The Barefoot Contessa Wannabe

All thanks to my recent awesome discovery that our cable subscription actually carries Food Network channel, my crazy dream to become a Giada De Laurentiis or Ina Garten when I grow up intensified even more. I swear I can watch this channel all day!

In an episode last weekend, Ina prepared Filet Mignon with Roquefort cheese chive sauce. It looked incredibly yummy and easy to make, so I was like "Why not try it out myself?" So in high hopes of unleashing the Barefoot Contessa in me, I headed to the supermarket for the ingredients all set to prepare a nice dinner at home for my loved one.

Of course real life is so not like what we see on tv. It's never easy. First, I couldn't find a skillet anywhere. Second, there's no filet mignon available either. So I settled for beef tenderloin, decided to use my small non-stick pan and a separate baking tin I already have at home, and just hoped for the best.

Fortunately, after almost two hours of prepping and cooking, my first ever steak came out real good. Of course I had to improvise with a lot of things instead of following the recipe as is. I decided to make creamy mushroom soup, mashed potato and buttered vegetables (broccoli and shitake mushrooms) as well to complete the meal. They're all from scratch so I was beyond proud of what I've accomplished. The man (and his tummy) was all smiles after dinner. But I think I need to invest in a couple of wine glasses to complete the fine dining experience next time. Will definitely do this again!

Have you cooked up something extra special at home lately for your family? Surprise them with a nice home-cooked meal. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up surprising yourself even. There's always a Barefoot Contessa in all of us when we do it with love, y'know.

Anyhoo, the recipe can be found in the Food Network website in case you wanna give it a shot too. :)

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Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe

My guy has given me lots of fresh apples weeks ago when I had the flu so I can have something healthy to munch on. But the problem was, I don't really eat apples unless it's a cake, a muffin, or a pie. Since I didn't want those apples to go to waste, I decided to put on my imaginary baker's hat again after a long long time of not baking, and baked Apple Cinnamon Muffins for the very first time. I used this recipe as guide but cut the measurements by half and used ingredients I already had available at home instead. I can't believe how easy they are to make and they came out really good I must say!

For this recipe, you will be needing 1 cup self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 big egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 2 cups chopped apples (peeled of course), 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or any nuts of your choice), 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional).

I'm telling you these muffins are so incredibly filling and smell so good too. The best thing about this recipe? You can all do this by hand! Best served warm along with your favorite cup of hot coffee or choco. Enjoy!

 

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Baked Cheesy Garlic Mussels Recipe

Happy Monday everyone! How are you guys doing? The first week of my one-month vacay can't get any better so far. I'm currently spending quality time with my favorite people on earth: my family. It still feels so surreal seeing them and actually talking to them in person again. I can't believe it's been a year and nine months since the last time I saw them!

Anyway, my days are now filled with so much fun bondings and of course, good food! Just last week I've tried the yummiest baked fresh mussels ever! A winning combo of cheese  + garlic which tasted so amazing and they're super easy to make too.

You will be needing some fresh clean open mussels, slightly salted butter, minced garlic and grated cheddar cheese.

Mussels are a great protein source low in fat and calories. They're even rich in essential nutrients that can help you combat fatigue and even depression. In short, they belong to the "happy food group" and they're definitely good for you!

Let me know in case you try these out too! I also shared some of my easy peasy recipes for fried shanghai rolls and crispy fried okra here and here.

Do you have any simple but great-tasting healthy recipes? Share them with me! If you have links, so much better. I've got too much time on my hands right now to try them all out. Hope you're having the best day ever wherever you are in the world! :)

 

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Breaking the fast

This is the story of the "food coma" that is the end of Ramadan. Yes, Ramadan finally ended and we celebrated it in true "Eid Mubarak" fashion: shameless non-stop eating of course! I'm telling you, my baby fats were overjoyed I can hear them yell "Oh yeah!"

The Rundown : Ihop opened its first ever branch here in the desert and I fell in love with hefty breakfast all over again // Choosing yummy meatballs and salmon from Ikea Food over picking up new things for the apartment // Went Japanese for dinner. Those shrimp tempura were so good I didn't mind the allergies that came after // Baked an extra sinful moist chocolate cake for our friends to celebrate the long break // Downed two boxes of Domino's and chicken wings while watching feel-good movies on tv. The life!

You may have probably noticed already, but these photos (together with my consistent food-focused blog posts as of late) basically sum up how my "Fit into the bridesmaid's dress" mission went further down the spiral. In short, I ended up gaining back all the pounds I lost and more during the last few weeks. Trying to stay positive though. After all I still have roughly nine months to get into shape anyway. Keeping my fingers crossed.

My five-day staycation was sweet, laid-back, quiet, and as much as I want to stretch it further it officially ended its course today. Missing it loads as I crawled myself back to work this morning. It was a struggle but I couldn't be more excited to get back into the groove of things. Busy days ahead!

Eid Mubarak, everyone! :)

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Good food weekend

There's really nothing like waking up to good food on a weekend morning. Today is officially our cheat day. That means no more counting calories or thinking about managing our weight. We're gonna stuff our tummies with favorites and just simply enjoy all these blessings that we have. It's nice to stay inspired and to reward ourselves from time to time with great-tasting treats after a week of hard work. :)

I woke up to the smell of awesome pancakes for breakfast that I just had to follow it up with something equally good for lunch. A quick look inside our fridge and I ended up cooking caldereta or meat stew, which everyone enjoyed.

Last night, we grabbed a couple of friends and went to our favorite Korean restaurant for dinner which is only a few blocks away from our house. We missed this place! It's been months since the last time we visited. We had bulgogi, ojingeo bokkeum and of course, countless servings of kimchi. :)

Sorry for the photo-heavy post. Did I just make you hungry? We just can't say no to good food around here!

Do you also have a cheat day? :)

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Crispy Fried Okra Recipe

I posted a photo of my first attempt at cooking Crispy Fried Okra in this post before and have received quite a number of messages and tweets asking for the recipe. It's actually one of the easiest recipes ever, requiring no special skills at all. And it tastes like a real winner too.

Here's the simple recipe in case you want to try it out:

Others also prefer adding a dash of cayenne pepper into the mix to give it some extra kick. If you want your okra a bit hot and spicy, feel free to add this as well with the eggs.

I'm really trying to eat as much vegetables as possible these days. Such a late bloomer when it comes to veggies. Do you also have some easy-to-follow healthy recipes? Share them with me. Would love to try them out too.

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Gone Korean

My usually sensitive and very picky palate has recently developed an insane love for Korean cuisine. There's just something really interesting about how they present their food that makes me anticipate and appreciate the experience even more. Just with the number of side dishes they serve alone even before you dig in the main meal feels like such a treat already.

Aside from their usual kimchi and bulgogi, I've also become a huge fan of their noodles and sauces. Kinda ironic actually. Because instead of learning how to eat and appreciate Middle Eastern cuisine more, living here in Dubai has even made me go for Asian dishes daily such as Chinese, Filipino and of course, Korean. (^_^)

I even discovered this Korean supermarket the other day which was just a stone's throw away from our building and instantly had a mini spree. The store owner was so friendly and nice enough to accommodate all my questions about everything. It was also my first time to try their sweet rice cake which was very reminiscent of our local delicacies back home in the Philippines.

Sorry for the photo-heavy post. Since the month of Ramadan is just around the corner, this just happens to be the perfect time to share about my recent food adventures. I won't be dealing with food for a very long time once it starts, so please bear with me. :)

Do you love Korean cuisine as well? I usually can't stand very spicy foods and am not very experimental when it comes to other cuisines so my choices from their menu tend to be all safe and traditional. If you have tried and loved them, I would love to hear your suggestions.

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Super Darcy Dark Chocolate Cake

I think I did a pretty decent job baking Darcy's birthday cake last Thursday. My new baking tin from Lakeland was finally put to good use! It's the perfect size that I've always wanted in a cake - not too big and not too small either. The ones I used before from Prestige were all too big and I've been encountering troubles measuring ingredients whenever I bake a big cake. So here it goes. Tadah! :)

Isn't she a beauty? For this Super Darcy Dark Chocolate Cake, I actually just experimented to get the exact sweetness that I wanted. I know, I'm really bad at following recipes and precise measurement of ingredients gives me headaches (not the qualities of a good baker indeed). But I remember using a lot of cocoa powder, a bit of vanilla essence and cups of vegetable oil in this one. Suprisingly, it came out really good and super moist. Since Darcy's favorite chocolate is Hershey's kisses, I decided to use it as toppers. She loved it and I'm satisfied.

Anyway, it was my first time to make my own chocolate icing as I'm used to just melting a chocolate bar with a bit of butter to frost the cakes I bake 'cause it's easy to whip up. Pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and voila! I'm lazy like that, but I'm really trying to change my ways now.

Here are the ingredients that I used for the chocolate icing:

• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• almost a cup of icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons water

I just mixed the above by hand using a wooden spoon and then frost my cake immediately. Note that the amount of icing sugar can vary. You may choose to add less or more until you get just the right consistency and texture.

With all the baking I've been doing regularly, I think it's high time to invest in a Kitchen Aid, don't you think? I also baked yesterday a cake for my dad's birthday and today happens to be my brother's birthday also, so I'm planning to bake some cupcakes. Lots of special occasions this month! The manual mixing can be pretty tiring.

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