Sunday, June 12, 2011

12 June 2011 - Happy Birthday, Bessie Yen!


With you, I’ve found the best friend
Someone who I know will be there till the end
And they’re not just thoughts I hope will fulfill
But thoughts that will stand forever still

Still as the wind on a hot summer’s day
Still as your friendship I’ll never betray
Still as the characters in a photograph
Still as your breathless, silent laugh

With you, I’ve found the best friend
A mind that I can comprehend
A person I see is so much like me
A mutual relationship so carefree

Carefree as a child who questions the world
Carefree as a scream that goes unheard
Carefree as an adult blessed with a dream
Carefree as water flowing downstream

With you, I’ve found the best friend
With whom I can be real, and never pretend
You’ve always been someone unique from the rest
You hold a piece of me no other can possess

With you, I have the perfect friend
Happy Birthday Bes!

Miss yah loads!

12 June 2011 - Happy Birthday, Nanay!


Happy Birthday to my dearest Nanay Lulu

I thanked God for giving me
the best mother in the world.
I wish that I can make
every second, minute, hour,
 day and year of your life
be filled with the kind of 
comfort, security, and happiness
that you give unfailingly to me.
Without you, there would be
a gaping hole in my life, an emptiness
that only your presence
and Love can fill.
Thank you, Nanay, for all that you do,
for the extraordinary person you are.
May God grant you good health, 
more blessing and long life.
I love you so much.
Happy Birthday!





Tuesday, June 7, 2011

i baKe - Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls


Cinnamon rolls brings back Starbucks memories to me. This sweet, sticky, sinful and utterly delicious treat  I usually have with my Soy Latte. Sitting on a window seat of the coffeeshop watching the world go by. Going shopping alone or sharing a cuppa with R or my bes Yen and enjoying an hour or two of peace - it's definitely one of those treasured moments from my London days...


I love cinnamon!
It has this irresistible aroma of yumminess especially coming from baked goodies fresh from the oven.
This afternoon, while its not busy in the kitchen, I dug out my old culinary school book and looked up for the Cinnamon roll recipe. But before it got finally baked in the oven I have to go through some kitchen dilemma yet. First, I came across a Custard cake recipe which made me torn between which one to bake. I have to ask my family's opinion on this since they're the ones I share this with otherwise I will end up eating it all! LoL! Even if I  have already changed my mind and go for the custard cake, majority wins so Cinnamon roll it is! Second dilemma, when I was doing my mise en place, I found out that the jar where we kept out dry active yeast was not tightly sealed. Ggrrr...I nearly lose my temper on this because the jar was still almost full and it is an imported yeast which we can't easily buy here in KC (Kidapawan City) or even in DC (Davao City). Well, I did the bloom test and they seemed to be half alive/active. LoL! And third, when I was kneading the dough and leaving it to proof, the sun was still out and it was fairly  a hot afternoon. However after barely an hour, the weather turned overcast and shortly started to rain resulting my dough not to rise enough as I expected. Either that or because the yeast was only half alive. Ha!
Anyways, after all these dilemmas the cinnamon rolls made its way into the oven in the end. And when it came out they were just like what my friend Ma-ane said "it looks good...tamang tama for kape and this rainy weather." exactly how we had enjoyed it this afternoon.

The rolls are warm soft - straight out from the oven! Oh and indulging into cinnamon rolls is incomplete without the "unhealthy royal icing drizzle"= ecstasy!



Fact: The cinnamon roll is thought to have been invented in Sweden where it takes the name kanelbulle (literally: “cinnamon bun”). On October 4, “kanelbullens dag” (Cinnamon roll day) is celebrated in Sweden. (-Wiki)

Cinnamon Roll

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsps dry active yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup dried buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3-4 cups APF (all purpose flour)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsps salt
2 pcs eggs, lightly beaten

eggwash:
1 egg + 1/4 cup water, beaten

cinnamon sugar:
3/4 cup brown sugar 
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Mix yeast and 1 tbsp sugar (from the 1/2 cup). Add lukewarm water and let bloom. Stir in buttermilk, sugar, water, melted butter, salt, lightly beaten eggs and flour ( use as little as possible, will add more while kneading). Mix well. Turn into a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding some flour. When done, shape into a ball and cover with cling wrap and let it rise in a warm place until double in size.

2. After it has risen, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll out each half into a rectangle. Paint each with eggwash then sprinkle with the half of the cinnamon sugar. Roll the rectangles jelly roll style. Tuck sides inwards. Cut then 1 inch thick or depends how you thick want it. Let rise again until double. Brush with the remaining eggwash and bake in a pre-heated oven 375F for 30 minutes.
Serve warm and drizzle with thin royal icing.

Enjoy!



Monday, June 6, 2011

'Superhands' chef

Dipping his hands into HOT BOILING fat this chef takes his cooking to the extreme!



Kann 'Superhands' Trichan from Chang Mai Thailand can bury his hands deep into hot boiling fat and sieve fried chicken with his own fingers without burning or blistering his skin. 

Record breaker: Kann Trichan can pluck 20 pieces of chicken from 480C fat in a minute!