Crepe Party!

make your own crepe combos

My friend, Kitsie, hosted a crepe party at her home last weekend. She came from Melbourne and will  be going to Babuyan Islands tomorrow for a month. We've been talking about having our a crepe party through Skype for a couple of weeks.

C and I also slept over at her place afterwards since he didn't want to feel left out, haha. Slumber party!

Kits prepared everything (I helped sautee), made crepes and lángos (the fried stuff in the photo above).  Lángos originated from Hungary and it's deep-fried dough topped with sour cream, garlic, and shredded cheese. I'll try making it myself soon!

Crepes are very versatile. You can put in anything you want (in our case, we had sausage, all kinds of cheese, ham, spinach, capers, sour cream, bananas, jam, Nutella, maple syrup, and different kinds of condiments) and can be a main entree or dessert, depending on what you put in it. You can also fold your crepe in different ways - folded in half, fold over the edges to make a rectangle ala Cafe Breton, or just roll it like a shawarma wrap!

Pretty much anything goes during a crepe party and making your own combinations adds to its appeal. Just add drinks, good music, and fun friends!

{food files} Truffle Oil

Available in Terry's Selection Podium

Real truffles are very expensive and most probably mid-range restaurants only use white truffle oil in their dishes. White truffle oil is synthetically made and some turn their noses up at it (like the Masterchef judges). But if you're just a neophyte like me and just want to add a pungent kick to your food, then this is something you'd want in your kitchen. Mine was a gift from C and I often drizzle it on creamy or cheesy dishes especially if I want to feel a little fancy. Aside from using it in pasta, you may also add it to popcorn along with parmesan cheese and your choice of herbs. Also try it with fries or any potato-based dish! Buying your own bottle is more economical than ordering a "truffled" dish in a restaurant. 

Food Files

Creamy Chicken Pasta with White Truffle Oil

Scones/Biscuits

Perfect with butter and jam

I'm surrounded by people who makes good food so it took me this long to start learning how to cook and bake. As seen in my previous posts, my creations do not look perfect and sometimes I wish they could taste better. But I learn new things whenever I try out new recipes and I take each to heart. Some people say that you could taste the cook's emotions in what she makes. Your sadness translated to the salt you put in, your happiness wafting through like the different aromas coming from the pot, your anger let out by kneading dough. It's very therapeutic for me but I wish I could be less messy!

My proudest moment so far is when my grandmother complimented the biscuits I baked. She's a really good cook (and was a nutritionist until she retired) and often gives me advice whenever I make her sample what I made. When I made the lemon yoghurt cake she said it was a bit dry and burnt so she gave me scientific tips on baking. But when I let her taste the biscuits right after baking it, she happily munched on it and asked if she can have more because it's a perfect afternoon snack. Such a big deal for me, coming from the person whose cooking skills I admire the most. :)

spice girl

no, I'm not talking about a popular 90's girl band :p

McCormick through the years

funny brand name

I was cleaning and reorganizing my lola's (grandmother's) spice cabinet and found these really old bottles and tins. The parsley flakes are older than me and the tins are at least 15 years old! She said she kept these because she found the packaging cute and wanted to reuse them but never got to. I washed and kept some of  them - I reused a few bottles for storing spices that are packed in plastic. I'm still thinking of a way to reuse the tins, maybe use them as candle holders?

I now use the spice cabinet and I'm slowly organizing the kitchen so it can be used more efficiently. C and I are planning to repaint and renovate the house a little. I can't wait for this to happen :) 

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

It's my first time to bake from scratch on my own!

I needed a break from chocolate so I chose this simple recipe.

bless this mess

it came out looking a bit burnt

but it was yummy :)

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

From Cooking for Two by Vicky Veloso Barrera (Anvil Publishing)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
grated rind of one lemon
powdered sugar for topping

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a mixing bowl, gradually adding the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Using a wooden spoon, stir in one third of the flour into the butter mixture. Add half of the yoghurt. Continue alternating the flour and yoghurt, beating after each addition. Blend in the lemon peel. Pour the batter into a buttered and greased 9" x 5" loaf pan and bake at 350 F(180 C) for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. When cool, dust the top generously with powdered sugar.

Notes:

• No need to use an electric mixer
• I halved the recipe because I only have a smaller loaf pan. It was a fun math problem.
• I halved a whole egg by putting it in a separate container first

Today's Lunch

butter + leftover pesto

seriously, it's more delicious than it looks

stuffed tomatoes

I made pesto a few days ago and I only realized how messy it is to make but it was worth it because it tastes A LOT better than store-bought ones. I mixed some leftover pesto with butter which looked kind of yucky but tasted great. We also had some leftover nacho toppings from the other night (spring onions, longganisa, and tomatoes) which was mixed with rice to make sinangag.

To start the Chinese new year on a healthy note, I made stuffed tomatoes for lunch. It was very easy to make and looked really good. I originally wanted to put kesong puti (white cheese) in it but since it wasn't available, I used cottage cheese instead. Here are the basic steps on how to make it:

Easy-peasy Stuffed Tomatoes

1. Make tomato cups by cutting a thin slice on top and scooping out the center.
2. Drizzle the center with olive oil and season with your choice of spices (oregano is a good choice), salt and pepper. 
3. Bake/toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until a bit brown.
4. Remove the cups from the oven, spoon out the oil and spices and set it aside.
5. Fill the cups with your choice of cheese (I used cottage cheese mixed with coriander but any white or melty cheese works).
6. Drizzle the removed oil on top of the cheese. Bake/toast for another 5 minutes.

Pair with buttered toasted bread to make a hearty and healthy meal!