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.
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.
Hunger and desperation make one very creative. Also I am in the mood for something sour (continuation of my sinigang craze) and a bit spicy. Plus I had some rice noodles I pre-soaked the day before for a pad thai I was planning to make but I stalled that I need to use. For some reason I like rice noodles. I like it in soup and I like it in char kway teow.
So I did some reading online and then I started to cook. I picked up a real nice trick in cooking prawns and that is to pre-fry it to get all the flavors out of the head. Then add some water and let it boil. Add in the noodles and some chili paste and sinigang mix. use whatever’s available right? This turned out really well, more than I hoped for. I know it’s far from the real Tom Yum Goong but this reminds me of that. I am so proud of this experiment, I’d cook this for my Bee who happens to have a new gadget and the otterbox iphone 4 is perfect for it, let’s see. ♥♥♥
My family and I are not really big pork eaters but recently, I am often finding myslef craving for pork dishes and enjoying eating them once i have it. We had a left over Crispy Pata (deep fried pork knuckle from Mommy’s office) and I instantly knew what I would do with it.
For some reason I wanted roasted chicken that I prepared and cooked. But electricity cost in this country I’m in at the moment would make you think twice about using the oven for hours. And I’m cowboy this way. I have always wanted to try these kinds of things myself.
(Juicy and oh-so delicious chicken!)
I have observed how the local roasting shops’ machines operate, I think it’s very simple in fact. There’s just charcoal and the thing that rotates the chickens around so it all cooks evenly. Ohh I like lechon manok (roasted chicken) of Beski’s (?) but they have closed. (This scares me, a good business with yummy products and a very loyal market has closed..) So I decided to roast my own chicken and do it camping style.
No flash. I wanted to show the live coals which is not evident with the pictures with flash.
If you also want to grill the way I did. If you are into this kind of things.
That it gets so hot! Of course because it’s live coals. Drink lots of water and try to keep your distance from the heat of the coals… We used a long wooden spoon as extension of the rotisserie stick. If you have very sensitive, smooth and silky baby-like skin then you must insure it haha no really you better have the type of life insurance for skydivers as it will really do something to your skin. Just to be safe. I can’t clearly describe it but after grilling I had some rashes and redness from this little experiment. Just saying. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
(First time I’ve tried making a video so forgive me for mediocre editing skills.) Read the rest of this entry »
Maybe I am a cheapskate; for things or food I know I can make myself. Like pizza. I know it’s just some flour and yeasts, and whatever toppings you like, veggies like bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and pineapples. I like some ham and pepperonis in there too. Or maybe I’m just way too much of a control freak, even with my pizza.
The idea to use baguette is something I got from Delifrance. I love their pizzas in half baguette. (Ooh, I also love their Chicken Mushroom Linguine which is something I’m trying to replicate at home with no success.) Unfortunately, Delifrance has closed down already as far as I know. I’m not sure since when since I’m not in the Philippines most of the time but I am sure missing them. So again, in my oven toaster food series, I made my semi-homemade pizza using baguette.
