Pandebono Valluno

I'm sure most of you are not familiar with the term pandebono, so I will begin by explaining exactly what it is. Made out of corn flour, cassava, eggs, and cheese, a pandebono is a small, crunchy bread. Very common in the colombian city of Cali, I practicaly grew up eating these. This is a more personal, sentimental one, but I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy exploring it.

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow masarepa (precooked cornmeal)

1/2 cup tapioca (cassava, yuca) flour

2 cups grated farmer's cheese, or queso fresco

2 eggs

2 teaspoons sugar

salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix the two flours and the sugar in a bowl.

3. Stir in the grated cheese and the eggs. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Taste for salt, and add salt as needed. (Some farmer's cheeses are saltier than others).

4. Knead dough until smooth. If the dough seems too dry, add a few teaspoons of water.

5. Roll dough into balls that are slightly larger than golf balls. Or shape dough into small bagels. The rolls do not have to be perfectly smooth - they will puff up in the last several minutes of baking.

6. Place rolls on a greased cookie sheet and bake, about 20 minutes or until golden in color and puffed.

7. Serve warm.

Classical: Chocolate

A complete classic I know, but I must accept it is one of my all-time favorites. It might be because I’m a girl or simply because I’m alarmingly addicted to sugar, but I haven’t found anything more soothing and comforting than a piece of chocolate fudge cake. Here’s an easy way to make your own.

Ingredients

1 + 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dutched/dark)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup (220 g) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) milk or water
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) vegetable oil (flavorless)
2 eggs

Ingredients for frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) + 3 tablespoons (160 g) softened butter
3 cups (7.2 dl) powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 5 tablespoons lukewarm milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C)
2. Grease a 9 inch (23 cm) cake tin.
3. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl.
4. Add milk/water, vegetable oil and eggs.
5. Mix everything together until smooth, either by hand or by using an electric mixer at slow speed. If the batter is too runny you may add slightly more flour.
6. Transfer to bake tin and bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.
7. After the cake has cooled, slice the cake through the middle to make two layers (easier if the cake has been in the fridge).

Frosting

1. Cream the softened butter with powdered sugar in a bowl. Add cocoa, vanilla and 4 tablespoons lukewarm milk, and mix until smooth. Do not over-mix. If necessary, add some more milk.
2. Use one 1/3 of the frosting between the two layers, 1/3 on top, and the rest around the cake.
3. This cake should have room temperature when served.

Haven't, and will never get enough of it so I hope you enjoy yours too!

Scopes Trial

The Holy Bible might be sacred, but not because of that must we take it word by word. Like Darwin said: “The Bible is a book. It’s a good book, but it is not the only book.” Inherit the wind. I must begin by clearing out that I am a firm believer in God. Nevertheless, I am aware and can easily tell the difference between believing in God and belonging to a certain religious institution. To believe in God, one must only accept the existence of a supreme, divine power that overrules the universe. On the other hand, an institution such as the Catholic Church demands its followers to accept a series of other traits and consequentially apply them. The acceptance of the Bible as the Lord’s will, and therefore follow its content word by word form a part of a devotee’s tasks. This point, however, is the easiest to debate on. Aside from the fact that the Bible was written and put together a long, long time ago and thus customs have obviously changed, it is a rather controversial piece, in my opinion, due to its various contradictions. To start off, I would like to point out a particular story that I found to be both disturbing and shameless; the story of Lot and his daughters. If we literally look at it, word by word, we can obviously observe what was going on. Unable to find any sentimental partner, Lot’s daughters decide to lie with their old father. Besides, they make him drink wine first in order to have him in a drunken state. How would such an act be perceived in modern society?

I would like to restate, however, how the Bible may indeed be applied into one’s life in an orderly manner. It is in fact a good book; one filled with values teachings that if interpreted in the correct way may contribute to the development of one’s character. Because of this, I’d argue the idea of taking the Bible’s content word by word, accepting its literary meaning, and would rather propose that it be taken as a guide, just another tool in building one’s values and moral.

Honey honey how you thrill me...

Okay so this is the first recipe I will post that was actually created by me! Exciting huh? It is just a simple breakfast option that I find marvelous and hope yo do so too. It is actually my own way of preparing it, since I discovered it had been previously made, but here it is:Honey toast!


Ingredients:

2 slices of bread
Butter
Spoonful of honey

Instructions:

Gently place the butter over the bread slice, making sure to cover it up completely. Then pour the honey on top of but be careful to put just the right amount. Careful not to put too much, or it will lose the essence of it. The idea is to have just a little honey to give the toast a sweet, delightful taste.

I've found it to be a fast, tasteful option for breakfast, specially on school days when I have to rush through breakfast. I wish I could add a little more flavors to it however, so I'll maybe try some cinnamon on it someday.

Hmm blue cheese

Here's a recipe I tried a while ago and absolutely loved... Blue Cheese Risotto!

Ingredients:
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2-3 slices bacon (2 ounces), diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup (4 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
White pepper to taste

Instructions:
Pour chicken stock into a saucepan and heat over low. Do not boil. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until gently browned. Remove bacon and set aside.
Add butter and onion to bacon drippings in pan and cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 1 minute. Add rice and continue cooking and stirring for 2 more minutes. Add white wine to deglaze pan. Add enough warm chicken stock to cover rice completely. Cook, stirring constantly, until most of liquid is absorbed.
Repeat this process, adding just enough liquid each time to cover the rice, until it is creamy and tender but still has just a hint of resistance when you bite into it --- about 30 minutes. You will use most or all of the chicken stock.
Remove from heat. Stir in reserved bacon and the blue cheese until cheese is melted. Season with white pepper.
Allow risotto to sit 10 minutes before serving. It will thicken as it cools.



I must say the blue cheese gives it a sophisticated touch and a strong flavor, and even though I'm not a fan of either one of those characteristics, I was fascinated. I hope to try it someday and am eager to know how it goes for you! Have fun!!!

Cooking Frezy

So I was watching TV last night and “accidentally” landed on a culinary channel. Why did I stay tuned? I’m not sure, but I did… So as I explored what it was all about I began to notice how interesting and elaborate this could actually be. Besides, it would be great for a blog topic. Not that I want to focus completely on it, I would just like to let you know that every now and then a new recipe will be posted. It might be either a book-chosen recipe or one I completely made up.

Whatever, the case is don’t be surprised if I suddenly begin to blog about this amazing recipe I just tried, or how awful I felt after trying a new one. Oh, and by the way, be sure to expect a little something extra on where I got it, why I did, what’s rare about, and even what feelings it wakes up inside me!

Road trip, WOOHOO!

Who's excited about this weekend? I am! I'm finally going on a trip with a perfect combination; friends, guys, road trip, motorcycles! And all I have to say is: high speed, adrenaline, no sleep, long talks, here I come! After a careful planning agenda, we will be finally leaving on Saturday, a little early in the morning for me, at about 8 am for a two-wheeled adventure.

We will head towards Villa de Leyva, located approximately 3 hours away from Bogotá, which is a somewhat large, colonial town. I've been there before and it is a rather magical place. A clear colonial, mysterious mood fills the environment. You can almost feel like the place just froze in time. As if nothing has ever changed since a century ago. These characteristics make it the amazing place it is, attracting more and more tourists each year. Thus, we didn't have a hard time when the time came to choose a location.

A group of my friends have an extraordinary hobby; motorcycling. I must say I'd love to do so myself )if it was somehow possible). But since I can't, I have them! On every opportunity I have, I join them on one of their trips, where an adrenaline rush is part of the take-list. How could I reject such an invitation? I didn't hesitate, not even for a second. Be sure and expect a detailed summary of how it all went, and in the meantime keep checking for updates.