The perfect Breaky to start the day! ( Tapsilog)

Tapsilog is the perfect breakfast for me. I love ♥ the fried cured beef strips( tapa), fried rice(sinangag) and fried egg(itlog)  combination ☺. Tapsilog is also popular in my country Philippines and I must say one of the staple food of all Filipinos. The tapa is usually made by marinating the beef in a special sauce or mixture and then drying it out in the sun. This process gives it that sweet, savory flavor and slightly chewy texture. Of course I skip the drying process since it is not that sunny here but I assure you that it still like the tapa that you’ve craved.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef sirloin, cut into very thin strips then tendered
• 1 head garlic,  minced
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper

 For Sinangag or Garlic Fried Rice:

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt to taste

For Fried Egg or Pritong Itlog:

• 4  eggs
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Put the soy sauce, vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl or in a freezer bag. Mix it well.

2. Add meat. Let it marinate overnight, or at least 1 hr.

3. When done marinating, drain then fry the meat in a pan, with 2 Tbsp cooking oil, over medium low heat just until cooked through (or if you want, until crispy). Put 5-6 strips per plate. Set aside.

4. Make garlic fried rice in the same pan. Saute the garlic until golden brown. Add the rice. Break it down and mix it well, so the oil gets on all the rice. Add salt to suit your taste. Fill a cup  with rice. Put cup upside down on the plate beside the beef strips then lift.

5. Serve with fried egg and enjoy!♥

Recipe from Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner

 

For my Love ( Toblerone Cheesecake)

This post is for the one I love. My husband would always ask me why I am blogging? and if there is something I get or what benefits I get from doing it? I just answered him with a smile and would tell him that blogging is my way of expressing myself. My blog is my online recipe diary where I explore and showcase dishes .  Anyway, as for the benefits I guess blogging makes me happy and keeps me sane harhar. Before my only purpose was just to document and post all the recipes that I’ve tried but suddenly there were fellow bloggers and followers recognized or appreciated what I’m doing and that motivates me to never stop blogging and just keep my journey in discovering new recipes that I can share with you all :)

The title post says for my love it’s because this recipe is  for my husband who loves eating toblerone.  At first he tried to stop me to touch his chocolates but I insisted because my cream cheese would be out of date soon and just promised him that I will just transform his Toblerone into something delectable .:) He loves it of course!

 

Ingredients

• 150 g digestive biscuit crumbs
• 50 g butter
• 300 g Philadelphia  cream cheese
• 175 g Toblerone Milk, melted
• 200 ml whipping cream, lightly whipped
• 25 g Toblerone Milk, for shavings

Instructions

Combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and press into the base of a lightly greased  springform tin. Chill

Beat the Philadelphia until smooth, quickly fold in the lightly whipped cream and melted Toblerone until well combined.

Pour onto the prepared crumb base and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with Toblerone shavings.

Recipe from Philadelphia.co.uk

Macapuno Espasol

Honestly, the first time I tried eating espasol I could say that I don’t like it. I don’t know, am I weird? as most of the Filipinos in the gathering really loves it and my husband is  a big fan of it too. I began to think  I’m really weird as I’ve read that espasol is one of the favorite kakanin of many Filipinos. Then I thought that maybe there’s something special in espasol that I need to discover. Then I searched for recipes and have read that adding  macapuno, pinipig, jack fruit or any flavorings  you want  really makes the espasol special and delicious.  I have a jar of macapuno so I tried adding it to the recipe and I am happy to tell you that I fell in love with the espasol (:. I can say that I am now a fan of espasol :) It’s really delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups glutinous rice flour
• 1 14-oz. can coconut cream
• 1/4 cup sugar or less (depending on your taste preference)
• 1 cup macapuno
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt

Procedure:

1. In a pan, toast the glutinous rice flour over medium heat for about 25 minutes or until light brown. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix coconut cream and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add the macapuno, salt, and vanilla extract and bring to a gentle boil.

4. Gradually add 2 cups toasted glutinous rice flour  while stirring. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly,  for 30 minutes or until you get a soft dough-like consistency.

5. Remove from heat and let cool for a while.

6. You can divide it into balls and roll each ball into a mini log  and dredged it in the remaining toasted flour.

Luscious lemon squares…

I am always on the search for a new dessert or dish that I can try on. Luckily, as I browse the page of one of my favorite blogger she got a new post which really captures my heart. The way she describe her lemon bars is just really enticing that after reading it I want to bake it at that very moment. And so I search for more recipes and know more about this famous lemon bars. I admit I don’t know lemon bars and had never tried it.  I also found this..

A proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune.

So yeah, when life will give me lemons I would definitely make it into luscious lemon bars :). I would say this recipe is just perfect for me not that tangy and it  melts in the mouth and it’s heavenly as Heart of Mary describe it in her post.

LEMON SQUARES

Ingredients:
Note: I did some substitution on  some ingredients as it  is not available in my pantry.
For the pastry:
1 cup salted butter, cut into cubes ( I used unsalted butter and just added pinch of salt)
½ cup powdered/icing sugar
2 cups plain flour

For the filling:
½ cup plus 2 tbsp plain flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp Salt
5 large eggs
1 ½ cup plus 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1 tsp lemon extract( I used 1 tsp lemon zest )

zest of one lemon (optional, if you prefer it to be more tangy) I didn’t put mine more zest as I don’t like very tangy.
powdered/icing sugar for dusting

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 deg C (350F)  Line a 9×13 baking pan with baking paper. (I use a rectangular springform pan which makes it so easy to remove the lemon squares.)
2.  In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the pastry until it forms a dough.  Gather dough into a ball.
3.  Press the dough onto your baking pan. Spread it as evenly as possible.

4.  Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes then bake in the oven for 25 minutes.  After the pastry is baked, take it out but leave the oven on.
5.  While the pastry is baking, prepare your filling.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
6.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, starting from a low speed gradually increasing to high.
7.  Slowly add in the sugar.  Beat the mixture until it is very light yellow in colour and it has quadrupled in volume.
8.  With mixer on lowest speed, add in the lemon juice, lemon extract and zest, if using.  Lastly, add in the flour.  Mix only until everything is combined.
9.  Pour the filling on top of the warm, baked pastry.  Place pan back in the oven, lower the temperature to 160 deg C (325F) and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.  Baked filling should be very light golden brown.
10.  Move pan to a wire rack.  Let cool completely before slicing into squares.  Dust top generously with icing sugar.

Velvet cupcakes

Yes! I just call mine velvet cupcakes instead of the popular red velvet cake and why? simply because it is not that red to be called red velvet cupcakes :) kidding aside. Anyway, it is still the red velvet cupcake but I opted not to add more red food coloring.  Sometimes , if I have this recipe to try on I have this attitude not to follow what the recipe is asking for. So with this recipe I did not put the required amount of food coloring. I was not after the red color after all but of course the outcome and  taste of this velvet cupcakes :) .I was not disappointed the cupcakes and cream cheese frosting has just the exact amount of sweetness:)

Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Procedure :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda.  Yes, it will fizz!  Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake cups with cake batter (they should be 2/3 – 3/4 full).  You may not fill all the cups, I ended up with 20 cupcakes.  Place muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(Will frost about 20 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
1 bar (250g) cream cheese, cold, cut up into small cubes
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered/icing sugar, sifted

Procedure:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter for a few seconds.  Add in the cubed cream cheese and vanilla extract.Beat until combined.

Add powdered sugar in 3 additions.  Beat only until the mixture is smooth.  Over beating will make the frosting go soft.

Frost the cupcakes and decorate the way you want it :)

 

The recipe is from  Pinch My Salt.

The frosting is from Heart of Mary.

Chef Boy Logro version of Pata Tim

As I mentioned before Chef Boy  Logro is a well- known chef in my country Philippines. I admire him not just because he is a very good cook but because of his humble beginnings before becoming the popular chef not just in Philippines but also in some countries. Anyway, he has this cooking show that I love to watch. He is very entertaining and the show is very helpful  especially to those people who doesn’t know how to cook a dish and he will teach you to recreate the usual dish  that we used to cook.  I already shared Pata Tim  recipe before but the verdict is I love Chef Boy version :)

Ingredients:

• 1.2-1.5 kilo pork legs (pata front)
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 pcs. star anise
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup rice wine
• 1 tsp. black peppercorn
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• ¼ cup slurry
• 5 pcs. baby bokchoy, blanched
• 10 shiitake mushrooms

Procedure:

• 1. Place the pata in a casserole with 6 cups of water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, pepper corns and bring to a boil.
• 2. Add the star anise and sesame oil, simmer for an hour, or until pork is tender.
• 3. Remove the pork and set aside, then add slurry to the pot. Let it simmer until sauce is glossy and thickened.
• 4. Blanch the bokchoy and shitake mushroom in boiling water seasoned with salt.
• 5. To serve, place the pork in the middle of a serving dish then serve with blanched bokchoy,shitake mushrooms and lastly pour the sauce over the pork and vegetables.
• 6. Garnish with spring onions and serve with rice.

Recipe from - Idol Sa Kusina 

Rice cake muffins (PUTO) with cheese and salted egg

My husband has craved for this particular rice cake from our hometown in Philippines but I haven’t found the recipe . I tried different recipes but still it is not the one he was looking for  until I tried this recipe and he said he loves it, it’s “delicious” and it is quiet close to the puto he’s been craving for a while now.  So I’m happy to share the recipe and hope you can try it for yourself:)

Ingredients :

1  cup rice flour
1/2  cup cake flour
2 1/4  teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup + 2T evaporated milk
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Pinch of food coloring, if desired
Small chunks of or finely grated cheddar cheese

Procedure :

In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients together.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not over mix.

Heat water in bottom pan of steamer until water boils rapidly. Wrap steamer cover with a towel.

Grease puto molds or mini muffin pans then scoop puto batter into molds,  3/4 full.Top with grated cheese and salted egg. Decrease heat to medium then steam puto for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from the molds.

The recipe is from my favorite blogger  Heart of Mary.