Posts Tagged ‘sweet treats’

Hola, hola, hola, Miss Marisol here, Isabel Lopez´s old friend, MISS LOPEZ, back again from La Coruña, Spain, thinking that those of you with a sweet tooth would really appreciate this delicious Easter dessert from Spain, TORRIJAS…
Torrijas are is a “sweet” traditionally eaten during Lent, the 40-day period before Easter. It is believed that Torrijas originated in Andalucian convents during the XV century as a way to use up stale bread. Although today it is associated with the cuisine of Madrid, it is a popular breakfast food all over the world but in Spain where it is considered a dessert. Americans, I know as I used to live in USA for many years before I moved back to Spain, would probably see it as a Spanish variation of “French Toast.”
Torrijas can be eaten any time of the day. There are many variations of this treat – some soften the bread by soaking it in wine, while other variations use milk or water and honey. In Spain, the typical bread would be a French-style baguette but since we are watching what we eat, I recommend to use a whole meal bread instead. Most variations serve it with sugar and cinnamon.
Ingredients
• 4-6 Slices of Stale Bread*
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1 Egg
• Cinnamon Stick
• Peel of one lemon
• Vegetable Oil for frying, such as Sunflower seed or Corn Oil, NOT olive oil
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• Two tbsp full of Sugar
• Powdered Sugar for dusting
• Cinnamon
Serves Four. Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Cooking Time: 10 minutes
* TIP: If you do not have stale bread on hand, lightly toast the sliced bread so that it dries out enough to soak up the milk and not turn to mush.
Warm the milk with the sugar, a cinnamon stick and the lemon peel over a low heat and keep steering it until it boils.
Let the milk cool down to room temperature.
Remove the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick and pour the milk into a medium-size mixing bowl. Add the egg and beat together. Add vanilla extract, if desired. Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to cover the bottom and heat on medium. Be careful that the oil does not burn.
If you are using stale white bread, place one slice in the milk-egg mixture and quickly flip it over with a fork. Make sure that the bowl is next to the frying pan, so you can quickly transfer it from the bowl to the heated pan.
If you use a stale baguette, slices should be at least 1/2 inch thick. If the bread is more than a day old, you may need to soak the bread for 2-3 minutes or more, so that it softens up. Be careful that the bread does not soften so much that it crumbles when you lift it out of the bowl.
Carefully lift the bread out of the mixture and let the excess milk drain before placing the bread in the frying pan. Repeat for each of the other slices.
After 2-3 minutes, check the bottom of the bread. As the slices turn golden, turn each one. You may wish to use a nylon spatula or tongs to turn the slices over. Make sure that you have enough room in the pan to turn the slices.
Remove each piece from the pan and place on a plate. Sprinkle the top with the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Note: Torrijas, are usually eaten at room temperature but if you wish to eat them warm place them back in a toaster oven at a low temperature. Do not place them in a microwave because this will cause the bread to become rubbery. You can serve them warm with ice-cream and fresh berries.
Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe of “Miss Lopez´s Torrijas” and have a Wonderful Feelgood Womanhood Easter!

Hola hola hola, from La Coruña, Spain! Miss Marisol is back to share a delicious recipe that I tasted yesterday. This wonderful and easy to make Lemon Bars will make your spring tea time shine. If you like zest, you will love this buttery, tender and tart recipe.
Let´s start with the ingredients:
• 225 g butter, softened
• 100 g white sugar
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 300 g white sugar
• 30 g all-purpose flour
• 3 lemons, juiced

Now, let´s make these delicious Lemon Bars:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.
4. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.

Well friends, hope you like this new Miss Lopez´s recipe and enjoy it as a Feelgood Womanhood Treat!