Recipe | Carrot Sweet Potato Turnip Salad

Since I've been 'pigging' out quite literally this week (ate pork for 2 days in a row), and while AM is at work for KMKZ's kickoff concert after 2 years of resting, I've decided to go vegan and eat well this today (and tomorrow, I hope).

Whenever I go to our local market (or palengke), I don't have any menu in mind because I almost always rely on what's available on that day.

I usually buy my greens at the grocery, but this time, I was surprised to have found fresh lettuce at our local market!  For only Php 20, good for two, it's a good deal.  So, I thought of making lumpiang sariwa for dinner but AM wasn't excited about it. Then days have gone by and my fresh produce starts to wilt. So I came up with this easy salad, sans lumpia wrapper and meat.

Coffee & Projects for 2018

There are so many things I want to get my hands into this year: focusing on building my food styling portfolio on this website; write more; plan for my son's first birthday and christening; and cook/bake more. But first, coffee!

I've been a coffee and coffee shop aficionado since I put up our (now closed) home-based cafe.  I really went to months of studying the art of coffee and which type of coffee should I be offering at the cafe.

Sadly, we had to close down our dream business to focus on our baby who is now 9 months old.  As a hands-on-stay-at-home-mom, I have lesser time on everything -- especially making my own good cup of joe!

Great thing Nescafe Dolce Gusto now has a Mini-Me Machine!  I found out about it while I was scouting for an alternative for my coffee.  This little coffee machine would be my partner in crime (aside from my hubby) just to give me a kick to start my day.  Very hassle-free since I just have to insert a capsule into the machine and let it do its thing.  And clean up is way easier than the espresso machine that I have, which takes a lot of time to do.

Thanks to Lazada, I can do easy coffee shopping at the comfort of my home with just a click on their website.  And it's COD!  Really hassle-free for moms like me.  We've been ordering a lot of items at Lazada for years now and we're pretty satisfied with their service.

Now I would love to try Nescafe Dolce Gusto's Vanilla Latte Macchiato and Cappuccino, which you can buy in bulk and at a discounted price at Lazada. Great deal!

Enough blabbing, I better get these deals now.

See ya!

Recipe | Bibingkang Malagkit

Are you looking for an extra income this holiday season?  Or maybe impress your family with a dish you made from scratch? Well, you just came to the right place.  Here's a rice cake recipe that is one of my most favorite Filipino delicacies, bibingkang malagkit.  

This recipe will teach you patience and also gives you the chance to do some arm exercise while cooking -- because of its continuous stirring for more than an hour.  But don't worry, the result would be worth it.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
1 banana leaf

2-3 pandan leaves
4 cups fresh coconut milk
2 cups sticky rice, washed
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
additional 2-4 cups coconut milk or water

Topping:
2 cups fresh coconut milk
125 ml all-purpose cream

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar


Procedure:

1. Heat coconut milk with pandan leaves in a pot over medium-high heat.
2. Wash sticky rice three times. Drain.
3. Add washed sticky rice on simmering coconut milk. Stir. Let it simmer.
4. Heat banana leaf on the stove to excrete its natural oil.
5. Place the banana leaf in a pan and brush top and sides with coconut milk or butter.
6. Keep on stirring the sticky rice mixture.  If it thickens, add coconut milk or water gradually until the rice is soft.
7. Add light brown sugar and salt in between stirring.
8. Continuously stir. It would take you more than an hour on stirring since this is a slow-cooking process.
9. Once rice is cooked, pour it over the pan with banana leaf.
10. Preheat oven to 350F.
11. Heat coconut milk in a pot.  Add dark brown sugar and cream.
12. Keep on stirring until mixture thickens like a caramel sauce.
13. Pour mixture on top of the sticky rice.
14. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top turned darker or slightly burnt.
15. Serve warm or cold.