Hi guys!!!
Welcome back. It's hard to believe we're half way through the month of June when only a few seconds ago we we're saying Happy New Year!!! Okay, okay, a slight exaggeration, but time has flown by this year. I have felt unproductive lately, but we all get those spells of mental blockage. So, how do we get the creativity to flow back? Many recommend writing lists, about anything and everything. What movies should I catch this summer? Write a list. What new in the literary world? Write a list. I'm hungry and the fridge is empty. Definitely write a list...otherwise you end up buying ten thousand things that most probably will rot in the seven weeks that passed until you realized they were there. The brain stirs and stirs but still, the creativity is boycotting you. So, what to do?
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| Oatmeal cookies in the making |
I've come to the short conclusion that my creativity obstruction is stress. Yep...I am the epitome of walking stress. I get woken up, I get stressed(not to mention, downright maniacally angry), I forget the tiniest thing, I stress and if I run out of shampoo, God forbid. But what if my biggest stress relief relies heavily on the creative juices flowing? Well, it would seem I've reached an impasse.
When I am not baking, I usually spend my weekdays, running down the aisles of the several supermarkets I visit, looking for necessary ingredients or disturbing the work surge at my mother's office. Considering they're my second family and include me in all the activities, I in turn bake them goodies and provide the necessary distraction every work environment should prevent. Not that I'm a pest, don't get me wrong, but I'm the type of person who gets bored, sitting tight and monotonous for strenuous amounts of time. So why come here? It happens to be, that my mother's workplace is a bonfire for my creativity. Not only do I get my daily dose of required laughter, but I get to unwind after heavy baking days and the staff encourages one another to be better. Why pay for therapy, right?
While browsing around the web two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a very interesting article. Mind you, I was scouting for potential recipes to wreak havoc in my kitchen, but somehow I ended up reading "30 Challenges for 30 Days". Well, it would make sense as #7 encourages you to try out a new recipe each day. Anyhow, this article is a couple of years old, but the challenges set out aim to inspire personal growth. I particularly enjoyed posting this at Junior Achievement Honduras (my mother's office), as it serves as a creative output for all of us. Now, to be honest, I haven't followed the challenges to the dot, doing one every other day or so. I have several in mind that I want to fulfill, but my time has weird schedules, with impromptu baking and what not. I know, it's a lame excuse, but I am trying my best to do one properly. Time will tell if it did the job. What about you? Ready to give any of them a shot?
So back to baking...Last Monday I left you as I had lovely cookies and meringues in the oven that needed my attention. Glad to know they were a success with my customers. I had time to sit back and relax for a bit. Wednesday, my mother and I left quite early (7:00 a.m.) and drove the 3 hours it takes to reach San Pedro Sula, the industrial city of the country. While it turned into a very long day, as we came back in the evening, it was a fun, short road trip. My aunt is visiting us and we drove to pick her up. Thank the Lord the weather was in our favor for most of it, as driving in heavy rain in these highways is a rather scary task. I managed to catch lightning on camera during the brief thunderstorm that hit when crossing the valley of Comayagua.
I got home around 6:30 in the evening, not to unwind after the long day, but directly to the kitchen. I had a lovely Red Velvet cake to bake and I wasted not a minute to make it. With heavy eyes, I made my way to my beckoning bed and was out like a light. I delivered it the following day and received happy news on it. I visited my aunt and great aunt at the hospital, where she is doing much better. She had a brief operation yesterday, and she's slowly going to recuperate.
My brother arrived Saturday morning, and he'd requested a carrot cake. I contentedly obliged and I just enjoyed a well deserved, afternoon coffee accompaniment, piece. Another aunt came back yesterday from a short holiday and we had a long lunch enjoying one of my favorite Honduran dishes: Sopa de Mondongo. Hahaha, I laughed as I read this. The translation is Honduran Tripe Soup, according to the different menus I remember. Okay, okay, it sounds kind of nasty, but if you've tried it, you know I am not lying when I say it's absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I can see my non-meat eating friends making a rather disgusted face, but hey, it's a dish I grew up eating and there is no way I am letting it go. I felt a little like a glutton boa afterwards, but all of us had satisfaction in our faces. After a necessary nap, I baked a batch of the more popular lemon squares and then headed out to visit my great aunt at the hospital, where we stayed until visiting hours were over.
Sleep came easy last night and in no time the alarm was ringing, opening my eyes to a sunny Monday morning. The weather's been changing throughout the day and this afternoon, we're enjoying a sunny, part cloudy sky. I've received orders for the coming days and I'll head home later on to prepare some birthday desserts for tomorrow. And with this I take my leave. Make sure to try out the meringue recipe and let me know!!!
Until next time.
xx
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| Another Red Velvet beauty... I want pick those berries and eat them |
While browsing around the web two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a very interesting article. Mind you, I was scouting for potential recipes to wreak havoc in my kitchen, but somehow I ended up reading "30 Challenges for 30 Days". Well, it would make sense as #7 encourages you to try out a new recipe each day. Anyhow, this article is a couple of years old, but the challenges set out aim to inspire personal growth. I particularly enjoyed posting this at Junior Achievement Honduras (my mother's office), as it serves as a creative output for all of us. Now, to be honest, I haven't followed the challenges to the dot, doing one every other day or so. I have several in mind that I want to fulfill, but my time has weird schedules, with impromptu baking and what not. I know, it's a lame excuse, but I am trying my best to do one properly. Time will tell if it did the job. What about you? Ready to give any of them a shot?
 |
| Les Petite Meringues |
So back to baking...Last Monday I left you as I had lovely cookies and meringues in the oven that needed my attention. Glad to know they were a success with my customers. I had time to sit back and relax for a bit. Wednesday, my mother and I left quite early (7:00 a.m.) and drove the 3 hours it takes to reach San Pedro Sula, the industrial city of the country. While it turned into a very long day, as we came back in the evening, it was a fun, short road trip. My aunt is visiting us and we drove to pick her up. Thank the Lord the weather was in our favor for most of it, as driving in heavy rain in these highways is a rather scary task. I managed to catch lightning on camera during the brief thunderstorm that hit when crossing the valley of Comayagua.
I got home around 6:30 in the evening, not to unwind after the long day, but directly to the kitchen. I had a lovely Red Velvet cake to bake and I wasted not a minute to make it. With heavy eyes, I made my way to my beckoning bed and was out like a light. I delivered it the following day and received happy news on it. I visited my aunt and great aunt at the hospital, where she is doing much better. She had a brief operation yesterday, and she's slowly going to recuperate.
My brother arrived Saturday morning, and he'd requested a carrot cake. I contentedly obliged and I just enjoyed a well deserved, afternoon coffee accompaniment, piece. Another aunt came back yesterday from a short holiday and we had a long lunch enjoying one of my favorite Honduran dishes: Sopa de Mondongo. Hahaha, I laughed as I read this. The translation is Honduran Tripe Soup, according to the different menus I remember. Okay, okay, it sounds kind of nasty, but if you've tried it, you know I am not lying when I say it's absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I can see my non-meat eating friends making a rather disgusted face, but hey, it's a dish I grew up eating and there is no way I am letting it go. I felt a little like a glutton boa afterwards, but all of us had satisfaction in our faces. After a necessary nap, I baked a batch of the more popular lemon squares and then headed out to visit my great aunt at the hospital, where we stayed until visiting hours were over.
Sleep came easy last night and in no time the alarm was ringing, opening my eyes to a sunny Monday morning. The weather's been changing throughout the day and this afternoon, we're enjoying a sunny, part cloudy sky. I've received orders for the coming days and I'll head home later on to prepare some birthday desserts for tomorrow. And with this I take my leave. Make sure to try out the meringue recipe and let me know!!!
Until next time.
xx
Basic Meringues
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| Lil bites of heaven |
Ingredients:
Egg whites
Sugar
** cream of tartar
Preparation:
Now, as you observe, there are no preset quantities. This is because the quantities depend on how many meringues you wish to make and how big you want them to be. At school, we were taught to make three types of meringue: Italian, Swiss and French; and although they may all taste the same to you (I find them all too sweet, personally) they are all made differently. Some require the use of an acid, like cream of tartar to keep the egg whites from collapsing. It isn't always necessary. To make my sweet petite meringues, I used the Swiss Meringue method. This involved a 2:1 sugar to egg white ratio, a bain-marie and a standup mixer. You can whisk them by hand or use a handheld electric mixer, but it takes time and your hand will wish it would just fall off. So, regarding on the amount you wish to make, ready your ingredients, keeping in mind double the sugar for your amount of egg whites.
Preheat your oven to 215 C. Fix baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set up a bain-marie and place the mixing bowl atop. When the water simmers, measure your ingredients on the bowl and whisk until the mixture reaches between 30 to 40 C. Remove from heat and set up on the standup mixer. Beat to a stiff peak. Prepare a piping bag with an open star tip of your choice. I used a D7 nozzle (not too big, not too small). Pipe rosettes or roses, depending on the size you want. Depending on the size, bake for 1-2 hours, depending how dry you wish them to be. They'll be ready when you can remove them from the sheet easily.
If you have doubts, check this video out for some assistance.
**I piped 1" rosettes with a small peak. My quantities yield between 60-80 rosettes. 120 g egg whites/240 g sugar/no cream of tartar.
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