Munchies Galore

My mom went to HK to do some business stuff and came back and now she's there again. Anyway, she bought these yummy snacks for us. The picture above is a cookies with chocolate on top. I've only tasted one and it's really good. I think they were made in Japan, well of of them actually.

I really love these candies, they are mint drops and my mom bought two flavors - Blueberries and mint and the other one is Apple and Lemon (I vaguely remember the flavor). I got addicted with these candies too bad they're all gone now. My mom haven't bought them again.

The Chocolates are totally delicious, there's nuts in it. Its really good, I can't stop popping it in my mouth! I rarely eat milk chocolates but this one simply stood out! I'm not fond of milk chocolates that much, I'm more of the dark chocolate person so it was a shock to me that I really enjoyed eating this fabulous candy.

This one is a rice cracker with center-filled cheese. It's really good, I've two other products similar to these ones (rice cracker with cheese and almonds on top and rice crackers filled in with cheese in the center and wrapped in seaweed -- I simply love the latter one!)

I loved M&M's since I was a kid. I always loved to eat M&M's peanut back then. But when new products came out, I simply adore their Crispy one, the seasonal mints and dark chocolate. So when my mom brought home some packs of these, Crispy Mint-flavored M&M's, I was ecstatic, why? Because I have these certain addiction with mints (my favorite ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip, I love mixing mint and chocolate, oreo mint flavored cookies or mint candies) I just simply love mints. It's really good and I'm satisfied when I ate these chocolates. My mom even brought Andes mints home too bad I only get to eat a few since my dad and my sister hogged all of them!

My mom also bought shrimp crackers, chips, melon filled biscuits, and other chinese biscuits. I haven't taken their picture and some of them are already gone since we've been eating them as snacks. :D

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

My friend gave me the recipe after she tested it and tweaked it on her own. She gave me her tweaked recipe and I also tweaked it on my own version. I simply loved the tangy, buttery and savory flavor of this soup. Too bad we don't have sourdough bread or just plain baguette to dip this soup with during that time. 

I bet Clam Chowder would be sumptuous too! :) 

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Truffles

It's been a while since I last posted here. Well, I can't bake anything since my oven is not working. :( But I called La Germania and told they'll send their mechanic tomorrow to check what's wrong with my oven. :)

I made these Chocolate Truffles before Maundy Thursday, one of my friends told me he needs to give something to his girlfriend's family and asked if there's anything that I can make without using the oven. I told him I can make him truffles. He agreed and ordered 35 pieces. :) 

The truffles are great, it really tasted good (got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa) I tasted them myself. The only problem is, the weather conditions, having a really humid, sunny weather, the truffles tend to soften quickly. That means you have to work double time and I have to put it in the freezer (so that it will firm quickly). You really have to have a chocolate room for this, otherwise it will look blah!

My sisters loved it. I really like it too!

Baked Mussels

I made these dish for New Year's Eve last year and for my dad's birthday (January 10). Hehe. I love this one. It is heavenly and it's easy to make too! As long as there's lots of garlic, cheese and butter you'll be okay! It's yum-o! :D

Sans Rival

Sans Rival

This is my dad's favorite cake of all time. :) I decided to try and make one a week ago since I'm bored again! Lol. I got this one in the net again (what's new -_-). My mom tasted it and told me it's not too sweet (I lessened the amount of sugar in the buttercream), it's just right. Sans Rival (pronounced as Song Rivo -- something like that) is made out of meringue that is baked all through out (unlike the pavlova, this one is crunchy both inside and outside) then layered with french buttercream and topped with toasted nuts. (You can use any nuts: cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, etc. I recommend hazelnuts, the smell is wonderful and it matches the cake perfectly but any nut will do. Hazelnuts are expensive but I think it is worth it.) You may think this is easy but in reality it's like hell when you live in a humid country and there's no a/c in the kitchen. You need to act fast! Lol! :D

Anyway, aside from plain sans rival, you can also make chocolate sans rival, mocha sans rival, and espresso sans rival. :D

Apple Cake Tatin

Apple Cake Tatin

I got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa. My mom watched with us and told me it looks good so she told me to make one. Being a good daughter, I made it. Lol. :P I really didn't like the cake that much though, it's too sweet because of the caramel and the apples. This is like the Pineapple Upside-down Cake, just so you know. Maybe I need to look for my Pineapple Upside-down cake recipe that I got from college. Ho hum... :D

Muffins Galore!

Banana Crunch Muffins

Banana Crunch Muffins - If you love to watch Lifestyle Network/ Food Network (depends on what country you live in). Then you should be familiar with the show Barefoot Contessa and its host, Ina Garten. I love watching this show, she really makes good stuff, I've tried some of her recipes, like her Pan-fried Onion Dip (I had this posted in my blog too.) which is simply heavenly. Anyway, I also got this recipe from her, (actually you can find her recipes in the Food network website) it looked so good, that's why I decided to try and make some. After cooling the muffins, I decided to taste one, and my critic? It's good, the crunch you get from the Banana Chips on top plus the creaminess of the mashed bananas and the coconut shreds that is in the muffins really makes you fly on top of the world! I'm not saying this because I'm the one who made it but it's really good and healthy too. I simply loved it, just eat one for breakfast and you'd be full. It's heavy but it's insanely good! :D

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins - My mom asked me to make this after she tasted the Banana Crunch Muffins. :) So I decided to look around the web again and get at least one satisfying, yet effective recipe that I can follow and understand. (Believe me, some recipes found in the internet are hocus pocus. They're sometimes have excess sugar that makes it too sweet or some recipes doesn't sound right. I'm not too fond of super sweet pastries so I tend to lessen the sugar and my mom being known as a perfectionist, you shouldn't make mistakes or you'll hear the end of it! This is my life trust me. :D) So we went to this Costco-type of store where my mom usually buys our food (meat, chicken, etc.) I saw a pack of wild blueberries so I told my mom to buy one and I'll make blueberry muffins for her. She agreed and we bought a pack. I love blueberries simply because you can't really find them fresh in humid countries, and I also love them because of their color and taster. :) This muffin out of the two is my personal favorite because it simply stands out, its yummy and tasty yet not too sweet. The sweetness basically came from the blueberries and not from the sugar (remember: I lessened the sugar), the sour cream makes them balanced (Tartiness + Sweetness = perfection). So there! :D