Christmas Dinner 2007

We had so much food during Christmas lunch. So I decided to cook a simple dinner, minced Beef pie and a carrot muffin. I will post the recipe for the minced beef pie once I get the chance to measure the ingredients. I promise the presentation will be much better as well.

Christmas Lunch 2007

We had our Christmas lunch at the Grand Hyatt hotel, Jakarta. It was the best Christmas ever. The first plate had salmon with spinach stuffing, beef stew, fried rice, broccoli cooked in garlic and salmon ball. Second plate had sliced turkey with cranberry sauce, sliced ham with apple sauce, mashed potato in garlic and salmon. The third plate had a fresh oysters and salmon sushi. The roast beef was well done; it was juicy and just plain perfect. The last photo had tiramisu, black forest, lemon cheesecake and other to die for desserts.

Patrick's Birthday CAKES

My husband celebrated his birthday 2 days ago. We had a buffet lunch at Ritz Carlton hotel. Food is fantastic; there are lots of choices from Mongolian, Chinese, and Italian, western, Indonesian and Japanese food. A happy birthday song was played all over the place and then there came the cheesecake with strawberry on top and nuts on the side with candles of course. The staff along with a musketeer once again sung a happy birthday song.

After dinner he blew the candles of his second birthday cake. I bought this vanilla and chocolate ice cream cake a day before his birthday. I had it delivered at our home.

Before the night was over another cake came. It came from his office; it was another cheesecake with variety of fruits on the top with greetings on it. The bag and the box of the cake says Four Seasons hotel, it was obviously bought there.

Well, I had to invite kids in our house to eat the cakes. It was way too much for the 3 of us.

Nilagang Baka

I was thinking of cooking tinolang manok for lunch but I thought I better do nilagang baka. We haven’t had red meat for 2 weeks now so this is just right. Since it’s only me and my daughter eating it I decided to cook just enough of it. I promise I will give the exact measurements of the ingredients next time. However these are the ingredients for nilaga, you can add different vegetables if you like. You can also use fish, chicken, pork or prawn if you don’t have beef. Adjust the water if you need more and adjust the taste with more fish sauce or more beef stock to acquire the taste you like. You can also add more vegetables if you like vegetables. I totally forgot to measure everything this morning because our tummy was already grumbling hehehe. I looked for some ingredients in the fridge and these are what I found.

YOU NEED:

Tenderloin beef cut into 6 chunk cubes
1 medium size onion
1 potato
1 sweet potato
Bokchoy
Water
Beef stock
Fish Sauce
Pepper

WHAT TO DO:

1. Boil enough water in a medium size pot.
2. Add beef and onion. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add sweet potato and potato. Stir well.
4. Add stock and pepper. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
5. Stir well. Adjust the taste by adding fish sauce.
6. Add bokchoy and let it simmer for 1 minute.

Cinnamon Whole Wheat Rolls

Whole wheat flour is rare in our province in the Philippines. When I was a child this flour has to be ordered in Manila to be able to make a nice and hot whole wheat bread. Ohhh I just remembered how delicious it was while I was eating with my church mates. I am enjoying making my own bread and cakes now because I can control how much sugar and salt I can put in. The last time I went to Ormoc City, Leyte (where I was born) Dad was able to buy whole wheat sliced bread. But I still didn’t find the flour in the supermarket. During my parents visit here in our home in Jakarta my Mom was talking about cinnamon whole wheat rolls; and this gave me the idea to try making it. I thought it is a bit of a work but it wasn't really difficult. After researching for a recipe on the net this was my first attempt and it was a success. We got so excited after it was baked that is why there was a few rolls left on the photo.

YOU NEED:

2 tbsp yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
¼ cup honey
¾ cup olive oil
2 fresh eggs
6 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt

Cinnamon Filling:

3 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 ½ cup granulated brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon


WHAT TO DO:

1. Dissolve yeast in water and honey for about 5 minutes.
2. Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl and knead until it loosens from sides of the bowl.
3. Place in large oiled bowl and let it rise until about double. Be sure it is in a warm place.
4. Mixed the cinnamon filling mixture in a bowl.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you.
6. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough.
7. Roll up each rectangle, jelly-roll style, starting from one of the long sides. Pinch seams to seal.
8. With a knife, cut roll into 1 1/2-inch.
9. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours.
10. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or till golden brown.

Chicken with Quinoa pasta soup

I bought quinoa pasta a month ago. And finally I was able to do what I always wanted to do with it, a soup. This soup was made with just a 2 handfuls of pasta, chicken stock, 2 small pieces of chicken meat, carrot about an inch size, 4 tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon of onion. The last time I had this was 11 years ago so I was looking for a quinoa pasta soup recipe. I haven’t found the recipe yet but decided to try cooking it according to what I feel is right. And hey, my daughter loved it!

Quinoa pasta Pronunciation: KEEN-wah Notes: This is a high-protein pasta alternative for people with wheat allergies. It may contain corn flour as well. Substitutes: corn pasta OR kamut® pasta (Kamut® contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies.) OR spelt pasta (Spelt contains gluten, but it's tolerated by many people with gluten allergies.) OR rice pasta OR Asian rice noodles. ( http://www.foodsubs.com/Pasta.html )

Pandesal

According to Wikipedia, Pandesal (or pan de sal; literally, salt bread) is a rounded bread usually eaten by Filipinos during breakfast. It is a bread made of flour, eggs, lard, yeast, sugar, and salt. It has a soft, powdery texture and can be prepared in a number of ways by using numerous sandwich spreads. Its taste and texture closely resemble those of the very popular rolls of the Dominican Republic called Pan de Agua and Mexico’s most popular type of bread Bolillos for the reason that they all use a lean type of dough and follow similar techniques that were learned from Spanish or Spanish trained bakers early in their history. For more information please visit the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandesal . I guess nowadays a lot of people are using cooking oil not lard though, I use olive oil. I also use skim milk and a wholemeal flour, but you can use a normal milk and an all-purpose flour.

YOU NEED:

¼ cup evaporated milk
½ cup milk
½ cup water
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
5 tbsp softened butter
2 tbsp oil
4 cups flour
4 tsp dry yeast
Breadcrumbs

WHAT TO DO:

1. Combine evaporated milk, milk and water. (My evaporated milk and milk came from the fridge so it was cold I added a very hot water so my liquid mixture will be lukewarm not hot. It is important that your liquid mixture is lukewarm.)
2. Put egg in a cup with a hot water for 1 minute to warm it.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, salt, butter, oil, flour, yeast, egg and the lukewarm liquid mixture.
4. Mix well for about 5 to 10 minutes or until it loosens from the sides of the bowl.
5. Sprinkle some flour on your clean kitchen counter or table. Knead the dough with your hands by folding it then pushing it with the base of your palm for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the dough is elastic. Don’t be tempted to use too much flour, make sure dough is still a bit sticky.
6. Put the dough back in the bowl. Cover it with cling wrap and let it rise until about double. Be sure it is in a warm place.
7. Spray the baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray.
8. When the dough is ready get a small amount and make an oval shape.
9. Roll in the breadcrumbs and place on the baking sheets.
10. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
11. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place.
12. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden browned.

Palitaw

My parents are here in Jakarta for a month holiday. I was on my diet before they arrived, I was disciplined enough to eat the right food. Well, one day I was talking with my Mom about “Bilo-bilo” this is actually small balls made of glutinous rice flour and water. She mentioned that we can also make “Palitaw” made of glutinous rice flour and water as well. She told me it is quiet difficult to make this because we have to soak the glutinous rice in the water, then have it grind. I told her that glutinous rice flout is already available in the supermarkets. She was surprised so I bought one plastic bag of it last week to prove her that it’s real. To show her that it taste the same as the old style I had to make something from it. I made “Ginataang Bilo-bilo” yesterday; this is cooked with small balls of glutinous rice flour with water, coconut cream, sugar, taro, banana and sweet potato. I was carried away by this flour so I decided to make Palitaw the following day. Mom made this when I was very young so there I go cooking it with her guidance. Sorry I didn’t have the exact measurement of the ingredients but it is actually very easy.

YOU NEED:

Glutinous rice flour
Freshly grated coconut
White sugar
Sesame seeds

WHAT TO DO:

1. Toast sesame seeds in a small pan until brown. Let it cool.
2. Combine freshly grated coconut, sugar and sesame seeds.
3. Boil water in the pan.
4. Mix desired amount of glutinous flour with water.
5. Make sure water is just enough to hold the flour together. Too much water is too difficult to form a desirable size because it will stick on your palm.
6. Form a ball same size as the golf ball or smaller.
7. Drop in boiling water.
8. Remove from the water as soon as it floats on the surface.
9. Flatten the dough right away.
10. Roll in the mixed coconut, sugar and sesame seeds.


So there you go, my first "Palitaw"! Enjoy!

Misua with Pork Balls

The photo is not as appealing as the taste but I assure you this one is delicious as well. I got the recipe from one of my cookbooks. I replaced some ingredients though like minced chicken instead of minced pork, I garnish it with dried parsley instead of spring onions. I also added a little bit of lemon juice in the minced chicken. However I’d like to share to you the original measurements and ingredients so you know the basic first. You can experiment with this once you have tried the original recipe. Enjoy!

YOU NEED:

500 g minced pork
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper
8 cups of water
2 chicken stock cubes
100 g Misua (wheat noodles) ***
2 tsp fish sauce (to taste)
Chopped spring onions, to garnish (optional)

WHAT TO DO:

1. Combine pork, carrot, onion, egg and flour in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Shape into meatballs and set aside.
2. In a deep saucepan or casserole, bring water to the boil.
3. Drop in pork balls and simmer over medium heat until balls are fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in stock cubes.
5. When cubes have dissolves, add the misua.
6. Season with fish sauce.
7. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes (misua cooks very quickly).
8. Garnish with spring onions, if desired.

*** Click this link to find out more about Misua http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misua

Leche Flan (Custard)

I was making sure I am eating healthy but… I had a left over egg yolks from my egg white omelets. All I could think of is the Filipino style leche flan. This is a very sinful and tasty dessert unfortunately. Aside from its tempting taste I haven’t tried making it. But since I consider myself as a person who can at least make my husband happy on the table I was positive I can make leche flan. I had 3 tsp of the custard by the way and had to throw the rest of it because no matter how delicious it is I know it will not do well in my fat body. My leche flan was a success though.

YOU NEED:

8 egg yolks
1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
1 ½ cup evaporated milk (I used fat free skim milk)
¼ tsp grated lemon rind
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup sugar

WHAT TO DO:

1. Divide ½ cup sugar and pour in 6” oval pan (see the photo)
2. Melt sugar in the pan over low heat. Allow to caramelized sugar evenly
3. Stir egg yolks until well-blended but not frothy
4. Pour skim milk and condensed milk slowly on the egg yolk. Stir
5. Add lemon rind and vanilla. Mix well
6. Pour mixture in the 2 pans with caramelized sugar
7. Place pans in a larger, shallow baking pan containing hot water about halfway up the sides of the 2 pans
8. Preheat oven to 190 degrees
9. Place pan in the middle shelf of the oven
10. Bake for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean
11. Let cool at room temperature
12. Chill for several hours before serving.

Sinigang Na Manok

Three years ago I didn't know how to cook Filipino food, honest! I mean I know how to sauté and fry veggies, meat, fish etc. however there are Filipino dishes that I wish I can eat anytime. I can easily get this food when we lived in Singapore. There are places there that you can dine in or buy a take away like Lucky Plaza. It was a different story though when we lived in Bangkok, Bali, Australia and Beijing. I wasn’t really looking for this dishes but I found out I needed to learn because when I got pregnant with Trinity I got cravings for Filipino food. I had to call and ask my Mom how to make an “Isdang Paksiw” (fish cooked in vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper etc…) when we were in Bangkok, I was 3 months pregnant then. Janice (my brother in-law’s wife) was kind enough to cook “Kaldereta” (beef stew) for me when we were in Australia (I was 4 months pregnant). So I started cooking and learning our food; today’s dish is one of the popular dishes in the Philippines.

YOU NEED:

600 grams of chicken
1 bunch of kangkong (water spinach)
1 medium size eggplant
1 small chayote (sayote)
1 chopped onion
2 minced garlic
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of olive oil

3 cups of water
Pepper
Fish sauce

WHAT TO DO:

1. Sauté garlic, onion and tomatoes
2. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes until brown
3. Add water and fish sauce to taste
4. Let it boil for 10 minutes
5. Add chayote and cook for 3-4 minutes
6. Add eggplant cover for 2 minutes
7. Adjust the taste by adding more fish sauce and pepper
8. Add kangkong and let it boil for another 2-3 minutes.

Mini's Chicken and Vegetables in Rice Paper Wraps

Mini (our helper) is a good cook. When she is not doing any housework she would just read a book, a cooking book that is. I never recall any complains on her cooking, she is a natural. She asked me one day if I’d like to eat a rice paper wraps with vegetables. I said yes recalling the day I first tried rice paper wrapped with vegetables. A nice couple invited us for a dinner in their home and prepared us different vegetables, marinated chicken and beef that will be wrapped in the rice paper. Oh! It was soooo good I enjoyed it very much.

The marinated chicken below is the left over from the marinated chicken we bought from the shop.

You Need:

Rice Paper
Carrots (julienned)
Cucumber (julienned)
Marinated Chicken
Mint leaf/Coriander
Lettuce

Dipping sauce:

Hoisin sauce
Water
Peanut (chopped)
Garlic
Chili

1. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Allow the sauce to stand for 30 minutes so that the flavors can infuse. Serve at room temperature. I asked Mini about the extra measurements of the dipping sauce but she doesn’t know. She just said put the ingredients together and keep adjusting the taste.
2. In a large bowl filled with warm water, soak 1 rice paper wrapper for about 20 seconds or until soft. Lay wrapper out on a tea towel to absorb excess water. Transfer wrapper to a flat surface.
3. About 1/3 from the bottom of the wrapper, create a 3-inch long row by placing some mint or cilantro leaves followed by some lettuce, carrot, cucumber and chicken.
4. Carefully fold the bottom of the rice paper wrapper over the vegetables. Turn in the sides and continue rolling up from the bottom.
5. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Grilled Chicken Leg with Herbs

Here's another simple dish I made last month that I forgot to post.

1. Take a big ovenproof pan then lay an aluminium foil over.

2. Put the chicken legs on the foil. Season it with salt and pepper.

3. Put you favorite dried herb or whatever you have available. With this dish I just sprinkled a dried rosemary, dried basil and parsley.

4. Sprinkle an olive oil over the chicken legs.

5. Grill it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked.

6. Serve it with mashed potato and steamed brocolli.

White Egg Omelette with Tomato and Parsley

You Need:

2 eggs

1 chopped tomato

as much dried parsley as you like

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

1. Saute tomato in the pan about 30 seconds add salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley.

2. Transfer cooked tomato and parsley in a bowl.

3. Crack eggs and remove yolk. Whisk egg whites slightly.

4. Heat oil in the pan and pour the egg.

5. Put the cooked tomato and parsley on the side of the egg. Fold the omelet over into a half circle and cook until fluffy.

Heavenly Fish

Fish is good for us this is why I make sure we have fish in the menu every week. Salmon and Dory fillet are my husband favorites. He likes his Dory just like the fish and chips style. I wanted to make his favorite fish and chips one night but then we run out of potatoes to roast. So I decided to bake it instead (it’s healthier than deep frying anyway).

YOU NEED:

Dory fillets
Salt
Pepper
Basil
Rosemary
Olive oil
Lemon
Aluminium Foil

WHAT TO DO:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Lay the foil in the big pan.
3. Place the dory on the foil and season it with salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle basil and rosemary then splash some oil.
5. Cover the fish.
6. Make one big hole in the center of the foil cover.
7. Cook the fish for 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Sprinkle some lemon juice before serving.

Yummy Vermicelli

I feel like eating noodles tonight for dinner so I thought of the Vermicelli noodles I bought this morning. The packet of the vermicelli noodles I used is enough for 1 person. The noodles I cooked last Sunday were a hit to my 2 year old daughter and left me with vegetables and meat to eat. Today is the same though, my daughter ate most of the noodles and I was left with chicken and vegetables. Last Sunday I used bokchoy and marinated beef, today I used cabbage and the left over roast chicken we had yesterday. You can use your favorite veggies and as plenty or little as you like. I have to cut the broccoli and carrot into small pieces so my daughter can eat it as well.

YOU NEED:

100 grams (3.52oz) Vermicelli
Onion (half of the small onion)
1 clove of garlic
Half of a small size carrot (cut into small pieces)
Half of a small size cabbage
3 florets of broccoli (cut into small pieces)
1 cup bite size roast chicken
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tbsp oyster sauce
¾ cup of water
Pepper

Adjustment:

I adjusted the taste with ¼ tsp of light soy sauce and ¼ tsp of oyster sauce

WHAT TO DO:

1. Put the noodles in a bowl of water. Leave it on for 3 minutes then drain the water. Set aside the noodles.
2. Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil over moderate heat, once translucent add the chicken.
3. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and pepper.
4. Once the chicken absorb the sauces add the water. Let it boil then quickly add the broccoli and carrot. Let is simmer for 2 minutes and add the cabbage.
5. Cook the rest of the veggies for another minute or two, quickly add the noodles stirring.
6. I added more soy sauce and oyster sauce to adjust the taste.

Double Chocolate

I often keep an easy to bake dessert or snack in our cupboard. And once again my favorite brand Betty Crocker has selections for cakes and muffins for that. I make our own banana cake, carrot cake and pumpkin bread from scratch but that is if I have ample of time to bake it. This “Double Chocolate” from Betty Crocker is sooo easy to make. All you need are 1 cup water and 1 egg!

Personalized Pizza

My husband likes his pizza with a thin crust and every time we feel like eating pizza we always go to Pizza Hut. Unfortunately they only make thick crust here in Indonesia and Singapore. The brand Betty Crocker has been very friendly to amateur cooks like me. Just like one of their products Pizza Crust, all you need is ½ cup of hot water (not boiling water). Aside from making your own thin crust you can also put your favorite toppings.

Tuna Rissoles

I am finally back! It took me ages to post this recipe because I was pretending to be busy hehehe… My Mum in-law taught me how to make my first tuna rissoles. It was simple and delicious. That was 6 years ago in Bali, Indonesia when she visited us, and our first bonding together hehe... Alright enough of the story, here is the recipe.

You need:

3 potatoes
185g can of Tuna in water
1 tsp onion powder
1tsp garlic powder
½ lemon juice
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
2 eggs
1 tsp dried Parsley
½ Vegetables stock cube
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
Canola/ Vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Boil potatoes
2. Mash potatoes and set aside
3. Mix eggs, stock cube and worchestire sauce
4. Drain the tuna
5. Combine mashed potatoes, tuna, onion powder, garlic powder, juice of ½ lemon, eggs, stock cube, worchester sauce, parsley, breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper.
6. Make into patties
7. Heat a reasonable amount of oil in the pan
8. Fry the patties until brown in a medium heat

A little advice: Make a tiny patty and fry in the pan before you start making big patties. Try the cooked tiny patty and add more seasoning or Worchester sauce to check if you are satisfied with the taste. I normally do more than one try before I could get the taste that I like.

Pumpkin and Broccoli Soup

When I was pregnant with my daughter I always like soup when I am not too hungry. My husband likes the Spinach Chicken soup in Cedela café in Singapore and he would have that every Sunday. Sometimes he would buy any soup available 3x a week. This encouraged me to find a simple yet tasty soup recipe. I have a number of cook books so I started reading them. Here’s what I found:

What you need are:

2 cups pumpkin
4 florets of broccoli
1 small-sized onion
1 small head garlic
1 tbsp butter
1 ½ cup vegetable stock or chicken stock
½ tsp dried parsley leaves
½ tsp dried rosemary leaves
Pinch of pepper

What to do:

1. Heat butter in the pan.
2. Add garlic and onion
3. When onion is transparent add the pumpkin and broccoli
4. Add the vegetable stock, parsley and rosemary leaves
5. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft
6. Add pepper
7. Turn the fire off and puree the soup in the food processor according to your liking (you can have a chunky vegetables if you like)
8. Put it back to the pan and adjust the taste
9. Add more stock if it’s too thick
10. Serve with toast

Mum's birthday cake!

My husband ordered a cheesecake for my Mum in-law's birthday in "The Mulia" hotel. I had one slice but wasn't able to eat it all because I was already full from the buffet food in the restaurant. It wasn't the best cheesecake though.

Fish and Chips

We normally keep lots of ready mix batter for our fish and chips. I didn’t know how to make the batter until one day we run out of it. We get our ready mix batter in Australia. Anyway, my husband requested for fish and chips one day and I did some research on how to make the batter for the fish. It took me awhile to find the best batter and now we are enjoying our battered fish anytime we want it. After a few experiments from the recipes on the net, here’s what we like.

What you need:

Dory fillet
1 cup plain flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup water

What to do:

1. Set aside Dory fillet
2. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, sugar and water
3. Heat soya oil in a pan over a medium heat
4. Put battered fish in the hot oil
5. Cook both sides
6. Drain excess oil from the cooked fish in the kitchen towel
7. Serve hot with chips or green salad

my Casserole

I am trying to remember what I did and how I cooked this casserole….

1. Cook beef cubes in the olive oil.
2. Add Worcestershire sauce.
3. Set aside.
4. Heat soya oil in the pan and sauté garlic, onion and tomato.
5. Add potato, carrots and beef stock.
6. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the beef cubes as well as 2 tsp of tomato paste and 1 piece bay leaf.
8. Add 1 tbsp of Kikkoman soy sauce.
9. Adjust the taste.
10. Serve with rice

My Mum in-law reckons it’s tasty!

Barbeque Lamb chops

Got this marinated barbeque lamb chops in the shop. I just grilled it in the oven and served it with mashed potato, carrots and gravy. Very nice!

Expensive Chocolate

This pretty container filled with different types of chocolates is one of my husband's gift for my birthday last month. He knows I love chocolate.

Grilled Salmon with Vegies

All you need are:

Salmon fillet - grilled with salt, pepper and olive oil

Vegies - Broccoli, Carrot, Snow Peas, Celery and Onion

Sauce: Combine 1 cup of vegetable stock, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp cornflour and pepper

How to do it:

1. Saute onion in the olive oil.

2. Add carrots and broccoli.

3. Pour sauce and let it simmer over low heat for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add snow peas and celery. Cook for another 2 minutes.

5. Serve with grilled salmon.

Enjoy your meal!

Carrot Cake

Aside from the birthday cake my helper bought in the Bakery shop for my daughter's 1st birthday, I baked a carrot cake as well. My visitors ate my carrot cake instead of the cake from the shop. They were even asking for more.

So, I decided to bake a 2-layers carrot cake for my daughter's 2nd birthday. The good thing about baking your own cake is that you can lessen the sugar, salt and you can substitute white flour to whole wheat flour. You can also use organic sugar if you like just like what I did.

Pagkaing Pinoy

These are just a few of the food I had during one of the get together party as well as my "Farewell gathering" with my friends in Singapore. The first photo is Banana cake baked by Lhita, Pancit Palabok cooked by Bernie's Mom, Chicken and Pork Kaldereta cooked by yours truly, Puto and Lumpiang Shanghai by Bernie's Mom again, Dinuguan by Bernie's Mom (she does food catering by the way) and Maja Blanca by Taluks friend. We have been asking for the recipe of Maja Blanca because it is delicious but we were told it is a secret. I ordered Pancit Palabok because it is very nice.