Treat Your Palate

Popping Corn at Home

March 28, 2013 by Nicquee Leave a Comment

One of the summer activities I intended for my girls is getting to know the Disney Princesses. I realized that Alex, my eldest, only knows their names. She can recognize their figurines and other stuffs but she does not know their stories. Boooo, mom! So I got a compilation of these princess stories and I will make Alex watch it.

And what is movie time without munching something? BORING.

I thought watching a movie will be more fun if Alex does the popping corn herself. Of course I will be there to assist her. Alex is such a fast learner, I am confident that she will be able to do it in a breeze. And maybe next time, she will not need my help anymore, she just needs me to buy her the ingredients.

And if you think the setup is done, it is not yet. I am also planning to call the moms of her classmates and invite them over. They can make popcorn together for their movie time! Everyone will surely have a blast! Nevermind the chaos. Oh, this mom is getting so excited already!

That makes two fun summer activities! First, getting to know the princesses and second, learning how to make popcorns! Woohoo!

Filed Under: Finger Foods

Tinolang Tahong

March 1, 2013 by Nicquee Leave a Comment

I have been craving for this dish for a very long time already and today, that craving was finally satisfied! Mahirap kasi bumili ng tahong, either may red tide, or dapat pag bumili ka, lutuin na agad, which most of the time is not doable in my case. Sobrang na miss ko kumain nito that I ended up sipping all the soup by myself!

What you will need
1/2kg tahong, cleaned
1 medium onion, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1pc thumb-sized ginger, julienned
1-2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
oil for sautéing

What to do

Heat a casserole/wok with oil. Sauté onion then garlic. When they are already soft, add the ginger and tahong. Cook for about a minute, then add water little by little, depending on how much soup you like. Cover and let it boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Filed Under: seashells, Soup

Red Velvet Cupcakes

December 7, 2012 by Nicquee Leave a Comment

My first encounter with a red velvet cake is when Xocolat was featured in one of the groupon sites I frequent. I was still addicted to vouchers and deals then and I thought, it is time to try Xocolat’s cakes. Me and my sisters were not disappointed even if we have to travel the cake by two hours from Quezon City to Las Pinas!

Since I got our little oven, I have been dreaming of making red velvets on my own. I have realized that dream already! Woot woot!

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen’s original recipe of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

What you will need

For the batter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly chilled and cubed
2 packs cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

What to do
1. Preheat oven to 150ºC. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2. In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

3. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat vegetable oil, yogurt, eggs, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Add sifted ingredients slowly and mix only until incorporated and there are no visible lumps. Fill liners to about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

4. Make the frosting: Beat butter carefully with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Mix in cream cheese and vanilla. Add the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth, tasting the frosting after each cup of sugar.

5. Top each cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Ok, so my frosting isn’t really gorgeous but they taste great! And no, I am not saying that because I was the one who baked it, I am just telling the truth. Oh, except that the frosting was a little too sweet for my sweet-tooth.

I am actually thinking of making them again for Christmas. It has been months since I cooked for my mom and sisters and brothers. They will surely give this the same respect they gave to Xocolat’s This Red Cake. And I found really cute Christmas cupcake decors over at Not On The High Street to go with these Christmas-y cupcakes. If I get my hands on those decors, my cuppies will look like this one.

Filed Under: baked goodies, Cakes, Dessert

Oven-Grilled American Ribs

November 30, 2012 by Nicquee Leave a Comment

My hubby has been craving for the liempo-sisig we buy in Perpy’s, Pilar, Las Pinas. We have not visited my mom for some time now thus no chance of satisfying his craving.

When we went to the grocery, he bought a large chunk of American ribs, visualizing they will be his crispy liempo-sisig. It was a huge success. For this post though, I will just share with you how we oven-grilled the American ribs which we later on transformed into a sisig.

What you need

1kg American Ribs, cut in two large chunks
2 heads of garlic, crushed
salt and ground pepper

What to do

1. Put the pork in a tub, rub with salt, pepper and garlic. Refrigerate overnight.

2. In a deep casserole, put the marinated pork and all the garlic. Add about 2 cups of water and boil for about 30 minutes.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

4. Grill the pork for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Then another 10 minutes at 250 degrees for the skin part only. Brush the pork with its drippings every 10 minutes.

5. Serve and enjoy your oven-grilled ribs!

Filed Under: Pork Recipe

Where Should I Put My Baking Pan in the Oven?

November 21, 2012 by Nicquee Leave a Comment

Today I learned something new.

So the hubby gifted me with a Kyowa 35L Electric Oven last Christmas. Grabe almost a year na ang oven namin at di ko pa xa napo-post dito!!!! Anyway, we have used the oven many times already, mostly for baking. We have tried cooking American ribs in it a few weeks ago and it was a huge success!!

Anyway. So today, I learned that what I have been doing is wrong. You see, every time I bake, cupcakes, cookies, cakes, brownies, I always put my baking pan on the black pan that came along with my oven. I put it on the middle section yes, but when I bake cupcakes, the cupcake pan does not fit well on the black pan. Gets? Lagpas yung cupcake pan sa black pan so yung cupcakes near the oven window, sort of elevated sila. Instead of using that black pan, you should use the wire rack. Baking pans on the wire rack on the middle section of the oven, that is how it should look like. The black pan is used to catch drippings when you use your oven to roast something.

Well, at least I know now and I have time to correct my wrong practice.