Skip to main content

F is for Flan




I had originally planned to make fudge for F. Then Spencer informed me that he doesn't like chocolate. I don't understand. I love him, but I don't understand. I've never made flan before. We consulted Heather and America's Test Kitchen and decided to give it a try. I think we made a perfectly respectable first attempt.


This recipe started off as an exercise in sibling rivalry. Julie kept saying "macaroni pan" and Spencer loudly and forcefully continued to remind her that it was actually a sauce pan. After a few minutes of shouting at each other about the pan there was a brief wrestling match to determine who would get to stand on the step stool and who would stand on a chair. Around the time they started throwing sugar at each other I decided that perhaps I had started this project a little bit to closely to lunch time. We took a break for a snack. Things were much more congenial after everyone had a full stomach.



Spencer got frustrated with trying to use measuring cups today. He liked using the scale much better. I don't have a good loaf pan, so we used ramekins to make individual serving sizes. We divided the caramel among 6 ramekins, but when we got to the custard we had more than I expected and we filled 9 ramekins. 









Eggs continue to be an adventure. Spencer likes to separate eggs by dumping them into his hand and let the whites slip through his fingers. It's a messy but mostly effective process. Julie doesn't separate eggs, but she's getting good at cracking them. I've learned to plan on using one or two extra eggs and to have lots of dishtowels available when cooking with the kids. We usually lose at least one egg down the sink or on the floor. It's fun, but I'm ready for a few eggless recipes. -L

-------------

Isaac loves breaking eggs, but does not love the stuff inside.  He hates getting raw egg on his hands which makes separating eggs tricky.  In the process of breaking seven eggs, he washed his hands eight times.  It was fun to try something we've never made before, but we couldn't decide how to pronounce Flan.  Does it rhyme with "Lawn" or "Plan?" -H




Printable version here


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

J is for Jam

Strawberries are in season in Texas. We bought a bunch. The kids have been loving them. The best strawberries are fresh from our garden, but we only get a handful of those at a time. They are a perfect before bed snack. For recipes that involve lots sugar and plenty of cooking time we use store bought strawberries. Julie has been hopping around the house saying "strawberries" for days. She also has utterly refused to wear clothes. She screams and shouts and kicks and thrashes while I get her dressed and then immediately removes all of her clothing as soon as she can. I've decided this is not a battle I'm willing to fight, so she spends most of the day in just a diaper. (I am willing to fight with her to keep a diaper on. I hate cleaning the carpet.) But when I said it was time to get out the strawberries and make jam she ran into the kitchen, grabbed her apron, and said "Put it on Mom." I did not make her ask twice. In addition to convincing Julie to ge...

L is for Lemonade

Isaac had to work hard to get all the lemons squeezed, but it was totally worth it.  It was good lemonade. We are so ready for summer!  Maybe if we make enough Lemonade we can pretend it's not cold and rainy.  -H ---------------- I have a citrus juicer, but it's the kind that you have to squeeze, and neither Julie nor Spencer have big enough hands to really use it. Luckily a friend let us borrow her electric juicer. With the assistance of electricity, making lemonade was a lot of fun. Since simple syrup doesn't require very precise measurements, we let Julie do that part by herself. -L Printable recipe here

K is for Key Lime Bars

I don't always like English. It seems to be an adequate lingua franca , and Shakespeare did some pretty impressive things with it, but some days I don't enjoy English.  In true American style, it is the only language I speak, so I don't know if there is another language that I would prefer. What I do know is that the rules aren't really rules. For example "I before E except after C and when sounded like A as in neighbor or weigh" is a silly little rhyme that is completely useless when I'm trying to spell feisty - a word that is frequently relevant in my house. I've had more than one argument with a preschool aged feisty redhead about the fact that phone does not start with F and great begins with the same letter as giraffe (and that letter is not J.) Trying to explain what sound a vowel makes is an exercise in futility. Once, when Christopher was in preschool, I found him sitting at the table in tears. He wasn't quietly sniffling. He was loudl...