When I was in Israel I wrote an article for the St. George Spectrum, entitled "Adventures in Overseas Baking." It was about the struggle to find ingredients that are common place in the United States, trying to bake with a tempermental gas oven, and just trying to succeed in making something decent. By the end of my time there I was an expert at sugar cookies and brownies. Back in the States the brownie recipe was made dozens of times, and I think that my friends would agree, that it was awesome. I now have the recipe memorized. In preparation for my 10 months in Georgia, I purchased a set of American measuring spoons and cups from my beloved Target to ensure baking success. In Israel, there where no measuring cups, so a lot of guessing was involved. Fortunately, most of the coffee cups appeared to be about a cup, so that is what we Americans would when baking. To avoid error here, I brought the set with me.
It is this recipe that I attempted to make today. The recipe is simple and requires just one bowl in which to mix ingredients. My host family had kindly bought me everything I needed to make them. I decided that today would be an excellent day to make them as I finally get to meet the rest of the family. Now I am not sure I want to greet them with what I have created.
The batter was perfect, and considering how Calvin used to clean the bowl out for me, I'm sure he would agree. It was the baking portion where everything went wrong, and the oven situation is a story in itself.
When I first arrived at the house, ironically, the first thing I noticed in the kitchen was the absence of an oven. I soon saw one in the upstairs kitchen, and I figured that is the one that I would bake with. Wrong, so I assumed I could use the oven at the uncle's house. Wrong again. What I find perplexing about the second oven is why it does not work if the house is only 5 months old. If you were building a mansion by Georgian standards it seems that having a working oven might be included. I guess have still have a lot to learn about Georgian culture. So this morning I finally saw the "oven" that I could use to bake in. I think contraption is a better descriptor.
Lola, the English speaking host cousin, has gone to Gori (Stalin's hometown) for the week, so I could not ask her about the contraption. I think it might be Russian and from Soviet times, but beyond that I'm not sure. It is maybe 2 feet in diameter and it sits on a chair in the corner. I had seen it there over the past 2 weeks, but I never questioned what it was for. I figured it was for canning or something, like a pressure cooker. First, the pan I was given to use was too big for the contraption; consequently, we had to search for 9x13 inch pans, which luckily we found. The contraption works almost too well, and brownies that normally take 35 minutes to bake were done in about 15 minutes.
The flakely topped, fudgy brownies that I love so much did not come out of the "oven." Something hideous did instead. I cringe just thinking about the "brownies" downstairs. I was hesitent to try them, but curiosity won over. They taste sort of okay, I guess. But the whole experience was so devasting and frustrating I will not be baking until I return to the United States. I had thought it curious how much food was cooked on the stove; now I know why. However, I did promise Lola that I would make cheese cake for her, something she learned to love while in the US. Now I just need to find a no-bake version to make for her. Ironically, I once swore to myself and never cheat by making a no-bake cheesecake.
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