Imitating the Banoffee Ice Cream Sundae from FIC

I recently went to Tagaytay and had our desserts in FIC. We loved-loved their Banoffee Ice Cream! And because of that, we'll be replicating it at home.

How to:

1. Pile on a scoop of caramel-flavored ice cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (2 vanilla is fine if there's no caramel)
2. Add sliced bananas all over
3. Top with chocolate syrup, caramel, and crushed graham crackers!

And there it is... Banoffee Ice Cream Sundae

Griffinsol Drawing

This is something I came up with for work. We needed to enter something with wings that represent our organization (Financial Solutions or Finsol for short). It was presented a few days ago, so now, I'm free to share it - no need to keep it a secret anymore!

"Griffins are usually heroic symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like an eagle, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, griffins represent heat and summer. In Assyria, both the griffin and the dragon were symbols of wisdom. In Roman art, griffins are often pulling the chariot of Nemesis (goddess of justice and revenge)." http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1932-greek-mythology-griffin

For the drawing, I got the inspiration from this site: http://www.elfwood.com/~tnhawke/Griffin-Sketch.3291400.html

I drew it first on paper and then scanned it. After that, I used Paint.NET to add the colors. For the cloud background, that's actually from a photo I took before.

Canvas Printing Services in Manila Philippines

I've been looking for a service that can print my Instagram Photos into something that I can frame for a limited budget in Manila.

Before now, I've only known about Instacanvas, which is US-based, and they sell the 12x12 inch canvas for 39.95 USD + 9 USD for shipping fees. It's too steep for me and I don't think I'm their target market since I earn in Philippine standards. [Plus, I joined Instacanvas with the seller-mindset rather than a buyer-mindset...]

I've recently tried out Pop Print Photos (http://www.facebook.com/popprintphotos). I ordered their 12x12 Xintra Print as a gift. I got this one for PhP 900 (inclusive of VAT & Shipping).

After a week of settling the order details and the payment details, it arrived! I was happy with the quality and that the photo didn't come out pixelated, considering I took and edited the photo in my iphone using Snapseed and Instagram.

My niece and her canvas

My niece hung her picture on the doorknob, thought it would be funny

Italian Cooking Spree: We made Chunky Tomato Soup

As part of the Italian Cooking Spree, we made Chunky Tomato Soup. Now, I've been making the tomato cream soup for a long time, and I should probably try something else. RJ says that I need to branch out because I keep going back to Tomato Soup. :P

However, for now, I'm writing about it again, because I really liked this version better with the chunky bits! We thought we had a blender already, but turns out we don't. In the end, it turned out better than expected because the chunkiness made it rich.

The inspiration for this particular recipe comes from Laura Vitale. You can find her recipe and video in the link here: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/all/episode.php?episodenumber=454

What you'll find below is our version... developed because we adapted to what's available (in Cherie's house and in the supermarket we went to).

The chunky tomato soup up close, with the addition of fresh spring onions from the garden the day after

Again, credits to Tine for the photos of the cooking process. :) Thank God for your camera!


Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 lbs of Ripe Tomatoes
• 1 32 oz Can of Canned Tomatoes (whether whole or diced, it's fine)
• 1 1/4 cups of Chicken Stock (we used 2 cups of water plus 1 chicken bouillon cube)
• 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/4 cup of Fresh Basil Leaves (we didn't have it that day, but I added it on the leftovers)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Some dried herbs and chilli flakes for seasoning in small quantities

How-to:

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Chop the onions. Do all the needed prep work.

Adrin, here, is good at chopping the garlic and onions

2) Slice the tomatoes in half and put them on the baking sheet or pan. Pour the olive oil, salt, and pepper all over them and toss it all together so each one gets coated with the fair share. Make sure they arrange in one layer so they roast evenly (Lesson Learned). Roast them for about 25 minutes. (Laura Vitale added the balsamic vinegar here, but we didn't know we had it until later.)

3) In the large pot, sautee the chopped onions in the olive oil until they get a golden brown color, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

4) We added the bouillon cubes and the water and put the heat at medium-high. Allow the mixture to come to a boil to make sure the cube is fully dissolved. Add the canned tomatoes and simmer at medium heat.

5) We took out the tomatoes and chopped them into smaller bits and dunked it in the soup. (At this point, we realized we didn't have a blender! Oh no...) So this is where the tomato-crushing efforts came in. See the photo below on how we did it. This is where I also added the balsamic vinegar.

We sifted off a lot of the chunks and forced it through the strainer. For the remainder, we continued to crush it and chop it up some more (pinanggigilan-chopping). and then forced it through the strainer again.

6) After finishing with the tomato-crushing efforts, let the soup simmer for around 15 minutes. We added a small handful of dried rosemary (feedback was not to add because it's hard to chew and swallow) and some dried chilli flakes. In the end before serving it, add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream and mix it together. Unfortunately, ours didn't dissolve all that well without the blender (i heard you had to "temper" it)... but it still tasted great!

So here's what we ended up with... Chunky tomatoey goodness! :)

Yum :)

Italian Cooking Spree: We Made Easy Tiramisu

Yesterday, I got together with other people from work (there were 7 of us) to sharpen our cooking skills. The theme for this Saturday was Italian where we made Carbonara, Tomato Soup, and Easy Tiramisu. This particular entry will be dedicated to the Tiramisu.

Some few words about this: There was too much coffee liquid such that there was a lot of liquid left behind in the tray. This dessert was named "Tiramisoup" :) It didnt affect the taste of the texture, but the excess liquid was just weird to look at. I guess the only way to avoid this would be to really quickly dip the ladyfingers in the coffee so they don't absorb too much liquid. [Lesson Learned]

Up close on a slice of our Easy Tiramisu :P

Since it's our first time making this, we needed to find something easy. This particular recipe, called "Easy Tiramisu", we based it from this site: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/23143/recipeeasy-tiramisu

Since we weren't able to get the mascarpone cheese in the average supermarket here in Manila, we had to go for a substitute. It ended up quite good so no regrets on using a mascarpone substitute! For the mascarpone cheese substitute, we got it from this site:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mascarpone-substitute/

The photos of the creation process are all thanks to Tine!

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (we forgot this one)
• At least 24 ladyfingers (also known as Broas here in the Philippines, produced by FMC)
• 1 crushed ladyfinger for topping
• Cocoa for sprinkling (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee for dipping

How-to (or What Happened):

1) Tine and Adrin started mixing together the 8 oz. softened cream cheese, with the 1/4 cup of whipped cream (we used Anchor) and the 2 tbsp of softened butter. They mixed it together using the electric mixer. We now have our mascarpone cheese substitute!

2) Afterwards, they mixed 1/4 cup sugar (we used brown because we were out of white, no regrets in using brown) with 3 egg yolks -- don't forget to make sure there's no egg shells. I bit into one in some part, but it was a really small piece. After that, it went into the cream cheese mixture. We forgot to add the 2 tsp vanilla extract, my bad. :( After everything is mixed up, leave it aside.

3) Now, it's Cherie, Fran, and Jester's turn. Fran and Jester brought the coffee where the ladyfingers needed to be dipped in. In a bowl, they poured in the 1 1/2 cup brewed coffee. Each lady finger was dipped briefly in the coffee (be quick about it, because they break easily; use a big spoon just like in the photo below). After dipping, it was arranged in our 8x8 pan.

4) When the 8x8 pan is covered in soaked ladyfingers, we added a layer using half of the cream cheese mixture. We added another layer of the soaked ladyfingers on top of the cream cheese. When it's all filled up, we poured in the remaining cream cheese.

5) Using what was left of the ladyfingers, we crushed some bits as toppings over the cream cheese mixture. When it was done, we popped it in the fridge to chill for an hour!

So to summarize steps 3-5, here it is:

Dip, Arrange, Layer (2x), then top off with crushed ladyfingers

So here's the gang that worked on the Tiramisu (along with the Tomato Soup and the Carbonara). I'll be writing next about the Tomato Soup and the Carbonara.

L-R: Jester, Cherie, me, Fran, Tine, RJ (Adrin was behind the camera)

Photo: City Lights of Mandaluyong and Makati

Photo: The Fountain of Lights

The office building rarely turns on the fountain and the fancy lights, so I'm lucky to have gotten a shot.

My New Purple Bag

I bought this bag 2 weeks ago and I started using it last Saturday. It's nice, comfortable, and sturdy. You'd think i paid a lot higher, but it's actually just roughly 500 PhP! I got it in a tiangge somewhere.

In the Philippine malls these days, you cant get a nice bag anymore for around 500 and below! :( Almost all the nice bags I've seen are 1000+! (What's happening to the world?!)

I wish there were more places to buy cute inexpensive good quality bags like this one. I see too many people walking around with their branded bags.

 

Update  [Nov 18]: I spoke too soon. One of the gold buckles fell off because one of the screws got loose. :( I'd probably have to use superglue to get it back together. Oh well. It still looks alright.

Photo: Stray Dog in Black & White

While we were at the Kanto Freestyle Breakfast, there was this stray dog waiting for food scraps from us. He's got those sad eyes.

Vacation Planning for 2013

My college friends have decided that 6 of us are going to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (in Bataan) sometime in the early 2013. No particular month locked in yet. We got saw this deal in Deal Grocer.

I'm pretty much looking forward to it! The place looks great. :) Hope we're not going to be disappointed.

Kanto Freestyle Breakfast in Mandaluyong

I had dinner today in a new place! Kanto Freestyle Breakfast in Mandaluyong :) I was with my new teammates. :D Meet JP's new friend as well, Barbie the dog. My tuyo meal was Php 90 btw. :P

I hope you dont mind my short writing, but i'm too lazy now... But i had a good time here and I wanted to share so here goes!

Didi and I, Tuyo & Kesong Puti, Barbie the Dog, Leo and JP

My meal: Tuyo, Kesong Puti, Scrambled Eggs, Pesto Tomato, and Garlic Rice for PhP 90

3 pieces of Bacon as additional viand, Php 60. Sorry, takaw.

Didi's coffee which smelled very cinnamon-y for PhP 25. I wish I got one too.

Menu Page 1

Menu Page 2

I took a screenshot of my phone for documentation. I'll be back! This is the Boni Ave side where there's Tapa King.

Update: Apparently, they're already famous and they've got their own Facebook fan page. :) http://www.facebook.com/kantofreestylebreakfast 

Next time I go, i'll try to pancakes.

The New La Creperie in San Juan

I had lunch today in the new La Creperie in San Juan with my brother. I'm a fan of their branch in Eastwood, so I jumped to get 3 coupons in Deal Grocer when they released it for their new branch 3 weeks ago. :)

Since my brother hasn't tried La Creperie yet, I dragged him for lunch to get him to try my favorites. Overall, I think he was impressed with the food.

Inside La Creperie in the ground floor. That's my brother.

Here's what we ordered:

• Pesto Cream Carbonara - My brother and I split this one. I love this pasta!
• Le J.J. (Savory Crepe) - Ham, Emmental and Gruyere cheese, tomato, garlic, chilli flakes.
• Complète (Savory Crepe) - Ham, mushrooms, Emmental and Gruyere cheese, mustard, and poached egg to top it off.
• Creme Caramel Tea (TWG) - It came in a tea pot and they brought 2 cups for me and my brother.

Clockwise: Le JJ, Pesto Carbonara, Complete, and Creme Caramel Tea

The range of the food we ordered were 250-300 per dish. The tea came in a small teapot with one refill.

Just like their branch in Eastwood, the food was GREAT. :D There's really something special about the crepes here... maybe it's the mix of cheese... maybe it's their mushroom or their ham. :D~ *drool*

For the Creme Caramel Tea, it really had that caramel aroma. However, I probably will not order this next time. Try it at least once for an interesting experience. It's like holding up caramel to your nose while sipping on hot water. (Sorry, I'm no tea expert so don't take me seriously here)

TWG Creme Caramel Tea in the Tea Pot

The place is bigger than their Eastwood branch with 2 floors. I love the "feel" of the place with the white-and-yellow theme plus with the French happy-feel music that I don't understand. Totally chill on a Saturday afternoon. :D

There are only a few restaurants that make me crave for their food specifically. La Creperie is one of them. I'll definitely be back soon!

This place is so CUTE!

The new La Creperie in San Juan is in the Wilson Area. Coming from Wilson, turn right at Gloria Maris and Alex III. When you see Piandre (the salon), turn right. La Creperie is located between Tori Box and Eat My GF (both of which I heard were also great, so i'll be trying them out one of these days).

Photo: Buildings and Trees under the Blue Sky

By yours truly... :)

Sisig Mini Tacos and Portobello Inasal from Pino Bar and Pipino

I was happy with the food in Pino Bar and Pipino (the vegan restaurant upstairs) so I'm documenting it! Whoohoo! Today, we ordered to things: The Sisig Mini-Tacos and the Portobello Inasal. I've been here several times since it's one of my favorite places to go to in QC.

So what's good here?

Sisig Mini Tacos (PhP 215) - I love the sisig of Pino Bar and it went great as a taco filling.

Vegan Portobello Inasal with Red Beet Puree, Eggplant Salsa, and Brown Rice (PhP 260) - This is my official favorite vegan dish of all time! The Portobello Mushroom was like Inihaw na Pusit. It all went really well together.

Pino Resto Bar and Pipino are located in 39 Malingap St. Teachers Village QC. Pipino (Vegetarian Restaurant) is at the 2nd floor. Their facebook pages are: http://www.facebook.com/PinoRestoBar and http://www.facebook.com/pipinoveg

Parking is limited and Pino Resto Bar is always full especially at dinnertime so better reserve!

Potluck and Quick Easy Tomato Cream Soup Recipe

Porkchops, Tomato Cream Soup, Wine, Whoppers, Havannets for Dinner

My friends and i got together for a "potluck". Chux made barbecue porkchops and brought red wine. Lance brought Hershey's Whoppers Ice Cream. Debbie brought Havannas all the way from Argentina! I made Tomato Cream Soup. :D We watched Friends with Benefits after (Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake).

So here I am - sharing the quick and easy recipe for tomato cream soup! It's quick, easy... this is the shortcuts and cheats version. It's not exactly healthy since I just used bouillon cubes (high sodium) instead of chicken stock, but I needed something quick.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6):

• 3 cups of water
• 1 chicken bouillion cube (or more, if you feel like it)
• 1 big can of tomatoes (sometimes i use diced, sometimes whole - i prefer whole)
• 2 cloves of garlic and 1 small onion chopped
• 1 pack of all purpose cream
• a teaspoon of dried rosemary (or anything you feel like adding, maybe basil)
• freshly ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil at the end
• Croutons (my friends requested for croutons but I didn't have any)

How to:

1. Dissolve the bouillon cubes with the water in a soup pot and let it boil in medium heat
2. Add the canned tomatoes in with rosemary and the chopped onions and garlic. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and wait for it to cool a bit. Add the cream in and mix.
4. When it's not boiling-hot anymore, transfer it to a blender but only up to half of the blender at a time to prevent it from spilling when you blend. Transfer the blended soup into a soup bowl.
5. Once everything is blended, it's ready to be transferred into the smaller bowls.
6. Add black pepper and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top. If someone requested for croutons, add it as well. :)

UPDATE!!! [Nov 18] Here's an even better recipe for the Tomato Soup, but it would take a lot more effort than this one. http://myhobbycollection.blogspot.com/2012/11/italian-cooking-spree-we-made-chunky.html 

Lunch at Dang Dee Taiwanese Restaurant

This little hole in the wall in Makati (Salcedo corner Benavidez) serves great food for a really low price. The price range of the rice meals are from 68 to 108. It easily beats Jollibee and McDonalds in terms of value and quantity! Of course, it tastes great too. :) A friend who lives around the area brought us here to try out.

Today, I ordered the Porkchop Bento for PhP 88. I usually get the Fried Chicken Bento for PhP 68. The meal comes with veggies, half of a hardboiled egg, lots of rice, and a zesto pack.

Pork Chop Bento for PhP 88! :)

The menu photo is too small, sorry... but as you can see, only the Chicken Leg Bento is over 100 PhP!

This place is usually full during the weekdays because of the office crowd and the AIM crowd. I went here for dinner on a weekday and the only thing they had left was the Dang Dee Classic Bento.

They also deliver around the Makati area. See the number below:

As they've said, they've got free delivery!

Find this in Salcedo St. Corner Benavidez St., Makati

My Gray Leather Boots from Payless

I have a new favorite store in Powerplant Rockwell... which is Payless! :)

My most recent purchases have been my niece's red shoes, my new wallet, and my new gray leather boots! So far, I've been happy with all of the things I've bought from Payless. I'm waiting for them to release a membership card or a discount card or something. :D

My cool new gray boots (1650 Php)

My niece's glittery red shoes (700-something?)

Afternoon Tea at Da.u.de Tea Lounge at Fort

I spent the afternoon today at Da.u.de Tea Lounge sipping tea and snacking on sandwiches and dessert. :) I used my Deal Grocer coupon for High Tea Set for 2 for 800-something instead of 1400 Php.

The place and the ambiance were so nice, but I can't help but feel that only girls will appreciate having "afternoon tea". My sister had the right idea of going there with a female friend in their "sunday dresses".

We had the Skala Fruit Tea in their amazing tea pot (see the pic on how it gets to the glass). For the food, there were madeleines and scones on top; pork banh minh crostinis and roasted vegetable tartines at the middle; and apple strudel, green tea pudding, vanilla ice cream, and macaroons at the bottom.

Overall, I had fun eating there but the food veered towards sweet instead of savory. :) Next time, I'll be going back for the savory food. After leaving, I felt so sleepy after... probably due to sugar crash.

Cowgirl Annie Steak from Brickfire Oven

Last Saturday, I had dinner in Katipunan in lieu of the Ateneo Bonfire. We ate at Brickfire Oven (behind McDonalds).

I ordered the Cowgirl Annie Steak (120 PHP). It's pretty good and the serving size was alright for 120. Good for the wallet of college students. Don't expect Mamou-steak level, though. :)

Chili Color Changes [Updated]

Just sharing a photo of the growing process of another chili plant. I just thought that the color changes were cool.

At first, it was light yellow with purple splotches. Many weeks later, it became bright yellow. Over the course of the last 2 weeks, it turned bright orange. Today, it's red! :)

Update (Oct 19): So I harvested this piece today so it doesn't get wasted. I brought the little thing to work to eat with my salad. I tasted it and it was spicy! :) It was unfortunate that I wasn't able to let my family taste it. And it was also unfortunate that I accidentally touched my eye after handling it (it burns!!!).

look at my fat stubby fingers

Instant Sugar Scrub at the Office

As I was working in the office, I kept getting distracted by the dry skin on my nose. Then an idea hit me, why not make a quick scrub using sugar from the pantry?

How-to:
So anyway, I got some Cetaphil facial wash on my palm, just a small blob, as big as 25 centavos. I headed off to the pantry and got a quarter teaspoon of sugar. So I mixed the sugar and Cetaphil on my palm and scrubbed my face with it. :)

Just be careful not to overscrub. I think I overscrubbed a little bit on my cheeks, but now the dry skin on my nose is gone! Hehe...

For more ideas on home made sugar scrubs, head on over here to Tip Junkie for 14 Easy Homemade Sugar Scrub Recipes.

Got Featured! And Next Entry

Thanks to the help from my friends, my J Ruiz LRT Station photo made it to the front page! It's part of the top 100 photos of the week. It seems that they are now making this a regular thing in Instacanvas so I entered a second photo for the contest whose voting ends on October 22.

Front Page of Instacanvas (http://instacanv.as)

Here's my next entry - it's the photo I took in Amsterdam Central (or Amsterdam Centraal) back in July 2012 in our 6-hour stopover from our Poland Business Trip. What's amazing about this place is that it's packed with different kinds of people and cultures and it feels "normal", unlike other places where there's an element of fear when there's something/someone that's different. In the background, the structures looks very Christian and European, while there are many people of different races (Middle-east asians, South-east Asians, Africans, Caucasians, etc) walking around.

If you like the picture, vote for it on Instacanvas by clicking on the photo below. :)

Instagram, Instacanvas, and Help Needed

One of the things that I've really been into these days is Instagram. I've been into "amateur photography" for the longest time, usually using my sister's digicam or using mobile phones (before, Nokia N97, now, iPhone 4). Instagram has just been the most convenient app to use right now. In 2 months, I've got over 250 photos (addict!).

Since I mix personal photos with artsy-fartsy photos, it's great that there's Instacanvas to allow me to select photos which I categorize as the latter. :) Instacanvas also allows me to sell my photos, but I'd only get 8USD out of the 39USD. I'm not exactly hopeful on selling photos in the Philippine market as 39USD seems too steep. But then, I'm aiming to advertise through the Instacanvas page to link up with buyers from other countries!

With that, I need your help to get to the feature page! Please vote for the picture, we only have until today (Oct 15 afternoon)! If you don't think it's vote-worthy, that's alright. :)

This particular photo was taken last Saturday on my way to my university. This is the J Ruiz Station of LRT2 in Metro Manila Philippines. There were only very few people, so I was confident enough to take my phone out. :P Doesn't it look like the train stations in Europe? LRT2 is the best train line in Metro Manila :)

Check out the rest of my gallery here: http://instacanv.as/yvettety

Chili FAIL!

It was already time to harvest the chilis since it was already red. I was so excited to make chili oil, expecting it to be hot & spicy. Lo and behold, IT'S NOT SPICY at all!

Turns out, I assumed wrong - it's not Habanero. I'd have to edit my previous posts of this chili to correct myself. My mom says it might be pimiento. It leaned towards the sweet side rather than spicy. Bell peppers are even spicier than this one. :(

So anyway, since i had the ingredients ready, i went through with it but added cheese and honey mustard. It wasn't anything special, though.

Here are the photos!

At least I got a lot of nice pictures of it and they're in my instacanvas account.