THE SLAB

 Cake Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa

2 cups boiling water

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 

Filling:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled well

1/4 cup confectioner sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate pieces

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup butter

2 1/2 cups confectioner sugar

Preparation:

1. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with boiling water, mixing with a whisk until smooth.  Cool completely.  In another medium size bowl, mix flour with soda, salt, and baking powder.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.

2. In a large (3rd) bowl and at high speed, beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, scraping bowl, for about five minutes.  At low speed, beat in flour mixture (in fourths) alternately with cocoa mixture (in thirds) beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Do not overbeat.  Divide this evenly between three pans.  Bake 25-3- minutes or until cake springs back.  Cool in pan for 10 min.  Carefully loosen sides with a spatula.  Remove from pans and cool on racks.

3.  Make the Filling:  Whip cream with confectioner sugar and vanilla.  When it is whipped good and stiff, refrigerate until the cake layers are completely cooled off, and then spread this between the layers.

4.   Make the Frosting:  Melt the chocolate pieces and butter in microwave or in a double boiler.  Add the whipping cream and confectioner sugar.  Beat with electric mixer until spreading consistency is reached.  (The melted stuff cools off as you beat it with the mixer).  Spread frosting evenly over the whole cake.  Keep cake refrigerated.

Granola

 5 cups of unrolled oats 

1 cup of dried coconut

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oil

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup nuts of your choice 

raisins or other dried fruit 

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.  Combine the first 5 ingredients and spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cook for 1 hour total, tossing once half way through.  Remove to cool.  Toss with nuts and fruit (the fruit especially must be added after cooking or it will burn).

Deep Dish Oatmeal Fudge Bars

This yummy recipe I found at this recipe blog

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups oatmeal

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together

• 1 can eagle’s brand sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Mix the butter, eggs and brown sugar. Add vanilla and milk. Slowly incorporate the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well. I prefer using a stand mixer since it’s quite thick.
• Spread 3/4 of the cookie mixture on the bottom of a greased 13×9 pan, pour chocolate mixture, then spread rest of cookie mixture on tops in spoonfuls (won’t cover completely-but will leave cool designs). The top can tend to get done before it’s completely cooked, so you can put aluminum foil over it for the last five or so if it looks like it’s browning too much. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, otherwise it won’t set up and will just run when you cut into it.

High Altitude Pumkin Bread

Ingredients:
1c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger

Preparation:
1. Mix all of the wet ingredients.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients and slowly add to the wet ingredients.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes in a greased loaf pan.

Aji De Gallina

This is another popular Peruvian dish that my empleada here in Arequipa taught me to make.  She didn't use any measurements, so I'm just guessing on those!

Ingredients:
1 cup Rice
2-3 chicken breasts, boiled in water.
1/2 cup of salsa ocopo (aji amarillo sauce cooked and prepared with seasonings and a little sugar) or "Tari" sauce
1/4 cup of fresh aji amarillo or 1/2 of a small packet of aji from Canasta.
4 eggs
5 small potatoes
4 cloves of minced garlic, separated
1 can of evaporated milk
10-12 slices of white bread
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, separated
salt
walnuts (optional)
1/2 onion, diced finely
1 cup milk

Preparation
1.  Simmer the aji and salsa ocopo in 1-2 Tbsp oil with the onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic until it gets a bit thick and separates from the oil a bit.
2.  While the sauce is simmering, cut the bread into large chunks and remove the crust.  Put bread in a bowl and cover with the evaporated milk.  Let it sit for a bit.
3. Boil the potatoes and eggs (to hard boil them) together in a pot of water.
4. Put 2 cloves of minced garlic and a Tablespoon or so of vegetable oil in the bottom of the rice cooker, and turn on the frying setting to heat the garlic and oil for a couple minutes.  Then add the rice and the amount of water called for per cup of rice on the package, and set the rice cooker to the cook setting.
5.  Shred the chicken and add it to the aji mixture.  Add 1 1/2 cup of the water that the chicken boiled in, and bring it to a boil.
6.  Blend the bread mixture in a blender, then add it to the aji mixture, and bring it to a boil and simmer for a 20 minutes.  Add milk as it thickens up.
7.  After potatoes have gotten soft, peel them and slice them in thick slices.
8.  Peel the eggs and slice into 4 quadrants.
9.  Serve the chicken aji mixture over top of a few slices of potato and topped with a few slices of egg.  Serve with a side of rice.

Tomatada (Peruvian Recipe)

Our sweet Peruvian empleada, Celia, taught me to make this dish.  It's delicious!

Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes, peeled and pulp removed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. Salt
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cumin
4 thinly sliced steaks
salt and pepper
Fine bread Crumbs mixed w/ some flour and garlic powder.
oil
1 1/4 cup water, divided
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 onion, sliced
4 potatoes
1 tsp. oregano
Rice, prepared according to package directions.

Preparation:
1.  Heat garlic in a large pot with some oil.  Add tomato, 1 cup water, tomato sauce, pepper, vinegar, sugar, and cumin.  Simmer, covered, until creamy.  Add more water if need be.
2. Salt and pepper the steak on both sides, then put the bread crumb mixture on both sides of it.
3.  Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the steaks until browned on both sides.
4. Add soy sauce to the tomato mixture and simmer covered for 5 more minutes, then add onion and oregano.
5.  Remove some sauce, place meat in the sauce, and cover with the sauce you removed.  Salt and pepper a bit and then add 1/4 cup water and cover and simmer to finish cooking the meat.
6.  While meat mixture is simmering, peel the potatoes and slice in 1/4 inch thick slices.  Fry them in a frying pan with enough oil to just about cover them.  Fry on each side until starting to brown (about 3-4 minutes total).  Dry potatoes on paper towel after fried, and then salt them.

Serve meat with sauce drizzled over top, and covered with potato slices and then more sauce.  Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Barbecued Beef

Ingredients:
3 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onions
1 c. ketchup
1 c. bbq sauce
1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3-4 lb. boneless chuck roast
14-18 hamburger buns

Preparation:
In slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients; mix well.  Add roast.  Cover and cook on high 7-8 hours (Mom's note: 5-6 is probably enough) or until meat is tender.  Remove roast, cool.  Shred meat w/ forks and return to sauce.  Heat through.  Use a slotted spoon to serve on buns.