Joy's Misadventures

I'm a Slacker

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:11:00 +0000

….......... but we do have a winner to my little giveaway. The winner is.....

This actually happened to my husband not me -- I was sleeping thank goodness! He heated hot chocolate in the microwave and then put it in this Tupperware shaker we have to shake it up. After he put the lid on, it literally exploded upwards like a volcano, spraying hot cocoa all over the place, included part of the ceiling, walls, lamp (we have a small apt.!) He said he kind of stared at it all in shock for a minute before he could take action of any kind. If i had been awake, I would have helped him, so selfishly, I was relieved I wasn't in the vicinity and conscious at the time!

I was laughing for a while. It was a much needed. I feel like I'm a slacker lately. I have neglecting my little blog. How I miss thee...... Unfortunately, life has been taking over. Work mainly has been consuming every minute of my life. Too bad I can't seem to concentrate when I'm at work or I wouldn't have to work as many hours and then I have the Son. Any suggestions to get a teething 8 month old to sleep, I'm open. I miss sleep and I believe I'm starting to talk in strange language whem I'm talking (I am starting to get strange looks).

The funny part, I have been cooking and baking to release the stress. I just haven't had the chance to write. So I'm currently hiding in my cube trying to write something because I'm busting at the seams. Normally on Fridays, I like to post something other about anything that doesn't include food but I felt that since it has been a couple of weeks since I posted, I need to post a recipe.

I am in the process cleaning out my freezer and I found a collection of random nut flours. Each one wasn't enough to make anything so I combined it all to make a macaron.

I used my normal macaron recipe but I used a mix of nuts to equal the weight of the cashew flour. I hate wasting. I also added a little coco powder (about 1 Tbl). As the filling, I used the buttercream recipe I found on CD Kitchen. Instead of ube flavored, I added coffee. I need to figure out what to do with all the random flours I have like chickpea flour :}

Update: I just realized I forgot to include this on my post. I was getting ready the other day while The Husband was tending to the kids. He proudly tells me" did you know macarons is made of almond flour and powder sugar". I just looked at him. I guess all day as he was watching the kids, the cooking channel/food network was on. I believe he doesn't ever watch or taste anything I make.

Help, I need to be Entertained and a GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:53:00 +0000

I don’t really like talking about my life outside of my home or even kitchen but unfortunately my professional life has been taking over every aspect of my life. Once I get home and I’m way to tired to get anything done. Why do you need a full-time job. I wish we could go back to bartering.

I normally get the crazy looks from my friends and family at this point.

A little background:
I’m was and kinda still in Information Technology. I have probably one of the most boring jobs. I look at data (sheets of information) all day. I’m a geek through and through.

Due to my “chosen” career, I had to find something creative in my life. It took a few trials and experiments to finally find a way to express my creativity (I kept telling myself I was an artist in college, LIES). Having a job where I am essentially a data monkey (this is what like to call myself), I found cooking/baking allowed do as I like without boundaries. This is probably why I tend to have a failure here and there.

For the next month at least, I’m “stuck” in the middle of a system upgrade (could it get any more boring?). I hope that I could share with you all of the different food experiments I have been making at home. I just have to sneak an hour here and there to actually write a post. Shhhh - don’t tell me boss. In hopes to keep me sane, I have a favor to ask of you and I have a little prize in return:

I’m sure some of you may be aware that valentines is coming up. If you ask The Husband, he will play dumb. I have 4 chocolate molds, melting chocolates, and lollipop sticks from my favorite chocolate place: Morkes.

This is what I ask of you: Tell me what your favorite misadventures in the kitchen or even in life.

For example: I have the most horrible way of forgetting about what I am cooking so when I tried to make dulce de leche. I thought The Husband turned off the stove and he thought I did. The can exploded all over my kitchen and The poor Husband was doing his homework when it happened. He said he sounded like an explosion. He is amazed I didn’t wake up from it. It was everywhere! I’m sure you are giggling right now. The Daughter was and told me I was in trouble.

A winner will be picked via random.org. Creativity does count and you will get extra entries if you have successfully got me to cry from laughter. Anna will confirm that it is fairly easy to achieve since I laugh at everything.

For bonus chances Follow me in
This Blog
Pinterest
Twitter

Leave a comment for each follow.

Entries will be accepted until Monday February 6th. I’ll pick a winner on Tuesday. I want to make sure you have enough time before Valentines Day!

Please excuse the pictures, I actually just took these this morning as I was getting the kids ready. I can’t wait until the sun is out longer.

I had to include some pink chocolate

Milk chocolate, no need to temper - just melt and use

Kulinarya Jan 12 - Sugar Free Mocha Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:19:00 +0000

The first month new year which always results in new years resolutions or goals. This month's Kulinarya theme is to make a healthy version dish of a birthday favorite hosted by Pearl of Sassy Chef and Thea of Words and Nosh. This completely coincides with one of my goals this year. Attempt to be healthier.

For any celebration, I always expect some sort of cake. My personal favorite is mocha cake with a fluffy layer of butter cream. Not the healthiest of food. But I used Agava sugar instead of regular sugar. I did question if it would work well since I had to whip the eggs into a medium peak but it came out beautifully.

Instead of putting frosting throughout the cake, I just topped the cake used fresh strawberries as a filling. In my head, less frosting, fresh fruit, and no sugar justifies as healthy. This is why I battle with my weight for years. I used LaFuji Mama's strawberry shortcake recipe with this.

Sponge Cake
4 Eggs separated
1/2 Cups of Agava Sugar
3 Tbs of Milk, at room temperature
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
14 Tbs of Cake Flour Sifted (could use coconut flour or rice flour for gluten free)
2 Tbs of Melted Butter (I used low fat butter that is mixed in with yogurt)

1 Tbs of Instant Coffee

Directions for Sponge Cake

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Heat the milk slightly and than add the coffee. Make sure it is well dissolved.
Add the agava sugar to the egg whites and beat the egg whites until they reached a medium peak.
Add the egg yolks one at a time to the egg white mixture while folding in the yolks until they are incorporated.
Add the coffee mixture, vanilla extract, and butter to the batter and gently fold them into the batter.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan (8 inch or I used long snack cake molds). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Let it cool.

For the stabilized whipped cream frosting:
1 Tsp of Unflavored Gelatin
4 Tsp of Cold Water
1 Cup of Cold Whipping Cream (less calories than heavy whipping cream by a little)
1/6 Cup of Agava Sugar
1/2 Tsp of Vanilla Extract

To make the Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting:

Place the cold water in a small saucepan than sprinkle the gelatin onto the water. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Heat the saucepan on a low heat than stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.
In a mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, agava, and vanilla and beat until slightly thickened. Then, while beating slowly, gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture.
Then whip the mixture at high speed until stiff.

To assemble the cake:

Slice the cake(s) in 1/2.
Arrange the strawberries on the lower 1/2.
Spread the whipped cream frosting on top.
Serve

I tried to make a sour cream frosting with brown sugar.

Since I was a child, I would eat strawberries with brown sugar and sour cream. I decided to make a frosting with that flavor combination. I did have to use powdered sugar to stiff up the frosting.

Hong Kong Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:09:00 +0000

With Chinese New Years around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to try to make some hong kong cakes. Growing up, I would get these little pancakes every time I would visit my cousins in New Jersey. Luckily, they lived only 20 minutes from New York. My Aunt and Uncle would pile all of us in a van (5 kids and 4 adults) to take a trip to Chinatown to eat. As a snack, we would get a bag of little pancakes sold by a little old lady's push cart on the streets of Chinatown. The steaming bag still reminds me of my childhood.

The flavors of the cake is hard to describe. It isn't like a regular pancake. It is sweeter but light and spongy. I could probably eat it all day, everyday. About two years ago, I started my hunt for the recipe. The first step was to find the exact name of it. I knew it as little pancakes and it took a while to find it. I started to give up and began to believe that the recipe was created by the little old lady with the cart. Then there it was right there on my screen - HONG KONG CAKES or Egg Waffles. Now narrowing down the different recipes. I found a few that recipes that asked for custard powder. I had no idea what was custard powder. After even more research, I came to realize it was vanilla pudding. Before I was able to test the different recipes, I had to find the right pan. The shape is not a regular flat pancake but it is kinda a foot ball. I first got an Ebelskiver Pancake Pan. It kinda worked but not exactly right. I was not happy with the taste. I tried every recipe I was able to find but it wasn't right.

Over the summer I was doing some window shopping at Williams-Sonoma, they had the exact pan I was looking for. The pan even came with a recipe but I was a little hesitant to try it. I thought it would taste more pancake like but I was so wrong. It tasted exactly how I remembered it. I was so excited.

Hong Kong Cakes
(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma)
4 Egg Yolks
6 Egg Whites
1 Cup (180 ml) of Milk
1 Tbs of Vanilla Extract
6 Tbs of Butter (unsalted and soften)
185g of Sugar
1 Cup of Cake Flour
1 Tsp of Baking Powder
Pinch of Nutmeg
1 Tsp of Salt
Vegetable Oil for cooking
Directions

Start whipping the egg whites until they reach a medium peak - glossy but a little stiff.
Mix together the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, butter, and sugar until it is well combined.
Sift in the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.
Mix well until everything is well incorporated.
Fold in the whipped egg whites a 1/3 at a time. Make sure to keep it light.
Take the pan and preheat the both sides of the pan on the stove at a medium heat.
Brush the pan with the vegetable oil and pour 3/4 cup of the batter on one side of the pan in the center.
Place the other side ontop of the batter and flip. Cook for 2 minutes than flip again and cook fro another 2 minutes.
Open the pan and flip the pancake on a wire rack.
Let it cool and than serve.

This is the Daughters favorite pancake recipe and she asks for it every week. The Husband used the rest of my batter in our waffle maker and it was as good. Now I'm craving for some. I guess I know what I'm making this weekend.

Daring Cooks - Tamales

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:53:00 +0000

I have been working on my schedule and I actually remember to do a daring kitchen challenges. Normally every month, I would kick myself for missing yet another challenge, I made sure I was able to do this one.

Maranda of Jolt & Jollies hosted this months theme and she picked tamales. I have tried tamales before and I actually used the same filling recipe. Instead of beef, I used chicken. For the masa, I used the recipe provided by epicurious.

Roadkill Tamales
(adapted from my cousin Marnie)
Filling

4 lbs of Chicken Breast

2 Packets of Sazon Seasoning

1 Tsp Adobo Seasoning

1 Chopped Onion

1 Bottle of Mojo

1 Packet Caldereta seasoning

1 Regular Can Tomato Sauce

ons

Direction

Place chicken, sazon, onion, and ½ bottle of mojo in a stock pot. Add enough water to cover meat.
Cook above for 2 hours at high-medium heat.
Next add the remaining mojo, caldereta seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cook this at medium heat for another hour.
Next taste the meat and add more spices if necessary. Also, check if the meat is tender. The meat is tender if you can separate a piece with a fork easily. If the meat is not tender, cook for additional half an hour and check again.

Dough
(adapted from epicurious)
1 1/3 Cups Shortening
1 1/2 Tsp salt
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
4 Cups Instant Masa
2 Cup Chicken Broth (low-sodium prefered)
Directions

Mix the shortinging with the salt and baking powder until it starts to fluff up.
Add the masa and than slowly add the chicken broth until it forms a ball.
Assemble the tamales

Assembly

1 package of corn husk (soaking in water from 3 hours to overnight)

Directions

Prepare the steamer and bring it to a boil as you assemble the tamales.
Take the corn husk and pat it dry.
Take about 1/4 cup of the dough and spread it on upper 2/3rds of the corn husks.
Place a small layer of the filling and bring up the sides.
Fold over the bottom and place in the steamer.
Cook for about 45 minutes
Let it cool and chill.

No Food Friday Kinda - Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:29:00 +0000

This post is does have to deal with food but actually how I got my kitchen more or less organized. It will always be a working progress but in the process I did find a way to re-purpose The Son’s baby food jars. The Husband calls me cheap but actually I hate wasting anything. I also recycle everything I could. If I could start a compose heap, I would. I don’t think The Husband would appreciate it. He might reconsider it if we get a garden.

Spice Baby Jars
(I couldn’t think of anything better)

Once the pudgy baby finishes a jar, rinse it out really well and remove the lable. I set them aside until the end of the day - The Son eats up to 6 jars a day.
Take the rinsed out jars with the lids into a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. This will help sterilize the jars for use. I boiled mine for about ½ an hour.
Drain the water and than I take the extra step of washing them in the dishwasher.
Fill the jar with the desired spices and label.

I like consistency so this way, all of my spices has the same container. I’m could be a little OCD at times. I also like to be able to see how much is left

I should have taken a before picture but trust me this is an improvement.

I even fixed my baking island. Not perfect but getting there. I'm trying to figure out where to put everything.

This is my extra pantry in my laundry room. I have been banded from grocery shopping for a while. My couponing helped create this monstrosity.

Now off to meal planning.

Filled Monkey Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:48:00 +0000

Do you ever get the point that you can’t seem to get anything done until you clean up or organize? That is how I have been new years. Since I set the goal of organizing my house and life, I feel that I can’t get anything else done until that happens. I’m about 75% done. I seem to be stuck on the toys, arts and crafts, and my personal stuff like emails and photos for the blog. I just need a week or so of uninterrupted computer time to get through the loads of emails, blogs to read, and recipes/notes to myself. I know that may not ever happen so I’m doing stuff slowly.

My recipes and notes scare me the most. I have recipes emailed to myself, notes on google docs, I even have evernote on my phone. The only thing I don’t use is a paper and pen. My hand writing is horrible and I can’t seem to read anything I wrote it down.

Every weekend I have a slew of projects that I want to get completed. I tend to forget to eat, so anything quick to snack on is much appreciated. I have been cooking too but not as much as I would like.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to think of something for breakfast that I could prep ahead of time and just leave it to cook unattended. I looked what I had in the fridge and come up with monkey bread. I haven’t had it for a while and The Daughter may like it. I couldn’t just make the regular one, I had to find a variation. This is where I fail as a blogger, once again I can’t seem to remember where I got the idea. I know I didn’t dream it up. It might have been Martha Stewart Site or food.com. The Food Network has a closer version on recipe I used (mainly made up as I went).

Filled Monkey Bread
2 Cans of Pillsbury Biscuit (I used both southern style and regular since that is what I had at home)
2-8oz of Cream Cheese (Soften)
1 Stick of butter
2 Cups of Brown Sugar
1 Tbs of Cinnamon
2 Tbs of Sugar

Directions

Cook in a small sauce pan the butter and brown sugar until it is melted.
Pour ½ of the mixture into the bundt pan and make sure the bottom is completed coated.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together until it is well incorporated.
Mix it into the soften cream cheese.
Take the biscuit dough and press down on each one to create flat disks.
Spread the cream cheese over the disks.
Bring up the sides to create a small ball.
Place the ball ontop of the sugar mixture in the bundt pan with the seam up.
Put each ball next to the other. Once a layer is completed, add a little of the sugar mixture over the balls of dough. I had about 3 layers.
Repeat steps 6-9 until all of the biscuits are in the bundt pan.
Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge for over night.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.
Flip the bread onto a serving platter and serve.

It is best on a quiet Sunday morning with some coffee and the kids watching tv in silence.

Cioppino

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:52:00 +0000

My first post of the new year. Happy New years everybody. I hope everybody is well and celebrated in high style. Or at least ate in high style. I meant to have my resolution #3 start on the 1st. Guess what, did not happen. I went to the buffet with the Best Friends on the 2nd and than I had Arby’s on the 3rd. I did start my diet “officially” on the 4th but I did cheat (hmmm chocolate). Otherwise, I have been really good and I am even exercising. I am aiming to reach my ideal weight within this year. I do not want to set a specific date or else I know I will get frustrated and give up. I figured a date range, I might be able to achieve it.

I also started organizing my house. I should have taken a before and after picture of my pantry. I am excited that I could see the back of my pantry. I labeled everything from my flour bins to baskets that contain all of our snacks. If my kids stood still enough, I would have labeled them too. The husband does believe that I will mess it up within a week.

Though I am watching what I’m eating I couldn’t help try a soup that would just warm you up during this time of year.

Cioppino

I have been wanting to make this stew for a while. A whole stew made of all seafood. Who wouldn’t want that (well, the husband didn’t want it originally). It was totally worth making.

Cioppino
(adapted from All Recipes)
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes (I used diced instead)
2 cans chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 1/2 pounds bay scallops
18 mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, cubed
Directions

Melt butter in a large stockpot over med-low heat
Add the onions, garlic and parsley. Cook until the onions are soft.
Add tomatoes to the pot. Than add chicken broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, water and wine. Mix well. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in the shrimp, scallops, mussels and cod. Bring to boil.
Lower heat, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes until the mussels open.
Serve.

No food Fridays - New Years Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0000

It is the time of year where you swear to yourself you will complete a task for the following year. Normally it is the same thing each year. My favorite one I say each year is to lose weight or get healthy. This year I have a few. I don’t really expect to complete all of them but at least I plan to try.

1. Try to hold my temper and be more patient with my kids, especially with a certain 3 year old that loves to say...Mommy, I WANT IT NOW! I will try to speak calmly instead of stomping and itching when I would get frustrated
2. I will try not to get irritated when The Husband criticizes me on how I made something. Of course Honey, you are right. I’m sure I’m doing it wrong even through you have no idea what is puff pastry or a macaron is. (He actually knows these since I have made them enough times. A marcaron is a little hamburger)
3. Of course, to lose weight and eat healthier (sucks when all I want to cook involves frying or sugar).
4. I will make time for myself somehow: like reading, cooking, exercising, and attempting to relax
5. My main one is to be organized. I have a feeling that if I was more organized, I wouldn’t be scrambling in the last minute and I wouldn’t get irritated when someone would criticize me or bug me for my attention. I might even get a chance to plan stuff where I could eat healthier and exercise.

I know this may be a lot of stuff but one could hope and there is always next year.

I do hope that I will be able to do more recipe development and blog more often. I just need an extra 4 hours of my day. If anybody have some extra time handy, please pass it my way. Thanks!

I hope you have a wonderful and safe New years. Please eat for me since I “should” eat healthier starting now.

Cheese pin wheel - Remake

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:55:00 +0000

The new year is quickly approaching. It is the one day you are expected to party. When I was younger, I would throw a party and just make sure there was enough liquor to make sure everybody was very, very happy. Now, food is the main focus. How things has changed the older you get. I do find that for a new year party, appetizers are perfect choice. You could eat, mingle, and drink easily. When you need to make multiple small dishes, any help you could get is appreciated. As you may know, I have been using various tools to . I utilized the help of the Pillsbury Doughboy to make pepper and cheese pinwheels. The filling is similar to my Pimento Cheese recipe but I didn't have pimento cheese nor cheddar. I had roasted red peppers and velvita. Yep, velveeta. We have strange stuff in my house at times.

Pepper and cheese pinwheels

1 Jar of Roasted Red Peppers

16 Oz of Velveeta Cheese

2 Cans of Pillsbury Cresent Rolls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F
Mix together the red peppers and cheese in a food processor or blender. It will become cheese spread.
Take the cresent rolls and lay it flat retangle.
Spread the cheese spread on the cresent dough.
Roll up the sides to create a log.
Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Be careful, the spread may leak out
Bake for 15-20 or until it is golden brown,
Let it cool and serve.

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays.

Love, eat, and enjoy the ones you love.

Love,
Joy of Joy's Misadventures

Kulinarya Dec '11 - Prime Rib Tocino

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:16:00 +0000

How is it Christmas this week?!?! I know I say it repeatedly that time flies but it does. I started off good and got the bulk of my shopping done early. For this challenge, instead of picking a dish I thought of a meal I would serve. I than realized I don’t eat the normal Filipino Christmas dinners. Instead the main course is a dish I make for special occasions but Filipinoized (hopefully you get my meaning). Due to a chocolate class with the Husband that morning, I was a little tight on time for challenge. You know me, I’m always rushing at the last minute to get stuff done. The main course was Tocino prime rib. I must warn you, you need extra set of seasoning to be injected into the meat. It is so thick that the favor only penetrated to the skin.

Tocino Prime Rib
3 Lbs of Bone in Prime Rib
3 Packages of Either Already Made Tocino seasoning or homemade. I used the Mama Sita.
½ Cup of Water
Directions

Take two of the mixes and rub it all over the prime rib.

*I wish I did this step: take the last pack and mix it with ½ a cup of water. Fill a flavor injector tool with the marinade. Inject the prime rib.

Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Next day: pre-heat the oven to 400 F

Place the prime rib in a heated skillet and sear the rib until it has a nice char on all sides. Similar to regular tocino.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Drape a piece of foil over it and place in the oven to cook for 3 hours.

Remove it from the oven when it reaches the desired temp (this depends on how well you like your steaks).

Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Serve

I served this with rice and my vegetarian palabok. For dessert I tried to make a buche de noel cake but that did not come out pretty at all. I can’t seem to frost cakes that well. The Husband said it looked like a boot. I’m going to try again for Christmas. I did make another dish that to me is Christmas. This is probably due to my grandmother making it ever year for Christmas. Almond jello in fruit cocktail. Instead of making on big sheet, I made them into jigglers (like the Jell-o kind).

Almond Jigglers
1 Package of Almond Jello
2 Packages of unflavored Gelatin
½ Can of Fruit Cocktail.

Directions

Prepare the jello as directed on the package than add the 2 packets of unflavored gelatin.

Place the pieces of fruit in the molds or in a regular pan.

Pour the mixture over the fruit. Place it in the fridge to have it set for a couple of hours.

Serve

Check out the other members posts.

Bake, Decorate, and Donate

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:16:00 +0000

It is almost Christmas. That means shopping, wrappings gifts, and eating. Oh so much eating. As I get ready for all of the celebrations, I over heard The Daughter saying “I need this, I need this, and this Mommy!”. I look over and I found The Daughter going through the Toys R Us big book. I should have thrown it out when I had the chance, that was my fault. I soon realized, I need to teach the munchkins that Christmas is more than just getting gifts. I was trying to think of a way to teach the kids the beauty of giving. The best way I was able to think of was making something and donating.

During one of my mental breaks from work, I was looking for ideas for cookie ideas and I came across the website called drop in and decorate through the all the all recipe website. One idea they had was to have a cookie decorating party and deliver them to a local nonprofit organization that assists individuals like a food shelter. I did some searching and I found that the Ronald McDonald house takes food donations for the families staying with them.

The one we choose was right by the Children’s hospital in Chicago. Those family is staying there most likely to stay close to a sick child. Myself and the Best friend (girl) was already taking the kids to the museum for an outing so I thought it was perfect timing.

I had so much cookie dough at home anyway (I have been hoarding it for Christmas for the last couple of months). We made chocolate chip cookies, molasses, sugar cookies, shortbread, and spritz cookies. I actually made the spritz cookies from scratch.

I uses Martha’s recipe for the spritz
3 Cups of AP Flour
½ Tsp of Salt
2 Cups of Butter
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tsp of Vanilla Extra
Directions

Preheat the oven to0 350F
Shift together the dry ingredients: AP flour and salt.
In a different bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it becomes fluffy at a med to med-high speed.
Beat in the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture.
Reduce the speed and slowly add the flour mixture.
Take the dough and kneed until it is really soft.

*After this point, we varied how we made the cookies.

Fill the cookie press with the dough and place the disc with the shape of preference.
Squeeze the dough on a ungrease cookie pan.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Decorate to your hearts desire.
We used both a cookie press and a Chinese cookie press. See the picture below to know what I mean.

This is the Chinese cookie mold I'm talking about. We even use some of the details to put candy accents.

Our decorating station but we really didn't use it.

This is how I broke in my new pastry board, the munchkin making sugar "cookies". They actualy turned in to sugary sand.

Instead of using the decorating station, we did it this way.

The spritz cookies

We dyed the dough green and I used the Chinese cookie molds to make these. These are the main three shapes I used.

A Buddha. I love the little belly.

A fish

A little piggy

Blue dough and I actually use the cookie press for.

This is how my kitchen ended up looking like.

After the cookies was baked, this is how some of it turned out. I thought the kissing piggies was cute.

The different shapes and decorations we made.

The blue dough I used with the cookie press

The girls getting into the fun

This is only a fraction of the cookies we made.

All of the different buddhas. Each time we decorated them, we put something in the belly button.

The fish we painted.

Blue snowflakes

The Jade Series

The traditional Christmas cookies

We used the scraps of the different colored cookie dough to make these.

Look!!!! 1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish....har har har

The chocolate cookies

Molassas

And Finally....Green Eggs and Ham

We made so much cookies, I actually lost track with the amount of cookies we made. When we dropped off the cookies, we made sure we took the kids with us so they are able to see why we made the cookies. They were excited when we were walking up to the house. Through I did this to teach the kids, I found myself feeling good on what we did.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Lindsay and Taylor of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen hosted the The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap for us food fanatics. Nothing screams Christmas except cookies.

Each person was assigned three bloggers to share their cookies with. I unfortunately had to share with a few more people than expected, like The Kids and Husband. Instead of making just one type of cookies, I made three. The main cookie I made was a brownie biscotti. I always wanted to try to make biscotti but I never had a chance. It was on my “try” list for quite some time.

I have always sucked at cookies (I have no idea why, I could make breads and macarons but my cookies always fail).  I’m “special”.  One day I will be able to make cookies without help, one day.  I used the help of some brownie mix.  I'm counting this as remake #3.  

Mint Chocolate Biscotti Dipped in White Chocolate and Peppermint

(Adapted from eHow - Yes this is a really long name)

1 Box of Brownie Mix

3/4 Cup of A/P Flour + 1/2 Cup

1 Whole Egg

3 Egg Whites

1 Tsp of Mint Extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.
Whip together the whole egg and egg whites.
Add the mint to the egg mixture.
Mix in the brownie mix than the flour (start with 1/2 a cup and if the batter is still really wet, add more)
Take 1/2 of the batter and pour it on the counter covered in flour.
Slowly mix in more flour until it becomes stiff enough to holds it shape.
Form the batter to a flat log, about 7x3. Place on a prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes or until it is fully cooked.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
Slice the dough into 1/2 inches slices.
Place on the cookie sheet again and bake on each side for 7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool.
Start melting the white chocolate until it is smooth enough to coat the biscotti.
Sprinkle with crush candy canes and serve or pack.

I would make it the same thickness or it will not bake evenly.

I made a set of the biscotti to test the recipe and it made about 2 dozen. One of the ingredients I needed got eaten by a little “mouse” when I wasn't looking. You could probably guess who got into it. The same mouse got in the other ones and ate the candy canes on ½ of the batch. I wasn’t too happy. It is my fault. I should have watched her. I wish I had more time or I would have made more. But I wanted to add another little gift. I made some marshmallows but I made a reverse rice krispy treat. I used Martha Stewart's Strawberry Marshmallow recipe. In the final minutes of mixing, I added 2 cups of rice krispy cereal. I know I'm strange.

I kinda made The Daughter feel bad about eating the cookies that she demanded making more. It is good I had some leftover keylime cookie dough one of my cousin's guilt tripped me into getting (I just love the school fundraisers).

She was so concentrated I couldn't stop her until she finished up all of the cookie dough.

This is one of the packages I received. Unfortunately, someone also attacked these cookies and it wasn't the same little mouse.

No food Friday - Diaper Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:39:00 +0000

Do you ever have those years when everybody you know goes through the same experiences? Like getting married. This year a few of my friends was pregnany at same time I was. It was nice since we were able to swap war stories. There was a flurry of baby showers. For two of my close friends, I made diaper cake. Yes, you read me right. A cake made of diapers. The first one I made was for a little girl. I was still on maternity leave. I took my sweet time with it and I realized I made it harder for myself. You will see with the pictures.

All you need is:
Diapers - of course
Rubber bands (don't use tape, it makes it more difficult)
Wash clothes *Optional
Receiving Blanket *Optional
Decoration tools like Ribbons, toys, and stickers

I used tape instead of rubber bands. Rubber bands would have been much easier.

I wrapped the diapers one over another. Well, the tape wasn't strong enough to to hold it together. I kept on pulling apart and it equaled me yelling and swearing.

During the process of taking the picture, there was a few diapers that pulled it apart.

I did use a piece of yarn to hold it together. Eventually I rolled each one separately and used rubber bands to hold it in place. Since this one was for a little boy, I made little roses out of some wash clothes I purchased.

You first lay it out flat.

Fold in the sides until it is reduced in width by a 1/3.

Than fold it in half.

Roll up the end at an angle.

To ensure the rose stays in place, tape the end of it.

A rose

Here is the final product:

I cut out little shapes out of form and glued form letters to represent the ABCs. I used wired ribbon to add color to the cake. The wired type helps secure the diapers to stay together.

This is the cake I made for one of my friends that is having a boy. I used a receiving blanket for decoration and mini teddy bears.

She was having a Noah's ark theme baby shower so I created little animals printable. Click here to download the PDF.
This makes a great gift. It is affordable and so cute.

Short on time - Remake #2

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:42:00 +0000

Do you ever look ever look at the calender and think, I have so much more time. Next thing you know time is up and you have to hustle to get stuff done. That is what happened me like always. I always feel I have so much time. I tend to do more recipe development = thinking, thinking, and more thinking. This is why I wanted to do a series of what I call "remake". The ice cream cupcakes was first in the series. I used the help of some already made cake mix to make a different type of cupcakes for The Daughter's birthday.

This second dish in the series is my Caramel Cream Puff Cake. This was inspired from yet episode from Unique Eats. I seriously watch that show way too much. I was thinking (I really just thought about it) was making cream puffs myself. I made them before and I was planning on making ice cream to fill them. I just ran out of time. Like most part of my life, I run out of hours in my day. If I could just have 5 more hours, than I could get everything done and sleep. I had to purchase the cream puffs instead. I needed to use something to bind the cream puffs. I decided to use caramel as a binding agent. I used the caramel sauce from my Caramel Apple Cake.

Assemble

Make the caramel sauce. Let it reach a room temperature.
For the first layer, put a dab of the caramel sauce on the bottom of each cream puff as a glue to stick to the platter.
Dip the top of each cream puff with caramel. This gets really messy and feel free to lick your fingers.
Stack the puffs on top of each other.
Place in the freezer to set for at least an hour.
Serve.

Through I made this for The Daughter's birthday for the adults but I really made it for me. This was the start of celebrating my accomplishment. I just completed my Masters in Health Administration and Informatics. I started the program around the same time I started this blog. It was relief when I turned in my last paper and I was able to breathe. I wanted to be a good role model for my kids and show that I did not give up. Oh I wanted to so bad, especially all of the all nighters and readings. Now I get to do all the things I wanted like more classes (what could I say, I love school), spending time with the family, and of course cooking.

Ice Cream Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:31:00 +0000

Sweet, Sweet Silence. This is what I need to achieve to even have a chance to write a post lately. Like today, I had to wake up at 6 in the morning just to get stuff done which included editing and writing this post. How I miss the time prior talking stage. The Daughter would just smiled if I just looked at her. Now it is talking non-stop. I get so entertained by the stuff she comes out with but sometimes, I just need a moment to hear my own thoughts. My days are filled with work and hearing......

"Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY! Where are you?" or "Mommy what are you doing?"

Especially during this time of year, she is awed by the lights, Santa, and of course gifts. I could imagine how much less silence I will have when The Son starts to talk.

Normally, I would start my gift baskets but I have been so busy at work that I have been getting early and staying late to get stuff done. I'm even working next weekend. I am still in the Christmas mood but I don't get to do all the things I wanted to do like experimenting on various candies and breads. This year I need a little help. I had to request help from Ms. Betty Crocker, Mr. Duncan Hines, and even the Pillsbury Doughboy.

I was so proud of myself that I was able to bake and cook so much stuff from scratch, especially since I was never a real cook when I was younger. I didn't have to really learn to cook until the kids came along. Don't get me wrong, I think all of their products are great. I just liked experimenting and figuring out recipes over and over again.

I couldn't just go with straight recipe they provided, I had to alter it even slightly. For The Daughter's Birthday, I needed a little help. I decided to use a basic chocolate and yellow cake mix and make ice cream cupcakes. I altered the recipe by substituting the eggs and oil with mayo. Unfortunately, I didn't have the good stuff due to my diet so I had to use my diet mayo. It was mayo but just as much oil. It tasted the same as regular mayo (I even had The Husband taste it to make sure).

Ice Cream Cupcakes

1 Box of your Choice of Cake Mix

1/2 Cup of Mayo (I used the same amount of mayo as oil on the box)

2/3 Water *According to the box

23 Ice Cream Cones *The plain ones like the Joy kind - The Husband believes I got this kinda because of the name

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F
Prepare the cake mix as directed but instead of the oil and eggs use the amount of mayo as the oil. E.g. if the box asked for a 1/2 cup of oil, I used 1/2 cup of mayo
Pour the batter into the ice cream cones until it was 2/3 full. I placed the cones into a cupcake mold for easier transportation.
Bake for 25 minutes until it is done.
Frost and Serve

I frosting I used the store bought cream cheese frosting and I also made a chocolate one by make a chocolate ganache and whipping it into a thick frosting.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
(from Martha Steward's Living Magazine)
8 oz of Semisweet Chocolate
1 Cup of Heavy Cream
Directions

Heat the cream to a light boil on a med-high heat in a sauce pan.
Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.
When the ganache reaches a temperature of room temp, start to whip it it until it gets nice an fluffy

I did get in a little trouble because I messed with the kids. I made a chocolate cake and top it with a cream cheese frosting while I used the chocolate ganache on a yellow cake. The kids wasn't sure which one they wanted since both had chocolate. I have to get my kicks one way or another.

A Twist to Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:51:00 +0000

I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was nice and peaceful - I did not have to cook, I just had to bring dessert. I spent most of the day cleaning up around the house and read all of the Black Friday sales. I had to work on Friday so no shopping for me.
On Thanksgiving, I jst spent some quality time with my famil and I wanted to do something with our friends. But instead of having even more turkey we decided to host a "wing-off". The rules went like this.....
There will be two categories:
1. Traditional
2. Exotic

RULES
1. Must be homemade
2. Everybody needs to enter both *it was just myself and The Husband made both
3. A lb of each type
4. Judging will be voted by the majority (You can't vote for your own)

I submitted two different types of wings. One was planned and the other didn't come out as plan. I first tried to make a pastrami wing but I soon realized I didn't have any of the ingredients except for the wings and pepper so I seasoned the wings and than covered it with cranberry sauce. Not a fan favorite. The other one I actually thought out and planned what I was making. I decided to make a taco wing.

Taco Wings
2 Lbs of Wings with the wings separated into two parts.
3 Cups of Corn Tortilla Chips Crushed
4 Tbs of Taco Seasoning - I actually found a seasoning called fiesta lime
1/2 Cup of Chihuahua Cheese (or Doggie Cheese according to The Husband)
1/4 Cup of Cilantro
2 Eggs
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F
Take the crushed tortilla chips and season it with the taco seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Beat the eggs into a egg wash.
Dip the wings into the egg wash than the tortilla mixture.
Place on a prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 or until the chicken is fully cooked.
Right before you remove from the oven, sprinkle the cheese over the wings to melt.
Remove from the pan and top with the cilantro.
Serve

Here are some pictures from our little event

My Taco Wings

My weird Cranberry Wings

The Husband wings - the sauce was a mixture of hot sauce, chocolate sauce, and some of my good milk chocolate. It was hit but what a strange combo.

This was The Husbands other wings. The breading is made of crushed corn pops. This was my favorite - sweet and crunchy.

One of Our friends wings - A sweet Asian style with sesame seeds. It had a great crust to it.

My Cousin's Wing. She made a sweet kind also by using pineapples. I loved the sauce on this one.

We made a circle of the wings and numbered it according for voting so everybody would just have to write the number they liked.

This is how I sampled each one. I took the wings in number order.

Everybody got 3 votes each and if they really liked a recipe, they were able to write the same number multiple times. The winner was.........

The Husband with this corn pop wings.

I hate to admit it but it was good. I still owe him a trophy and now our friends want to do another cooking competition. The next voted theme is dip. It is brain storming time.

Let me know if there is any recipes you would, I'll try to get it for you.

DailyBuzz Moms' Kids Friendly Thanksgiving Table 9x9

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:49:00 +0000

Once again, I'm participating in the monthly 9x9 by DailyBuzz Moms. This month's theme is making a Thanksgiving Table Setting. Thanksgiving is the time when the good china and silverware comes out but when you have little ones, it isn't always the best choice. I wanted to create a kid friendly table. That was friendly enough that my kids could feel comfortable sitting at without getting told how to behave or not to break anything.

I had to get The Daughter involved. The best way to do this was to make decorations that both I and The Daughter would create together. The first project we tackled was a table cloth. It drives me crazy when my really nice table cloth is stained with something like juice because it takes me multiple washes to get the stain out. Instead I reverted to my Filipino upbringing and decided to put a sheet of vinyl over my nice table cloth so it would be easier to clean up. I couldn't just leave it plain, I had to decorate the vinyl to go with my thanksgiving theme. I decided to make turkeys out of the kids' hands. The Son's didn't work out as well, he wouldn't lay out his hand flat.

I painted her palm and thumb brown while the other fingers altering with red, yellow, and orange paint.

I than helped her press into the vinyl to create a hand print.

I drew an eye, beak, and legs to finish off the turkey.

We then decorated some wooden squash (at least it looked like that to me) for the center piece. The Daughter used a sponge and she had the choice between 4 fall colors. At first to tabbed it than she decided to smear the paint instead. I kinda took control and went back over some of it to make it look a little more unified. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stop her with all of them, she was able to put some purple on one of them.

Another project we made was name tags out of pre-cut pumpkin shapes. We each decorated ours to our liking except for The Son of course. As you could see, The Daughter had to use little hearts and pink everywhere.

I than turned my attention to the kids' cup. I used plastic dollar store clear cups - I wouldn't fear breakage from The Daughter, she is a little accident prone - and decorated it with the edge of some scrapebooking paper I had in my bin of o-stuff. One of my many types of stationaries I had contained a fall leave scene on it. I just cut it out and use glue dots to make it stick to the cup. I heart glue dots.

I also used the same paper to decorated some of my serving platters. This method worked well with my cake stand that will serve as a way to display the sides and/or condiments for the meal.

Another way I added a fall theme was to add some fake leaves that I was able to find at my local craft store. I placed them on some of the serving dishes instead of purchasing a Thanskgiving set just for the occassion.

For the center piece, I used the squash looking pieces we painted ealier, pumpkins from Halloween (yes, they survived this long....I'm amazed too), the fake leaves, and a serving platter I already that just so happen to be orange. I just arranged them to have a outdoor fall scene look.

This next craft I thought of, I was actually at the store. I found a little sign that had orange, yellow, and red dots boarder for sale. I decided to make it into a chalk board by painting chalk board paint in the middle. I had the husband do it for me. As it dried, it amazed me how it turned into a chalk board. I'm easily entertained.

I'm so going to make more chalk board looking crafts from now on. I think it is just so cool! I am planning on writting my menu on it. I was able to get two so one for entrees and one for desserts. It isn't center due to my shooty tape job I did.

I was trying to think of some thanksgiving traditions I could incorprate for the kids. The first thing I thought of was saying what we were grateful for that year. Instead of saying it at the dinner table, I decided to display them on the same pre-cut pumpkin shapes and each one was decorated by each person in the family. O.K. The Daughter throught of most of them and her godmother helped her decorate each one.

We accidently wrote this one twice. I guess she really loves her brother. I should remind her of this when they are older and they are fighting non-stop.

I wanted to make something with the stack of foam I had. I was googling some ideas and I came across quite a bit of ideas. I came up with a pilgram napkin/silverware holder. I free cut all of the shapes but to make it easier for you, I drew up a pattern. Click here for the pattern. I would have put a napkin and silverware for the picture but The Daughter messing with my table as I was taking the pictures and I wasn't temped to provide another way to annoy me.

I went outside to find a bunch of leaves in our front yard. I figured, why not use them since I had them in my decoration "plan". I used my christmas platter and glued them (again by glue dots) to the side of the platter so it wouldn't look so Christmasy. Luckily with glue dots, they are quite easy to remove when needed.

I had a fairly small dining room table so I am utilizing my buffet table for most of the sides. While the table will hold the turkey - the most important part of the meal.

The Husband throught it was funny that I used the Daughter's play food for my pictures. You got to use what is available.

Kulinarya November

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:59:00 +0000

This is the time of the year where the weather becomes colder and flu season begins. All you want is a large bowl of chicken noodle soup, especially the ones with the alphabets. I choose to pick Arroz Caldo as this month's theme for our cooking club. Arroz Caldo is the Filipino version of chicken noodle soup. I had to put a little twist to my normal recipe. How could I not? Instead of using chicken, I used short ribs. Does that make this dish called Arroz Short Ribs? I know that is just weird. I came up with this just when The Husband decided to slow cook some shorts ribs but had no idea what to do with it. It sat in my fridge for a couple of days until I decided to use it. It was pretty good and I would totally make it again.

Arroz Short Ribs

1 Lb Shorts Ribs

4 Cups of Sweet Rice

5 Cloves of Garlic Minced

10 Cups of Water

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

First cook the short ribs either in a slow boil for a couple of hours or in a slow cooker. The meat should be falling off the bone.
Once the ribs are fully cooked, heat up a large dutch oven with a little oil.
Add the garlic to start the cook and than the ribs including the bone (the bone provides so much flavor instead of adding powder flavoring.
When the garlic starts to brown, add the rice and season. Let it toast slightly.
Add the water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a medium to a medium-low heat.
Cook for 15-20.
Serve with green onions and toasted garlic (I love myself some toasted garlic).

Check out the other members posts.

My latest Obession

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Like many of my posts, I have been meaning to write this for the past couple of weeks.

One day......
I will not be as busy at work
I won't be called to attend to one child or another
I will have free time to myself without having to schedule it in

Probably when the kids are out of the house.

As some of you may suspect, I have a slight obessive personality. Once I start something like a recipe or technique, I obesses about it for weeks. I do research, experiment, and formulate how to improve what I did in the past (for example my pan de sal experiments). I'm a total geek. This latest obession doesn't pertain a recipe but it does involve food. It is me, I am always thinking about food one way or another.

In the past, I have expressed my intersted in extreme couponing. Seriously, how does people pay nothing for so much stuff! Well I decided to have a go at it. It started when The Husband became Mr. Mom for a little while. We got lucky at both jobs to be able to take 12 weeks off for maternity leave. Though it is unpaid, it is better and cheaper than putting The Son and Daughter in day care full-time.

This resulted into myself trying to find ways to save money any way I could. I already used various discount websites that allows us to go out to eat or activities for less. I was able to find discounts for activities for The Daughter and classes for myself. I started couponing when I was still single and trying to make ends meet but it really took off when I had the kids. Why would I buy ceral for $3.50 if I could just wait and buy it for 2 bucks or less? I started small but now I have a binder full of coupons.

My strategy
1. Trade with friends and family to get more coupons you may want
2. Read coupon policies (in the Chicagoland area, the stores doesn't double but it does access a store and manufacturing coupon at the same time)
3. Shop only sale products if possible.
4. Compare prices (I may have a coupon for formula but do the math. I purchase formula from a drug store but it was still cheaper per set to buy it at big store like costco or sams without a coupon).

I does take quite a bit of my time in both research, organizing, and shopping. I am still trying to perfect my technique but I think I'm getting close as long as I am not lazy about my research.

Majority of my efforts has gotten me about 30% off which isn't bad but my last Sunday's hull was impressive. At least for me.
Total: 300
Discount: 141
Ending Balance: 159

Not bad for someone who just really started this. I know you are wondering how I got away with this. Jewel was having a 10 for 10 sale and I had multiples of each type of coupons. Instant rice was discounted to 1 dollar each and I had a dollar coupon so it was free. I am starting to hoard food in my basement. I was planning on collecting enough food to donate it to a local charity in my area or through my church. This is one way I am able to give back in my own way. I even got The Daughter into this by match the picture to the item in the aisle. I hope to teach her math this way too.

The receipt is as tall as The Daughter and it is folded in half.

Taking you blog to the next level

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:18:00 +0000

Have you guessed?
I'm at the foodbuzz blogger festival. Jealous, I know you are. I am sitting in a room listening to a bunch of great bloggers listening to their tips and advice. My big take on this, Be yourself I find that being the most valueable part of the whole discussion. The other part is connecting with your readers

I totally did not realized that I posted this post until I saw comments. Good job Joy. I have been trying to my tablet to write my post especially when I’m just sitting around not doing much. It doesn’t happen too often but when I am waiting for The Daughter at her ballet class or I’m waiting for The Husband, I try to write a couple of sentences. So I downloaded the blogger app to help me but my fat fingers hit publish instead of save.

Back to my story.....
It was a wonderful event. I got to meet some wonderful people and even got to meet Nam who I have been reading her blog for sometime. I was awed by a few people like Kath from Kath eats Real Food and Jessica from How Sweet It Is. It their statements I opened my post with. This is how I started the festival on Sat. I wasn’t able to make it to the Friday festivities due to a late flight. We (I brought along the family) didn’t make it into our hotel room until 11 that night.

The day started with a panel of five well known bloggers. A big point they all stressed was to be yourself. I feel I am pretty open in my posts but it is difficult not to be envious of other blogs especially when you are still trying to find who you are as a blogger. As I listen to this, I thought to myself, do I have my own voice. When I write, I always start writting as if I am talking to one of my friends (hence the multiple grammar mistakes). I often wonder whether my jokes even translate or if you guys think I’m just weird, it would not be the first time.

After this discussion, we broke up into smaller groups for various topics. The topic I choose was called camera basic beyond auto mode taught by Ashley from Edible perspective. I hate to admit it but as one of my 10 major changes in college, was. Unfortunately, I didn’t go too far into the major and I didn’t use the knowledge so I eventually lost it. It is pretty sad actually. As I sat in this class, I realized how little I remember. It made me motivated to try a little harder to user all of my settings of my camera and actually think about how the image turns out.

I loved these slides

After our workshops, we got to sample quite a bit of food from the different sponsors like Alexis. The Husband was able to join me with The Son. This meant I had someone to hold all of my stuff while I took pictures. WIIINNNNNEEERRRRR. I was so stuffed after I went through all of the booths. I promptly went into food coma as soon as I got to the hotel room.

The evening ended with dinner and a cooking demo with The Tyler Florence. He was making pork chops with a braised cabbage and spraetzle It looked so good I wished we got to sample it. It was a great night with great food and wonderful company. I was lucky enough to meet Paulina. She was so sweet and was gracious enough to let me sit with her and Nam. I hope to attend next year if The Husband lets me.

See you next year FoodBuzz....HOPEFULLY :D

Want to guess where I am

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:18:00 +0000

Here is a hint.

Keep tune, I'll keep updated.

HALLOWEEN with DailyBuzz Mom 9x9

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:13:00 +0000

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

Halloween is coming up, I swear this year is flying by. I don’t believe October is almost over. I never really liked Halloween until I had kids. I have a bit of fun dressing he kids up in cute outfits. The first year I made The Daughter wear a Penguin Costume and she hated it. The year after, we celebrated her 2nd Birthday on Halloween and she was suppose to be a chocolate chip cookie which I tried to sewed but she ended up terrorizing the costume and it didn’t stay together for long. I ended up putting her in a Bears Cheerleader outfit that The Brother got her. This year I decided to try again but this time, make both kids outfit. DailyBuzz Mom wanted to highlight the moms that wanted to tackle making a costume themselves. I was selected as one these moms. Check out the the DailyBuzz Mom on October 25th to see the other creations.

My choice was Yogi Bear and BooBoo but The Daughter put her foot down and demanded to be a princess (I groaned). Princess? Why? But of course I can’t argue and started to ponder what I could do. I decided to use a old ballet outfit she couldn’t wear to class anymore as the main part of the outfit.
The Son was suppose to be a cow but I got it over the summer during a sale and not knowing how pudgy he may get, I soon realized he got too big for the outfit. The frustrating part is that was 6-9 months and he is about to turn 5 months old...grrrrrrr. I wanted to be creative and do something that is not a normal costume especially since The Daughter was doing a costume that everybody would see every year. Want to guess what I picked?

Anyone, anyone?

A Keebler Elf!

What is not cuter than a baby that is an Elf? I couldn’t do the ears, he would not let me put them on his ears. I did create a little challenge for myself...........I did little and I mean very little sewing on the costumes. I am horrible at sewing that is not hemming or going in a straight line. The only thing I had to sew was a hook for The Daughter’s costume. Otherwise, I was able to get away with making both costumes mainly by GLUE. My hands are now covered with glue but it works for me.

For every DIY project I try to make, I tend to over buy supplies. When I finished, I ended up with a lot of extra fabric and adhesives.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

I didn’t use all of these :D. When I tried, it was too much. I first tackled The Daughter’s Tiara

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

Than I turned to the inner Tutu.
Supplies
Elastic (Measured to the width of the person)
Tulle - Cut into long strips.
Type of Hooks to create a belt.
Directions
Sew the hooks to the ends of the elastic.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

Take the tulle and wrap it around the elastic.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

Tie into one knot and let the access fabric fall.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

You have a tutu.

I than started to decorate the outer ballet outfit. The Husband thought it was strange that I used her black one but I liked how the sleeves was . For this, I did a lot of gluing and sticking with self adhesive “gems”. There was more on her dress but as she played in it (she refuse to take it off), they slowly fell off.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

The Front

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

The Back

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

I just put the tutu under the ballet outfit.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

The Son, I went easier by just using some of the clothes he already had.
Green Jacket, light green Pants - it was suppose to be yellow, white collared shirt.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

For the rest of outfit, I glued red felt to an existing vest.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

I cut out tie out of hard felt

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

For the hat, it was a bit tricky. I took a soft felt and rolled it into a cone. It was dumb luck that it looked like a elf hat. I than used the rest of the yellow hard felt to add a ring.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

I even incorporated a little bag just in case you didn’t know he was an elf. The Husband giggled for about 20 minutes telling me that I cheated by just gluing a bag of cookies on a felt bag :D. Yes, I cheated.

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

This how it turned out

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

I think I almost got it.

Here is both kids ready to score some candy

From Daily Buzz moms halloween

No food Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lorraine Joy Alegria-Vizcarra) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0000

I like to think myself as a foodie (at least I like to think I am in my little world). I also so like to think I since I love to eat, can't you tell? Lately, I have been expanding my creativity into other outlets like trying to improve on my photography, helping family and friend in their party planning, and even doing crafts with The Daughter. Prior my leave from work I did quite of bit of research on projects for The Daughter. One of the projects we attempted was homemade lipgloss.
Background story: I grew up as a tom boy. I didn't even wear makeup on a regular basis into college . Even now I tend to forget to put it on. I hated to wear dresses or skirts. I even had more guy friends than girl friends. As much of a tom boy I was, The Daughter is the girlest girl you could find in a two year.
1. She loves pink as much as I love wearing the color black.
2. She finds my makeup and uses it even though I barely wear any.
3. She loves the accessories. Shoes are her favorite thing (I prefer sneakers over heels)
This child will make me poor.

So I set to making our own lipgloss since she has a tendency to either lose it or use it up. The process is fairly simple: mix and stir.
Homemade lipgloss
(Adapted from a few mommy boggers' sites)
Vasaline
Koolaid
Little containers
Direction
1. Mix the koolaid and vasaline really well.
2. Put in a container
*make sure all of the koolaid is completely dissolved or it may hurt a little.
It should have a slight flavor of the Koolaid and a faint tint. You are able to make any flavor or tint you want and it is fun to make up new ones.