The Fishers in La Paz, Bolivia

Those of you who live much closer to sea level may not realize that cooking and baking is a unique challenge at over 10,000 feet. I’m on a quest to make a chewy brownie! I have tried three recipes so far. The first one was meant for high altitudes, but overflowed over the side of the pan. What was actually left at the bottom turned out okay, but kind of crispy. I ate them anyway because I used precious chocolate chips I brought from the States and didn’t want to waste them. Next I tried some alterations to a very expensive box of American brownie mix I bought here. They tasted good enough to take to an event I went to, but they were pretty much like chocolate cake, not chewy brownies like I had hoped. Then I tried a recipe from a cookbook published here in La Paz. Though rich, the brownies were not really very good and crumbled all over when I tried to get them out. This batch I was on my own to eat, Tom didn’t try them and Avery doesn’t like chocolate. Again, why waste a dessert, even if it isn’t what you hoped for? Part of my problem may be that my oven does not have degrees on the dial, only the numbers 1-5 – not too specific, as you might imagine! Thankfully, I do have an oven thermometer my mom sent me, but I think the oven is different temperatures at different spots so it doesn’t totally solve my baking issues. So, I will let you know if I ever manage to make really good brownies. You don’t have to feel too sorry for me though. I can walk a few blocks to the bakery and buy a delicious warm crossaint with chocolate inside anytime I want!