Perfect Quote on Thanksgiving

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
― Epicurus

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Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffin

I've been searching for a healthy blueberry in the internet a couple of weeks ago. The keyword in that search is healthy but of course I also want it to be delicious as well (who wouldn't?). One of my favorite baking blog is Sally's Baking Addiction and I was so happy that she have these series of Skinny recipes that looks as delicious as her non-skinny recipes.

I've listed some which I want to try and the first on my list is her Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffin, full details here

The result is not what she has described in her blog but the taste, I must say is delicious. It's not sweet yet it's really delicious. When you say healthy, the first thing that comes on your mind is that it doesn't have much flavor in it, but this recipe is really good. Although, I dont know why but the texture is tough and textured even though I used 1/2 wholemeal flour and 1/2 all-purpose flour ... Hmmmm, maybe I should try other brands of whole wheat flour. Anyways, my family is still loves it :)

Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffin

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup of white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup of non-fat vanilla greek yogurt (or any yogurt) **
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup of milk **
1 1/4 cup of fresh of frozen blueberries

** greek yogurt and almond milk is best used if you want to achieve the 131 calories only

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 160 celsius and spray 12/15 muffin tins with cooking spray or spread it with butter.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

3. Mix honey and sugar in a separate large bowl. Use a fork to break all the lumps and break as much as you can.
4. Add in the mashed banana, yogurt and beaten egg in the honey and sugar mixture. Mix well.

5. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold it all together until well mixed.
The batter will be thick at this stage.

6. Pour the milk slowly in the batter. This is to thin out the batter but it will still be thick.

7. Gently fold in the blueberries but be careful not to overmix the batter as this will result in a tough, dry muffin.

8. In the recipe, this batter will fill in 15 muffin tin but in my case, I used the 12 muffin tin of Ikea, fill it all the way at the top. The batter is just right for the 12 muffin ikea pan.
9. Bake for 17-18 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick at the center of the muffin and it should come out clean.

10. Allow to cool before pulling it out from the muffin pan.

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The Delicious Experience

My friend Sheryl told me about Delicious a couple of times already but it never registered to me. All I remember is, there's a resto in Malaysia where she and her bf would go and have a delicious pasta.
Then when she was here in Singapore, she had dinner with girlfriends which I wasn't able to join and she said they went to the same pasta resto and our conversation went on like this:

She: We had pasta at delicious and they all loved it. I told you the pasta there is really good.
Me: Really?! Nice! So what is the name of the restaurant?
She: I already told you so many times, it's Delicious!
Me: Ahhhh, the name of the resto is Delicious?
She: Yes, yes, yes!!! Kulit!!!
Me: I thought you only mean that the food there is delicious, that's why it never registered in my mind. Hahahaha!

Anyways, about a week ago, I was on pasta craving and I was also meeting my other friend. When she asked me where are we going to have dinner, I suggested this place. Of course, we have to search where is the resto and their website also shows their menu and I must say, the prices are reasonable. And so, we searched for Delicious in orchard area with a grumbling stomach and all we could think of is pasta.

When we saw the place, our first impression: it's cozy in here. After that we quickly browsed the menu since we're really starving.

We ordered Cajun Friend Calamari (SGD10), Napolicious Spaghettini (SGD15.50) for me and Seafood Aglio Olio Spaghettini (SGD16) for Salie. For drinks, I ordered Iced Lemon Tea while Salie ordered Rootbeer. For Dessert (my favorite part of every menu), we chose the Berrilicious Chocolate Pavlova (SGD9.90), since I want to know how it taste cause Im planning to try to bake this hihihi!

Verdict:
It lives up to its name, it's Delicious :)

The Cajun Fried Calamari - crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

For my pasta, Napolicious Spaghettini, the firmness of the pasta is just right. The main ingredients which are Beef Bacon, Chilies and Creamy Tomato Sauce blends so well. Not too sour, not too creamy but just right.

Berrilicious Chocolate Pavlova. Pavlova from what I read is a famous Australian dessert and is mainly composed of meringue combined with whatever you want (or just add toppings) and in this case, with chocolate and Berrilicious. I love meringue and the word that I always associate with it is sweet, too sweet actually. But their Pavlova is not too sweet, just right and with melts-in-your-mouth goodness. The presentation is very nice that I really wanted to try it out when I saw it but I don't want to ruin it so it's kind of a heart break to slice it. The fresh strawberries compliments well with the pavlova, the cream filling inside is not-to-sweet as well and blends with the taste of pavlova. I'm very, very happy with this dessert and I'm looking forward (and equally nervous as well) to try to bake it.

Salie was happy with her order as well :)

Over all, our tummy were really happy and we're so full. Will Definitely come back and recommend this to friends. Bonus part is, it's Pasta one-for-one on Monday's and Tuesday's and it was a Tuesday! Lucky us!


Delicious Cafe Info:

Address: Delicious Cafe
#B1-16 to19, Scotts Square
6 Scotts Road, 228209 Singapore
T: +65 6636 0903 F: +65 6636 0913
MON-SUN & PH: 11.00am - 9.30pm
Website: Delicious SG

Checkout the Delicious Cafe Daily Specials:

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Instant Gratification In A Jar

I was googling about my favorite and go-to product to combat acne when I saw this description: This world famous 'instant-gratification-in-a-jar' Drying Lotion by Mario Badescu Skin Care helps dry up whiteheads overnight. And yes! It fits this description.

I get to know about this product about 8 years ago from an office mate and gave it a try. I'm not really prone to acne but stress makes them all come out and I want it to dry fast and clean, without any marks.

I was able to find this product in Rustan's Makati and had to think a couple of times cause this small bottle costs about PHP1200 (around that time) and that was around 2005 or 2006. But then, I gave in and bought this miracle bottle.

See, Im used to only having none or just one pimple from time to time and so having more than one irks me out and kind of makes me panic. I had my worst breakout when I was preparing a wedding for a friend. My forehead was full of big zits, as in big! and it doesnt want to dry out. I think about a day or two before the wedding, I went to a derma clinic and what they did is to inject something to help the zits dry out fast. And the injection process hurts! I hate injection, who enjoys that, anyway? Unfortunately, it dried out but the bumps are still there and even the make-up won't cover it. I can't appreciate the beauty of my gown as a Maid of Honor because I was way too conscious of the zit bumps all over my face :(

Anyways, after that experience I got a little panicky whenever a pimple comes out as in I would find whatever that would help clear it out. I even tried the sticky cinnamon-honey concoction. Coz you see, as much as I want to clear out the acne fast, I also want it safe and not harsh for my skin. I don't want the redness or stingy feeling of some products.

After I bought my first bottle of Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, I was really nervous if it's worth my money. I categorized it as luxury ... gosh, luxurious acne! grrrr! After washing up my face and applying toner, I got a cotton buds and dip it into the drying lotion bottle to get the pink part then apply it on the zits. It does have a sting especially when your acne is "ripe". If you have quite a lot then you'll look like a dalmatian hahaha! Then when I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was to check what happened and I was so delighted that it worked! The zit dried out and after a few days it cleared out perfectly, without any marks.

When I moved to Singapore, I bought a bottle of this drying lotion with me and I was thankful cause at that time, it was still not available in SG. Now, you can buy it at Sephora or for a cheaper price and free delivery, at Luxola.

I always recommend this product to my friends and so far all of them loved this product. So indeed, it's an instant gratification in a jar. The kind of gratification only people who have acne problems would understand :)

More Info on: Mario Badescu

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Diet for A Better Life

A friend of mine in FB posted this and I shared it on my wall as well with a description: The best diet ever:

I've been doing this diet for the past couple of years, for peace of mind and because I've decided to always choose to be happy. And mind you, this diet indeed works!

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Revisting my Old Blog

I've been blogging on and off since March 2005. And from that time my life has changed so much that I decided to discontinue the old blog and create a new one, this one.

To fight off sleepiness, I browsed thru my old blog posts in my old blog and read thru some entries. I was surprised that I opened my heart out about my mom and her condition in a blog entry. That blog is basically about my life, my thoughts and everything about me.

That's the nice thing about blogging, it's like walking down memory lane and I think it's better than keeping a diary (does anyone still do that?) since you can include pictures or even videos in your blog.
If you write about your personal feelings and experiences and read it after some time, you'll be surprised to see how much you've changed (or didn't), how you've grown as a person, how your view about life and everything has changed and even your likes. And of course, what remains the same after all these years. One thing I know, my perspective about life has changed tremendously and in a very positive light :)

I'll re-post some of my favorite entries in my old blog here to save it before I delete the old one.
Yes, I'm kind of sentimental for the things and the people I value the most.

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Apple and Carrot Muffin

I've been searching for some healthy but yummy muffin recipes for the past couple of days. Getting to know my oven made me baked a lot of sweet stuff not to mention the no-bake nutella cheesecake that took us a week to finish and so I need to bake something which is not too sweet.

I listed some muffin recipes I want to try, with fruits and vegetables as main ingredients. First on my list was Apple and Zucchini Muffin (Confession: I haven't eaten zucchini in my entire existence so I have no idea how it taste). I chose this because I have apples in the fridge and the steps is quite easy. So off to the grocery I went to bought other stuff. After paying, I realized that I forgot to buy Zucchini tsk tsk tsk. So I went back inside and there's no Zucchini. I browsed thru the vegetable lanes 3x just to make sure and none, nadah, nothing, zero! SIGH. I went home thinking, what will I bake now?

When M called and asked how's my day so far, I shared the zucchini story. So M asked me, what else do you have? I said, I bought some baby carrots for macaroni soup. Then M suggested, why won't you search for an apple and carrot muffin recipe? And so I did!

Honestly, I was kinda nervous that it wont turn out so well. First, when I put in the nutmeg, I got overwhelmed with the smell and kind of made me think how would it taste like. Second, I don't know but I'm afraid that it won't puffed up hahaha!

I ate dinner after I put the muffin tin in the oven but I can't help but stand up from time to time to check if the muffin is rising. I'm that nervous and ecstatic when I saw it rise! hahaha!

And gosh, I didn't expect it to taste so good. It's not too sweet. The texture is soft and nice.
I refrigerate it the day after and it's still soft and I was able to eat it even without reheating.
My family liked it and so does my officemate. She emailed me with subject, Homebaked goodness. Then she said thanks and told me that I can do a part-time home based business with this muffin.
So I must say that this is a happy muffin and will make your tummy happy :)

Recipe from: mumsnet.com

Apple and Carrot Muffin

Ingredients
225g self-raising flour or plain flour plus 3 tsp baking powder
175g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
Tiny pinch of salt
150ml plain oil, eg sunflower, vegetable, or light olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 medium carrots, finely grated
1 apple, finely grated

My Notes:
I used self-raising flour.
For carrots, I used 1 pack of 250gm baby carrot. I also read in another recipe that baby carrot gives more moisture than normal carrots.
For apple, I used 2 small apples.


For a creamy icing (optional):
50g marscapone or cream cheese
100g icing sugar
20g butter, softened
Squirt of lemon juice

My Notes:
I didn't do the icing since it's my first time to try this recipe.
I'll do this next time though :)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Grease muffin tins or line with paper cases (makes approx 6 large, 12 medium, or 20 mini muffins).
3. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt and spices, using your hands to remove any lumps from the brown sugar if needed.
4. Add oil and eggs and gently the fold mixture together.
5. Stir in carrot and apple.
6. Spoon into muffin tins, nearly to the top.
Bake for approx 25-35 minutes depending on the size of the muffins.
7. Check with a skewer if unsure - if it comes out clean the muffin is cooked, if sticky leave them in for a bit longer.
8. Leave in the tin to cool a little, then turn out.
9. For optional creamy icing, blend ingredients and top each muffin.

Fresh from the oven:

Healthy goodness in every bite:

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Beef Salpicao

October 15, 2013 was a holiday and I planned to try this recipe to be served for dinner (lunch is not possible coz when I woke up it's almost lunch time already, it's a holiday, I need a break!). So I went to the grocery and excitedly bought the ingredients for this and the muffin recipe I want to try.

I just browsed thru the ingredients when I decided to give it a try and didn't read the instructions thoroughly. I had a nap and woke up at around 5pm then cook a quick snack. When I started preparing for dinner, I prep and started with the recipe step by step. So I minced the garlic and cut the beef. Put the beef in a bowl, add in the minced garlic, pepper and olive oil. Then I stopped on the next line, it says, refrigerate for a couple of hours. Oh no!!! What are we going to have for dinner then? I had no choice but to put the beef marinade in the fridge and announced to my family that beef Salpicao is postponed and will be served tomorrow night instead. There goes our dinner and we end up with some leftover chicken wings and opened a canned of spicy tuna. Lesson learned: don't give in to holiday laziness mania and read through all the steps not just the ingredients.

This recipe is from feastasia.casaveneracion.com/beef-salpicao and I must say, it is yummy although my father finds it too oily, I enjoy the added info part about Salpicao in the site where I got the recipe from.

Beef Salpicao


Ingredients:

700 to 800 g. of beef tenderloin, cut into one-inch cubes
3 tbsps. of finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper
3 tbsps. of olive oil
4 to 5 tbsps. of Worcestershire sauce
4 to 5 tbsps. of liquid seasoning (substituting soy sauce is not recommended)
about 1/4 c. of flour
3 tbsps. of butter combined with about 6 tbsps. of olive oil
about 1-1/2 c. of sliced mushrooms

My Note:

It's best to use the beef tenderloin. I used hump I think cause it's the only beef part available
in the grocery and it turned out a little too tough and chewy, although it's manageable, I would
try this again next time using beef tenderloin.

To garnish:

2 to 3 tbsps. of toasted garlic bits
2 to 3 tbsps. of finely sliced onion leaves

My Note:
I didn't do the garnishing part ... lazy me!

Steps:

Place the beef cubes in a bowl. Add the minced garlic, pepper and 3 tbsps. of olive oil. Mix well. Cover and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a wide shallow pan — wide enough to contain the beef cubes in a single layer. The heat should be very high.

Place the beef in a plastic freezer bag. Add the flour. Shake to coat each piece of meat with flour. It is the flour that will thicken the sauce later and make it stick well to the beef.

When the olive oil and butter are hot, add the floured beef, spreading the pieces so that every piece touches the oil. Do not stir for a minute or so to allow the underside to brown. Keep the heat very high. Stir and cook for a few minutes, with occasional stirring, until the beef changes color and a light crust forms.

Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and liquid seasoning. Stir briskly; the sauce should thicken quite fast. Add the mushrooms, cook just until heated, stirring occasionally.

The actual cooking should take no more than five minutes. If you overcook the beef, the meat will turn tough and dry.

Transfer the beef salpicao to a serving platter, sprinkle with toasted garlic bits and finely sliced onion leaves. Serve hot with rice.

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Adobong Pusit (Squid)

Adobo, being a staple in Filipino homes, have different versions. We have Pork Adobo, Chicken Adobo,
Chicken & Pork Adobo, Adobong Sitaw (String Beans), Adobong Kangkong and Adobong Pusit (Squid).
I only like 2 kinds of adobo among these variations, Pork Adobo and Adobong Pusit.

I don't know why, but I'm kind of always at a loss when it comes to Adobong Pusit. I always google for the recipe and confused whether it has tomatoes or not. And then, last week, I felt a little brave
and cooked it without googling it and the result was delicious, just right for my taste and my family loves it, too! And so, I have to blog it as my note.

Ingredients:

250gm Baby Squid, cleaned (big squids will also do)

1 onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup vinegar

2 bay leaf

Peppercorn or crushed pepper

Canola oil

Steps:

1. Heat canola oil in a pan. Put in the garlic and cook until golden brown.

2. Add the onions and cook until translucent.

3. Add in the tomatoes.

4. Stir fry the baby squids and cook for 3-5mins.

5. Put the soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf & peppercorn. Cover and let it simmer for 5 mins.

Serve with hot rice.

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A hack version of Boracay's Famous Real Coffee's Calamansi Muffin

Thru Instagram, I get to know this famous Calamansi muffin from Boracay. The celebrities rave about it so much and make it a point to buy lots as a pasalubong whenever they went to the island. 

I haven't been to Bora for a long time now and so I have absolutely no idea how it taste like but still I'm so curious about it.

I'm a follower of Erwan Heusaff's blog thefatkidinside and I was so happy when he posted the food hack version of this very famous muffin, needless to say, I have to try it out. This is on top of my list of must try even though at that time Erwan posted it, I don't have an oven yet...the power of wishful thinking.

And today is the day I get to try this recipe. Full details and video can be found here  

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp. + more to butter the ramekins
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk)
Zest from 1 lemon or lime
1/3 c calamansi juice (freshly squeezed) – or lemon, or key limes
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Steps:

Pre heat oven to 210 celsius

1. mix all the dry ingredients first. Set aside
2. In a mixer: butter + sugar until creamy. 1 egg, then mix. 1 more egg, mix again. On low, add the milk, juices, rind, dry mix. Mix until smooth.
3. Butter ramekins, and fill to 3/4
4. Place in the oven, automatically reduce heat to 175.

Keep an eye on them until they puff up and get a nice muffin top (dome) and a stick comes clean when inserted. (usually 15mins).

Notes:

My first batch didn't puff up as well but on my second batch, by accidental mistake, the oven is still at 200 celsius on the first 13 minutess and when I saw it, I put it back to 170 and baked it for 4 minutes more. It puffed up and looks more enticing than the first batch.

First Batch:

Second Batch:

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No Bake Oreo-Nutella Cheesecake

I love Cheesecake, specifically, the No Bake Cheesecake. This is one sinful indulgence that is so easy to do. 

I know a lot of people love Nutella in their bread but apparently, for someone who has a sweet tooth, I couldn't take the sweetness. After a fail try of making a cheesecake some years ago, I finally had the courage to try it again. I kept on thinking about Nutella, Oreo and cheesecake and of course, I couldn't imagine how it would taste but still my finger typed no bake nuttella cheesecake recipe on Google and I was surprised to see so many results.

After looking at each and every search result, I finally decided to give this recipe from Nigella.com a try though I changed some of it based on what I have at the time I made this cheesecake. So here's my version of No Bake Oreo-Nutella Cheesecake.

Ingredients:

Crust:

250 grams Oreo Cookies

75 grams Unsalted Butter

2tbsp Nutella spread

Cheesecake:

400 grams Nutella spread (at room temperature)

500 grams cream cheese (at room temperature)

Steps:

1. Prepare the crust by crushing the oreo cookies. For this step, I put the cookies in a ziplock bag then break them to a sandy consistency then transfer it to a bowl. After that, mix 2tbsps of nutella and butter in the crushed oreo. Actually, this is easier done in a processor but I dont know why I decided to do it manually.

2. Tip into 23cm/9inch round springform and press into the base using the back of the spoon. Place in the fridge to chill.

3. Beat the cream cheese and the nutella spread until well mixed. (As per the recipe, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar then mix the nutella spread. Unfortunately, I dont have an icing sugar when I made this)

4. Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the nutella-cream cheese mixture over the base. I set aside some crushed oreo  and scatter them over on top of the cheesecake mixture.

5. Put the springform back in the fridge and chill for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.

The taste is delicious, rich and smooth BUT it melts easily. I'm not sure if the icing sugar has something to do to make it firmer once it has been chilled although in a youtube tutorial that I watched, the chef said that nutella cheesecake doesn't need gelatin for it to become firm as nutella firms up when stored in a cool place. With this note, make sure you keep your nutella spread in room temperature.

Overall, it's good and worth every calorie!  I will certainly do it again.

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