Pot pie

I heard the Happy Cow (Vaca Feliz) had prepared meals but no description of them. The woman brought two out of the freezer and I was surprised to see they were all pot pies. 100 pesos each but I had to try one. They have a list on top of the counter and one mentioned sourkrout and I thought it would have the most taste. Sadly there was no sign the sourkrout or anything else I recognized. I will say the crust was great. The first half I did in the oven thinking it wouls crisp the crust but it didn't turn out well. Last night I put this half in the microwave and forgot about it. I'll try the micro again today.

Lets make some bread

I've been working on this for a couple days and the first try was embarrassing, the second was a lesson and the third was decent but needs a lot of improvement. Talking while making attempts would have been like a certain woman in Melaque telling everyone she was quitting smoking and then she couldn't quit. Better just work on quitting and talk about it later. So I made some bread and quit smoking ;)

So the first one didn't rise and I have no idea. The second was way too wet and didn't rise much but it did make a couple of bricks. The third try was a lot drier, rose a lot and resembled a loaf of bread. What I found was parchment paper is heat resistant but not moisture resistant. The paper tears easily when damp and it stuck to the bottom of the loafs. So I'm thinking it's almost a moisture guide for the dough. Maybe an oiled pan but the paper makes it easy to transfer to the oven. Also think my old oven's temperature does not match the dial. A little hotter next time.

It's hard finding the right utensils and materials to work with in Melaque. I'm sure Manzanillo would offer more choices but I'll make do for now. I bought some plastic wrap and it was thinner than thin and totally stuck to itself. I had to throw it out and use a plastic bag. Can't find a good rubber/plastic spatula. No heavy all metal cookware. Pyrex like glass ware are all the wrong shape and size. My local small store had that bread knife and I think she sold it to me for 20 pesos because she'd had it for years and couldn't get rid of it.

Time to take a break for a couple days, maybe look for a few more things in Cihuatlan and try for a drier dough soon. Also need to find some yeast or levadura. I didn't bring a lot down from Seattle. Does corn meal exist here .... we'll see.

My bricks

Just mixed

Rise after 2 hours

Very edible with olive oil and balsamic vinegar 

More of my neighbors cooking

A few days ago my neighbor asked if she could use my oven (horno) and I assumed theirs didn't work or they didn't have one.   Many people use just a cook-top and don't have a full stove.  I told her sure but I haven't used it so unsure if it works (used stove).

Yesterday they wanted to bake a pastel or a cake .... and by her description it sounded like a sponge cake with a lot of other things thrown in.

They brought over a big metal pot covered with aluminium foil and I didn't really look inside.  I asked if they knew at what temperature and for how long and I assume they guessed at 200 for 45 minutes.   The oven did work and about an hour later they came back to check, decided it was good and time to pour the "agua" over it.  The "agua" consisted of sugar, Jamaica (hibiscus), cinnamon and maybe more.   Then back in the oven for another 20+ minutes.

When it came out and we tasted it I got a better description.   Toasted bread, tortas or maybe even tortillas ... anything bread like.  Fruit, raisins, coconut and nuts.   The "agua" was to give it flavor beyond sweet and keep it moist.   This morning I thought of "bread pudding", looked it up on the Internet and that's exactly what it was.   Recipes call for a preheated oven at 350 ... but my oven only goes to 305.   We must be on the metric system here and maybe 200 was correct.   Anyway it was good, I got a big plate and they enough to feed a large family.   Had to borrow the foto as my camera does not do well in low light.