30ish Birthday

Hubby celebrated his 30ish birthday a few days ago. Our little sweetheart made this banner/card for him.

Then I made this simple chocolate cake for him. 

Hehehe. Me and our daughter should work on our "penmanship".

Happy birthday again Sweetie. We appreciate everything you do to give us a safe and happy home. We love you. 

**********
Buttercream Frosting Recipe 

Chocolate cake Recipe
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp salt
-- mix and set aside.
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
-- beat then add 1/2 cup oil and cream together
add dry 1/3 of dry mixture ( to egg mixture and beat at slow speed ) alternately with
1/4 cup milk ending with dry mixture.
Beat until well incorporated.
Bake at 200degrees C for 25-30 mins

Chocolate filling
Boil 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup cocoa and 1/4 cup milk. Let it cool. Beat for 3mins.

Classic Cinnamon Roll

I am a self-confessed disobedient baker. I have tried and tested recipes from friends and trusted online sites but I always, deliberately, don't follow them. I shouldn't have gotten those recipes, right?! I'm just too lazy to follow everything to the dot. So I always end up with something less than spectacular baked product or I finally get the recipe right after several (and few pounds on the belly) tries.

As usual, I found this Classic Cinnamon Roll recipe, one of our favorites, from Yummy magazine and I tried making them based on their recipe.

My  version of Cinnamon Roll

Yeah, it was good.

Classic Cinnamon Roll (my "more or less" version 'coz I don't follow exactly the recipe)

1/4 cup milk 

2Tbsp butter

 ------melt/heat; cool to room temp

1tsp of yeast

1/4 cup warm water

------mix until frothy

then whisk to the mixture

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

milk-butter mixture

then add flour to make dough

Knead for a few minutes and proof for, ideally, few hours. (I just hate waiting.)

Roll out dough and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Roll up the dough and cut into equal portions. Arrange them on a greased pan. 

Cover with lightly damp cloth and proof again. (I really hate waiting.)

Bake at 180-200 degrees C for 20-25 mins.

Let it cool and drizzle with some glaze or frosting. I made my sugar glaze by mixing butter, milk and powdered sugar and the choco glaze by melting granulated sugar, butter, milk and unsweetened choco powder.

My version of Cinnamon Roll with Choco glaze

Eat. Bake. Repeat.

Homeschooling Notes: Story of St. Patrick

I've only heard of St. Patrick's Day and never celebrated it. I guess it's not that popular in my part of the world. I only know there's a lot of greens, leprechauns, 3 leaf clover, Liam Neeson and a lot of Irish beers. Silly me.

I tried to research about it now (just now) 'cause it will be helpful in learning religion and other cultures in our homeschooling. And I found this youtube video about St. Patrick a little helpful and a bit funny too.

In our mini celebration of St. Patrick's life, we made some Green Crinkle Cookies. I tried shaping them like shamrocks but this is all I can do. I'd better update my cookie cutting tools for more baking crafts. 

Doll Cake for My Little Princess

Happy 3rd parenting birthday to us! I feel so old now.

Our little girl turned 3 years old yesterday and her only request was a Doll cake (and a Snow White Barbie). And I willingly obliged to do this laborious task of baking her one.

Not bad for a first time er!?

My Doll Cake looks so easy and simple. It was, actually. But I have a really small oven and a small icing syringe so I have to do everything in small batches and make again to complete the entire cake. So this is pretty much the hardest and most exhausting thing I have ever baked (so far). I had to prepare ingredients, mix, wash mixer, beat eggs and bake and wash all then repeat 4 times. I had to do my buttercream 4 times also too. (I don't think I'll beat egg whites and butter again any time soon.) But it was all worth it.  I was really happy with it. I think the birthday girl was too. 

To my Everdearest Natnat,

May god bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay, forever young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

And may you stay forever young

Happiest Birthday to my Sweetheart! Mommy and Daddy loves you so much!

Recipes here : Vanilla Cake and Buttercream Frosting

Message / Song From here: Forever Young - Bob Dylan

 

Testing Recipes: Vanilla Cake

Time flies really fast. Our little one is turning three soon. All she wants is a nice Barbie or Disney princess cake -- the one with a doll in the center and has edible cake and frosting for the dress. Since I am into a little baking for the past year, I would like to make this cake possible for her --- with my own two hands. It seems easy to make when you watch tutorials on Youtube. But from experience, I know it's a little challenging when you don't have molders, pans and a really go to recipe for the frosting, filling and cake. I only do very basic (not following exact recipe) cakes for no occasion snacks and dessert. Though those would be applicable for the Doll Cake, I still want this cake to be a little special since it's for my child's birthday. So I've been experimenting with some basic vanilla cake recipes and frostings. 

I'm posting the recipe here for reference.

Vanilla Cake:

A) flour mixture

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

----mix and sift before mixing to other ingredients

B) Egg yolk mixture

3 egg yolks, whisked

1/4-1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

--- mix together using electric beater

C) 1/2 cup milk

D) Egg white mixture

3 egg whites

1/4-1/3 cups sugar

--- beat until peaks form

Pour A and C alternately on B. Mix /Beat until well blended. Fold in D to the ABC mixture.

Bake at 180degrees C for 30-40 mins.

The cake was okay, maybe needs a little more vanilla and sift the flour ( I ALWAYS skip this part) to make it fluffier. But I think this is good enough for what I need since it looks like it can hold a heavy (frosting) dress and can keep the doll in the center without falling off and out of the cake. However when I tasted this right after it came out of the oven, it tasted a little "egg-ish". That's why I decided to make Caramel sauce to cover that quite unpleasant taste.

*After resting the cake for a while, there was no more "egg-ish" taste anymore. So the cake can do with or without the sauce

Caramel Sauce:

2 Tbsp sugar

--- caramelize over low-medium heat

then add

1/2 cup cream

---mix till well blended and reached desired consistency

then remove from heat and  add

2 Tbsp butter

--- mix well

Pour over cake.

The cake and caramel sauce tasted good together. I'm now considering using the caramel sauce for filling and maybe for crumb coating  the doll cake instead of buttercream. But I found this Battle of the Buttercream of Nila from the The Tough Cookie. Now, I am tempted to try and experiment again. 

 I am sabotaging my own diet with testing these recipes. 

Simple Apple Cinnamon Cake

My sis-in-law sent me an easy to make Fresh Apple Cake recipe after reading my previous post about apples.

I have to try it because I've been craving so much of McDo's Apple Cinnamon Sundae. Giving into my ice cream cravings would mean calorie overload because that one sundae would surely be paired with a BigMac meal with large Pepsi and Fries. I'm not saying the Apple cake is free from calorie. It's still loaded with sugar. But I'm choosing the lesser evil.

Apple Cinnamon Cake with Caramel Sauce

For the Cake:

Mix 1 cup flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt. 

In another bowl, cream 50g butter (the original recipe used 1/2 cup oil). Add 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 cup chopped apples. *Optional: I added half cup water since the batter is too thick. Add in the dry/ flour mixture and mix until incorporated thoroughly. Pour in a greased baking pan and bake for 30 minutes at 200degrees C.

For the Caramel Sauce:

Put half cup of sugar in a small sauce pan and heat till it caramelizes. Remove from heat and add 2 Tbsp butter. Mix well. While stirring, add half cup of milk. Heat again for a few minutes while stirring until sauce reaches desired consistency. Pour over the cake.

Eat in moderation. :)

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

(Fresh) Apple is a healthy snack. Read more on other healthy snacks here: Super Snacks

Easy Icing for Sugar Cookies

I've been baking for quite a while now and this is only the first time I iced cookies. I really thought making icing is difficult. The words royal icing, cream of tartar, meringue powder, double boiler, etc. sounds too intimidating to make and sometimes difficult to find. However, there are other icing recipes for sugar cookies that are easy as 1-2-3.

Like the one I made with my little one earlier.
1) Just mix powdered sugar (about 4 Tbsp) and milk (around 1/2-1 Tbsp). Add more milk if the mixture is too stiff or more powdered sugar if the mixture is too runny. Note: Make a thick consistency for making borders/outlines/details and thinner consistency for flooding.
2) Add food color if desired.
3) Put mixture inside piping bag (or just a sandwich bag and cut a tiny hole on one corner) or small liquid seasoning dispenser and decorate your cookies.

*Let the decorated cookies dry overnight at room temp so that the icing won't break when you stack the cookies.

Tada!!!

Since this is very very easy, I can make this again and again til I master mixing the milk-sugar ratio, adding colors and flavors, and decorating sweets.

This is a fun (and educational) activity too to keep the little one busy and entertained. 

Homemade Cupcake Frosting

I just usually sprinkle with chocolates or candies or use store bought frosting to make my cakes pretty. Now, I have finally made my own cupcake frosting. Yay.

I have tried a couple of frosting recipes I found online using ingredients that I always have at home. But none seems to be good enough to decorate cakes. It's either too runny or too lumpy. I probably  didn't follow the exact amount of ingredients  or hastened some of the cooking processes thats why nothing worked. Today, I diligently followed the process but still didn't follow the listed ingredients. But still, this frosting turned out well.

Mix  half cup milk and 1 1/1 Tbsp flour in a saucepan and heat while whisking continuously for about 8 mins or until the mixture looks like thick glue. Let it cool. Mix 100g melted butter and half cup sugar using electric beater for about 3 minutes or until the mixture forms peaks. Combine the 2 mixtures together and beat for another 3mins or until you get your desired consistency. You may now use it to frost your already cool cupcakes. But since the climate here is very hot, I let my frosting cool again in the fridge to stiffen so that it will be easier to decorate my cupcakes using my piping syringe. You can also sprinkle candies or chocolate chips over the frosting as you like.

The recipe is actually good for frosting 5- 6 cupcakes. (Not in photo is the one I ate.)

*I used this recipe for reference :  Creamy frosting

Learning to Love Apples

I don't like apples. I like apple juice but I don't like eating apples.  I just don't like it. But the hubby likes them a lot. So I'm trying to learn to enjoy them in Sundaes and Pies. They are actually good.

Specially this one from Mcdonalds

Apple Cinnamon Sundae

And this homemade Apple Pie I made.

Homemade Apple Pie

I've made apple pie last year by following a recipe I found online. But it didn't taste as good as the hubby would like it....and I didn't have any idea how it should taste like as I haven't had any apple pie before. I just tried making them again from the recipe out of my memory. And it was surprisingly better than the last one. Hubby actually finished the whole pie in one sitting -- it was that good. Lucky me.

So that I won't forget, I'm writing the recipe now:

Homemade Apple Pie

Preheat oven at 200 degrees C

Just mix the following for the filling
2 Apples chopped
2-3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp flour

For the crust mix a little over 1 cup of flour, 2 Tbsp Butter, 1 Tbsp Sugar,and a dash of salt until they stick together like forming small balls. Then add 1/3-1/2 cup milk. Use your hands to mix them all until you form a dough. You can put the dough inside the fridge for about 15mins so that it will be easier to roll them out later. But I was too excited and impatient I rolled the dough right away.( It still worked as the weather/ temperature was on my side). I divided the dough into 2 balls and rolled them out into about half an inch thick round sheets on a slightly floured table top. Arrange one rolled dough at the bottom of a greased 8" round pan. Put the filling and put the other rolled dough to cover the pie. Punch holes on top of the pie using a fork. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Done.

I'm sure there are better recipes out there for apple pies. But this one was good enough for my husband and easy to make too so this recipe is a keeper.

Sweeter New Year

Somebody is loving my baked goodies and investing "gadgets" so I'll bake more and better treats! It is indeed going to be a sweet year for us.( I'm claiming it!)

Happy new year!

No Bake Cheesecake

  Hubby and I have been craving for cheesecake for months now. Somehow, we weren't able to have (or enjoy) cheesecake during our more than a month long vacation. I guess we missed too much of too many things and cheesecake was on the lower part of our list. Apparently, there seems no pastry shop here that serves cheesecake... mostly mousse and overly decorated cakes only. So I have to make one (again) to satisfy our cravings.
I think I pretty much nailed it.

 Thanks Betty Crocker! I'm so lucky I found you!

Next time I'm going to make this from scratch. 

Everyday Cooking: Almost Quesadilla

My quesadilla. I don't have any photo better than this.

 I whipped this up for breakfast because I wanted to try something different from what I usually serve... and I'm missing Taco Bell's and Mexicalli's quesadilla.

Just sandwich shredded cooked chicken, sliced bell peppers, onions and cheese in spring roll wrapper (it's the closest thing to tortilla that I have). Bake for 10mins in 200C.

Almost the same as regular quesadilla... only better. :)

Everyday Cooking: Spring Roll Wrapper Weekend

It was a Spring Roll wrapper weekend. 

Lumpia

Lumpia

Mix ground beef, egg, minced carrots, minced onions, salt and pepper for the filling. Put a small amount of the mixture onto a spring roll wrapper and roll. Deep fry. 

Very easy.

Chicken Tacos (using Spring Roll Wrapper)

Chicken Tacos Filling

Heat/ stir fry thinly sliced chicken breast fillet in little oil, salt and pepper. Set aside. Wrap cooked chicken and thinly tomatoes, onion, bell pepper and lettuce in cheese slices and spring roll wrapper. Bake for 10mins in 200C. Serve with hot sauce. 

Chicken Tacos

Everyday Cooking is my attempt on being awesome in the kitchen with my own versions of popular meals/ recipes using more or less 5 ingredients and simplifying the steps in my not so fancy kitchen. I do not count salt, pepper and water in the ingredients, which I assume, are ingredients that all kitchens have.  

Everyday Cooking: Meatballs with Arugula

Since I "discovered" this Arugula vegetable, I try to put it in every dish I can. And I still have some leaves from previous meal and need to consume them `before they go to waste. So I am using them now to make Meatballs.
Meatballs is another effortless (and complete -- go, grow and glow foods) meal I can serve when I am too lazy to make other dishes. Just mix flour, ground meat (I used beef), egg, arugula (or other veggies like carrots, cabbage, spinach) and some salt and pepper. Shape into balls or flat patties and fry. Simple.


Everyday Cooking is my attempt on being awesome in the kitchen with my own versions of popular meals/ recipes using more or less 5 ingredients and simplifying the steps in my not so fancy kitchen. I do not count salt, pepper and water in the ingredients, which I assume, are ingredients that all kitchens have.  

Everyday Cooking: Arugula

I am not a vegetable eater. I just started to eat them regularly when I got pregnant. The need to provide the little one with important nutrients and vitamins prompted me to do the necessary -- loving to eat greens. Though I genuinely love broccoli.
So our grocery list would have at least 3 kinds of vegetables that I can cook in different ways/meals good for more or less a week. Always on our list is spinach. It is  packed with essential vitamins. So I don't mind if it is the only vegetable my little one eats. (I'll be over the moon if she finishes any meal with spinach) I also find it versatile and easy to prepare. I add it in soup,  saute it in garlic and butter, add it in pizza, mix it in meatballs, etc. Unfortunately, it has been almost a month that our local supermarket doesn't have spinach. I have to find an alternative for green leafy veggie. But since I'm no expert in vegetables (and unfamiliar with  language and local names of other produce), I'm just guessing what would be the best replacement to spinach from the choices of locally produced vegetables.

So I picked Gerger -- it's what the label says. (People will laugh if someone from my native land would hear that.) Without even looking it up on Google, I just add it to our usual menu like how I prepare Spinach. (I'm really clueless on these vegetable stuff. I need the internet to figure things out). If the meal turns out bad, we'll never gonna buy gerger again. Surprisingly, it is as good as spinach. Lucky me!
Gerger is actually the local name here for arugula or salad rocket. It is a nutritious green vegetable with Mediterranean origin. It is used in salads (raw), soups, pizza, pasta, frittata, etc. It is low in calorie has vitamins A, C, D and K, etc. According to Health and You,  arugula is packed with the B complex vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin) which is good for metabolic functions of the body. And it is also a good source of folate which is good for pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects in babies.It is safe and recommended to breastfeeding mothers too.

I got lucky in picking Gerger/ Arugula. I just found an alternative green leaf vegetable which has various use in cooking and also packed with vitamins my family needs.

Filipino Beef Stew in Clear Broth (my simpler version)

Filipino Beef Stew in Clear Broth (I used Arugula instead of Bokchoy  / Chinese Cabbage)

Boil beef cut into cubes in water, salt, few pieces of ginger and onion slices until tender, probably around 45mins.  You may add Knorr beef broth cubes to enhance taste. Add potatoes cut in cubes. Cook until potatoes are almost cooked. Add string beans and Arugula (or any green leafy vegetable of your choice). Simmer until all veggies are done. Add salt and pepper (preferably whole peppercorn). Done.

Everyday Cooking is my attempt on being awesome in the kitchen with my own versions of popular meals/ recipes using more or less 5 ingredients and simplifying the steps in my not so fancy kitchen. I do not count salt, pepper and water in the ingredients, which I assume, are ingredients that all kitchens have.  

Everyday Cooking: Sopas

This is my go to food when I'm lazy to eat (dinner table manners not required) and still need to take a balanced meal. My little one used to love this too. But her taste buds are now more inclined to salty and spicy. But I'm making this anyway. Lol.

Boil chicken breast in 4 cups water with salt for 15-20mins. Let it cool for few minutes and drain. Save the stock/water. Remove chicken from bone  and saute with onion and garlic in a medium to large size sauce pan. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water. Add ! cup pasta/ macaroni when soup is already boiling. Cook till the macaroni is half done then add vegetables, stirring occasionally. Simmer for around 6mins then add milk. Simmer til veggies and macaroni are done. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may add more water if you dont like a creamy soup.

Everyday Cooking is my attempt on being awesome in the kitchen with my own versions of popular meals/ recipes using more or less 5 ingredients and simplifying the steps in my not so fancy kitchen. I do not count salt, pepper and water in the ingredients, which I assume, are ingredients that all kitchens have.  

Child Nutrition and Cooking Homework 4: Homemade

I call this Taco Baskets (or Beds or Squares or Rectangles).  I've been craving for Tacos but there are no Mexican restaurants around where we currently live. So I'm making this one for our last cooking assignment.

You'll need:
(for the basket)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1tbsp butter
1 tsp salt

(for the filling)
Shredded lettuce
Chopped onions
Chopped tomatoes
ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated/ sliced Cheese (for topping)

Mix all ingredients to make dough for the basket. Let the dough rest in fridge while chopping the veggies and pre-heating oven. You'll probably spend around 15mins for this.

Take out the dough from the fridge and flatten the dough into little rectangles as big as the baking dish you will be using. Grease lightly the baking dish and line it with the flattened dough. Bake for 10-12 mins at 200 C.

While baking the basket, cook ground beef in little oil for about 10mins. Season with salt and pepper.

When baskets are ready, fill them with the cooked ground beef, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. Top it with grated cheese.

You may put it back in the oven for another 8mins to make the cheese melt.

Serve and enjoy.

Child Nutrition and Cooking Homework 3: Dinner

I just realized, even without this online class I'm taking, I am already serving balanced/ healthy meal for my family. Though sometimes, when I'm lazy to cook or give in to salty and sweet cravings, we stir to the unhealthy direction.
Our cooking assignment this week is to cook a balanced dinner: at least one veggie, source of protein and carbohydrates. I was really planning to cook this for dinner: Broccoli with Shrimps in Oyster sauce paired with pan-fried tofu and steamed rice. So it was hitting 2 birds with one stone again -- homework and dinner done! 

Child Nutrition and Cooking Homework #2: Balanced Meal

Taking care of yourself and eating right should not be taken for granted as we just had another health scare this week. And incidentally, the topic for this week in my online class points that out. 

Our cooking assignment this week was to create a balanced meal (breakfast) -- protein, fruits and/or veggies and complex carbohydrates. Since the hubby was requesting this (ever since forever but I never made this one 'coz I am not a fan of it), I finally made omelet -- eggs with onions, tomato and bell pepper). It was actually good/okay for a first timer (to cook and eat it). I guess this will be on the menu more often. 

Child Nutrition and Cooking Homework 1 : Veggies

I made this for our first homework for an online course I'm taking. Our assignment was to cook a very appealing veggie feature dish. And this is what we usually have for dinner at least once a week. Sometimes, I use more veggies like, broccoli,  string beans, etc. But these are the only vegetables I have right now. I added shrimps too because we are trying to teach the little one to love seafoods. This recipe is similar to Chopsuey, a common vegetable dish in the Philippines.

Saute ginger, garlic and onion. Add shrimps. When shrimps are done, add little water (or broth). Add carrots and boil for a few minutes before adding the rest of the veggies. When the veggies are half cooked already, add oyster sauce. Simmer until all veggies are done. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bon appetit!