I could be getting up to date on the Winnipeg restaurant reports that I have piling up but I can’t stop dreaming of our upcoming time on Isla Mujeres. 

Maria

One of the most wonderful aspects about our precious Isla Mujeres is that islanders are known by their food specialties: there is Tony the Rib man, D’s favourite Juice man, Maria the Pepita lady and The Flan Lady.  We pass the latter on our walk to and from the zocalo.  She has a cart which she parks outside of her house and it is illuminated by a single light bulb.  I am more inclined to go for a coconut ice cream or lime Popsicle but for some reason, I can’t stop thinking about the flan lady.

Juice Man

I am quite certain that this is not the recipe that she follows.  This one comes from Cocina Islena, Recipes from the Kitchens of Isla Mujeres-a fund-raiser by PEACE Isla Mujeres:

“Flan is a recipe that dates back to ancient Rome.  It was during Roman times that domesticated chickens were first kept for laying eggs.  The Romans, with eggs in surplus, along with the Greek’s knowledge of the art of cooking, developed new recipes-one of which turned out to be this custardy misture known as flan.  It was originally a savoury dish (not sweet but similar to quiche fillings and frittatas).  Flan survived the fall of the Roman Empire, medieval times, and eventually was taken to the new world by the Spanish.  The Spanish version is sweet instead of savory, and is now especially associated with Mexico.

1 c sugar

12 oz. evaporated milk

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

3/4 c milk

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

2 t vanilla

1 c Media Crema (substitute: equal parts sour cream & heavy cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Make the caramel:  Have ready a deep 9 inch glass pie plate and a pair of oven mitts.  Pour the sugar into a small heavy saucepan.  Set it over medium-low heat until the sugar starts to liquefy and form clumps.  Stir slowly and constantly; the sugar will eventually liquefy completely and then begin to colour.  Pay careful attention to the caramel at this point; once it starts to colour, it will darken quickly.  Remove the pan from the heat when the caramel is the colour of a bright, shiny penny.  Scrape all the caramel into the pan, put on the mitts, and grab the pie plate firmly.  Carefully but quickly rotate the pan so the bottom and halfway up the sides of the plate are coated with caramel.  Set the prepared pan in a shallow roasting pan.

 Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, milk, eggs, yolks and vanilla in a blender jar.  Blend on a very low speed a few seconds, just until the eggs are blended,  Add the Media Crema and blend a few seconds, until smooth.  Let stand for 1 minute, and then skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

Slide the oven rack out halfway and set the roasting pan with the caramel-lined pie plate on the rack.  Pour the custard mix into the pie plate.  Pour enough water from the kettle to the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of the plate.  Bake about 1 hour until the centre of the flan is set.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature in the water bath.  Refigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

 To serve, centre a large plate over the flan and with one quick flip, invert the pan over the plate.  Give it a few seconds; the flan will slip right out of the mold and onto the plate.  Scrape any caramel left in the mold over the flan.  Serve chilled.  Serves 8.”

Kath’s quote: “Custard:  A detestable substance produced by a malevolent conspiracy of the hen, the cow, and the cook.”-Ambrose Bierce

Last week on twitter, when a follower thanked me for the black bean burger recipe, I mentioned that I had tasted these amazing brownies the night before.  This created a bit of a twitter flurry and I sought out this recipe to create a link for them.  Since then I have a hard time forgetting the taste or my amazement that they contained black beans.  Here is the the recipe with some of the hard to find ingredients already adapted.

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (canned is fine)

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ cup instant coffee

¼ teaspoon sea salt

4 large eggs

1½ cups liquid honey

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.  Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high.  Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely.  Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor.  Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth.  The batter should be thick and the beans smooth.  Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt.  Mix well and set aside.  In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the honey and beat well. Set aside. Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture.  Stir until blended well. Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup.  Mix well.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy.  Drizzle over the brownie batter.  Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set.  Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares.  (They will be soft until refrigerated.  Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies. 

Kath’s quote: “Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!”-Heinz slogan when it introduced the commercial version of ketchup in 1876

I have  connected with an old business acquaintance recently.  She and I have emailed and chatted on the phone for years and known of each each other for eons before that, but only met in person for the first time last week.  Isn’t life strange/wonderful that way?  We are now FB friends and I am getting to know another side of her life a bit better.  She recently sent me this recipe and although I have not yet made it, I know that it will be a hit.  The inclusion of salted cashews and beer, is why I am convinced.  Thank you Carolyn.

“Here’s a receipe that I love, and don’t pull out as often as I should.  Just made it tonight to take into the teacher’s tomorrow for Student Lead Conferences, and am glad that I made a little extra for myself!!

 2 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chooped green pepper

1 cup chopped onoin

3 cloves garlic, minced

Two 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (can use fresh)

One 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

One 19 oz can mixed beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

One 12 oz can of beer

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon tabasco

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup cashews (unsalted)

1 cup shredded swiss, mozzarella, or cheddar cheese

Heat oil. Add celery, green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Cook until tender.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, beans, raisins, vinegar, chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, cumin, allspice, pepper, tabaco, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil.  Simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours.

Stir in beer and cashews.  Return to boil.  Simmer uncovered 30 miutes or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaf.  Sprinkle cheese on top of each serving. Enjoy!”

Kath’s quote: “You can’t possibly ask me to go without having some dinner. It’s absurd. I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that.”-Oscar Wilde

This morning brings preparations for another fund-raising bake sale.  Lucky for Daughter #2, she has a baking beau.  The Frenchman made these tasty morsels for her to sell this morning.

 ¼ cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups flour

½ cup cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup margarine, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon nondairy creamer or soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda. Cream together the margarine, sugar, brown sugar and ½ cup peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in egg, soy milk and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. Batter will be thick. Form the dough into 32 balls and set aside.

For filling, stir together powdered sugar and ½ cup peanut butter. Shape this mixture into 32 balls also.

Slightly flatten each chocolate ball and top with peanut butter ball. Pull chocolate dough over peanut butter to cover completely and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 8 minutes or until just set. Cool on pan 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

Kath’s quote: “Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”-Charles M. Schulz

I was searching for recipes to fix for Sunday’s Grey Cup Game and my own blog entry came up!  I wrote this when the Olympics were on and we were all eating suppers in front of the TV.  I recommend making some crunchy bread from scratch for the dipping.

Pizza Fondu

This is a very simple and delicious comfort food to enjoy while watching a movie.  Serve with a side salad and a nice bottle of red wine.  Totally to die for.

 1 lb. Lean ground beef and/or Italian sausage

1 small onion

10 oz cheddar cheese (shredded/cubed)

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 ½ tsp fennel seed or Italian seasoning

Fresh cracked pepper

20 oz can of Meat or Spaghetti sauce

10 oz. mozzarella cheese (shredded/grated)

1 French baguette cut into 1” bite-size pieces.

Sauté the beef/sausage and onion until cooked and drain.  Now transfer to an electric fondue pot.  Add all seasonings, cheddar and sauce and stir well.  Turn onto medium to heat everything up and melt the cheddar cheese.  Once it’s all nicely warm and blended, add the mozza cheese and continue stirring occasionally until all bubbly and melty.  Stick your bread cubes onto fondue fork, dip, twirl and enjoy.

Kath’s quote:  “Do not move back and forth on your chair. Doing so gives the impression of constantly breaking, or trying to break, wind.”-Desiderius Erasmus (1466? – 1536)

Thanks again Wal.