choco-love

Images mine.
Nab if you like  ^_^

I can't imagine how life would be if the Aztecs hadn't discovered the wonders of the cacao bean, and if the conquistadores hadn't decided to bring it home to Europe and enrich it.

I've got chocolate, chocolate, chocolate on my mind today.  The Hubby and I received a love-filled goodie bag from some of his cousins who flew in for the holidays, and in it were some of my favorite things ^_^  (Thank you po sa mga Ate at kay F!) .There are certain times of the month when I crave chocolate more than ever, and this stash came at the most perfect time, so I'm really appreciating.  I'm commemorating today's bliss with this bit of graphic.
.

this weekend's happy thawt: strawberries

This weekend's happy thawt: fresh strawberries in the fridge. ^_^

My Dad brought a batch of fresh ones from Baguio, and I'm excited to stuff them in my mouth. I just need to decide on how.


They're nice in shakes or smoothies, or on top of cake or ice cream. Dipping them in chocolate or butterscotch is sexy; eating strawberries in sugar and cream makes me feel like a child again. But in my opinion, they're best eaten plain, in their full berry glory.

P.S. I shared a fat one with my rabbits. They love strawberries too. ^_^

neil gaiman's yummy porridge recipe

Porridge is a Brit way of saying oatmeal (or any kind of boiled grain like champorado or lugaw). I found this recipe at Neil Gaiman's blog, in which the writer claims it to be a recipe for the yummiest porridge. I decided to give it a try and darn, it is delicious - it's got that caramelly, butterscotchy twist to it.

It comes with a warning though: Gaiman advises that it's not exactly healthy, and certainly not for eating everyday. It's just the kind to serve when you have guests over and you want to impress them, he says. I say, the flavored oatmeal we buy at the grocery stores has more junk than this, so I think this is still a better substitute.


You will need:

• Oatmeal. Unflavored, regular, old-fashioned oatmeal, not the instant kind. Use 2 different types for texture.
• Butter
• Water
• Milk or cream
• Optional: Sweetener such as brown sugar, maple syrup or honey

Procedure:

• In a pan, bathe the oatmeal in butter. Use low heat; be careful not to burn it.
• Pour in the water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• When cooked, top with the sweetener of your choice and a dollop of cream.

Suggestions:

• I experimented by adding a dash of vanilla for flavor. Still yummy.
• I'm thinking about maybe next time I'll try it with cinnamon and / or bits of fruit.

chocolate fix

I've always loved chocolate, but lately I've been craving like crazy. How have I enjoyed one of man's most delightful discoveries this week? Let me count the ways.


1. Chocolate dipping

This has got to be one of the most brilliant party ideas ever. I recently attended a younger friend's birthday recently, in which we were served fruit and sweets and scrumptious dipping chocolate for dessert.

I happily pigged out

My favorite thing to dip was the gigantic marshmallow. Uber yummer.

death by chocolate

If you don't have a fondue thingy, you can serve chocolate dip in a bowl. I tried it with a bunch of kids once, and it was an absolute hit.

CHOCOLATE DIP

• Melt chocolate cubes in a double-boiler (I prefer it dark ;) ).
  * If you don't have a double boiler, boil water in a regular pan, and place a smaller pan above it; melt the chocolate in the smaller pan.
• Stir in cream.
• Voila!
  
  

DIPPING THINGS
(serve with skewers or toothpicks)

• Marshmallows - always a crowd favorite!
• Strawberries
• Slices of other fruit (banana, melon, etc.)
  
• Dried mangoes
  
• Pretzels
• Potato chips - kinda weird, but it's wonderful!

2. Chocolate cupcakes

An older lady-friend of mine runs a small cafeteria, and lately she has been experimenting with baking. The other day my dad bought three cupcake samples from her; he left them lying around so I ended up sampling them all (hee hee).

My verdict: She could still improve on the presentation, but the taste is A-one.


3. Iced Milo

I usually prefer rich, hot chocolate eh, but these days it's too warm for hot chocolate.

I'm not particularly a fan of Milo (because I think it tastes like watered-down cocoa), but I once bought an iced Milo on my way to see a movie, and I loved it.


This evening, I noticed that we had sachets of Milo at home and decided to fix myself a treat.

ICED MILO - MY WAY

• Empty four Milo sachets into a tall glass (the extra sachets make up for the watered-down taste :p )
  
• Dissolve in a small amount of lukewarm water.
• Fill the glass three-fourths with cold water and stir.
• Mix in a drop of vanilla.
• Add ice cubes.
• It would be more fun topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, but it's good with or without.

girls talk: my comfort food

Yumyum :) What a delicious topic for this week's Girls Talk.

Ice cream and chocolate are probably the easiest choices for most ladies (including myself!) so I won't be sharing about my fondness for them right now. I will instead share about my two other go-to foods for comfort.

(1) dried mangoes

Dried mangoes are slices of heaven on earth! I like eating fresh mangoes too, but there's just something extremely enjoyable about the chewy, bite-sized, textured and sugar-added sweetness of dried mangoes.

We Pinoys ought to be really proud of this product, I hear westerners go crazy about them.

(2) cute cupcakes

Not just ordinary cupcakes, mind you; they have to be the cute, iced kind with sprinkly bits. They're not just yummy to eat but lovely to look at too, so they really make me happeeee. Forget about using a fork - I'd much rather sink my teeth into them!

-----------------

Another loverly entry for

Brought to us by the enjoyment of life in

girls talk: i'm a chocolate fan!

I realize i haven't had any chocolate in weeks because I temporarily gave in to another food craving. I can't believe I haven't even noticed!

Anyway, i chanced upon this sweet idea at Girls Talk:




The point i guess is to share about our favorite chocolate. Here are some of mine:

Reese's rules.

m&m's have got to be one of the most brilliant chocolate innovations.


Hershey's is my default comfort food.
I love it in Kiss form, too.

I've actually tasted this only once - when I was ten years old.
I never forgot about it and I still crave for it from time to time until now.
I thought it was that good.

Another unbeatable classic.

This is something I really can't afford to splurge on;
I only happened to try it when a friend brought some.
Halleujah, Royce potato chip chocolate is just heavenly!
It's a unique combination of two of my favorite happy thawts eats.
Who would have ever thought potato chips went well with chocolate?

-----------------------------------
This cute meme is hosted by Girls Rule! Drop by and share.
.

i can't get over cupcakes

I had another episode of cupcake craving.

I got over my loyalty to the usual cupcake shop that I go to and finally ventured to check out another one. Instead of snacking at Cupcakes by Sonja, I satisfied my craving for sweets at Marta's Cakes.

The first thing I noticed was the brightly-colored interior that slightly echoed Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, only without the Burtonesque edginess. I imagine that if you took out the greens and whites and replaced them with black, put in some carved pumpkins, it'd be a cute, twisted Halloween funhouse.

Marta's unique concept cakes were on display. It contributed to that overall cheery atmosphere good for cultivating happy thawts. The Hubby and I were actually tired and not-so-happy that day, but being in that shop cheered us up quite a bit.

I love those jelly-like lamps. It's like they're floating overhead, waiting to be caught.

Anyway, yeah, the cupcakes. They weren't as fluffy or as decorated as Sonja's, but that didn't bother me because they were nonetheless yummy and much less expensive. They weren't that spectacular so i forgot to photograph them, but they were good enough to satisfy. Two thumbs up.

Another cute feature of Marta's is that they sold cupcake decorating kits (and cookie decorating kits as well). For P105, you got two plain cupcakes, tubes of brightly-colored icing and candy sprinkles. It's something not only kids would enjoy but adults would too. The time we were there, a young couple was spending their date decorating cookies. I thought of bringing my discipleship group here for an outside-church session over a cookie-painting activity.

Next time, I'll be checking out the chocolatey goodies in Xocolat. Hope i like.

cupcakes = love

Diet is "die" with a "t".
It seems like I'm on a cupcake craving phase again. Lucky for me that a few cupcake places are just a short drive away.


I just lo000ve Cupcakes by Sonja. It easily trumps most of the other cupcakes I've tried (so far). It's a really cute shop that sells these precious cakes. My favorite items on the menu are Red Velvet Vixen and Berries N' Cream.

Who cares about the two kilos I already gained?
I thought about dropping by again this coming week. Maybe every other day if not every day. I'll try each kind. I'll be a pig. Fat and happy, that's my philosophy.

In the photos above: Peppermint Patty, Cookee Monster and uh, this mint and chocolate thing. Also lovely.
Below: Vanilla Sunshine, Berries and Cream and a chocolate something


Near Sonja's is Martha's. I've yet to try the cupcakes there; I've been told they're delightful. Still all this time I can't shake my loyalty to Sonja.

butterscotch syrup

A quick and easy defense against those sudden sweet-tooth attacks. :)

You will need:

• 1 can of cream or condensed milk
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a pan over low heat.
• Stir constantly and bring to a boil.
• Let cool and store.

Really simple!


Suggestions:

• Top over ice cream for a nice sundae.
• Drizzle pancakes, waffles or crepes.
• Use as a dip for fruit or pretzels.
• Try it with bananacue or turon with vanilla ice cream - a real treat!
• Pour over a nice, moist chocolate cake or apple pie (oh, just thinking about it makes my mouth water).
  
• Eat it as is, like I often do. :)
• Store in a pretty jar and gift to a friend.