The Polka Dot Pajama

Its been 5 years and this polka dot pajama still fits him, he is taller, bigger and smarter. Son it has been 5 years of fun with you. Happy birthday and I promise to give you a better life, you however have to be happy and discover life yourself. Mom will always be here for you! I love you anak!

Pineapple Marmalade in Pan de Sal Toast

Having a pineapple marmalade is okay with pan de sal toast but ... with Mom making it from scratch totally makes a big difference. Sweet, tart and from the heart I must say this concoction is. Thank you so much Mom for a bountiful plate of love, care, joy and understanding . We salute you simply for being a wonderful person, mother to me and my sisters, a wife to dad, a mother-in-law to V, a grandmother to L and J., and even a great daughter to your mother. Thank you for raising us this way. I love you...Just want to say that I always strive for perfection in my craft because I can see that you deserve more when you get older.

M e r i n g u e J a r

Everytime I make desserts that requires lots of eggyolks, can't help but make meringues which became my son's favorite. I try not to make too many because he can actually finish a whole jar of these. The candy is simple made from eggwhites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar as a stabilizer and a little vanilla for flavor . Whipped up to stiff peak stage, you can actually pipe different shapes, I used a crown tip for large rustic rosettes and baked at 250 F for 1 1/2 hours. Meringues should be kept in an airtight container since sugar is hygroscopic ( one that absorbs moisture) . We should always utilize all the ingredients left after baking so there will be no waist.

It is Christmas once again and from the bottom of my heart, I wish everyone a Happy Christmas! This post pertains to one of my favorite pastries, BLONDIES, huge slices of pale ( how I call it) brownies, moist and fudgy!. Loaded with chocolate chips and raisins...yum!

Squash and Chocolate Cupcakes...a halloween bake-off!

I am finally back to blogging. Gone for about a month since my sister from the States arrived and spent those days for old tine sake, not just but I really missed them.

Right in time that I have made this two kinds of cupcakes for a simple picnic with the kids. We will be spending our halloween with some kids from the neighborhood. It would definitely be fun and tell yah about it on my next post. Glad to be back...

Pound cake, traditionally made from all a pound eggs, butter, sugar and flour.The recipe has been reinvented since it yielded a very tough cake in the old times. I personally would change the ratio of each ingredient to make this cake lighter but still a little dense, sweet, cakey by moist, lemony but not overpowering. You see,baking is precision but texture, taste, structure should contrast and at the same time complement each other. Poppy seeds are mostly seen in this kind of quickbread products as well as muffins and even as a topping for specialty breads, I like it too with bagels.
It was raining when I tested on thise pound cake recipe and had it packed individually for some visitors at home. It is a comfort food for me. A better way to tea with your loved ones that proves how life is wonderful to just have a slice of this...

A s i a n S l a w

Every now and then I crave for a vegetarian appetizer that has less calories. So what I did, one time before watching a good movie with my son, is I got 1/4 from 1 head of a cabbage. Shredded it, boiled a few peanuts for extra flavor and a little texture. Having a hot pan coated with a just a little olive oil, caramelized 1 small red onion, , took out he onion having better flavor in the oil, wilted the shredded cabbage, added in the nuts and seasoned with salt and pepper. There you have it, easy and health asian slaw, healthy,easy and simple.

Midget baker...

My dearest son, thank you for sharing me those wonderful moments even in the kitchen. I want to let you know that my kitchen is yours too. It was so touching for you to annoy mom that day to make somecookies we brought in Hong Kong a few months ago. It was a chocolate chip cookie that you liked in that whole box of cookies. I know that this will be a good start for you to love mom's passion, baking. Thatis why I have alotted a small space for in my hub. There you have all you need for playing and baking, goodluck and happy baking son!Love, mom...
[This is my son's version of chocolate chip cookies which is a mixture of cake flour and all purpose flour, butterbrown sugar and white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and some chocolate chips. It was baked at 350 F for about 9-10 minutes.]

Thai C a s h e w C o n e...

I was browsing thru my huge thai cook book and this one of those that attracted me most. Cashew Cone, a better wayof serving nuts. A friend was coming over and together we made this great conical ensemble. My friend had fun making it.We ended up eating the whole thing. I tried making this with peanuts instead and it tasted great. I used it now whenever dadwould order for finger foods for his meetings in the office.

Ingredients
1/8 cup of cooking oil
1/4 cup of honey
2 cups of cashew nuts or peanuts, roasted
1 cup of dessicated coconut
salt and pepper
Green Chillies, optional

Simply heat up the pan for 2 minutes, add in the oil. Pour the honey and let cook for a minute. Toss the roasted cashew nuts onto the hot mixture. Stir until the oil-and-honey mixture coats the nuts. Add in the dessicated coconut [ this by the way makes it thai flavor plus the chillies]. Stir until wellcombined. Flavor it with salt, pepper and some chillies, I prefer using red and green to better presentation.

Grabbed a page from my Oprah magazine[lol, anything will do, foil or parchement or even brown paper], made acone out of it, I used glucose syrup to seal the sides of the cone. Scooped about a cup and a half of the cooked nuts and served in on a white plate. Try and enjoy making it!

I c e C r e a m please...

My son, always when visiting my aunt's house who is also a neighbor would ask for a bowl of cream. I guess that is instant recall for him, that everytime he comes to the house , autamitcally, ice cream please is what he utters. I took a shot of this beautiful bowl of strawberry ice cream by the window while watching my son indulge on this cool treat. Well I just have to find time to make homemade ice cream. I wish I can serve him this flavor. Yummy...

O v e r l o a d e d...

Nachos con Guacamole
This season of the year,rainy I must say is the time for Avocados. Manang would fill the basket withfreshly picked, almost ripe avocados perfect for making Guacamole. I could not help but make this savorytreat since I have been craving for chips-and-dip. Underneath is a pile of deep-fried wonton wrappers shapedin triangle and as ease,squares. Pan should be hot before adding the oil,with jsut a little of it is enoughto fry the wontons. Yummy but loaded with calories, I decided to omit the meat and simply heateda cup of tomato sauce. I think it tastes better if you sweat the onions in oil before combining it withthe mashed avocados. Have some tomatoes,why not toss it in the mixture. Grated regular cheeseand there you are, snack and full meal by itself.

Goodmoring D a d...

Mango-Kalamansi Crepe

I wake up 5:00 a.m. everyday to start my daily routine of exercise, having a good breakfast with mom and dad and so on. Since it is Father's Day, had to give up my regimen and make a good and hearty dessert for dad. Crepes are one if the easiests dessert you can do. Just made it from scratch, made some creamy filling, sliced up some mangoes. The crepe was cooked in kalamansi-syrup to add flavor. I think mango goes well with chocolate so I used it as a garnish with kalamansi zest. Mom and dad liked it and that completed my day. Happy Father's Day to all too...

F i n o...

I grew up watching my mom set up the table for a special and simple dinner. We love to make any ocassionnot-so perfectly executed but I guarantee that as you step your feet in our home, you would reallyfeel like your in your own. I guess I was used to having a good meal with all the works of setting up a table ,be it just casual or formal.
This is my entry for my cuz' Ces of SpiCes as she hosts "Fine Dining" for all bloggers. This just a simplegenre of how mom and I set up for a luncheon at home with rustic touch since we used an oldcollection of country printed table napkin. The salt and pepper shakers are my favorite. Little teapotsthey look like. The water goblet is always available to really set the mood. I usually serve wine ondinners but maybe even adding a white wine glass to this set up looks even better if you are to servechicken or seafood.

Always,always,dad is in charge of flowers,believe it or not he love doing the arrangement,yes this artificial ,really looks good to me.
Thanks to Ces (ate ces)for such a wonderful idea of hosting this kind of event.

C H A O T I C Cake
I met a friend 2 weeks ago and she was telling me to invent a "hate cake" and this is it. Tow layers ofmoist chocolate cake with a heavy caramel fudge inside, covered with a dark chocolat ganache. I dosedit with pure caramel with no pattern at all. The cake just melts in your mouth and the texture isgooey and an intense chocolate and caramel is achieved once you bite into it. Chaos, should I call ita hate cake, just a genre of how you can re-creeate cakes,try making one yourself and I bet you won'tbelieve the satisfaction you will get.
moist chocolate cake
1. 5 cups of all purpose flour (can substitute with wholewheat flour)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
0. 5 teaspoon salt (optional)
5 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold water ---> even better when you substitute into BOILING WATER

Combine until smooth,bake at 350F for 45 minutes in a heavy greased 8 inch round pan.

heavy fudge

1 stick butter
1/2 c. cocoa
1/3 c. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of caramel

Melt butter, add cocoa and boil 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Use as filling.Fold in caramel and use as filling.

Poured Icing

2 cups chopped dark cholate
2 cups hot cream

Boil cream. Pour over chopped chocolate.Let it steep for 5 minutes and mix it from the middle towardsthe side of the mixture.Let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken the ganache and pour over assemble cake.

Caramel

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavu cream

Cook sugar to caramel stage or until Mahogany color is achieved. Off the fire, pour in hevay cream and mix until smooth,carefully whisking it since it sizzles.

Let it cool for just 2 minutes and use a wooden spoon to drizzle it on top of the iced cake

To my friend Nikki,here it is ...

So childish I guess for another "Just for fun post" but hey its my son's idea. Rice crispies,melted butter, marshmallows and a little sugar. It is a no-bake treat so kids can really do this. There were no actual measurements for this. J_ _ _ _ just mixed what all of these in a bowl and blended it with a spoon. It should come together,but while it was hot, mom had to help him form it into balls and immediately put it on a liner. That afternoon we visited one my aunts and brought her this,she like it...

tiny c a k e

Tiny c a k e, mini,small,midget,pewee -such a cute genre. I have been focusing too much on too big things and it is time for a little fun. I had to take out the middle of once of my cakes and this what I got a tiny cake. Just used left over butter icing. Some dessicated coconut to finish the dessert.

350 Degrees Fahrenheit Pizza- a healthy one...

Whenever there's a chance, grab it. I've featured pizza several times. My son wanted pizza, and I did not have to think twice but just enjoyed the day making it together.

Wanting to use healthier components, we used tuna flakes(dreained), onions and tomatoes and caremelized them. I seasoned it with salt and pepper,drizzled a little olive oil andlet it wilt over low flame. Dough is simply made of bread flour,salt,yeast, water and shortening. After it has been mixed and kneaded until smooth, set it aside to rest for 30 minutes. Sheeted it out to a round shape , brushed surface docked pizza dough and spread the tomato sauce. Topped it with tuna flakes,caramelized onion halves fresh slice tomatoes. Used grated mild cheddar cheese. It is so amazing that Jiggy's Palate is very much exposed to extensive and a little strong and savory flavors, which I am proud of. We sprinkled a little dried rosemary herb to finish the pizza and baked it for30 minutes at 350F. We both wanted a softer texture that day and made it really just simple to just to enjoy each other's company.

Baking pizza at a lower temperature yields a very soft and a little less of color type of crust. Over all we loved it.