READS: All Over The Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love and Petty Theft - Geraldine DeRuiter

In general I am a big fan of travel memoirs, particularly anything that has to do with foreign locations, food and new cultures.  This wonderful read is not exactly a travel memoir AND I LOVED it.  She is very clear from the beginning that if you are looking for a travel memoir where a broken hearted gal decides to go on a trip and then meets the love of her life in some foreign land - this is not it.  Which means it will probably never be made into a move, but I can dream.  What really spoke to me is Geraldine's ability to see the amusement in the ordinary, and to be well, not ordinary. 

Over a 5 year span, the reader follows a funny, heartfelt tale of the ups and downs in life. She followed my philosophy of "well you are laid off and have time on your hands, might as well travel" theory of the universe.  Like many of us Geraldine has parents she can't understand (pickax) , has been drastically unemployed and survived a brain tumor (insert your personal tragic life changing event).  In a world where lost luggage and foreign locations feel well, foreign, she speaks to how having the right person with you can soothe nerves and itineraries.  OK, yes I mostly travel alone, but I have a bevy of friends who talk me off the ledge when my flight is delayed, and rejoice when it is not.  (Are they ever NOT delayed?)

In short, I want to be her friend, I definitely could be her friend, except I don't know her.  My friends will instantly understand what I mean when they read this book.  In the meantime, please note Geraldine, I am not a stalker I am however a fan-gal safely located on the other coast.

In addition to reading this amazing book, I suggest following her blog:
https://www.everywhereist.com/  and following Geraldine on Social Media :Twitter, Facebook

EATS - Pandebono (Colombian Cheesy bread)

Pandebono is a Colombian gluten free cheese bread. I was introduced to these wonderful treats by my friend Robert who first sent me to a shop in Colombia to get them, and later made them for me at his home.  Rob used feta both because he likes it and because he could not get the traditional Colombian cheese where he lives.This is good for Rob and his family, unfortunately feta is not my friend.

Fortunately I live where all of the ingredients are readily available.  This is my version of a combination of two different recipes that Rob suggested plus mine own tweaking.  Most of make the pandebonos using a food processor, but I do not have a full sized food processor, so this is my version.  This is also a double batch (it make 24 rather than 12) so feel free to halve the recipe as needed.  You can make this by hand, but I use my trusty stand mixer.

This whole process takes about 40 minutes - depending on your oven and how fast you can process the cheese.  If you decide to grate the cheese by hand, it will take longer.

Ingredients
Yuca Harina (Tapioca Starch - you can also use cassava flour)  1 &1/3 C
Masarepa (Pre-cooked white corn meal)  1/2 Cup
Baking Powder 1 tsp (optional - or sub Baking soda)
Salt 1 tsp
Queso De Freir 16 oz - grated (see below)
Queso Fresco 6 oz - grated (see below)
3-4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 F

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl for your standing mixer add all the dry ingredients and whisk to -combine.  Tilt the bowl so the most of the flour mixture sits to one side.

Cut the cheese into cubes, add in sections to food processor with 1-2 spoonfuls of the flour mixture, run food processor until grated thoroughly.

Add to empty side of mixing bowl and repeat until all the cheese has been processed. 

 Whisk to combine cheese and any remaining flour in the bowl.

Hook bowl up to stand mixer, add eggs one at a time.  after each egg looks to be combined, stop the mixer and with a spoon or rubber spatula, make sure that the flours on the bottom of the bowl are being combined in.

After all the eggs are thoroughly combined, again check that all of the flour has been incorporated, if not you can do this by hand kneading it in.

For this batch I used only 3 eggs, for more fool proof recipe use 4 eggs and the dough will be tighter.  In this case I noted that it came together enough for what I was trying to get.

Separate the dough in half (2 sections), then half again (4 sections) , and again (8 sections).
Take each section and make into 3 balls.

Ready for baking or the refrigerator

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.  Serve hot or warm.

You can make these ahead and store in the refrigerator for several days and bake off as needed for a quick and ready pandebono when you want one.