Dulce de leche: all you need is a pan and boiling water
Long before we came across the term dulce de leche, Speedy and I had been boiling sweetened condensed milk in its unopened can to transform the milk into a thick caramel. We’d spoon the caramel and just eat it like that. So indulgent. So delicious. This was around the time that Sam was a little over a year old and I was pregnant with Alex. Aside from making caramel and it with cream when making fruit salad, we really didn’t have many uses for mixing sweetened condensed milk. In short, I never really learned about the differences in terms of brands. We’ve never been choosy with brands when making caramel in the past and you can just imagine my surprise when, one day, the mixing sweetened condensed milk did not transform into a thick caramel even after two hours of simmering in water.
When I made the salted caramel cake, I mentioned this issue about not being able to make homemade dulce de leche anymore — the milk (we usually buy Alaska) just refused to caramelize! Reader Nina commented that “Alaska is sweetened condensed ‘filled’ milk – made of vegetable oil from coconuts… This maybe the reason you are not getting good results.”
I took Nina’s recommendation, bought two cans of Milkmaid sweetened condensed milk, put them in pot, poured in enough water to fully submerge them then I let the water boil. The moment the water was boiling, I lowered the heat, covered the pot and let the water simmer for an hour and a half. And, voila! Dulce de leche. Thank you, Nina. Thank you indeed. (more…)
Paintings, frames and easels
A few years ago, a girl friend visited her younger’s brother’s new house and told us about the ornamental mirrors on the floor. Okay, I grew up with mirrors on the wall, at eye level, so I was more than a bit surprised. I said, “…on the floor?”
“Yes,” my friend said. Her sister-in-law told her that it was the “in” thing in interior decorating to place mirrors and paintings on the floor and stand them propped against a wall. Like this. But that’s not the house of my friend’s brother — just an example to illustrate what I mean by paintings and mirrors on the floor.
Personally, I don’t get it. In the first place, my friend’s brother and his wife had very young children at the time. As in pre-schoolers. If you’re a mom who has pre-school aged kids, or you’ve gone through that, you’ll know that anything you don’t want damaged had better not be in their path especially when they’re playing. A heavy ornamental mirror on the floor is dangerous to young children because they can smash when hit during rowdy playing.
And paintings on the floor? Well, unless they’re behind a glass wall, they’re likely to get nicked by anyone who comes near. Besides, how can you look into a mirror, or look at a painting, that’s way below eye level? You’ll have to stoop. And unless the windows are floor-to-ceiling, very little natural lighting will land on the mirror or painting. It just doesn’t make sense.
I have another friend, a lawyer, whose late mother painted for leisure. She did portraits of my friend’s two kids and my friend’s wife put them up in their living room. On the floor? Heck, no. On the wall then, old-school style? Nope. On easels. They were propped on easels. And the effect was really, really cool.
I thought about all that because we’re accumulating a lot of paintings at home. Nope, not bought. Paintings by Sam and Alex. (more…)
How we spent the weekend and a recipe for zucchini fritters
I introduced my daughter Sam to Pinterest and she now treats it as a “menu” — she repins all the food pics that she likes (and in just a span of one week, she already has an amazing amount of posts in her “Fooodddduh” board), she shows them to me then insists that we replicate all those dishes at home. Understand that in Pinterest, some of the photos pinned and repinned come from so many websites — including those published by professional chefs and food magazines — and some of the photos that Sam has in her “Fooodddduh” board show food prepared by trained chefs. The meticulous decorations, for instance, are — to put it simply — beyond my patience. I won’t say skill because skill is acquired and perfected with practice. But patience has never been one of my virtues. So, there.
Still, you know. When your daughter sounds so excited about something, it’s so hard to be a killjoy. I know that Sam does not expect that we would be able to replicate all that to the last detail. Her point really — at least, I think so — is how much fun it would be to try. Even if all we manage to come up with is some indiscernible mess, we’d still have fun trying and experimenting.
So, you can guess how this story goes. We spent the greater part of the weekend cooking, baking, washing pans and mixing bowls… The first experiment was not so successful; the other one worked. Let’s start with the not-so-successful one. (more…)
Fettuccine aglia e olio with sun-dried tomatoes
The classic Italian spaghetti aglia e olio has only three basic ingredients: pasta, olive oil and garlic. Salt is added for flavor; parsley is sprinkled for color and texture. There are only two steps in the preparation of the dish: boiling the pasta the tossing it in the olive oil in which the garlic had been browned. In this variation, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil are added for added burst of flavor and color. Truly and seriously good. (more…)
Iced tea mojito
You can prepare this drink in two ways — as a cocktail drink or as a non-alcoholic iced beverage. If course, the non-alcoholic version won’t be a anything similar to a mojito and you can call it anything you like. Like minted iced tea. It’s really very good. But if you feel a little naughty and you want to take that extra step to turn your iced tea into a mojito-like drink, go ahead and pour in a little (or more than a little) rum. (more…)
Recently digested
Tofu: General Tso’s style
One of the most widely known Chinese dishes outside of Asia is General Tso’s chicken -- floured bite-size chicken pieces fried until crisp then tossed in sweet-salty sauce. … »»
Pork patty, herbs & arugula spring rolls
If a food show has a reality TV format, I skip it. It's that simple. I prefer informative and entertaining but sans the contrived drama. Like Good Eats with Alton Brown. And … »»
Mocha and almond trifle
The inspiration started with a photo. The finished dessert turned out to be something else because, believe or not, it was partially made with “failed cookies.” What … »»
Home & Garden
Got young kids? Look! Bladeless electric fans.
After running errands and spending hours at the showroom of a custom kitchen designer, Speedy and I had dinner then proceeded to the grocery -- first at S&R for dog food, cat … »»
Ponkan in our garden
Almost three years ago, we spent a weekend in Tagaytay and came home with several grafted fruit trees -- lime, kalamansi, avocado, ponkan... Both the lime and the kalamansi … »»
The Lagundi (Vitex Negundo) shrubs in the garden
In February last year, Speedy bought Lagundi seedlings. I had been suffering from hives and Lagundi capsules (and, later, lagundi herbal brew) were the only things that made … »»
The Mommy Journals
Valentine’s Day: Are the cost and brand of the chocolates and flowers equivalent to the amount and quality of the love professed?
I remember how, back in grade school, whenever there was an occasion (Christmas, Valentine's Day or whatever), we would sometimes have class "visitors" who would be selling … »»
Dinner for one: tuna burger sandwich, cucumber agua fresca and macapuno preserve for dessert
Speedy and I have a weird social life. Our together social life consists mostly of family. We go out and party with his family or my family or, sometimes, with both families … »»
I miss them already but not the mess they make
Speedy drove the girls back to the condo late last night. The third term of the school year officially begins tomorrow, January 4, and the girls were supposed to spend today … »»
