Dream Catcher Stories

Lots of Love,

J<3

Lots of Love,

J<3

Yesterday morning, it has been raining non-stop for a couple of hours. So a few minutes before 12pm, our afternoon classes got suspended. HOORAY!

Every time our classes get suspended, my dad would drive to school to bring us home or leave us in the mall to spend the rest of the day waiting for him to finish his shift. We may be in college, but my dad is really protective. And because our school is less than a thirty-minute drive from his office, he would gladly fetch us just so he's assured that we get home safe.

But today, my mom asked us to meet her in the mall and come home with her, so after having lunch with dad, my sister and I spent the rest of the day with each other. And most of the time was spent in this cutesy cupcake store in Glorietta: The Vanilla Cupcake Bakery.

Too bad we both decided to leave our iPods and iPads at home because we thought we would be commuting home in the rain, so we didn't get to take any pictures. The pictures I have included are from my previous visit with my friends, and I'm sorry, but I don't remember what was the flavor of the cupcakes I ordered (I think one of them was Red Velvet).

The last time I ate at Vanilla Cupcake, they were still in they're soft opening, so there sill wasn't many seats. And it was already late so most of they're cupcakes were out-of-stock. That's why I was really glad that this afternoon, we didn't have a lot of companions in the dainty cupcake shop which made the tea party-esque ambiance more peaceful and enjoyable. Also, we had a lot of cute vintage and classic chairs to choose from because the whole place was all to ourselves.

For our dessert-slash-merrienda, I ordered New York Cheesecake and Chocolate Cream Pie, while my sister had Oreo Cheesecake and Red Velvet (I know, that's too much for two girls who have just had Beef Pepper Rice at Pepper Lunch). We both had Earl Grey tea for drinks too (a full blown tea party was our theme).

As we waited for our cupcakes, we busied ourselves with picking which chair to sit on. After two or more minutes of going back and forth the powder blue vintage chairs in front and the colorful ones at the back, we settled (my sister actually) with the more eclectic one. Like I said, we failed to take picture, so I found similar chairs on the internet so you can imagine how they looked like.

A few more moments later, our cute cupcakes arrived with our tea in even more cuter teapot and cups similar to the picture I have below. The cupcakes even came with wooden forks, a plus for being biodegradable and supporting the green movement.

So, the cupcakes. That's what we're here for, right? Well, I have to say they were all divine! Both cheesecakes were very smooth and had just the right amount of tang and sweetness in them. Being a baker myself, I am glad to find out that the cheesecakes were baked with cream cheese and eggs and not set using gelatin. I'll give them both five out of five hearts.

For the chocolate cream pie, I enjoyed eating the chocolatey-mousy center which wasn't too sweet, just the way I like it. I loved it so much that I had to stop myself from eating everything up to save some for my mom, who I know would love it to bits. Five hearts as well.

Last, and definitely not the least, the red velvet cupcakes were, well, velvety. I liked everything about it, except for the cream cheese icing, which I would have loved even more if it had a little bit more tang in it. Probably a few more squirts of lemon juice wouldn't hurt. But nevertheless, my sister, a red velvet addict, loved it so much she even licked her fork. Four and a half hearts for this one.

And the Earl Grey tea just tied everything up. Over all, my Vanilla Cupcake visit deserves a four and three-fourths heart rating. With the delicious cupcakes and beautiful interior, I will surely be their regular customer.

Together with the whole world, I was also affected by the Valentine craze. It started on the Sunday of the week of Valentine's Day when I started making cookie dough. I made two batches of cut-out cookies in heart, teddy bear and butterfly shapes. It was a hectic week in school so I decided to split the jobs of making the dough, baking and icing the cookies into four days (the last bit of icing was done on the night of the 14th - I gave the cookies the next day to my high school BFFs).

If Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that the 14th may be viewed by people in three ways - Vday for people in a relationship, Single Awareness Day for those who are single, and for people who couldn't care less, it's just Thursday - I decided to add one more option: Make as many People Smile Day.

Being single, it may be expected that I spend the day sulking and asking my self why is it that I'm spending the day for couples without a partner AGAIN! But I think this isn't proper. Instead of having a boyfriend as my valentine, I decided to have lots of people as valentines.

I started with my college friends. I packaged a teddy bear cookie and a butterfly cookie in cute little packets and gave each person a bag. I was supposed to give some of my other friends cookies, but we didn't have a chance to meet up. So I got into the car with three bags remaining. One was for the old lady who sells sapmaguita leis we always pass by the bridge on the way home, the others were just extra. But when my sister and I made a detour to buy a cake for my mom (it was her birthday), we passed by a lady by the street selling dried fish and squid. She looked really tired being under the scorching sun for who knows how long, so I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to give one of the extra cookies to her. When we got to the mall, I gave the last cookie to the elevator lady who my family already consider as a friend. The cute drawings on the cookies made my friends and both strangers smile like little kids who woke up on Christmas Day with gifts from Santa in their stockings, and this was more than enough to make nights of mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting and icing worthwhile

The next day, I went on a date with my high school friends and gave them the remaining cookies I had at home. We only get to see each other every few months since we entered college, so we treasure moment we get to spend with each other. I spent my post-Valentine date with three people who are very close to my heart, which I think is what's important. We talked, laughed and ate like it was the end of the world. When I got home, I too slept with a smile on my face. This, I think, is the best way to end my Valentine Day experience.

J<3

I have been wanting to try to be a vegan for quite sometime, but everywhere there is sumptuous non-vegan food around me. Another thing is that my mom loves to cook, and she would feel bad if we don't eat what she serves us. So I have made a compromise to myself that I would try to have a "Vegan Day". Hopefully this works, because when I first started this a year ago, it only lasted for a couple of weeks. Now that I'm trying to bring it back, I'd try harder to make it work. And this inspired the creation of this salad.

No-Cook Blueberry Cheesecake with Lemon and Wild Honey

No-Cook Blueberry Cheesecake with Lemon and Wild Honey

Serving Size: 12 to 16
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Refrigeration Time: at least 2 hours

Ingredients

1/2 c. Butter, melted

2 tbsp. Powdered sugar

200 g. Crushed Grahams

16 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

Juice of a lemon

Lemon zest of the same lemon

750 mL. All-purpose Cream

1/3 c. Granulated sugar

3 tbsp. Wild honey

1 can Blueberry topping

Procedure

1. Prepare the base by combining the melted butter, crushed grahams and powdered sugar in a bowl until it resembles wet sand.
2. Form the base in your containers using your hands (I have used two 2x4x6 and one 3x6x8 rectangular ones). If you think they are too dry, add a bit more melted butter until they stick better.
3. Prepare the filling by combining everything else, except for the blueberries, until smooth. You may adjust the taste to your liking before transferring the filling to the containers.
4. Divide the mixture into portions for your containers, leaving a tiny bit of the top for the blueberries.
5. Spoon the blueberry topping over the filling. You may need a bit more or a bit less blueberries depending on the surface area of your containers.
6. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until right before you serve.
7. Serve and enjoy! :)

For the past couple of months, my sister and I have been scouting the internet for a bakeshop that would provide pastries for my 18th birthday party. Right before school started, we got a chance to visit two famous cupcake shops: Sophie's Mom and Cupcakes by Sonja.

One rainy afternoon after a little practice driving, we decided to go to Cupcakes by Sonja in The Fort. There weren't many people because of the bad weather, but the shop was still a bit busy entertaining a customer or two the whole time we were there. I had their Peppermint Patty cupcake (I just LOVE all things minty) and my sister got the Chocolate Surprise Cupcake and both of them were just divine!

The Peppermint Patty had just the right amount of minty in it that it wasn't overwhelming at all. The cupcake on the other hand is just the way I like it: soft, fluffy and really light. The icing was a bit too sweet for me though. But over-all rating would be a 4/5.

I liked the Chocolate Surprise more because the chocolate buttercream frosting was less sweet and very creamy. The cupcake itself was also soft, fluffy and very light (a gold star for consistency). I don't know about the surprise part, but I would rate it a 5/5.

From Sophie's Mom, we bought four cupcakes and four mochi ice cream. My sister and I each got their Chocolate Creme Brulee. Aside from that, I also had the Tres Leches with Mango and my sister had the Red Velvet w/ Cream Cheese Frosting. For the mochi ice cream, I got Leche Flan, my sister had Cookies and Creme and my parents both chose Banoffee.

Their cupcakes were amazing as well, although Cupcake by Sonja's Chocolate Surprise would still top my list (for now), I would rate all their cupcakes that I've tasted a 4.5/5. The Chocolate Creme Brulee had just the right chocolatiness and sweetness in it; the Red Velvet was, well, velvety; and the Tres Leches with Mango was milky, creamy with a touch of mango in it (but I got disappointed when the whipped cream on top got melted 'cause I didn't it it at once).

As for their mochi ice cream, it was all right, but not all flavors wasn't available that day (I badly wanted to have a taste of the Cookie Dough). The price is one of the most affordable I have seen, and taste wise, I'll give the ones we all got a 3/5.

I may not have decided what cupcakes to get for my debut, but one thing's for sure: I would surely go back and have a taste of the other desserts offered by both cupcake stores.

(I wan't able to take picture of my cupcakes from Cupcakes by Sonja so the ones above are from their website http://cupcakesbysonja.com/. But the ones for Sophie's Mom were taken by me courtesy of my iPod Touch)

I know that Father's Day is almost near and that this post is a month too late, but I wanted to share what my sister and I (with a little help from our Dad) went through to give my mom the most relaxing Mother's Day she's ever had. I don't know why I haven't had a chance to write this last month (maybe it's because of all that book writing :P), but here it is anyway.

My sister and I had everything planned the week before Mother's Day, but we had to make a few changes because we had to go somewhere that Saturday. So very early that Sunday morning, my Dad and my sister went to the supermarket. But what my mom thought is that they were going to our house in Laguna.

A few moments after I woke up, my mom asked me to call them and ask them where they were. When I got to talk to my sister about how her shopping went, I forgot to ask what to tell my mom where they were. So when she asked me again, I told her that they were in Magallanes (the place where I thought they were shopping), and my mom asked how that could be because it was in the opposite direction. I got her to believe that the connection was bad when I spoke to my sister so I might have heard the place wrong.

When they got home, my sister had to sneak in a few of the stuff that had to go to the fridge but my mom caught her without getting a glimpse of what exactly she was hiding. We got to the car to head of to church and thank goodness that my sister had a bouquet of roses in there. When my mom saw it, she believed that it was the cause of everything weird that was happening and that it was the only surprise we had for her.

Later that afternoon, we got her to believe that we're all supposed to go to Makati to meet up with someone who's selling a car (my dad's planning to buy one for me :D).  But on the way, we made a detour to a spa. We led her down the car and up the staircase that lead to the spa. She only noticed what we were doing the moment my sister opened the door to the spa. We talked to the concierge who had our reservations ready for a full body massage, foot spa, hand spa, with a mani-pedi. We left her there and got her thinking that we were heading to where the guy with the car was. But that wasn't the case because the surprise isn't over yet. My dad dropped my sister and I home as he went to do some errands of his. We had a little dinner to prepare in three hours (hopefully).

I was to prepare a vegetable lasagna and butternut squash chowder while my sister was to make toast with salmon and cream cheese and a parfait. I was less than halfway into making both dishes when my mom called saying that she might be home earlier because they didn't allow her to have a foot spa. Apparently, it wasn't allowed after a massage. I felt kind of bad about it because I was expecting of giving my mom the most relaxing day ever, but more than that, I was scared of her coming home while the kitchen was still a mess without dinner on the table (which was my surprise if you hadn't caught up).

I called my dad and told him to make some kind of leeway. I thought that he could distract her and ask her what we were having for dinner and if she needed to buy anything from the market. It would work not only to buy us more time, but also to make the surprise dinner almost unthinkable for her. It worked and when I was in the brink of finishing up, my dad called telling us that they're about to head home. Everything was just in time when the car got to the garage. I had just laid the table and made sure that my sister had done her job when my mom got to the door. We only had one problem: the kitchen's a mess. So I just kept the door shot and didn't let my mom to step in or even see the kitchen.

That night is a very memorable night not only for my mom but also for the rest of the family. Usually, we would only buy her a bouquet of flowers and eat out for Mother's Day. But now that my sister and I are older, we have made it a point to do something my mom would appreciate and also benefit from (not that she doesn't get that from the usual celebration). We thought that she needed to relax after all those nights sleeping late in the office during the Tax Season (she's an accountant) and that she needed a break from all the cooking after loosing our maid.

After all that, we realized that we have just one tiny problem, how do we top that next year? But anyway, we still have eleven months, right? So what's the rush? 'Till next time.

Lots of Love,

J<3

Being an aspiring cook, I love to experiment with things. And as I have said in one of my previous post, this may not be a food blog, but there would be times when I will be sharing a recipe of something I made (or just something I would like to share). And today, I whipped up myself a sinfully delectable pasta made with Taba ng Talangka (sometimes called Aligue, Crab Fat, or Crab Roe).

Taba ng Talangka is full of cholesterol so I use it sparingly in my cooking (I think I've only eaten it twice). It comes from tiny crabs found in the Philippines we call Talangka. And "taba" means "fat", hence the English term crab fat. But I have found in some sites that aligue is actually crab roe. Whatever it is, it is still very fatty because not only is it fatty in itself, it has also been preserved in a large amount of oils and spices.

Last night, I asked a little help from my friend Google to find the perfect Aligue Pasta recipe. I have found a few, but when I started cooking, I threw my recipe sheet and did things on my own. This recipe is inspired by about seven different Aligue Pasta recipes I have read. I just adjusted them to my liking, and voila! Taba ng Talangka Pasta just the way I like it.

Serving size: 1

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

100 g. pasta of your choice cooked according to package instructions (I have used whole wheat fusilli pasta because that's all I have, but I suggest something stringy like spaghetti or fettuccine)
2 tbsp. crab fat (you may adjust this according to your preference)
Juice of 2 pcs. calamansi or juice of half a lemon, which ever is available
5 asparagus spears cut into 1 inch sticks
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground pepper
a pinch of chili flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese
chopped parsley for garnish

Procedure:

1. Saute the garlic in olive oil until slightly brown, being careful that it won't burn.
2. Stir in the crab fat, then the calamansi juice.
3. Add the asparagus and cook for a minute.
4. Mix in the pasta with a little pasta water.
5. Add salt, pepper and chili flakes (if using) according to taste.
6. Turn of the heat and mix in the Parmesan cheese.
7. Sprinkle the parsley, stir and transfer to the plate.
8. Drizzle additional olive oil if you want. Enjoy!

Variations:

• Aligue enhances the taste of seafood so you can add a few shellfish to make it a Taba ng Talangka Seafood Pasta.
• Adding two to three tablespoons of milk/cream can turn it into a creamy pasta.
• Infusing some Asian flavors through turning into a Curried Taba ng Talangka Pasta is possible. Just add a teaspoon or two of curry paste (any color) and two to three tablespoons of coconut cream.
• The asparagus can be replaced by some other vegetable like peas or green beans, or you can omit the vegetable part all in all. 

Like people from all over the world, I am also a part of the Hunger Games series craze. I read all three books in six days and suffered from tired and twitching eyes afterwards. But it was all worth it! And aside from the story itself, the food that was incorporated into the book also caught my attention (being a little foodie myself). As I was reading the book, I badly wanted to have a taste of the roasted groosling, all the various breads, and the mouthwatering Lamb and Plum Stew. So after reading the series, I went on and looked for recipes online of the stew. I was able to read a few recipes and modified them to fit my liking. In my recipe, I used beef instead of lamb because beef is more accessible here in the Philippines. This isn't really a food blog, but I felt proud of what I've made that I wanted to share them. Happy cooking everyone!

Lots of Love,

J<3