What I ended up buying, however, were reusable cutlery…

This was a eureka moment for me. My daughter already has reusable forks and chopsticks. But she doesn’t have a reusable spoon and knife. This Cutlery to Go set has everything!

There are only 2 handles (the bottom part of the cutlery) so my daughter has to make up her mind whether she wants to use a spoon and fork…

…a fork and knife…

…or chopsticks.

Did I mention these are BPA-free? The price for this set is $4.99 plus tax, a little on the steep side. But I just couldn’t resist passing up on them! And besides, my daughter wanted them, too. *wink* It’s a pretty good set to add to my lunch-to-go inventory. It’s also a small step in being earth/environment friendly. My daughter has not been using plastic cutlery with her home-prepared lunches for a very long time now.

With that, I say I’m ready to get back to making school lunches for my favorite girl. I’m just not quite ready to give up sleeping in. Hee hee.

Have a great week ahead, y’all! And have a wonderful school year ahead! Cheers and mabuhay!

Hubby disclosed that he and his colleagues dropped by a Japanese grocery, which, according to hubby, was similar to Dollar Tree (save perhaps for the Baptism invitations?).  I virtually squeezed hubby for more information about the mystery Japanese store.  The store’s name is Daiso Japan.  I immediately went to the store website and found out that Diaso Japan happens to be a big supplier of housewares in Japan.  I continued to assault bombard hubby with questions:  What else do they have?  Do they have anything more for bento making?  They’re a huge store, they should have some bento stuff!  Hubby admitted that indeed, they do have a lot of things for bento making from $1.50 up.  At that point, I wished I were traveling with hubby.  And you can bet I made hubby go back to the store!

From this 3-dollar, 2-layer bento box with a pair of chopsticks, hubby’s original purchase…

…hubby came home with these…

How’s that for an obento showcase?  It’s a blessing that I wasn’t with hubby because for sure, we’ll have ended up with even more stuff!  At least now, I have the things I’ve been wanting to add to my obento inventory…

Dish cups – The three packages on the left are silicone and are freezer, microwave and oven safe.  The package on the right is plastic.  These are only $1.50 per pack.

Obento Picks – Cutie!!!  These are also $1.50 per pack.

Fake Grass and Sauce Containers – I wanted a different type of sauce container (cuter and bigger!), but I was nevertheless happy with  these fish-shaped ones.  I’ve long used up my supply of fake grass.  These are priced at $1.50 each as well.

Another 2-layer bento box! – Just how many do I need?  Ask me again after a shopaholic tells you just how many bags and pairs of shoes she/he needs. Hee hee.  Price tag on this is $6.00.  It’s a little pricier than the first one, but this is of better quality. At the Japanese store we go to here in Austin, a similar bento box goes for more than $15.00.

All these for a little over $20!  The price is indeed right! :)  Hopefully, I will now be inspired to come up with visually appealing lunches. *cross fingers*  I can’t help but wonder, when is hubby’s next business trip to San Jose gonna be? *evil laughter*

Mabuhay, y’all!

Chicken Strips

…and French Fries.

My daughter was happiest.  She did want the chicken strips.  It’s a good thing we had the rest of the day to walk off the 2 bucketfuls of grease, which would have been enough reason for some to pop the  best weight loss pills in their mouths.

I promised myself that next time we’re at a theme park, and there will definitely be a next time, I will not fall into the Family Meal Deals Combo trap ever again.  That or I’ll just order a separate meal for myself…with the $10.00 savings.  Ha!

Now, in your best Natasha Bedingfield impersonation, sing with me…“I’ve got 2 buckets, got 2 bucketfuls of fried stuff…Take them away, a secret place, a sweet escape, take them away…”

I have been waiting for the friendly UPS guy since last week.  When I heard three loud knocks on the door yesterday afternoon, I knew for sure that my “Amore” has arrived.  And by “my Amore” I don’t mean the UPS guy, I mean my “Amore: 2009 Food Lover’s Planner”.  Yipee!

I’m well aware of the fact that we are now in the 2nd quarter of 2009 and I may be the only person in the known universe who still gets excited over a planner.  But this isn’t just any ordinary planner!  Not to me, at least!  After I unwrapped the package, I  immediately started flipping through the pages in search for what I knew would be my favorite page…

It’s the green page!  Of particular interest to me is the upper right quarter portion of the page…

“We’ve scoured the world-wide web for the best blogs on line that share the same passion for food!  Amore!”

Ahee hee!  Now you understand? :D  How my li’l ‘ol food blog made it to this list is beyond me.  If not for the heads up by one reader, my on-line namesake no less, MunchkinVCD, I wouldn’t have known about it!  What I find even more thrilling is that Cafe Munchkin is on the same list as the blogosphere’s most popular Pinoy food blogs…Market Manila, Pinoy Cook, 80 Breakfasts, etc.  You bet I’m giddy with delight!  Am I gloating?  I did warn you. :)

The Monthly Page

This planner is truly for food lovers.  There are articles on food, travel and ingredients and there are about 14 recipes.  On the weekly pages, foodies can post a favorite photo, perhaps of a memorable dish or maybe a get together with family or friends.  On the monthly notes page, one can write down recipes to try, ingredients to experiment with and restaurants to dine in.

Special footnote at the bottom of the weekly page

I love the tips that can be found at the  lower right hand corner of the weekly photo/notes page. On the very last page are coupons to 4 popular restaurants, which, if I understood correctly, gave away these planners as part of their promotions.  I love everything about the planner.  Well, you can’t really expect me to be objective.  But really, it’s the perfect foodie companion!  Gone are the days when I have to write my food thoughts on a piece of napkin when dining out!

There, I’m just about done gloating. :D

Again, thank you, MunchkinVCD for letting me know about this planner.  And thank you, Ms. Jenny of SYSU for this copy. ;)

Now, back to regular blogging. :D

oOo

The Amore Food Lover’s Planner was designed and conceptualized for SYSU International, Inc. by Belle de Jour Enterprises, the company behind the Bell de Jour Power Planners.  SYSU manufactures and distributes Clara Ole’ Products.  They are also the exclusive distributor of Lee Kum Kee chinese Sauces, Kikkoman Soy Sauce and Teriyaki Marinade, San Remo Pasta, Crisco Oil and Shortening and McCormick Spices among others.

This week’s theme for La.Pi.S. is “My Kitchen”.  It’s a good thing I have photos of what I consider to be my very own “kitchen stadium” even if I am not what you might call an iron chef.  Hee.  These photos were taken on October 23 at after 1am.  Oh I remember that night.  Late as it was, I had this itch to give the kitchen some cleaning.

This is as clean and clear as it gets.  With the amount of cooking, baking and just recently, cake decorating,  that I do, it is not unusual to see a a pack of sugar or flour on the counter.

This area with the kitchen sink is my “prep station”.  That corner is reserved for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer that I will own…someday.  Hahaha!  For now, there’s a handmixer on that spot and a big tub of cookie cutters which I have yet to put away.

This area where the stove and microwave are is my cooking station.  All our kitchen appliances are white.  That was not something we planned.  It just so happened that when we moved, we received a white rice cooker and toaster.  So we found ourselves buying white kitchen appliances.  :)

My dream kitchen looks a lot different.  Just thinking about it puts a smile to my face.  No Discount Blinds allowed.  Haha!  As my Mom would say, it’s free to dream.  ;)

Have a great weekend, y’all!

This week’s theme for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays is “Bread” (Bread-y or Not).  Late last night, I baked some goodies, specially for this theme…Chocolate Chip and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, which I might as well just refer to as C6.  Haha! ;)  The All Recipes newsletter (What’s Cooking? #424)that I received on Thursday, March 5th, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.  The featured recipes?  Quick breads!  And that, is how I ended up with this coffee cake. ;)

First, some definition of terms are in order.

Quick bread, according to the article “Baking Quick Breads” by Jennifer Anderson,  refers to any bread that uses chemical leaveners (baking powder and/or baking soda) as opposed to yeast, and requires no kneading or rising time. The definition includes pancakes, waffles, scones, biscuits, coffeecakes, muffins and loaves.

Coffee cake, according to Wiki, has two main definitions: (1) “a cake, often sponge cake, which is made with coffee or has a coffee flavor; (2) a cake served with coffee or eaten as a dessert. Under this definition, a coffee cake does not necessarily contain coffee. Coffee cakes are typically flavored with cinnamon, apple, nuts, and fruits. This coffee cake is of the latter.

This Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, (recipe  submitted by Michelle Krzmarzick to AllRecipes.com) certainly is a good find.  Here’s the original recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups of sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9-in. springform pan. Combine the pecans, cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over batter.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.
It was the first time I tried the recipe and I’m so glad it turned out to be love at first bite for me and my taste testers (Hubby and my little girl).  I wasn’t so sure how it was going to come out because there were minor changes that I made, most, except for one, were intentional.

Instead of a 9-in springform pan, I went for 2 12-cup muffin pans, both of which I popped in the oven at the same time.  If you will just take a look at the photo on top, the muffins on the left are of a lighter shade than the ones on the right.  The lighter shade ones were cooked in 20 minutes, but the ones in the other tray weren’t ready yet, so, I baked them for another 5 minutes.  Still, they weren’t ready.  I set the timer for another 5 minutes and busied myself with something else. When the time sounded, I saw that the muffins now have a brown crusted top.  No harm done though!  Except for the crusty top, which some actually prefer, the muffins tasted the same.  They were dense yet moist and actually just melts in your mouth.

Second, I added an extra half cup of chocolate chips to the recipe.  I thought, well, one can’t have too much chocolate chips!  And I’m right, of course!  :D

Third, the accidental change I was referring to, I dumped the 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the recipe instead of only 1 1/4.  I had no choice but to use another quarter cup of sugar to mix with the cinnamon and pecans.  If you want a result that is less sweet, then follow the recipe exactly.  I may stick to the 1 1/2 cups plus 1/4 cup for the sprinkles. :)  I’ll also do a more generous sprinkling of pecans next time.

oOo

4 more days before winners for the Cafe Munchkin Birthday Blowout are drawn! :D

Cheers!

For added visual impact and appeal, stack ‘em up to make a Strawberry Napoleones tower…

It’s  all up to you if you want to stack them as high as cell towers.  Although, I personally think that might be a wee bit too high. :D

INGREDIENTS:

20 pcs wonton or molo wrappers
oil for deep frying
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup whipped cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sliced strawberries (or your fruit of choice) peeled and ready to eat

PROCEDURE:

Deep-fry the wonton wrappers until crisp.   Set aside.  In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sugar, fold in the whipped cream, then add the vanilla extract.  Chill.

To assemble, place a a dallop of the cream mixture on the plate and set a wonton wrapper on it.  On the wrapper, place more cream, fruit, and then more cream.  Sandwich with another fried wonton.  Continue layering as you wish.

This was an instant hit with my daughter who loves Crab Rangoon.  It’s safe to say that Stawberry Napoleones is Crab Rangoon’s dessert counterpart.  It is best to assemble this just before serving or better yet, say at a party, you can have your guests participate by having them make or assemble their own. ;)

Have a great weekend, y’all!  Mabuhay!

ps:  By the way, in case you haven’t yet, do check out Cafe Munchkin’s birthday blowout. :)

I use the bamboo steamer, solely for dim-sum: siopao, siomai, dumplings, and cuapao.

This good-sized aluminum steamer, I use for fish and one of my all-time favorite Filipino desserts, Leche Flan.

Generally, steaming is the healthier cooking technique.  It’s even healthier than boiling, because boiling strips food of more nutrients than steaming does.  Then again, if what you’re steaming is a dessert, the primary ingredients of which are eggs (mostly egg yolks at that), then that’s a whole different story. Haha!

I have what you might call a “love-hate” relationship with Leche Flan as far as cooking it is concerned.  Leche Flan is fairly easy to make, that is, once you’ve gotten past the tricky part of caramelizing the sugar. ;)  Everything else will be a walk in the park after you’ve got your caramel sitting contentedly on your pans.

When I made leche flan on for our New Year’s Eve party, I wasted 4 pounds (yes, 4 effin’ pounds!) of sugar before I finally settled for a pathetically pale caramel. Ugh.  Anyway, the caramel gods must have heard the silent prayer I uttered last night.  I got it right the first time…a cup of sugar is all it took.  Nanay, my maternal grandma, would have been proud of me.  Yey me! Hahaha! :)

Here’s the recipe to a leche flan, which, I promise you, will taste good, even if you mess up everything else…caramel, texture and all.  I got this from my mom’s sister – my California-based “aunty-ninang” (aunt-slash-godmother) – and it’s a recipe I’ve been using since we moved to TX.

INGREDIENTS (for one 8″ or 9″ round pan – Note: Just double the recipe like I always do, because really, 1 pan isn’t enough!)

3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 can condensed milk
half a condensed milk can of water
a few drops of vanilla (optional – I rarely use any because my Lola doesn’t use vanilla anyway).
lemon rind (optional -  I have yet to put lemon rind on my leche flan…again, because Nanay doesn’t.  Hee hee)

1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water for the caramel

PROCEDURE

1.  Caramelize the sugar on a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan.  Let this video be your guide.  Once you’ve got the sugar caramelized to a nice golden amber, coat the bottom of your pan and maybe a little of the sides as well, with the caramel.
2.  In a bowl, whisk the eggs.  Then add the rest of the ingredients.
3.  Whisk some more until the ingredients are well blended.  Avoid bubbles!
4.  Strain the mixture then transfer to a pan.
5.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on the steamer.
6.  Steam for 45-60 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick.  Alternatively, you can cook your leche flan in the oven.  Place the pan on a water bath and bake at 350F.  Test for doneness at 45 minutes.  This may take a wee bit longer.
7.  When it’s done, let cool then chill in the refrigerator.

I got hold of another leche flan recipe from another California-based aunty-ninang (aunt-godmother).  I hope to test it next time I have a leche flan craving.

Have a great weekend, y’all!  Mabuhay! :)

It was quite a learning experience for us – unfamiliar food names and unfamiliar tastes.  I wanted so much to try as much of the food as I possibly can so I have more to share with you.  But there’s only so much food I can handle at a given time. Hee hee.

My first plate had the following…

Tandoori Chicken

Makluba – rice, chicken, potatoes, corn, flower and eggplant with sprinkled nuts.

Biryani and Baked Tilapia

Biryani, according to Wikipedia “is from a family of primarily South Asian rice dishes made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat/vegetables.  The spices and condiments used in biryani may include but are not limited to: cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander and mint leaves, apart from ghee, ginger, onions, garlic and yoghurt. The premium varieties include saffron.”

The tilapia was baked in lemon, pepper, sauce, veggies and spices.

Before I move on to my second plate, let me just say that I didn’t eat all the rice…just in case you’re concerned that there was way too much carbs on my first plate.  Haha.

Grilled Chicken

Chicken Kabob – chicken marinated with oregano, green pepper, tomatoes, and onion and salt

Kafta Kabob – a grilled mixture of ground beef, parsely, onion, garlic, pepper and salt

Falafel – a ball of chick peas,  parsley, cilantro,  onions, all spices.

Soft Pita Bread and Manquish (hard pita bread)

Hommus – roasted chick peas mixed with tahini suce, garlic, lemon juice, served with olive oil.

My daughter loved the soft pita and the Homuus!  I’m glad she’s very open to new tastes.  I definitely have a future foodie in the person of my 4-year old daughter. ;)

For dessert, I especially loved the Rice Pudding…

It is made with rice, milk, rose water, orange water and pistacchio.  I tell you, it did taste flowery…like a mild perfume!  Haha!  This dessert didn’t quite appeal to my husband.  But it scored major points from Abby and me. ;)

The rest of desserts were pastries, which were too sweet…

Semolina Cake (made with semlina flour, sugar and yogurt)

Baklava (made with filo, walnuts, sugar and flour)

Jam Cookie

We’ve been to enough buffet places here in Texas to know that when it comes to interiors and ambiance, we shouldn’t set too high a standard.  That’s not to say that buffet places here are just plain hideous.  They are just, well, lacking…in more ways than one.  Some exert a little more effort than the others though, to come up with a more pleasant dining environment.  It can’t be said, however, that Dimassi’s is one of those that exerted that extra effort.

Dimassi’s dining area had a cafeteria-ish feel to it, what with the fluorescent lighting and the not so attractive chairs and tables.  It is easy to forgive restaurants for these little things if the food is good enough to make you forget.  And for a buffet price of $12.00 per head including drinks, one can’t really complain about floor tiles, wall decors and furniture.  Oh, our 4-year old ate for free by the way!

If you tend to go for food that are visually appealing when choosing which food lands on your plate, then you probably won’t be able to make the most out of your $12.  In fact, there were teen-aged kids who couldn’t behave themselves and were making fun of the food and how they looked right there at the buffet line!  Food presentation just isn’t one of Dimassi’s stronger points.

Vegetarians will love Dimassi’s because they offer quite a number of vegetarian dishes.

It may be a while before we go back to Dimassi’s.  We simply don’t crave meditteranean food as often as we do Asian food, Japanese most specially. :D

Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet
12636 Research Blvd
Austin, Tx 78759
Tel: 512-258-0395

* This is entry #35 for *

I have another (recipe) book to add to my ever growing collection…

I love it!  More than a recipe book, it lets the reader have a closer look into the Southeast Asian kitchen – the must have ingredients, the favorite methods of cooking, the signature dishes, etcetera.   Oh and the photographs!  I drooled on page after page of beautifully photographed dishes!  The book’s practically useless now.  Kidding again.  Hahaha!  Seriously, it was so tempting to just tear off the pages and munch on them.

I can’t wait to try the recipes.  Where should I start?  Indonesia?  Brunei?  Thailand?  Vietnam?  Philippines?  Malaysia? Can you name name the rest of the countries?  Hee hee.

I love surprises that come via courier.  :D  Can a KitchenAid mixer be too far behind?   Wishful thinking.  Hint! Hint! ;)