As Sweet as Cinnamon

Whenever we get a chance, hubby and I would drive out of town... just the two of us. 

No kids, No celfone calls. Just our laughter and music fill the car! Sounds cheesy, but hey, that must be the secret to our long, lasting relationship. haha! ;-)

Anyway, after 2 hours of driving, we reached our destination. Our first stop, the grocery.

Browsing the aisle where the baking supplies are, I found an interesting ingredient which i could use for this weekend's treat.

When i saw this, Oatmeal cookies immediately came to mind.

This morning, while arranging the pantry, I found an open bag of cereal, which has probably been sitting inside the shelf for over 3 months. I thought of adding it into the cookies i was going to make. 

I can't wait until my kids come home from school today and find this treat in the kitchen!

Here goes the recipe:

1 c. Anchor unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tbsp. glucose syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. Almond extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. All purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda, sifted

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. cereal (i used Kellogs Red Berries)

1 c. Old-fashioned Rolled oats

1 10z bag Hershey's cinnamon chips

(the recipe called for raisins but my kids are not fond of it. You may add 1 c. or you can completely omit it. Otherwise, you can also substitute with other dried fruits like mangoes or banana chips)

Combine cereal and oats in a food processor. Pulse a few times to crush cereal. 

*if you don't have a food processor, place oats and cereal in a zipper bag and pound to crush.) 

In a mixing bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment, cream butter, sugars, glucose syrup, vanilla and almond extract until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking it until just incorporated.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Dump into the butter-sugar-egg mixture. 

Using the paddle attachment this time, mix until moistened. Fold in the cinnamon chips (and dried fruit, if using any).

Scoop dough, using a 1 1/2" scooper, on prepared baking sheets lined with baking paper. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let it cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before keeping in an air-tight food container.

Have a good weekend everyone!

*Thank you Fonterra Brands Philippines for our generous supply of butter!

Want some Cookie?

A few weeks back, we went to a bakery fair and was surprised to find one of the finest brands of chocolate chips: Guittard. Of course, if you know me, I wouldn't let that opportunity pass. haha!
And so we bought: Husband likes milk chocolate and i prefer, dark.

One of my stress relievers is to bake late at night. Perhaps, because i'm still nursing a "hangover" from the holiday season.haha Not that i'm complaining. Having a job is a GOOD problem. :)

Anyway, tonight, I share with you, one of our personal favorites: Chocolate Chip Cookies.

You will need:

5 1/2 c. All purpose flour (sift first before measuring. Make sure you don't pack the flour into the cup.)
2 tsp. baking soda (to test if it's still fresh, drop a few in a little vinegar. It should sizzle.)
2 c. Anchor salted butter (nothing else but the best! i'm feeding my family! :) )
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar (it contributes to the moistness of the cookie, promise! firmly pack it in the cup when measuring)
1 tsp. salt (don't worry-- it's not going to be too salty.)
4 eggs (buy the large ones; they're equivalent to medium according to international standards, hehe)
2 tsp. pure vanilla
1/4 tsp. Almond extract
2 c. dark chocolate chips
2 c. Milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. I preheat ours for about 1 hour to make sure there are no "cold spots" in the oven. If you are using a convection oven, 30-45 minutes is ok.
Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl. Sift once and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugars, salt and extracts. (Okay, so this is important to remember. Butter has to sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes to soften a bit. For some reason, it produces a better textured cookie. Oh, but make sure you are using good quality butter! ;-) no substitutions, pls! otherwise, we will not have the same finished product.)
Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, whip until light on medium speed, about 5 minutes.
Crack the eggs, one at a time, in a separate bowl, before adding to the butter mixture. This will ensure that there will be no rotten egg or egg shell that will go into your dough.
When adding the eggs, do it on low speed. One at a time(!), until just incorporated. Do not over mix! Otherwise, cookie, spreads too much. Keep going until all the eggs are in the batter. Dump the flour all at once. And still on the lowest speed, mix the dough until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. You may also add nuts if you desire. 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans are the perfect additions.
Using a 2" ice cream scooper, scoop the dough onto prepared baking sheets, lined with parchment paper or silicon mat. Make sure they are at least 2" apart. 12 cookies/tray.
Do not flatten the top. Eventually, it will flatten and even out on its own, when cooling down the cookies.

We have an oven, which can fit 12 trays at a time. So, it takes me 12 minutes to bake the cookies. For ovens which can only accommodate 1 or 2 trays at a time, bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes.
Remove trays from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely before keeping in an airtight container.

This recipe yields 80 cookies.
(It is perfectly alright to half the recipe if you think the yield is too much.)

For chewy cookies, add 1 tbsp. glucose syrup to the butter and sugar mixture. ;-)

*Thank you Fonterra Brands Philippines for our generous supply of butter!

Now, it's your turn to bake. Let me know how it turns out!

Happy baking! :)

When "Sour" becomes "Sweet"

There is an abundance of Calamansi at the farm.

Calamansi, Limonsito, Kalamunding… although this fruit is available all-year round, this widely-cultivated fruit is most abundant during the warmer months of the year.

During a recent trip to the farm, we came home with a huge bag of freshly picked calamansi. 

It doesn't really last long in the chiller. So, what we do at home is, we squeeze the juice, strain and keep it chilled, in sterilized, air-tight bottles. 

Our son, Raffy, loves anything lemon. But the imported ones are way too expensive nowadays. Since we have squeezed 2 liters worth of calamansi juice, i thought it would be nice to experiment on this native fruit. 

I've added lemon zest to give this recipe a zing!

Homemade Calamansi Curd

You will need:
1 1/2 c. White sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
8 egg yolks
1/2 c. Calamansi juice
1/4 tsp. Rock salt
1 1/2 c. Anchor Unsalted Butter

In a bowl, combine sugar and zest. Rub with your clean & dry hands to release oils and flavor the sugar.
In an oven-proof glass bowl, whisk yolks until light and fluffy. Add sugar mixture, calamansi juice and salt. Mix to combine.
Place glass bowl over simmering water, at low heat. Whisk the mixture until it thickens, about 8 minutes. Scape the sides to prevent scalding and burning. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, with at least 5-8 minutes interval. Continually whisk until mixture becomes opaque.

This recipe requires patience. It will take you about 70-90 minutes, at least, to cook the curd.
When done, let the curd pass through a fine sieve to get a smoother curd. Transfer to a clean, sterilized jar. Let it cool completely before keeping in the chiller.

●For a faux Meyer lemon taste, use equal parts of lemon and orange juice.
●Calamansi can also be substituted with dalandan (Native orange) or dayap (Philippine key lime)

*Thank you, Fonterra Brands Philippines, Inc. for my generous supply of butter. 

LVE.

Easy Snack... Churros!

After months of not being able to post anything, here's something that all busy moms out there can prepare for their kids as an easy & quick snack. Even older kids will be able to do this by themselves...but, the little ones will have to be helped out by an adult.

I had the chance to prepare this tonight for my kids' snacks tomorrow.
As i opened the pantry, I saw a big pack of instant pancake mix that was still half-full, with a nearing "best before" date. I had to think fast of what to do with it!

Since the label said to just add water, I tried adding milk for a richer flavor, until i achieved the consistency of a pate a choux.

While i was experimenting on the batter, I was heating up a pot of oil (for deep frying) at medium-high heat already. I piped the mixture into the hot oil and, voila! I knew i just achieved a quick & super easy snack!

*NOTE: If you want a thicker batter, just add 1/4 c. more of the pancake mix.

Here, i'm sharing the recipe with you so you'll be able to try it too.

All you need is:

Anchor UHT Milk & instant Pancake mix

2 cups Anchor UHT milk

3 1/2 cups instant Pancake mix

Combine ingredients in a glass or stainless bowl.

Mix until incorporated
and let it rest for 10 minutes. 

Transfer in a piping bag with a star tip.

Pipe in hot oil, at least 5" long,
and cook for 5-6 minutes
or until golden brown in color.

Drain well and roll in sugar.

Easy & Quick Churros

Kids in the Kitchen

We have four... Ages 17, 14, 10 & 9.
Everybody loves to eat... and cook... well, they love to eat, more! haha :D

Our kitchen is the heart of our home. Here, my kids can bring out their creativity & imagination to life through food. One of our favorite things to make is fresh pasta with a creamy, bacon sauce. If you don't have time to roll out fresh pasta, commercial ones are also good to use.

To cook it:
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add salt generously. (We want to have flavor in our pasta!) When it starts to rapidly boil, add dry pasta and let it cook for exactly 8 minutes. Remove from heat and drain well. The excess heat will continue cooking the pasta to a perfect al dente. (So, do not wash pasta with water!) Instead, add 3 tbsp. Anchor Culinary Cream, toss until coated and set aside. The cream will keep the pasta from sticking to each other. You may also opt to use 2 tbsp. olive oil. That will work perfectly great, too.

Here's a recipe which you and your kids can make at home this weekend.
Sharing our favorite Bacon Cream Pasta Recipe...

250 g. pasta (fresh or commercial)
2 liters water
3 Tbsp. rock salt
3 tbsp. Anchor Culinary Cream
250 g. smoked bacon, chopped (or more, if desired)
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 medium sized white onion
3 tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
6 egg yolks
1 c. Anchor Whipping Cream
1 c. Perfect Italiano shredded Parmesan, divided
Salt & Pepper, to taste
flat leaf parsley, for garnishing
red pepper flakes, optional

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Drain and toss in 3 tbsp. cream. Set aside. Combine and whisk egg yolks, half of the parmesan and whipping cream in a bowl. Set aside.
Heat up oil in saucepan. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Drain excess oil. Set aside bacon. In the same pan, sauté onion & garlic, until soft but not brown. Add the cooked pasta and bacon. Toss until heated through. Remove from heat and immediately pour egg yolk-cheese-cream mixture. (Pasta must be hot enough so that that egg will cook.) Toss quick and fast to avoid curdling. Return pan over low heat and continue tossing until sauce has slightly thickened and has coated the pasta very well. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper according to your taste. Garnish with flat leaf parsley and red pepper flakes, if desired. Serve immediately.

*Mommy Notes:
Don't worry about too much egg yolk in the recipe. This dish is meant to be shared. :D
We make memories with our kids... So, have fun cooking and enjoy the bonding experience!

"Junk" made healthy :)

It's hard to feed kids (and some adults!) vegetables.
For some reason, they are not fond of seeing the bright colors of red, green and yellow in their food. But, do you know that bright colored foods are better for our health?

To prepare vegetables, bring 1 liter of water to a boil and add 2 tbsp. of salt. When the water is rapidly boiling, add the vegetables, 1 variant at a time. This method is called blanching.

Blanching is a quick, pre-cooking method, to prepare an ingredient for another cooking process. Why do we add salt? Because salt is known to be a natural food sanitizer. Don't worry, it will wash off, as the blanched vegetables will have to be "shocked" in ice-cold water, to stop its cooking process.

Blanching time is not the same for all vegetables. Sometimes, when it is at its ripest stage, it only takes a few seconds to cook it. Yes, blanching means to cook the vegetable all throughout but still has the crisp, crunchy texture and not mushy.

Blanching does not only refer to boiling water + salt. We also blanch in oil.
Here's a classic example of a recipe which requires oil-blanching, that kids & adults alike love to eat... Plus, you get to control what oil to use and how much salt to add.
Enjoy! :)

Homemade Potato Chips

1 kilo large potatoes
3 c. water
1 liter vegetable oil
Salt

Wash & scrub potatoes. Slice potatoes as thin as possible. (use mandolin or a V-peeler for more even slices)
Keep the potato slices in a big bowl filled with water, to prevent oxidation (discoloration).
Heat up oil in a deep fryer or a deep pot until it reaches 150 deg C. Drain potatoes and pat dry.
Blanch the potatoes in hot oil, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to each other. Oil becomes too bubbly when potatoes are added, so i recommend that you do it in batches.
When the potatoes are no longer sticking to each other and has a soft texture, lift the basket to drain the oil, about 5 minutes. Bring up the temperature of oil to 170 deg C. Deep fry until potatoes are crisp & golden in color. Drain well and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle salt and toss. Cool completely before serving or keep in an airtight container. Store up to 14 days.


(Please comment below for suggestions on what other recipes you want me to feature in this blog. Thanks and hoping to hear from you soon! - C)

Vegetables featured in this blog are available at Beth's/Lolita's in Farmer's Market Cubao and at the Northeast Greenhills Sunday Market.
Beth Navarro - +63 917 854 7855

My love for Chocolate

Who doesn't love chocolate?
Chocolate brings happiness to those who would eat it... Perhaps, it's the reason why i'm always happy... Well, one of the reasons, haha! I must admit, I have an obsession for it. From french truffles to the local favorite, curly or flat tops, ahhh... I just love them all!
And so, for my first-ever post, let me share with you, one of my all-time favorite recipes... Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Fudge cake with Fleur de Sel

2 c. All purpose flour
1 c. white sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar
3/4 c. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. instant coffee powder
2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c. clarified butter, cooled
1/2 c. Anchor culinary cream
1/2 c. warm water
1 tbsp. Fleur de Sel, for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease and line an 8"x 8" baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt & coffee powder. Make a well and add eggs, clarified butter, cream and warm water. Mix until smooth. Pour in baking pan. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. and bake for 55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool down cake completely before inverting.

Note: How to clarify butter: Place 1 cup of butter over double boiler. Let it melt over slow fire until butter oil separates from the butter solids.