Making the Grade

Last week's quiz from the nosebleed-inducing subject.

I'm getting the hang of it.
;P

White Bread

As promised in my previous post, here are pics of my first white bread...

Dad thought i bought the bread when he saw it on the table one morning just as he was about to prepare our breakfast. I was quite amazed at how it turned out too!

My sister bought a pack of instant dry yeast way back when she was still the one who bakes and thought she might be needing some of those someday. But a couple of months later, she got very busy and the pack of yeast remained inside the refrigerator. I just can't bear the stuff to be put to waste (it's a big pack) so i figured to give it a shot.

After hours of watching instructional videos (thanks to YouTube) i finally had my first white bread. This kind of bread requires a lot of patience coz you really have to leave it for a couple of hours and let the yeast do its work. In some videos i watched, they even left the mixture overnight for the dough to rise. But i chose the recipe where you have to proof it for just a couple of hours coz, well, i guess i didn't have that much patience.

So there you go.
;)

For Mama

It's been raining for most of the day and what better thing to do than to curl up in bed on a Monday night after a day's work.

But that's after i finish packing the banana bread and peanut butter cookies i baked to be transported to HK for my mom. Cousin-in-law will be flying on Wednesday morning and mom will meet him at the airport in HK.

It's about time my mother gets a taste of what other people have been raving about.
;)

Banana Bread v.2

My first banana bread fared pretty well but after some revisions and some add-ins, i think this one finally has that "personality" i was looking for...

banana bread face-off:
version 1 and version 2

What's up?

I'm back!

Yeah, I've been out of blogging circulation for a couple of weeks coz I've been catching up on quite a lot of things at work and my schooling is adding up to the bulk of stress i had to manage. But with another subject coming to a conclusion on Tuesday, I'm kinda looking forward to squeezing in some other activities/pet projects that I've started but was forced to drop when my schooling started last month.

For one, my "new room project" that was put on hold after the windows got painted. Aside from the lack of funding for the repairs to be done, i find that i also don't have that much energy to sort the things out when i get home from work.

Then there are other things but i figured i only needed to manage my time with the things that needed to be done and then it would be breezy for me. And maybe i needed to take vitamins for the energy boost.

On another note, i think i'm developing an obsession with baking (and then consuming the finished product!). For one, i've just baked my first white bread today. I've also come up with my own version of banana bread (photos on later posts, promise!) and the peanut butter cookies are still getting rave reviews.

But that's just me. I'm no expert at this stuff but i seem to get a kick out of it. I just love the smell of baked goodies. Brings back childhood memories when i used to walk a couple of blocks from home to buy bread for merienda. I didn't mind the waiting time at the bakery to get my pandesal coz my nose was wonderfully bombarded by the smell of freshly baked bread.

Now i don't need to go far for my bread. Perhaps that walking will be useful for another purpose... to shake of the extra pounds i've gained from eating those bread!
;)

Transformation

From boy to girl!...

One of our supervisors gave her a pair of girly sandals and dared her to wear the footwear during office hours so she could see it being used. So our rugged, groovy-mama-of-two colleague traded her comfy running shoes for those girly sandals.

Extra challenge moment!

;)

win some, lose some

This was supposed to be a corn muffin.

but it didn't look like it's supposed to.

it did taste like corn, but not in a muffin-ey way.

it was more like a pudding.

saan ako nagkamali?!

oh well, time for some adjustments again.

remember my cookies? they were not perfect the first time.
But i tried to figure out what went wrong,
which ingredient to minimize, which to add more...
and now my cookies are a hit!

I'll just have to be more patient with this muffin stuff.

I'm not all-knowing when it comes to cooking and baking.
I didn't have formal training and i haven't really taken the time to sit down
and study the technicalities of baking.
It's more of a pakiramdaman when i bake something.

But then, it's still practice...practice...practice.

;)

Bling!

Most people are still clueless about the spelling of my nickname.

a colleague gave me this as part of a keychain,
thinking that my name was spelled Chiqui.
So for everyone's information, it's Tsiki.

nosebleed!

click on the pick for a larger view of what's written on the whiteboard.

and that's partially one of my classmates' head resting on his hand.
probably wiping blood from his nose
(like all of us did in our new subject!)

;P

Banana muffins

i had some extra time at home and thought of trying to bake some banana muffins with choco chips.

the fans liked it.
But i was wondering why it didn't look like what i expected it to be.

i guess i better try again.

practice makes perfect ;)

da return of da comeback!

After almost a month of absence, I'm once again rushing to the Shrine of St. Lazarus to attend the mass and sing with the choir for our monthly 1st Saturday slot. So there i was wearing my orange uniform, trying not to cause a stir as i take my seat just before father Jun stood up to deliver his homily.

I felt a bit awkward. That time i felt like a stranger to the choir. But i tried my best to sing even if the long absence and lack of practice made my voice lose its usual high pitch. I struggled song after song.

When the mass has ended we stayed there a little for a little chikahan. Some approached me and asked how I've been. We were all catching up on some things among ourselves. Slowly, the feeling of strangeness disappeared. The familiar feeling of belongingness was there again.

"It's so nice to be back," i said.
"Oo nga, antagal mo nawala," was their reply.

So i told them the things i've been doing lately --the postgraduate studies, the overtime work, some trips out of town, and my recent preoccupation with baking.

And that's when i took out the cookies i baked the night before for them to sample. Yup, they liked it and they placed orders for some more.

It's so nice to be back!

Business is good!

my 2nd batch of "successful" peanut butter cookies

all wrapped up and ready to go!

2nd attempt v.2

because my oatmeal choco chip cookies were too soft the first try...
i gave it another go!

this one fared better
(although i need to do some more adjustments to get that crunchy-chewy result)
;P

Kitties!

aren't they cute? one was camera shy though!
they're the Borlongan family pets ;)
seeing them during my stay at Ted's house made me miss our very own Ebony.
But then, i'm home now!
;)

2nd attempts, surprises and fans

Remember last time's peanut butter cookies? That one was huge and a bit burnt actually. But since it was my first time baking those cookies, i had to accept it and vowed to make it better in other future attempts.

After making some adjustments, i had my best batch of peanut butter cookies on my 2nd attempt. Sorry i don't have a picture to prove my claim because i was so excited to bring the cookies at work to be sampled by my "fans."

Fans. I call them such because they were amazed that this cooking school dropout who doesn't have any background in baking can make a batch of cookies that, according to another fan, can keep up with commercial cookies.

Nakakataba ng puso.
Nakaka-palakpak ng tenga.

I'm just so happy that people appreciate what i do.

And it's so amazing that i can surprise myself pala. As the saying goes: "you'll never know what you're capable of doing until you've tried it."

I'm glad that i tried. And i've no regrets now about the remark i made to a colleague because she's now one of the fans.

;)

One down!

After 3 meetings, we're finally done with the first subject of our post-grad course. The adjustment period in being a student once again is slowly easing out and the cluelessness to the subject is now replaced with a certain awareness.

We also had the induction of our class officers a while ago which was attended by no less than the dean of graduate school.

Dean R

ate Eva was elected secretary of the class

a plaque of appreciation for our professor

Preparation for the examination are being made. The reports are being consolidated for compilation.

Next week, another subject. A different professor for the next three sessions.

I hope i could pass this one.
:)

Home

It was around lunchtime when i got an SMS from Ted's younger brother, checking up how i've been since the last time i was with them in Bulacan.

I had the chance to hang out with Ted and his family during their town fiesta last week and i had a blast. Nothing fancy though. What made it such an enjoyable, albeit short, stay with them was their simplicity and warmth. I was so overwhelmed by their hospitality and their openness in accommodating me. I really felt like a bisita, which i was not accustomed to, and they wouldn't let me help out in the kitchen even if i wanted to.

At some point i even felt a bit awkward because during meals, i was always the one who finishes last. Alvin (Ted's bro) was pretty vocal about his observation, to which i reasoned out that i was taking the time to appreciate the food. Mababaw lang ang kaligayahan ko sa pagkain 'Vin.

+ + +

It's always refreshing to hang out with people like Ted and his family. They don't have much, but they have each other. There is that openness among each member of the household and freedom of speech is not suppressed. The even make fun of each other or joke about themselves. Every moment was light, candid, spontaneous.

And yes, i really felt "at home" with them.

+ + +

So when Alvin texted me "next year ulit?"
I didn't hesitate to reply "sure! Oo ba!"

Pagpasensyahan mo na lang ang kabagalan ko sa pagkain ha...

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Salamat po ulit sa Borlongan Family sa pag-ampon sa akin last June 23&24.
Sa uulitin po!

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