The Mixing Bowl: Dutch Almond Cake by Alja and Her Mom

Today my friend Alja is kind enough to be sharing her mother's delicious recipe for almond cake. Alja and her family moved from The Netherlands to the States when she was five and although she's been living in the U.S. for many years now, deep down, she'll always been a Dutch girl at heart. Every now and again she'll bring a special Dutch treat into the office, like these bread sprinkles or the almond cake, and I get super excited! What's really great about this cake is that it looks so unassuming, but, man, is it packed with a lot of yummy almond flavor. So humble and simple, sort of like modern Dutch architecture. :-) Thanks, Alja!

You can find the complete recipe after the jump.


From Alja: My mom can make this cake half asleep, and I think she sometimes does. try it with a little real whipped cream!

1 stick butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
dust of salt
1/2 lb. almond paste

Melt butter, add sugar and egg, mix. Separately, mix flour and powder, add to ingredients. Fork in almond paste. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Nek - Laura No Está (Radio Vocal Version) (1997)


Nek - Laura No Está (Radio Vocal Version) (1997)
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Deborah Cox - Just Be Good To Me (Johnny's Vicious Radio Edit) (1996)


Deborah Cox - Just Be Good To Me (Johnny's Vicious Radio Edit) (1996)
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El Simbolo - 1,2,3 (Extended Version) (1998)


El Simbolo - 1,2,3 (Extended Version) (1998)
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Wyclef Jean - It Doesn't Matter (Feat. The Rock & Melky Sedeck) (2000)


Wyclef Jean - It Doesn't Matter (Feat. The Rock & Melky Sedeck) (2000)
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Us3 - Tukka Yoots Riddim (Morsy Mix) (1993)


Us3 - Tukka Yoots Riddim (Morsy Mix) (1993)
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Sonia & Selena - Yo Quiero Bailar (Radio Version) (2001)


Sonia & Selena - Yo Quiero Bailar (Radio Version) (2001)
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Aqua - Roses Are Red (Disco 70' Mix) (1996)


Aqua - Roses Are Red (Disco 70' Mix) (1996)
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Simply Red - Remembering The First Time (Cool Disco Mix) (1995)


Simply Red - Remembering The First Time (Cool Disco Mix) (1995)
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Robin S - Love For Love (Radio Edit) (1993)


Robin S - Love For Love (Radio Edit) (1993)
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Pet Shop Boys - Before (Single Mix) (1996)


Pet Shop Boys - Before (Single Mix) (1996)
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Miss Jane - It's A Fine Day (ATB Radio Edit) (2000)


Miss Jane - It's A Fine Day (ATB Radio Edit) (2000)
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Meanstreet Boys - Last Train To London (Rmx '96) (1996)


Meanstreet Boys - Last Train To London (Rmx '96) (1996)
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Dr. Alban - It's My Life (Raggadag Remix) (1992)


Dr. Alban - It's My Life (Raggadag Remix) (1992)
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Alliance Ethnik - No Limites (Album Version) (1999)


Alliance Ethnik - No Limites (Album Version) (1999)

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Good Beach Bad Beach

El sabado fuimos a una playa bonita. This photo captures the sort of day it was; blue sky, blue sea, blue shoes. Gijon is a lovely city with a good beach.
Hawaii on the other hand, has some truly terrible beaches. This picture nicely sums up some of the dangers of the decieving American paradise.

Asturias 1 , Hawaii Nil.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Yesterday it was the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The winner was Germany (Alemania))and its singer was Lena Meyer. The title of the song was Satellite.
She didn't sing in German, she sang in English.Spain with its singer Daniel Diges was on the fifiteenth position.
Listen to the winner's song:

El Domingo. Roast chicken and Angry Rodents.

Upon crossing the river on our way to the market we were greeted by the smell of roasting chickens. Unfortunately, this photo doesn´t do justice to the magical contraption that stood before us. It was a sizeable, silver truck gleaming in the Sunday sun. One of its sides had been opened up, revealing doors lined with rotating poultry. Magical, I thought to myself.

"Lets buy lunch" said Berta.

We sat on a bench by the waters edge and didn´t use any cutlery.

On returning to the resi, our calm sunday became somewhat more dramatic. Newton was having a moment and had decided he would jump into the shower or recycling bin using all his ferrety cunning and might.
He shot out from under the sofa and tried to jump on my head.

Ana had to pin him to the ground good ol fashion cop style.

I finished the day by rewatching ´500 days of Summer´ which I have now decided I like a lot.

Snapshots de la vida

What have I spied these past few days? An assortment of curious and beautiful things...

In Gijon I found Picasso lurking in a grubby doorway. Fix up Pablo!

In Gijon I saw this hombre having a musical moment whilst caminando. I like that this picture captures kerstin and the bloke in the car staring at him too.

Nuestro desayuno el sabado pasado. Churros and chocolate in VALOR. Valor is a chain of churrerias and has an air of English tearoom about it. I like.

People that dress and look like their pet dogs should win prizes.
We stumbled across a German beer festival in an abandoned bull ring. The air rang with 80´s music and smelt like barbequeing meat. Surrounding the main tent were hundreds of daisies climbing the steps up to the stalls.

Here is where the bullfighters would have hidden. Even in the sun, surrounded by Spanish lads and ladettes, this place was a little bit spooky.

Everybody loves a meal of the day. This one began with a magical Fabada Asturiana.

And was followed by Buey and chips. Mmmm buey.


The pudding was a fracaso on many, many levels. I have no idea what it was. A cottage cheese monstrosity laced with red flavoured nuclear waste. To overcome the shock I ate a twix.

On the epic journey to our hotel I spied this kitsch dog parking zone.

Finally, my favourite image of the week. A group of us from the centro de idiomas pulling somes shapes in a huge inflatable plastic tube. This tube formed part of an interactive art exhibition in MUSAC, the contemporary art museum of Leon. It is a stunning building which won a prize for being the best piece of European architecture in 2007. Viva Leon!!

On a personal note. Next time you and your crew should be snapped together in a group shot please bust a move. Pictures at school, parties, weddings, cheeky shots in front of touristical things are all greatly improved by action and madness. Te lo prometo.

3rd Party - Love Is Alive (LCD's Return to Galactica Edit) (1997)

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3rd Party - Love Is Alive (LCD's Return to Galactica Edit) (1997)

Jimmy Ray - Are You Jimmy Ray (Radio Edit) (1997)

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Jimmy Ray - Are You Jimmy Ray (Radio Edit) (1997)

Diana King - I Say A Little Prayer (Love To Infinity's Classic Radio Mix)(1997)

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Diana King - I Say A Little Prayer (Love To Infinity's Classic Radio Mix)(1997)

Marisa Turner - Who's Gonna Kiss That Man (Pizza Express Remix) (1995)

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Marisa Turner - Who's Gonna Kiss That Man (Pizza Express Remix) (1995)

Mory Kanté - Yeke Yeke (Hardfloor Mix) (1995)

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Mory Kanté - Yeke Yeke (Hardfloor Mix) (1995)

Janet Jackson - Together Again (Album Version) (1997)

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Janet Jackson - Together Again (Album Version) (1997)

Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It (1995)

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Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It (1995)

Snap - Do You See The Light (Album Version) (1992)

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Snap - Do You See The Light (Album Version) (1992)

Baked Chili and Egg

title
It's not so strange for me to be writing about leftovers. I have always believed in avoiding food waste, and efficient use of leftovers is a step in that direction. I’ll keep writing about using my leftovers here just in case there is a teeny chance that one of you might need some help in figuring out what to do with yours.

Not so strange either for me to be writing about it now -- getting our new home in shape is leaving me less time to play in the kitchen (the saga continues…now I am caught between two plumbers!), hence having only enough time to grab those leftovers from the fridge for a quick meal. I’m not complaining though because, as I’ve maintained before, leftovers need not be tired or boring.

This is a hearty, stick-to-your-gut meal that will fuel you through even the most trying rounds of intense clean up. Yes, including looking through 4 years worth of debris accumulated by a little rat who never throws anything away…including 4 year old credit card receipts and pay slips from her first job (I plead oh so very guilty)!

Anyway, back to the dish at hand. I had made a big batch of chili for a potluck barbecue and had lots left over. I am hoping that this does not reflect on my chili-making abilities but instead on the amount of food served on said occasion. In any case, C was quite pleased that we had leftovers because that boy does love his chili. But unless you are C, one can only eat so much chili, in exactly the same way, day after day.

This is a variation you can try if you find yourself with some leftover chili and are looking for another way to serve it. I like to think of it as halfway between huevos rancheros and oeufs en cocotte. I’ve always loved a good cross-cultural mix when it comes to food :)

What I’ve done here is simple: For each serving take a cup of chili (or half, or anywhere in between…depends on what you would be comfortable calling “one serving”) and place in a ramekin, clay crock, or any oven-proof single serve dish. Make a slight indentation where you want your egg to sit and crack the egg into it. Shave some cheese onto the chili (I used gruyere because that is what I had on hand but feel free to use any cheese you think might work here). Place the whole affair into a pre-heated 180C oven and bake until the egg white is set but the yolk is still jiggly. I overshot that mark (hence the overdone yolk) so make sure to keep an eye on your eggs as all ovens (and eggs!) are different. Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro and enjoy immediately with some warm tortillas or bread, or even rice!

I hope this goes a little way towards moving some of us to make the most of our leftovers…every bit helps in our efforts to avoid food waste!

Blast From the Past: Pistachio Cake

I have been fixated on all things pistachio ever since I had a delicious pistachio cupcake at Sugar Sweet Sunshine last month. I always loved pistachio-flavored treats as kid (pistachio ice cream was my favorite flavor!), but somewhere along the line I stopped eating it. This may be, in part, because I grew up and started to become interested in trying new things, but also, I think, maybe, pistachio fell off the flavor charts in the dessert world. You really don't see pistachio ice cream that much anymore. Anyhoo, ever since I had that cupcake, I am all about the pistachio again! The mere thought of it makes me drool! Not pretty. So, in order to help curb my pistachio cravings, I decided to make an old school pistachio cake. You know, the kind that requires one box of cake mix and one box of instant Jello pudding mix.

The ingredients and the simplicity of the recipe totally brought me back to being a kid, especially when I smelled that pudding mix for the first time in ages. Such a wonderful, heavenly scent. It was definitely one of those scent/memory moments for me. I will say that making this cake was a bit surreal, not only because of the pistachio flashbacks, but because it required a boxed mix. I really, really, really, don't like boxed mixes. Don't get me wrong. They're yummy and all, but there are just too many ingredients in those things for my taste. I did manage to find a relatively harmless cake mix though, that was also gluten free: Betty Crocker's Gluten-free Cake Mix. The ingredient list on the box is short and recognizable and it was really good! You wouldn't even have known that it was gluten free! So moist and yummy! There could have been a bit more pistachio flavor in my opinion, although everyone else liked it. I've heard that you can buy pistachio paste for more intense flavor. Has anyone tried that?


You can find the complete recipe after the jump.




Pistachio Cake

1 pkg. white or yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (4 serving size) pistachio instant pudding mix
3 eggs
1 c. club soda or water
1/2 c. oil
chopped nuts

Combine all ingredients in large mixer bowl, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and frost.

Frosting: There is an easy, Cool Whip frosting that usually goes with the classic pistachio cake recipe, but, because the cake is made almost entirely from mixes, I wanted to make my frosting from scratch.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread.

Ingredients/Grams/Ounces/Volume

Unsalted butter, slightly softened 312 11 1⅜ cups
Shortening 84 3 ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon
Sugar 300 10.58 1½ cups
Egg whites 150 5.30 From 5 large eggs
Light corn syrup 40 1.40 2 tablespoons
Kosher salt ¼ teaspoon ¼ teaspoon ¼ teaspoon
Vanilla extract 1¼ teaspoons 1¼ teaspoons 1¼ teaspoons

1. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening together for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are light in color and texture but not too soft. Scrape this mixture into a different bowl and set it aside to use later. Clean the mixing bowl to use for the egg whites.

2. Combine the sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, and salt in the top pan of a double boiler. Heat over simmering water, stirring frequently, until the sugar granules have dissolved and the temperature on a food thermometer registers 140ºF. Transfer the whites to the clean mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the whites on medium to medium-high speed until the mixing bowl feels just cool to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. The mixture should be white and fluffy and very thick.

3. Add the butter mixture and the vanilla to the egg white mixture and whip again, on medium speed, until the frosting has a smooth, creamy, spreadable texture, almost like stiff whipped cream, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. The frosting can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but it should be used within 3 days. You may have to stir it briskly to re-fluff it if it’s been sitting for a long time.

Foot + ball = Football

The world cup is almost upon us. In its honour I will post some things I like about football.
* It should be noted that I know NOTHING (preferably said like Manuel of Fawlty Towers) about the sport. That is all.
...So, numero uno:
Tailored for England shirts. Classic, simple and genuinly lovely shirts. Here is one modelled by Chipmunk, a rapper who provided the sound track for many sensational Crispy Fish and Chip's Kebabs. Gracias Chipmunk. .

Numero Dois: 'The special one'.

I won't lie. I had no idea who Jose Mourinho was untill I saw this wonderful Stella Vine painting. Stella Vine is an ex-stripper who paints witty, if vaguely disturbing celebrity portraits. I love this piece and now I love Jose.
Here, I think it would be appropriate to insert some interesting trivia abour senhor Mourinho, however, due to lack of time and energy I will simply add this classic Nikki Simspon quote:
'He's a fine piece of Portuguese ass!'

Numero tres: 'THE CROUCH'

Look at him. He is a human starfish, a disco dancing robot on stilts. He is my favourite in the England line up. He is the Crouch.

Numero Cuatro: Controversial, moi?

He shines brighter than the Dungeness radioactive power plant. He is a tangerine dream (oh god, I didn't think it was possible to embarass oneself so badly!!)..haha I don't like him that much, but watching people's reactions when I tell them I do is quality entertainment. So...with a proud place on my list of footballing likes is the shameless winker, Cristiano Ronaldo.


What sort of blog would this be without a tune muy muy grande??

Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uFWGALVF0Y