Tres Leches

This isn't an original recipe (and certainly not a vegan one, sorry my veggie friends), but it turned out so good I just thought I'd share the picture and story with you, as well as a link to the recipe.

Two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I moved into a new apartment. Our friend Manny helped us move in. Since we are poor college students/Busch Gardens employees, I told Manny that if he helped us I would pay him in the form of dinner and dessert. He requested a Tres Leches cake. For those of you who are behind on your Spanish, "tres leches" means "three milks". The three milks in this case are half and half, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. So even though I had never eaten or made a Tres Leches cake, I agreed.

This recipe was really easy. The only pain-in-butt/time consuming part was the whipped cream. I do not currently own an electric mixer, so I made the whipped cream by hand. That's right. Me, a cold bowl full of heavy cream, and a whisk. For over fifteen minutes. Man, was my arm tired, but that was the best whipped cream I've ever tasted. However, though making it by hand made me feel like a domestic goddess, if you have an electric mixer, USE IT.

The cake turned out really delicious, and since Manny gave it his stamp of approval, I was rather pleased with myself. This cake was really dense, rich, and sweet. But that's how it's supposed to be. Enjoy.

Vegetable Broth (from the new kitchen)

Wow, it's been a long break. Too long. But never fear, I am finally done moving, and fresh from a Publix trip, my pantry and fridge are now fully stocked for some new, fabulous recipes. First up, something savory. I've been wanting to make vegetable broth from scratch for a while now. I googled some recipes the other day and pretty much realized, it's something you just have to make up. Here's what I did, based on the ingredients I had in my produce drawer.

Vegetable Broth:

• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 2 stalks celery, plus extra celery leaves, cut into chunks
• 1 potato, cut into chunks
• Small handful of parsley
• 5 small tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 4 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 3 bay leaves
• 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
• Salt
  
• Pepper
• 8 cups water

Cut all your veggies into chunks. Feel free to not peel them, leave the paper on the garlic/onions, etc. Throw all of your veggies and herbs into a stock pot. Cover with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.


Reduce to a simmer, add soy sauce and pepper. Simmer for one hour. Taste and add more salt if desired. Strain your broth, put into some Tupperware, and refrigerate/freeze until you need some vegetable broth. This recipe made about 6 cups.

Don't throw those veggies away; I snacked on them right from the pot once I strained the liquid. Yum.