Christmas Eve Dinner 2012

For the last several years, we have been out of the country during Christmas.  But since we stayed home this year, I was able to personally prepare our Christmas eve dinner.  

I remember a few years back we had a Christmas eve buffet dinner in Hong Kong, I didn't fully appreciate the food spread because of the limited time available.  Add to the fact the two younger ones were so much younger then, and needed more assistance.  Eating at home is so much more relaxed.  It is made more enjoyable if, like me, you also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.

Since I decided that ALL the food are going to be home-made, I started prep work in the kitchen mid-afternoon to make sure that I won't be hurried.  I wanted to enjoy the process since I was going to make it for my family for Christmas Eve. after all.  

Pardon the photos since they were all just taken with my daughter's iPhone cam.  As you know, my hands are tied in the kitchen.... So anyway, here's what we had for our simple celebration:

Caprese Salad on Skewers.  Grape tomatoes, basil leaves, truffle noir cheese, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, generous sprinkle of freshly ground peppercorns and sea salt.  This is a family staple, even on ordinary days as this is so easy to prepare, and the flavors just pop in one mouthful.

 

Baked Brie with Truffle Mushroom, topped with Roasted Honey Almonds. You cannot see it here but underneath those roasted almonds is a layer of crusted brown sugar.  This is hands down the favorite dish of the night.  So easy to prepare, but it made my family think the world of me.

Baked pears with caramelized balamic vinegar topped with crumbled stilton cheese and pistachios.  The kids usually refuse to eat any kind of blue cheese, but somehow this one was tolerated somewhat... or they were just being cooperative and grateful.

 

Roasted chicken with garlic and lemons.  This roasted chicken is another family favorite, and on the few occasions that there are leftovers, I find that they taste even better the next day.

And I just love the roasted garlic... I simply press at the ends and all the garlicky goodness slides out easily.  Mash and eat with the chicken.

 

Grilled rib-eye steak on a bed of arugula and strawberry salad, drizzled with balsamic vinegar dressing.  My carniverous family could not let a meal pass us without red meat, so I grilled a few slabs of rib-eye and placed them on top of the salad.  Hate to admit, but I prepared the salad to find a way to limit their consumption of red meat.

 

Linguinie with mushrooms and garilic with truffle cream sauce.  This is a special request from C, and I made sure to make the sauce generously cover the pasta as everyone loves the cream sauce... no fighting over food because it's Christmas Eve.:)

You might notice that I was very generous with using truffle oil, using it even in several dishes; and that is because I bought it at Bacchus Epicerie over at PowerPlant Mall the day before Christmas for 20% off.  I bought a small bottle of black truffle oil (about 25ml if I am not mistaken) from them about six months ago for P1,200.  And for this recent purchase, I just paid less than a thousand only.  

I did not prepare desserts anymore, but I want to share with you that the red velvet cake from Karen's Kitchen is such a stand out that it will soon be a staple on every celebration!  It's so good, so moist and just the right amount of sweet.  

That's about it.  Leaving you all as I celebrate the New Year with a staycation.  See you all 2013!



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Of Birthdays and Beauty Marks

Getting very near that "supposedly" wonderful age of forty (yikes!) must do wonders for my self-esteem, for I have finally learned to come to terms that my body will never be the same as it was before I had kids.   

Yeah, I am that kind of woman who has dozens of "issues." You have heard me whine about my unpreparedness to be called someone else's tita.  You've also seen how I was cornered to admit that I was (serial) lying about my age.  You've also been a witness on how I (desperately) try to camouflage a less than perfect beach body. There are times when I'd get really conscious about the extra layer of skin and fat that has permanently wrapped itself around my belly; made more irritating by the fact that it seems to laugh at me as I put on that tight fitting pair of low-slung jeans... there it shows itself - giggling uncontrollaby at my attempt to pull my pants up all the way . :)  You know what I mean.:)

After more than a decade of the Phenomenal Papa's assurances that when he looks at them he just sees beauty and sacrifice, I am finally beginning to believe him... yes, gullible me. The marks are quite ugly to look at and they make my stomach look like a mess, but my husband looks at them as "beautiful battle scars." The marks that showed I lovingly carried each one of his three precious children into the world.

As I inch myself closer and closer to that age of living fabulously, I have come to terms that the stretch marks, the c-section scar, the wider hips, and the mom-flabs that have taken over my entire body, they do make me look more beautiful - even if it's just in my husband's eyes.:)

Yes!  this time of the year always work like a magic charm; blessings are always counted twice, and setbacks are intentionally overlooked.  Just so grateful to be a part of my family.  I look at my husband and see a loving man whose strong arms have, at all times, protected me; whose generous heart has always prioritized me; whose forgiving spirit has, time and again, deliberately ignored my shortcomings. 

I see the kids and I am thankful that they are healthy and into sports, that they are doing well academically, that they have a close relationship with God.  But, I am also thankful for having them, all three of them,  when I need to wear a swimsuit... yes, most especially, when I need to wear a swim suit!!!  Otherwise, what good excuse can I have for that belly.  tee-hee-hee!

And as always, this verse just uplifts and inspires:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

-Jeremiah 29:11

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Thomas the Train Cupcakes & Croley Lobo Biscuits

My blog has moved.  Please read more post at the phenomenal mama.   I hope you follow me there to read NEW posts!

One of my more popular posts has been the Thomas the Train Birthday Cupcakes.  I first posted about this from several years ago when blogging simply just served as a digital journal for me.  Since I first posted it, I have received numerous e-mails from moms who are requesting DIY step-by-step instructions.  (I must apologize for the bad lighting/quality of the photos... as I've said, taken ages ago :) )

There are a lot of version of Thomas the Train cakes and cupcakes going around.  But my version offers a very simple approach on how to take it on.  I've always enjoyed the hands-on preparation for my kids' birthday celebration, and this is one cake where even the most novice of bakers can make.  There are no gumpaste or fondant to roll.  All you need is just a simple cupcake recipe and a quick swirl of buttercream frosting.  Or, you can just simply put-in store-bought cupcakes!

As you can see, the attraction of the birthday cupcakes really lies on the collection of Thomas the Train sets which my son has accumulated.  If I remember it correctly, we bought each character set for about P700 (this was way back in 2007).  I am sure if the birthday boy is a Thomas the Train aficionado you have a lot of these lying in your playroom baskets.  

To make the base:

materials needed:

~styrofoam

~green felt paper

~heavy duty tape

1.  First, gather up the train sets that you would want to include in your train station.  

2.  Purchase a styrofoam board in a size that is large enough to accomodate all the trains, and the "cargo" of cupcakes.  No need to put all the cupcakes for the party on this board.  You can just put the extra cupcakes on a tray or pile them high on a cupcake tower.

3.  Wrap the styrofoam with green felt paper, making sure to tuck and secure the excess.  Secure with heavy duty tape on the underside to make sure the felt paper doesn't slide off.

To assemble the cargo:
materials needed:
~graham crackers
~small round biscuits, such as Croley Foods' Lobo Biscuits
~excess frosting to hold crackers together.  (if you do not have excess frosting, you can also use jams)
 
1.  Stack three crackers on top of each other, filling the bottom-side of each cracker with frosting/jam as you pile them up.  Do not forget to spread the bottom-most cracker with ffrosting before you place it on the felt paper.  This serves to glue your crackers together for a sturdy "train cargo."
2.  Do the same steps with the frosting/jam as you put in the "wheels" of the train.  
3. The same way, put in a dollop of frosting/jam on the underside of the cupcakes before placing them on the "train cargo".  Depending on how big your cupcakes are, a pretty good estimate would be to place two cupcakes on one cracker.

 

Here is another view from the top

For the photos in this post, I used the small-sized Ritz crackers.  However, Lobo Biscuits, a locally-made product which comes in the same size and is relatively cheaper, is a good alternative.    It comes in three variants for you to choose from.

left-right:  Lobo Biscuit,  Lobo Choco Cookies, Lobo Cookies Original

Thanks to Lobo Biscuits and Croley Foods for sponsoring this post.  Croley Foods is the company behind Sunflower Crackers, the school baon staple of my generation. :) 

If you would like to know more about Croley Foods and its products, visit its webpage right here. 

 
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A Passion for Pink {Crepe Paper Curtains}

There are new things coming up for this blog. And in preparation for the exciting times ahead, the blog will be moving to a new home!  While I will still be writing about our phenomenal life, it will now have a new name. 

From now on, I will be doing all of my posting at The Phenomenal Mama

I hope you could all bookmark the new site and follow me there!

I will still be keeping this blog open so you can read all of my old posts.  But you won't miss a thing with the new blog as it will have all of the old posts, as well. 

* * * * *

We have all done crepe paper crafts at some point, mostly during our grade school days.   So when the recent opportunity arose to decorate B's Crafternoon party with crepe paper curtain in gradient shades of pink, I was delighted!  The wonderful ombre effect made by combining white, light pink and fuschia pink made it easy for me to convince the 2 girls of how fun making crepe paper curtains can be!

 

It is really a simple process of cutting, lining up, cutting, lining up...

Here is the step-by-step guide on how I did it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DIY: Kokeshi Fashion Bookmarks

There are new things coming up for this blog. And in preparation for the exciting times ahead, the blog will be moving to a new home!  While I will still be writing about our phenomenal life, it will now have a new name. 

From now on, I will be doing all of my posting at The Phenomenal Mama

I hope you could all bookmark the new site and follow me there!

I will still be keeping this blog open so you can read all of my old posts.  But you won't miss a thing with the new blog as it will have all of the old posts, as well. 

* * * * *

One of the paper crafts I prepared for B's crafternoon party was fashion paper bookmarks.  It is a project that is easily adaptable if you have an afternoon with your kids this summer.  I will share with you the easy steps on how to make your own bookmarks made out from up-cycled materials.

It is sure to be a hit with your little fashion designers, and what makes this even more of a hit is that it is simple enough for the young ones to do on their own.  And as if that were not enough, the adults would love this project to bits as the materials needed are already available in your home - even right this second!  

 

Fashion Bookmark #1:
You will need:  cardstock paper, magazine cutouts, cutter/scissors, glue.

1.  First, you need to draw a layout of the kokeshi doll on paper.  Make sure that the "dress" is big enough to serve as a canvass.  Since I was doing this for a craft party, I decided it would be easier to just do a one digital pattern and mass-print it out.  Alternately, feel free to draw out the outline of the dress freehand, the facial features can be drawn using a fine-tipped pen, the hair can be colored in using markers.

2.  Using a sharp cutter/scissors, cut out the outline of the "dress."

3.  The next step would be to scan through back issues of fashion magazines and cut out boldly-colored and strongly-patterned pages.  Sort out the clippings, and group according to color or pattern

 

 

4.  Now, unleash the creativity, and mix and match the bits of papers to come up with your very own fashion creation!  The resulting work can be something simple...

Or it can also be an elaborate mix of patterns

Fashion Bookmark #2:

You will need:  cardstock paper cut-out to the following shapes; dress shape, circular shape for the face and a semi-circle for the hair, paper puncher cutouts, cutter/scissors, glue.

And so nothing is wasted, the paper cut-outs that was taken out (the dress outline) can be made into still another kind of bookmark.

Fashion Bookmark #3:
You will need:  used envelope corners, nice graphics cut-out from magazines: 

 

1.  cut-out a corner from a used envelope

2.  glue the entire surface

3.  stick template/magazine cut-out onto the glued surface.

4.  press firmly together until glue dries up completely.

Happy crafting!

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Summer means the kids are going to be home a lot more; for me, this also simply means that they are going to be asking for food a lot more.  Summertime in my house is about ALL things indulgent!  Most especially when it comes to sweet treats!  This is because for the rest of the year my kids' intake of sweets and cold treats are limited due to the threat of a sore throat.  Like me, they easily suffer from a sore throat after an indulgent snacking gone overboard.  

Like I said, it being summer, I have stocked my pantry full, my fruit basket is filled to overflowing, my freezer is also full of icy treats. We have a baking day every Saturday, and they get to choose what sweet treats they would like to make.

One of their favorite things to munch on is choco chip cookies.  And so I figured I could save myself some time by making this one VERY HUGE batch to last them the entire summer!  Yes!

And so we dumped in roasted almond, pistachios, dark choco chips, bittersweet choco chips, milk choco chips, white choco chips, sprinkles.... anything that is a delight to our hearts!

 

 

 
I simply just scooped the cookie dough onto a tray.

 And stored batches of them in several plastic containers. 

 Ready to be popped into the oven anytime the craving starts.

For a complete step-by-step on how to freeze cookie dough for future use, read this earlier post.

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Carrot Cupcakes + Goji Berries

Carrot cupcakes are the most requested cupcake flavor in my house for birthdays.  And surely, it was on top of B's birthday wish list for her recent birthday party, along with dark chocolate cupcakes.

 I have a lot of carrot cake recipes... some made tropical with grated coconut and pineapples, others made sweeter with the addition of raisins and choco chips, still others are studded with walnuts.  But for this cupcake variety, I made it unadulterated... this one is all about the carrots - finely grated carrots.  It is simplicity at its best.  

The only thing I added were goji berries, a staple in my pantry for making Chinese tonic soups.  My thoughtful and generous mother-in-law, who frequently sends over Chinese herbs and condiments, is a believer in the nutritional benefits of this small and red superfood.  

 

In recent years, the goji berry has gained popularity in Western health food stores.  But this nutritionally-rich and naturally sweet fruit has long been used in Chinese cuisine to make congee, tonic soups and herbal teas.

Fresh, sweet carrots and bright, pretty goji berries make for a wonderful combination... a delicious, moist, fluffy cupcake combined with a superfood ingredient.

 

Allow the dried goji berries to sit in warm water just a couple of minutes to soften, until they are nice and plump. 

 

Look at how the bright goji berries pop-out wonderfully in the batter.

Carrot Cupcake Recipe

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1/2 cup dried goji berries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line cupcake molds with papers.  I sued 3 ozs paper liners.
3. Hydrate goji berries in warm water for 10-15 mintues, or until soft and plump.
4. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots and goji berries, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.
5. Bake cupcakes 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese  Frosting

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla
2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Chill the frosting for 10 to 20 minutes, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly.
2. Divide equally into three small bowls and add food color, adding different amount of the food color if you want to make an ombre effect.  

The different soft shades of gradient pink make for a lovely display...

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