Because there was half a loaf of stale and crusty rye bread in the freezer, leftover carton of buttermilk and a jar of really good maple syrup which my cousin carefully shipped via balikbayan box because I insisted I wanted it for my birthday…

Idea! ting! ting! ting!!! 

French toast!

Ingredients:

1. Milk (Any kind! I mixed heavy cream and buttermilk for this one.)

2. Brown sugar (For color and flavor!)

3. 2 eggs

4. A teaspoon (or so) of vanilla

5. Cinnamon (optional)

6. Butter

7. Maple / Maple-flavored syrup 

8. Ice cream!!! (MANDATORY. Srsly. I used Caramel Pecan)

Again, I’m sorry, I don’t measure when I cook. Just mix ingredients 1-5 together. Dip and soak the bread until they’re soft and mushy but still able to hold itself together. 

Melt butter in a non-stick pan and fry the bread until toasty brown on the outside. Place the yummy things on a plate, top with a huge chunk of butter and a scoop (or two) of ice cream and drizzle with lots of syrup. 

Enjoy! :) 

Because studying is such a chore and I’d rather busy myself with something else, I volunteered to cook dinner for the family. And, since I missed their Cyma dinner the other day (and because I’m selfish) I decided to make Greek food. Haha.

Tabbouleh - parsley, tomatoes, onions, garlic and pine nuts, add a dash of salt and squeeze in the juice of one lemon.

Fish and chicken kebabs - marinade chicken/fish with oil, worcestershire sauce, yogurt, mustard, lemon juice/vinegar, salt, pepper and a bit of soy sauce. Arrange chicken / fish, tomatoes and zucchini alternately. Grill. Eat. Be happy.

Lamb chops - marinade with red wine and mustard. Leave inside sealed plastic bag overnight. 

Spaghetti Aglio et Olio - Olive oil and garlic + Freshly shaved parmesan cheese and sprinkle with fresh basil leaves. Yum! 

Saturdays with the family are the best. ❤ 

Back to reality. Hello, Sales book. 

Ingredients:

Kellogs Rice Krispies

Butter

Marshmallows

1. Melt butter on low heat. Make sure you don’t burn it! 

2. Add the marshmallows. Mix well with butter. Wait until the marshmallows start to melt. They’re perfect right about when they get sort of sticky and start to lump together. But make sure you don’t over melt (?) the marshmallows or else your rice krispies treats would end up super hard. No one likes a treat they can’t bite into. :(

3. Add the rice krispies and mix well. It’s good to coat your spoon with butter so it doesn’t stick to it. 

4. Pour everything into a well-buttered pan or a pan covered with parchment paper. Pack it in good by pressing the mixture down with a wooden spoon (a masher works well, too!) 

5. When it’s cool enough to touch, cut into squares and serve! 

Super easy and super fast to make!

Perfect with a mug of warm milk and a good movie on a rainy day like today ❤ Enjoy! 

For someone who loves everything extra hot and spicy, I found myself waving the white flag after 4 straight days of untamed Thai food. So, on our 5th night, after a day of battling it out with the heat and the crowd in Chatuchak Market, my family and I decided to take a break from anything Thai. We found ourselves in Aldo’s, a Mediterranean restaurant just a few steps away from our hotel.

For starters, they served freshly baked ciabatta and french bread with olive oil and reaaaaallyyyy good balsamic vinegar. It was rich and syrupy and had the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. 

Costoletta Milanse - Frenched cutlet of lamb in spicy rosemary and red wine reduction served with oven roasted cayenne potatoes

Coq Au Vin - Rooster meat braised in red wine, portobello mushrooms and onions served on top of potato scallopini 

Pollo alla Boscaiola - Spring chicken with porcini sauce served with thick cut fries with truffle oil and a side salad of boston lettuce tossed in Aldo’s special vinaigrette

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Kiwi and Raspberry Sauce and Raspberry Sorbet

Butterscotch Ice Cream with Candied Walnuts and Dark Chocolate

Aside from really good food, the ambiance was great. I suggest you dine al fresco - they have Moroccan-inspired casitas by the pool with really pretty and flowy curtains. The inside was nice too, although I did find the atmosphere to be a little uptight for my liking. 

All in all, it was the perfect breather I needed. I would definitely go here again if only it wasn’t a plane ride away. 

Half an hour after I devoured the half-pound burger at Grams, I got a text from my mom:

“Hurry home. On tonight’s menu:

Roasted lamb ribs in red wine and mustard reduction.

Roasted potatoes and onions with sun dried tomatoes.

Buy white kidney beans and garbanzos, make hummus when you get home. We have freshly baked pita bread c/o Enzo. Love you. Text me when you’re near.”

Feelings of regret, hopelessness and confusion suddenly rushed in. But before I let them get the best of me, I prayed: “I need to digest this burger to make room for tonight’s dinner. So help me God.” (I really did, no kidding.)

Enzo’s freshly baked pita bread! (I’m so proud of that kid! *tear*) and my hummus. Plus other dipping condiments: balsamic vinegar, mom’s homemade chili oil and EVOO. :)

Mom’s creation: Stewed and then roasted lamb ribs which she paired with red wine and mustard reduction sauce and roasted potatoes with onions, basil, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. The meat was super tender and flavorful and was falling off the bone. Win.

Forgive this post’s incoherence and lack of a proper conclusion. I’m too full to function. (Heyyyyy, that rhymes!!) 

A good noodle dish for the summer. :)

Ingredients

Noodles:

• 1 12oz packageDried buckwheat noodles 
• Sesame Oil
• 1/2 Cucumber, cut into thin strips
• 1 sheet of Nori, cut into thin strips

Tsuyu:

• 1 1/4 cups Dashi Stock
• 1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Mirin
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Onion leaves, chopped 
• Sesame seeds
• 1 raw quail egg yolk

For the noodles: 

1. Boil the noodles until al dente. Remove from heat. Transfer noodles into a strainer and rinse with cold running water. This step stops the cooking process and makes sure your noodles don’t stick together.

2. Toss noodles with a few dashes of sesame oil. Store in a cool place.

For the dipping sauce:

1. Add the dashi (Dashi is usually kelp / shiitake mushroom stock), soy sauce, mirin and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, then remove from heat and cool.

2. Add sesame seeds, green onions and finish with few dashes of sesame oil. Top with raw quail egg yolk.

Neatly arrange the buckwheat noodles on your serving plate. Decorate with cold cucumber slices and nori. Serve with the dipping sauce. Enjoy! :)

I’ve always been intimidated by pie crusts because they seem so delicate and complicated to make. But, after a few not so successful attempts, I learned that sticking to the recipe, being precise about the measurements and following the instructions to the dot really make a difference. 

For the pie, I’m using Simply Recipe’s Old Fashioned Apple Pie recipe but altered the filling to make room for peach. (I am not a fan of apple, sorry.)

Crust Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds or almond flour (can substitute 1/2 cup flour if you don’t have almonds)
• 16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled in freezer for at least 15 minutes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 to 6 Tbsp water, very cold

Filling Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 pounds of 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices of peeled and cored good cooking apples such as Granny Smith, Pippin, Golden Delicious
• 1pound diced peaches
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, combine flour, almonds, salt and brown sugar. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. You know its ready when you try to pinch the dough and it holds together.

Shape the dough into 2 discs. Make sure you don’t over mix / knead. For a flaky crust, chunks of butter should still show. Chill in the fridge.

Preheat to 375°F. Combine sugar, flour and spices in large bowl. Use your hands and mix in the apples and peaches so they are well coated, then add brandy and vanilla extract.

Remove one crust disk from the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle, 1/8 of an inch thick. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.

Spoon in apple and peach filling into the crust.

Roll out second disk of dough. Gently turn over onto the top of the apples in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.

Stir yolk and cream in small bowl to blend. Brush over top of pie. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Bake pie until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F. Tent the rims with aluminum foil or a pie protector if the edges are browning too quickly. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, anywhere from an additional 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the type of apples you are using. Transfer to rack; let stand 1 hour. 

Serve your pie warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream (soften ordinary vanilla ice cream and mix with vanilla beans from the pod and freeze again) and if you have extra calories to spare, drizzle with caramel sauce. Enjoy!

Because it’s mothers’ day, I’m making mom’s favorite dessert - leche flan.

Leche flan is super easy to make and requires only 3 ingredients: eggs, milk and sugar.

For an 8-inch round pan, you would need:

9 large egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk 

1 cup sugar and just enough water to give the sugar the consistency of wet sand for the caramel

You can add a teaspoon of vanilla or lemon zest (or both) to the mixture but I prefer it with just the eggs and milk. 

Caramelize the sugar and water on a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan.  Once you’ve got the sugar caramelized to a nice golden color, coat the bottom and a portion of the sides of your round pan with the caramel. (Make sure you don’t burn the sugar or else it’ll turn out too dark and bitter.)

My lola’s recipe uses duck eggs and carabao milk. Since I have neither, I’m using chicken eggs and replaced carabao’s milk with evaporated milk. In a bowl, gently whisk the eggs then add the condensed milk and evaporated milk. Whisk some more until the ingredients are well blended but make sure not to over mix to avoid bubbles. Strain the mixture then transfer to the 8-inch round pan with the caramelized sugar.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a steamer. It should be done in about 45-60 minutes. If you don’t have a steamer, you can cook your leche flan in the oven but make sure you place the pan on a water bath (just like how you would bake a cheesecake) and bake at 350F. When it’s done, let it cool then chill in the fridge for a few hours.

To serve, cover the pan with the serving platter and in one swift move, flip it. Carefully lift the pan and watch in amazement how the caramelized sugar smoothly glazes the top of the flan and how it gracefully slides down onto the platter to make a pool of sweet, syrupy goodness. And, look mom! No unsightly bubbles! Perfect. :)

Happy moms’ day! ❤

Papa John’s (Didi and Millie’s Date Series)

My special guests for tonight:

Ms. Celine Dee (Didi)

and Mr. Miguel Gabionza dropped by for some post-dinner milk tea at FruiTEAmix :) 

Didi and Millie ordered:

Fisherman’s Catch Pizza (P300) - Shrimps and calamari with green peppers, caramelized onions, cheese and Papa John’s signature garlic sauce. They serve their pizzas with peperoncini and garlic butter (shout out to Ms. Pat Pena!) 

Baked Italian Meatballs (P140) - Beef balls prepared with herbs and spices and baked with pizza sauce and cheese.

Surprisingly, although both Celine and I prefer thin crust pizzas, we enjoyed Papa John’s thick crust which was crisp on the outside but chewy on the inside. The peperoncini and the garlic butter made the whole eating experience even more delightful. We bit, dipped and enjoyed! (Papa John’s paper placemat FTW!) The meatballs were a little too beefy / meaty for my taste but the pizza sauce and melted cheese saved the dish.

After dinner, we drove to Connecticut to try out Fruiteamix. We both got medium Premium milk tea (P85) with pearls for Celine and egg pudding for mine. Perfect way to end the night. :)

Date night was fun, guys! Let’s do this again soon! 

P.S.

He must be apprehended and be forced to repent.

—-

Papa John’s: # 53-B Annapolis Street, Greenhills, San Juan City. (632) 721-9676 or (632) 722-2612

Fruiteamix: #57 Connecticut Street, Northeast Greenhills, San Juan. (632) 

655-0011

Maxwell Road Food Centre :)

For starters, we tried Special Handmade Taufu which is handmade (duh) tofu, fried, braised in special sauce, fried a second time and then topped with super yummy sauce, scallions, chili and fried onions. The outside was crispy and the inside was creamy and soft and just… magical. I loved this dish! 

We also had Popiah, a Fuijian spring roll variety made with glass noodles, egg, lettuce, scallions, shredded jicama, beansprouts, peanut sauce and chili wrapped in thin wheat flour crepes.

For my main course, I was intrigued to try Tian Tian’s Hainanese meal because the queue was so long I assumed it would be exceptional.

Er. It was okay. Haha. 

Mom and I also tried Geylang Eminent Frog Porridge - stewed frog legs with scallions and dried chili served with plain rice porridge.

Delicious stuff. Frog legs were tender and tasty. I would’ve prefered to eat it with steamed rice or sinangag (Sorry, Pilipino ako eh. Haha.) 

For dessert I got grass jelly with mangoes (and other stuff in Chinese I didn’t really understand) with milk on shaved ice.

For drinks, I tried iced darjeeling tea with grass jelly while my brother got milk tea grass jelly. 

I shall dub thee as Eia’s best meal in Singapore. ❤