Cookies in Sugar and Butter

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It's love month so even if it's cheesy, I still made a heart shape and a girl and a boy shaped cookies and if you want something to give that you made with your bare hands (literally!) to your loved ones this love month then why not bake some butter or sugar cookies.

The one in the above photo is the butter cookies which my family loves more than the below sugar cookies because it's less sweeter and well more buttery, what more can I say about that.  The sugar cookies is more colorful though because I added red colored icing on top of each cookie for a playful touch.

sugar cookies with icing

Both of these cookies almost have the same ingredients and procedure to make, the only difference is the amount in the ingredients.  Oh this is my first time to knead and roll a dough and at first it's really hard take out the cut -out shapes off the table, constant dusting and a good spatula is needed to prevent the shapes from deforming.

Butter Cookies

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter

3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon white sugar

1 medium egg

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sugar Cookies

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1-2/3 cups and 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoonsbutter, softened

3/4 cup and 3 tablespoonswhite sugar

1 small egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

cute cookie cutters

How to:

1.  Combine/stir the dry ingredients.

2.  Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl until smooth.

3.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

4.  Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

5.  Roll the dough to half inch thick and then cut into desired shapes.

6.  Bake to a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.

the elephant shape is my favorite

Perfect mate for your tea or coffee or milk :)

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

DIY: Can and Scratch Pad

Just sharing these simple DIYs that I did this January.

The first one is a money container for the 52 Week Money Challenge that's been popular lately.  I modified the amount though because it's too "high" for my budget.

Materials needed:  Empty potato chips container, washi tape/s of your choice and I also used double sided tape.

Just cover the "can" with the washi tape of your choice.  I use double sided tape because I thought one roll of washi tape is not enough to cover the whole can.  Anyway, in time maybe I'll peel off the plastic that is covering the sticky tape and put a paper and write anything I want around it.

tada!!!

Next, is my "scratch notebook" where I put any idea or lists like wishlist and booklist and anything and everything under the sun that I wanted to write.

Material needed:  Kraft notes scratch pad, old stamps, adhesive book cover and I also cut a "Shower!" word from a magazine.

I just put the stamps all over the cover of the Kraft Pad and stick the Shower! word at the center then used and adhesive book cover to cover the pad so that it can lasts a whole year and done!

using an adhesive book cover for the first time

Got a little hard time putting the book cover because it's my first time using it.  It's best to lay down the thing to cover on a flat and clean surface and slowly but surely fold the edges.

tada!!!

Another tada! Here's my scratch notebook chill-in with our furry and well behaved pet (hehehe).

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Pasta in Tomato Sauce

I always thought that pasta in red sauce in some restaurant are hard and expensive to make.  Wrong!  10 ingredients, that's all I need to make a simple yet delicious pasta with tomato sauce thanks to taste.com.au for the recipe.

promise it's tastier than what it looks like

Tomato Pasta Sauce

from taste.com.au

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced
1 tbs tomato paste
2 x 400g cans chopped peeled tomatoes
salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

main ingredients

How to:
1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened but not browned.

2.  Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute (this 'cooks off' the paste, giving it a richer more intense flavour).

3.  Add the peeled tomatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until thickened.

4.  Stir through the salt and pepper, sugar, basil and parsley, adjusting the seasoning as required.

Note:  You can add a teaspoon of sugar if you want your sauce to be a little sweeter :)

I usually cook at night and the lighting in our home is really poor

Pour over your favorite pasta and maybe put some cheese on top and voila, yummy and healthy(?) meal!  Even my nephew like this and my sister commented that the sauce tasted like the the seafood pasta that we ate at Burgoo sans the seafood.

Give it a try, it's so easy (unless you hate tomato based pasta).

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

January 2014 Read: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Nope, I'm not going to do a book review ala high school style.  I'm actually not going to make a book review because I believe each reader have their own interpretation and in their minds...well in my mind...hmmm let's just use in our mind, we make or build our own worlds when reading, am I right?  I hope yes!

Instead, I'll just be talking about the book that I'm currently reading because reading the books that I horded last year is in my to do list and Neil Gaiman' American Gods is one of them.

American Gods
Neil Gaiman

I already started reading this and I'm halfway through it but because of change of work schedule and some kind of un-understandable depression, I completely didn't have the time to read unlike before wherein I wouldn't sleep unless I finish the book that I'm reading.

American Gods caught my attention because I stumbled on an amazing list before (I forgot where) and it's number one.  Also included in the list is the Battle Royale.

Neil Gaiman's writing style is very new to me and I have to admit that it took me a lot of chapter before I could get a grip of the book.  Then I get excited with how the story goes then I get lost and the cycle goes on and on and it's taking me time to finish the book.

synopsis

If you already read American Gods by Neil Gaiman let me know what you think and help me know more about the book.  Oh and if you happened to stumble on the list that I'm talking about above, please give me the link too :)

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Square No More: Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm sipping a cup of coffee (no sugar) right now and told myself "this could have been one of those perfect moments if only there's a cookie in my other hand to munch")...ohhh cookies they sometimes make my world (and my figure) go round and round.

Last December, instead of giving trinkets I gave cookies to my officemates and friends and I think it's a hit that on the very same day some of them are already ordering.  The cookies that I gave out is the salted chocolate chip cookies.  They say that the salt on top of each cookies balanced out the sweetness and chocolatey-ness.

I adapted my recipe from Bake Happy and just revised some of the ingredients depending on what is available in the grocery near our home.  This recipe is a keeper for me because the reaction of the people who tasted it is consistent (everyone loves it!).

Oh by the way my photos here sucks because I was in a hurry packing the cookies, I'm running late for work kasi.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

3 2/3 cups minus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chip cookies (or more)

1 bar (38 grams) dark chocolate, cut into chunks I used Goya

Sea Salt to be sprinkled on top of each cookie before baking

How to:

1.  Sift together all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) until well combined. Set aside.

2.  Cream butter and white and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

3.  Mix in the eggs one at a time.  Then add the vanilla extract.

4.  Mix in the dry ingredients until just combines.  Don't over mix.

5.  Fold in the chocolates. 

CHOCOLATES!!!

6.  Wrap the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours (Bake Happy says 24 to 36 hours for a gooey and chocolatey cookies).
7.  After refrigerating, scoop the dough to form half balls (I used the 1/4 measuring cups).  I sometimes flatten the formed dough to make it look bigger before sprinkling salt.

and here's the shaped dough

8.  Bake to a pre-heated oven at 350F for 15 minutes.

By the way, you can make these cookies even with just a whisk and spatula on hand (I still don't have a mixer when I made 80 pieces of these sinful yummies!).

I can eat 5 of these cookies in one sitting, no wonder I (and my niece and nephew) gain weight last December hehehehe.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

January 2014 Playlist

As twelve midnight strikes which signifies the coming of the new year, I suddenly looked back to the previous year...nothing has changed...not an inch which makes me sad because everybody is just changing and I don't feel the same and I don't know why and it creeps me.

"Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name

But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same"

-Everybody's Changing, Keane

I tried to have a positive perspective, there are times that this attitude helps me but most of the time I just feel down without knowing what's causing it.

"All night hearing voices tellin' me that I should get some sleep

Because tomorrow might be good for somethin'

Hold on, feelin' like I'm headed for a breakdown

And I don't know why"

-Unwell, Matchbox Twenty

And it lingers...

"And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?"
-Pompeii, Bastille

So most of the time I just show my smiling face because it's easier than explaining to others how I feel.  I feel like a zombie and I sometimes catch myself in the burst of crying.

"Let me take you down

Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields

Nothing is real

And nothing to get hung about

Strawberry Fields forever

Living is easy with eyes closed

Misunderstanding all you see

It's getting hard to be someone

But it all works out

It doesn't matter much to me"

-Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?  Hard question since both of them are great.  I repeat:  BOTH OF THEM ARE GREAT so the only option I have is to be great!  I am young, I'll make a lot of mistakes and it's okay.

"I can feel it in my bones

Gimme sympathy

After all of this is gone

Who'd you rather be?

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Oh, seriously

You're gonna make mistakes, you're young

Come on, baby, play me somethin'

Like, "Here Comes the Sun"

Come on, baby, play me somethin'

Like, "Here Comes the Sun"
-Gimme Sympathy, Metric

It's gonna be hard but this is my life and I should take charge and control it.  I will be great and whistle a happy tune :)

"Hey heart, won't you run again

On the highway, on the highway

Cause it's your heart, it's alive

It's pumpin' blood

And it's your heart, it's alive

It's pumpin' blood

And the whole wide world is whistling"

-Pumpin Blood, NONONO

"LOMO": First Epic Fail

Surprise surprise, look what I got from Mr. Mailman/Deliveryman:

from Lomography Embassy Manila/TeamManila/Digiprint

For the love of Miriam Defensor (hehehe, very brave woman), I finally managed to have my first two films (and my sister's too) processed all thanks to TeamManila, Lomography Embassy and Digiprint for making it happen.  Processing is a bit expensive but I just have to do it to see what I captured.

"Don't think.  Just shoot".  Nice but this quote is just half true when it comes to film photography and I'm not saying this because I'm an expert in this area (I can't even call myself a film photographer or whatever), I'm just an evidence (a newbie) of the failure because I just literally loaded the films in my toy camera and shoot without reading much about films and ISO's (toinks, face palm) as a result most of my shots are a total fail and exposed (my sister's film is totally exposed!).  So if ever you suddenly have the urge to start your adventure with films, research first then "Don't think.  Just shoot".

Here's some of my decent photos that I got (out of 60 shots).  Most are from the film with 200 ISO under a very bright sky in UST, edited/cropped some because my finger is on the way.

Main Building of UST

Under the Sky

Setting Sun in the City

Some greenery after some drops of rain

in front of UST's church

My sister is totally giving up on film photography (her whole roll of film turned out to be overexposed), as for me well I'm disheartened but I still have 1 more film and it has ISO 400 (many favor this film).  Right now I'm thinking of maybe having a theme, I already have  four in mind (selfie, shadors and mirrors, heads and UST because I'm going to UST tomorrow and of course anything and everything under the sun so that's actually five).

Let's see if I'll still enjoy taking picture with  my toy camera :P

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Maki Daw

Instead of junk foods, here's what I've been munching while waiting for the first day of the year.  Yup I made this before the new year of 2013 and it's only now that I'm posting it....I don't know what's wrong with me.

maki kono

Oha!.  I made what is in the picture ^__^.  It's quite easy to make one and if you want a demo you can always browse youtube.

What you need:
Nori Sheets
Strips of Kani (imitation crab), Mango, Cucumber
Rice (I prefer newly cooked) mixed with a mixture of warm water, a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon of vinegar (for one cup of rice)
Mayo (can be optional)

The water, salt and vinegar mixture will make the rice a bit sticky.

neatly assemble everything

Assemble:  spread the rice thinly and evenly on a nori sheet.  Then add strips of cucumber, mango, kani and mayo then roll...roll.roll.  Wet the edges of the nori sheet to seal then cut your make into bite size.

slice and serve :)

Forgot to add the mayo while rolling?  Don't worry, just put it on top of the rolls and enjoy :)

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

Thai-Style Green Beans

My niece and I would love to eat more veggies and been threatening my nephew that someday I'll serve all veggies for dinner (hehehe, pure evil)  of course I can't do it.  Aside from his frowning face, her parents will definitely question me besides I'm not a vegetarian :)

Anyway, I decided to just serve a quick veggie side dish to our lazy fried luncheon meat dinner with a Thai Style Green Beans.  Saw a recipe from A Beautiful Mess blog but this recipe from tasteofhome.com is way way more easy (with my added notes).

promise, it's yummier than it looks

Thai-Style Green Beans

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce)

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I forgot to buy and used the ones from Yellowcab :P)

1 tablespoon chopped shallot (used regular onions because I can't find any shallots in SM grocery...grrr)

1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed (I cut into two since I'm not used to eating beans that are long)

It's actually yummy but I bet it'll be more flavorful if I use shallots.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Muffin, Cake? Basta Banana Chocolate for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the Philippines but since I work for a foreign company catering Americas, we (the employees) are allowed to take our vacation leave and bake! Ahahaha, I don't have any fun thing in mind to do since weekend so I decided to just bake and cook something new.

I like bananas.  Bananas is almost always present in the street where I live in.  We have banana plants in our backyard in the province so why not bake something with banana?  Actually,  I'm just trying to finish the cocoa powder that I bought some months ago since it's gonna expire na this December and it just so happen that I chance upon http://www.rachelcooks.com and it's Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (oha choco na choco).

the cake

the frosting

My sister has this rectangular baking pan which she gave me when I decided to start baking as a hobby but looking at it before baking, I got lazy buttering it up or putting baking sheets to it for the cake not to stick so I just pulled a non-stick square baking pan and my green silicone cupcake tray (? ano daw) and my nephew keep saying "can I have some muffin".  Yeah, a failure in perception but people this creation of mine is suppose to be a cake hehehe.

Anyway here's the recipe with some of my notes and just a little warning:  this is so sweet!!!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
from http://www.rachelcooks.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sugar  (this is too much for my liking, I'll just use 1 cup next time)
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium-sized bananas, mashed (I remembered my niece and use 4 instead)
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (make your own by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk)
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I can't find a semi-sweet chocolate in the grocery so I used regular chocolate chips and I think it contributed to the uber sweetness of the cake)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add rest of ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat on low-speed until combined. (I don't have a mixer so I have lots of bonding time with my whisk (smiley))
4. Increased to medium speed and blend for 3 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Spread into a greased 9″x13″ baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. (don't forget to insert the toothpick too on the center)
6. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

one 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened (I use spreadable cream cheese instead)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (I'll stick with salted butter next time, I think the frosting has more character with it)
2 to 3 teaspoons of milk (maybe more)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
~4 cups of powdered sugar (I only use 3 cups, I tasted the batter so I already have an idea that the cake is just so sweet)

1. In large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and milk until smooth.
2. Add in cocoa powder and powdered sugar (one cup at a time) and continue to beat on low speed until frosting is smooth and to your desired consistency. Spread on cooled cake.

Just chilling with my sweet cake :)

sweet cake for an early early breakfast is awesome!

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Butterbeer at Starbucks!

Accio Butterbeer!

Starbucks Butterbeer

I've been lemming to try Butterbeer since I started reading Harry Potter but it's hard to get ahold of it here in the muggle world.  I searched for recipes in the net but where the hell can I find cream soda in the Philipinnes???

Thankfully, Butterbeer is now part of Starbucks' "Secret Menu" thanks to my officemate and friend for sharing the recipe from Dalebacar.com.

Ask your Starbucks' barista to magically whip the following (for grande):

A Creme Frappuccino base. Don’t skimp on the fat by asking for skim or 2% milk as whole milk is required for the right consistency.
Add 3 pumps of caramel syrup.
Add 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup.
Top with caramel drizzle.

Enjoy!  Look how happy the cast of Harry Potter while drinking Butterbeer.

photo from http://www.insidethemagic.net/2010/08/wizarding-world-of-harry-potters-butterbeer-nutritional-information-revealed-but-not-by-universal-orlando/

I actually expected the drink to be very sweet but it's not and also couldn't taste the toffee nut syrup and charge us (yeah I ordered with my 3 friends and officemates) extra P20 so we paid P190 for our drink (others only pay P170).

Because of my excitement I immediately sip my drink, it's too thick I should have let the crushed ice melt first!

Still, I enjoyed my Butterbeer and for a moment felt Hogsmead :)  Excited to try the real thing.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye

Eat Like A Boss: Vikings!

looks familiar?

If the place in the above photo looks familiar to you then one, you are probably in SM North; two, you are probably queuing to three; to eat like a viking!

Vikings!

Despite knowing that it's payday and people will definitely buzz like a busy bee in this place, my sister and her husband together with my niece and nephew still went to Vikings to eat like a boss on a Sunday because it's my sister's birthday!!!!

olalala

Despite being an eat all you can resto, the place is so elegant with chandeliers and posh victorian like table setting.  I would be more impressed if the flowers are fresh too.

alone, kuya?

Since there are a lot of people, it's hard to take decent photos and we also have to que to different food station.  The steak/meat section has the longest que.  Below pic is an understatement because I took after 1 or 2 pm I guess and soon the lunch buffet will close.

I hope the people in my photos don't mind, but someone out there don't want their faces here then comment below

I'm so excited to eat here and talked about it in the office and in my facebook page for weeks like a patay gutom ahahahaha.

So after eating steaks (ummm forgot what I got, but I eat 2 kinds of steak in mushroom and truffle gravy:  the mushroom is the usual one but still yummy while the truffle one is more on the heavy/darker taste side which I very much like) and 5 kinds of dimsum, I went straight to the dessert section because I can feel my stomach being two-thirds full!

the cakes

I only eat 3 or 4 kinds of cake (I promise to get more the second round but didn't get a chance to go for seconds).  The only cheesecake from the group (the one in small rectangle dishes in caramel color) is delicious and the circle white one on top is good too, the rest I guess is forgettable.

the jellos?

Never tasted any of these which is a shame.  And the below candies too.  I got really sad when I'm taking this photo because everytime I pass by a candy store, I always imagine myself grabbing every jelly bean, gummy bears and whatnots that I like and will not pay ahahaha and when I saw this I thought that dream would come true, unfortunately  my appetite turned demure and betrayed my palette in Vikings.

I wanted to take them home

Snow Ice!  The ice itself is already sweet so don't you dare take another scoop of condensed milk in your shaved ice.  Next to this cute machine is the FroYo which please I'm begging you do get a lot of swirl because I got umay and you might, to which I think is one of the reason why I easily got full.  The main reason I guess though are the mini cronuts which I never get a chance to get a photo because they are selling like hot pancakes.

Snow Ice

The white one is good, the chocolate is too sweet but seeing chocolate fountains always delights me so even if people always gets in front of my cam I promise myself to get a pic kahit pangit siya.

fondue

After eating a scoop of bubble gum ice cream and slurping black coffee, I had enough.  I got upset with my stomach that day for not expanding much and not satisfying my hunger for food, So I went around taking photos while watching my sister grabbing makis and sushis and tempuras (I'm so inggit).  One incident made me laugh though, while walking my sister handed me a piece of lansones and another piece of rambutan as if she stole it bwahahaha.

Anyway, here are some photos that I took while strolling.

appetizer section

still on appetizer, how I wish I had some of those cheezes

supposed to be pasta and pizza section

paluto section?

My sister is excited about this section wherein we can ask the chefs to cook seafood for us but we never got a chance...tsk tsk.

sushis

my sister getting her fill, while I cry in envy

dimsum/asian food section

Since it's my sis birthday, Vikings gave her a mini cake.  It's a good thing that by the time the birthday wishers came to our table my sister is in the comfort room.  Yep, I'm one of those KJ's who do not want that extra performance while in a huge resto that I even texted my sister to stay in the restroom for awhile.  Don't worry, she don't wanted it too :)

we actually didn't eat this one too

Happy Friday and let's all be hungry!

You can visit Vikings, Luxury Buffet Restaurant at http://vikings.ph/.  For reservations, you can message them in their FB pages just make sure to reserve real early.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

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