Fondant wishes

A month ago, my husband requested that the cake I bake for him should have icing  made of fondant. Making fondant icing was only something that I dreamt of doing after getting formal lessons. But because of my husband's request, I knew it was something that I had to do. So for about a month, I searched online for the easiest and never fail fondant icing. However, I procrastinated and it was only the other day that I got to try out the first fondant recipe. I thought that it was rather easy but it turned out very oily and hard to shape. Putting it inside the fridge, I was hoping that it would harden a bit hence,  easier to roll like clay. I was wrong! So just last night (as soon as hubby fell asleep) I searched online again, and this time I tried doing the fondant with marshmallows, this recipe on the other hand turned out a bit hard to form. With little time on my hands, I was already getting worried that I might not be able to finish the cake on time. So what I did was combine the two fondants and voila! The combination turned out perfect! It rolled, formed and shaped well!

I wanted to surprise my husband as soon as he wakes up. So not being able to get even my forty winks was fine as long as I get to finish doing the cake. I wanted the cake to be a good representation of my husband. A couple of weeks back I came across a photo of a laptop cake, and yep, that's what I did. Mine though, was not as detailed as the one I saw online. My laptop cake was not upright, it was closed and was a crude image of a small MacBook.

My cakes are anything but remarkable when it comes to its shape as I think there's something wrong with my oven as it always turns out lopsided but hey!...am not complaining! :) This oven has done a lot for me and my family since my husband bought it for me over a year ago.

Anyway, I baked two flavors, I made Devil's food cake to represent the laptop and a Golden velvet cake as base. I also made Chocolate buttercream frosting which would act like a glue for the fondant. The first time I laid the flattened fondant I was already on edge, as my cake was  not turning out quite the way I imagined it to. But my passion got the better of me as I continued to make the cake look a lot better outside than how it really looked inside hahaha. It was a good thing that I thought of putting the fondant styled ala ribbon so that worked well.

Not my best work but it's the first and I know that there will be a lot more to learn. All I need to do really is, to try. If it works, good; if not, I know I can always try again.

FB is the place to be or not

borrowed image from trevordixon.co

I've once said that the social networking site, FB or Facebook has helped me so much in finding and reconnecting with long lost friends and relatives. While this is true, most will notice that FB has also been made into a battleground of sorts where some people bashed others and destroy their good name. Honestly, I may have clicked a few likes and even commented on posts that points out a particular truth. Am not saying I'm perfect because I'm not, but there has been some realizations over time... So, I came up with the following which is, once more, a product of my thought bubbles..

"Let Facebook be a venue to inspire people, to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives, to rejoice a milestone or the successes of friends, and even a place to promote one's craft. All in the spirit of good will.

On the other hand....

Let it NOT be a venue to damage spirits by destructive criticism(s), a place to wash your dirty laundry, to crush bridges, to lambaste, to promote havoc and wreck other people's lives.

Always remember that to be struck by a double-edged sword is better than to be destroyed by a double-edged tongue! For wound heals almost immediately, while painful words will always reverberate in one's mind even as you have forgiven the person who has spoken such."

Swell Summer!

I'm enjoying my summer vacation with the kids, though am not really sure if they'd say the same  hahaha :)  Since their respite from the last school year, my children and I agreed that the household chores will be divided amongst ourselves. I'm in charge of preparing food, doing the laundry, ironing clothes, and cleaning the bathroom, while my eldest daughter is in charge of the dishes, cleaning the floor, and folding the clothes; my two sons share in the task of keeping their sleeping mats and folding the blankets, setting the table, clearing the table tops, and also helping their sister in folding our clothes.

Such delegation of work is good training for the children. I don't want them to grow up indolent and without even an iota on how to handle responsibilities at home. My children, when they were a lot younger, has already been trained to fold their blankets and fix their beds as soon as they wake up in the morning. Am glad I started them out early. I love the idea of having armed them with life's essentials. 

I also have a white board where I write down their daily tasks which ends with a simple yet meaningful phrase: "Work hard! Work smart! Work diligently with a happy heart!" 

It's sad though that I have a month left before school starts (am sure they're already excited to go to school hahaha). But at least I can look forward to swell summers from now on. :)

Gone too soon...a tribute to a friend

Just today I found out that I've lost a friend to cancer. Not only am I in disbelief but I keep wondering how  someone like her could have lived a short life. Her passing away is a great loss to her family and to us her friends. She was such a lively person, someone whose smile can brighten even the murkiest mood! She sang with us in Church, and I was always amazed at her high pitched voice. We went out together, shared bits and pieces of our lives; we always had something to talk about. 

Some years back, we bumped into each other in a mall and because we were both in a hurry, she asked me to give her a call so that we can chitchat and schedule a meetup before she goes back to the US. Unfortunately, I was not able to make that call as my work took precedence over all my other affairs. Looking back, I should have made that one call because I regret not having talked to a good friend...and now there can't ever be another chance to do so.

Anne, I know that wherever you are, your resounding laughter will fill that vastness as it has done when you were alive. Thank you for your friendship and for the memories. Thank you for being such a good listener, for having such a tremendous sense of humor, for the friend that you are. We will always remember you with fondness. God speed Anne! Farewell and rest in peace my friend...

..."Like A Comet

Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky 

Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow

Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye

Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly

And Splendidly Bright

Here One Day

Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight

On A Cloudy Afternoon

Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle

Built Upon A Sandy Beach

Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower

That Is Just Beyond Your Reach

Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight

Here One Day

Gone One Night

Like A Sunset

Dying With The Rising Of The Moon

Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon..."

The sweet life

While I was preparing the Chocolate Pavlova a few days ago, a thought struck me ~ my children's taste in food is getting more complex as time goes by. When we were new here at Saudi Arabia, during weekends, I'd often prepare pancakes, french toasts, homemade potato chips, french fries, mini sandwiches, or steamed cakes using instant cake flour for "merienda" (afternoon snacks). Now they want to be surprised and I oblige because their need for the "mystery snack" is as exciting to them as it is for me. I love surprising my family with good food because I'm not only rewarded with their oohs and aahs and wows! I, too, get their hearty laugh and some good old burp along with it. At least now I have good memories to leave behind. I know that when they are all grown ups and have lives of their own, they will always remember me and my busy kitchen; And how much love I put into the food that I prepare for them. Still too much of this is not good for their health...however...

. 

One of the best dessert that's gotten their undivided attention is this particular recipe that a friend of mine shared with me months before ~ Chocolate Pavlova.  I was too scared to try recipes that involved meringue, so I delayed every opportunity to make one. That day I decided to go on with it, with just one goal in mind; to keep trying in every given opportunity. The same reminder that I was advised by the same friend who shared the Pavlova recipe. Such called for raspberries or any berries for toppings but I had none in stock so I substituted it with chocolate chips, white chocolate morsels and coconut flakes. 

Chocolate Pavlova

Anyway, my thought bubbles tells me that although being able to conquer my fear in trying out different recipes is good; I am also reminded not to overindulge and feed them with too much sweets.  Anything in excess is not good. So I control their intake, although I need to experiment and do and re-do recipes. I know I need to put proper pacing and make them understand that eating healthy food is still the better option. So I balance our diet by buying fruits as well.

For now my family's simply happy that I can make their own birthday cake and make their merienda and family occasion more special with the food that I am now able to make. :)

Twice Cooked!

Last night, I originally planned to cook soy chicken for dinner. It's a simple dish that involves simmering half or a whole chicken in soy sauce and sesame oil. I remember getting excited whenever my mom cooks this for lunch or dinner on a weekend.

I tried a different approach to this simple dish though. I want to surprise my husband; oftentimes, after a long tiring day at work, it is always good to come home and find good food on the table right?

So let me share this flavorful dish with you. For this wonderful dish you'll need the following:

1 whole chicken or half (my family is only able to consume half)

1 pc. 5 star anise

3-4 tbsp soy sauce, Kikkoman is best  (adjust as needed)

3 tbsp sesame oil

4 cloves of garlic, pounded

1 whole onion, skin removed

dash of ground pepper

1. Prepare the chicken, clean it very well, scrub the skin with salt and wash with running water. Do this twice to ensure that the chicken is clean before you put it in the pot.

2. Cut the chicken in the middle make sure it looks this way. Rub the chicken all over with a little salt and pepper.

3. Arrange the garlic, onion, and 5 star anise at the bottom of the pot.Let the chicken lie face down on top of the garlic, onion and 5 star anise.

4. Pour about 1 cup of water or until the chicken is completely submerged in the water.

5. Tip in the soysauce and half the amount of sesame oil and simmer. In between simmering, invert chicken so that it cooks the other side as well. You can add water don't let the chicken go dry, but at the same time adjust the taste by adding a bit of salt or soy sauce. Add 1/2 tsp of sugar as well,. this will make such a huge difference in the taste.

6. The next process would be roasting the just simmered chicken. Do not throw out the sauce as this will come in handy later.

7. Dry the chicken of it's sauce by hanging it upside down until most of the sauce have dripped down the pot.

8. Place the chicken on a baking tray and roast in in the oven for about 10-15 mins or until the chicken is a bit crispy.

This will now go into my oven along with my potatoes

9. Thicken the sauce that you've set aside by putting cornstarch mix when it reaches boiling point. You can pour some of this over your roasted chicken. 

10. 9. When the chicken is done, transfer to a clean serving tray. Garnish with green salad or lemon. Serve hot with rice, dinner rolls or just like what I did, baked potatoes.

Dinner is served! Buon Appetito!

Have one's cake and eat it too!

This is the 2nd month that salary is delayed and I feel that it will always be this way. An unwelcome reprieve most especially where celebrations like our son's birthday is concerned. It's a good thing I know how to bake  (or so I thought) and that we had enough baking supplies that I was able to use for yesterday's occasion. But I guess that's part of our life here in Saudi Arabia. Unlike Henry Sy's, SM (We have it all for you!), our tune is more towards..."we can't have it all..."

Anyway, I was so excited about baking a cake for my son yesterday. I had no design in mind because for one, I've no background in cake decorating. Second, I've never done a 9" round cake. Third, I've no idea how my oven would treat the cake mixture I was about to prepare. And lastly, I haven't tried doing the recipe that I saw from Rachel Ray's website.  I didn't want to disappoint my birthday boy so I promised myself that I'll have to decorate the cake as attractive as possible. How? I dunno... All I know is that I have a bag of flour, 3 types of food coloring, red, green and yellow, 2 kinds of candy sprinkles, marshmallows, sugar and eggs. 

I decided to bake a Chocolate mocha cake with Mocha frosting...it was actually a good idea. I guess my own excitement got the better of me because surprise!!! My cake turned out lopsided and I was supposed to do 2 of them so that I can fill the cake in between with mallows and nuts. Both turned out lopsided and mushy at the center. And.... to top it all,  the second half got broken! The cake without the icing looked like a big Molten Lava cake. I was panicking because I still had to cook pasta and prepare green salad. So when my son asked me, I told him the cake is actually his favorite Molten Lava cake. While telling him this, my guardian angel was poking at me and reminding me about Easter Sunday which, was a day before my son's birthday. Already guilty! and just after the Holy week! haaaay.... 

first half of the cake lopsided but
I was able to save it by
covering it with frosting

I tried to salvage the cake by covering every nook and cranny with the mocha flavored frosting that I made. But this went bad too! Why? I was so intent on fixing the darn thing that I forgot to let the cake cool down first. Hence, this made spreading the frost quite difficult to do. It's a good thing I was not on a Food network challenge or else I would have failed miserably...big time! I still went on though, and just covered the ugly spots with marshmallows and the edge of the cake with his birthday candles. So when it was done, it looked better. I felt bad though because I wanted my son's cake to look fabulous and taste fantastic!

When my son saw the birthday cake I made for him, I was surprised at how his face lit up! He beamed and was so happy to see that it was done. He told me excitedly, how he has the best birthday cake ever!

That the cake he has now is far far better than all the cakes he has had during his past birthdays! I was consumed with an overwhelming emotion! My worries just flew out of the window! I was no longer a bundle of nerves. I was a mother again...so impressed by my son's unconditional love! 

Thank you son! Your dad and I have no gift for you (refer to first paragraph of this article for the reason). Yet you gave me the gift of Encouragement. This will be my guide in every cake I will be preparing from now on...in every new recipe I still have to try, and in every new road I have to take.  I love you!