Trending Thursday - I had to try it

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend from California sent me a photo of special coffee that was suppose to be trending. Everyone was making it and she thought that I might want to try making it for myself.  Although I have my coffee everyday for breakfast (from our Keurig), that's about it,  my one cup a day. My hubby makes it for me with some half and half and one of my favorite flavors.  The sad part is that some of the stores where we buy our Keurig cups are currently all closed.  So we had to buy it from wherever it's available.  Anyway, this weekend I decided to make this coffee, I think it's called Dalgona.  Just reading the recipe, I knew it was going to be overly sweet.  Two tablespoons of sugar is a lot specially for diabetics.  But I thought I need to follow the recipe to make sure it comes out the way it is on the photo.  So I made it and it came out great, I tasted it and OMG it was obscenely sweet.  I kept adding ice and more milk.  After I finished drinking it, it was time to take a nap.  It knocked me out for about an hour.  Anyway, after all the hype about it, I guess you have to be a real sweet coffee drinker to love it.  I love my Tim Horton's coffee and I am sticking to it. Everyone has their own favorite, whether you are a Starbucks, Peet's, Tim Horton's, Seattle's Best, or whether you love espresso, cappucino or macchiato, they are just different coffee.  

Teaching Tuesday - Baked Samosas

When one of our neighbors ask me if I can teach her how to make samosas, I was surprised. The reason, she was originally from India.  So one would assume that she would know how and that she should be doing the teaching.  She asked me for the recipe so she could get the ingredients and then she ask if she could come over one day.  Last Sunday, she and her husband came over to our home.  The good part about it is that she made the filling at home using the recipe I had sent her.  It's not a secret because I just searched it from Pinterest.  She brought at least 3 boxes of phyllo pastry as she didn't know how much it will require.  We started laying out the pastry and then cutting them to the right side and brushing with butter for each sheet.  I showed her how to fold it so it becomes a triangle and that the fold is under when baking.  After I showed her, her husband wanted to learn how to do it as well, and once he got the hang of it, we continued the process as we became a team.  We baked one batch and the rest they took it home to freeze and will bake when needed.  They were very appreciative of the lesson and I was very impressed with the results.  She was very impressed with the ones I brought to her home about a month ago at their event.  Unfortunately, the samosas were gone by the time she wanted to try it but her friends were giving me a lot of compliments.  I am so happy to share what I have learned from Pinterest.

Filling Friday - Sweet enough

A little disappointed with myself because I forgot to take pictures of our Canadian Thanksgiving feast.  We invited a few people to join us celebrate.  My hubby was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.  While I made a prosciutto cheddar puff pasty for appetizers.  As for the sides, I made roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions.  Then I made french green beans with roasted almonds.  Another side dish was a creamy corn casserole.  We also had some dinner rolls that were yummy but store bought.  For dessert, I made a coconut pie (macapuno with custard and meringue) and my favorite crack cake.  One of our guest brought a pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  Almost forgot that I also made my buko pandan fruit salad.  It was a very filling dinner and dessert was a hit.  Anyway, I remembered to take photos of the dessert.  But I guess you can just imagine the rest of our dinner.  Belated happy thanksgiving to all my family and friends in Canada.

Measureless Monday - Sometimes it works

Sometimes when I have leftover ingredients that needed to be used, I would try make use of that ingredient.  Last week I was making a Pineapple Filled Bars and I ended up with extra crushed pineapple.  I tried to look for a similar recipe for a muffin but I could not find the exact one I like, so I just thought of just combining ingredients that is for a regular muffins and just add other ingredients.  It turned out really moist and yummy, so I am sharing the recipe.  Here it goes.

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cups oats
• 1/2 sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 crushed pineapple
• 1/3 cup flaked coconuts
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup berry jam
• 1/4 cup yogurt

Mix all the dry ingredients and then mix all the wet ingredients.  Then mix until just combined. Scoop into a muffin pan lined with cupcake paper. Baked at 375 F for 25 minutes.

Shareable Saturday - Squares and bars

It is hard to believe that the golf season is almost over.  Last Wednesday, our ladies group had our final round and we celebrated by having lunch, a drink and I brought some sweets to taste.  The money that we have been putting in for every putt (.25 cents per putt) over two putts actually was enough to pay for all our lunches.  It is a little different playing with a group but I met some really nice ladies as each week you get to play with different golfers.  I look forward to next year's season.  By the way, this was the same group that witnessed by Hole in One.  Actually one of the other ladies, she also had a Hole in One, same #8 hole, a couple of years ago.  But today's post is about the sweets and treats that I have been making that are shareable.  As the golf season ends, my baking season begins.  I will have a freezer full of squares and bars for the holidays and whatever events that might happen in our neighborhood.  It is also handy to have to give away as gifts during the holidays.  

Chocolate Fudge Cupcake and Chinese Chews

Each cupcake has a Twix mini inside for a surprise.

French vanilla frosting with berries syrup

Chinese Chews that has not been cut into squares.

Six layer bars

Double chocolate brownies

Banana/chocolate chip/walnut squares

Sweet and Sour Sunday - Trying new recipes

Our house chores are usually divided by outdoor and indoor.  Outdoor is Jeff's section and indoor is mine.  Although we do try and help out each other for what ever job needs to get done. As for day to day stuff, I cook and he cleans.  He vacuums and I mop.  We can both say that it's pretty even when it comes to chores.  I am getting a little side track because this post is about something sweet and something sour or tart.  A few days ago I open a container in the fridge and it had pineapple chunks that Jeff had done.  I guess I completely forgot about it and some of the pieces are getting a little brown.  So I took out what was bad, place the good ones in a pot and added some sugar, juice, jalapeno, red peppers, cinnamon, olive oil, ginger and finally salt and pepper.  The result is what I am calling, Pineapple red pepper chutney.  Shortly after I checked the fridge again and found some tomatillos but one was dead.  I decided to cut them in half, add a little salt and olive oil and baked at 400 F for a few minutes.  Once it was done, I place them in my mini kitchen aid chopper and added jalapeno and a bunch of cilantro.  The result is one jar of chili verde sauce for later.  Last weekend, we were invited to one of the neighbors home as they had a few people over to begin our summer get together.  The host asked if I don't mind making a salad.  Of course I quickly checked my Pinterest pins and sure enough I found the Herb Lemon Orzo Spinach Salad.  It was very simple, very refreshing (basil and mint) and with a lemon and olive oil dressing. 

My Victoria day breakfast last week.  Waffles with strawberries and whip cream plus bacon.

Herb Lemon Orzo Salad

Home made chili verde sauce (tomatillos, jalapenos and cilantro)

Pineapple red peppers chutney

Waistline Wednesday - Avoid this food

How does one keep their weight gain going to the waistline?  I am guessing it really doesn't matter where it goes, a weight gain is all the same anywhere in your body.  My neighbor's always ask me how come I am not over weight and I do so much baking and make amazing meals.  I give them the same response all the time - " I give them away".  Actually not all, as I love having snacks in the freezer available specifically on those days when my blood sugar goes very low and I need a sweet snack.  For sure, everyone already knows what foods to avoid if you are trying to lose weight.  So the following photos might be too tempting, I suggest you don't click the Page Down button and just STOP here.  Oh no, you clicked.

Carrot cake

Cinnamon roll

Leche Flan

Donuts from the Ratio Cafe - every Friday is donut day

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (my cousin and I made)

Christmas donuts from Tim Horton's

Flavorful Friday - Food cravings

It may have been the cold weather or it may have been just one of those days where you crave for something, even if it was a simple dish I use to eat back in the days.  While taking an inventory of sort in our pantry, the fridge and freezer, I saw some items that was needed to make this dish.  It's actually a Filipino dish which is very simple but probably very good as it requires mung beans (very small green beans) aka Monggo.  It think this belongs to the lentil family.  So I started gathering all the ingredients and although some recipe calls for pork, I decided to use shrimp instead.  I believe the original recipe also calls for something green like spinach and some Chicharon (pork rind).  For some reason, I didn't have to look for the ingredients or how to make it.  But this time, instead of waiting for a long time to boil the beans to soften, I cook it last night in my mini crock pot and it was soft and ready after 3 hours.  The other craving that I had is the Chinese sausage which I found at the Superstore.  After slicing them diagonally, I cooked all of them in a pan with some water and wait for the water to dry.  The sausage makes its's own oil which is the final stage of cooking the sausage.  Unfortunately, I think I ate too much because I was not hungry for dinner.  It was all worth it and probably I won't have this again until another year. 

Chinese sausage (pork and chicken style)

Ginisang Monggo ( Sauteed mung beans with shrimp and spinach)

Chocolate Banana Foster Cake

Testing Thursday - Name Brand versus No Name Brand

Since my bread making experience is still very new, I am learning new things each time I make something.  My latest experience is making cinnamon roll from scratch.  When my sister was visiting last October, she made this cinnamon roll that was so soft, moist and yummy.  I asked her for the recipe and she immediately told me where to look.  Of course I did not waste anytime since I was craving for something to snack for our after dinner.  It was going to take sometime so there was no lollygagging.   All the ingredients were lined up as well as all the bowls and measuring tools.  As I start to prep the yeast, I noticed that it didn't seem to bubble as it should according to the instructions. So I started a new one and this time it was doing a little.  I was a little hesitant because I was unsure of the yeast and that I might have killed it.  Anyway I did the rest of the measurement, made the dough, kneaded, etc. and placed dough in a bowl and waited.  After 45 minutes it did double the size so I was ready to add the cinnamon sugar plus pecan mixture.  I rolled the dough into a rectangular size, spread butter, the sugar mix and rolled it.  The next step was to cut and place in a tray and I make sure there were enough space in between rolls.  Now the waiting game begins.  Still a bit worried that it might not rise into the proper size. OMG, I check after the time was up and the rolls looked really good. Now it was time to bake them. It was in the oven for 25 minutes but it did not look lightly brown as I wanted it, so I left it in for a few more minutes (this was the mistake I made). It cooled for a few minutes and then I applied the glaze and it looked like a real cinnamon roll.  It was just OK as it was not as soft and moist like the one my sister made. It was good but not yummy.  The problem was not me, it was the flour that I used. It was not ROBIN HOOD, it was some no name brand.  Lesson learned. When making bread or anything with yeast, use only ROBIN HOOD.  Next week I will by trying again a different recipe but using Robin Hood and following the instructions exactly the way it is written. 

After baking waiting to be glazed.

With the glaze

Before baking.

Simplest Saturday - Easy snacks

After the terrible loss of the Patriots last Sunday, I tried so hard to get over it and the only way I know how to get my mind off the topic is to get busy.  Each and every day I got busy with anything and everything.  First I did some baking and cooking and then I stayed in my room doing some creative projects.  I guess this is a better way to get over the loss of my team instead of drinking (LOL) and maybe eating and/or sleeping.  Anyway, enough talking and let me show you what I accomplished while mourning for the loss of my New England Patriots.

#6 Artisan Bread - it is our now go to bread with only 4 ingredients.

Bacon flavored roasted almond with sugar, salt and pepper.

Banana oatmeal muffins with walnuts and yogurt.

Samosas (potato, peas and seasonings)

Brownies - made by Jeff even the icing on top.

Just realized I do not have a garden flag for March - now I have one for St. Patrick's.

Scrumptious Sunday - More yummy treats

Before I share all the recent yummy items that Jeff and I have been making, I wanted to tell you about our first food truck that we stumble upon while shopping in Kelowna.  It's a yellow truck parked along Highway 97 and it's called YLW which is also the code for their airport.  It's a taco/burrito truck.  Since we have a lot of those type of trucks where we came from, we thought of giving it a try.  We were surprised that it was actually a very good food truck that serves great mexican food.  The menu was not extensive but enough for a quick bite for lunch.  Jeff tried the chicken taco and I tried the pork belly.  What was so great about their taco is that it's home made and it does not break while you are eating the tacos.  All the items in the tacos were fresh and crunch and very flavorful.  The cost was not as cheap as compared to the ones we have in San Jose, but it's still reasonable.  Jeff and I got busy making treats this past week preparing for our first visitors.  He made his mom's double chocolate chip cookies and I made some Beef Empanadas.  Of course he also made another bread for our guest to try for breakfast.

Satisfied Saturday - Happy bread

It's all about the freshness of the bread, right. Today's post is all about bread, satisfaction and happiness.  In one of my previous post, I am sure I have mentioned about Jeff taking up a new hobby or is it a skill.  Anyway, after his first lesson on bread making with Dennis, he thought of checking out how much bread machine cost.  While I was golfing, he started checking out some of the stores and wouldn't you know he finds a bread machine for $15.00.

That's right, it was cheap and the great part, it's appears to be hardly used because the plastic cover on the control pads was still intact.  As soon as he got it home, he cleaned it thoroughly and the next day he was searching for recipes for this type of machine.  The first bread he made, half white half whole wheat cranberry, raisin and nut bread.  It was yummy so yummy, we had to try it with just butter after it came out of the machine.  Next bread was just a simply white bread since we were having spaghetti that night, we wanted some garlic bread.  The bread was so fluffy, no really so FLUFFY.  We had a friend over helping Jeff with the BBQ that he just bought and he tried it as well.  We couldn't stop pulling some pieces from the top of the bread.  The only bad thing about all the goodness and yumminess - is this an actual word,  well, it's that we will soon gain weight with all this starchy food.  But the benefit of it is that we know what goes in the bread and that we will have fresh ones when we need them.  It takes a total of 4 hours for Jeff to make it.  Check it out and let me know if you did not started getting hungry.

Cranberry, Raisin and nut bread - from the machine

Jeff's first home made bread from scratch - a lot of kneeding

Oh so FLUFFY - regular white bread recipe from the machine - very similar to TEXAS toast.

Mouthwatering Monday - Makes me hungry

When my sister told me about the dinner she was preparing for her guests, I was not really

sure how she was going to do it.  A few days later she sent me the photos of the dinner she

prepared.  I was actually surprised because there were a lot of different type of Filipino dishes as well as dessert.  It was so mouth watering and I wish I was invited but it would have been a very expensive dinner.  My sister lives in Alberta, Canada.  Anyway, I wanted to share the photos with my reader.  

This dessert is called Halo-halo.  A mixture of sweets with coconut milk and crushed ice.

She made some grilled fish, crispy pork belly, lumpia (spring roll), bbq chicken and mango salad.

Then a couple days later, my daughter sent me a photo of their dinner and I got jealous again because I love seafood.  The next day after golf we decided to stop and have dinner at a place called Crab Claw.  Sorry, I couldn't find a photo of this meal.  Instead I have the dessert I made for our guests,

Traditional Tuesday - Comfort foods

While on vacation in Toronto, my sister was very busy baking, cooking and making sweet treats for our relatives.  They were very happy to see her and spend time since it has been a long time since she was there.  If I remember it correctly the last she was there was 2008.  We could talk on the phone during her visit and she would tell what kind of meals she was preparing.  Since she spent Easter with the relatives, she prepared a complete Turkey dinner.  She enjoys baking bread and sweets that are comfort Filipino foods.  It was good that she remember to take photos so I'll share that with you.  While she was doing a lot of meals, I was doing something similar because my girlfriends from Canada were with us for a few days.  I have prepared lunch, dinner and breakfast for some of the days of their stay.

They were very appreciative of the home cook meals and was quite amazed that I can just whip up meals that are tasty and healthy.  One night I made them deep fried Oreo with strawberries and our home made ice cream.  Viewer discretion advised - might cause hunger pangs.

Chicken Pot Pie I made for lunch during my friends visit.

Ensaymada - special sweet bun my sister made while she was in Toronto.

Before the topping of butter and sugar were added.

 

I finally got a chance to use my Mickey Mouse waffle maker.