Cooking Class Is Where Food and Fun Meet

 

It has been over two months now since my older sister, my niece and I enrolled in a cooking class. Yes! Cooking class! I’m very sure I made the right choice because aside from the new skills I have been learning and a chance to bond with my sister and my niece, I also find the time to do things outside my day-to-day professional work as a Developer, which I think is a stress-reliever.  

I couldn’t stop remembering when I was little, I always wonder to join a swimming class but because of limited means, I only got a chance to have it when I was in college. ^_^v… in Physical Education 102! Sure it is not too late for anyone to fulfill one’s dreams. *What are your little dreams?*

This is the first time we wore our uniforms; we lovedit sooo much. Beside me is our Chef instructor.

 

This photo could tell how we are taking the chopping board seriously! Hahaha! Being in the kitchet for long straight hours, standing, in a room with high temperature, time-pressured… Bow na bow na ako sa contestants ng Top Chef!

 

Here’s my Grilled Cheese.

 

Here’s our Chocolate Mousse.

 

Here’s Food Carving Day!

Here’s Chicken Lollipop, Mayonnaise, Béchamel and Grilled Sandwich + Carrot Cake!

 

Here’s Makisushi and Vegetable Tempura

 

Here’s my niece, me and my sister holding our masterpieces during the examination.

 

Our mom would be very proud of us. We may not recreate her heavenly food the way she did it, but everything we have done and wish to do are all dedicated to her. I know she’d be proud of me even more when I have my own family.

 

Macaroons With Love

 

I’m soooo happy with the results!!! Everyone loves it!

Here is the very first batch last September 18! 

And here are my special gifts for Abby, Warren, Gems and Ariel on their birthdays!

So now, I’m sharing the recipe with you and let me know when you try!

 

Coconut macaroons are an all-time Filipino favorite dessert. This soft, chewy treat is a delight to both young and old alike. Here’s an easy recipe for making coconut macaroons, Filipino-style. This yields approximately 50 pieces.

Ingredients:

5 1/3 cup of  sweetened shredded or desiccated coconut (or about 14 ounces)

1 cup melted butter (or about 2 sticks)

½ cup brown sugar

3 pcs eggs

1 can condensed milk (14 ounces)

Tools You’ll Need:

Baking mold

Rubber Spatula

Large mixing bowl

Mini baking paper cups

1 tbsp Measuring spoon

Electric mixer

Procedure:

Place the melted butter and brown sugar in a big bowl, and cream together using an electric mixer.

Add in the eggs one by one into the mixture, then beat. Make sure the eggs are fresh because it affects the overall quality of your finished product.

Add the condensed milk and beat until all the ingredients are well blended.

Slowly add the sweetened shredded or desiccated coconut into the mixture. Use the spatula to mix the coconut with the rest of the ingredients.

Place the paper cups into the baking mold.

Put one tablespoon of the coconut mixture into the individual cups.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake the coconut macaroons for about 20 minutes, or until it turns golden brown.

Let it cool down before serving.

Enjoy your yummy treat!

Tips:

Some ovens vary in temperature. Make sure to keep a close eye on what you are baking so they don't burn. Coconut macaroons cook very fast.

Warning:

Always wear protective gloves when handling the baking mold in and out of the oven to prevent burning.

 

Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/185947_how-to-make-coconut-macaroons-filipino-style#ixzz1ZVP3lQcg

 

Kiss The Cook

 

 

Tweet.I created my very first tweet yesterday! It’s kinda funny coz I don’t want anyone to follow me on my twitter account. LOL! .. and LOL again! Bwahaha. Ewan. :-)) To date, I have tweeted three four until this morning. More to come! ^_^

 

 

 

What’s for Lunch? Well, it’s Daddy Demz favorite, “MY” Pancit Canton! It really amazed me when I cooked this recipe for the first time, everybody who tasted it, loved it! Syempre because of the "secret ingredient". I was actually the worst cook in my family. Lola is the best, next is Nanay Rose. Dith and Ate are almost equally good, then there’s Kuya and Tatay. I am actually at the bottom! Grrrr. ;-D Wahahaha! If you are surrounded with great cooks, then you should know that cooking is not anymore in the pile of your workloads at home. But Lola and Nanay are gone, Dith is away… I said to myself, “I have to do something!” … I practiced.

 

Now, I can cook!

I can cook anytime I want.

I can cook anything I want.

I can cook what Tatay wants.

I can cook and sing in between.

I can eat what I cook.

But … I am not a good cook.

 

 

Simeon. Do animals do get jealous? Oh my God! If the answer is yes, then Putol is… I spend more time with Simeon now – especially that cute little cat is soooo playful! Ang sarap kilitiin! Masarap din kitiin si Putol... (naman! may kasamang tulo laway pa!) Putol, don't be jealous, you are still my number one dog :D

 

 

 

 

Oh my! ....It's time to go to the bank! Waaaaa.

 

 

Sunday Is Sinigang Day

We were already up at around 4:30 this morning to go to church. We attended the first service and not the usual 9:30am schedule because CoolJo was on a night shift last Saturday. Since Sunday is a Church Day and also a Sinigang Day, I cooked Sinigang na Baka for our lunch. It has been a tradition at our home to cook Sinigang during Sundays. :D .. name it, Sinigang na Baboy, Sinigang na Baka, Sinigang na Hipon, Sinigang na Tanigue, Sinigang sa Bayabas, Sinigang sa Miso, Sinigang sa Kamias, Sinampalukang Manok at kung ano-ano pwedeng gawing Sinigang! Haha.

 

 

Earlier this morning, DaddyDemz picked the Banana Bud/Blossom (puso ng saging) from our neighbor’s banana tree. Nakalawit kasi sa bakod namin… I guess it is legal in the Philippine Law. :D So yung bunga ng Puno ng Saging eh nasa property na namin. Pero nagpaalam naman si DaddyDemz. Gusto nya daw ng Kilawin for tonight. He also harvested some of his Pechay, Okra and Talong. Maghilig sya magtanim. The rest of the ingredients for our SInigang were bought from the grocery. We change from Knorr to Maggi Sinigang Mix (fruity ang asim talaga) So buo na ang Sinigang! I got two thumbs up from DaddyDemz tastebuds ^_^

 

My weekend is ending… but without watching CSI: Las Vegas, New York and Maimi @ AXN!

Next week will be another tiring week at work but exciting. I have another presentation before the week ends. Kaya Mo Yaaaaan!

 

July is already on its 3^rd week! Ang bilis!

 

Ang tagal pa ng sweldo.

 

I gained a kilo this week! Yehey! 6-7 more kilos to go.

 

My friend infinity has arrived the other day from London; I guess this is another exciting reunion of Angels.

 

DaddyDemz’s friend has also arrived from Australia yesterday. When we got home from the mall, their barkadas were gathered at our place… may Barkada-Nights-Out daw sila. Ay naku sa beerhouse nanaman ang punta ng mga matatanda.

 

I am thinking about my Canada application. Batotoy is already asking when I am going to submit it.

 

JellyPotpot and I had a great time at the mall yesterday. I gave her a treat for getting five 100%’s out of six Long Exams last quarter. Mana talaga sa Tita.

 

I’ll cook Adobong Pusit tomorrow for my baon.

 

And for my last thought for this day: I just hope some people just mind their own business instead of talking other people’s lives! I think this conveys a very clear message.

Leche Flan & Buko Pandan

Jellypotpot requested me to make Leche Flans for our New Years Celebration this year. And as promised, I did some good Leche Flan through the help of my nieces. I haven’t tasted the end product yet but from the looks, I think I made some good ones ^_^


Here’s the recipe:

Leche Flan (with the capital F, hehe)

Ingredients:
12 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp of vanilla (you may use lemon zest
½ cup sugar (multiply w/ the no. of flat molds)

In a bowl, combine all the above ingredients except the sugar. Stir lightly so as to prevent bubbles from forming.

Put the sugar (no water) into a stainless steel flan mold. Caramelize in low heat if you don’t want it burnt. Do it in medium heat if you prefer it with a hint of bitterness like I do. Set it aside for few minutes or until the caramel hardens. Strain while pouring the custard mixture into the flan mold. Cover the flan mold and steam for about 30 minutes over low heat. Refrigerate. Serve it upside down on a platter.

I did make 4 medium llaneras and a large one.

I also prepared Buko Pandan this afternoon. I got the recipe from the back label of Carnation Condensada. I did have some fun while doing this because I was able to attain the taste and the aroma that I was looking for. One good thing, Sis Doll and I found this buko vendor along Olobama intersection so we had fresh shredded buko and the juice which makes the gelatin smell really good.


I made 5 medium plastic containers as you can see in the picture.

2 bars gelatin (green)
4 pieces pandan leaves
¼ cup sugar
4 cups buko water
1 cup CARNATION Condensada
1 cup buko, grated

Bring to boil the gelatin bars, pandan leaves, sugar and the buko juice. Put in a molding container until it hardens and cool down. Cut into strips. Toss the gelatin with condensed milk all-purpose cream and the shredded buko. Chill and serve.

Enjoy the holiday season!

On Monday, I’ll do the Sweetened Gelatin and Lumpiang Shanghai. Thanks to Dith BettyBoop for sharing her recipe of Lumpiang Shanghai. I already received her email just a few minutes ago.

 

Start Of Something New

Programming has been part of my everyday life since college. Every time I do my stuff in programming, it exercises my brain to think and uplifts my mood in a different way whenever I would accomplish an objective… until I became assigned in project management, sort of.

 

Yesterday, I had a chat with Mr. V, and it was kind of embarrassing when I mistakenly perceived an image as something that it is not, well in fact, it was an icon for a new blooming programming language.

 

Here's Mr. V new avatar in his Window Live Messenger:

Meeyeow: movie time ka?

Mr. V: hehehe movie time?

Mr. V: bat mo nasabi?

Mr. V:  L:D

Meeyeow: kasi yung avatar mo :D

Mr. V: di naman movie yan

Meeyeow: hahhaha

Mr. V: napag iwanan ka na sa programming world

Meeyeow: ano ba yan?

Meeyeow: hahahaha!!!

Meeyeow: hahahah

Mr. V: http://www.rubyonrails.org/

Meeyeow: ahhh

Mr. V: browse mo :P

Meeyeow: cge

 

Browsing…

 

Meeyeow: hahaha

Meeyeow: so free tong ruby

Meeyeow: Rails pala :D:D:D

Mr. V: yup :)

Mr. V: new prog language

Mr. V: innovative sya

Meeyeow: mukhang interesting

Mr. V: kaya kelangan mo nang mag innovate

Mr. V: natawa naman ako kala mo movie time ung icon ko hahaha

Meeyeow: hahahaha

Meeyeow: napahiya ako!

Meeyeow: kung natawa ka, napahiya naman ako.

 

I cooked Chicken Tinola for our lunch (I forgot to take some pictures of it) while reading my book. ^_^V

 

After ‘The Alchemist’, I am now reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and I agree that it is nice to balance my reading.

 

 

Chicken Sopas

Last night, I went straight to SM mall after work to buy some macaroni noodles, black pepper and mangoes. I was planning to cook Chicken Sopas that night. In the mall, people were already having their Christmas shopping rush because the mall was visited by so many shoppers. The long lines in the ATM booth and cashier sections were unbearable. I was forced to withdraw money from my ATM because I was getting paranoid again about ATM machines during Holidays season… they run out of money!

 

Two years ago I did a hard time getting my money from my DBP ATM card. Online transactions were not working. That was on the day of the New Year’s Eve celebration. From that experience, I told to myself that I will withdraw money from my ATM earlier before the Holiday vacation. So even I was on the tenth from the queue, I waited till I got my Holiday budget.

 

When I got home, I finished my dinner and prepared everything for my Chicken Sopas Recipe. This recipe is my all-time favorite talaga! I still remember my mother used to have this recipe in her small carinderia(restaurant). Of course, my food was free. Nanay was a great cook. That was one of her talent as a mother. Even a simple dish could be as delicious as an expensive menu! Too sad, I’ve only few memories of Nanay… I don’t know, it feels like I was not that close to her. Maybe I’ll write something about this some other time, but for now I will show you my very own Chicken Sopas Recipe!

 

I might not have done the right way but the end product tasted great! (hahaha! - “Luto Ko, Kain Ko”) .Everyone is encouraged to comment on the recipes I post here. Remember I am not a real chef or something hahaha!

 

Here's my Chicken Sopas

 

Ingredients:

 

½ kilo chicken (chicken breast is best, but any part should be okay. I used wings.)
3-4 cups water
1 small onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cooking oil
1 cup small shell pasta (elbow, you can use spaghetti pasta)
1 carrot, cubed
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
1 tsp fish sauce (patis)

 

Procedures:

 

1) Boil the chicken in the water the salt and pepper.
2) Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the water to shred or to slice. Set aside the shredded chicken and the stock.
3) In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Saute garlic until slightly brown, add the onions then add the shredded chicken.
4) Add the chicken stock.

5) When the liquid boils, add the pasta. Just add water because the pasta will zip the liquid. Make sure that there’s liquid left for your Sopas.
6) As soon as the pasta is already softened (but not too much), add the carrots and celery. Stir.
7) Add the shredded cabbage. Keep stirring.
8) Slowly add the milk and keep stirring.

9) Taste the Sopas and add some salt/patis/pepper if needed.

 

It took me about less than an hour to cook everything including the chicken stock.

I ate a bowl of my Chicken Sopas before I went to bed. Yum! I texted Sis Doll to get some for their breakfast the next day.

 

Then at my breakfast this morning, I also ate my Chicken Sopas. Yum! Hehehe.

 

So Enjoy your Chicken Sopas!

 

Here's the picture at the stove

      

 

Beef Tapa

I have this new addition to my site. This corner will showcase some recipes I do at home. I am not a professional cook and most of the recipes that I will share here are just products of my very imaginative mind or copied from my Nanay and my sisters’ recipes. I only have a chance to cook food at home during weekends because usually on weekdays I go home very late.

 

Today, I will share with you my own version of beef tapa.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup of vinegar (for every..)

¼ kilos of beef sirloin

Pepper

Salt

Sugar (optional)

 

Procedure:

 

1. Put the sirloin into a bowl.

2. Add on the garlic, pepper and salt to the meat and mix it using your hands. In this way, the flavour of the garlic, pepper and salt will embrace the meat.

3. Pour the vinegar and marinade for a minimum of 12 hours. (I did four hours only.)

 

If you want to cook it right away:

4. In a frying pan, put in the marinade. Let it simmer for 30 minutes in a very low heat.

5. Once the marinade solution is about to evaporate, put in some cooking oil and fry the meat until tender.

 

Here’s another way to do it:

4. Sun dry the slices.

5. Fry.

 

 

Enjoy!