Fun with Baking

Sayote cake, similar to zucchini, served with tea from Senegal with my Tunisian tea set

I have been amusing myself lately by baking goodies for everyone, much to the pleasure of my students and the staff. When I first arrived, little Hannah (the five-year old daughter of two of the staff members) won a toaster oven during our church’s celebration raffle. Making cookies and scones has been fun in the little oven, but I use the wood-burning variety for my cakes and breads, which bake up very well in the rudimentary oven.
Three-layered chocolate birthday cake: chocolate overload and delicious

Carrot bread
One of the things I miss most about being in the United States is baking in a real oven with my preferred ingredients. I cannot wait to bake cookies and cakes and custards when I return home for the holidays! Although I have very limited baking resources, I have become very adept at making do in order to confection delicious desserts. The adage “where there is a will there is a way” befits my ability to transform simple ingredients into something tantalizing and memorable. I’m happy to have any oven to bake something. In Senegal, all I had was a charcoal or gas stove, which is supremely limiting in the culinary arena. Everything I make is exotic for my students, so they are always thrilled to be taste-testers. It has been a lot of fun cooking for an enthusiastic audience.
“You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words. How sweet are your words to my taste; sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119: 57, 103)
My own recipe: toasted coconut scones filled with fresh coconut filling
Creamy rice pudding made with reconstituted whole milk from powder

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