Of Strawberry Shortcakes

I have always loved looking at strawberry shortcakes. There's something that's simply beautiful about smooth cream and bright red strawberries sandwiched between two slices of shortcake. The problem was that I never seem to have all the ingredients for it together. I'd have cream but no strawberries, strawberries and no flour, flour and no butter etc. And when I do have them, I always seem need them for something else.

Yesterday, my dad bought strawberries and to my surprise, he had some cream that he used for scalloped potatoes. Grabbing the chance, I baked strawberry shortcakes. 

I used the recipe for cream scones for the shortcakes. (See my post on scones) Then I placed some strawberries in a bowl (around a cup, maybe more if you love them) and added two tablespoons of sugar. Let them stand for at least an hour until the strawberries have soften and the sweet scarlet juices have oozed out. I placed another bowl and the beaters of my hand-held mixer in the freezer for a few minutes. After the bowl and the beaters had cooled, I placed some cream and a few drops of vanilla in the bowl. I beat the cream mixture until it formed soft peaks.

To assemble, I cut the scones into halves and place a dollop of cream on one side and spooned strawberries on top of the cream. I had more strawberries around each shortcake. And then...YUMMY!

Of Amish White Bread

My brother decided to bake that today was a good day to bake bread. The recipe he chose was the Amish White Bread. I have no idea what makes it Amish. I just know that while the bread was baking in the oven, the house smelled amazing. The bread is nice and soft. It still has a crust, but even that is quite soft. Like any other bread, it is best eaten while it's still warm.

According to the recipe he pulled up from allrecipes.com, you will need the following to make this bread:
2 cups warm water
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

The only thing my brother changed was the bread flour. We didn't have bread flour in the house, so he used all purpose flour instead. Assuming he followed the recipe exactly, he
1. Dissolved sugar in warm water then stirred in the yeast. He allowed this to form a creamy foam.
2. He added the salt and oil to the yeast, and added one cup of flour at the time.
3. He kneaded the dough on a floured surface until smooth. He then placed it in a well oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it, and covered it with a damp cloth.
4. He allowed it to stand for 1 hour.
5. After allowing to stand, he punched the dough and kneaded it for a few minutes. He divided it into 2, shaped the loaves and allowed them to rise for 30minutes.
6. He baked both loaves in a 350F or 175C oven for 30minutes.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/amish-white-bread/detail.aspx

The recipe says that that you should used a 9x5 inch loaf tin, but my brother simply shaped the loaves into spheres and popped them in the oven. He also recommend using your hands to mix everything.

Yup, this fishy loves it!

Of Brownies

Look how moist that brownie is, yet it has that nice crispy top.

I've been thing of brownies for a while now. I've put off baking them mostly because I ran out of eggs. Sad, but true. When I finally got eggs, I started looking for the perfect brownie recipe. One that was not too gooey and not too dry. Then I came across this recipe from the joyofbaking.com. It's called Katherin Hepburn's Brownies, because according to the author, Katherin Hepburn gave this recipe to a gossip columnist who published it in her column. Not sure if this is true or not, but I am extremely glad someone decided to publish this recipe. It's easy and everything is done in one bowl. 

2 ounces (60 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (100 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 165C or 325F. Melt the chocolate and the butter in a large bowl over simmering water. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Stir, then add flour and salt. Add nuts too if you're using them.
Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30-35minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy the beautiful scent this brownie has. Don't forget to cut into squares and serve.

Read more:http://joyofbaking.com/katharinehepburnbrownies.html#ixzz1XfayPug8

The one change I made was the chocolate. Instead of using 60g of chopped unsweetened chocolate, I used half a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I'm not sure if that's equivalent to 60g of chocolate, but the brownies still turned out great. I also reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. I couldn't bring myself to use a whole cup of sugar. I also did not use any nuts for now. 

See the crumbs!! Fishy loves!

Of Scones

I love scones. The recipe for scones is usually simple enough that when I was a kid, I really really wanted to bake them. There was just one problem. I didn't quite know what they were and how they should turn out. But, it was a good start for a ten-year old starting baker. It wasn't until college (and with the help of Google) that I really started baking them. I also started experimenting with the recipe. The first successful recipe I followed is from Allrecipes.com. It was (and still is) a 5-star recipe, and that's basically why I chose to use it.

Here it is below:

 2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

 8 tbsp or 1/2 cup butter (cold)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 sour cream

1 large egg

1. Preheat oven to 400F or 200C. (I know it 400F is actually 204. 44C, but trust me, it won't matter)

2. Shift flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Add sugar and salt. Mix.

3. Cut butter into smaller pieces and add to flour mixture.

4. Using your fingers, work butter into the flour mixture until you get the consistency of cornmeal.

5. Add raisins and mix.

6. In a different bowl, whisk together sour cream and egg. Pour this into the dry mixture and whisk with a fork until everything is just moist.

7. Place this mixture onto a floured surface and form a ball.

8. At this point you may sprinkle an additional 1 tablespoon sugar or brush with either an egg wash or milk. Then using a lightly floured knife divide the ball into 8 pieces. Place on a greased or lined cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden.

Read more at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-scones/detail.aspx

Chocolate chip scones served with milk. The Florida's Natural is just there because it's grapefruit flavour, which I never got when I was in Florida.

That's the basic recipe. Here's what else you can do with this recipe:

a) Instead of using sour cream, you can use unflavoured yoghurt. I've tried this once when my family was in Doha, Qatar and for some reason I couldn't find sour cream. It works quite well. The texture is pretty much the same.

b) You can also add a little orange zest or lemon zest. It won't affect the flavour, but it does make it smell so good.

c) Substitute raisins with chocolate chips, nuts, other dried fruits or fresh blueberries. Basically anything that's about the size of a raisin and is edible.

d) You can also use a cookie cutter to form the scones if you want. 

e) Another recipe I used is from the website joyofbaking.com. This recipe uses only 1/4 cup sugar, only 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half or heavy cream instead of sour cream. It also asks for some vanilla extract. It's still a very good recipe. Note, though, if you do decide to use heavy cream, be prepared for the richness of flavour that you'll get. Very rich, but oh so delicious. (http://www.joyofbaking.com/scones.html)

f) On the same website, there is also a recipe for jam-filled scones where you divide the dough into 2, forming each into a circular disc. Then spreading jam on one disc and topping it off with the other before cutting and baking. (http://www.joyofbaking.com/SconesfilledwitheJam.html)

The possibility is almost endless with scones and it's quite hard to go wrong them. It's a perfect recipe for those who are just starting out.

Note: Scones are usually served with Devonshire cream and jam. I never actually tried it with either, but if you're planning an English tea party, these two might make it a bit more authentic. 

Isn't the little fishy cute?

Of Leche Flan

Leche Flan is definitely my favorite dessert. It's sweet and creamy, and it just melts in your mouth. Leche Flan is the Philippines' version of Creme Caramel. It's apparently the same thing as a Latin American Flan.  According to Wikipedia, it's a custard dessert. Leche Flan is very easy to make. If I were in the Philippines, I would steam this dessert until it's done, but since I'm not and I'm too lazy for that, I'm going to bake it. The hardest part is probably making the syrup for the caramel topping, but there is a shortcut. So here it is ladies and gentlemen,

A Lazy Person's Lech Flan:
9 egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk (if you're lazy like me) If you're watching the sugar, you decrease this amount to about 2/3 of the can.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dark Corn Syrup  This is my shortcut for making the syrup. I've also used maple syrup and it still works nicely

1. Place the egg yolks, evaporated milk and condensed milk in a bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Mix slowly*.

2. In the mold of your choice*, place a thin layer of corn syrup. The syrup should just cover the bottom of your mold.

3. Strain your egg and milk mixture into the mold*.  Place the mold in your bigger container. Fill the container with water. Make sure the water level covers at least half the mold, but do not let it overflow.

4. Cover the mold with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 370 degress Farenheit oven for about an hour or until  a fork/toothpick comes out clean when you poke it. (The fork method is more reliable, so once you hit the 45 minute mark, check to see if it's done, then add baking time if needed)

5. Remove the mold from the water bath and allow it to cool totally before transporting or eating. (Trust me you do want to see what happens if you don't) When you are ready to eat it, which I hope you are by now, run a knife around the edges of the mold to loosen it up. Place a plate over the mold and turn it upside down. The flan should easily slip out perfectly onto your plate. Enjoy!


*To prevent bubbles from forming in out flan, we want to stir it slowly. We want a smooth and creamy leche flan, so bubbles are a no no.
*I prefer the traditional flanera, but I have a friend who has used a large ceramic container. She said it still worked. Whichever mold you choose, make sure you have a bigger container you can use for a water bath. *Straining the mixture into the mold removes all the other egg parts that just won't mix into the mixture.

PS. A friend of mine told me that she hated flan...that was until she tasted this flan. Now, the moment I say I'm going to make some, she just appears out of nowhere ready to eat this.

Picnic which my Leche Flan. The only problem with it was that there was too much syrup...though I know a few people who had absolutely no problem with that.

Of Christmases in the Desert

So I spent Christmas in Qatar. Yup, that's where the World Cup's going to be in 2022.

This is what this little construction site is going to be:

Solar powered lights, anyone?

The Souq, or the marketplace.

Rugs

Doha's city center

Businessmen need their rest too.

Sunset in Doha

Of Houston and Being Stuck

I had an extremely long layover last month. Unintentionally. I guess that's what happens when you use employee dependent tickets. Sure they're cheaper and sure I had a business class seat, but as long as you're not a revenue passenger, you'll always be subjected to load. 

So, I decided to make proper use of my time and explore the Museum District in Houston. Since I didn't drive, I only managed to go to three museums. Very fine museums, I must say. The first was the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the second was the Museum of Fine Arts, and finally, the Contemporary Arts Museum. All are a must go. Just make sure you you book your ticket home. Houston isn't exactly a friendly place for people who like taking public transportation, nor is it great for people who like to walk, like me. And aside from the Museum District, Rice University, Theater District and the Johnson Space Center, there's wasn't really much I wanted to see.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Triceratops...are they a whole species on their own or are they just younger versions of another dinosaur?

Shells from the Philippines. Didn't know there were so many.

This little plaza was beautiful.