Salad ala Jen & "Basta Pasta"

Creamy salad (fresh romaine lettuce, crunchy lettuce, with lots of cheese, parmesan, olive oil, walnut and almond nuts, pineapple tidbits, dash of pepper, tbsp of mayo, dash of salt, twisted pasta & some secret spices)

                                                                        Up close

                  One afternoon, I decided to make use of Tostitos that was overstaying already in the ref

                            I am calling this Basta Pasta- or simply put- Pasta No name...hahahaha

                                        Basta Pasta must be so delicious! My food critic said so!


                                   

My Joy, My Business

                                                Isn't it great that I get to earn from a hobby?

                                           Sweet Juan- why not?, my son Juan is the sweetest!

                                                    Carrot Cake/loaf in Christmas box

 Sweets Treats

                                                   Sweets in Christmas Boxes                                                                                                                   

Cakes Story

First, there came the oven...originally, i first opted for a cheaper model but had to replace it with that beauty over there.  Since then, the baking never stops at home...well, I am exaggerating of course :-)

              With my able kitchen helper/chef boy and food critic, our creations are always gone in minutes

CARROT CUPCAKES

                                                     First attempt at making carrot cupcakes

                                                             Delicious carrot cupcakes!

 NUTELLA CUPCAKES

                                                 So filling, one cup will leave you full for hours

UBE CAKE ALA RED RIBBON

   I followed a seemingly delicious ube cake recipe that promises an "ube macapuno cake ala Red Ribbon".  

The result was a big disappointment.

The cake turned out to be more like a bread minus all the moisture and  creaminess...

So, I made another one, this time following a much simpler recipe

 

This time, the cake was fluffier, moistier, and definitely tastier.  Topped with creme cheese frosting and macapuno, the cake was gone in a day.

Creamy and super moist

Topped with macapuno, one slice is not enough...

CARROT CAKE

My carrot cupcakes are a success that I decided to make a cake out of the same recipe.  The cake was as expected, a success too

                                                  Carrot Cake with creme cheese frosting

                           Can't get enough of carrot cakes, this time topped with almonds and walnuts

 CHRISTMAS CAKE

 As if the teachers in Juan's class know that I am into baking, my son was tasked to bring cake to share at their Class Christmas Party.  I made a chocolate cake with magic frosting. tadah!- very Christmas-y huh?!

Chocolate cake with the magic frosting

The AFTER

 The BEFORE frosting stage

FIRST EVER FONDANT CAKE

And yes, i tested my little knowledge and no experience at baking fondant cake.  Our Andi had a pink and yellow themed cake when it should have been red and yellow when we celebrated his 2nd Birthday.

I realized, food coloring agents should be handled with care.  I carelessly just happened to mix red with yellow while kneading the fondant..Yah, hands should be totally free of any coloring before trying a new one.  The red mixed with yellow resulted to PINK color.  Not a very Boy-ish color! Indeed!

The saving grace was that the chocolate cake tasted so goood!

UBE CAKE TAKE 2

I baked another ube cake minus the food coloring last Christmas eve.  The taste was excellent plus the form was perfect.  But it would have been more attractive if the color was purple/violet.  Also, the magic frosting, I realized would be best used fresh.  The frosting was a "left over" thing. Ugh, ugly ugly...

Happy with the way it was formed and cooked, if only....

Frosting not doing justice to my perfectly formed Ube Cake

First Family Pictorial After The Accident

This is our first family pictorial after that fateful day of September 4, 2012.  Jun was supposed to have the corneal transplant last December 12 but the available cornea was not good enough as per our Optha.  The transplant is scheduled tentatively on the 2nd week of January 2013.  Jun's eyes have greatly improved since the accident, however, he still could not see details.  We hope the corneal transplant will be a success, and we pray that the soon to be donor will be blessed in the afterlife.  His/her cornea will surely be put to good use.

Merry Christmas everyone!