Thursday, 28 February 2013
Taho made from scratch
Today, I made taho from scratch. I will post the process I had to go through to achieve this yummy treat on my next post. But for now, here is the finished product.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Review: Life of Pi
Life of Pi is one of the most talked about movie of 2012. I loved the way Ang Lee depicted the book. The visual interpretation and filters used in the film was absolutely breathtaking and the story itself is surprisingly inspiring. Yes, I said it is "surprisingly inspiring" because all these years, I've been brainwashed by my brother who made a book report when he was in high school about this book. He said it is the most boring book he's ever read and I believed him, simply because he was the book lover in the family and he has an impeccable taste when it comes to books. I guess he is wrong about this one. When I watched the trailer after the Oscars, I became curious and thought I should give this movie a chance. Besides, I am very attracted to anything visually appealing and so I watched it and I fell inlove with it.
Life of Pi is a book about faith, hope, and strength in times of adversity. It is a story about survival in times of desperate situations. I was amazed on how courageous and pure the main character was. His curiosity and thirst for experience and knowledge is probably what made me so drawn to the character. Plus, I can totally relate to the story because I was also in a desperate and hopeless situation myself. A time when I thought there was nothing left for me. But after a while, this served as the turning point of my life and gave me wisdom and courage to face everything life has to offer.
It is true when they said that pain and suffering is inevitable in this life. But what makes us who we are is the choice we make after the fall. Are we going to stay on the ground or stand up and fight again? In the story, Pi had to go through major changes in such a short span of time. From moving to another country with his family and leaving his loved one behind, then losing the his family and livelihood because of the shipwreck and then surviving the days and nights he was in the middle of nowhere almost dying in thirst and hunger. On top of that, he feared for his life every single day because he was stuck with a tiger who is also hungry and thirsty. Of course, being a wild animal, he has no control over his urge but because of this fear and responsibility, Pi learned to fight, be alert and conquer everything he thought he couldn't do. This is where his faith comes in handy.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations when we are so scared we unleash our inner "tiger" because that is how we can only protect ourselves. We don't want to, but we are forced to for survival. I remember when I was able to unleash my inner "tiger". I'm not proud of it but it made me see how strong I can be. I know the people involved will never looked at me the way they did before and you know what, for the first time in my life, I didn't care. I was proud I defended myself. I was glad I was able to express the hurt and pain inflicted to me. I thought, I didn't deserve that, so why would I even be sensitive to what they have to feel when they didn't do the same to me. I lost everything and gave up everything because I thought it was worth it. Whatever you give you receive right? But you know what, I received what I gave. Maybe not with the person whom I expected to give it back me. But with the person who truly deserved it. All we had to do is just have faith and hope that it will be given unto you, and the strength to let go of the things that doesn't serve you any good.
This movie will always remind me that life is beautiful regardless of how much setbacks or troubles I will experience. With faith, that God made us to be blessed and be a blessing; hope, that we are born to live a happy and prosperous life: and strength that even if life will sometimes be difficult, with the right attitude and positivity, we will get through anything.
Life of Pi is a book about faith, hope, and strength in times of adversity. It is a story about survival in times of desperate situations. I was amazed on how courageous and pure the main character was. His curiosity and thirst for experience and knowledge is probably what made me so drawn to the character. Plus, I can totally relate to the story because I was also in a desperate and hopeless situation myself. A time when I thought there was nothing left for me. But after a while, this served as the turning point of my life and gave me wisdom and courage to face everything life has to offer.
It is true when they said that pain and suffering is inevitable in this life. But what makes us who we are is the choice we make after the fall. Are we going to stay on the ground or stand up and fight again? In the story, Pi had to go through major changes in such a short span of time. From moving to another country with his family and leaving his loved one behind, then losing the his family and livelihood because of the shipwreck and then surviving the days and nights he was in the middle of nowhere almost dying in thirst and hunger. On top of that, he feared for his life every single day because he was stuck with a tiger who is also hungry and thirsty. Of course, being a wild animal, he has no control over his urge but because of this fear and responsibility, Pi learned to fight, be alert and conquer everything he thought he couldn't do. This is where his faith comes in handy.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations when we are so scared we unleash our inner "tiger" because that is how we can only protect ourselves. We don't want to, but we are forced to for survival. I remember when I was able to unleash my inner "tiger". I'm not proud of it but it made me see how strong I can be. I know the people involved will never looked at me the way they did before and you know what, for the first time in my life, I didn't care. I was proud I defended myself. I was glad I was able to express the hurt and pain inflicted to me. I thought, I didn't deserve that, so why would I even be sensitive to what they have to feel when they didn't do the same to me. I lost everything and gave up everything because I thought it was worth it. Whatever you give you receive right? But you know what, I received what I gave. Maybe not with the person whom I expected to give it back me. But with the person who truly deserved it. All we had to do is just have faith and hope that it will be given unto you, and the strength to let go of the things that doesn't serve you any good.
This movie will always remind me that life is beautiful regardless of how much setbacks or troubles I will experience. With faith, that God made us to be blessed and be a blessing; hope, that we are born to live a happy and prosperous life: and strength that even if life will sometimes be difficult, with the right attitude and positivity, we will get through anything.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Birthday cupcake
My sister asked me to bake vanilla cupcakes for their receptionist's birthday. Here it is!
Monday, 18 February 2013
Vanilla Cupcakes for Valentine's Day
A few days ago, the whole world celebrated Valentine's Day. A day filled with love, flowers and chocolates. My mom, of course, requested me to make something that she can give to her choirmates. And so, I decided to make some vanilla cupcakes.
Since I have been contemplating on learning how to make buttercream roses, I thought, maybe I can practice and put the roses on the vanilla cupcakes I am making for my mom. For a first timer, I think my buttercream roses are pretty decent. It is amazing how they made my cupcakes really pretty, perfect for valentines day. I just need to make it better by practicing. The buttercream I used is a little bit more difficult to use for the roses but it sure tastes so good. I guess Swiss meringue buttercream is not really the best icing to use for buttercream roses. Anyway, the response was phenomenal. Some of my mom's choirmates even brought home the leftover cupcakes to their husbands. I probably just need to refine the vanilla batter I used but the taste was awesome! Here are the finished product.
Enjoy!
Since I have been contemplating on learning how to make buttercream roses, I thought, maybe I can practice and put the roses on the vanilla cupcakes I am making for my mom. For a first timer, I think my buttercream roses are pretty decent. It is amazing how they made my cupcakes really pretty, perfect for valentines day. I just need to make it better by practicing. The buttercream I used is a little bit more difficult to use for the roses but it sure tastes so good. I guess Swiss meringue buttercream is not really the best icing to use for buttercream roses. Anyway, the response was phenomenal. Some of my mom's choirmates even brought home the leftover cupcakes to their husbands. I probably just need to refine the vanilla batter I used but the taste was awesome! Here are the finished product.
Enjoy!
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Puto Pao
My parents are active members of Couples of Christ. It is a serious commitment being involved in this organization. Every weekend (even weekdays), they always have an activity and of course, potlucks are always involved. What's so funny about this is my mom would always volunteer me or my dad to cook something for them. And because of the constant demand for foods that are easy to make, i've come up with one of the most indemand merienda....the Puto Pao.
Puto pao is a combination of puto which is a sweet and fluffy bread-like steamed cake and asado which is the meat filling of siopao a popular dimsum introduced to filipinos by the chinese. I researched and found a lot of different types of puto pao recipes over the internet. It was a bitter sweet experience since I basically failed achieving the perfect consistency and taste that I like. Then came one afternoon, I tried this one recipe but tweaked the recipe and it became a success! Since then, I promised myself to stick to the recipe for the best results. I use the same recipe for the regular puto( the colored ones) and the puto pao.
Enjoy!
Puto pao is a combination of puto which is a sweet and fluffy bread-like steamed cake and asado which is the meat filling of siopao a popular dimsum introduced to filipinos by the chinese. I researched and found a lot of different types of puto pao recipes over the internet. It was a bitter sweet experience since I basically failed achieving the perfect consistency and taste that I like. Then came one afternoon, I tried this one recipe but tweaked the recipe and it became a success! Since then, I promised myself to stick to the recipe for the best results. I use the same recipe for the regular puto( the colored ones) and the puto pao.
Enjoy!
My Ube cake Evolution
I was trying to perfect my Ube cake recipe for months until I finally found my signature cake. The photos below will show you what it looked like a few months ago and now. Let me know which one looks the best. I personally love the one with whipped cream rosettes( the one from my other post.)
Mocha cake inspired by Goldilocks cakes
When I was little, everytime there is a party I would always expect that delicious light brown colored sponge cake. I was actually first introduced to Mocha cake before chocolate or vanilla cakes. I always wondered what makes it so delicious. Only to find out that the secret is COFFEE.
A few weeks ago, I was feeling nostalgic. I wanted to feel like a kid again and experience that happy feeling everytime I eat Mocha cake. Since i've been baking for a good few months, I have the basic tools to make a sponge cake. And on that snowy afternoon, I decided to give Mocha cake a try. I researched online to find a recipe close to what Goldilocks make and luckily I was able to find one. The recipe I found for me needs to be a little sweeter and should have a more Mocha taste. And so, just like any other recipes I find, I tweaked it to suit my tastebuds. Again, I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream in mocha flavor and the cake is the regular sponge cake. I know I need to practice icing the cake because it looks like a little wobbly but let me tell you, this one tastes like the one made from Goldilocks. Here is the finished product.
Enjoy!
A few weeks ago, I was feeling nostalgic. I wanted to feel like a kid again and experience that happy feeling everytime I eat Mocha cake. Since i've been baking for a good few months, I have the basic tools to make a sponge cake. And on that snowy afternoon, I decided to give Mocha cake a try. I researched online to find a recipe close to what Goldilocks make and luckily I was able to find one. The recipe I found for me needs to be a little sweeter and should have a more Mocha taste. And so, just like any other recipes I find, I tweaked it to suit my tastebuds. Again, I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream in mocha flavor and the cake is the regular sponge cake. I know I need to practice icing the cake because it looks like a little wobbly but let me tell you, this one tastes like the one made from Goldilocks. Here is the finished product.
Enjoy!
Saturday, 16 February 2013
On Pinoy food
I moved to Canada in 2003 and the thing that I miss the most is Pinoy food. My philosophy when it comes to food is if I love that food so much, I need to learn how to cook it. Of course there are some food that are so hard to imitate. In that case, I've got to leave it to the experts. But for everyday meals, I always try new things so that my family will not get sick eating the same thing over and over again.
Since I have been posting the food I cook or make for the past few years in facebook, I've decided to share with you some of the best Pinoy foods I made. Please forgive me if some of the photos have poor quality. I dont own a fancy camera for that. All I have is my trusty Iphone to capture all these beautiful works of art. So without further ado, here are some of my favorites.
Since I have been posting the food I cook or make for the past few years in facebook, I've decided to share with you some of the best Pinoy foods I made. Please forgive me if some of the photos have poor quality. I dont own a fancy camera for that. All I have is my trusty Iphone to capture all these beautiful works of art. So without further ado, here are some of my favorites.
Ube Cake
Since I am currently obsessed with baking, today I managed to bake 2 Ube cakes for two different people. One for a family friend and the other is for my cousin who will arrive tomorrow from Hongkong. I used the same chiffon cake recipe that I used in my Mocha Roll( will post tomorrow about that cake) minus the mocha mixture and replace it with ube. This time, I used a whipped cream frosting which is to die for! It is soft and delicate and super yummy. With my other cake, I typically use a Swiss Meringue Buttercream or a regular buttercream but for this cake, I gave the whipped cream frosting a try. It compliments very well with the ube macapuno taste.
I hope they will like this as much as I love it.
I hope they will like this as much as I love it.
Friday, 15 February 2013
Welcome to my blog
Let me welcome you to my blog! Finally, a blog where I don't necessarily focus on "feelings". Instead, I will highlight anything and everything I love whether it is food, skincare, vanity, restaurant, music, books, places and events... everything under the sun!
This isn't my first blog but definitely this will be the blog that I will regularly update. I am committing to this and I hope (and pray) this will be a success. Why wouldn't it be when probably most of the posts will be about FOOD! I am currently obsessed with baking and cake decorating. I finally gave in to what my heart desire. So watch out and feast your eyes on my "works of art".
I've always wanted to document my "craft". I don't want to claim that I am a legit "artist" but I always aspire to be someone who has a strong inclination to everything that is aesthetically beautiful. I guess everyone is. But in this blog, I am about to show you how I express my creativity and passion. I will post people, places and things that inspires and motivates me.
Let me remind you, I admit i'm not a writer so please bear with me if there will be typo or grammatical errors. I will try my best to keep it simple and casual. Im too afraid to be criticized by grammar nazis so to be safe this will be a blog with more photos than words!
So let the blogging begin!
This isn't my first blog but definitely this will be the blog that I will regularly update. I am committing to this and I hope (and pray) this will be a success. Why wouldn't it be when probably most of the posts will be about FOOD! I am currently obsessed with baking and cake decorating. I finally gave in to what my heart desire. So watch out and feast your eyes on my "works of art".
I've always wanted to document my "craft". I don't want to claim that I am a legit "artist" but I always aspire to be someone who has a strong inclination to everything that is aesthetically beautiful. I guess everyone is. But in this blog, I am about to show you how I express my creativity and passion. I will post people, places and things that inspires and motivates me.
Let me remind you, I admit i'm not a writer so please bear with me if there will be typo or grammatical errors. I will try my best to keep it simple and casual. Im too afraid to be criticized by grammar nazis so to be safe this will be a blog with more photos than words!
So let the blogging begin!
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