Cocido con Leche

Well, the other day, I was craving something warm and delicious (it was freezing cold and snowing). So I thought about making some hot cocoa with toast or some delicious peppermint tea (which is one of my favorite cold-weather beverages). As I rummaged through the cupboards like a bear foraging for honey, I found that we had no hot cocoa and no peppermint tea. I was distraught—how in the world was I going to enjoy liquid heat coursing through my frigid extremities if I didn’t have any “hot drinks?” (did you catch the Word of Wisdom joke?) I suddenly realized that we had milk, sugar, water, and yerba mate (mah-tay)—all the essential ingredients to cocido con leche. It is a traditional Paraguayan drink, often consumed in the morning or when it’s cold. So I got out a pan, burned some of the sugar in the bottom of the pan and tossed in the yerba, toasted it a little too, and finally threw water into the pan. The brown, boiling sugar hissed angrily and began to dissolve and eventually, this green, grassy smelling concoction was boiling merrily. I turned off the stove, strained the brew in a cloth, and added more sugar and milk. My craving was soon to meet its doom. As I slurped the sweet ambrosia I had recently concocted, I felt the warmth return to my toes. Cocido con leche is the best!

Strawberries

In our family, one thing that we make whenever there is an impression to be made (fancy dinners, potlucks, etc.) is chocolate covered strawberries. I don't know why, but the Coleman's are famous for bringing chocolate covered strawberries to church events, having them at wedding receptions, and the like. I really don't know why everyone fusses over them so much, they're dirt simple to make. The secret is in using the biggest, juiciest strawberries you can find and bittersweet chocolate. Milk is OK if you must have milk chocolate, otherwise use bittersweet, or dark, chocolate.
To melt the chocolate for dipping, we use microwave-safe bowls.* You put the chunks of chocolate in, microwave for about 30 seconds. Its very important not to over-nuke the chocolate, or it will burn and you will have chunky chocolate (eesh). Stirring the chocolate after each time in the microwave and nuking in small increments will prevent this. Once the chocolate is sufficiently melted, simply dip the strawberries in and place on a foil lined jellyroll pan (make sure the foil is not wrinkled, or you will have trouble when you take the strawberries off). Also important to note is that you can only melt chocolate once and retain the same quality, so you need to work quickly! After a pan is full, place in the fridge to chill until set. Gently remove the strawberries by peeling off the foil. Serve decoratively!

*If you have a double boiler, this is the best way to melt chocolate and keep it melted throughout the dipping process

What do YOU eat?

Well, you know, I was thinking today, as I strolled down the aisles of the grocery store, very consciously about my food choices. There were all sorts of factors: personal taste, price, brand, nutritional value, and it made me wonder what is it that we as college students buy and eat most in our day-to-day lives. Today I bought a big Malt-o-Meal bag of frosted wheat things, bananas, a jar of peanut butter (crunchy) and a jar of raspberry jelly, milk, wheat bread and 5 packs of my newly-found favorite Ramen--Cajun Chicken. I thought about getting a little bottle of strawberry milk, but decided that my immediate bodily appetites could wait. Well, what I meant to get at through that Caufield-ish ramble is that I want to know what we eat at BYU. I am very interested to see your shopping lists, just out of an imperical curiosity. So, if you please, when you add comments, add this weeks shopping list too! Thanks!

First blog

I'm pretty sure this class is going to be fun. Food is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, so having a whole class about food is right up my alley. My favorite foods include sushi, pizza, root beer, chipa, chocolate, mate dulce, and ice cream (of course, not all at once!) Food is a very large part of all our family gatherings, from daily dinner with the family to the fabulous, festive feasts of the holiday season. This here is chipa, a delicious Paraguayan traditional bread made from cheese, flour, butter, cheese, eggs, and cheese. Mmmm, cheeserrific!