Cafe Munchkin

Posted By munchkinmommy on March 13, 2010

On February 27 and 28, I attended the That Takes the Cake! Sugar Art and Cake Show as a Foodie Correspondent for FoodBuzz for the second consecutive year.  And I must say, I had a blast!  As a cake decorating hobbyist, the cake show to me was cake heaven on earth.

The 2-day event was hosted by the Capital Confectioners Cake Club and this year’s theme was 2010: A Cake Odyssey – Science Fiction and Fantasy.  Cake decorating enthusiasts of all skill levels – from beginners to masters – are welcome to compete.  The two days were packed with activities:  Showcase Demonstrations, Onsite Competitions, Mini Classes, Informal Demonstrations and a Dinner Demonstration.  All these, save for the informal demonstrations, I was able to attend.  You can just imagine how many hundreds of photos I took at the event!

My favorite part, as always, was the Showcase Demonstrations. Industry experts Nicholas Lodge, Geraldine Randlesome, John Kraus, Kathy Scott, Lauren Kitchens and Mike McCarey taught attendees valuable lessons and techniques in cake decorating and sugar arts.  These experts are celebrities in the world of cake decorating and sugar arts and most of them have already appeared on the Food Network’s Cake Challenge and TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off.  In cake heaven, they are the gods.

Here are photos from the Showcase Demonstrations:

I attended as many of the activities as I can, but of the 3 on-site competitions, I was only able to attend one – the Sculpted Cake Competition.  I did manage to take photos of the cakes from the  Mystery Cake Competition. On-site competitions are exactly like the challenges seen on tv, but for a much shorter time limit, 45-60 minutes for the Mystery and Sculpted Cake Competitions and 2 hours for the Wedding Cake Competition.

I can’t help but admire the participants for turning out beautifully decorated cakes in such a short period of time.  What they did in 45 minutes would have taken me an entire day to accomplish.

Here are photos from the on-site competitions:

On the evening of the first day, a Dinner Demonstration was held.  The cake show’s guest judges worked in teams to decorate a huge display cake.  Dinner attendees enjoyed a hearty meal, learned the techniques used by the teams of judges and were entertained at the same time.  Sure we can learn from books but it really is different when one watches a live demonstration.

These are the photos from the Dinner Demonstration:

On Day 2 of the event, I was able to attend one of the many mini classes.  These are not free, mind you…even for press pass holders like me!  A friend of mine gave it to me as a gift.  What can I say, when it rains cake blessings, it pours! The mini-class I attended was for Fondant Flowers and Lace Points conducted by Chef Steven Stellingwerf.

Chef Steven has been a sugar artist  for over 35 years and instructor for over 25 years.  He has authored two books: The Gingerbread Box, and Perfectly Simple Muffins. He is also a guest author in The International Sugar Art Book 3.  I am so glad to have attended his class.  He is super nice, not to mention very patient and encouraging, too!  I wish all instructors are like him.

As I mentioned, I took hundreds of cake photos, a lot of which I will have to share in a separate blog entry.  For this blog entry however, I’m posting photos of cakes in the Show Cake Competition. Show Cakes  must meet a certain height and serving size requirements.  They are judged based on technique and representation of the year’s theme.  Ready to be wowed?  Wait no more.  Here are photos of the cakes from the Show Cake Competition:

Oh, I’d like to share a photo of my most favorite cake from the show…

Lovely isn’t it?  My 5-year old daughter decorated this all by herself!  She’s in the Child Category (6 years old and under).  Can you feel the pride?  *wink*   I love that all children participants (age 12 years old and below) were recognized and got a medal.  Best Use of Candy, that’s my girl.  Hee hee.

Next year’s show will be on February 28 and March 1st.  I’m already excited about the theme for 2011: Comic Books – Super Heroes and Super Villains.  For sure, it will again be a weekend of sweet sweet fun!

More photos from the cake show in the next few days! *cross fingers*

Cheers, y’all!

Category: Cake Decorating | 2 Comments »
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Posted By munchkinmommy on March 12, 2010

We bought a pack of whole wheat flatbread at Costco last weekend.  You know how Costco sells everything in bulk, so that pack of flatbread actually has 18 pieces of flatbread all in all, which are divided into 3 packs of 6 flatbreads each. I thought at first that 18 pieces was way too  much for our very small family.  Then again, after I thought of all the possibilities, the flatbreads found their way to our cart in the end. ;)

Now, those flatbreads are almost gone.  So much for “too much for our very small family”.  Hee hee.  Several days ago, and again today, I made Tuna Salad Wraps…

My daughter seems all too willing to go in the opposite direction whenever she hears the words “whole wheat” and “brown rice”.   When I made Tuna Salad Wrap for her snack, I sliced the wrap into 4 pieces and served them on a sushi plate.  I told her she was having Flat Bread Sushi. :P   After all, the pieces did look like sushi! So I’m a trickster that way.  My little girl enjoyed her snack but pointed the obvious out to me, that what she’s eating isn’t sushi. I just told her it’s sushi made with flatbread and not rice.

To make these wraps, I used Albacore Tuna (in water) and mixed it with light mayo, dijon mustard, paprika, salt and pepper.  I got the idea from the deviled eggs I made a couple months back.   To add color, not to mention health benefits, I made sure I included some greens from the tub of spring mix salad vegetables I had in the fridge.  How’s that for a healthy and meatless snack that’s yummy nevertheless?

Have a great weekend, y’all!  It’s Spring Break already and pretty soon, outdoor fireplaces will be taking a much needed break. Cheers! :)

Category: Healthy Eating, Sandwiches, Seafood | No Comments »
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Posted By munchkinmommy on March 10, 2010

Hubby was plenty happy with our Monday night dinner.  I made Panko Crusted Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Mayo…my first shot at searing tuna. ;)

I kinda over-seared the tuna. :P  The thing is, after searing the first of three tuna steaks, I sliced just one piece just to check.  Hubby saw it and thought I should sear the tuna a few seconds more.  Nevertheless, nobody complained, least of all Hubby, who, together with my little girl, kept thanking me for dinner.  Don’t worry, daughter got the well-done parts.  The tuna steaks were odd-shaped, one end being pointy.  So those ends were cooked through. ;)

We’ll definitely be having seared tuna again…and again…and again. ;) Here’s the recipe.  Sorry, no measurements as I eyeballed my way through this one. :)

INGREDIENTS:

Ahi Tuna Steaks
salt
pepper
panko bread crumbs
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a shallow dish/plate, mix some salt, pepper and panko bread crumbs. Coat the tuna steaks with the salt, pepper and panko mixture.
3. Sear the tuna steak in hot oil for 30 seconds (on the narrow sides) upto a minute (on the wide sides). Serve with wasabi mayo.

Making wasabi mayo isn’t rocket science.  It’s just that, wasabi and mayo.  I, however, prefer the powdered wasabi over the tubed ones.  I feel the powdered wasabi mixed with water just have a lot more kick to it.

We had brown rice and spring salad to go with the seared tuna.  I love the color and subtle crunch the panko bread crumbs gave the tuna steaks.  Instead of panko bread crumbs, you may also use sesame seeds for the added crunch.  You can also use your favorite marinade instead of just salt and pepper.  There’s just so many options!  Next time, I’d like a seared tuna with a more distinct flavor.  I’m thinking a marinade of soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and maybe some lemon will do the trick. Mmmm!

If you have an aversion to raw fish, searing (more so over searing!) might be a good way to slowly introduce acquaint yourself to the wonderful world of sashimi. ;) I understand if you still insist on getting a life insurance quote first before taking that first mouthful of tuna sashimi. ;) Hee hee.

Category: Seafood | No Comments »
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Posted By munchkinmommy on March 6, 2010

This is my first entry for March, almost a full week into the month!  I’ve been meaning to post entries but I’ve been playing the role of Dr. Mom the past few days so…

Hubby and my little girl love squid.  During one of our trips to a Japanese store last month,  my eyes zeroed in on packs of pre-sliced squids (not rings!).  I thought I that was my cue to make them something they’ll really like…Ika (Squid) Tempura.

Guess what, they loved it!  I’ve got some pretty predictable eaters here, I tell you!  And they are such a joy to feed.  Hee hee. ;)  Trading in cad drawings for a life as a domestic goddess is truly worth it.

As always, I turned to my favorite Japanese recipe book for the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

squid (pre-cut ones or squid rings)
Note: You may, of course, use prawns or vegetables!

TEMPURA BATTER:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups iced water
2 cups sifted all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Break eggs into a well-chilled bowl then add iced water.
2.  Add sifted flour.
3.  Make lumpy batter.  DO NOT MIX WELL. Loosely fold with chopsticks.  Batter should be a  mixture of dry flour.
4.  Pat the squid dry.  Coat with lumpy batter then slide into hot oil and deep-fry until golden brown, turning once or twice for even cooking.
5.  Drain excess oil on paper-lined plate or tray after deep frying.
6.  Sprinkle salt and pepper if desired.

I wondered at first why there’s no salt and pepper in the batter or why the squid wasn’t sprinkled with salt.  I learned just recently from one of my other recipe books that adding salt to squid makes them tough.  During a calamari recipe search, one thing all the recipes I found had in common is that the salt and pepper are added only after the batter-dipped squid has been fried.  It’s true what they say, we learn something new everyday. ;)

Instead of traditional tempura dipping sauce, I made two mayo dips: Spicy Mayo and Garlic Mayo.

Y’all have a great weekend!

*This is an entry for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.  This week’s theme is “Seafood”.”

Category: La.Pi.S., Seafood | 6 Comments »
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Posted By munchkinmommy on February 26, 2010

I was already in my 20s when I was introduced to cold soba.  I believe it was at Kumoro Soba, a small fastfood outlet back home, housed in Building A of SM Megamall.  (I wonder if it’s still there.  Hmmm…)  But warm soba, I came to know much much earlier.  As a child, I’ve always loved  Tempura Soba, specially the one from the old Kamameshi House.

Going back to the cold soba, I think it took me the longest time to give it due attention because I thought it wasn’t too exciting.  Because really, it’s just cold noodles with nori strips paired with a dipping sauce, at it’s barest at least.  Then again, after that first time I got to taste it, I realized it wasn’t so bad after all.  Not at all!  I immediately liked it…a lot!   These days, when I’m too lazy to cook up a storm, we have cold soba for lunch or dinner.  We’re having it more often now that it’s Lent.  You can have it with a side of hard boiled eggs (quail or chicken) or more exciting proteins and veggies.

INGREDIENTS:

Japanese buckwheat noodles
soba tsuyu (noodle dipping sauce)
nori (roasted shredded seaweed)
wasabi ( I prefer the powdered wasabi)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Add noodles to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 4-5 minutes on high heat, or until the noodles reach the desired tenderness.
2.  Strain noodles into a colander and rinse under cold running water (iced water will be even better as you want your soba to be cold).  Drain well then transfer to a plate.
3.  Garnish with the nori and serve with dipping sauce.

So simple and easy to make, isn’t it?!  Any simpler and you might as well be buying food to-go.  I put a lot of wasabi in my dipping sauce, enough to clear my nasal passages (but not too much that I’ll be in danger of needing hemorrhoids cream. Kidding!).

Have a great weekend, y’all!  Cheers!

Category: Rice/Pasta/Noodles | 6 Comments »
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