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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Leche Flan (Creme Caramel)

Leche flan is one of the desserts I really, really love. I want it creamy, smooth and not too sweet.

My friends told me that it's very easy to make a leche flan but honestly the thought of caramelizing the sugar overwhelmed me, weird right? When I received my steamer, I challenged myself to make this delicious dessert. With the help of Google, I was able to find many recipes for this. Some use the whole egg while most were just used egg yolks. I tried some of the recipes and I kind of failed. Aside from that, I'm looking for a certain taste that I remember from way back when.

Finally, I remembered that it was Cherry's ( a friend and a former officemate)leche flan. I asked her if she could share her recipe with me and generous as she is, she gave it to me and wish me good luck (I really need that).

A good friend of mine, Janis, shared with me on how to caramelize the sugar using microwave oven. She got it from this blog. Be careful in handling it though cause its TOO HOT and you should be quick in pouring the caramelized sugar in the molds cause it hardens way too fast.

My first try of this recipe was too firm but the taste was good. I realized then that I'm using small molds and so I should adjust the time. My second try was good BUT too much caramelized sugar. My third time, it was perfect!!! My friends who were able to try it was also happy with the taste, consistency and the sweetness.

So here it is, Cherry's Leche Flan Recipe:

8 eggyolks

3/4 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla(optional as this was not in her recipe but I normally see this included in most leche flan recipes so I decided to add it as well).

1. Caramelized the sugar and transfer it to the leche flan molds and let it cool.

 2. Beat together all the ingredients until well mixed. Better to hand mix them using a wire whisk to prevent bubble from forming.

3. Strain the leche flan mix and distribute evenly in the molds.

4. Cover the mold with a foil and steam for 30 minutes. I initially set it to 20 but when I checked it by inserting a knife in the flan, it's still not yet done. I steamed for another 5 minutes, checked again but same result. Steamed for 5 minutes more and the knife came out clean.

5. Let it cool and chill it in the fridge for an hour or two before serving. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the flan then invert onto a plate.

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Blogging thru iPhone or iPad

There are tons of apps in iTunes for iPhone and iPad but the Blogger apps solved my problem in blogging. Blogging requires time to upload pictures, editing then uploading it to your posts. 

People nowadays take pictures using their phone then edits the picture with apps such as Snapseed or apple's built in editor. This means everything you need to blog is already on your phone or on your iPad. 

Of course this app cater mainly in creating, editing and/or publishing posts. Designing your blog and changing some configurations still requires you to use the browser version of blogger.

After installing the apps and launching it, the login screen will appear. Once your email and password has been verified, you menu will look like this:

Tapping the Posts will give you the list of all your posts.

The Blogger apps only have the following Settings:

Tap New Post to start creating a new post.

You can insert pictures in your blog post from your photo library or by taking a new picture by tapping the camera icon found on the upper right corner of your screen.

Tap Done when you're finish then you can add Labels as well as Locations.

If you're ready to Save and/or Publish your post, just tap on Save.

 

Tapping on View Blog on the Main Screen will show the mobile version of your blog.

If you're blog has Pages, it will be in a drop-down form in the mobile version.

Happy Mobile Blogging!

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