eggs – M's Adventures

The Dove and the Eggs – Easter Treats

April 4, 2021M's Adventures

Easter, Pasquale, is the second biggest celebration for the Italians, after Christmas, and of course, there is special bread for the occasion. The Colomba, dove, is a bread that is shaped like a dove in flight (symbolizing the spirit in the holy trinity). It is a panettone baked in a four point shape. When I first saw the breads for the sale, I had no idea what it was supposed to resemble. I think it takes faith.

Eggs are big part of Easter because they were a part of the fertility goddess festival in honor of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of sex and fertility. Easter was superimposed upon this festival. From that celebration, we get the bunnies and eggs related to Easter.

The Italians also eat lamb at Easter as that is a Christian ritual. The Italians also eat pasta, as they do all year round, but Easter is about the breads. Another bread is the Casatiello, a savory crown (crown of thorns) shaped bread decorated with eggs (rebirth) on the top and with ham inside. Also, at this time, bakeries make small milk based yeast buns, Valtellina, which are my favorite.

The chocolate eggs are given on Easter Monday. Or so I’m told, but I can’t imagine that children, of any age, can wait that long.

Brunch in Lima – “Bronche”

July 15, 2018July 29, 2018M's Adventures

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An aside: I’m contributing a word to Peruvian Spanish: Bronche — to rhyme with Lonche. Brunch is a new entry in the Peruvian daily food schedule so the Peruvians call brunch “bruench” based on the gringo term. I think it would be cuter if they called it “bron-chay”to rhyme with their term for tea time. Just my suggestion… **** July 28, 2018**** I heard a waiter say this word today! And I have a witness!

For a late night culture, it’s a little odd that the Limenos haven’t embraced brunch yet. Most of the places that serve “Gringo style brunch” — eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and so on, stop serving breakfast food items before noon (this is utterly wrong because the essence of brunch is that breakfast items can be had until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Here are a few places (not hotel restaurants or American chain restaurants) that serve brunch… okay, the two places.

Homemade, Revett 259, Miraflores. Closed on Sundays. All food is homemade.

Las Vecinas, Domeyer 219, Barranco. All the food is homemade including the pasta on the lunch menu (which is available at noon during the same time as the brunch menu). Most of the food is healthy and organic. I’d like more grease.

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I will update this posting if I find any more places. Or a place that serves American style breakfast sausages.

Potatoes with fresh cheese from Las Vecinas

Cheesecake Recipe from King Arthur

September 23, 2017M's Adventures

z3rihusRpSnpD2mnBIthGTHDV6i4Wex565rojIGlmjegFmsjmCZSwaJjcYXerb2HcQQywPeJR_0KYe5qCXBqQyoBsOTojfCk0drquPbYLbpIg0uCX0FyTVRzUIcQigVAwIM90e826K1H_H1ZuxbN0qxDM9a8Qxb2m1wed0oXONHiOlHgu7FFTaSPDl As obsessions go, cheesecake is not one of mine. But, recently, I had a cheesecake that I actually liked. Here is the recipe from King Arthur’s Flour. I encourage you to read it out loud so you can enjoy saying “zwieback” — just because. Also, for the optional topping, I would simply cook some fresh berries with a bit of sugar. Keep it simple. Or serve fresh berries and not bother with making a sauce.

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs OR zwieback crumbs
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (1/3 cup) melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling

2 cups (2 large packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping (optional)

12 ounce bag frozen raspberries, a scant 3 cups
1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons Pie Filling Enhancer; use 1 tablespoon for a looser sauce, 2 tablespoons for thicker
pinch of ground cinnamon, optional

Instructions

Select a pie pan whose inside top dimension is at least 9″, and whose height is at least 1 1/4″. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the crust by stirring together all of the crust ingredients, mixing until thoroughly combined.
Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan, making a thicker layer on the bottom than on the sides.
Make the filling by mixing together the room-temperature cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, again mixing until smooth. To avoid beating too much air into the batter, use a mixer set at low-medium speed. To avoid lumps, make sure the cream cheese is softened, and/or at room temperature.
Set the pie pan onto a baking sheet, if desired; this makes it easier to transport in and out of the oven, and also protects the bottom of the crust from any potential scorching. Pour the filling into the crust.
Place the cheesecake in the oven. Bake it for 20 minutes, then add a crust shield; or shield the crust with strips of aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes (for a total of about 30 minutes). An instant-read thermometer inserted into the crust 1″ from the edge should read between 165°F and 170°F; the filling won’t look entirely set in the center.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool while you make the topping. Once the cake is cool, refrigerate it, covered, until you’re ready to serve it.
To make the topping, place the frozen raspberries in a bowl to thaw. You can hasten the process with a quick trip through the microwave, but don’t let the berries cook.
Add 1 tablespoon Pie Filling Enhancer, and stir until well combined. Is the topping as thick as you like? If not, stir in another tablespoon Pie Filling Enhancer.
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste. Stir in a pinch of ground cinnamon, if desired.
Spoon the topping over the cheesecake, and cut slices to serve. Alternatively, cut slices, and top each with a dollop of topping.

Happy, Healthy, and Educated Slum Kids – ABC Charity School

April 9, 2013M's Adventures

A toothbrush is a small sign of hope. But, at the Eglal’s ABC Charity School in Dhaka, the fact that the kids brush their teeth every day, get fed every day, and get an education every day — is a tiny sign of hope. The children at the ABC school all live in the slums of Dhaka. These children are lucky that they, once they get admitted to kindergarten, will receive a bilingual education, free health care, free lunch, daily showers, uniforms, toothbrushes, and mentoring through high school and, hopefully, beyond.

It only costs $250 to sponsor one kid for one year, and all the money goes to the school. The volunteer board, the volunteer teachers, and so on, do not take any of the money. There are a few staff who do get paid, but mostly the donations go directly to the education and welfare of the kids. While there are a plethora of charities to throw oneself into in Bangladesh. I chose this one. Visiting the school allowed me to see how little money it takes to provide a bit of protein and vegetables for a healthy mind. Food for thought.

Education in Bangla and English from kindergarten!

Another thought is how well run this place is without the bureaucracy. When the school and board members realized that some of the children (many who are being raised by one a single parent) had to leave school to go work, the school put into place an incentive which when paid to the family, keeps the kid in school. So basically the kid’s job is to go to school. How nice is that?

The school goes through the eighth grade, after which the children are place in high schools. These graduates come back to teach at the school when they themselves are not in school. One young woman says that her hope is to go on to university after which she wants to return to run the ABC school.

The ABC school was started about ten years ago by a teacher at the American International School Dhaka. She has returned to the U.S. but her students now have “pen pal” skype sessions with the slum kids of the ABC school. How cool is that?

One egg a day. The kids can eat more rice and vegetables but protein is expensive.

It is said that they more you give, the more you will receive. I hope that the kids at the ABC school get way more than I have given them.