Learning Again.

My last post was back in February. Happy that it did not take me a year before writing another entry.

I have no other excuse but that life is indeed hectic. Every now and then, I find time to relax but the time is spent either sleeping or bumming around.

Yes... a lot of things has happened already. Big things. I hope to enumerate them in several posts. I might end up not actually blogging about them but will try my very best.

One recent thing that has made me be in touch with my creative self again is baking.

I had my kitchen re-done which meant buying a new oven. Of course, the idea is for me/us to use it.

But the inspiration really came from Gemma, a UK-based colleague from my ex-office. She was here on a 6-month assignment and had been baking whilst she was here in Manila, sharing her finished products to everyone in the office. She grew up in a place where baking is like cooking, anybody can just do it without any degree or extreme passion. All you need is be interested, a bit of research, some tools and ingredients.

I have attempted twice already. Both successful. I don't think I am a talented baker but I can do this, just like cooking, and come up with decent products that will certainly satisfy the diners inside our homey home.

My first legit baking - Chocolate Cupcakes. The recipe, I found in this link.

Ingredients 
Serves: 16 

• 1 1/3 cups (170g) plain flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
• pinch salt

• 50g butter, softened
• 1½ cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¾ teaspoon (7ml) vanilla essence
• 1 cup (250ml) milk

Directions
Prep:25min  ›  Cook:15min  ›  Extra time:5min  ›  Ready in:45min 

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a muffin pan with patty cups.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Ice with your favourite icing when cool.

And after, Choco Banana Cupcake which was a big success. All consumed in 5 hours by the kids and adults.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup mini chocolate chips

sugar for sprinking on top

I added: 1/4 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine bananas, oil, egg large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder (and the pinch of salt). Add to banana mixture. (Add the vanilla). Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

The second time felt easier with me baking much faster. I think I will be doing this for a while. 

Butter or vanilla cupcake, next?

Moonleaf Tea Shop.

It was a slow Saturday so when my brother proposed that we visit his friend's shop, I readily said yes and brought hubby with me.  My sister and brother-in-law tagged along, too.

The shop was called Moonleaf Tea Shop.  It is located at Maginhawa Street, Teacher's Village.

I looooove milk tea even if I am lactose intolerant so I was extremely excited to taste their unique flavors.  But what immediately struck me when we got there was the unique concept that the shop has.

It is an old house converted to a tea shop (my architect cousin, by the way, designed the place).  Here is the 'garahe' (garage) leading to the main entrance... with chairs and tables outside.  The garahe was packed with customers and well lit, I feel like I am going to a party in a neighbor's house.

Inside you will see that it's a small shop... with chairs and tables, of course.  And the twist is this.

Nice corkboards where anyone can tack notes/messages on (I suppose only the noncontroversial ones).  Waiting for someone who is running late but you need to dash and have no load?  Leave a post-it here.

I remember that my first time to order in Starbucks had me feeling worried about the things I had to say to the barista.  Moonleaf, however, has a no frills counter, left simple for everyone not to feel intimidated.  The space can be a challenge when lines are long but I guess this is not something the young ones really care about.  Blame it on my age, perhaps -- the older you get, the more space you want.

Now, let's go to what they sell.

They have the Basic, the Milk Teas, the Fruit Teas and the add-ons (pudding, pearls, milk, nata).  Price starts at Php70.  Of course, you would have additional charges for the add-ons.

They also have cakes and pastries which should complement your teas.

Here is what hubby and I had.

Honey Aloe Tea for hubby on the right.  Honey Milk Tea, Jasmine-based, with pearls and pudding... YUM... that's mine.

Every cup has a smiley.

The guy who brought this to Pinas (from Taiwan) is very young.  Adrian Adriano was not born rich but has a truck full of guts.  For me, he is a success story so here I am in a photo op with him.

I would, most definitely, be back to Moonleaf to enjoy the tea and the unique personality of the shop.


Moonleaf also has a branch in Katipunan.  They usually have treats, promos, booth setups so for more updates, like them on Facebook.

Fruit Salad.

One of the desserts quickest to prepare is the Fruit Salad.  I am, by the way, talking about the regular one not the espesyal that is usually prepared for parties and Christmas meals.


Here are the ingredients.


All Purpose Cream.  I tried the Magnolia Cream to be different.  It's a little more liquid than Nestle Cream. I used the whole pack.

From Digicam Shots

Condensed Milk.  I used around a half of the can. 

From Digicam Shots

Fruit Cocktail.  This makes the preparation easier since the fruits are all sliced and diced. Don't forget to drain the juice. 

From Digicam Shots

Cheese in cubes.  The not-so-ordinary ingredient.  Got this trick from Mom. Promise!  Makes the salad extra delish. 

From Digicam Shots

How to prepare:


1. After the fruit cocktail juice has been drained, pour the all-purpose cream.  Mix.  Some may want their fruit salad less soupy so feel free to put in less cream.

From Digicam Shots

2. Next is the condensed milk.  Mix in portions to acquire your desired sweetness. 

From Digicam Shots

3.  Add the cheese cubes last. 

From Digicam Shots

4.  Mix until evenly blended. 

From Digicam Shots

5. Freeze. 

From Digicam Shots

6. Around an hour before serving, remove the salad from the freezer and place in the ref to soften the salad a bit.


7. Serve cold and enjoy.

Mercato By Night.

We live less than 5km away but we have never tried going to Midnight Mercato ever since it opened.

Three Fridays ago was the perfect time.  My work was on monthend close mode so that meant overtime.  Overtime meant synchronization with my hubby's office hours.

Welcome to Midnight Mercato!

From Digicam Shots

We went around first and saw all types of food.  There were pastries, burgers, sausages, tempura and street food!  Of course, street food in sushyal version.

There were squid balls, chicken balls, kwek-kwek.

From Digicam Shots

We also saw barbecue, isaw, betamax, etc.

From Digicam Shots

Just like street food, you order then they cook.

From Digicam Shots

They also have samalamig (which is also called Sago't Gulaman).

From Digicam Shots

Here's what we had.

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

All these plus hubby's bagnet and rice for more than Php300.  Not bad.  But if you grew up in UP... expensive.

While I appreciated the experience, I definitely think this is not the hangout place for hubby and me.  It was a bit crowded.  Eating place was al fresco so it has a good number of smokers nearby.  Indeed... I am getting old.

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

We ended the night with a chocnut Mochiko ball which was delicious.

I would not mind stopping by again but if I would be made to choose between the two Mercatos, I would pick the morning version.

Peach Mango Float.

I had a can of Peach Halves lying around my kitchen so I attempted to make a Peach Mango Float awhile ago.  I am hoping it's okay since it does not look like the best float in town.  Let's see tomorrow.

Here are the ingredients.

Nestle cream.  I did use the whole can though I think it was not enough considering I had lots of peaches.

From Digicam Shots

Condensed Milk.  I used around 4/5 of the can.

From Digicam Shots

Peaches.  Big can!

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

Mangoes.  This should have been just a Peach Float but this mango was just hours from being overripe so I included it.

From Digicam Shots

Graham crackers, of course.

From Digicam Shots

How to prepare:


1.  Mix the cream and condensed milk.  Watch out for the taste.  Pour in the fruits (peaches and mangoes).  Leave some fruits for the topping.

From Digicam Shots

2.  Place the graham crackers in a pan.  This will serve as the base.

From Digicam Shots

3.  Pour the first layer of mixture.

From Digicam Shots

4.  Top the mixture with graham crackers.  Repeat the layering until your reach the desired float height.


5.  Topmost layer would be the graham crackers.  Garnish with thinner layer of the mixture + the fruits.

From Digicam Shots

6.  Chill in the refrigerator.

From Digicam Shots

7.  Serve cold.


Good luck tomorrow.

Update: The Peach Mango Float was a hit.  The whole house loved it.  We are down to two slices (nagkahiyaan lang!)...

Mercato.

There was much ado about Mercato at the Bonifacio Global City so hubby and I decided to check it out during one weekend of January.  Our little boy tagged along so pardon me for the lacking pictures.

From Digicam Shots

People call it the rich man's palengke, similar to the Salcedo Market at the Velasquez park in Makati.  The place is open during weekends from 6AM to 2PM (though I heard that there are plans to turn it to a night weekend market).  During our visit, we got there at around 10:30AM.  Many of the stalls were closed for the day already so better to be earlier next time.

From Digicam Shots

There are two tents and a food gallery outside where tables and chairs were set up for folks who want to enjoy the food right then and there.

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

Products sold were mostly organic stuff.  There were also tons of desserts.  Something that caught my eye was Michiko Mochiko.  Mochi balls (which are my super faves) with ice cream inside.  One ball was P45 and you are advised to wait around 2 mins before chomping.

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

You will also find a lot of delicacies.  Hubby found a stall selling one of his favorites, the Tulingan -- fish that was processed like the Spanish-style sardines only that this is bigger and not canned.

The Tulingan was stored in this banga.

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Cost was around Php50 each.  We bought 3.

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Brought 'em home for lunch.  Served yummier with patis and calamansi extract.

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots