Baking Adventure Began!

I have been on blogging break for the last three or four months. Months when I have so many things I wanted to blog about, if only I had the time to do so. My husband was home for a short vacation from work, so most of my time was spent chatting with him, doing more household chores and cooking... oh, a lot of cooking!!!

Last July, we bought a new gas oven and I decided to try baking. Something I have always wanted to do. I was so excited!!! I still am! There are still so many recipes I wanted to try. So, my baking adventure began...

Baking is really fun! My first time, I just used a pre-mixed ingredients. It was a butterscotch mix, where you just add fresh eggs and butter, then mix them all together. I was nervous, but it turned out okay. Yay!!!

I wish Talisay (my hometown and where my immediate family are), is just so near! I feel sad that I was and am not able to have my mama, my nieces and everybody back home taste my baked goods. :(

My Chicken Cordon Bleu

Today is my husband's birthday and I cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu for lunch. It was my first try in cooking this dish and it was a success!!! I'm so happy! My mom, brother and nieces loved it! I have to wait for my sister's verdict later, as she was a little bit hard to please... jeezzz!



It's really a great feeling if you cooked something special and it's very much appreciated. My husband will surely like it, too bad he's still abroad. He's very excited though and it's gonna be one of the first dishes I'm going to cook for him when he's home. This dish is one of the main courses in our wedding reception. That's why it's special to me. Now, I'm inspired to research, learn and try new recipes!

Kitchen Theme

My recent trip to the mall and visit to the kitchen ware section had me thinking of re-doing my kitchen. My present colors are blue and yellow. I really do not have a theme but it is done in country style. I am thinking of having more reds or maroons this time. I am also thinking of having a theme and I would love cherries!

Ginger

I am a facebook follower of Wai Lana, a popular Yoga and Natural Health advocate.

Wai Lana's Kitchen tip of the day: Besides lending zest, vitality, warmth, and energy to fruit and vegetable juices alike, ginger helps conditions like asthma, cough, cold, congestion, flu, high cholesterol, water retention, nausea, irregular or painful menstruation, constipation, and poor circulation.

Here's a simple recipe of Wai Lana's ginger tea (from her post Ginger for Winter Ills, Oct. 16, 2009):

2 cups water
¼ cup diced fresh ginger
2 tsp. honey

Boil the water, then add the ginger and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain into a cup and add 2 teaspoons of honey (or to taste). If you like, you can add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the pot to increase the stimulating, heating effect. Let me forewarn you now, though: This tea is fiery! Sip it—don't gulp it down.

Fried Okra

I finally made the fried okra recipe. I had it for lunch today! I first heard about it when a high school friend mention it on facebook. I got curious, so I looked it up in the internet. It is such a very simple recipe and yet, it is really good.

I plated it and took a picture...for souvenir =)

Callos and other firsts...

I cooked Callos for lunch today...first time and more of a testing. It's just alright, looks and tastes like Callos!

Today, I bought pork liver and it's also a first time... When I saw it in the market, I suddenly craved for fried pork liver that my mama and grandpa used to cook. My first time also to clean and slice an innard, and it went just fine!

I think, what I still can't really do is clean a live fish or any other seafoods!

My Mama's birthday!

Today is mama's birthday! I missed the celebration in Bacolod. Sis said they're having valenciana...it's my favorite and I really miss it! To celebrate in my own little way, I cooked spaghetti with chicken ala king sauce. I made it extra hot and spicy by adding red pepper flakes.