Heating It Up

The other day, my senora's daughter-in-law, who now lives with us, asked me if I like to bake. Do I like to BAKE?! She wanted to learn a traditional American recipe, so naturally I suggested chocolate chip cookies. We got to work in the kitchen on Friday morning.

Here's how it went down: My senora's grandson is gluctose-intolerant, so we substituted fructose for brown sugar and granulated sugar. There was no vanilla to be found in the house (nor were there measuring cups -- although the measurements were in grams and cucharadas, anyway). Tragically, there were no Toll House chocolate chips, either. We used... pumpkin seeds and some chunks from a milk chocolate bar. Did I mention that the oven is temperamental? You'll be happy to know that I didn't take pictures. Later that day I spent about 25 minutes in the basement of the main Corte Ingles supermarket searching for "pepitas de chocolate." Better luck next time!

This morning, we prepared a tried-and-true recipe: Blini, or "Russian pancakes." They were thin and small and delicious (justification for eating a ton) -- just like silver dollars from the Quaker Diner! It was the perfect time to break out the maple syrup that I brought from home. A true breakfast of champions, if I do say so myself!