Cold Front

It has been said that a cold front will be affecting my current geographical location.

I have to get my coat out of the closet and let it ventilate. It hasn't been used in such a long time. But I doubt I will be using it. Here they tend to make a big fuss of weather forecasts... and almost 80% of the time, the opposite happens. So I'm not really expecting too much cold anyways. IT will be nice, for a change.

However, the wind... extremely strong. My desk is right in front AND next to 2 windows... And the wind is fiercely howling. I think I will have to put some music on so I can actually go to sleep and not have to worry about the WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOing that is now constantly roaring next to me. I'm actually somewhat afraid to move the blinds aside and look out the window in the overwhelming darkness of night....

Christmas wishlist....fulfilled

I think I hadn't been this excited about my Xmas gifts since I believed in Santa Claus... Case in point, I have absolutely no complaints. My new additions are:

A lovely silicone rolling pin, which lets you roll out dough without it sticking to the pin. The cool thing is, you have minimal need of flour to prevent sticking, thus your pastry turns out very tender. I just wish I had gotten it before Xmas so I could've used it for my cookies. Oh well. I'm still happy I got it! If you'd like to get one, you can go here (yes, it's one of my favorite stores in the world) or here.


I've been dying to get a Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer...since I don't know how long. And thankfully, my wish has come true. The cool thing is, it's digital...it also has a super slow speed so you don't make a mess with the initial beating, it also has enough power to mix a very thick batter, such as cookie dough! And also, a set of red color-matching melamine mixing bowls, courtesy of Williams-Sonoma. And what can I say, I simply love Kitchen Aid products Some women go crazy about clothes, shoes, handbags. I go crazy about kitchen tools, gadgets, appliances... Have you noticed?

I also got a mini food chopper , which I like for chopping nuts, or hard candy so it doesn't all go flying across the chopping board and counter. The food processor chops too much, so this is pretty good. Also good for an arm workout from all that pushing down.




A pajama set, with T-shirt, pants and shorts, with cute penguins. Very comfy and cozy.

The complete series of My So-Called Life in a DVD box set. I can finally throw away the VHS tapes I recorded... The show takes me back to junior high school, plaid shirts, lumberjack or combat boots, rock concert T-shirts, etc. Teenage angst is deliciously painful-sweet-funny-sad, especially in the nineties.

And to top it all off, I was given a Panini Press from a friend who received one for Xmas, and she gave me the "old" one. Granted, the "old" one is only 1 year old and has been used very few times.

A dear dear friend also sent me a very sexy and very cool blue top, which I hope I can use in a few months, once I lose the holiday weight.

Before I finish this show-off list, I also have to thank J for her gift. Initially, it was a Birthday gift, but it ended up arriving in December instead. I now also have a snowman cake and snowman muffin silicone pan set, a huge Baking handbook binder with all sorts of neat things, and the DVD of one of my favorite movies.

Jess, me hiciste la Navidad antes de que fuera Navidad. THANKS!!

I hope all of you also got what you wanted for Christmas...

Recovered

Bueno, after sleeping in late (at last), I feel refreshed now. New Year's Eve celebration was quite dull. I've never been a fan of that party. But oh well. I played along with the grapes (which I could not finish eating because I was so full from dinner), the hats, the noisemakers and the hippocritical kiss and hug, mostly with people I'm not really close to. But anyways.

I haven't uploaded the cookie pictures yet. I'm waiting for my computer memory to arrive. I do love this about this country... You can buy ANYTHING by mail, and it actually arrives!! Mexican postal service is so unbelievably BAD. Yesterday I was told by a friend, that he JUST RECEIVED a postcard I sent back in NOVEMBER. Hello?!?!?! The Xmas card I sent him will be arriving by Easter!

Anyways, after my rant about the Crappy postal service over there.., I was trying to convey that I'm awaiting for computer memory for my dear old iBook. I also got an upgrade to the operating system so I can actually use the iPod I got as a gift.

Speaking of which, I must show off my Christmas gifts. I must've been so very good this year...

I'm so tired

After 4 days of intensive cookie making (mixing the doughs, chilling, packing, shaping, cutting, thawing, rolling in sugar, baking, cooling, packing, mixing colors in frosting, decorating, counting, packing again in pretty vessels...along with heating up food for Nochebuena, setting tables, cleaning my kitchen, washing lots of bakeware and gadgets, gift-shopping, gift-giving, AND sleeping 4 hours a day for 3 days in a row, I can finally say Christmas is officially over this year, and I am totally wiped out.

My whole body aches, lower back, upper back, neck, shoulders, FEET!!!!!!, eyes, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!

But I do confess, the joy I feel when someone really enjoys what I baked, is a wonderful feeling.

I realized today, after packing little Christmas paper plates with cookie samplers (more on that in the following posts), I missed my friends so very much. Especially when I was decorating Gingerbread men, just like I had done with my friends some years ago. That was so much fun...

Friends, I miss you all terribly... I hope you all had a lovely and happy Christmas.

I hope I can finally sleep in. Although....tomorrow I need to deliver those cookies, or they will get stale if I take too long.

This is what happens

after being sucked in by American consumism...along with a dash of kookiness, a touch of simplistic humor, and a so-so attempt at amusing the people I love, since it's impossible for me to do it face to face.


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1745823581


UPDATE: They say after January 1, the website no longer works, but perhaps by chance, you'll still be able to see me dressed like an elf, dancing and singing "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas"

What holiday food am I?

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

The dessert I'm most like is a....

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

Christmas is coming

So, here we have some lovely cookies, recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping Magazine (la versión súper chafa de Kena). This was my first try with this recipe, and I was very satisfied with how they turned out.... Light, crumbly, buttery goodness, not too sweet, not too spicy, just enough to be savored with a cup of tea.



Cranberry-Orange Spice Cookies ...just click there to see the recipe.


Althought, I must say... I think mine turned out even cuter than the one in the website. My colored sugar was a Holiday color mix, so it had white, red and green sugar crystals...ultra fine size. Courtesy of Target's Dollar aisle. Well, not courtesy, cause I paid for it.





Anyways.

I also made these peppermint twist cookies. The dough is basic sugar cookie with peppermint flavoring in it. White side has chopped peppermint candies mixed in, the red just has (lots of) red food coloring.



They turned out well. Not as visually attractive as I expected (well, it's not easy to get your food to look like the one in the magazine), but they tasted well and it was something different.

Recipe said to glaze them with confectioner's sugar mixed with milk (and I added peppermint extract even though it didn't call for it). But I left some unglazed cause I was afraid they'd be too sweet.



I like them better without the glaze cause the red looks redder.


But taste-wise, the glaze improves the texture and flavor.


Last week I tried another new recipe (Guava-Cornmeal Thumprints), but I ate the cookies before I took pictures...oops. They were so tasty, and, well, in my defense, the recipe only yielded like 2 dozen cookies. Bite-sized cookies. And my mother also had some. So I guess I can say I ate a dozen. Well, not in one sitting. Ok, enough rambling. I´ll be making them again for my Xmas gifts (which will be assorted cookies) and if I remember, I´ll take a picture of those too.

Oh, how I miss my friends....

Happy Halloween!!!

Espero que se la hayan pasado muy bien y que no se hayan resfriado.

This is my jack'o'lantern. It doesn't look much like Jack, and it doesn't have much of a lantern inside, but it works. I had a busy day, so I carved the pumpkin in aproximately 26 minutes -- When trick or treaters were already starting to ring the door. Turned out pretty well, didn't it?

Sorry for the bad pictures. I´ll see if I can fix them, but in the meantime take a look....

In the land of plenty

Estoy aquí, en la tierra de las opciones, lo cuál, a su vez, crea oportunidades y momentos. Let me elaborate.

Vamos al súper a comprar pan tipo "bimbo", de caja, pues.

Primero, tienes que decidir de qué tipo de harina quieres el pan:

Blanco, integral, de avena, multigrano, 7 granos, 11 granos, de papa, de pasas con canela, de "sourdough", de centeno, de centeno con pumpernickel, honey wheat, etc..

Segundo, escoge la sub-categoría del tipo de harina:

Integral "ligero" (supongo que es con poco trigo integral, vs. mucho trigo integral? o quizás se refiere a la cantidad de fibra, no sé), harina sin blanquear, trigo con cáscara, trigo sin cáscara, integral blanco, trigo molido grueso, trigo molido fino, trigo suave, etc.

Tercero, escoge si lo quieres de una marca en particular o marca libre.

Hay muchas marcas, que no he contado, pero les digo que el pasillo del pan es súmamente largo....

Cuarto, escoge la sub-sub-sub categoría que no sé cómo clasificar...es decir,

Si lo quieres "normal", bajo en carbohidratos, sin azúcar, sin grasa, sin conservadores, para fiesta, para niños, para la mujer (wtf), orgánico, natural, tradicional, old-fashioned, etc.

Y por último, quinto, escoge si lo quieres tamaño familiar, regular, dos por uno, etc.



Y así es con todo. O casi todo. Lo cuál, por un lado está chido... Me gusta tener opciones que antes no tenía. Recuerdo cuando sólo había 2 marcas (bueno, ok, ahora ya hay como 4? Uuuy! Jajaja.....aquí fácil son 10 marcas) Bimbo y Wonder (y lo peor del caso es que Wonder pertenece a Bimbo...). Y comprabas blanco o integral, y era un solo tamaño. Cierto, los tiempos han cambiado mucho, con la globalización y las exigencias de los consumidores. Still, aquí las opciones a veces son, pues, hm, overwhelming.

10 minutos para decidir qué pan comprar porque apenas te tardas 5 en leer todas las etiquetas rápidamente... Por supuesto que al principio, pues ni p. idea. Así que a probar pan se ha dicho. Creo que luego de 4 meses, ya sé cuál pan de caja prefiero. Excelent progress.

Además, estando en clima tropical (con todo y aire acondicionado), si dejas el pan "afuera", sobre el mostrador o lo que sea, las colonias de moho crecen a velocidades sorprendentes, y en 2 días, tienes que tirarlo a la basura. Así que lo tienes que refrigerar, lo cual no me fascina porque pierde humedad, y por ende la suavidad se ve brutalmente afectada. La única solución es tostarlo. Adiós a los sandwiches de fiesta, los cuales infaliblemente se te pegaban al paladar.

Anyways, luego de balbucear y analizar el pan bimbo, a lo que trataba de llegar es a ésto:

Tengo muchas opciones de ingredientes, sabores y colores. Lo cual me conduce a querer hacer todas las recetas de pasteles, galletas y demás que antes no podía hacer porque dicho ingrediente no lo había en México.

Pero me encuentro con el grave problema de que, aunque cuento con una variedad extensa de ingredientes, no cuento con la variedad de amigos y amigas dispuestas a probar los experimentos. Aquí todo el mundo está a dieta....including yours truly. Así que no es como que puedo ir con mis conocidos a repartir comida.

This is what Life's unfairness is all about.

Ahora que tengo posibilidades para experimentar, me falta el ingrediente principal: Ustedes.