr. N looking so grownup I find…
    p.p.s. Have had the Ecuador song blasting in the background while writing this note – ‘thanks’ Charles…. 🙂

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    • Kristy says:
      Reply

      Sure thing! I’m diggin’ the agave! 🙂 I’ve totally been pumping us up with Vitamin C this week. 🙂 Seems as though everyone around us is getting sick. Lots of Vitamin C and extra sleep for the kids! And I agree – Mr. N is looking more and more grown-up. It’s killing me! 😉

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  16. kitchenbelleicious says:
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    I am a HUGE fan of fruit salads. I try and do one to keep in the fridge for a few days every other week. My picky eater actually loves fruit so its a win win dish for us! This looks incredible and I love the use of agave. I think it is such a wonderful ingredient

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  19. Charles says:
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    lol, glad to be able to provide inspiration! 😀 The dish looks great – really fresh and refreshing, and with the orange juice too? Yummy 🙂 You know, I can never understand papayas – maybe I just never had a good one. What are they supposed to be like? They always remind me of melons 😀

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    • Kristy says:
      Reply

      Now you’ve got Mike saying it too. We sound like a bunch of idiots around here. LOL! You know I never had a papaya until I had the kids. They loved them when they were first starting on fruits. They aren’t quite as watery as melons, but a similar flavor. Softer texture too. 🙂

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  20. Kay aka Babygirl says:
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    I’m not usually a fan of some fruit salads (because peaches are always added) but this come y bebe dish looks delish! I love the papaya and I would also maybe add a little mango to the mix. And I’m with you, when I start to get more depressed about winter coming, this dish will make me think of summer to come.

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