Where’s my carrot?

Baking is my escape from stress, depression and, believe it or not, exhaustion. And that means sometimes, I bake in the middle of the night. My chocolate chip muffins were baked at 11 pm!

However, baking, I can’t ever get it perfectly. Too brown/toasted, too gooey/underbaked, to tough/inedible, or just plain not-the-way-it-looks-in-the-recipe-book.

Well, now I can say I have achieved perfection…with my pound cake!

What you need:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup fine sugar (TIP: grind your regular granulated sugar to superfine status with your food processor or grinder)
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanila
• lemon zest (I don’t know how much exactly, just don’t over it or else it gets bitter. I actually didn’t have lemon at the time I made this cake, so I used what was handy. Orange.)

What to do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 9×5 loaf pan with wax paper and grease (with butter or oil)
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
4. Cream butter until light in color.
5. Add sugar and cream with butter until lighter in color.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add vanilla and lemon or orange zest.
8. Add flour mixture only until incorporated with wet ingredients.
9. Pour into pan.
10. Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when cake is pricked in the center.
11. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan onto a wire rack.

Et voila!

Wait! Wait! Wait! I’m not ready to cut the cake yet.

Tomorrow I’ll show you how you can serve this that your kids will enjoy.

Get a hold of your EQ. You need it right now.

I had so much energy last night, after working out at the gym (Apparently, working out gets your blood flowing, and your bloods gets the oxygen flowing through your body, and that gives you energy and life!) that I decided to bake something. Tired of chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies. Bored with carrot cake or rhum cake. Not too much energy for apple or pecan pie. Hmmm…Thanks to the internet, getting new ideas and new recipes is so much easier now. Hmmm…something I’ve never baked before….Chocolate Chip Muffins!

What you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup choclate chips (you can add more)
• 1 egg, slightly beated
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

What to do:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
2. Add egg, milk and vegetable oil.
3. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-stir.
4. Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups, about 3/4 cup full.
5. Combine 3 tablespoons white sugar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of muffins.
6. Bake in 400-degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Take out of muffin tray immediately and let cool on rack.

It’s a little decadent, but my kids and I enjoy it!

Tip: Do as Martha does it. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups. It’s less messy and the measurement is almost accurate if you use a big-sized ice cream scoop.

I love crab stick sandwiches! They’re easy to make and they’re delicious. Of course, critics would say it’s faux crab-sticks, but I don’t mind. I still love them anyway. Besides, I’ve tried using real crab meat, it doesn’t taste half as good. (Or maybe I did it wrong with the real thing. Any suggestions or recipe remedy for this?)

In this picture, I used my leftover grilled veggie salad in place of lettuce.

What you need:

• 5-6 faux crab sticks
• mayonnaise (whatever suits your taste, light or otherwise)
• prepared mustard (plain is good)
• onion slices
• olives, sliced
• extra virgin olive oil
• ground pepper
• 2 pieces of bread
• lettuce

What to do:

1. cut the crab sticks into strips (just along the grain is fine)
2. toss the onions and olives with the crab sticks
3. mix together mayonnaise, mustard and olive oil
4. coat the crab stick combo with the dressing
5. toast the bread slices lightly
6. arrange the lettuce on side
7. put in the crab stick mixture and top with the other slice of bread

It’s quick and easy and delicious!

Another emergency lunch item I have under my sleeve is mushroom and cheese sandwich. Later.

I try to eat less and light nowadays. The main reason, really, is to keep my weight down and my body trim.

What I love the most about being alone at home is that I can cook and eat anything I want that follows my goal of eating less and light. With children around, they tend to expect (and demand) heavier meals, usually with meat. Although my kids and I were vegetarians before, there are still a few things they don’t want to eat. My eldest daughter hates pesto sauce and my younger daughter hates milkfish.

Now, being alone in the house the last couple of days has afforded me to eat what I want.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

1. Slice thinly, lengthwise, 1 eggplant and half a zucchini (depends on size)
2. Slice into wedges 1 tomato
3. Coat all vegetables with EVOO, salt and pepper
4. Grill on pan (either those grill pans with ridges or plain non-stick pans)
5. Chop grilled vegetables roughly
6. Chop lettuce roughly
7. Combine EVOO, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl (just eyeball amounts)
8. Toss your lettuce and grilled vegetables together with the dressing

I put in chopped apples and candied walnuts.

Oil & Garlic Pasta

1. Boil your pasta according to package directions, al dente
2. Mince lots of garlic (about 1 head)
3. Pour EVOO into warm pan
4. Saute garlic until golden brown
5. Add fresh (1/4 cup) or dried (palmful) basil leaves
6. Season with walt and pepper
7. Add grated parmesan cheese at the last minute
8. Put in cooked pasta and coat with oil & garlic

I know you would think I use too much olive oil. Well, not too much, just enough to coat the pasta. As for the salad, you don’t have to use a lot of it, too. Besides, you can adjust the recipe according to your preference.

When I cook, I usually eyeball the amounts or measurements. Once you get the hang of it, cooking will be a breeze.

Now, put it all together in a plate!

I actually eat this way, for real. And this didn’t take me too much time to prepare.

Yum-o!  (Thanks to Rachael-isms!)

My dinner last night was last-minute. I didn’t have anything planned earlier because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to eat. I wanted it light, but I was hungry, so I grabbed the first thing I laid my eyes on in the freezer…Pork tenderloin tips. Hmmm, what to do?

I marinated the tips in soy sauce (just plain soy sauce). Took out bean sprouts, green bell pepper and onion from the vegetable bin. Marinated the bean sprouts in soy sauce, too, and cut the bell pepper and onion into strips.

Fried the tips in a little bit of oil, until browned and cooked. Tossed in the onion and pepper strips, then added the bean sprouts. I added a secret ingredient (not so secret really)…liquid seasoning. Just a dash or two.
Et voila!

The inspiration for this dish are the countless rounds of Shrimp Gambas ordered at local bars I’ve been drunk in. They can’t seem to get it right so I tried my best to look for the best recipe there is of this dish. My favorite cook book, Let’s Cook with Nora, gave me the basis for my very own, simpler, version.

What you need:

• 1/2 kilo shrimps
• Lots of minced garlic (you can use less if garlic is not for you, but I always use more )
• Extra virgin olive oil (about 2 rounds in the pan)
• Dash of hot chili sauce
• Lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon, I use a little more than that)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• Bell pepper strips (green is recommended)
• Sliced onion
• Bread crumbs, to thicken sauce (this is OPTIONAL)

What to do:

1. You can shell or devein the shrimps and leave the tail, but i prefer to take off the shell and tails and leave the head. The head has all the flavors!
2. Saute garlic in EVOO until golden brown
3. Add shrimps and toss until pink
4. Add lemon juice, wine and hot chili sauce. Let this simmer for a while for the wine to evaporate.
5. Add the ketchup
6. Add bell peppers and onion slices.
7. Let cook for 2 minutes and serve!

I’m sorry, I’m not a food stylist nor a food photographer. But I do my best.

Tip #1: If recipe calls for tomato sauce, unless it’s a must, I usually use ketchup instead because it has the tomato flavor, right sweetness and spices.

Tip #2: When I run out of tomator sauce, and it’s a must, I use ketchup diluted with a little bit of water for a more runny consistency.

Are you getting tired of the usual chocolate brownies you find in your favorite pastry store or bakeshop? Are you looking for a new twist to your age-old family-recipe brownies? Are you just plain craving for sweets? Well, look no further. I’ve got the perfect sweet treat for you. Presenting, my daughters’ favorite…..Blonde Brownies!!!

No, it’s not made by blondes (women or men). Yes, blondes. And yes, it can be decadent. But like in all other sweet recipes, all you have to do is substitute what is called for with low-fat/non-fat, artificial sweetener, and whatever else you prefer. Although, I must say, what’s the treat in that?

So okay, here it goes…

What you need:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
1 ¾ cups brown sugar
¾ cup butter (or margarine)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (more is better)
1 cup chopped walnuts (or any nut you prefer, except peanuts)

What to do:

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together onto a bowl or parchment paper
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl
3. Add eggs and vanilla extract
4. Add the dry ingredients, do not overbeat
5. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts
6. Pour into lightly greased brownie or square pan (maybe 9×9 in.)
7. Bake in 350-degree oven for 25 minutes
8. Let cool then cut into squares (or eat the entire thing whole!)

Of course, when I cook or bake, there’s always a twist. The recipe I used on the brownies shown in the picture was reduced by a third of the measurements (because I only had half a cup of butter!). But it turned out alright.

Cooking, and even baking, is flexible. Most people would think that baking, unlike cooking where you play it by taste, has to be exact in measurements. To a certain extent, yes. But once in a while, use common sense when you’ve come across some ingredient bumps.

Enjoy!

I don’t remember where I got this recipe. Maybe I just imagined how it should be and I played it by ear, or should I say…taste. That’s usually how I concoct my best-selling recipes (best-selling to my family and friends anyway). So, since this works for me and my kids during the summer months, cooling us down despite the heat, I’m sharing with you my ver own strawberry sherbet.

What you need:

• Blender
• Strawberries—doesn’t matter how much, as long as it fits your blender
• Sugar—just put as much as you think is enough. Remember, the strawberry already has its own sweetness.
• Ice—not too much, or your sherbet will crystalize too much

What to do:

1. Put everything in the blender.
2. Puree (if you have this button. If you don’t, just pulse away!)
3. When everything’s pureed, pour into freezer-safe container.
4. Let sit in freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Take out of freezer and stir with fork or whisk.
6. Put back into freezer.
7. Wait until it’s slightly frozen and enjoy!

Yum-yum! Delicioso!

One of the last pork dishes my kids and I had before becoming vegetarians was potato chip-coated porkchops. I got this recipe from watching Next Door with Katie Brown, the then-Rachael Ray of the Lifestyle Network. (Hmm, I wonder where she is now. She had great but simple recipes and household tips.)

So, here it goes:

1. Get a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips. Open the bag a little bit to let the air out. Then, sit on it. Or you can use a rolling pin. Haha!

2. Put some milk or beaten eggs into one bowl and flour in another.

3. Dredge the porkchop in flour. Dip in milk or egg. Coat with potato chip crumbs.

4. Fry in oil (any oil will do) or bake in the oven. I don’t know how long you leave it in the oven ‘coz I’ve never tried cooking it that way. I like frying.

Ordinarily, you just use ketchup as condiment. Give it a little tang and twist by adding a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce into the ketchup.

Delish!

This is not your ordinary recipe, where you find a list of ingredients, in some sort of an order, followed by the directions on how to put them all together. Instead, I will walk you through the whole process so that you know the exact order the ingredients go into your pot.

1. Mince lots of garlic and chop 1 onion. Saute them in olive oil (one round in the pan).

2. Add ground vegetarian meat substitute (I use Morningstar Farms products)

3. Add:
1 ¼ cups ketchup (why ketchup? Coz it’s already complete in flavor.)
1 teaspoon, or more, Worcestershire Sauce (if you’re a pescetarian like me, you can use the regular one. Otherwise, use the vegan kind.)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup each frozen peas and corn (if you have frozen peas, corn and carrots together from your supermarket, that’s much better)

4. Mix well and simmer.

5. Prepare mashed potatoes. Mash these together:
6 large boiled potatoes (I don’t peel my potatoes)
¾ cup soy milk
4 tablespoons vegan margarine/butter
salt and pepper to taste

6. Put meat mixture into a greased baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

If you ask me, I don’t really follow measurements, I just play it by taste. For non-vegetarians, you can use meat and non-vegan ingredients if this got your stomach growling. Enjoy!