Day 5: A Photo of Myself Two Years Ago

Portrait by Markku & Hana

Day 4: Photograph of my Best Friend(s)

A cornucopia of lunacy

Day 3: The Perfect First Date

First Date - (awkwardness + pretending to be someone you're not) + good conversation + fun = Perfect First Date

Day 2

Something I ate: savory fried chicken with pancit canton, lumpiang shianghai and steamed rice.

*burp

P.S.  I still think the savory fried chicken at Ling Nam is the best. ;-)

Day 1

Today was a good day. Nards and I went to visit my parents and siblings. After lunch, my sister and I went shopping. Getting me to go shopping is close to impossible, as I avoid the mall at all cost. But it's time for me to get new clothes, so I'm thankful to my sister who dragged me to her favorite shop (Loalde), forced me to fit clothes and succeeded in making me purchase a dress and a top. And I got a new pair of Sanuks -- the flipflops made out of yoga mat. They're just heavenly on my feet.

In the evening, Nards and I went to my favorite coffee and cake shop on Tomas Morato and met with an online seller who was selling longchamps. I got two: one for my Mom and another for my Mother in Law for Christmas. :)

30 Day Challenge

I got this from Patti.  It's an ongoing challenge on tumblr, and I've decided to cross post it here.  I'm hoping it will help me get my groove back in blogging.   Maybe you can join me? :)

Wish me luck!


Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

Chocolate Cupcakes

It's been months since I last posted here!  My blog entries folder is full and I have yet to get my groove back in blogging.

Thought I'd like to share part of my quest in finding the ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe for Nards.  Have I mentioned he's a certified chocoholic?  He has a very discriminating taste on anything with chocolate.  Especially on baked goods.

I found this recipe online and thought I'd give it a whirl.

I'm old school.  I write all my recipes down on this notebook.

Recipe called for the usual ingredients plus lemon juice.  It's my first time to use this on chocolate cupcakes.

Sift the dry ingredients.

The recipe said to combine a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and to heat it in the microwave for a minute or so.

Mix the dry and the wet ingredients.  I love it when the eggs are fresh. :)

Lined two muffin trays with paper liners that I got from the Cocoa Pantry. (Safe to say na suki na ako dito. :P  Thank heavens I can buy from them online.)

I used a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the liners.  I like to be precise.  Borderline OC ako when it comes to baking.  It's at this stage that Nards wants to sprinkle a pinch of sugar just to throw me off.  I swear.

After 20 mins at 350C.

Cooling on the wire rack.

Let me just say at this point, that the cupcakes got overbaked.  I didn't want to buy a kitchen timer, so I use my phone for an alarm.  Unfortunately, my phone rang (Nan, calling from a photobooth gig) and the alarm automatically went on snooze.  So this batch stayed in the oven 3-4 minutes more than it should.  Suffice to say, that it's no longer moist. 

The next batch stayed exactly for 20 minutes, but that was also overbaked.  I'll have to adjust the baking time to 13-15 minutes next time.

With that said, I took a few hours to decide what to do with the cupcakes.  On one hand, I had a can of dulce de leche that I made a month or so ago.  On the other hand, I had a block of bittersweet chocolate, heavy whipped cream and butter.  But this is for Nards so the dulce de leche went back to the pantry.  Besides, he likes that on banana cream pies.

Very simple recipe for chocolate ganache.

Chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Cream plus the butter on medium heat.  Bring to a boil and...

...pour over the chopped chocolate.  Let it sit for 5 minutes or so.

Mix until well blended, carpal tunnel syndrome or not.

So did Nards like it?  He had three yesterday: one pre-frosting, and two after I slathered ganache on it.  Then he had two after breakfast today.  

I guess he liked it. :)

He liked it more after it was refrigerated.   Go figure. :D