 | Welcome to my kitchen table...... where recipes were Formulated, Imitated; Tried, Tested; Failed; and, eventually;Succeeded. I believe that FOOD tastes better when Shared. | |
 I love the scent of blueberries... Although, I am not crazy of its taste ( I rather have blackberry taste wise ) but these dark-blue nuggets are rich in anti-oxidant and phytochemicals and has anti-disease effect in the body. And I've also read that, blueberries can lower cholesterol, therefore, we should have it... since Rusty's cholesterol numbers are on the high side. When blueberries are in season ( usually august) they come very cheap. I buy loads and keep them in the freezer until needed. It comes handy when its time jazz up ( once again) our fave breakfast item. Here's the
Blueberry Waffle.
( recipe will be posted later , my notebook is nowhere in sight  . Its different from the Ham waffle I posted earlier.)      The all purpose flour here is cheap, I'd say. For an 8kl bag, I only pay $2.97. Needless to say, I bake a lot. Although, I wish other baking ingredients are not that expensive especially unsalted butter. But, I guess that's how the universe works... "you win some, you lose some"... Since, I buy basic baking needs in bulk. I realized I should supply Rusty's sis with my homemade pancake mix for Rusty's dad love pancake for breakfast. And all they have to do is to add is milk and egg. But the other day, I saw a box of Aunt Jemima. In unison they explained that Rusty's 'lil brother did not realize that pancake they just had was a homemade mix. ....that, did not bother me at all... ....instead, I examined the box ... and copied the recipes and ideas how to jazz up your pancakes and waffles .... and Ham Waffle was one of it.... 
Recipe
1 3/4 pancake mix
1 1/4 c milk
2 eggs
3T oil
1/4 cup sliced cooked ham
Procedure:
*In a bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients until well blended. Fold in Ham.
*Just put 1/4 cup of batter in the preheated iron waffle and close it. It should take about 2 minutes, but check you waffle maker for specific instructions.
 The salty taste of ham compliments with the sweetness of the batter. Joshua was first hesitant to take a bite. The sweet-salty combination was all so new to him.But when he tasted it he couldn't stop. It reminds me of Hot Dog Waffle in SM ( mayroon pa bang nagtitinda?).
I wish I could buy a Hotdog waffle maker here without breaking my bank account. The last time I checked the price was $599.00 ( ouch!)
  ..... ...... It has been a year since I made a fondant covered cake until today ..........
A rich Chocolate Cake
filled with
silky Chocolate mousse
for
Samra..
girl,
I hope you
loved
it!
 I have a lot of peanut butter in pantry. Some of the jars are a month away from expiry so I better start using them! I was in panic mode when 1kl jar of Kraft peanut butter hit aisle for only $1.99 that I bought tons of it. Ahhh... I am such a hoarder!  Today, I made this tasty Peanut Butter Buns. I am pretty sure I have made this bun before. But for all of you 'peanut butter- holic' out there, here's the recipe ...  And if you have a recipe that calls for peanut butter to share with me, I am very much eager to try them!   For the Dough you need: 4 to 5 cups All Purpose Flour1/3 cup sugar1 T of Rapid Rise Yeast1 1/2 tsp salt1 1/4 cup milk1/2 cup Peanut Butter1 Large egg
* Combine 1 cup of flour, sugar, yeast and salt in your standmixer bowl.
* In a microwave safe cup; heat milk and peanut butter until very warm (120-130F)
* Gradually add warmed milk-peanut butter to the flour mixture
* Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of your standmixer
* Add egg and 1cup flour and beat for 2 minutes at high speed .
* Stir in just enough of remaining flour to make the dough soft.
* Knead on a slightly floured board until smooth and elastic for about 8-10 minutes.
* Place dough in a buttered bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes
* Divide dough into 24 balls.
Peanut Butter Filling Mixture:
2/3 cups peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoon butter (softened)
1 large egg
 Procedure:* Flatten each ball and put a teaspoonfull of Peanut Butter Filling in the middle* Gather the sides and form into a ball.* In a greased 15X11 pan, place all the filled dough* Allow the dough to rest( proof) until it doubles in size covered with a cloth/canvass* Glaze with Eggwash* Bake in a 375F preheated oven for 20 -25 minutes* Remove and cool on a rack.
 If you are chocoholic ( like my older son and I ) ; I am pretty sure you'll love this Chocolate Scones, too! Dunked in milk or washed down with coffee or tea; this makes a great mid morning or an afternoon snack.
You need:13/4 cup All Purpose Flour 1/3 cup Sugar 1 1/2 t Baking Powder dash of salt 4 oz Cream Cheese ( or half a brick) 1/4 cup Butter ( or 4 Tablespoon) 2 t Vanilla 1 whole Egg 3/4 cup 35% Cream ( or whipping Cream) 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder 2/3 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips Here's how I did it: In a smal bowl, add cream, egg and vanilla  whisk together. Set aside.  In another bowl,add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder,baking pow and salt
 Above are the other ingredients: Cold butter and Cream Cheese, cut into cubes and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips this one is optional... Omit, if you don't want it too... chocolatey  Using wire whisk
mix dry ingredients together Using your fingers,
mix butter and cream cheese;
breaking them up until resembles coarse crumbs  Add in chocolate chips. Add in the mixed liquid and stir just combined. Pour into a flat surface
and
knead a few time. Shape into rectangle Cut into 8 pieces Place into a wax paper line pan and bake in a preheated 375F oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.For Chocolate Icing DrizzleIn a bowl, mix the following; 1 cup Confectioner's Sugar 1 T Cocoa Powder 1 T water Enjoy!  When my sis-in-law asked me what I wanted as a "pasalubong" from the Philippines; with no second thought, I asked for a medium size brioche mold so I could make a perfect size ensaymada not too big nor too small for a snack size. And, boy! I couldn't be happier when she arrived. Along with a couple of bottles of ube and pandan flavourings, it really made my day! Many Thanks , Amy! 
Right away, I made Ube Ensaymada with Cream Cheese Glaze using my favorite Sweet Dough Recipe.And Creamy Ube Halayafor the filling since I have some in the freezer. As for the Cream Cheese Glazehere's the recipe; 1 (8oz) Cream Cheese, room temperature 1 cup Powdered Sugar 1/4 cup whipping Cream In a bowl, mix the above using hand held mixer ( use your food processor, if you have) beat until combined.
     Have you ever wondered how canned/ bottled sardines are made? If you are like me, then this might give you an idea of how it is made. I learned this method of preservation while attending a non-formal cooking lesson back home. But since, Rusty and I are fish lovers; I did not bother placing them in bottles. I just kept the bone tender sauced sardines in the fridge, in a tight-lid plastic container. 
RECIPE
you need:
2 kilos Sardines, gutted and head cut-off
1 1/2 cup oil
2 cans condensed tomato soup
3 green chili pepper
3 red chili pepper
3 baby carrots
3 sweet gherkin pickles
1/4 cane vinegar
6 pcs bay leaf
salt
cracked black pepper
Here's how you do it:Wash fish and remove internal organs.
Drain.  Cut off tails and heads, then wash thoroughly. Arrange fish in pressure cooker. Pour in the rest of the ingredients. Cover pressure cooker and cook over low heat for 1 hour.
  This was supposed to be Chicken Asado Siopao but instead of steaming, it ended in the oven. Whenever I try my hands on making Siopao, Rusty is behind my back convincing me to bake it instead. He has issues with steaming as the way of cooking. He says steaming increased humidity in the house and is not good with the wood works, whatever it is! But, instead of arguing, this time I obliged. The result came out equally good just like Siopao only baked! So here it is, Chicken Asado Bun!
 Dough ;Step I: 2 TBSP Yeast2TBSP Sugar2 Cups warm WaterMix together. Set aside, wait until it bubblesStep 2:1/2 cup with sugar1/2 cup shortening1 TBSP baking powder1TSP refined Salt2 TBSP white vinegarMix together . Add to Step 1.Step 3: Add 6 Cups of All Purpose Flour to step 1 & 2 mixture. Knead for 30 seconds until it forms to a ball.Let it rest until doubles..Step 4:Deflate risen dough. Divide into 12 or 18 pieces
    If you'd ask Josh of his ideal afternoon activity, he will reply; " bake cake with lots of sprinkles on it!" without batting an eye. For a 4 yr old, it's the ultimate 'Science & Art' project 'coz he get to literally taste the fruit of his labor when it is done. And then, wash it down with a glass of milk! Yesterday afternoon, we did that as an activity. We used a homemade Baking Mix. You can definitely use a Basic Muffin recipe , your favorite cupcake recipe or Bisquick mix. Since I made batch of baking mix not long ago, we use that a lot in many of our quick bakes. Even Rusty uses the same mix for making pancakes in the morning. All he has to do is add milk and eggs. And the batter is ready to hit the griddle.  Here's the recipe of my homemade
Baking Mix 21 cups All Purpose Flour4 cups granulated Sugar1/2 cup Baking Powder3 t SaltI use this mix for making muffins, butter cakes, pancakes and waffles. I even used the same in making buns with the addition of rapid rise yeast.
For making Muffins you need;
2 cups Baking Mix
1 egg
3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup Oil
* Grease muffin tin or use paper cups
* In a Bowl, mix milk, egg and oil
* Add in dry ingredient. Stir until moistened
* Spoon into muffin pan 2/3 full.
* Bake @400F for 18 -20 minutes
* Makes 6-12 muffins
 For this muffin,Joshua choose to add chocolate syrup ( Nesquick) in place of milk into the baking mix along with the egg and canola oil. Scooped the batter into a shallow muffin pan that perfectly fits in the oven toaster or ' the little oven' as Joshua refers it. .
 But the best part of all for the 'lil guy' is adding his choice of sprinkles on top of the batter. He added, semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, M&M and jimmies.
 
YUM!
  Its been a little over 3 weeks since Noah was born; we now have established a routine of some sort. I have learned to maneuver household chores whenever the baby is down for a nap. That includes cooking, laundry, tidying up and tutoring josh . Hopefully, I'd be able to squeeze blogging daily on my already tight schedule. Good thing, Rusty works form home. Him being around, is such a huge help. He does the other household chores I just can't do. And these days, he does most of the grocery shopping as well. For lunch today, I made Pia's version of Chicken Asado. Pia is my sister in law. She is married to Rusty's youngest brother. Like me, Pia comes from a tight-knit family where recipes are passed from generation to generation. And this particular recipe, is her Lola's treasure. I am not sure if Pia knows that I have a food blog. But in case she stumbles upon this site. Thank you Tita P ( as what Joshua calls her) for sharing this me...  Recipe:
3 Chicken Quarters
3T Soy sauce
2T Vinegar
1 t Dried Oregano
1t salt
1t ground pepper
4 T oil
2 cloves garlic ,chopped
1 medium size onion, chopped
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
3T Tomato sauce
1 Bay leaf
2 t Worcestershire sauce
Procedure:
* Marinate chicken quarters in soy sauce,vinegar,oregano,salt& pepper for at lest 30 minutes to overnight
* Pat dry chicken and save the marinade
* Fry chicken quarters until brown and set aside.
* On the same pan, saute garlic, onion and tomato until soft.
* Return browned chicken into the pan and the marinade .
* Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and bay leaf
* Simmer until chicken is fall-of-the-bone tender.
* Adjust seasoning to taste.
   Joshua has been away from school for week now. My sous chef has a double whammy of infection. A bacterial infection in both ears,a strep throat and he also has a cold virus. What a poor 'lil guy! This happens to him each time he goes to school after a week long break ( march break this time) I bet ya, when he is good enough to go back to school, he is sick again a week later. For some reasons, the kids just can't keep the germs to themselves! And no amount of hand washing and hand sanitizers can keep them away from it! One kid sneezes, the rest of the kids catches cold! Arg! So to make Joshua take the antibiotic without a struggle, I bribed him that we'd make cheesecake of his choice since I have 3 bricks of cream cheese 1 week close to expiry in the fridge.He obliged. But here's the thing with cheesecake, it takes about 4-5hours before you can taste it from the moment you mixed the ingredients! And to a child's mind, its taking forever! He kept, tugging my apron and asked " mom, is it ready yet?" over and over again. After the cheesecake as cooled down, settled and ready for taste-test; Joshua took his first bite his fashion- the brownie bottom first! 
Brownie Bottom:
3 eggs
1 cup Unsalted butter, melted
2 t Vanilla Extract
2 c Granulated Sugar
11/4 c All Purpose Flour
3/4 c Baking Cocoa,sifted
1/2 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Salt
1 cup Peanut Butter Chips
* Combine eggs, cooled melted butter and vanilla in a bowl
* In another large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
* Add in egg-butter-vanilla mixture into the dry ingredients.
* Mix together using a wooden spoon, just until combined.
* Add in peanut butter chips.
* Spread the batter in a greased 9 inch spring form pan
* Set aside
Fillings:
3bricks cream cheese, room temperature; divided
1/2 c granulated sugar,divided
2 eggs,
1t vanilla
1 c Creamy Peanut Butter
2T milk
* Prepare 2 mixing bowls.
* In one bowl, add 1 1/2 brick of cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar ,1 egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour on top of the brownie batter.
* In another bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Spoon this peanut butter mixture on top of the cream cheese batter and carefully level off with offset spatula.
* Place spring form pan on top of a rimmed cookie pan to catch the spill.
* Bake at 350F preheated oven for 1 hour. Then, with oven turned off and oven door slight ajar, leave the pan inside for 30 minutes.
* Place pan in the fridge to further settle for about 3 hours.
* With a warm knife, loosen the sides of the pan. Then slice.
  It's early in the morning here. I have been awake since 4 for Noah's early morning feeding and I decided not to go back to sleep so I could finish the posts that have been drafted for sometime now with out interruption. There are quite a few, I hope I'd be able to finish them before the little one wakes up. I've made these "Baozi" or simply known as Bao a week before I had Noah. I was craving for charsiu bao that day and wanted to go to a dimsum restuarant but other plans have been made. Rusty's brother was going to treat us with KFC take out that afternoon. So, to kill the time; I decided to make my own Bao using longganisa as the filling. Since I didn't have enough time to make a yeast dough, I googled to find a Bao recipe that needs no proofing. And to my surprise, I was directed back to mrsRusty's Kitchen Delights! I can't believe people read my blog and makes it as a referece. I was filled with "pleasure" and "pressure" at the same time. Pressure in a sense that each recipe I post must be prefect and precise. So now, wonder no more if some of my posts comes only with photos and no recipes.     Hello everyone! Please excuse me from my extended absence from blogging. If you've noticed, there's new addition to the picture of my stick figure family. His name is Noah Steven. Baby Noah arrived about 2 weeks ago. A healthy, bouncy, mellow 'lil' guy. A puuuure perfection, if I say so myself.... The demands of an infant and a preschooler left me no time to spend more in the kitchen. However, today; I had to make a space in the fridge's freezer to give space pumped breast milk so I took out a frozen loaf of fruit bread and left in the counter top to defrost. After which, I removed the crust and sides, then cubed and added mixed dried fruits ( sultana, papaya and cranberry) of about a cupful. I basically made a 'Leche Flan' mixture to soak the bread and dried fruits in. And added the zest of one lemon for added aroma. I regret not adding nuts. A crunch would have been a pleasant addition apart from the pretty maraschino cherries. Sorry, no hard core recipe to share this time ( only photos).... hopefully on the next post whenever time allows. Take care...      We had fried fish today for lunch. We rarely get to fry fish in winter time. And if ever we do, all windows must be opened and exhaust fans must be turned on to minimize that nasty lingering aroma of oil and fish combined. In summer time, its not a problem at all since we have an outdoor kitchen. But right now, it's buried in snow. While Rusty was frying fish. I roasted the eggplants, chopped the ginger, red onion and tomatoes to make Ensaladang Talong as the side. With a crispy fried ' dalagang bukid', tangy eggplant salad and a warm,fluffy rice; what a comfort food it was! Tastes like back home...  Eggplant Salad ( with coconut milk)4 eggplants1 small knob of ginger, finely diced2 shallots or small red onion, finely diced1 medium sized tomato chopped3/4 cup of coconut milk1/4 cup of cane vinegar4 T of fish sauceRoast eggplants at a 450F oven for 30 minutes or until soft to touch. Slice eggplants in half and scrape off the meat leaving the skin .Place the scraped eggplant into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.Mix until combined. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
  I love Hopia Dice or Diced Hopia, whatever you call it. I could still vividly remember the first time I had it. It has been a long long time,but I could still taste its deliciousness. It happened on one of the summer breaks my sis and I spent in Manila with our Aunt ( we fondly call her Mommy. Nanay is our biological mother). Mom tagged us along when she went to Cubao's Farmer's Market and bought us a dozen of those sweet potato filled tasty treats hot off the grill to try.
No other food left me with that impression. It was that good. Or, perhaps; I was just famished!
Since having my own kitchen and started food blogging, I searched for Diced Hopia high and low. In recipe books; in the internet;in other food blogs; I even asked my brother who owns a bakeshop to share me his recipe but of no avail; they don't sell this type of hopia.
With nowhere to turn to, I started experimenting. First,was with the filling. When I saw those gorgeous, vibrant purple color sweet potato in an Oriental Supermarket, hopia dice suddenly came to mind. Then, the making of the dough came next. I was more of 'hit or miss'. Luckily, this time was a 'hit' rather than the usual 'miss'. Call it serendipity!
I made this cuties over the weekend. And according to my taste-testers ( my son, rusty and rusty's sibs) it was good. My son's only complaint was, " why didn;'t I make more.."
So, I confidently, share how I did my own version of hopia dice, sometimes called, hopiang hapon with you.
 RECIPE Dough:3 cups All Purpose Flour 1/4 cup White Sugar 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil 3/4 cup Water 1/2 Cup Margarine, non-hydrogenated I T Vanilla golden yellow food color *Combine all ingredients. Knead to form a dough. Equally divide the dough into 64 pieces . If you prefer, larger dice; just divide the dough into 32 pieces. Note: I made half small and the other half large. I had 32 pieces of the small ones and 16 of the large.
 Filling:1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 1 cup All Purpose Flour 1/2 t Salt 1 1/3 cup Sweet Potato, mashed 1/2 cup Water 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk 3/4 cup Condensed Milk 1 1/3 cup Coconut Milk 1/2 cup Margarine, non-hydrogenated 1 t Pure Vanilla Extract Procedure: * Steam sweet potato until cooked. Remove the skin and then mash. * In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and mix until all dry ingredients are dissolved * In a heavy saucepan,cook over low to medium fire. Stir continuously until mixture coats the spoon.
 TO ASSEMBLE * Flatten each dough and form into a circle. Place the prepared filling at the center and then gather the edges to seal. Place filled dough on a tray with the sealed part underneath. * Preheat the griddle for a few minutes. Place the prepared HOPIA on the griddle. Using 2 flat wooden spoons, constantly press and turn the sides to form a dice. * Continue grilling until all sides are golden brown.
  
 | Guestbook | |
 | Hi, do you join desserts fairs? :) |
 | waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! hi mr. rusty! your creations are great! yum.. keep it up! |
 | miss our foodie(& etc,he he he!!) conversations ami,hope you can join us at facebook soon! |
 | Just drop by to say: Hi mrs. rusty! |
| advanced happy birthday ami!hala,new year na new year pala birthday mo & guess what?the day after(jan.2) is our wedding anniversary & this year bob & i will celebrate 5 years of being married.oh well,though not all days were blissful at least im glad we made it thru to the 5th year mark so far(with 4 kids in tow,he he he!!).best of everything for you & your family for this coming year!! |
 | ella here btw,you might be wondrin'?! ;) |
| hallo ams! :) ;) longtime no hear! grabeh jud ams!!!! hands down jud ko nimo,wish to have a cooking and baking prowess like yours!..lain2 ako emotions...i'm drooling so much with your culinary and baking skills! and i'm dying with envy!!! HAHAHA!!!! ciao! and keep it comin',tke cre n God bless! MWAH!!! |
 | Very informative..please add me..thanks! |
 | very good recipies! Cheers... Fr. Jonas, riyadh. Saudi arabia |
 | Hello!
Thanks for allowing me to view your site. You have fantastic recipe. Hope to see more! Keep it up! |
 | helo, ami...congrats sa inyong new baby born, noah...God bless |
 | hi ate ami :) nagugutom tlg ako everytime i visit ur site! kisses to Joshua and cant wait for the new baby too :) |
 | hi misis!
:) i am in awe of your blog and site
:) galing! congrats! show us your new baby fotos |
| Halu Mrs Rusty! How are you na? Ilang weeks na lang? |
| |
