(Post) Son's Birthday Goodies

Hi Everyone,

Remember that post I did about those scrumptious Vanilla Cupcakes? Well, I wanted to show you the end product of it after it's been decorated. As I mentioned, my son's birthday theme was Disney's Cars2! So here are some pictures that I had promised even though it's a couple of days late :)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Disney's Cars2 Cupcake Rings! I ordered them from Amazon

Aside from adding the cupcake rings, I also added these RACE checkered flag picks to the cupcakes too!

These are added on favors. This was just a plain sugar cookie . I did not have time to make my own, so I went ahead and ordered it from an organic shop called Parties "R" Personal

Cheers,
Darlene

Shrimp Cakes w/ Avocado Salsa

Hello Everyone! It's a holiday for me today which equals too some time on my blog! I've been meaning to post this recipe for a long time, it's just that every time I make these delicious shrimp cakes I always forget to take pictures of the steps.

Our family friend Mel was the one who introduced these shrimp cakes to me when I had her family over dinner one night. My husband and I totally love this dish!

It's actually called Spicy Shrimp Cakes that got adopted from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-shrimp-cakes-with-corn-avocado-salsa-10000001545774/.

I for one am not too much on making the food spicy however it does depend on what your making at the time. If you want some heat, then you can surely add Hot Sauce to both the cakes and the salsa. I omitted adding that. It will depend on the crowd you will have for lunch or dinner. I guess a little heat won't be bad, you can add some red chili pepper flakes as well instead of the hot sauce or even a jalapeño.

This dish is great for spring parties or summer picnics. You can either eat it as is (the cakes are so flavorful) or with the side of avocado salsa. I've been bringing these shrimp cakes to office parties and are usually a hit! I just brought these to our recent Valentine's Day potluck at work and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Ok, enough of me rambling on, let's get to the ingredients on how to make these:

• Cakes:
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce 
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
• Salsa:
• 1 cup frozen white corn, thawed
• 3/4 cup diced peeled avocado 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded poblano pepper 
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. To prepare cakes, place shrimp in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely chopped. Set aside.  
2. **If you do not own a food processor, your other option would be buying shrimp paste already prepared for you at any Asian Markets.  A cuisine art mini food processor will do, it's less expensive to buy. So, it would be great to just have one around the house, that's what I use. I do it small batches as it can only hold so many. 
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic to pan; sauté for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place bell pepper mixture in a large bowl. Add shrimp, green onions, and the next 6 ingredients (through egg), stirring well. Stir in cilantro and 1/4 cup panko.
4. Divide shrimp mixture into 10 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Dredge both sides of patties in remaining 1/2 cup panko. Chill at least one hour.
5. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 5 cakes to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining cakes.
6. To prepare salsa, combine corn and remaining ingredients; stir gently. Serve immediately with shrimp cakes.

Note:

These spicy cakes get their heat from the hot sauce so feel free to leave it out if you prefer a mild flavor. Double the salsa and serve it over a salad or as an appetizer with baked tortilla chips.

Fresh Shrimp, peeled & deveined. I added these to my food processor. Set Aside.

Red Bell Pepper saute'd and added garlic

after red bell pepper/ garlic softened, I added the shrimp paste and the rest of the ingredients

For the mixture to adhere, egg and cilantro was added

lastly, mayonnaise or light mayo (if you want)

I know this is not cooked yet, but you can already smell the mixture of cilantro and the bell peppers!

I like to add Panko breadcrumbs to the mixture  as well ( about 1/2 c)

Depending on how big you want the cakes to be, here they are, formed into round patties and covered w/ breadcrumbs. I chilled this batch for about an hour, however, 30 mins is ok.

After 30 mins or in the fridge, pull them out and pan fry them until golden brown. 

The above is the prepared Avocado/Corn Salsa!

I do apologize in advance for actually not having a picture of both dishes on a nice plate, I got so excited eating these at the Office Potluck party and I totally forgot!! This recipe is definitely a crowd pleaser, I promise!!

Ciao,
Darlene

Off the Path... Couture Gel Nail Polish

Hello everyone! It's a gorgeous warm day today where I am. I've been putting this post for quite some time as I'm busy preparing for my son's 7th birthday party & of course you have work and being a mom. I took advantage of this alone time as my husband and son are out biking enjoying the sunshine!

Anyhow, I'm going off the path here as my Header reads... the post does not involve baking or crafts but about Nail Polish! I'm sure I'm not the only one who puts on nail polish and after like 5 days (that's if your lucky) to still have it on you? It is quite a hassle to remove it then re-apply again.

So one day at work, My Co-worker was talking about this particular machine that you put the polish then you insert your whole hand and wait for like 2 minutes, re-apply coat then repeat all under the UV light. I got so curious that the same day, I went to the closest nail salon and thought I'd give it a try!

Well, believe it or not, my nails did LAST give or take about 14 days!!! No chip. No Re-Applying. My kind of thing! I found myself to keep going back to the nail salon but after much calculation, I realized if there is anything out there that does the same thing BUT I can do it at the comfort of my own home?

After researching and reading reviews, I came across a product called Couture Gel Nail Polish! to be honest I was skeptical at first but I said what the heck? if this can save me money in the long run I'd be really happy.

So I did click on the order button and just couldn't wait until the shipment arrived! Shipping was super fast! I saw the box on my front door and did not wait another minute to open it. The box comes with the machine, 1 top coat, 1 base coat, a beautiful and cute bag, 3 colors of your choosing, tools for the cuticles, a buffer and file, manicure stick and cute small bag, 4 UV lights that you will insert into the machine.

The directions were super, I mean super easy! Since it was my first try using it, it took me about an hour and 15 minutes, I know it was super long to do it, but mind you that was my first try. All in all,  after using it ever so often, I've gotten my manicure AND pedicure in about 45 minutes tops! Not bad huh? PLUS it's in the comfort of my home.

Couture Gel Nail Polish has the Most beautiful Colors! I'll be showing you just one of many great colors they have with the pictures below this post.

Here's the directions for BOTH Manicure & Pedicure:
Clean Hands (no lotion), Buffer. Push Cuticle back. Apply Top Coat. Cure for 2 minutes in the machine. Apply Nail Polish (not to thick). Cure for 2 minutes in the machine. Apply Base Coat. Cure for 2 minutes in the machine. Get free lint tissue and dab 70% rubbing alcohol over nail to remove the tacky residue from the Base Coat.

To remove:
Take your hand and soak in 100 % Acetone for about 10 minutes, after 10 minutes have passed, take your manicure stick and scrape the polish off. You will see it curl and it will peel away. After scraping it off, wash your hands well and towel dry and you can start to re-apply again.

Fresh from the box!

Inside of the machine with the UV lights that you install 

pardon my nails, I'm not a nail model! however, this is the Base Coat that I'm showing

Here I am "curing" my nails under the light!

Here's the TOP & BASE Coat

I bought these gloves separately just to protect my skin from the light

You can choose to cure in different times, I choose the 120 secs

I just love this color!!

See how GLOSSY they get after rubbing a free lint tissue with 70% rubbing alcohol!

Here is the final color! this may  not be a good photo, I'm a little embarrassed about my cuticles! but hey, I'm a Newbie to this :-)  I'd rather do this than visiting a nail salon frequently. This is just me though :-) 

Easy. Delicious. Vanilla. Cupcakes.

Hi Everyone,
I apologize for not posting any new desserts let alone any crafts for the kiddos. As usual, work, son's school activities are always present in my daily life, but I still love to blog as it is my little getaway from the real world. I'm pretty much tucked away in the home office right now while my son, dog and hubby are busy watching television and playing with our dog.

Anyhow, My son's 7th birthday is coming up and I always find that buying a huge sheet cake always goes to waste after each party. I was thinking this year (next month is his birthday) that why don't I try to bake regular cupcakes from scratch and ditch the "semi-homemade" recipes for a bit.

Trust me, homemade is always the best as you can taste the difference from a store bought cake mix versus making your own, yes, it is time consuming, BUT the taste is so delicious!

I researched high and low for a really good standard vanilla cupcake recipe that both adults & children would like. I came across this one from a blog called Brown Eyed Baker. I've pasted the link below to the actual recipe. The cupcake recipe is adapted from Cooks Illustrated, but the frosting is from Brown Eyed Baker
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/10/28/vanilla-cupcakes-vanilla-buttercream-frosting/

The cake itself turned out really, really good according to my test panel which consisted of my hubby, son and a few of my co-workers! However, the butter cream frosting turned out overly sweet for my taste, but that can be easily adjusted to your sweetness (which I'll reflect in the measuring).

All in all, this recipe is a keeper! As my son's birthday approaches, I'll have to re-post some new pictures with the Disney Cars 2 cupcake rings and Checkered Flags on the cupcake.. so Stay Tuned!!

Ingredients:

Yields: 12 Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

Vanilla Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg yolks , room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar  ( I changed this measurement from the original 2 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

4. Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.

5. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

You can store any unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an airtight container; let it come to room temperature and then give it a quick whip in the mixer before using.

Let the cupcakes cool on the wire rack for about 30 minutes before frosting.

YUM!!! I hope you try making the Vanilla Cupcakes for a party or simple dinner at home! 

Cheers,

Darlene

The Kitchen: Family Time



I'm always in the kitchen, from the moment I come home from work until about after dinner is done. The kitchen to me is a special "hangout" where my hubby and our son, ok.. including our dog as well gather and talk about anything under the sun. It's a cozy spot in the house where we just ask each other ..." so, how was your day?" , that question turns into laughter, our eating nook turns into a place for homework and other crafts.

As I'm in the kitchen, my son loves to interact with me while I'm prepping food or even cooking. However, sometimes I get a little too distracted and I could be adding another cup or teaspoon of an ingredient and my whole dish/baking item would be all wrong.. so... I needed to find a way for him to be busy with something else BUT also still have him in the kitchen to keep me company.

I'd like to share this post I saw from this other blog http://spoonful.com

Below are some great ideas to still interact with your children while you are in the kitchen making meals!

1. Mini Snack Cabinet : I currently don't have this right now in my kitchen (as I'm lacking storage, but that's another blog post - haha) but I do have a huge basket full of goodies on top of my breakfast nook that my son peeks in there to grab a snack.




Let the kids cure their own snack attacks by placing some plastic dishes and snacks in a designated self-service area. Select the items together and put them in a lower cabinet or on a low shelf in the refrigerator so the kids can easily reach them. Add a few rules if you need to such as no eating an hour before dinner. And keep a cloth towel or a roll of paper towels down low as well for self-service cleanup.

 

 

2. Chalkboard Nook: I currently have one next to my pantry but it is a little high for my son to doodle and it's not a really big chalkboard, there's no room to draw big images if needed too, I might have to shop for a better one.

                                                                                         

                                                                      

Turn the side of a kitchen island or an open stretch of wall into a doodling nook by hanging a chalkboard at a child's height.While you're busy working, kids can draw or leave funny jokes and messages to one another.

Cheers,

Darlene          

say what? Bol-go-ki ?

Happy New Year! My first post for 2013! Sorry I have been out of the loop lately. Still dealing with post christmas and new years celebration.

I would like say Hi to my new followers Josine and Laurie! (Waves) .. Thanks for following my small blog.

In today's post, I guarantee you this will be a super easy recipe that you can whip up in under an hour!
As described on the title of this post, your probably wondering, what word is "bolgoki"? (pronounced Bol-Go-Kee), it's actually a Korean dish that usually consists of grilled marinated beef, chicken or pork.
I, however will show you a faster way to make this dish without too much measuring, actually there's no measuring at all (my kind of recipes)!

As you know, I'm a working mom and scrabbling of what to put on the dinner table is always a hassle. One day, I was shopping at the grocery store and came upon this bottle named " Wonnie's Bolgoki Sauce". I stared at it and was thinking what can I do with this at home? so since I love Korean food, I ended up getting some chicken thighs or drumsticks (whichever you prefer).

So, basically here's this simple recipe. Pair this with newly cooked rice and kimchi on the side and your good to go! Trust me on this, it is super yummy, even your kids will love this.

Ingredients:
1 bottle of Wonnie's Bolgoki Sauce (Beware, there is a SPICY one, don't get that unless you can handle it!), It is very spicy for me.
1-2 lbs of either drumstick, thighs or chicken breasts
1 13x9 baking dish
Mushrooms (optional)
Sweet onion (sliced into rings) - Optional
Green Onion, for garnish

1. Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Place the chicken in a baking dish.
3. Open the Wonnie's Bolgoki Sauce, and pour the sauce over the chicken pieces. I love this sauce, as it has garlic, black/white sesame seeds and all the other goodness that makes this sauce so good!

4. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. After 15 mins in the ref, I usually turn the chicken pieces over so the other side also gets the sauce marinated as well.
5. In the meantime, while the chicken is in the refrigerator, I added mushrooms, just to give the dish some texture. Cook the mushroom until tender/soft for about 15 minutes. Set Aside. At this point, if you choose to add sweet onion, you can slice it and set aside.

5. 10 minutes to pulling out the chicken from the refrigerator, Preheat the oven to 375.
6. Pull out the chicken, and cover with foil. Place the marinated chicken (along with sauce) in the oven.
7. After about 35 minutes, add the cooked mushrooms and the sweet onions at this point. Cover again with Foil and bake again for another 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Please forgive me as I do not have a picture of the finished dish, my phone died!

Serve this with warm rice (white or brown rice will do) and a side of Kimchi! I hope one day you'll be able to try this recipe and also find the Bolgoki sauce at your local grocery store.

Cheers!

Darlene

Baking on a rainy day...

It's been raining in the bay area for about 2 days in a row and I'm kind of getting tired of it already. However, what better way to use your time in the house besides doing laundry or sprucing up your home to get ready for the holidays?

Well, it's baking time for me! When I use to live in the Philippines, My sister and I get so excited to eat these filipino delicacies, they only come out during Christmas time. My grandmother's house was so close to the church that after we would be done with church, we were so excited to buy & eat these desserts, one being "bibingka" (pronounced: bee-bee-ing-ka) which is Rice cake and two "puto-bum-bong" (which is a steamed glutinous rice (puto) cooked in bamboo (bumbong).

For today, I will be sharing this very easy dish. There are so many variations of this Bibingka, there are some that have coconut milk, salted eggs etc. This dessert is often eaten mid-afternoon with tea or right after dinner. I have a thing for "mochi" (japanese rice cake made with glutinous rice). So, the consistency of my bibingka will be like that, this is not a cake consistency bibingka. Either way, you will love this dessert!

So let's get to the ingredients:

1 box Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 stick melted margarine or butter
4 eggs beaten
1 Tbsp of margarine or butter (to spread on the baking dish)
9 x 13 baking pyrex glass dish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Crack the eggs and by using a fork, beat then until completely mixed. Set aside

3. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in 30 second increments until the butter is melted but not burned!

4. Grab pyrex dish, and spread the 1 tbsp of butter, NOT the melted butter that you just did in Step  3.

5. In a deep bowl, Pour the milk, beaten eggs, baking powder and sugar. Mix completely with a whisk.

6. Then, Add the whole box of Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour in the mixture and stir until mixed.

                

7. After mixing it, pour the mixture in the buttered 9 x 13 pyrex dish and place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350 deg F. 

The Bibingka will pretty much make it's debut (it will smell really good) in your home after about 30 minutes or so and you will be tempted to pull this out, but don't! Let it bake in the oven the full 50 minutes please.

8. Once you noticed the edges and the middle is starting to turn golden brown, you can pull it out and let it rest on a cooling rack for a good 15 minutes. You will notice that when it comes out from the oven, it's "poofed" in appearance, it will go down and settle. 

I tend to eat the corners first, that's just me though. I usually have to fight for it between my husband and I! anyway, hope you bake this one day and give it a try. Let me know what you think! 

Thanks,

Darlene