New Recipe Fridays - Pandesal

Pandesal is a breakfast staple in the Philippines.  It's so versatile, you can eat it with anything:  eggs, spam, corned beef, hotdog, and the list becomes endless.  We like to eat ours with Cheeze Whizz.  It's so good when it's fresh and hot from the bakery or from one of the tinderos/tinderas who ride around in their bicycles yelling, "pandesaaaalllll"!! early morning or even during mid afternoon for merienda.  Ahh yes, I have fond memories of my birthland.  :) I actually haven't had a fresh batch of pandesal even from our recent trips to the Philippines.  There's just so much selection from all the bakeries at every corner that pandesal gets brushed off to the side these days.  Sometimes nothing beats a good old basic roll that reminds me of my first home.  

I chose the following recipe based on the blogger's comment about it being the best she's ever tried, at least comparable to the real thing.  It was definitely delicious!  Lana and Ethan devoured them.  I found the temperature too high though.  I baked them at 380F like the recipe said but it browned the bottom of the bread a little too much for me.  I think I will try 350F next time.  I also like a little crunch on the top but a toaster can fix that.  :)

Here's my batch:

I say it looks like the real thing. ;)

New Recipe Fridays - Clean Granola

Way to start off my New Recipe Fridays; a day late!  Lol well only a day late so that's good in my book.  ;) 

We try to follow a clean eating lifestyle on the weekdays and treat ourselves for cheat meals on the weekends.  We haven't always eaten this way until last year and I'm so glad that we took the step to change.  We feel healthier, lighter, and overall better.  We love breakfast: Tocino and rice (Filipino breakfast food), eggs, bacon, and pancakes.  It sucks that we don't get to eat those as often anymore but it's nice that we get to treat ourselves every now and then.  During the week, we usually only have two choices for breakfast: oatmeal or yogurt.  They are the easiest to pack for Chris to take to work and they're actually really delicious.  I'll share my oatmeal recipe next week but this week I found this clean granola recipe on Pinterest.  It was really good.  I use it to top my yogurt and even great for snacking.  I think the recipe is versatile but I didn't use all the 3 cups oats that it called for.  I substituted some coconut flakes and a chia/hemp/barley cereal mix I purchased from Costco.  I also substituted the applesauce for coconut oil as it had suggested.  Yum!  I'm actually out so I will be making them for next week's breakfast menu.  

New Recipe Fridays

I love good food!  Who doesn't?  I tend to lean towards Asian cuisine but I love just about everything. I read A LOT of recipes.  Books, Pinterest, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.  It's just so awesome that you can practically search any food and get a recipe for it.  There's just no reason to say you can't cook because all the resources are available, it just depends on your determination to learn.  Lol  I know it's not easy but like anything, it's a work in progress.  I like to compare recipes and/or combine the ideas and put my own twist to it.  Actually, in most cases I get so impatient following recipes that I tend to just do whatever.  Sometimes it turns out good but other times not.  Lol When people ask me for the recipe for something I've made, I always emphasize that I don't have an exact measurement.  I used to cook without tasting my food and quickly realized that was wrong.  Haha!  So now, I season and taste as I cook.  With all these delicious looking recipes easily available, I want to keep track of what I try and document my reviews every Friday - New Recipe Fridays.  At some point, I will be searching for these recipes again and who knows how many there will be after a year or so.  ;)

Newfound hobby.. Baking!

I've never really been into baking but since moving to Texas, it's all I think about!  Maybe it's because I have some extra time.  Or I partly blame it on Pinterest!  Lol It has me addicted and hungry with all the dessert recipes.  I've also always been discouraged to bake because I have failed one too many times!  It doesn't help that I'm impatient and I never measure or follow directions when it comes to cooking.  I am the "just wing it" kind of cook.  I did realize though that in baking, it is the total opposite.  Measurements must be precise as well as bakewares used, temperature, etc... The factors to good baking are just so daunting!  I could have sworn I went through the same thing when I first started cooking.  I was absolutely clueless!  It took a lot of practice and quite a lot of encouraging comments from my hubby.  I'm hoping I will conquer this idea of baking the same way.  I know it will take time but I'm definitely up for it. Good thing I have a neighbor whom I can share these goodies with!  ;) 

French macarons are what started this baking frenzy.  I am obsessed!  I am on a mission to perfect those cute little cookies!  So far I've made chocolate macarons with Nutella buttercream, Pink (per Lana's color request) with vanilla buttercream and cookie butter filling.  So Delish!  I have tried 3 recipes and so far they have all come out differently.  I've also tried one recipe 3 times but they were inconsistent.  Very frustrating but I will not give up!  Lol 

Over the weekend, I would have never pictured myself walking out of a store with a stand mixer.  Yup, it just got serious.  I opened it up today and first cake I made... Custard cake!  It was pretty good but I think I'll try a different recipe next time.  I have to say though, making that meringue was soooo easy!  Thank you kitchen aid!  ;)

Mac 'n Cheese

Dinner last night was Mac and Cheese!  I don't usually follow a recipe to the T but I wanted to try Guy Fieri's version of this dish.  The only ingredient I changed was the type of pasta.  It called for penne but we opted for elbow macaroni. It had really good reviews and I have to agree.  It was delicious!  Seasoning was perfect and I loved the taste of the blend of cheeses.  I think I'm going to use his recipe as my base and then just change up the different types of cheese next time.  Hubby and the kids loved it so that's all that matters.  ;)

Now in San Antonio, Texas!

So sad that I did not get to blog for over a year!  A bit cliche but time flies when you are having fun!  Okinawa was our best duty station.  We were heartbroken to leave but military life left us with no choice.  A lot has happened since my last blog.  First big change is my one year old son!  He was born October 3rd and he is one of the many blessings we have.  He is adventurous, curious, and active.  In other words, naughty!!  ha!  LOL I guess some people were not joking when they said boys were different.  Nonetheless, I love him to pieces and he completes our little family.  :) Second big change, we are now in San Antonio, Texas!  Chris flew out here first and we followed shortly after in November 9th.  My first impression, quiet!  I don't know why and I'm pretty sure it is the opposite but maybe it was the side of town we were in or I am just adjusting.  House hunting was frustrating but we found a place in Selma.  The house still needs work for it to start looking like home.  Until then, I am excited for what this new duty station holds for my family.

My Baby Is Growing Up!!!

Lana goes to a Montessori School Monday through Friday, from 8AM to 12PM.  Her first week was not bad at all.  I guess she figured that it was fun.  The second week; however, was torture for myself and her.  She went through the clinging stage where she did not want to let go of my hand.  She would cry as soon as I parked the car in front of the school.  One morning, I had to stay there until 8:30 because she was hugging me the whole time.  I felt absolutely horrible for having to put her through this, after all she was only 2 years and 4 months at the time.  I spoke with the school director and she assured me that Lana was doing just fine.  A little cry here and there was really normal.  She had trouble following directions and this frustrated me because in my mind, my daughter was smart and always followed MY directions.  I had to accept the fact that one of the reasons she is going to this school was not only to learn academically but also to socialize with other children and be able to listen to other adults other than Mommy and Daddy.  This went on for about a month.  I remember speaking to a couple of parents who have kids that go to the same school mentioning that their kids went through the same thing.  And then they told me, that the time will come when they will no longer even acknowledge that you dropped them off to school.  That was a scary thought.

This week, the school has a new student.  Her mom looks exactly how I looked when Lana first started, same with her daughter.  I just think to myself, "we went through that."  Then today, my most dreadful thought came true.  As I dropped Lana to the door, she grabbed her lunch box from me and quickly said, "bye mommy!"  I insisted on a hug but all I kept getting from her were those two words.  She looked as if she was embarrassed that she had a clingy mom!  It made me want to tear up, but I walked away like a big girl and told my baby goodbye.  *SIGH*