Yours truly is in the mood for a review of artisan breads, it is my expertise and I am lucky to say that filipinos are bread-eating. They love sweet and soft types of dough and that I have to adapt to. The above photo shows almost a few of the famous artisan breads with good structure, aroma and make. Each piece was designed to differentiate one kind from another. Baguette or the famous french bread is the most popular, I would say even in China they would recognize such for its unique length. It is usually paired with cheese. I can still remember when the entire family visited THE ALPS in Switzerland, geees! It was the best experience I ever had. Having a good cup of coffee from our thermos, a long french bread to be shared by all of us and slices of gruyer cheese from the factory itself up in The Alps. Learning the different types of breads made me even appreciate the people from different places have their own ways preparing and designing them. Some are are filled, topped and simply finsihed off with salt or sugar on top. Still it is, good and filling to the stomach. Le Pain or bread in French, we ought to know them.

Chicken pot pie? Not really but an edible show piece made from fondant clay except for the "chef pastry brush tool" in the middle which I had in my kit for years and I said whynot include this in my fondant genre for my come back post? Hmmm, here it is guys. My last post was last December of 2008, that was way too long . Really missed it .
One afternoon, while in my kitchen, really had done all my work for day. Rememberd having piles of fondant clay in my storage box. I got 2 pounds of them and rolled it to make cute three layer fondant dummy cake, and I ended up making this free-style genre. I put it on an apple-green and white cake pedestal however the photo was cropped for better veiw of the show piece. There are so many things you can do with fondant like wedding cakes, petit four sec or little cakes and best also for show pieces like this. Here is a simple recipe of fondant clay, try making your own and create your own show piece.

3 Tablespoons Warm Water
5 teaspoon unflavored Gelatin
1/2 cup liquid Glucose (you can get this from baking or some craft stores) or Corn Syrup in a pinch (but reduce the water if substituting corn syrup)
1 Tablespoon Glycerine (optional: improves softness)
6 cups Confectioners' Sugar, sifted


Add warm water to small bowl.
Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Add the glucose and glycerine and stir until dissolved.
Cool for several minutes.
In a separate, large bowl, sift confectioners' sugar.
Make an indention in the center of the sifted sugar and pour in the gelatin mixture.
Stir until combined (ideally with a wooden spoon.)
Dust your work surface with confectioners' sugar.
Turn your fondant mixture out onto the work surface and work the powdered sugar in with your hands.

Happy Kneading!

Back in Action...

Back in action , I must say for someone who has quite been busy with a lot of things, a single mom, you bet!
I will always be blogging when there's a chance.

Whenever I visit Hong Kong, I never missed a trip without havinga chilled Taho. It is actually served plain just steamed in water but filipinos loves it sweet and rich. It is usually served with the heavy dark vanilla syrup and there is this strawberry taho I found in Baguio. While my son is having fun boating , a taho vendor approached me to try the strawberry taho. Indeed, I saw a bucket full of strawberry flavored syrup with strawberry chunks.
I have started changing a healthier lifestyle and I knew I would have to avoid taho since I could not find a plain one. Soy or taho is a good source of protein especially now that I have started a vegetarian diet. However I cannot deprive myself of having any sour by-product like the steamed tofu, white beans and soy milk. As a pastry chef , I am eager to study on how I can re-invent soy products so that people who are into s strict diet would not be deprived instead enjoy it's goodness and soyful benefits.

Itsy Beet-sy Beets...back to blogging

The whole family went up to the coldest region in the Philippines, Baguio or Benguet. The place is known for its cool climate, good food since they get the best of the best like the fresh produces I found this great spot of veggies and this beets struck me the most. I did not have to fix or adjust my digital camaera to get a good photo shoot for my come back to blogging. The length of the sprouts in the beets was just right, the lighting was perfect. That is one thing I like in blogging, you learn to appreciate just about anything depending on your subject and you tend to research and justify the whats, hows, wheres, whys of the subject. There were a lot of people passing by the vegetable area but this one spot for the beets was definitely ignored and ha!ha! taken for granted. I love the natural effect the environment provided that day to this shot I made.
Beet-sy Infos
Beets are usually firm, round, uniform in size. Tops should be fresh or just wilted, but not yellow or deteriorated. Large, rough beets are often woody.
As a dish...
To prepare it: Cut off tops, leaving an inch of stem attached to beets. Leave roots on. Scrub well. Steam or boil before peeling. The perfect seasonings, flavorings and combinations that goes well with beets are: lemon, allspice, caraway, cloves, dill, ginger, horseradish, bay leaf, orange, sour cream and onion.
As a beverage...
A rich ruby-color is imparted to drinks by the inclusion of beetroot. Always used raw, they do not need to be peeled just scrubbed. The juice is quite strong tasting, so use it sparingly: above one quarter (1/4 of a piece of beets) beetroot juice to three quarters(3/4 ) other juice. Beetroot greens enhance the nutritional value of the beet beverage. However they are fairly high in oxalic acid, which is poisonous if consumed in large quantities. Juiced beetroot and leaves work well in all vegetable combinations.
Therapeutic uses...
Beetroot is used as a blood fortifier and iron builder in traditional herbalism, particularly for heavy menstrual blood loss. It is very rich in immune-boosting beta-carotene, as well as many other materials, including iron and manganese. It is also traditionally used during convalescence.

This beverage recipe is just right when you just want to concentrate. This is perfect to maintain a healthy brain.

Itsy Beet-sy Beverage
yield: 2 small glasses or 1 large glass

200 grams raw beets
1 carrot
1 large orange
50 grams spinach
Cut the beetroot into wedges. Chop the carrots, cut away the skin from the orange and roughly slice the flesh.Push all these in the juicer and add ice. Pour onto the glasses. Enjoy!