Chocolate rum balls

I feel fatigued for the first time this month. I think it's the first time I exercised vigorously. My body has gotten so unfit, my system was shocked after I ran 3 Km today. While on the treadmill, I was imagining the mornings and afternoons I spent running on campus grounds while I was still studying in Belgium. I'm looking forward to running on campus again once I arrive in Australia. Meanwhile, I will be burning my calories on the treadmill we bought for my mom this Christmas. I really love our gift for her not only because it will really help my mom lose weight, but also because it will also help me stay in shape! I need to burn the calories I gain thanks to the many experiments I am performing in the kitchen. Yes, I did another kitchen experiment today. 

I wanted to "recycle" the leftover chocolate cake by making chocolate rum balls. These rum balls are so easy to make. Follow these simple steps:

Remove the left over cake from the fridge.

Throw in the food processor to make cake crumbs. I used 2 cups cake crumbs.

Get hold of 1 1/2 c. nuts. In this case, I used cashew.

Throw the nuts in the food processor until they're finely chopped.

With the nuts and cake crumbs, add 2 T corn syrup, 1/4 c sugar 2 T unsweetened cocoa and 1/4 c rum. Roll into 1-inch balls.

Obtain 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate.

Slice any bar of white chocolate you can fund.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and coat the rum balls.

Decorate your rum balls. I used the white chocolate to top the chocolate-coated rum balls.

You can also sprinkle the rum balls with confectioner's sugar, nuts or powdered cocoa.

And there you have it! You can make about 40 1-inch rum balls using this recipe.

Good night for now. I think I need to sink in my dreamland.

Simplest fruitcake recipe

Fruitcake is one of the most popular cakes during Christmas and New Year. I initially started baking fruitcakes for consumption at home. But then my mom suddenly suggested, "why don't you start selling them?" And so that's what I did last Friday. My very first business venture. However, I didn't go large-scale because I didn't want to advertise on facebook and meet up with customers/strangers. I only sold the cakes at my mom's work place--for a very cheap price of course. So cheap, I barely earned a cent. But that is OK. I just liked the idea of selling. I would like to engage in business someday when I have the chance.

Fruitcake

Meanwhile, I am blogging about the simplest fruitcake recipe I formulated. Yes, I conducted 3 fruitcake experiments before I came up with this recipe. The major problem I encountered while I was shopping for ingredients was the scarcity of ingredients itself. I live in a tropical country where 100 grams of dried cherries cost a fortune.  I also couldn't even find my favorite dried fig anywhere in the supermarket. This is the reason why I couldn't use the available recipes online. I had to modify the recipe to come up with a delicious fruitcake with minimal ingredients.

The ingredients I used are as follows:

2 c sugar

2 sticks butter

1/2 c canola oil (I added this because I wanted more moisture)

4 eggs

1/2 t salt

2 1/2 c rum (I used 80 proof rum)

3 1/2 c flour

2 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1/2 c molasses

250 g pitted prunes cut into cubes

250 g raisins

250 g chopped cashew nuts

500 g glazed fruits

I soaked the prunes and glazed fruits in 2 c rum two days before baking, leaving 1/2 c rum to be mixed with the batter.

I was so happy my mom's office mates loved my fruitcake. Although I barely earned in my so-called "business," I was really glad to see there faces light up after eating my fruitcake. I've always wanted a fruitcake for everybody.

How to bake Empanadas

Because my wanderlust has ceased for awhile, I have been making myself useful by learning how to cook and bake, skills which will come in very handy after I finish my PhD hopefully 3 years from now. Awhile ago, I was craving to eat one of my favorite snacks which I rarely ate when I was growing up because no one at home was ever fond of making it. I have always imagined it isn't  that difficult to do. But it was only awhile ago that I was able to prove this hypothesis. Indeed, empanadas are very easy to make.

1. I made the dough and cut them into circles. I used 3 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup margarine and 1/4 cup cold water. If cold water isn't enough, slowly add more (tablespoon by tablespoon). I also added 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Making this empanada dough is no different from making a pie crust. It's very easy. Just don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. However, make sure your hands are exceptionally clean!

2. Cook the filling. I sautéed the following: minced pork, onions, garlic, capsicum, carrots and green peas. I added salt, soy sauce and pepper. Once cooked, I mixed the sautéed minced pork and veges with raisins and cubed cheese. 

3. Wrap the filling and brush with egg wash. For my egg wash, I used 1 whole egg plus 1 tablespoon milk. I'm yet to discover what is the best egg wash formula though...

4. Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes or less.

5. You know it's ready when the empanadas have turned golden brown.

6. Enjoy your empanadas! I really love the fact that these empanadas are crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside. The texture and taste are superb!

Give it a try and let me know how you went. Have fun!

Minion Cake

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I have been too preoccupied with family activities. My big sis and big bro came home so we can hold an early Christmas celebration. Next week, my big sis will be going back to Thailand to continue her PhD. Until then, my vacation schedule will be a bit hectic. When she leaves, I might be busy reading random stuff related to my career because I will be commencing my PhD a couple of months from now.

For the meantime, I've been busy experimenting in the kitchen. Today, we celebrated my younger bro's birthday. Because we're fond of the movie "Despicable Me," I baked him a minion cake! I only baked a single-layered cake because I don't really want everyone to gain weight. The minion cake is basically just a pineapple-flavored chiffon cake covered with fondant icing. 

I really enjoyed baking this cake! It was just like playing with a clay model. 

Midnight snack

 My mom looked appalled when she saw me crafting this mouth-watering but extremely weird midnight snack. I was only making use of the available "materials" inside the fridge: graham crackers (honey-flavored crackers), Nutella and  ripe yellow mangoes. I bet you will eat this had I not enumerated its composition. Don't worry, it's still palatable.

Books for the week

This long vacation gave me an opportunity to get to know myself more. Because I neither have work-related nor school-related activities, I have more time to do the things that I enjoy the most. One of which is reading books! When I was younger, I used to read a lot of classical novels. But I have gotten so busy with school chores that I ditched all my novels. When I got back home, I tried to read novels again. However, for some unfathomable reasons, I couldn't bear to read stories about fictional characters. I started craving to learn more about the world. That's why the books which I have been buying these days are all non-fiction! From biographies to anecdotes, to political texts, I am craving to read them all. Goodbye novels!  Hello facts! 

These are the two books I bought today. One is about the biography of Isaac Newton. The other is a compilation of random everyday objects with short descriptions of their origins. I will be reading these two books along with the Middle East history book I bought last week.

I really adore books. One day, I will be able to write my own. While I still lack the knowledge, I will content myself by engaging in activities that enhances it. 

The books I'm reading

I just finished reading The New Korea! This book vividly narrates South Korea's struggle to become one of the world's fastest growing economy. From an agricultural country constantly ravaged by war, South Korea emerged unscathed to become a leader in technological innovation. The book also talks about untold stories of world-renowned companies such as Samsung and LG and how these companies triumphantly conquered the global market. The book also briefly discusses South Korea's relationship with its neighbouring countries especially its eternal nemesis up North. Such an informative and truly inspiring book everyone from a developing Asian country must read. 

Tomorrow, I will start reading about another area in the world, The Middle East! I'm so excited. My long vacation is beginning to become very exciting!

Why is kneading important in breadmaking?

Cinnamon roll

I finally succeeded in baking bread today! Finally, after 2 failed attempts in the past. The first time I ever tried baking bread was two years ago. I failed miserably that I turned my back against breadmaking. However, last week, I decided to give myself another chance. Unfortunately, I failed again! Desperate to taste success, I gave it another try this afternoon; I paid more attention to the process this time. After careful scrutiny, I came to the conclusion that the reason why I failed in my previous attempts was because I did not knead the bread properly! This is a very crucial step in breadmaking!

And so, you are probably asking, "Why is kneading important in breadmaking?" 

Flour contains proteins including gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to the flour and the mixture is kneaded, gliadin and glutenin are released. These two proteins combine to form gluten strands. As kneading continues, the gluten strands are stretched, making the dough supple and elastic. Kneading will also enable more efficient trapping of the CO2 molecules the added yeast released. When CO2 molecules are trapped, the dough will rise; and your bread will become softer.

The day I watched the same movie twice

Just recently, one of my bestfriends and I met up for a little chitchat. For the past years, we have developed the habit of watching whatever movie is shown at the cinema while devouring a regular sized frozen yogurt or gelato and a handful of cheese flavored popcorn. Meeting up with her again just recently reminded me of an amusing story two years ago when we were going to meet up to perform our "hanging out rituals." At that time, my boyfriend was with me and he somewhat complicated the scenario. Instead of hanging out with my besty alone, the three of us got to hangout together.

Before my besty came, my boyfriend and I were already hanging out. At that time, we were so desperately bored that we decided to watch "whatever movie" was on. We were watching while waiting for my besty to arrive. More than halfway through the movie (which by the way, I already forgot the title as it was a particularly boring one), my besty texted saying she already arrived. My boyfriend and I didn't want to keep her waiting so we were left with no choice but to exit the cinema to meet her. 

And so we met her. We went about our usual ritual and ate our favorite frozen yogurt! After an hour or so of chatting until our yogurt cups dried up, we realized we still had the entire evening to kill. We looked at each other and in unison, raised the same question, "what are we going to do now?" We couldn't possibly do window shopping as my boyfriend was extremely allergic to shopping. He is so allergic that the moment he steps inside the department store, his feet were already itching to leave! Whether we were stupid or desperate, the three of us decided to watch the same movie my boyfriend and I were watching while we were waiting for my besty. And so we paid for the movie again. Our sole consolation was the fact that we never got to see the ending and paying to watch the movie the second time around just to see the ending was after all, not a crazy idea.

We hopped into our seats and placidly watched the "forgettable" movie. It was weird that I actually found myself laughing (for the second time around) at the same segment which I thought was funny the first time I watched the movie. The movie was (somewhat) funny, that is all that I can remember. 

An hour or so passed, and we were nearing the ending. I was so excited! At last I was finally going to know how the movie concluded! As though the universe decided against my luck, our seats violently shook! At that time it felt like I was watching a 4D movie at a 2D cinema house. "Did you feel the seats move?"I asked. Before they could blurt out an answer, the seats shook again! "Earthquake!" I panicked and stood up to vacate the cinema house. My boyfriend reluctantly stood up and asked, "wait, are we not going to watch the ending?" Everyone else was hurrying towards the exit. I was asking myself if it was worth it to die buried under the cinema house's debris just to watch the story end while waiting for mine to end.

Of course, it wasn't worth it. And so, I reluctantly walked out of the cinema house while resigning myself with the fact that I will never be able to watch the ending. There was no way I was going to watch the movie the third time around!

Pies for my lovely sister

My sister's semestral break ended too soon and she had to go back to Thailand to continue studying for PhD. But before she left, I baked her two pies: cherry and apple. I will not jot down the ingredients yet because I still haven't perfected the recipe. Although, they weren't perfect, everyone at home told me they were delicious! I just need to work more on the consistency. I also need to practice making the crust. For some reasons, I actually find kneading the crust really relaxing. I really enjoy baking!

Before

After

Trees in England

I have been browsing my photos of my trips around places in Europe when I noticed something interesting: I love having my photos taken beside trees. Here are some of my many photos. My friend took these photos while we were wandering around England. I really adore trees--especially the gigantic and bizarre-looking ones!

Cambridge

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace

Stratford Upon Avon

T. G. I. Friday's

Citrus Shrimp Summer salad

Thank God it's Friday!

Can you think of a more fantastic way to conclude the week other than going to a restaurant with the most captivating and alluring name as the T. G. I Friday's restaurant? Well I could not think of anything better to do than dine on an it-feels-like-Friday restaurant.

Two Bleu Bacon Burger

I must say I had a pretty hard time choosing what to eat because the prices weren't too friendly for a person who is currently on an indefinite vacation with no particular work to go back into. But after a moment of pondering, I decided, once again, to give it a go.

My lips kissed the freshest drops of citrus juice squeezed into a platter full of lush green lettuce, fresh pink pomelo bits and ripe yellow mango cubes! The citrus summer shrimp salad also contained goat's cheese small slices of pecans and two tasty grilled shrimps. I must say it's the best version of the salad I have ever tasted! Hence, I'm giving this dish two thumbs up!

Big Apple Mojito

Vanilla Sundae

I also took a bite of the two bleu bacon burger. I was appalled as it was nothing compared to the salad I just ate. Although the ingredients were seemingly fresh, I was a bit frustrated because the burger was apparently lacking in taste. I could not find that particular "kick." The patty was also a bit irregularly shaped. It was also too thick and too greasy. The fries that came along with it was neither delicious nor disgusting. It was nothing special.

The vanilla sundae didn't have an exceptional taste. It was an ordinary vanilla ice cream decorated with heavy whipped cream, some nuts and topped with maraschino cherry. Although the taste was not outstanding, I must say, "boy, it looks good!"

Finally, I also ordered the Big Apple Mojito. It's one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever tasted! (But I beg your pardon for I haven't tasted a lot.) This great-tasting mojito is a mixture of rum, Margarita, Monin green apple syrup, sweet syrup, soda, lime wedges and mint leaves. Such a perfect combination! For a second I actually thought I was floating in the moon.

Overall, I think T. G. I. Friday's serves descent food. But the dishes are too expensive for what they are actually worth. 

Where to find the best mango shake in Cebu!

Have you been thinking of going to Cebu to eat those sweet, ripe and yellow mangoes? Tell you what, there is more to it than that. Cebu also makes the best mango shakes in the Philippines. And I HIGHLY recommend it. Where can you find it?

It's at Zubuchon restaurant! It's actually a restaurant which specializes on pig dishes--especially roasted pig! Coincidentally, they also make the best mango shakes. What makes the mango shake special is that they use a lot of mangoes; no milk; and less sugar. The ice is also blended to perfection, creating a really fine shake texture!

Zubuchon has numerous branches. The biggest branch is located at Escario street. Just tell the taxi driver to take you to Zubuchon. They definitely know where it is.

Round ONE

Round TWO

Round THREE

KNOCKOUT!

Pueblo Mexicano, Cebu City

A while ago, my boyfriend and I went to Banilad Town Center supposedly to do an hour of boxing training. Unfortunately, we didn't have handwraps and we didn't want to spend our money right then and there on disposable handwraps. And so, instead of engaging in physical activities, we decided to just 'chill' and fatten ourselves inside a Mexican restaurant which interestingly had a lot of foreign diners. Sensing its popularity, we decided to give it a try. We weren't really hungry so we opted to go-light and ordered Nachos de la Casa. When we took our first bite, we were in awe as we honestly never expected it to go beyond our expectations. The nachos were different from the ones that come in packets. They were crunchier and tastier! The mixture of ingredients in their specialty nachos was perfect too! Nachos de la Casa contained jalapeños, sour cream, tomatoes, chicharon and beef, among others. The dish is definitely a must-try!

Nachos de la Casa

We also ordered two desserts: Tarta Imposible (2nd photo) and Brazo de Mercedes (3rd photo). Tarta Imposible has a chocolate brownie-like base with a caramel custard upper layer. Although delicious, it is not really exceptional. Brazo de Mercedes is a dessert composed of a meringue outer layer and custard inner layer. What I like about their version is that the meringue layer is somewhat chewy and dense unlike most commercial Brazo de Mercedes which tends to be rather vacuous and porous. 

Tarta Imposible

Brazo de Merecedes

I'm definitely going back to this restaurant when I have the chance! You can drop by if you like. It's on the first floor of the Banilad Town Center building in Cebu City.

Brian's Ribs from Casa Verde (Cebu City)

My brother is getting married! In Cebu! Unlike the rest of my family members who will be flying to Cebu a couple of days from now, I boarded the plane rather early. I will be exploring and reexploring Cebu; I will particularly be keeping a keen eye on the good places to dine. One of my favorites is Casa Verde! I like this place because they have a relatively larger serving size than most restaurants in the Philippines. The one I usually order at Casa Verde is Brian's Ribs (first picture; sorry I didn't take a good one as I was too excited to eat). It's a platter of a really tasty piece of grilled pork ribs. I don't have a slightest idea why it's called Brian's Ribs though. Maybe the ribs came from a pig named Brian? :D I'm kidding. I love the rib's texture because it's soft and juicy. The tase is good, yes. But I should say it is rather much more suitable for Filipino tongues because the chef most likely sprinkled sugar in it, creating a distinct sweet and salty blend. The platter of ribs comes with a cup of rice; but I ordered fries because I missed Europe. Unfortunately, the fries wouldn't stand a chance from the fries in Belgium. But it's silly of me to compare, of course. The rice is the best though. It's very soft and somewhat glutinous. 

Casa Verde is quite popular in Cebu. People literally fall in line and hover around outside the restaurant before the crew finally opens the place at exactly 11AM. It's located at Ayala Mall; before you start shopping you can probably drop by and dine. 

Brian's Ribs

Chicken Tavern

Fries

Chocolate chip cookies

Baking chocolate cookies is so basic, a superior baking skill is not a prerequisite. That is why I decided to bake these crispy "morish" chocolate chip cookies yesterday. I took this recipe from my mom's old (and ancient-looking) notebook. I reduced the amount of sugar as I am not really very fond of very sweet "sweets." Here are the ingredients I magically tossed into my baking bowl:

- 1.5 cups brown sugar (maybe next time, I will use only 1 cup because using 1.5 cups is still too sweet for me).

- 1 cup butter

- 2 eggs

- 1.5 teasp. vanilla

- 3 cups all purpose flour

- a pinch of salt

- 1 teasp. baking powder

- 1.5 cups chocolate chip cookies ( I used the dark Belgian chocolate chips)

Because I wanted a crispy cookie, I set the oven to 200 C until the cookie turned golden brown. I also made sure the dough was not-so-thick. By "not-so-thick," I meant, it should be at most 7 mm thick.  If you prefer chewy cookies, I suggest you limit the temperature to 150 C.

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm now eating the cookies while sipping a mug of homemade chai tea latte. Feels like I'm at Starbucks right now!

Books, books, books!

I spent my evening catching up with one of my lovely besties. We poured our happiness and anxiety over a cup of cappuccino and a plate of sugary pastries. Then we strolled around the mall for a while. Unable to find the most beautiful pair of shoes, we headed straight towards the bookshop. And in there, we finally sealed the deal with the cash register. Sometimes it's a lot easier to resist shoes than books. Good luck to my pretty eyes. 

What is a Halo-halo?

Yesterday I ate one of my favorite desserts. It's also one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines. The halo-halo! I was asked a million times in the past about the meaning of "halo-halo". And always when people ask me, I tell them the literal translation: "mix-mix"! The dessert is basically a mixture of a lot of ingredients! There are some variations depending on the restaurant or fast food chain. Nevertheless, they are more or less 90% similar.

I was having difficulty choosing which restaurant or fast food chain to order halo-halo from. But I ended up trying the one from Mang Inasal because it was the food chain closest to my location at that time. Can you imagine me taking out a piece of paper and a pen just to jot down the ingredients? Yes, I did that just to make sure I don't forget any. And so, here goes the relevation!

The halo-halo I ate contained a mixture of the following ingredients: (1) shaved ice, (2) evaporated milk, (3) sugar, (4) red beans, (5) white beans, (6) leche flan (caramel custard), (7) ube halaya (purple yam jam), (8) ripe jackfruit, (9) green gulaman, (10) red sago, (11) macapuno and (12) my favorite ube ice cream!

Other stores sometimes add rice crispies, corn flakes and maize. I am thinking of going to other restaurants just to compare their halo-halo ingredients! And I am actually thinking of making halo-halo at home for my grandma.

Oh! In case you ask what is the proper way to eat the halo-halo? Like most food, you don't really need to follow a strict method to eat it. But for my case, I prefer eating 3/4 of the ube ice cream. Then I eat almost 1/2 of the other ingredients until the shaved ice melts. Eat your halo-halo fast! The warm weather in the Philippines will melt your shaved ice in minutes. ;)

Disneyland, Paris

Although it was never my childhood dream to go to Disneyland, visiting the site made me (falsely) feel like I just made a dream come true! I was actually hesitant to visit the place at first because I knew going on the scary rides was inevitable. But when I was already there, and my friends dragged me to the rides, I was surprisingly having a lot of fun! So fun, I wished we could go on more rides. Due to the extremely long queues, we unfortunately only went to three rides: The Phantom Manor, Big Thunder Mountain and The Tower of Terror. 

The Phantom Manor. This ride was not scary at all (but I think children will find it scary). The ride slowly took us around the manor to see ghosts and (supposedly) scary phantoms. The ghost holograms were really outstanding; and they seem so "real!" I might actually be scared if, let's say, my brother will set up that kind of ghost hologram at home!

Big Thunder Mountain. We killed almost four hours for this ride because we didn't opt for the fast track option. In the fast track option, we get to book the ride and come back during the specific time. The queue looked deceptively short. But it took us four grueling hours of waiting. Nevertheless, it was so worth the wait. The scariest part was when the vehicle entered the "mine" and everything turned pitch black. The ride went up slowly at first. Upon reaching the peak, the speed picked up and with bullet-speed, the vehicle took us all the way down. That couple of seconds in the dark felt like forever! Oh! I forgot to add, when we exited the dark mine, and of course, my eyes were wide open, I saw giant cactuses all over the area. They were so beautiful! 

The Tower of Terror. My friends really had to drag me to this one. It's one of the scariest ride I've ever had in my life. Can you imagine going up the elevator to 12th floor and suddenly dropping to the speed of gravity? Then the elevator comes up again; and when you reach the peak, the huge window opens and you get a bird's eye view of Disneyland. Repeat the entire process for a minute. Oh yes, I screamed 'til my throat ached!

I had so much fun visiting Disneyland. I'm definitely going back with my future kids someday.