Flan is for me

The other night my sister-in-law and I were talking about flan. Flan, or crème caramel, is my absolute favorite dessert. It’s sort of a custard baked in ramekins that are coated with this caramelized sugar on the bottom. When you turn the ramekins over, a sauce drizzles out. It is utter perfection to eat!

The last time I ate it was about four months ago. Since I’ve been on this post-pregnancy diet to rid myself of all toxins and shed the remainder of this baby weight before summer comes, all I think about is dessert. Is that so wrong? I’ll probably spend a lot of time hanging out at this beach this summer, so I am determined to not need leggings under the “skirt” I may also require if I don’t get rid of these extra pounds. At least Lands End makes the skirts seem cute, right?!

classic flan from Epicurious.com

Diets stink. All you end up thinking about are the things you can’t have. Ask anyone, I love sugar. I loved it in my coffee, in my morning oatmeal, and in the endless vanilla wafers I used to love to consume. (Trader Joes makes the BEST, by the way. Try them frozen! Everything is better frozen, but that's another blog.) And the topic of flan seems to be turning up everywhere! It's like I am being poked for Christ's sake. It’s all over the food channels. It looks so delicious; I salivate even thinking about it. I am being good—but, like singing and dancing a mash-up to Love, Sex, Magic/ I Feel Pretty with Mr. Schuester, that doesn’t mean I can’t fantasize about it. Bring it on!

My love affair with flan began in Belize in the early 90s. Back then Belize was known more for it’s Coral Reef than as a relaxing Caribbean vacation destination. It has the second longest Great Barrier Reef. Before it’s current popularity, it was more of a destination for divers. For me, it was a vacation destination with a former boyfriend who had a flare for adventure. But I did end up swimming with sharks. The locals kept assuring us they were more like dogs than sharks. Then one showed me his teeth, and I high-tailed it to the boat and didn't go back in the water for the rest of the day. I am still scarred by that! As much as I am scarred by seeing Jaws when I was 8 years old.

There are many islands off the cost of Belize, the largest and most touristy being Ambergris Caye. We landed in Caye Caulker. We met a lot of people who were sent there by the Peace Corp.  I called it a Peace Corp island, a term I would come to fully understand years later when I traveled to Nicaragua. I lasted on Caye Caulker all of one day and made us puddle-jump to Ambergris Caye for more comforting accommodations that had actual windows and not mesh with just curtains to cover the holes in the walls. It reminded me of the summer camp I sent my oldest daughter to last year. She was thrilled with her accommodations; I was petrified of mine. I am sure there is a lesson for me somewhere in there. But at the time I couldn't help but think, "No windows? Really?"

Ambergris Caye, on the other hand, was bliss. The island was amazing. Every night I ate at the same restaurant—Elvi’s Kitchen. I don’t think there were many to choose from back then. And who would want to? This was the coolest place! The floor was beach sand and the flan was divine. This was practically pre-Internet; now the restaurant has it’s own website claiming it’s the most famous restaurant on the Island (www.elviskitchen.com). My brother and sister-in-law are traveling to Belize in a few months for a destination wedding. My brother is a really picky eater; growing up all he ate was dried cereal and broccoli. If he doesn’t eat Elvi’s flan he should just go home.

Flan is kind of a constant for me. I ate it all through my pregnancy with Lydia. At least once a month my husband and I would go to one of our fave’s, Sloppy Jose’s—an authentic local Mexican restaurant (www.sloppyjoses.com). He’d get the fish tacos, and I’d skim through the tacos and go straight to the flan. I could be wrong, but I think Sloppy’s is made with Grand Marnier. Yum! But I’ve had it with other citrusy ingredients, and without them, too. I just love eggs! There are so many different recipes out there to try.

I’ve mostly had flan at Spanish restaurants, but while surfing the Internet, I learned the dessert has several different origins. One site says it dates back to Ancient Rome while another states the dessert is actually from the French culture. If you are interested in finding out more, check out this site:  http://flan.holidaycook.com/history.shtml

Oh flan, I can’t wait to eat you. I am so close to my goal weight. And when I hit it, I am going to celebrate so BIG. I am going to have a flan party where I invite my flan-loving friends and serve tons of flan, and we’re going to lick those plates and ramekins ‘til they are bone dry.

Classic flan recipe from Epicurious.com: 
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Flan-241128