Updates

Dearest reader, I have neglected my blog for quite a few weeks. That doesn’t mean exciting things haven’t been happening, it just means I’ve been busy living those moments instead of photographing them and writing them down. As much as I love recounting the stories of my adventures and taking photos to remember them by, there are times when I have to put down my phone or camera and only have the memory in my mind’s eye.

I rather liked the format of my last post about my Ruta Maya travels where I had some photos and then the rainbows (highs) and rain clouds (lows) of each experience. If you get all the way through the post there is a lovely cookie recipe waiting for you as your prize. They were a hit at my fellow Fulbrighter’s potluck going away party, so get excited for that!

Things I cooked

Rainbow: cooking club’s final meeting! Over the course of my months in Mexico I have gotten together with my fellow Fulbrighters in Guadalajara once a month and cooked delicious meals. We usually go all out with a salad, main dish, bread, and dessert. For our final gathering we made a four star picnic with a spinach, beet, and goat cheese salad with blackberry vinaigrette, tandoori chicken burgers with yogurt mint sauce (recipe from Baked Bree), mango lassis, and dulce de leche brownies with sea salt (recipe from Bakerita). We enjoyed our picnic at an outdoor movie at the Parque Metropolitano.

Rain cloud: I saw this fantastic recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough stuffed pretzels by Halfbaked Harvest. Sounds amazing right? I’m sure they would have been amazing had I not been the one to make them. Some day I will get pretzels right, but until then I think I will take a break from them. They came out tough and the ones without the cookie dough were too sweet on their own for my taste. The inspiration behind making pretzels was a large bag of sea salt that I purchased (for 8.50MXN, around 60 american cents) that I needed to use. I’m going to keep looking for good sea salt recipes so I can put it to good use!

Places I went: Tapalpa

Tapalpa is a pueblo mágico an hour and half outside of Guadalajara (theoretically). I went with some fellow Fulbrighters to unplug (poor cell service pun) and enjoy some time in nature next to some large rocks and a tall waterfall.

Rainbows: empanadas de membrillo (quince) and nieve de zarzamora (blackberry ice cream) were the culinary standouts. Also, the feeling after completing a surprisingly intense hike back up from the canyon of the waterfall.

Rain clouds: the banda music concert that began promptly at 6am and continued until 8am. Why anyone needs to have this music on a full blast at 6am on a Friday is beyond me.

 

I only have two more weeks left until my grant period is over! I will be staying in Mexico a few days after to tie up some loose ends and hopefully travel a little more before I head back to the States. Until then, I have my bucket list with things I still want to eat and see in Guadalajara, as well as a half marathon around the streets of the the UAG and Providencia which I have gotten to know so well.

Now as promised: Cookies and Cups recipe for the Perfect Cookie Base

My notes: the brown sugar I found here in Mexico is a lot more granular and gave the cookies a sandy texture in my opinion (this didn’t deter people from eating them). I also didn’t want to buy a box of corn starch because it was huge and what am I going to do with so much corn starch in three weeks, so I bought a packet of vanilla flavored atole (corn starch based drink) mix instead and it gave the desired effect.

Ingredients

– 2 cups flour

– 1 Tbsp cornstarch (or atole mix)

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 3/4 tsp kosher salt

– 3/4 cup butter, room temperature

– 3/4 cup dark brown sugar

– 1/2 cup granulated sugar

– 1 egg

– 1 Tbsp vanilla

– 1 1/2 cups your favorite candy (I used m&ms and Kinder Delice chocolate bars)

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Cream butter and the sugars together. Since I don’t have a stand mixer, I just beat them with a rubber spatula until they were well incorporated.
3.  Add in egg and vanilla to the butter sugar mixture. In the original recipe it says to cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, but the mixture didn’t get fluffy for me until I added the egg.
4. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. .
5. Add the flour mixture until dough comes together.
6. Stir in candy until evenly distributed.
7. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes, checking to make sure they aren’t getting brown on the edges and over baking.
8. Enjoy!

 

Brie and Chipotle

I’ve been a terrible blogger the past few weeks. Mainly because of different recent family events I haven’t been cooking. Since the majority of my posts are about things I make, if I don’t make things I don’t feel like I have anything to post. I’m going to continue to be a bad blogger and just post some pictures of a sandwich I made for lunch yesterday. Many of my favorite sandwiches from home have brie, turkey, and/or a fruit jam. Don’t limit yourself to fruity spreads on sandwiches only after Thanksgiving! Any jam or jelly of your liking can elevate an ordinary sandwich.

The favors at a baptism I went to last weekend were artisanal chipotle and habanero jams. I took two chipotle ones on accident, but it’s so tasty I don’t mind the mistake. I had some danish brie in the fridge, along with some french greens, tomato slices, and a lovely loaf of bread from an adorable local bakery so I made myself up this delicious sandwich.

 

 

Thyme challah and blackberry chia jam

 

Baking is an incredibly humbling experience. It requires accuracy, discipline, and patience. I do not consider myself to be naturally patient. There have been a few instances this week that have reinforced the fact that I need to practice my patience. So why not practice and have something delicious to show for it?

Every month Buzzfeed’s food section has a list of recipes with products that are made with seasonal ingredients or specific to a holiday in that month. While looking over the list for March I found a recipe for pretzel challah from the Hola Jalapeño blog. It looked delicious and one of my new years resolutions was to bake more bread, so I decided to go for it.

I first attempted this recipe on Tuesday night. My first mistake was starting at 6 pm. This is a very time intensive process. You need to make the dough, let it rise for 2-3 hours, let it chill, boil it, and then bake it. I started my second attempt around 10 am and finished around 3 pm. Give yourself time to complete this.

My second mistake last Tuesday was heating the water to too high of a temperature for the yeast. Yeast are tricky little things. Some blogs say to let the tap run warm until its just hot enough that you want to take your finger out. Others say it should be like a baby’s bath water. These are two vastly different temperatures to me and I’ve been trying to figure out how to achieve the perfect yeast activating temperature. The first time around the water was too hot and it killed a lot of the yeast. There were a few bubbles and the top had a little froth so I thought it would be ok, it was not.

I went through the process of making the dough, kneading it, making braids and preparing the boiling solution before I realized it was a lost cause and I should just give up and try again over the weekend with more time. They didn’t turn out as lovely looking as in the original recipe, but I was pretty happy with the taste and texture of the loaves.

The jam is kind of a side note in this post, although it could be it’s own featured recipe. It’s tart and delicious and only requires four ingredients! Plus it’s really easy to make and basically fool-proof. It uses the Aztec diet staple chia seed, which I will be sure to write a post about soon because it’s versatile and does interesting things with liquids.

Thyme Challah (halved and adapted from Hola Jalapeño’s recipe)

Ingredients (grouped in the order in which you will mix/use them):

Yeast mixture:

– 1 tablespoon of yeast

– 1/2 cup warm water

– 1 teaspoon sugar

Dry ingredients:

– 3 cups of flour

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 2 tablespoons of sugar

Wet ingredients:

– 2 eggs

– 1/3 cup vegetable oil

– 2 tablespoons honey

– 1/4 cup water

Extra:

– 1- 2 cups of flour for kneading

– Salt for sprinkling on top

– 1 tablespoon dried thyme

– 1/4 cup baking soda for boiling mixture

 

1. Mix together your yeast mixture and watch it get frothy and bubbly. If it doesn’t do this, start over immediately.

Watching the yeast bloom successfully was a very exciting moment for me.

2. While the yeast is doing its thing, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together your wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

3. Once the yeast mixture is frothy, mix it into the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula until it is fully incorporated.

4. Flour your surface and knead the dough until it is no longer sticky – this will likely take a while. Once done kneading, split the dough into two parts and place them in two well oiled bowls. Roll the balls of dough around in the oil and then cover the dough with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, which could take between 2 and three hours (you can make the jam during this time)

 

 

How beautiful it is to have your dough rise.

5. Now that the dough has risen, divide it into two parts and then divide each part into three more parts. Roll the three parts into ropes about a foot long and then braid them. This is harder than it looks and could take a few attempts. Place your braided dough on a floured sheet and freeze for 20-30 minutes.

 

 

6. While the dough is chilling, fill a large saucepan about halfway with water and add 1/4 cup baking soda. Bring the mixture to a boil.

7. Once the bread has chilled, boil each loaf for about 2 minutes on each side. Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C. Once after loaf has been boiled, sprinkle salt and dried thyme on top.

 

8. Bake two loaves at a time for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool before enjoying!

Blackberry Chia jam (Original recipe from Two Peas in Their Pod)

– 1.5 pounds frozen blackberries (I had a 3 lb bag so I just eyeballed half)

– 3 tablespoons of agave nectar (it didn’t come out very sweet, add more for your own taste)

– 3 tablespoons chia seeds

– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Warm the blackberries to a slow bowl in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Reduce the heat and once the berries are nice and soft, use a potato masher to mash the berries. The original recipe suggests leaving some of the berries whole for texture, which I think is a wise choice.

3. Add the agave and chia, mix well and heat until it thickens.

4. Remove from the heat and allow the jam to cool. Add the vanilla and store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge in a sealed container or in the freezer.

Pumpkin and cranberries part two

Back in the fall I wrote quite a few posts about pumpkin and cranberries. Probably because they were the only things I couldn’t get my hands on when I wanted them the most. A week or two after Thanksgiving, I stumbled upon Libby’s canned pumpkin in the baking aisle at Superama and proceeded to purchase several cans. I used most of the pumpkin for holiday baking and by March I had one lonely can left in my pantry. Since it’s been around 75 degrees since I got back in January, I haven’t really been craving the warmth and comfort that pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves can provide.

Last week I attempted to make vegan pumpkin pancakes for dinner and they were a disaster. They cooked quickly almost to the point of burning, then when I wanted to flip them they wouldn’t retain their shape and flopped all over the spatula. They looked like small orange accordions and they didn’t taste like much either. Luckily, the recipe only called for 1/3 cup of pumpkin, leaving nearly 3/4 of the can left over. I put it in the fridge and yesterday when I saw a bag of four cups of oats for 11 pesos (around 95 american cents) I was inspired to make pumpkin granola. I found some leftover craisins in the pantry (also from Thanksgiving time) and added those in for some texture.

This was the first time I have ever made granola. Granola has the rep of being a “healthy food” when it’s really not at all. The kinds you buy at the store can be mainly oil and sugar (look at that nutrition label!), and since I’m not really one for overly sweet things, I thought I would try to cut the sugar down a bit. These are the lessons I learned from making granola for the first time:

– It takes a lot of sugar to make it sweet. The original recipe I used for reference had brown sugar and maple syrup, plus some applesauce. I used agave and honey in smaller quantities and once the granola was mixed with other things (almond milk or granola) you couldn’t detect any sweetness.

– It takes a while to get crunchy. I was not patient and took it out too soon, I’ll probably put it back in the oven later today to crisp up.

– It can be relatively cheap to make your own granola, plus you get to control the sweetness and the mix-ins.

– Alternate textures are key. The craisins were a good addition, but it could use some nuts or seeds to be more interesting.

Recipe: Pumpkin and cranberry granola (original: Pumpkin Granola from Two Peas and their Pod)

Ingredients:

– 4 cups of oats (not quick oats, regular old rolled oats)

– 1/4 cup agave syrup

– 1/4 cup honey

– 1 cup pumpkin puree

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

– 1 teaspoon cinnamon

– 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

– 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 3/4 craisins

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Mix the oats, spices, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Mix the pumpkin, honey, agave, and vanilla in a bowl until combined.

3. Pour the wet ingredients onto the oats and incorporate well using a rubber spatula. Make sure that all of the oats are coated, this could take a few minutes.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil and spread the oats out in an even layer.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, then using a spatula mix the oats. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes and let cool. Add the craisins and enjoy!

Pre-cooked oats

 

Cranberries add texture, sweetness, and color.

 

Enjoy with greek yogurt or almond milk, plus some fresh berries! Provecho~

Papas con rajas y calabacitas

Eating vegetables can be hard. I had gotten into the habit of having a tupper full of sauteed spinach in the fridge to have with lunch or to mix into eggs for breakfast. Along with some sugar snap peas and baby carrots for snacks, that was the extent of my vegetable consumption for a few weeks. Eating fruit is just easier, it’s more colorful, it’s sweet, and usually requires less prep before eating. I stumbled upon a recipe for papas con rajas while looking at enchilada recipes and I was inspired to switch up my vegetable routine. I found some lovely chiles poblanos at my the mini-super near my house, along with mini Mexican zucchini (calabacitas) and regular old waxy potatoes. I roasted the chiles and then sauteed them with the potato and zucchini. It’s a quick and easy way to get more greens. One day I had it hash style with an over easy egg and tortillas, and the next day as a side with curried chicken.

Papas con rajas (Recipe inspiration: Saveur)

Ingredients:

– 2 waxy potatoes

– 2 poblano peppers (see photo for reference if you’re unclear as to which these are)

– 6 small Mexican zucchini or 2 regular size (also see photo if you don’t know which these are)

– 1 tbsp vegetable oil

– 1 clove of garlic

– salt and pepper to season

1. Rinse your poblano peppers and make sure they are completely dry. Roast over an open flame or in the oven at 400 C for around 10 minutes (I chose open flame) until the skin is black and blistered.

2. Seal the peppers in a glass container with a lid while still hot and let them sweat. This will make it easier to get the skin off.

3. While the peppers are sweating, chop your potatoes in half and then into slices of equal thickness (this is actually impossible, but I still try). Warm the oil and garlic in a pan over medium heat and cook the potatoes until they are about 3/4 done. They can burn easily, so keep moving them around.

 

4. While the potatoes are cooking, chop your zucchini. Once the potatoes have reached desired doneness, add the zucchini.

 

5. Now that the peppers have been sweating for a while, run them under cold water in the sink to get the charred skin off. The peppers should be soft and pliable, open them up and rinse out the seeds using cold water. If the peppers are still to hot to handle, wait or use gloves. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the peppers and avoid touching your face.

6. Chop the peppers into slivers and add to the pan with potatoes and zucchini. The potatoes and zucchini should be cooked all the way through now and your just letting the flavors meld. Add salt and pepper to season.

 

Enjoy as a side to meat, or as a vegetarian main course with egg and tortillas. Provecho!

Memelas

Last Tuesday night I had the Fulbright girls over for the first cooking club meeting of 2014. Things were so hectic with winter break and the ETA and research mid-term reunions that we hadn’t been able to cook. It was so nice to get back in the kitchen and learn how to make something new and tasty.

One of my fellow research Fulbrighters just returned from some time in the state of Puebla doing field research. She learned how to make several traditional dishes, among them memelas. Memelas are similar to gorditas and huaraches in that they are made from ground and cooked maize in dough form called masa (essentially tortilla dough). The main difference that I found is that refried beans are incorporated into the dough. Since the beans used in memelas from Puebla are black, they usually have a marbled look. We used the typical frijoles peruanos, so the difference between the masa and the beans isn’t that noticeable.

Memelas

– 1 kg of masa

– 430 grams (1 bag of Isadora brand) of frijoles peruanos 

(Ahh! Metric system!)

– Water

– Salt

– Canola oil for the pan/comal

(This is what we used and it is by no means to be used as a reliable recipe)

1. Work the masa with a sprinkling of salt and a few tablespoons of water at a time until it is soft and workable.

2. Take a ball of masa in the palm of your hand and make an impression for the beans. Place roughly a tablespoon of beans into the impression and work the beans into the masa. Flatten out the ball until it makes an elongated oval shape. We found it easier to use a plastic bag for getting them the right shape.

2. Put a thin layer of oil on your comal or pan and cook the memelas until they are golden on one side, then flip.

 

You can top your memelas with any kind of salsa, queso fresco, and/or shredded meat. We chose a red salsa and queso fresco, and they were pretty tasty

 

 

 

Enchiladas de pollo con mole verde

In a previous post I attempted to make enchiladas in the toaster oven and they were disappointing to say the least. I love enchiladas, especially with mole on top. If they’re on a menu, there is a 75% chance I will order them. The enchiladas de pollo con mole at Los Otates here in Guadalajara are my favorite enchiladas. The mole is Jalisco style, sweet and spicy and rich. I have never learned how to make mole,  I usually rely on my girl Doña Maria, who has a variety of moles which I can purchase in the supermarkets here and in the States. 

On a recent trip to the supermarket I found a new Doña Maria mole verde for sale. I searched for some recipes on how to make enchiladas on pinterest, and below are the tasty results. They were definitely better than enchilada attempt #1, and since I am only one human being, I have lunch for the rest of the week. 

Enchiladas de pollo con mole verde (method adapted from this recipe, via Saveur)

Ingredients:

– 2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (I boiled them with some tomato bouillon cubes for flavor)

– 12 8 inch tortillas (or more if you’re ambitious)

– 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

– 644 mL box of mole verde (you could actually get the smaller glass jar, because I messed up, will explain later)

– 1/2 cup queso Oaxaca, if you can get it, if not any white melting cheese, such as mozzarella will do

1. Heat the oil in the pan over medium low heat. Grab the tortillas in groups of 2 or 3 with tongs and submerge them in the oil to make them pliable, it should only take about 10 seconds. Carefully removed them from the oil, making sure not to break through the tortillas where the tongs are holding them.

Failure with the first batch

The success with the failure

2. This is what you should do: warm the mole with water (follow directions on box) to thin out the sauce. You will end up with more mole than the box indicated. I did not do this, and just used what is essentially the mole concentrate. It turned out fine, but it probably would have been better the other way. Then mix 1 cup of the mole sauce with the shredded chicken.

3. Set up your assembly line. Line the bottom of a roasting or brownie pan with foil and then lay out a tortilla.

Place about 1/3 cup of shredded chicken mixture the the center of the tortilla and roll it up snugly.

4. Smother the rolled up tortillas with the (ideally thinned out) mole sauce.

5. Sprinkle with cheese and then bake at 375 F or 175 C for between 25-30 minutes.

Buen provecho~

Pizza time!

I’ve been battling a cold this week and last night was one of those nights when I wanted to snuggle up to a warm slice of pizza and netflix. Although I could have easily ordered a pizza, I decided to eat something I already had (Kashi 7 grain waffles with strawberries, not a bad choice). During my second episode of Parks and Recreation, I went on Pinterest and searched for a pizza crust recipe, so that whenever I have these pizza whims I can whip up something myself instead of heading to the Domino’s website (God forbid I have to talk to someone on the phone).

There are hundreds of pizza dough recipes on Pinterest, and I’m sure 90% of them will result in a tasty pizza (if it looks too pretty to be true, sometimes it actually is). I found this one in the first 10 search results and chose to try it because I already had all of the ingredients. I also had pinned this pizza recipe a while ago and decided to try something like it. At Superama I found some lovely yellow cherry tomatoes, arugula, and jamon serrano (essentially the same as prosciutto but from Spain, and cheaper at my store) which I paired with a pesto I already had at home. I ran out of all purpose flour and had to use my whole wheat flour, which makes it unintentionally look healthy!

I recognize this is not a Mexican recipe, and I have been slacking on my Mexican cultural adventures, but starting next weekend I will be going on a week-long Mexican cultural extravaganza, so that should make make up for it.

Pesto, Jamon Serrano, Arugula, and Yellow Tomato Pizza

Dough (original recipe from the Mama’s Girls):

– 6 to 7 cups of flour (I used 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour until I ran out and used whole wheat flour, use whatever you like)

– 2 tablespoons of yeast (I used a packet, which is listed as 11 grams and came out to 1 1/2 tablespoons and it was fine)

– 3 cups of warm water (microwaved room temp water for 1:30 minutes)

– 2 tablespoons of sugar

– 1 teaspoon salt

– cornmeal for dusting the pizza stone or pan (I just used a cookie sheet)

Pizza toppings:

– 2 tablespoons of pesto

– handful of yellow cherry tomatoes

– handful of arugula

– 1 mozzarella cheese stick (or 3/4 shredded mozzarella)

– 4 slices of jamon serrano

1. Mix the yeast in the warm water. Let it do it’s thing and get frothy, which takes about 2 or 3 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Mix with a whisk, or if you’re lucky enough to have a stand mixer, with the mixer or paddle attachment.

3. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time and switch to a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or paddle attachment.

The dough looks like batter, still needs a few more cups.

It’s coming together!

4. Once the dough forms a ball, knead it until it forms a tight ball. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

5. Now, preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C and sprinkle cornmeal on your baking sheet or pizza stone and prepare your toppings.

I sliced these beauties in half so they wouldn’t roll around on the pizza.

You won’t need the arugula until the pizza comes out of the oven. The heat emanating from the pizza will make it wilt.

My jamon serrano came in a packet of 5, but I only used 4 slices. Don’t worry about the last slice, just eat it as a pre-pizza snack.

6. Get ready to assemble! I divided the pizza dough into 3 sections and froze the other two pieces for another pizza day.

Roll out your dough. I tried tossing it and stretching it out by hand, but I found it easier to roll out.

Once on your baking sheet, assemble the ingredients!

The advice from this page is to lay the jamon in one sheet, which looks delicious, but then make it really hard to cut the pizza or eat it unless you’re eating all of the jamon in one bite. I would recommend cutting the jamon in half or tearing it into easier to manage pieces.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the crust is puffed up. Then remove from the oven and put the arugula on the still hot pizza.

Buen provecho!

Avocado cornbread – I’m back!

After a lovely three weeks off of work, I am back at the UAG planning out my remaining five months. During my vacation I ventured back to the States and was happily surprised that there weren’t that many things that I had to take advantage of enjoying because I wouldn’t be able to get them back in Mexico. Aside from almond butter (which I now have a strong supply of), hiking, and of course my friends and family, most everything I enjoy in the United States I can find here in Mexico (usually for a price). Although this thought could spark a discussion on American Imperialism, I am really ok with being able to buy Annie’s Organic and Kashi products at Soriana, and that’s all I have to say about that for now.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to bake more bread. Another resolution is to run a half marathon, but more about that later. At our Fulbright cooking club dinners we usually have some kind of bread to round out the meal. I have never made the bread for the meals, but seeing how easy it is, and how lovely a piece of soft, fresh baked bread is, has prompted me to learn more about and practice baking bread.

It should surprise now one who knows me or has ever used the website BuzzFeed, that I found an article titled, “17 Warm and Cozy Breads to Bake when it’s Cold Outside.” Since my apartment, especially my room, doesn’t get that much sunlight to warm it up (no heating either), it can be pretty cold inside even if it’s in the high 60’s/low 70’s outside. One bread from the list caught my eye: the avocado cornbread from Food52. I made cornbread a couple of times in the fall and I wanted to try this one out. The final result was a little more mushy than expected, but the overall flavor was pretty good. I didn’t have a cast iron pan, which is what the original recipe calls for, which would have created a browned bottom that would have contrasted with the soft inside and creamy avocado. 

Avocado Cornbread, original recipe from Food52, adapted for ingredient availability and preferences 

 

Ingredients:

– 1 cup cornmeal 

– 1/2 cup all purpose flour

– 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

– 1/2 teaspoon salt

– 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder

– 1 egg

– 6 tablespoons of butter

– 2 tablespoons of honey

– 1 cup milk

– 1 avocado, cubed

– Juice of half a lime

1. The first step in the original recipe is to heat 2 tablespoons of butter with some cumin in your cast iron pan and heat it in the oven at 400 degrees F. I didn’t have cumin or a cast iron skillet, so I just put two tablespoons of butter into my glass pie dish. I had to take the butter out really quickly because I thought it was going to burn, so unless you have the necessary equipment I think you can skip that and just preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, salt, and chipotle pepper together. 

 

3. Melt the butter and honey together in the microwave. Two sessions of 20 seconds did the trick.

4. Whisk the egg and milk together. Cut the cubes of the avocado and dress with lime juice to prevent it from turning brown.

As the recipe points out, you have now dirtied four separate bowls. 

5. Mix the honey butter into the milk and eggs.

6. Mix the honey/butter/milk/eggs mixture into the dry ingredients. 

7. Fold in the avocado and put into your baking dish.

8. Bake the cornbread for 30-40 minutes, enjoy!

 

 

 

Christmas cookie time

The highlight of last week was finding Libby’s canned pumpkin at Superama. After my stressful, time consuming, and unfruitful search for canned pumpkin during Thanksgiving, I found dozens of cans at the supermarket. I don’t think I made anything from canned pumpkin last year, except for pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but since it’s been such an elusive good, pumpkin has taken on a new meaning for me.

If you’re anything like me and obsessed with Buzzfeed, you’ve seen the multiple articles with ideas for food gifts for the holidays. Although sweaters and gift cards are nice, I find food to be a fantastic way to show someone you care about them,something like, “I love you a dozen cookies-worth.” I’ve made empanadas as gifts with my mom, and I always make sour cream cookies with my Dad around the holidays, so Christmas time means baking time for me.

Since I have family in Guadalajara, I decided to make baked goods as gifts for the holidays. Because my aunts are watching their sweets intake, I experimented with fake sugar in baking for the first time (I used BC sugar, which I was not familiar with but it was the cheapest and isn’t completely calorie free). I made four different goods for the gift plates: pumpkin bars (recipe – I subbed real flour for almond flour because even if I could find it, it would probably be really expensive), thumbprint cookies with blueberry pomegranate jam and homemade strawberry jam (recipe), craisin sugar cookies (recipe – just added 1 cup of craisins), and Mexican chocolate rolls (recipe – left out the cayenne because I couldn’t find it and they still had a kick).

The assembled plates

Pumpkin bar leftovers for me

The Mexican chocolate rolls were my favorites, and the prettiest to make, so I have included pictures from the recipe below.

Mexican chocolate rolls (original recipe, Hummingbird High)

Ingredients:

1. Mix dry ingredients.

2. Mix water, milk, and butter in a saucepan and heat. The recipe says to 120 or 130 F, which doesn’t mean anything to me without a thermometer, so I just brought it to a light simmer.

3. Add we ingredients to dry, mix and add 1 cup of flour at a time until you have a manageable ball (you will need a lot of flour for this dough)

4. After dough is kneaded together, let it rest for 10 minutes under plastic wrap and mix the sugar, cocoa, and spices.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut the rested dough into two balls and roll them out one at a time (the recipe says 12×7 rectangle, I just rolled it out to where it would go without tearing.)

6. Add the sugar and spice mixture and then roll it up tightly like a jelly roll. Seal the ends so everything delicious stays inside.

7. Cut each roll into 12 pieces and bake in a greased muffin tin. Cover the top of each piece with the gently whisked egg before baking.

Enjoy~