Chocotorta and PB&J picnic

Had another full, fun week in Buenos Aires. On Friday, Maddie, Kat & I spent 5 hours at the national post office picking up our packages from the U.S., which ended up being well worth it--thanks Mom & Dad, you're the best! Then we decided to make advantage of the (finally) beautiful weather and have a picnic in the park, complete with PB&Js using the peanut butter that Kat just got in the mail, delicious!

The next day, the girls & I went shopping on Calle Florida, a long pedestrian street with lots of stores and street vendors selling everything you can imagine. That night, we went to our Columbian teammate's birthday party where we wore funny glasses, ate cake, and danced under a strobe light! Today a group of us got together for a hearty American breakfast & played scrabble while we were waiting for our food. Now I'm nearing the halfway point of my time here, and only have 4 weeks until my mom comes to visit, I'm so excited!

Also, I though I'd share the recipe for one of the most amazing desserts I've had here so far--chocotorta! To my friends & family in the states: we will be making this when I get home.

Receta para chocotorta

Ingredients

• Cream cheese or whipped cream (320g)
• Dulce de leche "repostero" (500g)
• Simple rectangular chocolate cookies, "Chocolinas" (400g)
• Champagne, sweet wine, port, or brandy (about 1/2 cup)
• Coffee (about 1/2 cup)

Preparation

• In a bowl, mix the dulce de leche with the cream cheese or whipped cream
• In a different bowl, combine equal parts coffee and liquor
• On a flat rectangular baking sheet or tray, spread a thin layer of the dulce de leche/cream mix (so that the cookies will stick)
• Moisten the cookies with the coffee/liquor mix and place a layer of them side-by-side on the tray
• Spread a thicker layer of the dulce de leche/cream mix on top of the cookies
• Place another layer of moistened cookies
• Repeat to get approximately 4 layers of each, or until all the cookies & dulce de leche mix are used up
• Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and enjoy!