Chef K.C.

Isn't it true that when you hear about pies and tarts being prepared, it is expected to be fruit based and barely filled with other richer fillings. I know having a dessert is an indulgence but you have to enjoy life, therefore food is part of it. This is one product I have made prove that making tarts is versatile. The tart was made of flour, butter, sugar and salt, prebaked at 350F for 30 minutes. As I have said, it was a great challenge to prepare the caramel:

First, but mixing thoroughly the mixture of sugar, a little water and butter in a saucepan until it reaches an amber color, I added the heavy cream onto the hot mixture ,off the flame,and mixed it to make it thicker and creamier. The caramel splatters when you add the cream , so be careful please! I cooled it down and added the chopped dark chocolate pieces, stirred it until all is melted and homogenous. I poured it over the prebaked shell, baked it further for 1 hour at 350 F. Let it cool an depan the tart. I sliced it lengthwise and thinly. This can be served with a light beverage such as tea or citrus flavored water since the dessert itself is rich and yeah it is as good as it looks!

I admit that for the last 3 weeks, I had been trying to balance parenting and work. I was quite challenged temporarily knowing that I have to deal with developing products for my soon to open cafe and handling my passionate-in everything mom does son, Jiggy. I guess he will be a part of blogging which makes me realize that he has the talent. If I could only tell you how he can do this and that but I guess that should be published on another entry. I was trying to experiment on a local favorite flavors of pinoys buko-pandan, yes it is anywhere be it in salads, as a beverage and in kakanins or more known as pinoy desserts. Jiggy and I both made used the chiffon cake as our main component or base for me. I always wanted to make coconut-inspired mousse for the filling, pandan syrup to infuse the cake in and the pandan puree to finish the dessert. Jiggy simply put a square of butter, lots of real maple syrup. I could not imagine how creative kids are. He actually instructed me to cut the round shaped chiffon into a flat disc and tada:"hak-keyk" was born. It was a back-to-back baking for me and Jiggy. It was definitely fun and I look forward to knowing whatelse he might be thinking to combine for my next baking session!

Pan de Sal, a yeast bread made from very simple ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. It can also be made with eggs what they call the egg pan de sal which is also known as the Special pan de sal. There are quite many versions, small and huge ones. People now a days use this as a pizza-pan de pizza, pan de carne (corn beef filled) or on its very simple preparation "served with black coffe. Pinoys love to dip or dunk this bread in a cup of coffee. Some put kesong puti, peanut butter, other savory spreads, even liver spread. Since I was able to find goat cheese and butter from the fridge, I knew it was stil going to taste perfect, even more after it was toasted. My son ate 4 pieces in a row. The Melon Con Hielo is simply , fresh milk, sugar, ice and melon shavings. Its all good!

It was an all day preparation and cooking for mom and manang(my son's nanny), but it was all worth the effort. The Kakanin was from Malabon, and the suman was from Antipolo. The rest are homemade. Other known panghimagas of filipinos or pinoys are :“Kakanin, puto, kutsinta, sapin-sapin, suman sa ibus, bibingka, puto bungbong, maja blanka, bico, atbp. The topmost photo is a showdown of manong's (a vendor) bilao of assorted meriendas or afternoon snacks. Thanks by the way manong!Ummm I know, it is the best!What would fiestas, Pasko, Bagong Taon, at Pista ng Patay be without these native delicacies?” .

Ginatan means anything cooked in coconut milk. The Inangit is a combination of sticky rice and ordinary rice, coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaves.They cooked all the components of the Ginatan in syrup, made the gata (coconut milk)-sugar-water mixture with anis to make it the authentic ginatan. These are a few good things I really miss. That pinoy heritage should always be remembered and practiced, cause if you are a real filipino, you would have to know how to eat and prepare these. Guess what I will try to make one myself these days, wish me luck!

Popcorn & A Good Movie

top most

Will Smith, left, and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith star in the film, "The Pursuit of Happyness."

The different popcorn versions I made (typical,as a gift,ball,on stick) were simply made just to end my long and tiring day. My son and I always buys caramel popcorn from the grocery and it is really pricy. I think it isn't fair to my son, if would not make one. The popcorn was first cooked with butter,the typo kettle popcorn, I made the caramel:water, sugar, little butter and heavy cream or whole milk will do. Just melt everything but the cream, then off the stove , add the cream while stirring.Careful in pouring the cream onto the caramel mixture because it does splatter, wear kitchen mittens please. Indeed, a bountiful bowl and plates of different popcorn flavors and a good movie. A good thing I must say.

To give you a brief overview of the movie Pursuit of Happyness(starpulse.com):
Set in early-'80s San Francisco, the film charts the hard times and eventual comeback of Chris Gardner, a suddenly single salesman who has custody of his son, but finds that providing for the two of them is a challenge in the increasingly unstable economic climate. He struggles to work his way from unpaid intern at Dean Witter to something more substantial, even as life continues to offer him setbacks.

We had fun together. Now that is my definition of real Happy-ness, a rewarding day, a time for my son and myself. It is really within. I hope you are happy too.

Shawarma:Lumpiang Ubod

Shawarma & Lumpiang Ubod, are my long time favorites for snacking or merienda they call it in my country. I wanted to compare both for the popularity it brought to the Philippines especailly the persian wrap during its time,the 90s. The lumpia is a classic, you can this anywhere from chinatown to the city proper. I really love both.

I made the Poori (usually deep fried) or Chapati (just baked w/o oil) from scratch. Thanks to my Kitchenaide mixer who did the light kneading because you really do not need that much gluten development compared to most leavened breads. This is in fact an unleavened bread.

Ingredients:

Excuse me for using grams instead of cups.

250 g bread flour

4 g salt

135 g water

Procedure:

Mix everything in the mixer using a dough hook, knead at medium speed for 6 minutes,#4 specifically. You need not rest the dough, shape it all at once into small balls as each portion should be, approximately 30 grams. Using your pin, roll onto the dough forming even "not so perfect" round shape. You can even do square shapes for a different finish. The meat for the dish was marinated in yogurt and seasonings overnight in the fridge. I grilld them and sliced. I also put grilled tomatoes steeped in oil, salt and pepper, fresh lettuce , sliced onions and the garldic sauce also made of yogurt, garlic and heavy cream. It is more fun to have your guests wrap their own shawarma for fun.

Egg Wrapper (Lumpia)

Ingredients
1 small egg
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Beat egg in medium bowl; whisk in water and salt. Add flour, 1/3 at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Reserve at room temperature 15 minutes. Heat wok over high heat 15 seconds; add I tablespoon oil and heat until hot, about 15 seconds. Turn off heat; wipe inside of wok with paper towelling; leave thin coating of oil. Heat wok over low heat 15 seconds. Leave heat on but remove wok from heat. Stir batter; pour 1/4* cup around side of wok in a 20 cm circle. Quickly rotate wok to fill in the circle with an even layer of batter; return wok to heat. Fill in any tiny holes that form by brushing with small amount of batter. (If batter sets before you can fill the circle by rotating or if too many holes form, wok is too hot. If batter does not set quickly enough, leaving edges of circle paper-thin, Wok is not hot enough. Adjust heat accordingly.) Cook wrapper until batter is set, bottom is slightly golden and edges begin to pull away from wok, 45 seconds to I minute. Carefully grasp one edge of wrapper with fingertips; quickly and carefully lift and peel it off. Gently place wrapper flat on paper towelling, golden-side-down. The ubod is just a mixture of the ubod, carrots, cilantro,garlic, onions, salt and pepper and some meat. Sprinkled with chopped peanut-sugar mixture and the sauce made from, soy sauce, lots of water, garlic, sugar and cornstacrh.

Try it! Its all good!

It's Been A While...Casuy & Kaimito

It has been a while since I have eaten these Fruits, Casuy & Kaimito. I remember them being sold in fruitstands usually in far away churches here in the Philippines like the Grotto Church and Antipolo. As I was going down from my room one morning , usually I check what fruit is available to eat for breakfast and I was glad to have them in the basket. They look really good! The casuy's usual taste is a little puckery and the Kaimito is sweeta and very soft inside. This is a good thing beacuse almost every household would have bananas, apples, pineapple and mangoes in their fruit baskets. Try having something different!

Young Chefs

It was a sunny afternoon when my son and his bestfriend prefred to stay in the house to play. Caught up starting on a quite bold recipe " Chocolate Ensaimada". I felt tired doing the same thing, the typical ensaimada. The same specifications I have expected when we made the recipe. The bread should be soft, a little airy and melts in the mouth. My son helped in measuring the ingredients, degasing the dough brushing and filling the dough with chocolate chips and cashew nuts as well as Dodoy his friend. It was fun and was a success. The bread came out as expected and perfectly blends with the peppermint tea. The pretzel stick was just added by the kids,haha. Kids can always be involved in the kitchen for as long as it is safe. Give them tasks and they will do them and feel rewarded in the end. The three of us ended up eating more than a piece of the bread.

A day at Sonya's

Sonya's Garden is one of the best places you should visit when you visit the Philippines. I have been visiting the place over the years but the latest they have got is the Panaderia that sells chocolate Cake and breads. Sonya's is widely know for it's secret garden with variable vegetables that they serve as salad course, they also serve pasta. The thing I like with Sonya's is that everything is so natural. There are no patterns and people come here for the experience. They also offer massages and has victorian cottages for people who'd love to spend the night. I will keep coming back to this place.

Ribbon?Butterfly?Bowtie?...It is Farfalle

Farfalle Pasta with Tomato and Cucumber Sauce is what I prepared last night for a couple, a family friend who is also migrating in Canada. They are actually the people who have helped me reconstruct the layout of my soon-to-open baking school and cafe. Thank you guys for a wonderful evening. I normally use flat noodle, spaghetti and I felt I need to use this type of pasta because of its unusual shape. I thought of making my own but it would take me the whole day to shape each imto bowtie shapes. I think its cute and something different. The cucumber sauce compliments the tomato sauce.

Origin

Farfalle is a type of pasta.
Commonly known as "bow-ties", the name derives from the Italian for butterfly, farfalla. The "e" at the end of the word is the Italian feminine plural ending, making the meaning of the word "butterflies."
Farfalle dates back to the 1500s. It originated in Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy.
Farfalle comes in several sizes, but has a distinctive bowtie shape, like a little Action Man bowtie (a satirical quote from Alan Partridge). Usually the farfalla is formed from a rectangle or oval of pasta with two sides trimmed in a ruffled edge, and the center pinched together to make the unusual shape. They are sometimes ridged, known as farfalle rigate. Different colors are available; plain, tomato, and spinach. These are often sold together in a mix. Suitable for most sauces, farfalle are very well suited to cream and tomato dishes, and children have a particular affinity for them.
In Modena farfalle are known as strichetti.
A larger variation of farfalle is known as farfallone.

This is so rewarding

I am delighted to be praised by this special person , my son. _ _ _ _ _ always stays with me while I work in my test kitchen, aside from the fact that I feel he is big enough not to be taken care of by his nanny. I know I will never push him to be like his mom but I can see that he really has the heart for cooking. I am certain that he will be artistically-inclined when he grows up. Anyways, I am putting together a series of products and I was all stressed and I just made this parfait since I know I have not made one my lifetime. He was sleeping in the couch and he suddenly woke up and said "ang galing mo mommy". I felt so happy and that is just what I need for that day. I love you too and thanks for being an inspiration to me. I am more eager to do my best and I know one day we'll look back and say " we did it"( an all time expression of _ _ _ _ _ ).

We are here on earth...

I am very much satisfied with what I have seen just this Monday. It was at Josephine's restaurant in Tagaytay. Such a tranquil place to relax, enjoy food and entertain friends. Ofcourse we ordered the restaurant's famous Kare-kare with Bagoong, Fried Chicken for my son, Spring rolls and my favorite- "Sorbeturon" - banana wraps cooked in caramel and sprinkled with sesame seeds served a la mode or topped with vanilla ice cream. The best!... Thanks mom for such a wonderful day with you and ofcourse Jiggy.