Tag Archives: vanilla

Breakfast

high-altitude glazed cinnamon scones

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As usual, I have included the original sea level notes in my printable recipe below, so this is for everyone!

Just to give you a little picture of what’s happening at the moment… I’m currently sitting at my computer, feeling the floor (and maybe the walls) literally shake. If you have ever lived in South America, you probably have experienced their version of partying. It’s almost 10:00, it started over an hour ago and it will probably go on for a couple more hours at least. Someone (I don’t know if just a neighbor or if the guards were called) is banging repeatedly on their door but to no avail. Besides the cultural differences which has been already written about in many books, I think I have just always been an old soul. How does anyone have the energy to scream and stomp and scream and cheer and holler and dance for so many hours to music crashing through most floors of this tall apartment building?

Update later: the party lasted almost 5 hours and multiple people tried to get them to stop. I didn’t call the guards because I knew it was futile, but I would have if they had woken the baby. Thank goodness they didn’t. He and Mike slept like…babies. ;) This is different than when we lived in Arequipa, Peru – we were told by our neighbors (after other neighbors partied all night) that if one called the police, the police would tell the “guilty” who called them. This would endanger them depending on the situation so no one ever called. Everyone partied and everyone hated it, haha! 

Oh goodness, that has NOTHING to do with these amazing breakfast scones, but I am having a hard time concentrating. :)

These really were amazing! Especially with a steamy cup of coffee right next to it.

I adapted it for high-altitude and it actually worked well the first time! Usually at 9800 feet elevation it takes multiple tries, if ever, to get dough recipes to rise (or not collapse) properly.

I’m really falling more and more in love with the website. It really does share terrific financial tips, recipes, and so much more. You can thank for these scones!

 for the printable recipe.

Sweets: Cookies & Bars

pumpkin swirl brownies

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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 .

Sweets: Pies & Cakes

classic pecan pie

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Looking Back: Originally posted on Oct 16, 2012.

Original Post:

It’s been a while since I shared a recipe and here is a classic!  It’s officially Autumn and we are socially free to make soups, stews, pumpkin & pecan pies, and so much more.

But I should probably admit to you that I made this in August.  ;)  If I have ANY time at all this Fall, when we’re not traveling, I have so many soups that are calling my name.  We’ll see about them…but for now, here is a very traditional recipe for super sweet Pecan Pie.  It was actually the first pecan pie I’d ever made and was pleased with the results.  The crust edge was also an experiment and I wasn’t as thrilled with that idea’s turnout, but hey you have to try to know!

Print the recipe .  Although I miss the warmth already and my frozen fingers feel numb typing this, I DO enjoy pulling my boots back out and cooking fall-y dishes. :)

Sweets: Breads & Muffins

non-vegan vegan pumpkin muffins

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Looking Back: Originally posted on Feb 22, 2011.

Weird title? Yes, well, I really wanted to try this recipe I found which happened to be vegan and I didn’t have “vegan chocolate chips” and other items, so this is just slightly adapted to what I had in my pantry!

It was very well-received by the husband and his football buddies over watching the Oregon game. I don’t say that to say, “look how good a baker I am…” but rather to remind myself of the details of the day I made these.  ;)
See my About page about why this blog even exists. 

 

For the true vegan version, where I found this recipe.

Here’s a  of what I did!

Sweets: Breads & Muffins

white chocolate & pecan pumpkin muffins

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Looking Back: Originally posted on Nov 12, 2010.

From the original:

I badly wish I could just transfer the smell of these muffins through my computer to yours.  Even if you don’t like the muffins (which would be difficult to believe), you would love the smell.

I often make tiny adjustments for our own taste preferences, but  was perfect…well, I made mini ones instead of regular, but that’s the only change I made.  You can check it out or just go straight to printing .

P.S. If you have a door to your kitchen, lock it.  I literally didn’t have all the muffins out of the tray yet before 3 people had eaten them.

Sweets: Cookies & Bars

cherry pie bars

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I mostly use Pinterest for recipes. I’ve pinned and saved and laughed at and remembered many other things on the popular website, but the majority of my time on it is for culinary purposes.

Problem is, when you live in Ecuador, you can’t find half the stuff in the recipes! Oftentimes, I can make things homemade (i.e. cream of chicken soup, pie crusts, french fried onions, etc) but you just can’t do everything!

Ever since I saw for Cherry Pie Bars, I craved cherry pie. We even took a trip to Otavalo with my 2-week old baby to check out a pie shop we had heard of. (No cherry but amazing blueberry!)

Needless to say, this was on my list to make when I made it back to the States. And it soothed the craving well. :)

!

Sweets: Desserts

queso helado arequipeño

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Looking Back: Originally posted on Feb 17, 2011

Verbatim from the original post:

It has been a COLD last several days here.  Not only that, but after receiving our first electricity bill since 9 months ago, our mouths gaped open and we turned down the heat even more.  I spend my days in at least 3 shirts, sometimes 4 – two of which are usually a thick sweater AND a heavy hooded sweatshirt.  A little crazy, right?

Well, I suppose there’s something even crazier…as you can see, I made ice cream.  It wasn’t on a whim and it wasn’t because I was needing a cool-off.  There actually was a reason for making it, but still – what kind of crazy person makes ice cream on a wet and frigidly cold Oregon day in the middle of winter?

I guess me.

So, my friend Erica asked us to help with her kids’ missions lesson on Peru this month.  Long story short, this was the reason I made Peruvian ice cream – for the children!  It is called Queso Helado Arequipeño, which literally means Cheese Ice Cream from Arequipa (the city we lived in).

Don’t worry, there is no cheese in it, although I’m not so sure how bad that would be?

 

It was fun to mess with the kids just a little bit, along the lines of “fear factor,” by pretending that this ice cream was really made from cheese.  We dared them to try it, and after the first one did [and loved it] they all suddenly were brave enough to try it, too.

I never perfected my Spanish vocabulary in the “food” realm so when I asked my dear friend Lely for her recipe, I definitely had to look up some words to make sure!  But, alas, I have it properly translated for you in an easy format.  And it’s authentic because she is, of course, Peruvian!

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Make sure you turn up the heat to enjoy this…or save it for the summer!

Note #1: For any of you who are mostly lactose intolerant (or just want to be), I actually made this with Lactose-Free milk and it turned out well!

Note #2: Have I mentioned how much I love my kitchen scale?  It’s just fun.

And, last but not least, check out  I found on YouTube to watch the more authentic way of making Queso Helado.  You can find these ladies in many places around Arequipa, Peru!

Snacks & Appetizers

granola bars

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Looking Back: Originally posted on Jun 1, 2011.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, . I still use it occasionally, but living in Ecuador has quite a few limitations as to what ingredients you can actually find here (story on that another time, another day perhaps).

When I originally posted this, I had all sorts of comments suggesting other ingredient types to fill that last line on the recipe. Now that this recipe has resurfaced, I’m looking forward to trying again with a different combination of goodies!

Print the recipe here: 

 

Sweets: Cookies & Bars

high-altitude oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

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For years I’ve tried to adjust my own “tried & true” recipes for high-altitude. They work so beautifully at sea level but at the elevation we live at, I can’t ever seem to perfect them with the suggested adjustments.

Well, I got tired of flat cookies and other issues related to living at 9800 feet (yes, that number is correct…oof). So I searched out a brand new recipe that someone had had success with. And is what I found.

It really worked! It was so fun having “normal” cookies to serve guests who came over later that day.  Now if I can just import in a suitcase full of chocolate chips, we’ll be good…

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P.S. Really do use parchment paper if you have it. It’s not available here (except sometimes in a fancy store for outrageous prices) so I used greased foil. It helps but the cookie bottoms darken quickly, so watch them!