Peruvian chef Adolfo Perret, owner and chef of Punta Sal, participated by sharing his famous ceviche. Also represented were various Andean products such as quinoa and amaranth, which are widely used in Guatemala. Of course Pisco Sour, Peru’s national drink, was served and enjoyed.

Ketatur from Goddess Food was the first to join us by baking some bread babies, making them incredibly unique!

Nidhi at Charche Chauke Che baked up some multi-colored bread babies that are certainly artistic and adorable!

Astrid from Paulchen’s Foodblog baked up some babies that arrived a bit past their due date, but nevertheless were colorful and creative!

Did you visit all the Bread Baking Babes and see their incredible, edible work? Don’t forget to see the bread babies from around the world!

Back to yesterday…Thanksgiving came early this year as a farewell dinner for some dear friends, for whom I am very thankful. I was thrilled to be able to bake up several batches of rolls and a delicious pumpkin swirl cheesecake to share. The idea of the cheesecake came from my friend and the recipe was written on a piece of paper 7 years ago, taken to Peru and of course was in the envelope in the one bag that was stolen as I returned back to the states. I tried to remember where she had gotten it and settled with the recipe from Kraft.

I loved the idea of the gingersnap crust, I knew others would enjoy it as well. Kraft presents the recipe as cheesecake bars and provides an adaptation for baking the cheesecake in a springform pan, which I did. I did not measure, nor follow their “suggestions” for the spices…instead I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and and dash of allspice. Mind you, because of the success I had with the Daring Baker cheesecake, I did hesitate with using this recipe and wondered how to adapt Abbey’s recipe to include a pumpkin swirl. So you weigh the options, bake a pumpkin recipe with the risk that it will crack or bake up a recipe that adding pumpkin puree might make it too liquidy, but you are sure it wont crack.

Okay, so I went with the Kraft recipe and…regretted it. The taste was good. The texture was crumbly. And…it cracked. I wonder what Abbey’s recipe might have done. It makes me want to try, just to see. I loved the crust, I love the mixture of pumpkin pie with cheesecake. Stay tuned, I may bake another one sometime soon.

As I said goodbye to my friend and was reminded that cheesecake is her favorite, I wonder if there is a way I can make cream cheese from scratch in order for her to be able to make cheesecake in her country. I suggested a cheesecake with eggnog (another favorite of hers) and she was sad to think she won’t be on this side of the ocean to taste it.

Make your own Tanta Wawa – Peruvian Baby Bread! Could yours win the contest?

Todays ingredients included more than 1000 pounds of potatoes, almost 600 large cans of evaporated milk, 500 pounds of queso fresco, 600 pounds of aji amarillo pepper, 600 heads of lettuce, 1700 eggs and 25 liters of oil. While the city of Huancayo looks to secure a National Papa a la Huancaina Day, they are also seeking inscription in the Book of Guinness World Records for the worlds largest dish.

You can make your own Papa a la Huancaina, or enjoy a plate in a local Peruvian restaurant.

Mostly, the food stands were near the port so that as people came and went by boat, they could buy something to eat. After a long morning of work, they were hungry. After hours of shopping for food, they were thirsty. Of course, you could find food, drinks and so many other things.

On the way home one day, we left the port and began walking up the street. I am not sure if I just hadn’t notice before or if we were passing by at the right time, but there was an alley full of fish! People were seated along the sidewalk with their makeshift counters, scales, knives and bags. Before them were displayed what was likely the catch of the morning. Being me, I darted down the alley and began taking pictures!

Do you buy your food from street vendors like these?

As I went page by page through an unimpressive, small cookbook about all things baked I found myself planning and plotting to bake nearly every one. It is not that they are over the top gorgeous muffins and breads, but they seem to be like an old best friend – someone who you are comfortable with no matter how much time has gone by.

You have surely heard of zucchini bread, right? It is in the recipe box right after Banana Bread, Pumpkin Bread…Z is for…Zucchini Bread. Except, this recipe is nothing like it. Well, of course except that it includes zucchini. And it is bread. That is why the recipe jumped out at me, it was everything I had eaten before in no way I had thought of. A savory zucchini bread, made with yeast.

The dough came together flawlessly. It was the dough-maker who failed on her timetable. The dough just didn’t rise as quickly as I would have hoped and when I had to go to my friends house for a hike and a dinner party, I took the dough with me! As soon as I arrived, I walked right into the pantry to find what I need to shape and lay out the bread to rise one last time.

The hike took a little too long. Well, long enough for the dough to turn into something like Jabba the Hut – at least that was what the hostess called it! I couldn’t even bring myself to photograph it, I was far too embarrassed. We baked it anyway and even though it was larger than life, it’s taste was delicious and the guests went back for seconds!

I would absolutely recommend you try this delicious bread. I plan to bake it again with a different vegetable. Any suggestions?

Yeasted Zucchini Bread

1 pound of zucchini, grated
2 tablespoons of salt
2 1/2 teaspoons of dry active yeast
1 1/4 cups of lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups of flour

1. Layer grated zucchini and salt in a colander and leave it for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the moisture to drain off all the water.

2. Combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of water, stir and leave for 15 minutes.

3. Add the zucchini and flour to the yeast mixture. Add remaining water.

4. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with plastic and leave it to rise in a warm place until double in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Punch the dough down and knead into a cylinder. Place on the baking sheet, cover and leave to rise until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 425F. Brush with olive oil and bake until golden, about 30-35 minutes. Cool on a rack. Slice and serve.

Yeasted Zucchini Bread is being submitted to Yeastspotting.

You see, after all those years of living in Peru, I would discover things that happened to be stocked on the shelves of the grocery store. Often times, they were a mistake or just a test. During my first Thanksgiving in Peru, way back when, I saw cans of cranberry sauce on a shelf and was so elated I was dizzy. A friend had mentioned that if things sell out, the people that are stocking are more likely to buy and stock more than if those odd, once-in-awhile items sit on the shelf month after month. So I bought the cranberry sauce. Every last can of it. Years later I still had a seed of regret when I looked at the cans in the back of my cupboard wondering what came over me that afternoon at the grocery store. I mean, really…who eats can after can of cranberry sauce?

Okay, so back to the pumpkin butter. I didn’t need it, wasn’t looking to buy it. But somehow the jar made it’s way off the shelf, into my hand, my cart and eventually through the hands of the cashier. It is not that I don’t like pumpkin butter. It is just that I don’t “eat it”. I would bake with it, but I wouldn’t likely spread it on toast in the morning.

So how does this relate to the Bakewell Tart? Oh, I am so glad you asked. You see, I am wondering what this same recipe would taste like with pumpkin butter tucked in between the crust and almond topping. You have already tasted it you say? Well, fill me in! What did you think?

Anyway, when I was looking for the recipe, I came across the pictures of the original Bakewell Tart that I made with a layer of creamy dulce de leche. Fresh out of the oven, the dulce de leche was a bit runny but this screamed rich & delicious for breakfast the next morning!

Dulce de Leche Bakewell Tart

Sweet shortcrust pastry
1 cup of dulce de leche
Frangipane (see recipe below)
1/2 cup of blanched, flaked almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Make the sweet shortcrust pastry base and press into 9” tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

3. Prepare the frangipane.

4. Remove pastry base from freezer, spread an even layer of dulce de leche onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaked almonds and return to the oven for the last five minutes of baking.

Frangipane

11 tablespoons of butter, softened
125g of powdered sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
125g of ground almonds
30g of flour

1. Cream butter and sugar together, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on low, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour, continuing to combine well. The mixture will be soft, look slightly curdled and have a yellow color.