Torrejas, a Latin American Easter treat

Growing up, Easter (pascua in Spanish) and the week leading up to it, holy week, (semana santa) was a big deal in our house. My parents stuck to our religious and cultural traditions. Certain foods of course, were a part of that tradition.

On Good Friday (viernes santo) we used to go to church in the morning followed by a late lunch-combination-dinner. This was one day we didn’t consume meat  and the traditional meal we ate was a cod and chickpea dish, rice and torrejas for dessert. My favourite part was the torrejas. They were soft, sweet and a once-a-year special treat. It’s the number one recipe I associate with our Easter traditions as a child and was excited to make it again after all these years and share it with Food Bloggers of Canada.

As usual, I try to follow my mom’s recipe. Looking at the recipe you will notice is very similar to regular french toast. However, there are three key things that distinguish torrejas from french toast:

• The syrup – you make your own syrup to go with it. Packaged syrup just doesn’t work for this recipe.
• The bread. My mom used to use paska bread popular at during Easter but a few days old raisin loaf or egg bread works too.
• It should be served cold. Once cooked, the syrup is poured over the bread and sits to let the bread soak up the syrup  (which is why using a thick bread is crucial).

A thick bread, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, water and cinnamon is all you need.

First step is to make the syrup.

The bread should be sliced into one inch pieces so they don’t fall apart or get too soggy when they are dipped into the milk and eggs.

Fry them as you would french toast, then let cool.

Drizzle syrup over torrejas. The longer you let them soak, the better. They are meant to be served cold.

Torrejas 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp of cloves (optional)
• 3 tbsp of canola oil
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 – 1 inch slices of day old paska bread or raison loaf (regular sliced bread will fall apart)

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, water, cloves if you’re using them and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until thick. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Preheat canola oil in frying fan.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites. Add the egg yolks to the whites and stir to combine once.
4. Pour milk, vanilla and ground cinnamon into another bowl.
5. Dip each slice of bread into the milk mixture, remove and then dip into the egg mixture. Fry them as you would French toast (until they are golden in colour on both sides). Remove from heat.
6. Place the torrejas in a deep dish and drizzle the syrup on top. Let sit for at least one hour allowing the torrejas to cool and soak in the syrup .

Enjoy!

¡Me Gusta! café

Coffee is  big part of my daily morning ritual. There’s nothing quite like that peaceful moment when I take my first sip of freshly brewed coffee every morning.  It’s also played a huge role in getting me through this never ending winter we’ve had.

My dad taught me a lot about coffee when I was growing up. He would tell me about the coffee plantations, or finacas that he worked in as a boy in El Salvador. I remember thinking it was so unfair he had to work as a boy. As an adult, his stories have stayed with me and is part of the reason I also try and drink fair trade coffee as much as I can. My preferred method is to grind my own beans and make my own coffee using a French press. I also love coffee shops and am happy to see Winnipeg has a few independently owned ones that are socially conscious and serve great tasting quality coffee. Not to sound like a coffee snob or anything but you won’t ever catch me at Tim Hortons but I am guilty of owning a Tassimo (that I hardly use but would if they offered fair trade T cups).

Currently I’m in coffee heaven. My dad recently brought me coffee straight from El Salvador and I brought a couple of different beans from a trip to Mexico earlier this month.

I leave you with this quote that perfectly sums me up pre-coffee in the morning.

“I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee.”

Clark Gable

Mexico round up 2014

I was in Mexico earlier this month. As usual, the sand, sun and sea worked wonders on me and I came back wonderfully refreshed and inspired. Visiting Mexico is like visiting my home country of El Salvador, with the exception of a few small details. I came back with a ton of ideas for the blog that I look forward to rolling out throughout the year.

Following on last year’s Mexico round up, instead of using words to describe the highlights of my trip, I’d rather show you in photos.

We stayed in Ixtapa but spent some time exploring the beaches in the nearby fishing town of Zihuatenejo. We had dinner oceanside on this beach, Playa La Madera.

Margaritas are always a good idea in Mexico because there is so many varieties made with fresh fruit. The combination of the view and this mango margarita was pleasant on all my senses!

We were at an all inclusive (AI) which are not known for having the best food options so we usually venture out for as much meals as we can. My favourite meal at our resort was lunch. There were always 4 or 5 different ceviche options to choose from as well as an a la carte fish menu. My husband had the catch of the day filet made al mojo de ajo (garlic butter) which is a specialty in the region, every single day! They also had grilled flank steak, chicken and pork available a la carte. I settled for a fresh salad and ceviche everyday. Paired with a mid-day glass of chilled white wine, this made for a relaxing and delicious meal.

Speaking of lunch, they also had my favourite dessert, tres leches every single day! It was hard to hold back and not take a slice everyday but I sure do miss having the option.

One thing I did indulge in every single day was a fresh green juice at breakfast. Along with a large glass of water and a strong cup of mexican coffee, I was set for the day.

Chorizo tacos are one of my very favourite foods. We make them at home often, but the chorizo is never quite like the chorizo you can find In Mexico and other Latin American countries. There were a ton of restaurant options in Ixtapa, some a little too touristy for us and way too many italian restaurants in my opinion (I LOVE italian food, it’s just not what I go to Mexico for). We found the perfect place, a small outdoor patio with tables of Mexican patrons which is always a good sign. The playful name finished convincing us to try it out –  Los Bigotes de Zapata  (Zapatas’ mustaches). We were so happy we chose to eat there, it was obviously family owned and they were extremely friendly. The food was delicious. I had a tortilla soup with the chorizo tacos (my husband had carnitas tacos) and we felt our trip was complete with this meal.

Red snapper, or huachinango as they refer to it in Mexico (or boca colorada in El Salvador) is a must in the Ixtapa/Zihuatenenjo region as it is one of their specialties. It is local and fresh fresh FRESH! We dined in another outdoor patio that beared the name of the fish and it didn’t disappoint. The snapper was brought fresh to our table before cooking for us to see, smell and approve.

My shopping list for Mexico consists of four items every year: vanilla, coffee, tequila, hot sauce and this year I added sea salt and chia seeds to the list. Markets (mercados) get me really excited and the market in Zihuatenejo did not disappoint. More about our mercado day in a future post. For now, I leave you with this photo of vanilla beans (I can practically smell it).

A book, a beach, a beer. Bliss. This is Coral Beach, one of three beaches on Ixtapa Island that we spent a day at.

The best part was all the natural vitamin D we absorbed, After this long harsh winter, it was much needed and appreciated. We sat on the balcony or walked along the beach to enjoy the sunset every single night. I just love Pacific sunsets!