THE Chocoflan

First of all, I want to go on the record as saying that I really don't care for flan. At all. It's kind of like watermelon for me. I'll eat it when it's put in front of me and I've been known to say, "Oh, this is a really good watermelon!" Left unsaid, however, is the rest of the sentence, "For a watermelon." That's how I am with flan.

Normally.

So, when my friend Melita said that she wanted to learn how to make a Chocoflan, I agreed to search out a recipe. But I wasn't all that excited.

Until I found this recipe at Kraftrecipes.com. You can click over and see why I was intrigued. I'll wait here.

Anyway, I printed out this recipe and began the translation into Mexican. I say "Mexican", since it's more than the words that need to change in most cases. Of course the measurements would need to change to metric, but although cajeta is easy enough to get here, Cool Whip? No lo hay!

The more I looked over this recipe, the more I just HAD to try it. So last week, for my friend Basilia's birthday, I tried this amazing-looking Chocoflan. (And I made a lemon cake, too, just in case the chocoflan flopped! lol)

I would say that it was a total and complete success! To be honest, I was a bit concerned when I opened the oven door after the first hour. It looked pretty strange and it didn't look like it had done what it was supposed to do, but upon closer inspection -- it was perfect. Sigh.
And tasty. I repent: I do like flan -- as long as it's made more like a cheesecake and has plenty of chocolate! Who wouldn't like this???

You can get this recipe over at the Kraft link above. I found it a bit convoluted trying to follow the recipe, though, so here's how I would write it:

What you'll need:
1 can cajeta (make your own by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for about 30 minutes -- in the can. Just take off the label, put the can in a pan of water and bring it to a boil. Weird, but it works.) You could also use any thick caramel sauce; you won't need very much.
1 can evaporated milk
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
7 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c sugar (the recipe calls for 1 cup -- I put in 3/4 and it was plenty sweet)
1 chocolate cake mix
1 c water
1/3 c cooking oil
(I omitted the sour cream and the Cool Whip as unnecessary. You could garnish with whipped cream, but it really didn't need it!)

For baking you'll need: a 12 cup mold/Bundt pan and a large "turkey roaster" or other pan large enough to hold the cake pan.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Well-grease a 12 cup mold (I used a Bundt pan).
Pour up to 1/2 cup of caramel sauce into bottom of pan. (I barely used 1/4 cup and that was really plenty.)

In a blender, combine:
1 can evap. milk
1 pkg. cream cheese
4 eggs
vanilla
3/4 cup sugar

Set aside.

In mixer bowl, beat together:
Chocolate cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs

• Pour chocolate cake batter gently and evenly into the cake mold.
• Slowly ladle the milk and egg mixture over the top of the cake batter. (This was the crazy part. I thought that the recipe was mixed up, but it really does work!)
• Gently set the cake mold into the turkey roaster, and fill the roaster with water enough to cover the bottom 1/2 of the cake mold.
• Cover cake mold with aluminum foil (I missed this step, and the cake ended up a bit browned on the top -- didn't affect the taste at all, though!)
• Place the roaster pan in the hot oven and bake for 90 minutes. (Until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.)
• Remove from oven and cool IN THE CAKE MOLD sitting on a wire rack until mold is only warm to the touch. Then REFRIGERATE until completely chilled! If you try to unmold this cake while warm, you'll be eating it with a spoon.
• After cake is completely chilled, loosen edges gently with a plastic spatula, invert a plate (preferably the plate you'll be serving it on) over the top of the cake mold, and then flip the cake carefully over onto the serving platter.

Provecho!!!

Shesa Goin' Home!

At the end of our last furlough, in March, we said goodbye to Sarah. Our eldest daughter has been in the U.S. for the past six months. It's been a difficult but wonderful time for everyone. I can't even begin to describe the experience, but I will say that the wonderful did balance the difficult and the difficult even turned out to be wonderful.

Caleb, for example, has stepped up and proven that he can write a curriculum for a kids' class and run the class smoothly -- even when there's a bit of mutiny amongst the younger siblings. Evie proved that she was not the sole contributor to the messy room which she and Sarah shared.

Meanwhile, back in Oregon, Sarah got to experience the joys of American culture: youth group, public library, Dutch Brothers, zumba, financial aid and car insurance.

The original plan was a six-month stint in the U.S. and, "Then we'll see where God leads." During that time, she was working to save money for college and pay her expenses. She also applied for financial aid to be able to attend the local community college this fall. However, none of us really had much peace about college.

All summer we prayed, "Give us peace, God. Your will be done."

So, September came with no financial aid in sight. Our response: Relief. Our daughter is coming home. I'm a bit excited. Maybe my motives are a bit selfish; I love having a partner in the kitchen, I miss her guitar-playing, She's my favorite Spanish dictionary.

Yesterday, I was reading an article in Reader's Digest. [Sidenote: I used to love that magazine, but this issue has more advertisements than the Superbowl, all the depth of a kiddie pool and the journalistic value of a first grader's book report.] The article, ("They're Baaaak!" October 2011, p. 37) began by stating that 85% of the college class of 2011 was moving back home. Intrigued, I continued reading.

By the time I finished the half-page article, I was ready to throw the whole magazine in the trashcan. Reader's Digest's recommendation for parents whose college-age kids are returning home: "Remember, when kids leave high school or even college, they are not adults. Between 18 and 23, they're entering the last and most difficult stage of adolescence: trial independence."

*Pause here to re-read that quote.*

What a crock of over-ripe fertilizer! Reader's Digest just lost a reader.

Reader's Digest, the company which popularized the word "teenager" in a 1941 issue, has now extended teenagerhood into the mid-twenties.

I'm sorry, but in our house an 18 year old is not an adolescent. "Adolescent behavior", in fact, is discouraged after the age of 10 or 12. Of course, the kids are all still growing and learning and making choices and sometimes mistakes, but as a general rule we try to move our kids from childhood to adulthood with very little time in that adolescent limbo which the American culture calls "the teen years".

With that said, let me tell you about Sarah's decision to move to Mexico in December. She's not coming home because of "failure to launch". Nor is she returning because of a lack of funds and inability to enroll in college or pay for car insurance. Although both of those were issues, they really had no bearing on her decision, other than as confirmation of God's plan for her at this point. Sarah is moving to Mexico because it's where God is calling her. And we are very excited.

Sarah's future is wide open. She left our home-nest to test her wings and found them strong. In fact, to borrow a phrase from Isaiah, she has trusted in the Lord and has risen on wings like an eagle.

School is still in the plans, as are mission trips, a journey to Europe and only God knows what else. We're all trusting God for His timing and direction.

And did I mention that we're excited?

Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Yet Another Benefit of the Bi-Lingual Life

I just got back from a little shopping excursion with my mom-in-law in Chico, California. We had a great time -- went to Costco again. I didn't see the Vitamix guy this time, so I managed to keep my longing for over-priced kitchen gadgets in check.

Christmas decorations are out. What's up with that???

Anyway, we also stopped in at my favorite herb and natural food store -- it's very "Chico": Lot's of tie-dye, lots of hemp. While Mom picked up her stuff, I meandered over to the herbal book section. I thought I might find something interesting in the reduced section.

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!

All the Spanish books were on sale 50% off! WOOT! WOOT!

I bought them all. Well, not ALL of them. Only four.

I'm so excited to share with my friend Luz! I've been translating stuff for her, but this will be so much nicer. At least one of them is written from a Christian perspective (rather rare in the herbal sub-culture), which makes me very happy, too!

While I'm not Mrs. Organic, I do see a lot of value in healthy eating. And while I'm also not anti-doctor, (I honestly haven't set foot in a doctor's office in years...unless you count when we took Andrew to see the local doctor, but that wasn't his "office"; it was his front porch.) I see a lot of value in understanding disease, medicine and how doctors arrive at their diagnosis. To that end, I read a lot about herbal remedies and healthy living. Can't hurt, right?

There has been very little that has come our way, in matters of health, that I haven't been able to handle with prayer, my herb books (and the herbs that go along with them) and some common sense. I can't wait to dig into my new books and see what else I can learn. In fact, I think that's what I'm going to do right now.

Just for fun: What's your favorite herbal or home remedy? What's the first thing you do when you start to feel like you're catching a cold?

On the Road Again

Determining to post at least once before I get home and find myself, once again, months behind, I hereby post a few pics of our last two weeks of travel.

We've passed through Arizona and Southern California and today we leave Grandma and Grandpa's house to head to Oregon. Squeal!!!! I'm a little excited about seeing my daughter again! I just think six months is a long time.

The other day, I was considering how many hours a year we spend in the car. So far in 2011, we have spent -- on furloughs only -- 160 hours traveling. That doesn't count the 20 or more hours a week we spend in the car as we travel around Mexico. That also doesn't include the other 45+ hours we still have ahead of us this trip.

Needless to say, as a family we have discovered many ways to pass the time while driving. I wanted to share these shots of Jessee. This is his new travel-pasttime:

He was really focused on the casting on. I'm looking forward to seeing his finished product. What really caught my attention, though, was the title of the book he's using to learn the manly art of knitting.

Can you read the title? It's a bit dark.

The book title: "Knitting with Balls".

I would say that the title is a bit, um, brash, but I thought it very funny. And hey, if it helps my guys pass a few hours in relative peace, I'll accept a bit of off-color humor!!!

Family Vehicle

La Familia Aguilar

Ages ago, I mentioned that the "Family Vehicle" in Mexico was significantly smaller than the family vehicle of the US -- even though family size is the same or larger here. To those of you who didn't believe me: Oh, you doubting souls!