Vermicomposting 2

It has been more than two weeks and my Reds are still happily wriggling. There were no stench and instead there was a faint earthy smell to the bin. So far so good. I was feeding them minced potato peels, squash peels and carrot peels. I avoided fruit peels after my colony was invaded by ants the first week I set them up.

I decided to transfer them to a bigger home, and did some minor changes to the set up, after finding one to two Reds escaping. One big one even tried to slither out thru the cover. I figured it must be crowded inside.

Got myself a new bigger black plastic bin, which I bought in the supermarket. I had holes drilled top to bottom and side to side. First, I laid flat sheets of newspaper at the bottom of the bin to catch the poop and hopefully prevent the Reds from escaping. Then I hand-shredded a lot newspapers, drenched them in water and layered them on top of the flat newpaper.

Next, I spread a layer of used ground coffee which I picked up from a local coffee shop for free. This seemed to prevent stench and contribute to the earthy smell inside the bin. This also helps the Reds grind their food.

Then I plopped a generous amount of chopped vegetable peel in the middle of the bin and tipped the entire colony into their new home, lock, stock and barrel. Now that they're upside down, I found my Reds crowded together with some worms bigger than they were before. I'm not sure if they have multiplied but I sure hope they did. Then I covered them with another layer of hand-shredded drenched newspapers, topped with a layer of used ground coffee and a layer of flat newspaper and I returned them to their dark spot to do their job.

I'm glad to know my Reds are thriving and look forward to next weeks progress.

Comments, tips and suggestions most welcome

Vermicomposting

Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng’s disastrous aftermath, prompted me to seriously think about the effects our trash has on the environment. In the old days, floods were few and far in between. But with the invention of plastic bags, I hear and see floods happening all over the world, not just in the Philippines. Like a coronary blockage, the build up caused an attack and now the recovery process is slow and painful.

I believe Solid Waste Management is the key. Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. This should be our mantra and home is where we should start. I heard about Prof. Marlon Era, of DLSU’s Behavioral Science Dept., who studied Solid Waste Management on Morning’s at ANC TV show. He discussed waste segregation, waste reduction and recycling. He showed how easy it is to start at home. He got some plastic bins (recycled of course), and labelled them - Paper - Tins/Plastics - Bottles - Food Waste - Residuals (walang pakinabang). Then he asked the cooperation of all the members of the family to help out. After a couple of days or weeks, he would sell the papers, tins and bottles which provided them extra money for extra treats. Food wastes and kitchen scraps he composted and what’s left were the residuals that was so much less than before. Imagine if every household does this, less trash would be thrown into the environment.

Then I remembered Vermicomposting, which I first saw during the heydays of the weekend markets in Makati. These worms, called Red Wrigglers, eat kitchen scraps, digest them and poops them out as organic fertilizer. I call them Miracle Workers.

I’m not really fond of wriggly, slimy things but when I decided to start composting at home, I thought of vermicomposting. I read, on the internet, that they’re easy to manage and they don’t smell compared to regular composting. In fact, they should smell earthy.

I bought my very first tray of Red Wrigglers from Earthworm Sanctuary, at the Agri-Link Expo, for 100 pesos. I should have approximately 50 Red Wrigglers, according to the sales lady, to start as an experiment. It came in a small plastic microwaveable tray with holes on top. Since I wanted to propagate them, I decided to transfer them to a bigger tray that measured 8x8 with holes all over for ventilation with damp hand-torn newspaper, sprinkled with used coffee grounds as bedding.

Day 1 - I fed them chopped banana peel and that was a mistake. Ants came crawling all over the colony tray in less than a day. I quickly came up with a makeshift stilt by placing the colony tray on top of the tray they came in with which I inverted over a water filled tray creating a moat like structure. No more ants attacked, but the existing ones in the tray stayed. Lesson #1 - Do not feed fruits unless the area’s ants-free. Vegetable peels better.

Day 3 - I decided to transplant my colony, again, to their new home sans ants. Red Wrigglers are night creatures and they prefer to burrow. I discovered, while migrating them, that damp hand-torn newspaper compacted compared to shredded newspaper which formed spaces. I found my Reds (which they will be known hence forth) clustered in the middle of the tray. I successfully migrated my Reds and counted approximately 30 wriggly worms with 2 dead. Lesson #2 - Shredded newspaper’s better than hand torn newspaper as bedding. Provides better aeration and space for Reds to burrow.

Day 6 - My family treat my Reds as my pets. They’ve learned to set aside food waste, minus bones and fats, for my Reds to feed on. I’ve been eating more vegetables now because I’m thinking my vegetable peels will be my Reds next meal. Lesson #3 - Get the family involved. Lesson #4 - Consider vegetarianism. It’s healthier too.

Maybe, my Reds are one of the solution to our environmental problems. Our country needs to address our trash problem as early as now before another Ondoy or Pepeng unleashed their fury.

Tips, comments and suggestions most welcome.

Earthworm Sanctuary

La Mesa Ecopark

Fairview, QC

Tel: 931 2617

Mobile: 0922 8961996

Caramel Cupcakes

Using one basic recipe, I made several variations and came up with one that I called Caramel Cupcakes.  By substituting granulated sugar with muscovado sugar, the batter smelled caramelly and when baked the cupcakes tasted like caramel cake.  I used one ounce cupcake mold and one ounce ice cream scoop to make equal distributions.  Let me know how yours turned out.

Caramel Baby Cupcakes

Makes 12 regular size cupcakes or 

38 mini cupcakes

180 gm all purpose flour

    6 gm baking powder

    2 gm salt

115 gm butter

200 gm muscovado sugar

2 large eggs

125 ml milk

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

- Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line pan with paper liners.

- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

- Cream butter and sugar.

- Add eggs one at a time until well blended.

- Alternately add in dry ingredients and milk, ending with dry ingredients.

- Stir in vanilla.

- Divide into pan.

- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

- Cool in pan for 5 minutes.

- Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Happy Baking!

Home Baked Bread

The last time I baked bread was when I attended a special course on baking at the Asian Baking Institute under Chef Bejar.  As a special student, I got to choose the time and date when I would take the class on a one-on-one basis.  With all the ingredients and equipments at my disposal, my pandesals were perfectly soft, my loaf breads crusty on the outside and soft on the inside and my hopia squares were to-die-for, not to mention my enseymadas, spanish breads and cheese rolls.

This time, using a recipe I found on the internet (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/) I tried to replicate my previous success.  To my disappointment my pandesals were compact and my bread was on the heavy side.   I blamed my yeast, which I found out too late, was to expire this month.  And perhaps my rusty elbows which probably needed some greasing.

Both breads were delicious, albeit on the compact side and it made the house smell like a bakery.   I found out there are people who prefer compact breads and some people who prefer the fluffier breads.  I belong to the latter and therefore will continue to experiment until I have my perfect bread.

I find weighing my ingredients more convenient to measuring, therefore I will list the ingredients in both.

HOME-MADE BREAD

60 ml   (1/4 cup)         milk

21 gm   (5 teaspoons) sugar (or 1-1/2 tablespoons)

  5 gm   (1 teaspoon)   salt

21 gm   (5 teaspoons) butter (or 1-1/2 tablespoons)

  7 gm   (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast (or 1 package)

240ml  (1 cup)             warm water

300gm to 420gm (2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cups) flour

cornstarch or nonstick cooking spray (just to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan)

For a detailed instruction with pictures, check out:

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

Happy Baking!

Patio Guernica Restaurant

I remember when Guernica used to be located near the Remedios Circle. It was a special treat when I was invited to dine with the adults then. I would watch in awe everytime the waiter prepared the Ceasar's Salad by the table, rubbing the garlic along the inside of the wooden bowl, mashing the anchovies, separating the eggs and slowly pouring in the oil to the yolk while beating. He then tossed in the greens, coating each leaf with the dressing and finally, a sprinkle of bacon bits, cheese and croutons to crown the "Ceasar".

Then the waiter would bring in the paella, whether it's a Valenciana or Marinara, I would try them both. Even the Negra. I was an adventureous eater even way back then.I remembered having the gambas and the mushrooms as appetizers but the Paellas and Ceasar's Salad would alway be my favorite.

Today, Guernica's under new management and a new home. Taking into consideration the mall location, the ambiance's almost the same, old world with a modern twist. The Ceasar's Salad preparation was a joy to watch and the Paella Valenciana was as delicious as I remembered.

I would definitely come back and be invited again to dine with, now, the seniors.

Patio Guernica Restaurant

2F South Wing 

SM Mall of Asia

Bay Blvd. Pasay City

Floating Island Restaurant

Floating Island Restaurant is the place to eat when I'm in Makati Medical Center, whether it's for a check-up or visiting, lunch or dinner. It used to be located on the 3F, "floating" above the ramp towards the lobby entrance. Today, it's on the 1F of the new wing, all brown woodsy interior with Lavazza coffee station by the entrance.

My favorite dish was the Crispy Pata (Deep Fried Marinaded Pork Knuckles) with kalamansi soy sauce. The skin was super crackly and the meat fall-off-the-bone tender. Eaten with steaming hot rice, perfection.

I had lunch with my mom and two aunts. All seniors. All watching their cholesterol level. No Crispy Pata for lunch.

Spying around what others were eating, I saw a dish of vegetables in saffron colored sauce and bagoong on the side. Kare-kare! vegetarian version, pescetarian with the bagoong. But I'm not a vegetarian nor a pescetarian but I would definitely order this Vegetable Kare-kare again. With another order for take-out.

Floating Island Restaurant
1/F Makati Medical Center
Amorsolo St.
Legaspi Village
Makati

Cookie Monster

Made a batch of choco chip cookie using The Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook recipe. It was delicious but I decided to max the choco level and added cocoa powder to the batter and lessen the sugar content.

My version was sinfully chewy and chocolatey. Perfect with a glass of cold milk or freshly brewed coffee. Another success with kids, teens, adults and seniors.

I called my version Chocoholic Choco Chip Cookie.

Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 48 cookies

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter with the white and brown sugar until mixture is creamy and lightened in color, about 4 mins.

Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated.

Gradually blend in flour mixture into creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by the tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.

Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to a week.

*Substitute Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips for the Milk Chocolate Chips

Cream Puffs

At the insistence of my dear sister and cousin, I finally made cream puffs. Those crisp, round, hollow choux pastry filled with ice cream, sweetened whipped cream or vanilla pastry cream (creme patissiere), and drizzled with spun sugar, chocolate syrup or just a dusting of confectioner's sugar.  

Some say the choux pastry shells look like small cabbages.  In French choux means cabbage, hence the name choux pastry.  Panterelli, head chef to Catherine de Medici (an Italian who married France's Henry II) is credited by food historian as the inventor of choux pastry and it has been the base for many desserts like eclairs and profiteroles.

I made my cream puffs with vanilla creme patissiere topped with caramelized sugar.  My shells puffed up crisp and hollow with very minimal soft dough inside, which can be taken out to give more space for the filling.  The vanilla creme patissiere was smooth and creamy with just the right hint of vanilla, from the vanilla bean not extracts.  Except for my disastrous sugar syrup which did not turn into glassy crytal sugar.  I must say my attempt was a success, the cream puffs dissappeared in minutes.

Cream Puffs recipe from the www.joyofbaking.com

Aling Rosy's Pancit Malabon

Whenever we came home from a trip or there's an expo at the World Trade Center CCP Complex, would drop by Aling Rosy's Pancit Malabon, located inside a complex beside the World Trade Center, right in front of the DFA, for a heaping dish of honest to goodness pancit malabon.

For the past 30 years, Aling Rosy's been serving the best, authentic Pancit Malabon in Manila. Their Pancit Malabon is so tasty with lots of boiled fresh shrimps and oysters served on top of a bed of tossed pancit noodle swimming in Aling Rosy's special sauce. My mom likes to add a few squeezes of calamansi juice and a dash of patis, but I like mine the way it came out of the kitchen, savory, hot and delicious. Paired with camachille cookie and a tall cold glass of cola, heaven!

That was before I started dieting.  Now, the same heaping dish of honest to goodness Aling Rosy's Pancit Malabon can last me thru dinner time, minus the camacille cookie and cola.  Still savory, hot and heavenly delicious.

After 30 years, Aling Rosy's Pancit Malabon is still the best.

Gastronomic Adventure

Last weekend was one fabulous gastronomic adventure.  I went from Middle Eastern Ziggurat to Kapampangan Lorenzo's Way, followed by Italian Cibo to New York style Mandarin Deli, then back in time to hispanic Philippines Damaso to home-cooked Thai Som's Noodle House. Then off to New Orleans followed by Hong Kong Choi Garden, with dessert at The Icecream Bar.  Four mouth-watering days of gastronomic exploration.

DAY 1  -  ZIGGURAT CUISINE

My gastronomic adventure started thurday evening, with my foodie cousins.  We travelled to Makati in search of Ziggurat, an Indian, Mediterranean, African, Middle-Eastern restaurant, which we found located at the corner of Euphrates and Tigris Sts. near Makati Ave., G/F of Sunette Tower.  It's a veritable hole-in-a-wall restaurant, with a quaint middle eastern touch, imagine the sultan inside a harem.  There were very few chairs, except for an elevated platform with abundant cushions thrown around and low tables for diners.  It was very comfortable and relaxing. We ordered the Sweet Lassi (syrup on the side), a yogurt based drink, which we all voted the best we've had.  

Mezzo Mezze, a combination of dips with the Arabian Kobiz flat bread, which we lapped up in no time.  
Masood, a set of their distinctive curries, chicken in yellow curry (very good), beef in red curry (very like kaldereta) and mixed vegetable curry with rice.  Very delicious. Couscous T'faya, lamb couscous cooked with honey, which I found to be a bit too sweet.  
Shurabat Trio A soup sampler, Indian Mulligatawny, Arabian Harira & Nigerian Groundnut.  I personally loved the Mulligatawny soup. Moussaka, the famous Greek eggplant layered casserole.  Nigerian Coconut Rice, Afghani Rice and Arabian Khobiz, to accompany our dishes.  We would definitely return and try their other dishes.  Just added Ziggurat in my favorite restaurant list.

Mention India and chai tea always comes to mind.  I joined a Buddhist pilgrimage tour a few years back and I remembered drinking chai during the tour group's mandatory rest-stops along road side cafes.  I loved the smell of the tea laced with spices and mellowed by milk, sweet, fragrant and refreshing.  Better than the ones served at the hotel!  The perfect perk me up drink, second only to my love - coffee.  Ziggurat, for me, serves the most authentic chai tea I've ever tasted in Manila.

DAY 2  -  LORENZO'S WAY

Friday night was Kapampangan cuisine at Lorenzo's Way.  Located at the ground level of Greenbelt 5, the menu's a compilation of the best and popular dishes from all LJC restaurants like the Empanaditas, mini savory pies filled with spinach and pinenuts from In the Mood Ballroom Dancing, which was light and crisp.  Heart of Palm, Mango & Shrimp salad with an oriental vinaigrette.  Knockout Knuckles from Bistro Remedios, always one of our favorite together with, KKK short for Kare-Kare Klab from Bistro Burgos, which was so creamy and rich with peanut sauce, we had to order additional rice to sop up the sauce.  Dilis-Cious Rice of Fely J's, a recent favorite, steamed jasmine rice topped with crisp fried dilis was a meal in itself. One order was not enough.  Vegetable Burgers, mixed vegetables patties with tomato mushroom sauce, to counteract the meats we have been eating and Rosemary Chicken, pan-fried boneless chicken with rosemary-tomato sauce from Larry's Cafe and Bar.  We were so full, there were no room for desserts nor coffee.

DAY 3  -  CIBO - MANDARIN DELI - PIA Y DAMASO - SOM'S NOODLE HOUSE

CIBO

Saturday was a busy day for me.  I had lunch with friends at Cibo Shangrila Mall, where I ordered my favorite Farfalle alla Genovese, farfalle pasta with mushrooms, basil pesto and cream.  No meat.  I try to eat healthy if I'm with my friend whom another friend dubbed a chicketarian (one who eats fruits, vegetables, seafood and poultry.  no four-legged animals).

MANDARIN DELI

Then I met up with another set of friends at the Mandarin Deli Gateway Mall for a cup of cafe latte and assorted cold cuts with bagettes.  The assorted cheeses were delicious but the cold cuts were salty for my taste.   The bagettes were good but I've had better butter.

RESTAURANTE PIA y DAMASO

I then rushed back to Greenbelt 5 to have an early dinner with my dad at Pia y Damaso.  I was not supposed to order anything but ended up having the Bacalao A La Vizcaina which was a stew of salted dried codfish in olive oil, garlic, onion, tomatoes, fried potatoesand wine served with garlic rice.  I finished my order.  

Dad had their Chinese Lumpia Salad which was tossed julienned vegetables with shrimps, served cold, on a bed of lettuce topped with fried vermicelli mixed with seaweed, garlic and crushed peanuts.  I guess they cooked the lumpia ahead of time and chill before serving.  I still prefer my lumpia rolled in wrapper, served hot with lots of garlic, crushed peanuts and a dash of Tabasco's Original hot sauce.

 

My brother-in-law had their Lucban Longganiza Pasta, which was pasta with garlic-flavored longganiza from Lucban with roasted bell peppers, corn kernels and olive oil.  I tried it and like it.

SOM'S NOODLE HOUSE

Then I was off to Som's Noodle House, along Algier St. near Rockwell, for some delicious home-cooked style Thai food.  Parking's limited so my friends parked their car at the Power Plant mall and we took one car going there.

Everyone dines al fresco underneath giant umbrellas with monoblock tables and chair.  If I remembered correctly there were only 20 tables.  No reservations accepted nor were there a waitlist taker, but you can order ahead either for dine-in or take-out.  Patience adviced, but the food more than made up for the troubles.  Not to be missed were their Pad Thai and Red Curry.  Order lots and lots of rice.  We arrived late and they ran out of pandan chicken and beef.  

I was told to order their green curry and pandan chicken on my next visit.  Will definitely come back.  I just hope they set up a better system with wait-list, order taking and service.

DAY 4  -  NEW ORLEANS - CHOI GARDEN

NEW ORLEANS

Sunday was my sister-in-law's birthday and we celebrated at New Orleans Bonifacio High Street.  The birthday celebrant, and I, loved their Buffalo Wings so much, they ordered two.  Me happy. It has the right balance of spiciness and sweetness that I like specially enjoyed with bleu cheese dip that seemed to blend the taste well.  

We usually order soups split into two so we could taste them all and since their soup portion were big, it was perfect.  We had seafood gumbo and vegetable gumbo.  I find seafood gumbo better, it has a richer more flavorful taste.  This was followed by Pear Salad, cut up pears with caramelized walnut tossed with a vinaigrette sauce.

Our main courses were Ratatouille Rambalaya which was creole style rice dish cooked with vegetables and Seafood Jambalaya (pictured above).  Again I liked the Seafood Jambalaya more because the seafood and shellfish added more flavor to the dish.  

Next time, I would leave room enough to try Beignet, a Lousianian cousin to doughnut without holes, and Chicory Coffee.  A New Orleans breakfast staple, much like our pandesal and coffee.

CHOI GARDEN

Dinner affair was at Choi Garden along Annapolis St.  for my sister's father-in-law's 70th birthday.  It was the usual 8 course chinese lauriat that started off with Chinese Appetizers.  A platter of cold jelly fish with chopped ginger, sliced century eggs, roasted white chicken, roasted duck and roasted pork asado.  

Followed by Supreme Double Boiled Black Chicken with Chicken Feet Soup which was very rich and invigorating.  Then there were Steamed Shrimps topped with chopped garlics and leeks, would have been perfect with rice but there were more food to follow.

Peking Duck was served two ways.  First, sliced duck skin wrapped in thin pancakes and the next was deep-fried duck carcasse with chili and garlic, a perfect beer match.

These were followed by Braised Mushrooms with Abalone and Lettuce in chinese style gravy. Next came Steamed Lapu-lapu with ginger and leeks in soysauce and topped with very hot oil before serving and finally Fried Crabs with lots of fried garlic.

Desserts were Masachi, similar to our native malagkit and Hot Taro Sago in Coconut Milk.

Four days of mouth-watering, belly busting, gastronomic exploration worth repeating and sharing.

Contact Informations:

ZIGGURAT CUISINE

Sunette Tower, Durban St. corner Makati Ave.

Tel. No. 897 5179

LORENZO'S WAY

G/F Greenbelt 5

Makati

Tel. No. 729 0047 / 729 0013

CIBO

2/F Shangri-La Plaza Mall 

Edsa

MANDARIN ORIENTAL CAFE & DELI (operated by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel)

Upper G/F Gateway Mall

Araneta Center

Tel. No. 913 5505

RESTAURANTE PIA Y DAMASO

2F Greenbelt 5

Makati

Tel. No. 729 5511

SOM'S NOODLE HOUSE

5921 Algier St. (near Rockwell)

Poblacion, Makati

Tel. No. 757 8079 / 0917 9227648

NEW ORLEANS (beside Claw Daddy)

Bonifacio High Street

Tel. No. 856 4785

CHOI GARDEN

12 Annapolis corner Purdue Sts

Greenhills

Tel. No. 727 6042 / 727 7489

 

Tropical Fruit Cocktail

I got this recipe from my Tita Gening when we used to spend summer vacations with her in Iloilo City.  She would prepare this for a refreshing afternoon snack or light after meal dessert,  chilled and served in a huge bowl.

This tropical fruit cocktail's so easy to make, so refreshing and so healthy.  No sugar added.  Just toss together cubed fresh (not canned) tropical fruits like papayas, watermelons, melons, mangoes, pineapples and young coconut (buko) meat.  Add the reserved coconut juice with the juice a few squeezed calamansi, and voila!

Tropical Fruit Cocktail.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Last weekend, I was able to buy "The Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook", at a discount, and decided to try their Dark Chocolate Cupcakes recipe, with a few adjustments.  I can still recall the Ghirardelli Chocolate Fruit Cup Delight I had in Miami.

Since we don't have Ghirardelli's readily available here in the Philippines, I used Hershey's instead.  And since I prefer to weigh my ingredients, I'm stating them in grams.  

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcakes:

158 grams all purpose flour

20 grams unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

125 grams light brown sugar

100 grams granulated sugar

150 ml whole milk

80 ml strong brewed coffee or espresso

110 grams unsalted butter, melted

- Preheat oven 350c.  Line 12 cupcake molds or muffin tin with paper liner.  Set aside.

- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

- Whisk egg, brown sugar and granulated sugar.

- Whisk in milk, coffee and melted butter.  Sip remaining coffee with or without milk.

- Whisk in dry ingredients.

- Divide batter evenly among cupcake molds, filling them about 3/4 full.  I used an ice cream scoop size 55ml to fill molds evenly.

- Bake for 15 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

- Cool for 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature.

Frosting:

170 grams semi-sweet chocolate baking bar or chocolate chips

190 ml heavy cream

45 grams unsalted butter

chocolate chips, mini marshmallows or sprinkles for garnishing

- Melt chocolate, on top of double boiler, over barely simmering water until smooth.

- Heat heavy cream until hot.  Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate.

- Transfer to a bowl and cool to just warm.  Whisk in butter until smooth.

- Let sit until it reaches spreading consistency, about 1 hour.  Watch TV, read a book or just do nothing.

- Spread frosting on top of cupcakes and garnish with chocolate chip pieces, mini marshmallows or sprinkles.

These cupcakes were by far the best Dark Chocolate Cupcakes I've ever made.  According to my tasters, these babies were fluffy, moist and delicious.  Just the right combination of sugar, chocolate and coffee.  Two tasters ran off with two cupcakes each, sans frosting, right out of the oven.

Cola Cake

I found the following recipe on the internet, contributed by Lee Avery Catts to "Atlanta Cooknotes" published by The Junior League of Atlanta,  and decided to do another experiment. I baked my version of cola cakes using two different colas to determine which cola tastes better.  

I began by weighing my dry ingredients, which I preferred because I found it more accurate for experimenting and less to clean up after and divided the original recipe in half.   I used Coca Cola in half the recipe and RC Cola in the other half.  

Cake Ingredients;

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups small mashmallows

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened

1 cup Coca Cola or RC Cola

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350c.  Grease 9x13 inch pan or 2x8 inches round pan.

- Sift together sugar and flour.  Add marshmallows into bowl and some into mouth.

- In a saucepan, bring to boil butter, oil, cocoa powder and cola.
- Pour over dry ingredients and blend well.  I used the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer set at speed 2.

- Dissolve baking soda into yogurt, just before adding to batter, along with eggs and vanilla extract.  Mix well.

- Pour into pan, lick bowl and paddle attachment. Arrange marshmallows evenly and bake for 35-40 mins or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

- Remove from oven and frost immediately.

- Cool completely before serving.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened

6 tablespoons cola

16 ounces confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Bring to boil butter, cocoa powder and cola. 

- Pour over confectioners' sugar.  Blend well.

- Add vanilla extract and blend.

- Spread over hot cake.

The cakes came out fluffy and moist, but the frosting was far too sweet for our taste.  I would probably forego frosting and just dust with confectioners' sugar or serve plain.  

Both were sweet and caramelly with barely a hint of the cola flavor.  A couple of my tasters could not tell the difference.  But for those who did taste the difference, RC Cola was the choice.

Let me know the results of your own experiment.

Chocolate Madness Cake

The past few days saw me in a fit of chocolate craving and baking frenzy.  It was a mad combination.  I have not baked a cake in ages and I managed to bake 8 chocolate cakes, culled from 3 different chocolate cake recipes and bakers, which I switched around and finally came up with my very own version of Chocolate Madness Cake.
First recipe tested was Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake with Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Frosting, recipe found on every can of Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. The cake was too sweet but moist and fluffy.  The frosting not perfect at all.

Second was Nigella Lawson's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake, recipe found on the internet via the Food Network with how-to video on youtube. Again the cake was too sweet, crumbly and dry.   The frosting was a disaster.   But I take full responsibility for the disaster through no fault of the author.

Third was Dorie Greenspan's Devil's Food White-Out Cake, recipe found on page 247 of her book "Baking". The cake was bland and dense, again probably my fault,  but the icing was very good.  Dad even helped me scuplt the design.

Finally, my very own Chocolate Madness Cake.   The cake was a modified Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe with Dorie Greenspan's version of 7-Minute Frosting.  Success!

To break from all the chocolate madness, I managed to squeeze in Martha Stewart's Lemon Squares, recipe found on her website.  It was perfectly sweet and tangy.  

Note this Lemon Squares recipe was developed for very young bakers (kids!).  That should say something about my level of baking.  

Next project - Cupcakes!

Missing Home

Finally, after one week in Shanghai city, I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. It's been a hectic week taking our guests around. One guest's an avid photographer, he and I clicked away while my mom and his wife waited patiently on the side. Check out my photos page in the coming days for some scenic shots of Shanghai.

24 Hours in Cebu 5

Run by Chef Giuseppe Genco and his wife Rachel, Giuseppe Pizzeria & Sicilian Roast lived up to its italian sounding name.  As this was our last stop before we headed back to Manila on an afternoon flight, we figured we should fill up on lunch least our Cebu Pacific flight got delayed and true enough, our flight was delayed. Thank God for hearty and filling italian dishes which sustained us till we reached Manila early evening.

Entering Giuseppe's like entering another era.  The ambiance's quiet elegance but not stuffy, quaint but not cheesy.  I would definitely be a regular if I lived in Cebu.

We started lunch with freshly baked foccasia bread, thinly rolled out like pizza crust, served with tomato salsa.  The foccasia's flavored with herbs and spices that you can eat it as is althought the tomato salsa, light and crisp, was an excellent accompaniment.

Rustica Pizza, baked in a woodfired oven, was perfectly crispy and cheesy with lots of tomato sauce, italian sausages and prosciutto ham.  Try it with a dash of chili flakes or chili oil.

Shrimp Tortolinni in Tomato Sauce was delicious.  The tomato sauce was not acidic rather it was smooth and crisp to taste.  

Seafood Spaghetti was the kids favorite.  I understood after taking a bite that the freshness of the seafood was what made this dish what it is.  Delicious.

A must try was Risotto with Pumpkin, Carabao's milk cheese and Parmigiano.  The sweetness of the pumpkin combined with the tangy taste of carabao's milk cheese and the saltiness of pargiano in risotto was perfect.  Throw in sliced onion and leeks.  Heavenly.

There were no rooms for desserts!

Giuseppe

Pizzeria & Sicilian Roast

Paseo Saturnino

Ma. Luisa Road

Banilad, Cebu City

Tel: (032) 3439901 ; 4159880

24 Hours in Cebu 4

For sweet-tooth or sweet-teeth like me, desserts and coffee are the perfect way to cap the day.  

La Marea Pastry Shop & Lavazza Cafe fits the bill.  Brazo de Mercedes cake and Lavazza cafe latte, what more could I ask for.

La Marea Pastry Shot & Lavazza Cafe

The Walk Asiatown IT Park

24 Hours in Cebu 3

Dinner was at Spice Fusion which offers south east asian cuisine that ranges from Singaporean to Malaysian, from Thai to Indonesian, from Indian to Chinese.

For starters, we ordered Roti with Curry Sauce.  Roti was light and crisp with a sweet buttery taste that a perfect compliment to the rich curry sauce.

Next was Fried Calamari with Thai Chili sauce with a twist. I can taste bagoong and sweet syrup which makes the sauce salty and sweet with a kick.  Very interesting.

Fried Tofu with Peanut Sauce.  Tofu was soft and silky like japanese tofu but the sauce I found to be on the sweet side for my taste.  I would hazard a guess that the peanut sauce was made using ground peanut with sugar, that one buys in a chinese deli store used in fresh lumpia.  Hence the sweetness in it.

Siomai, which the kids loved and I found to be quite good, was very meaty with very little fat and yet rather juicy.  Of course, I ate mine with a dallop of chili sauce.

Tom Yang Soup, spicy and rich with lemon grass and ginger to taste.  Just the way I like it. I enjoyed the soup more than the ingredients.

Nasi Goreng.  Unfortunately, I seldom eat rice and this dish did not resonate with me.

Coffee Infused BBQ Pork Belly was a pleasant surprise.  Imagine bbq pork belly but instead of the usual calamansi, soysauce marinade that's salty and tangy, this bbq was smokey and heady with a java after taste.  I would have preferred it spicier but that's just me.  Very good.

Spice Fusion

South East Asian Fusion

Banilad Town Center

Cebu City