Tag Archives: oil

Happy Valentine’s 2015!

Basically all my cookbooks and websites are “Americanized,” right? I can’t get the majority of ingredients favorite recipes call for, so I have to plan far in advance for treats like this.

I came back from our latest Stateside trip with white chocolate chips and cinnamon oil… we had already brought the Red Hots down. :) That’s how much I wanted to make these, I know I have funny priorities…

I didn’t change a thing from I had pinned ages ago. The cinnamon really “dies down” in the ocean of white chocolate so it shouldn’t be too spicy for anyone. It was a grand combination.

Hope you all have a great February 14th tomorrow and enjoy your loved ones to the max. xoxo

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high-altitude english muffins

When we first moved to South America at the beginning of 2009, I craved a lot of food we couldn’t get. Just random things, mostly sweets. :)

As the years go by, though, the craving more turned to missing. We miss a lot of things we can’t get in Quito. A lot of the healthier options the States has to offer being on top (I still miss certain candies and treats, of course!) and now certain baby items along with basic conveniences. Sure, we don’t have the temptation of a lot of the junk food USA has in abundance but we also don’t have a lot of healthy options either.

That’s okay. We make do. And we exercise, that also helps. ;) (Oh, don’t get me started on running at 9800 feet elevation…)

Anyway, it occurred to me one day that I could make English muffins, one of the items I used to buy way back when. Granted, we didn’t have whole wheat flour (we do now!!) when I first started making these, but no big deal.

These were completely legit. I’ve made them multiple times and they always work out so well here.

Funny thing is – my baker friend up in Oregon said they didn’t turn out as well at sea level, even after she made the called for adjustments.

Here’s the  with my re-wording of a few things that helped me “stay the course” better, but it’s not really adjusted from .

Note for those interested: I live at 9800 feet. It’s a testament to ‘s skill that these worked so well. :)

pumpkin swirl brownies

Looking Back: Originally posted on Nov 14, 2010.

Original post:

I started preparing these way too close to the time we needed to leave the house the other evening that I was scurrying around like a crazy lady trying to get them into the oven in record time.  I probably did set a record!!

I literally pulled them out of the oven, put them where the rest of the family couldn’t see them and left the house.  I didn’t get to enjoy them till the next morning, but it was worth the wait!

I borrowed the recipe from and adapted it slightly.

You can print it .

ribbon pumpkin bread

Looking Back: Originally posted on Nov 17, 2010.

This was a simple fun recipe I made a few years ago.

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high-altitude ginger molasses cookies

As I mentioned before, I tire of trying to adjust my own recipes to produce good results at high elevation, so I went on a hunt for a proven ginger cookie recipe. I’ll always save my mother’s for when I’m baking at sea level, but this I found is a phenomenal substitute.

How to describe how it tastes…?

In one word – CHRISTMAS. It tastes like Christmas, folks.

I didn’t adapt a single part of Mountain Mama’s . It’s that awesome.

Also, as she says and as I’ve tested out more than once, these freeze really well!

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roasted pumpkin seeds

Looking Back: Originally posted on Nov 5, 2010.

So, this was one of my most popular posts of all time. It was even featured on another  and I just had a lot of response! That makes it the most fun – when you make people happy with food you’ve created. :)

We even kept a tally in the house with all friends & family that came to visit over the next few days. I was curious to see which was the favorite flavor of these six recipes I created. Number Six won by a landslide… though that didn’t stop people from gobbling up the others!

You can print the six recipes by . I kept the portions small so you can make a variety of flavors if you want!