Tropicalsenior

Yesterday I made the Sparkling Gingerbread Cake. I like a strong Ginger flavor and it seems like this one probably would have it. Wow, oh boy did it ever. It calls for a tablespoon each of fresh and powdered Ginger and a quarter cup of crystallized ginger. My fresh ginger had quite a bit of a bite as did the crystallized ginger that I had made by @liuzhou's recipe. I must say that it is the first time that I have taken a bite of cake and had it bite me back. This recipe is a keeper.

I had the opposite problem with this dish that I made last Saturday. Photographed well and tasted like hell. So if you see a recipe for Russian pork chops, pass! The last pork loin that I got to cut into chops was a little bit tough so I thought I would braise them in some type of sauce. Instead of tough they were just dry and I can't imagine any self-respecting Russian wanting to eat them. Carlos said they were delicious. It's nice to have somebody that compliments your food no matter how bad it is.

I just made a half a batch of light brioche dough and made nine little dinner rolls and two rolls to have pork schnitzel sandwiches tonight.

Sadly, again I would have to pass. $16.49 $45.24 Shipping & Import Fees Deposit to Costa Rica Details

Just read the recipe and it is what we used to call pudding cake. Thank you, it looks like a great recipe. I haven't made it in years but I think it's time to try it again.

Sorry about that but you spoke about 5 minutes too late.

I made Char Siu Bao for my weekly stuffed buns. I had a little bit of dough left over so I made a tiny batch of cinnamon rolls.

I had a little bit of dough left over when I made Char Siu Bao today so I made a tiny batch of tiny cinnamon rolls. Each one is about two bites.

Just posted

Brown Sugar Nut Bars Makes 9 bars Crust 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1 cup flour Filling 2 eggs 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped nuts Cream butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Mix in flour. Press lightly in the bottom of a greased 8” x 8” pan. Bake at 350o for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs, flour, and remaining sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, baking powder, and nuts. Spread over the crust. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more. The filling should be just set. Cut into 9 squares. For an extra rich bar. Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the egg mixture before baking. Notes: Some recipes call for cooling the base before adding the filling. I don't but I do suggest that you do not compress the filling tightly. It makes for a much lighter bar.

As soon as I reformat the recipe, I will be happy to post it.

Turned out perfectly.

I just took my caramel nut bars out of the oven. My husband and I had something similar to this in a bakery quite a few years ago and I decided to see if I could copy it. It took some tweaking to get it just the way my husband liked it but I finally came up with a recipe that I think works. It has a shortbread base and the second layer based on eggs, brown sugar, nuts and both white and chocolate chips. In the photo, it looks like it's over baked but it's just a trick of the lighting. I'll post another photo tonight after I cut into it.

Tonight we had my favorite beans and rice dish. Tuscan white beans and sausage served over red tomato rice. It is melon season here and I was able to get a nice ripe melon to serve as a side. Not pictured, which I guess is stating the obvious.

Believe me! I did that plus soaking it in lemon juice for an hour before cooking it the first time. All that does is knock down the tripe aroma while it is cooking, the Taste is still there. And that is one of the reasons that it is a two-day cooking project.

What I had the first time was the white Menudo and I've never had any menudo since. It has a ton of good stuff until you get to the tripe and then, uh un, no! Can't get near it except to cook it and that was only because I loved him. Believe me, I had to have really loved him to cook that stuff. And I might add, it is a two-day cooking experience.

I guess so if you like it. When we were dating my husband raved about it so much that I ordered some in a restaurant. I sent it back because I thought it was rotten and then he told me it was supposed to taste like that. I could tell you how I made it but I sure couldn't tell you about the seasonings because that was to taste and he was the one that had to taste it. I used to make about four gallons of it at a time so I didn't have to smell it cooking that often.

My husband's favorite was nopales and scrambled eggs. He loved menudo and I used to make it in great big batches and put it in the freezer. I couldn't stand it so he had to taste it for seasonings.

Move over, I'm coming up!

Don't feel bad, I still don't quite get it. I guess it would help if we knew what treyf meant.

The national dish of Costa Rica is Gallo Pinto which is basically unseasoned rice mixed with unseasoned black beans. Most families have it three times a day. In the morning it is served with eggs and at lunch it is served with some type of meat. For dinner it's served with a shredded cabbage salad, a vegetable and some type of meat. Another ubiquitous meal is arroz con pollo which is served at every social Gathering. It is a seasoned rice served with a miniscule amount of chicken. One chicken can feed about 40 people. When we moved here 40 years ago, we used to comment on the physical fitness of the Costa Ricans. You very seldom saw a fat person. In the years since, the diet has changed drastically. Fast food chains have moved in and junk food is everywhere. Obesity is everywhere and even the little school children look like miniature Pillsbury doughboys. Another change that the diet has made is in the height of the people here. When we moved here, the average height of a Costa Rican man was about 5 ft 7. This younger generation is tall. There are 6 footers all over the place and even the young girls are tall. It's been interesting to see in such a short time how a change in diet can change the whole culture of a country.

The only brownie recipe that I have found that comes close to these is the Katherine Hepburn brownies. They are a little more work and I think that the ingredients of the scratch brownies actually cost more than the brownie mix.

Thanks. That's the best part of making these, having some to send for Carlos in his lunches and for my lunch during the week. Only mine never last long enough to make it into the freezer.

Wow. I couldn't agree more with that statement, in fact I could have written it myself. I think I'll take mine out this week and give it to my cleaning lady. I could use the storage space.

Made filled bread again for our Sunday snacking. This time it was Finnish Lihapiirakka, a ground meat filling in a slightly sweet dough. I had some dough left over so I just made a little round loaf. Not bad, if I do say so myself.