Census Day, Quito-Style

Today was Quito's census. How can you have a "Census Day?" You ask? Well, instead of impersonally counting people's mailed-in responses, Ecuador has made their census personal.

Once every ten years, people are confined to their homes for about ten hours [and confined is the right word, you are not ALLOWED to leave. The streets were completely deserted. If you were a tourist staying in a hotel/hostel, too bad, you better have bought your own food because NOTHING will be open.]

Then, high school students come and knock on your door, all dressed up in their school uniforms. They ask each person who has slept your home the previous night two pages of questions (where were you born? have you used the internet or a phone in the last month? can you read? do you culturally identify with indígena, mestizo, blanco, negro? etc). This is strange because while I was counted (because I slept here last night), my sister (who is on vacation) was not counted! And she is an Ecuadorian citizen, but she doesn't exist for the purposes of the 2010 census while I (and my friend's American parents who are visiting) do. Strange.

So, really the point of this post is that I was locked in the house all day. What did I do? A little homework and then bake! (I had wanted to preserve ají--a type of salsa--today, but couldn't find preserving jars ANYWHERE!!!) I wanted to make a lemon meringue pie, but was nervous as previous meringue attempts have been disastrous. And I don't think my family had cream of tartar (the stores were all closed today). So instead I made Buckeyes. Yummy peanut butter balls covered in chocolate. A treat as peanut butter doesn't really exist here.

Recipe:
From Smitten Kitchen (my second favorite food blog) and Allrecipes.com

My batch made about 45 balls a little less than an inch in diameter.

1 1/2 cups ish of peanut butter
5 cups ish of powdered sugar
Large splash of vanilla (so CHEAP here! wonderful)
1 cup ish of Bonilla (Ecuadorian Crisco)
8 oz of chocolate (I actually don't know how much chocolate I used as I've been eating it from the bag since I bought it yesterday afternoon)

Mix everything together
It should be pretty dry (mine was too dry so I added a little more Bonilla) and tough-ish. Try rolling it into a ball with your hands, if it falls apart, add more liquid-ish stuff!!



Put the balls on parchment paper (unless you're in Ecuador where parchment paper doesn't exist and use tin foil) and into the freezer for about half an hour.



While the balls are hardening, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Let it cool a tiny bit (depending on how thick you want the chocolate layer).



Stick something (skewer, fondue stick, toothpick, fork) into a peanut butter ball and dip it in the chocolate, taking care to leave a "small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes." Whatever buckeyes are. Something from Ohio I assume.

Here. I googled it. Apparently its a tree which grows in Ohio. Huh.


Let your non-tree-related buckeyes cool (or not) and then ask your host family to eat them so you don't. Or hide them in the fridge so there will be some left on Tuesday (today is Sunday) to bring to your friends. Or eat them all.