Pups and Updates

During my time in Belize I have had a fabulous guard dog network of sorts.

At the Reserve I have Renee to watch out for me. There really isn't much to watch out for there. While the occasional tourist or even local fisherman may pose a "threat" and she defends me, her biggest job is to keep the evil iguanas at bay.

At my home in town I have a whole crew to keep me safe. Max and Blue are the two most fearsome of the crew. Max is the old guard dog that is kind enough to people he knows he should trust. Others, well, they are ok if one of us is out and about. Blue, well Blue is another story all together different. Blue has bitten at least one person that he knows well and has certain ideals about people on the outside of the gate. If he knows you and loves you, you are ok once you are inside. If he knows you and doesn't like you or doesn't know you at all, just stay out! He is a short little guy but I have seen him nearly jump the 5 feet tall fence trying to get at someone. Sweetie and Poppy do enough barking, but really, they are small and not so fierce looking. It doesn't help that Sweetie rolls over and displays her belly while wagging her tail or runs under the porch and barks. If Poppy didn't like the intruder I feel comfortable saying that he would probably go after them as well.

With all this being said, I know more about crime on the island that many probably do, just because of my assignment. People with dogs just don't get broken into like those without. While this may not be always true, there is a correlation. Moving to Belmopan (and away from my crew) makes me want to get a dog. This does not exactly fit into my plans for the future, however, I feel that there is a strong argument for a new friend in my life.

I have been making lists of pros and cons for a while now. Talked several friends' ears off nearly trying to make a decision. I have an email out to someone who has a dog here and her thoughts on the situation. So, the decision has not been made final, but after last night's conversation with a dog owner I am leaning back to the "get one" side.

SAGA had a fundraiser yesterday and I had hoped to make it out. However at that time Dorothy and I were getting ready for Steve's farewell. Mashing avocados for guacamole and decorating chocolate (made from scratch) cupcakes kept us busy. While the decorating didn't compare with the last batch, they were still tasty.

So you can try your hand at from scratch chocolate cake try the recipe below. I promise it is just chocolaty enough and lighter than you would think possible. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake

Full Size

1 ¾ cups---------- Flour

2 cups-------------- Sugar

¾ cup--------------- Cocoa

1 ½ tsp------------- Baking Soda

1 ½ tsp------------- Baking Powder

1 cup--------------- Boiling Water

1 tsp---------------- Salt

2--------------------- Eggs

1 cup--------------- Milk

½ cup--------------- Vegetable Oil

2 tsp---------------- Vanilla

½ Size

1 cup +1 tbs------ Flour

1 cup--------------- Sugar

¼ cup + 2 tbs---- Cocoa

¾ tsp--------------- Baking Soda

¾ tsp--------------- Baking Powder

½ cup--------------- Boiling Water

½ tsp--------------- Salt

1--------------------- Egg

½ cup--------------- Milk

¼ cup--------------- Vegetable Oil

1 tsp---------------- Vanilla

1 ½ Size

2 ½ + ¹/₃ cups---- Flour

3 cups-------------- Sugar

1 ¹/₈ cup----------- Cocoa

2 ¼ tsp------------- Baking Soda

2 ¼ tsp------------- Baking Powder

1 ½ cup------------ Boiling Water

1 ½ tsp------------- Salt

3--------------------- Eggs

1 ½ cup------------ Milk

¾ cup--------------- Vegetable Oil

3 tsp---------------- Vanilla

« Choose the size of cake you want

« Combine dry ingredients in a bowl

« Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla

« Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed

« Stir in boiling water slowly

« Batter will be thin

« Pour into greased and floured pan

« Bake in a preheated oven @ 350° F for 35-40 minutes or until inside is cooked

Fabulous Dinner...

Ethel and I dined on the most fabulous dinner. I made roasted red pepper hummus. We had it in wraps with diced tomatoes, carrots, and broccoli! When we ran out of wraps (aka tortillas) we had the hummus on left over vegetables. When we ran out of vegetables we ate it from the spoon! Don't make a funny face! You would have too.


Here is the recipe...
Tonight I didn't rinse the chickpeas. I used 2 limes, 2 dashes of pepper, all the cumin, and the roasted red pepper and roasted garlic from the recipe below. With the extra lime juice I only needed to add a little water to reach the consistency I wanted.

Rob’s Hummus

Ingredients:

1 Can (14 oz) Chickpeas

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

2 Tbs Tahini

½ Tsp Salt

1 Tbs Olive Oil

½ Tsp Cumin (optional)

¼ Tsp Black Pepper (optional)

2 Cloves of Roasted Garlic (optional)

Directions

1. Drain chickpeas (rinse if you would like)

2. Put lemon juice, salt, garlic, cumin, pepper into food processor or blender and blend

3. Add ½ of the chickpeas and blend with pulses into a paste. If very dry add some olive oil and/or water

4. Add olive oil, tahini, and the rest of the chickpeas, blend until smooth. Add olive oil and/or water if too dry.

Options:

# Add juice of a 2^nd lemon or lime. This reduces the amount of olive oil/water that you add extra.

# For Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

o Cut the pepper open, remove seeds and stem

o Place the pepper on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and the garlic to be roasted

o Bake (roast) until the pepper looks a little shriveled

o Add to the blender when the garlic is added

# Serve with fresh cucumber, carrots, broccoli, or sweet pepper

# Blend in Marie Sharp’s, chopped parsley, horseradish, paprika, dill, or other spices to add flavor

# Add orange juice instead of water to make the recipe extra special

# Blend in ¼ to ½ pound of tofu to make a creamier, healthy spread (though I have heard this is not as tasty)

Tomato Cream Sauce

So, Jess inspired me with a cookie recipe she posted on her blog.

I happened on this guess-ipe (recipe) tonight out of necessity. Might get a chance to fill you in later on how this came to be, but I am getting a bit giddy from being awake for too many hours, for too many days...

Tomato Cream Sauce

1 can condensed milk
1 tomato
1 clove of garlic
1 small onion
1/4 teaspoon of salt (about)
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (if you have it)

Peal the skin off of the tomato- it is easier if you cut the skin in a few places from top to bottom
Chop/Dice/Mince (pick your favorite method) the tomato, garlic, and onion
Saute the vegetables if you feel like it
Empty the condensed milk into a sauce pan
Add vegetables, parmesan, and salt

Heat on low to medium and stir almost constantly until it thickens- about 30-45 minutes (pure guess, it could have been 10 but I was hungry...) - add to pasta and fresh wahoo ;-) and enjoy!