beatriceeagle

So, about two hours ago, I decided to try out a banana bread that I got from my host mother in Costa Rica. (Yeah, I'm aware it's two am. My sleep schedule's screwed.)

Now, this was a family recipe, and I was working with slightly different ingredients (North American bananas just aren't Costa Rican bananas) so I was prepared for a few hiccups, but I'm actually generally all right at baking. So an hour and a half ago, I pop the bread into the oven at the temperature Marta gave me: 175 degrees.

Now, to be fair, I did stop and think, "Hey, that's kind of low." But it had been in her family for at least two generations! I'd seen it in action! Clearly, the temperature couldn't be a mistake.

An hour and a half later, it's still not baked through. I must be doing something wrong. So I go online to check out other banana bread recipes, and...

Oh. Fuck. Celcius. 175 degrees Celcius.

Needless to say, the oven has been turned up. I'll report on the eventual banana bread tomorrow.

(Also! I got a phone call today from my friend Maria Fernanda from Costa Rica! Not only can I somehow still speak Spanish, I can speak Spanish over a very shaky cell phone connection. And also...I'd been missing her and everyone else, so it was really good to talk to her.)

UPDATE: The bread is...not quite the consistency I was looking for, but actually not bad. I'll have to try it again on the right temperature.