Oh, no!

This weekend, I am going to venture into the world of cooking.
During the choosing of appliances for the house, I went looking for a double oven gas stove and a fridge that was very flexible in how the shelves could be arranged. I managed to succeed and it is time to begin to use them.
When I was at the Agriculture Fair on Ash Wednesday, one of the Junior Achievement groups was selling a "heavy cake kit" that contained everything except the main ingredient. What is heavy cake? Well, the name says it all. It is heavy because the main ingredient in it is a root crop called cassava (yucca to the Spanish). Add some brown sugar, spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, a bit of vanilla and mix it all together and the result is a item that anyone in the Caribbean and Central America will readily accept a slice of (assuming you prepared it well). Heavy cake is a great seller no matter where it is available.
I got into a discussion with a co-worker Janet who knows how to make it (by seeing her Mom) yet had never made it herself. Topics ranged from type of container it should be baked in (thick metal not thin but pyrex is acceptable and cast iron is great - and I though I understood the laws of thermodynamics), coconut milk (fresh made from the coconut, not from the can), how to bake (slow not fast so that it becomes stretchy - still working on understanding that) and finally basting the cake as it is cooking. Eventually, another co-worker Jennifer got involved in the chat. Needless to say, they thought that I was starting at the wrong end of the learning to cook scale but I still contend that how hard can it be?
The end result is that I now have two not too willing but will give it a try Caymanian tasters for Monday who will hopefully survive the experience.
I did let them know that I an going to take the quick way in preparation for now by using canned or previously prepared items as much as possible. Once I get the procedure down pat, I will explore other methods of heavy cake creation.
I have learned that most of the cooks in Cayman don't follow a recipe. They can estimate well enough based on what amount of ingredients that are available to deliver a consistent product.

If anyone is interested in trying heavy cake, here is the Junior Achievement recipe. You can replace the cassava with most Caribbean root crops (yams, etc) for a slightly different taste and texture but I believe the procedure and other ingredients remains the same.

Ingredients for Process A:-
-1 and 1/2 cans (32oz) of coconut milk
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup dark brown sugar
-1/2 tsp Vanilla
-1/4 tsp Allspice
-1 tsp ground nutmeg
-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for Process B
-1 cup light brown sugar
-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
-1 1/4 tsp vegetable oil
-1/4 cup dark sugar

Step 1 - Peel and grate 3 lbs of whole cassava (a food processor can be used) or you can buy pre-grated cassava if you are lucky. I was!

Step 2 - Place the ingredients for Process A in a large pot on a heated stove. Bring the mixture to a boil until a film of froth is seen.

Step 3 - Use a spoon to remove and collect the froth from the top of the boiled mixture until you have a measurement of 1/4 cup. This froth will be used to later baste the cake. Please preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 4 - Add the grated cassava to the mixture along with the ingredients from process B. Stir until well mixed.

Step 5 - Lightly oil an 8 x 8 inch baking pan and pour the mixture into pan.

Step 6 - Place mixture in oven to bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and baste it lightly with the froth.

Step 7 - Place the cake back into oven for 10 to 15 minutes. After this period is complete allow cake to cool overnight.

Step 8 - Enjoy your delicious heavy cake.

Sounds pretty straightforward to me, but then what do I know as I have only been a consumer for all my life! Since last night, I have had the 3 lbs of cassava defrosting in the fridge. This morning, It was still a solidly frozen mass. I have placed it on the counter to speed the process up.

An update on chickens. When we were transferring the Rhode Islands Reds from the chicken tractor to the coop, they were like pets. Calmly allowing us to hold them without any sign of fear or fuss. And true enough, 3 have begun laying eggs. Our maximum daily count so far is 7 but some were very small. These are believed to have come from beginning layers.

I also have some new plants to plant. 5 pineapple, a black mint, a peppermint and a thyme were bought at the Agriculture fair. I had pineapples about 15 years ago. Very small in size (the fruit was definitely less than 6" long) but it seemed to have contained all the flavor available in a large sized one.
Every now and then I start to imagine what would happen if the supply ships could not get here or we delayed by some disaster. Then I go out an plant another banana or some fruit tree. Who knows when they will be useful!

We did manage to move the lathe and stand on Wed. Only 4 guys and Janie, Sarah and Dorothy as standbys and counterweights but it has been successfully installed in its new (and hopefully permanent) parking space. It takes up more space that I thought (have to re-plan the garage organization) but it never hurts to have more room around it for working and maintenance.

Addendum:
It's Sunday morning and for better or worse, my heavy cake concoction is in the oven. Last night, I was over at Janet's and she had a Caymanian cookbook with a heavy cake recipe by Frank Conolly. I work with his daughter and he made a heavy cake for our family Christmas dinner in 2008 which was enjoyed by everyone. His recipe differs slightly from the one above but that is to be expected. He claims that the older Caymanians "cooked by eye".
Mr. Conolly's recipe called for more sugar and for some butter, which was not mentioned in the JA recipe. So I compromised and split the amount between them. I also added a bit of almond extract and honey for a slightly different twist on things. Mixing time was not long. I spent more time locating pans, measuring spoons and figuring out how to set the oven. I am cooking at 325 instead of 350 so that I can see how things are proceeding.
Here is the mixture before cooking...



Just waiting for the result - maybe an hour or two?

And the final result. The slash in the middle is where I insert a knife to see if the center was cooked




Now I have to find some coconut icecream to put on top but we will be tasting this by dinnertime if not before.

February already?

They say that the older you get, the faster time flies! They were not kidding!

Things are still progressing on the house. We completed the trim for the four storage areas and they have all been primed with two of them already final coated. Just have to choose they type of flooring and the doors and all is completed. The biggest problem is still the garage. I never realized how much stuff I have stashed in the old one. Ash Wednesday is a holiday and after a visit to the Agriculture Show in the morning to get fruit trees and other plants, later that day is "Let's move the lathe'! The lathe is about 6' long and weights about 600 lbs all stripped down. The base is another 400 lbs. Luckily, we can get a flatbed trailer within 3' of it so with 6 guys, we should be able to move things quite easily.
Then to plan the milling machine!

The chickens are fine. On this past Friday, we came home to find out that the Rhode Island Reds had laid 3 eggs. This was not natural as we are still feeding them grower, not layer! Later today, they will be joining the main flock and start to eat layer and corn.
The biggest problem I have seen is the roosters. They are continually chasing each other around and fighting. My solution - prepare 5 of them for the pot. The hens seem a lot more settled since we have cleared that mess up.

Still playing with photography. Got a couple new lens and attachments last month, but there are still some more that would be nice to have. With the upcoming Easter 4 day weekend and adding some vacation days, I will have 10 days off work. One of the things I am planing is an all day trip where I will do is drive around and photograph the island. Should be fun.
My newest lens is a Pentacon 300mm F4. It is made in Germany and is all old school - metal with very little if any plastic. Weighs about 5 lbs. It is not a hand holding lens and has to be used with either a tripod or a sandbag. It goes back to the old days when you bought a lens, you got a leather round case that is velvet lined. These days, you are lucky at times to get a glare hood much less a case.

To those that don't know me well, I collect and read magazines. Not everyday stuff but useful ones like Fine Homebuilding, Fine Woodworking, the Handyman, Home Shop Machinist, Projects in Metal, etc. You get the idea. DIY is the theme!
Some of these magazines have been in publication for 30 or more years. And I have almost every copy! Of course, the wife sees it as clutter but use an idea from them and she thinks I am the smartest guy in the world! I just smile and bask in the short limelight.
The problem for me is how to index and store them and for her is to get them out of sight? I have managed to locate in Cayman some medium sized plastic storage boxes from Sterilite. They have an air and moisture resistant seal and hold the magazines quite nicely. Solution - store the magazines in them in sequential order. I will have to build a storage unit in the garage where the boxes can all be lodged safely but still accessible when needed. I hope she likes the idea.

Yesterday, I went to the first birthday party of my God-daughter Sarah. Never had a God-daughter before and I am still feeling out what is required. She seemed quite happy to be running around with other children and did not have a care in the world. I took quite a few pictures and Janet will be combining them with others that have been taken of her by during the past year to make a photo book. First attempt at this but hopefully it will be a fun project.

It's also Valentine's Day everyone so hope that your special someone has remembered!