We have a big bottle of ube haleya in the fridge which has an expiration date of one month so I don’t know how we would finish it. Of course I don’t want to waste it as it’s not cheap and it’s made by nuns in Baguio. Have you tried it? It’s really good and made with no preservatives hence the short expiration date. So I thought about baking ube bread. Wow it’s been a long while since I last baked something. Hmmmn… let me think when’s the last time… I really can’t remember so I guess it’s been almost a year.
Another factor why I baked? It’s because of the weather! It’s so hot outside it will be perfect for dough rising. And I was right.
Ube Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. lukewarm water
1 small egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/4 cup bread flour (additional for dusting)
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup ube halaya
6 inch diameter round baking pan
So I had ideas about shaping them. I don’t want to make a loaf because in my experience before in baking monggo bread, the filling inside didn’t distribute well. It didn’t have that nice design even though I rolled it well. I thought about making it cinnamon rolls style too. Also individual buns where I’d use my muffin pan. But I ended up making knots and baking them close together in a round baking pan and it turned out really pretty. I haven’t made knots before so I’m just glad it turned out well.
Is how it feels like for me when my baby kicks. Sometimes the baby’s movements will catch me off guard but it’s a welcome surprise. I love that feeling. Now it’s like I have a more concrete evidence that my baby is there, moving. Before I only get to see the baby move and feel assured that the baby’s ok during ultrasound. So far I had two. First and second times was to find the heartbeat. Ooh that tormented me but that’s over now and I’m happy. My baby’s so active even at this very young age.
In 3 weeks time, my husband and I will have another ultrasound, that one’s to finally know the gender of the baby. I can’t wait to know! Well I guess there’s no surprise there that I’m so eager since patience is not one of my strengths. So it’s a good thing we can finally know soon. To have to wait almost 5 more months to know my baby’s gender would be very hard on me. Hmmmn I really can’t wait to know. A boy or a girl? I need to know!
Wahhhh! I guess this is the right word to describe how I was and still am feeling these past weeks… I am always hungry! A different kind of hunger I have never felt before. The kind of hunger that scares me as it is painful and it needs to be dealt with ASAP.
Only able to smile a bit after I felt relief from drinking Milo. Wahhh!
Yeah, I am always hungry, but I have a problem; I can’t eat. I feel like vomiting whenever I put food in my mouth. It’s like JBL Subwoofers are banging in throat! So yeah that’s my predicament these past weeks. I’m always hungry as in like every hour but I can’t stomach food. I feel like crying like a baby whenever I feel the hunger coming up and when I’m forcing myself to eat. Ok, to be honest, I’ve cried more than a couple of times already. Out of frustration and hunger. One was gentle crying the other with shoulders rocking.
I don’t recognize myself anymore. I used to LOVE food. Just the thought of food used to excite me. Just looking at food photos made me salivate and when I finally get my hand on that food, 100% of the time I had to stop myself from eating way too much, more than my tummy can handle. Now just the thought of food makes me want to cry. I feel like I’m fighting a battle whenever I’m eating. I also have to drink ice cold drinks to help with the nausea.
Another thing is I can’t cook anymore. I used to love cooking. I took my time sauteing the garlic, onions etc until they sweat fully but now I can’t even stomach just the smell of it. Now my poor husband has to do the cooking that is after his day of work. I feel guilty. Like my mother, one of the ways I show my love is by cooking for them. Now I can’t do that. I truly hope he understands. So far I think he does.
Oh and I have another confession. I used to snob junk food, specially instant noodles. Now they are my life saver. Boiling hot Nissin Seafood noodles cured my mad hunger. I can’t eat healthy home cooked meals. I’m scared to eat just any food before I research if it’s safe or not. I don’t know. I’m desperate. Now I understand just how it feels to starve so bad.
Oh and I lost a lot of weight already. Ahhhhhh! I can’t wait until this phase is over!!!
Once upon a time I got somewhat addicted/obsessed to some kind of Halo-Halo. (Well I just realized, I’m always addicted to something, obsessed with something.) So yes, macapuno.
See I always want to make things myself, this is usually with food, to make them better than if I just buy them. (I want to learn how to sew now.) But I also get lazy hehe. So What I do is I compromise with myself. Like in this case, instead of having an all star cast of Halo-Halo The Movie with sweetened munggo, beans, bananas, jackfruit (langka) and gulaman and tapioca pearls (gelatin and sago), I just pick my some from my favorites or whatever is available in the market. So sometimes my halo-halo will just consist of sweetened saba (plantain) bananas and sweetened macapuno. It taste as good. For me, together with the effort (effort counts like 60% of everything) nothing beats homemade.
So buying macapuno is a hit and miss as you won’t know the quality of it until it’s cracked open but somehow the vendors know which is good and not. So I just want to share this photo. These gorgeous gooey macapuno. This should act as basis for future macapuno purchases. It shouldn’t look like simple coconut. It flesh should be thick and gooey, water thick as well. Hmmmn… temptation temptation!!!!
First thing, if you want your eggs easier to peel, then use ‘old eggs’.
1. Put your eggs in a single layer in a pot, cover it with an inch of tap water. Add a few drops of vinegar it to help keep it together if ever the shells cracks.
2. Then using medium heat, bring the water to boil. Once it boils, lower down the flame to a simmer for a minute. Then turn the heat off.
3. Let it sit for 11 minutes with the cover on. Don’t open it.
4. It’s done. Some people wash their eggs in tap water to stop cooking but mine never gets over- cooked even if I don’t do that. Or I’m just being lazy.
Or here’s an even easier method I do. In the Philippines where every family cooks rice at least twice a day, this is easier. First, I wash the eggs well, this is very important! In the rice cooker using the steam basket(?), cook it together with rice. The steam will cook it perfectly. Just don’t open the cover or you will lose the steam that will cook the egg. There! Easier.
I just love the gift of learning. So I don’t mind sharing what I know. If I can, I want to learn how to speak Mandarin, play the drums and piano and even study a second degree. So if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.
Eggs is one of the best christmas gifts for 2011. I just love it. And for me, it’s the thought that counts more. Just as long as you remember me, I’m happy.
Two weeks ago was Bee’s mom’s birthday and I went there to celebrate with the family. I can’t decide which to bring, a chocolate cake that I will bake or a kakanin which is more appealing to me at that time. I always ended up with reasons not to choose the chocolate cake like it will dry up and so on and I realized I just really wanted to try and bake a cassava cake.
I realized why I don’t usually use kamoteng kahoy (cassava root) even though it’s cheap. It’s because it’s a pain to shred! I should know because 10 years ago when I was still in high school, I experimented with another kakanin which is pichi pichi my friend Abee and her mom taught me how to prepare. Yes it took me 10 long years to try again but this time it is way much easier.
I love markets. I get to discover so many new things, observe life yes boring stuff for most people. A week before I had to go to Pampanga, I noticed the cassava root on sale. While chatting with the vendors, they said that they can peel the cassava root for me and they can shred it for me too well I have to pay a few pesos and I gladly bought a kilo and a half and tried to bake cassava cake immediately.
It was so yum! Taste test good. So I baked another batch which I brought there. Let’s just say that I had to stop myself eating what I brought there haha. It’s not too sweet which is perfect for me and it’s so soft! They said they like it too. Ok I have to look for the recipe now.
Mommy brought home some marinated deer meat (tapang usa) and one day when we were both too lazy to cook anything that takes long to prepare, we just look for what’s quick to cook from the fridge.
I also prepared some homemade atchara (which I still haven’t posted here!) and the family favorite, garlic sinangag and we are happy peeps.
I can just stare at this photo for an hour. Looks good, tastes even better.
I like ice cream very much. But I know it is sugar laden and high in bad fats, I try to only have it once in a while. Over the years, even before Frozen Yogurts aka Froyo became this big of a hit now, I became so into it but it is also pricey to have as often as I want. So when learned how to make yogurt at home, it is but natural that frozen yogurt is next. I searched the net for what seems like reliable enough and simple enough recipe. Found one but since this is a very late post, I have forgotten which website I got the base recipe from. Sorry. Edit: Based this recipe from 101cookbooks.com
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This experiment started in Youtube. I was watching how factories make loaf breads and frozen pizzas then I came across yogurt making.
I love yogurt. I really love yogurt. Started when I was all about healthy stuff, choosing healthier alternatives to the usual bad stuff like ice cream and it grew on me really well. Now I prefer some tartness than the all out sweetness of ice cream.
In Youtube I saw that they use the oven to incubate (you need to incubate the good live bacterias to make yogurt) and I don’t like that because Philippines has power rates higher than Singapore grrr! So I thought why not make it using the slow cooker? I researched about it and yes many people have done it using the slow cooker. So I read some more and I planned about buying some milk and some plain yogurt to start my experiment. I want to go all out with yogurt. I can’t do that with Nestle’s Melon flavored yogurt with Nata de Coco which is my favorite. So expensive! It costs half a liter of milk for a very small container.
I have baked so far. What do I look for my pizza? First is the crust. I want it not too thick and not too thin. I need it to be a bit chewy but is crunchy as well. Then for the toppings I I prefer more veggies and cheese than meat.
After trying way too many recipes online, I finally have a recipe I could depend on. Thanks to Mommy who bought an old issue of a local food magazine where there was a promising and very simple recipe for pizza crust. Not many ingredients, just flour, salt, yeasts, water and oil. That’s it.
