Potato Cheddar Soup to Get You Warm and Cozy

Cool days are pretty much a rarity where I'm from but when it comes,

the last thing I ever want to do is get out of bed. And go to work. Humph.

Wouldn't you just want to stay tucked under that warm, soft blanket and fade away into la-la land instead of being woken up annoyingly by that persistent alarm?

Two days ago, we were happily stuffing our faces with Southwest Loaded Baked Potato Skins, weren't we? 

Plenty of leftover mashed potato is good.

  Leftover mashed potato makes amazing Potato Cheddar Soup. Like loaded baked potatoes, only soup version.

Thick and creamy potato soup topped with crisp crumbled bacon, 

grated cheddar cheese and cilantro...

Just me, my blanket and a big ol' bowl of cozy warm soup.

 I want to be totally wrapped up in that delicious warmth, happily slurping away.

Southwest Loaded Baked Potato Skins

I have been on a Mexican kick lately for some reason. About 2 weeks ago, I had this insane craving for burritos that I went to a restaurant by myself. I could have eaten five burritos that night (good for my stomach, not so good for my waistline and thighs). Luckily, my wallet only allowed me to order one.

That only seemed to worsen my craving though. So after a lot of drooling, a lot of waiting and contemplating, I finally gave in and stuffed my face with this amazing Spicy Chicken Tamale Casserole. Love you, Cooking Light!

But some days I crave for fries. 

Mexican Comfort Food

Who is in the mood here for some Mexican comfort food? Raise your hands. 

I've been drooling over this dish for some time now.

One look and I was totally hooked. There was no escape for me. 

I knew I HAD to make it. HAD TO.

Melty cheese, chicken and some spicy enchilada sauce sitting on a bed of moist, soft, sweet corn pudding?

 Absolutely!

This is SO delicious! This is the kind of dish that will make you popular with the in-laws or at any party.

Life-changing possibly.

Oatmeal Dilemma

I am an addict. I am hopelessly addicted to sweets. I do try to control my addiction, but after a while, those uncontrollable cravings get stronger and stronger to the point where I'm constantly fantasizing  thinking about all kinds of desserts, even dream about it and I can't function well. I just can't help myself. 

This is me trying to get clean. Forcing myself to eat a mushy, sad looking bowl of oatmeal in the mornings, hoping to get something healthy into my system. But let's face it. Oatmeal, especially the instant kind, is just GROSS.  I don't know what it is about oatmeal that just completely turns me off. Maybe it's the texture..or that bland grayish color (shudder). How depressing!

Turn Stale Bread Into A Healthy Salad

Last week, I made this super yummy, rich and decadent Apple Rum Bread Pudding with Butterscotch Rum Sauce and bought 2 long loaves of french bread. It turns out, I only ever needed one. 

So what to do with the leftover stale bread? 

PANZANELLA.

Fresh juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion and basil leaves mixed with bread cubes toasted in olive oil and herbs, soaking up a delicious, tangy, slightly sweet Dijon mustard vinaigrette.  

Drunken Apple Bread Pudding

 People have mixed feelings about bread puddings. You either love it or you hate it. I had never made a bread pudding before in my life until I was inspired by THIS from one of my favorite food bloggers.

Rum. and. Raisin

OMG It's absolutely my favorite ice cream! 

Then I remembered how this particular French Apple Cake from Dorie Greenspan is the most popular recipe post on my blog and I thought, "why not do a spin off on that with bread pudding?"  I love apples and rum. YOU love apples and rum. We can all be happy together. 

 

But wait, not too fast.

No one wants mushy, soggy, eggy, curdled bread pudding, right? Right.  

Then read on.

Addicted to Tiramisu

I love walking inside the supermarket. Do you think that's strange? It doesn't matter which supermarket it was or how many times I've been there but I always feel excited like a little girl in a toy store. When I was in Netherlands, I saw this Tiramisu dessert in a cup at C1000 supermarket. From then on, I was hooked. Everytime we  go to there, I'd always get a box of 2 and stuff my face each day with a cup. Luckily, my boyfriend liked the other Limoncello flavor so I had the Tiramisu ALL TO MYSELF. They were so good, every pound I gained was totally worth it!

I've never been a big fan of any liqueur and I hate the taste of any alcoholic drink but there's just something so addictive about Tiramisu. The blend of coffee with just a small amount of coffee liqueur soaked in a sponge cake topped with whipped cream with just a slight hint of cream cheese dusted with grated chocolate or cocoa powder sends me to heaven. I have a confession. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never ever tried mascarpone cheese. Traditional tiramisu recipes use mascarpone but since a small imported tub here is insanely expensive at 500 pesos (about 11-12 dollars or so), one has to look for more practical options.

I stumbled upon this recipe at Chef Chloe. Though her recipes are vegan, you'd never tell from the taste and look of it. I've used her recipes many times and if you follow the measurements and directions carefully, they're pretty much fail-proof too.

I Amsterdam

Amsterdam Central Station

We took the train from Amersfoort to Amsterdam and 45 minutes later, arrived at the Central Station, which was pretty convenient since it's  located close to most tourist attractions. I quite enjoyed those train rides, passing by farmlands, cows grazing lazily and getting glimpses of other cities along the way. 

THE VENICE OF THE NORTH

What used to a small fishing village along the banks of the Amstel river is now the largest city and the capital of The Netherlands. Amsterdam is famous for its many intersecting canals. A canal cruise is a perfect way to explore a beautiful city and it is surely something NOT to be missed when you are in Amsterdam!

Back from the land of the wooden shoes, tulips and windmills

Hello everyone! I know I haven't posted anything for a long time and I apologize for that. I will be writing more blog posts from my trips to the Netherlands and Paris in the next few months and if I have enough time to bake, I'll put in a recipe or two. =) Since I got back, I've been spending most of my free time studying Dutch language so I hope you will bear with me.

It feels so strange to be home again. Even though I was only away for 3 weeks, I have a feeling of being "misplaced". Home almost feels unfamiliar to me like I don't belong here. My life in Cebu is the complete opposite of the what I experienced when I visited my boyfriend for 3 short weeks in the Netherlands.

At home, I pay rent that is a bit too high for an old apartment with a broken toilet that the landlady refuses to fix so I have to manually fill it with water to be able to flush it. EVERY SINGLE DAY. The only thing that I really love about it is the location, being near to supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies and malls. But in the Netherlands, I was living in a nice apartment that was comfortable, spacious and very clean. I felt safe walking in the middle of the night from the cinema in Amersfoort.

I never thought that I'd be able to visit Europe. I was hoping that maybe someday in the far future I can but not this year. Funny how the universe works. You ask for something you really want and when you least expect it, it happens! It was truly a wonderful blessing from God and I will cherish those memories forever.

Before I left for my vacation, I didn't know much about the Netherlands except for wooden shoes, tulips, weed and windmills. I was so busy at work that I didn't have time to think much about my vacation. I didn't expect much.

wooden shoes from a souvenir shop in Utretch

All my life, I've always dreamed of going to Paris. I even made a vision board about it after watching The Secret and many times, I used to fantasize standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and saying to myself, I am going to visit Paris in 2012. Funny enough, my dream came true on this trip. Ironically, I wasn't as ecstatic as I thought I would be when I was there. Yes, Paris is a very beautiful city, big and majestic with all its glory. But I saw that it's not just all that. There was also a bad and dangerous side to the city.

If you were to ask me which I love more a few months ago, Paris or Netherlands, I might have given a different answer but now, I know without a doubt that I prefer the beautiful cities in the Netherlands more than Paris.

Netherlands may be small compared to its neighbors in Europe but I fell in love with it. It is such a beautiful country and I would highly recommend anyone to visit it if they can in their lifetime. The  Dutch people are also polite and kind.

I miss a lot of things already. The fresh clean air, the clean streets, the nice safe neighborhood  warm greetings from friendly people you pass by on the street or you meet in the elevator or even people just sitting on their balconies, kind drivers who stop to let you cross the road, strawberries and blueberries (since they're very expensive in the Philippines, I never buy the better, imported ones.), beautiful crooked houses (or apartments) standing next to each other and a perfect weather that feels like autumn in the summer.

These houses in Amsterdam remind me of the shops in Diagon Alley.

I never had to break into a sweat, not one day that I was there. In the Philippines, however, my clean shirt is already a bit damp with sweat 10 minutes after a cold shower.

Dare To Be Different

Only 2 more weeks to go, YES! I've been counting down the days left until THE trip of my life. I've been daydreaming about all the things we will do or the places we will visit and after what seemed like an eternity, I will finally be able to see Mr. C again. This is the first time I am going on a trip somewhere I've never been to without planning like crazy. Sometimes, I have a little tendency to become a bit obsessive with the planning. This time, I'm just going to take the backseat and enjoy the ride. I still can't believe that we got the Schengen visa to Europe! I don't think it will ever quite sink in until I am there, standing in the midst of it all in real life. Thank you for all the blessings, Lord!

Now on to the cupcakes! Some people may love the combination of chocolate and coconut, others may not. It's not for everyone. A male colleague thought the coconut frosting was strange. Most of them liked it though found the topping a wee bit too sweet. I've paired the coconut-walnut frosting (I didn't have pecans on hand.) with my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe from Chef Chloe.

The Power of Gratitude

Thank you - two very simple yet powerful words but also the words taken for granted the most. How often do we say thank you really?  The things that we take for granted are also the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

Sometimes we complain about the silliest, mundane things in life. We focus more on the things that are going wrong or the things that we lack rather than on the things that we should be grateful for. We compare ourselves to other people, never content with what we already have.We forget that there are other people out there who would be very happy just to eat one meal a day or have some shelter to sleep at night or have eyes that can see or feet so they can walk.

Life IS full of blessings and the world is full of abundance if we choose to see them around us. So I'm taking a moment to write down the things that I am thankful and grateful for.

Mmmm... Something Smells Good In the Kitchen

It was a little crazy the 2nd half of last week. I had 2 orders on Friday and 1 on Saturday morning so I was baking Wednesday night and Thursday night as well and I haven't had much sleep. It's a real struggle to juggle work and this but there are just times when I can't say no especially to friends. I am too tired to bake when I get home from work and it's usually at 2 or 3AM that I find the energy to bake these days. I know I'm weird but I feel better once I'm a little rested. 

I made this for a friend who loves cinnamon. Who doesn't?! The smell of cinnamon (and also apples!) baking in the oven is so heavenly and irresistible! I divided the recipe in half since my electric oven isn't big enough to fit in a 9x13 inch pan and I had to use a 9x9inch pan instead. The cake was really moist. I have to give a bit of a warning though. The bottom of the cake was quite oily after baking so I had to put it on tissues to blot it out a bit. The cinnamon sugar butter swirls sank into the cake and created a nice yellow / gooey brown contrast on the sides when you slice it. And the glaze, well, it's extra icing on top! 

When Things Don't Go Your Way

In life, we often make a lot of plans but sometimes, they don't always turn out the way you expected or wanted them to. This was one of those times. Ironically, they say that our whole life is already planned out for us so why bother to make our own plans? Personally, I cannot imagine going through life without planning. It would feel like driving without any direction. 

I had first envisioned this cupcake to look like a Hi-Hat with a nice big swirl of peanut butter frosting on top, drizzled with melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Unfortunately, after piping the frosting on the cupcake, I had the sinking feeling that something had gone wrong. It wasn't as smooth as I had thought it would be and almost looked just the tiniest bit curdled, which was kind of gross. I wasn't sure if that was exactly how the frosting was supposed to be but it certainly didn't look pretty piped with a round tip. I had to think and act quickly to save the day since this cupcake was actually an order from a friend who was paying for it. The only way I could think of was to cover the frosting completely with mini chocolate chips and chopped honey roasted peanuts. 

Coco Rouge Velour Cupcakes

I know I've been away for a while and I apologize for my absence. I've been busy experimenting in my kitchen, endlessly making cupcakes one after another, week after week for my little home-based business so you'll be seeing a lot of cupcake posts from now on. I have a long way to go down my list and hopefully I can finish everything before my trip in July.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

I love layers in my cake, how all the different flavors mingle together to form one perfect harmony. Just like this cake. It's got a moist buttery cake, thick cream cheese filling, sweet jam made from fresh strawberries and a nice crumb topping. What could possibly be better than this? It IS the PERFECT coffee cake!

Better Than Crack Carrot Cupcakes

I love carrot cake. It's so hard to say no to those moist layers of cake that's chock-full of carrots, pineapple, raisins and walnuts with irresistible cream cheese filling and frosting. At least that's my idea of the PERFECT carrot cake. If you are a purist, then you are in the wrong place, my friend. But maybe you should still give this a try. It just might surprise you. It could totally change your mind about what you like or not.

Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins {Breakfast is Served}

Balancing work, blogging, baking and chatting with my boyfriend who lives in Europe at midnight is really starting to take its toll on me. I've had 3 hours of sleep the past few nights this week. I barely even get to enjoy my weekends anymore because I have to buy ingredients for orders from friends and then I spend whatever free time I have left baking. Honestly, I don't know why I do it, why I sell baked goods when I get so little profit that I wonder if it's even worth it. The only thing that comforts me a little is that I get to share my food with others which makes me happy.

The Best Fries Ever!

"You are what you eat", they say. I suppose there is some truth to that since I was feeling kind of sluggish the past weeks, low on energy and at times a bit irritable. I felt uninspired to do anything, even baking. I was feeling Bleh! It made me take a good look at the stuff I'd been eating lately - ice cream everyday (YES), cakes, even chips though I've never been a fan of it. In other words, I was feeling crappy because of all the accumulation of too much junk I'd been putting into my body for weeks. No wonder all my clothes feel tighter. I've gained some pounds from all that junk.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies

'

It's only been  like 3-4 weeks but it felt like I'd been away for months. I would like to apologize for disappearing a few weeks but I'd been busy with the visa application to Netherlands and I had 2 books to finish. 

I started reading the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins near the end of last month, just a few pages here and there when I had the free time at home, in between work and baking and by the end of the first book, I was completely HOOKED. I fell in love with the characters, strong and brave Katniss Everdeen and the sweet selfless boy with the bread, Peeta Mellark. I knew I had to continue reading the 2nd and 3rd books or I was never going to get any sleep at night, always wondering about what will happen next. I finally finished the last of the trilogy, Mockingjay.

The Power of S'mores

Brownie fever is in the air! This is my 2nd post on another awesome brownie recipe and it's not going to be the last one either. I have a few more on my list so keep posted for updates. 

I love S'mores (short for "some more"). That roasted ooey gooey marshmallow with a chocolate bar sandwiched between two graham crackers might be a simple campfire treat that doesn't need any real cooking skills but it has taken over the food blogging community like storm. From s'mores cupcakes, to s'mores pies, to s'mores cookie bars, to s'mores pudding, you just can't escape them.