For making breads like siopao and pan de sal.
Blueberry streusel cupcakes
Posted on January 28, 2008 · 11 Comments
When I asked my husband to buy frozen blueberries, I was half expecting that he’d come home with a pack of “Baguio-grown” blueberries. Wishful thinking, I guess, because there were only packs of imported blueberries in the supermarket. We grow blueberries at Trinidad Valley in Benguet but we never seem to be able to find them in local markets.
Cocoa powder
Posted on January 28, 2008 · 2 Comments
Although Ghirardelli is far better, it isn’t as widely available and it’s really too expensive. I grew up with Hershey’s cocoa — not for baking, mind you, because no one baked in my family, but as a breakfast beverage. When I started taking an interest in baking, I chose Hershey’s cocoa powder because I love ... (more)
My daughter’s 14th birthday
Posted on January 27, 2008 · 12 Comments
My daughter, Alex, had a few classmates over yesterday. They were supposed to do an ecology project but since yesterday was also her 14th birthday, a few other friends, non-members of the ecology group, joined us and we had pasta, chicken, toast and cake for merienda. The menu might look like fastfood fare, the stuff kids love, but the chicken was NOT fried, the toast was buttered whole wheat bread, the pasta sauce was all-natural and the cake was made with frozen — not canned — blueberries…
Vinegar
Posted on January 27, 2008 · Leave a Comment
I know, so many kinds of vinegar and that’s not even all of the vinegar I have in the kitchen. Vinegar might be nothing but a souring agent for some people but there is a heck of difference between our local vinegar and rice vinegar when sasoning rice for sushi and maki or when making ... (more)
Udon
Posted on January 26, 2008 · Leave a Comment
A wheat-based noodle from Japan, udon is traditionally served as a soup (see kakiage udon and gyoza udon) but may also be served as a stir-fried dish. In size, udon is similar to the egg noodles used in lomi but in color, taste and texture, udon is very different. Bought the pack of udon at ... (more)
Strawberry streusel cake
Posted on January 25, 2008 · 24 Comments
According to Wikipedia, the term streusel (a German word meaning “something scattered or sprinkled”, from the verb streuen, akin to the English verb ‘strew’) refers to a crumb topping of butter, flour, and sugar (traditional German) that is baked on top of muffins, breads, and cakes. The original recipe used fresh blueberries; I substituted strawberries.
Food color
Posted on January 25, 2008 · Leave a Comment
I use food color mainly for baking. I’ve been using McCormick food color for years then my daughter (she loves to bake) discovered Wilton icing color at Living Well (Podium branch). We haven’t used the Wilton product yet. Will update this entry when we have. Recipes where I used food color: Buko melon and buko ... (more)
Baked eggplants with bacon and cheese
Posted on January 24, 2008 · 29 Comments
Vegetables don’t excite me, as a rule. This dish is an exception. Based on the classic Italian eggplant parmigiana, this baked dish consists of layers of eggplant slices, a home-cooked tomato sauce with bacon and cheese. Omit the bacon from the recipe, or substitute mushrooms, and you have a wonderful vegan dish.
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