Wish fulfillment..

I've experienced a lot of difficulties and failures in life. I just had one wish, and that is to be truly happy. Then one day I woke up realizing why I have to endure everything. 

I was betrayed to learn how to love unconditionally. Lost everything to learn how to have faith in God's plan. Got rejected a lot of times to learn to have hope and trust that there is always something better in store for me. I became completely broke to learn how to appreciate compassion and kindness of other people. I got lost to remember that I will always have my family and our home. Give up some friends to appreciate the loyalty of the ones who decided to stay. But the most important lesson for me is also the key to fulfilling my greatest wish. Gratitude.

For the love of Korean food.

I love Korean food! Maybe because I was too brainwashed by all the korean dramas I've been watching. 

It's been a while since I've been craving for korean food. But all the good korean restos are too far from where we live. And so, I attempted to make one of the most popular korean dish... Bibimbap.

I am actually surprised how easy to prepare this. I will post the recipe next time. For now, here is the finished product. 

Frozen Brazo de Mercedes

For now, I will let the picture tell you how awesome this dessert is. 

On keeping the love alive...

“I think it’s great for two people to be together. That is a good number. I think, that to keep it alive though, you can’t spend every day together. It wears out the magic, Love means nothing to me if it’s not fortified with fierce, painful longing, brief explosive instances of furious passion and intimacy and then a sad parting for a time.

In that way, you can give your life to it and still have a life of your own. I think some couples spend too much time together. They flatten out the potential for experience by constant closeness.

Passion builds over time like steam. Let it rage until it’s exhausted and then leave it alone to let it build up again.

Why can’t love be insane and distorted? How can it be vital if it has the same threshold as normal day-to-day experience?  Why not let the days before you see her be excruciating and ferment in your mind so on the day you go to the airport to pick her up, you’re nearly sick with anticipation?

And then when desire shows the first sign of contentment, throw it back in its cage and let it slowly build itself back into a state of starved fury.

Then when you are together, it all matters. So that when you look into her eyes, you lose your balance, so that when she touches you, it feels like you have never been touched before. When she says your name, you think it was she who named you. When she has gone, you bury your face in the pillow to smell her hair and you lie awake at night remembering your face in her neck, her breathing and the amazing smell of her skin. Your eyes go wet because you want her so bad and miss her so much.

Now that is worth the miles and the time. That matches the inferno of life.

Otherwise you poison each other with your presence day after day as you drag each other through the inevitable mundane aspects of your lives. That is the slow death that I see slapped on faces everywhere I go. It’s part of the world’s sadness that’s more empty than cold, poorly lit rooms."

- Henry Rollins

From Tina Tagle's Blog

Baked Mussles with Pamesan Cheese

I was asked several times by some of my friends to share the recipes of the food I cooked on my Mom's birthday. The most requested recipe is for the Baked Mussles so I decided to put it in my priority list. It is so simple and easy to make. To those avid readers from the Philippines, this will surely be a treat because I know that mussels are so cheap there. But for those living abroad, this is best served during parties. I can guarantee you that this will be one of the most sought after food you could ever serve. The best thing about this recipe is, it is not like the regular baked mussles which is usually dry and chewy. The flavour of the mussle is locked in while it is baked because of the mayonnaise. Yes, there is mayonnaise. And I can guarantee you that if you do this right, you will never go back to the old style.

I will be updating the photos by next week since I will be preparing my aunt's baby shower. She requested me to make A LOT of this dish so for now, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Baked Mussles with Parmesan cheese

2lbs Mussles( remove one side of the shell)
1/2 cup minced garlic
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean mussles and place in a baking pan. Cook garlic in butter until golden brown. In a separate bowl mix the mayonnaise,lemon juice,cayenne pepper,sugar, salt and cheese. Adjust the taste according to how sweet you want it. Drizzle the Garlic butter into the mussles then cover each mussle with the mayonnaise mixture. Then garnish with green onions. Bake for 15 minutes or once the surface becomes golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

When there is limited resources in a demanding environment aka our house, when it comes to food, creativity is very essential to satisfy my family. We love our food and we are not easily fooled by presentation because being Filipino, the taste of the food is always the priority.

During Holy week, our family from Ohio decided to pay us a visit here. My Ilocano cousin is married to an American which made it difficult to serve food because Ilocanos love their bagoong. Let's admit that bagoong has a very offensive smell especially to those who are not used to it. And if the ratio of the people who loves bagoong against those who dislike it is 9:1, I guess we all know what it must be like for my cousin's husband. I was quite concerned because I was afraid that he might end up not eating for days. And so I decided to make a separate dish for him that special evening.

I actually didn't prepare for this special dish. I just saw a couple of Frozen Basa Fillet in the freezer, some Japanese bread crumbs and Pineapple chunks. Initially, I planned to just cook a plain Fried Fish Fillet that my girlfriend taught me but I thought it would be better if I make a sauce. Though it is probably cheaper to buy a bottle of sweet and sour sauce, I still decided to make it from scratch. I love the homemade sweet and sour sauce that I made. It has a perfect balance sweetness with a hint of sour taste. The good thing about doing it from scratch is that it will give you a chance to enhance its flavour to suit your taste.

Here is my recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

2 lbs Fish Fillet( I suggest Basa Fillet or Cream Dory)
2 tablespoons garlic(minced)
1 egg(beaten)
2 cups of Japanese Bread Crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooking oil


Slice the fish according to the size you want, add the garlic, salt and pepper and marinade it for 30 minutes. Then add the beaten egg into the marinated fish then coat the fish fillet with bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup Pineapple juice
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
 3 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Saute the garlic and onions. The add all the liquid ingredients and brown sugar, adjust the taste before adding the bell pepper, celery,carrots and pineapple chunks. After a minute, pour the cornstarch dissolved in water until thick. Then add the fish fillet. Serve while hot.

Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Red is the color of  love and passion. This is probably the reason why this kind of cake is one of the best thing ever created in the history of baking. One look and you'll helplessly fall inlove with its taste and color. Top it off with a rich, smooth and creamy whipped cream cheese frosting. One bite and you're in heaven.

Hmm...Ok.... I think I got carried away.

A few months ago, I was craving for La Rocca Red Velvet cake but of course, it is always out of stock. It is one of those cakes where you have to try once in your life. I tried to fight the craving but when I raided our cupboard and fridge, I had every single ingredient to make this delectable treat. I was afraid that I will fail since it is the first time I will try making it but my urge is so much stronger than my fear, and so I gave in and I never looked back. I'm glad I did, because if not, I would never ever feel that glorious feeling on my first bite of this luscious creation. Here is the recipe. I hope you will love it as much as I did.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Red Velvet Cupcakes: 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Cream Cheese Frosting: 8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted 2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12  muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream* (See Note) and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Note: You must use a brand of heavy cream that whips very easily to stiff peaks. If you are using a brand of heavy cream that does not whip easily to stiff peaks then whip the heavy cream separately to stiff peaks and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

 

I got this recipe from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html#ixzz2TKLuqThC