what do you do

when things go wrong...

when life throws you a curve ball, one after the other...

when all seem lost...

when you're down...

when the storm rages on ...

when there's nowhere to go but down ...

what do you do?


Pardon the post. I just feel so down right now. Pepeng (the typhoon that devastated Northern Luzon) happened. For the first time, water from the river reached our house, leaving mud and garbage and filthy water and other icky "i-don't-want-to-know-what-that-is" stuff all over. We've been living with our Grandma since October 9 and I am grateful that we have a place to sleep, bathe, wash, eat and be comfortable in, but I miss our house. I miss home.
I miss baking too. I don't know if my oven still works. It was partially submerged, along with our other furniture and appliances.

My friend Chet sent me the following message:

"I’m strong in the Lord. I’m blessed. I’m forgiven. I’m protected. I’m redeemed. I’m
equipped. I’m anointed. Healing flows in my body. New doors will open before me. I’ll
meet the right people, the right opportunities, at the right time, at the right place.
I’ll regain ten times what I lost. In Jesus name!"

I pray.
I thank God for keeping my family safe through the storm.
I pray for strength to get through the day.
I hope for better days ahead.

a doctor a day keeps the sweets away

I paid a visit to my new doctor today. The visit was long overdue actually.
I'm M and I'm what you call a borderline diabetic. Erase that. I'm definitely a diabetic. I come from a long line of diabetics.
So anyways, unlike my past doctors, Dr. R. explained everything to me properly and he told me what foods I should stay the hell away from and what I can consume. So it's bye bye sugar. Bye bye cakes. Bye bye sweets. He said that I have to take care of my pancreas otherwise it's bye bye oral medication and hello insulin shots. He also said that I have 1450 calories a day at my disposal and that I should use it wisely. I also need to monitor my blood sugar regularly.

So today marks the first day of my new routine. Will this routine stop me from baking and cooking? Definitely NOT!!! But I would have to cut back on the sugar bit. Wish me luck!

we need your help

Only days after Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and neighboring towns and provinces, Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) turned back and did more damage than what it inflicted during its first visit last week. As of 6AM this morning in Region 1 alone 25,825 houses were damaged thereby affecting more than 772,285 persons.
Our town of Bauang, La Union was pummeled by Typhoon Pepeng.
According to partial reports as of october 12, 2009 4:30PM the total number of families affected in Bauang reached 2451 The total number of persons affected reached 12,138. Totally damaged houses reached 613 while partially damaged houses reached 1731
Damage to crops reached 200 Million already.

We need many dry clothes, blankets, relief goods, medicines and DRINKING WATER. Please help us in any way you can. You can send your donations (whatever you can spare) to the Office of the Mayor Municipality of Bauang, La Union, Philippines
Thank you very much.

Busy C in the Kitchen

Last Tuesday night, I decided to try out a recipe for Devil's Food Cake but instead of making one big cake, I decided to make cupcakes instead.
It took me about an hour to prepare, mix and bake 4 dozen (2 oz) cupcakes and 2 dozen (1 oz) cupcakes. I added coffee and rum. I can't taste the rum though so I might as well replace it equal amount of coffee. (or maybe increase the rum and reduce the coffee called for).


Then I decided to make some cinnamon rolls.
It took me quite a long time to make these rolls. I was afraid of over mixing them in my mixer. I was also afraid that my kitchen aid would overheat, so I decided to finish kneading the dough by hand. Very tiring!!!
After waiting for the dough to double in size (about 2 hrs), I had to roll out the dough with a rolling pin, add the cinnamon sugar mixture, roll the dough tightly (which I wasn't able to do) and cut it into 1 1/2 inch pieces (I wasn't able to do this too. ) Then I had to wait 90 minutes for the cut dough to proof before baking at 350F for 30 minutes.

Here are the final results. I used the same frosting for both goodies - cream cheese frosting with lemon zest.

plain cinnamon roll

cinnamon rolls with lemon cream cheese frosting

devil's food cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting

I am a happy kitchen camper :)

I've Got Mail

From MOO



How very exciting indeed!



Apparently, I'm their new best friend. Who am I to say no?



These are just some of the designs of my mini cards.
Aren't they pretty?



This is what's written at the back of every card.

Thank you Foodbuzz and MOO for my complimentary mini cards.

Luv 'em!!!!

Pink & White Cupcakes

I love baking cupcakes.

Last Friday, I made some chocolate cupcakes and orange vanilla cupcakes.



Frosted them with vanilla buttercream. I tinted half of the frosting baby pink. To be honest with you I have no clue as to how to frost them properly.



I need to take that Wilton Class. Seriously. But I'm happy at how they turned out. Moist and yummy and chocolate-y and orange-y. The frosting was in my opinion, just right.

Cupcakes make me happy.

"me time"

Hi guys! I'm back. Well sort of. I'll be in and out of the blogging scene for the time being because WORK beckons. Yes, work! I'm working even in my sleep. Seriously. Work has a way of weaving itself into my dreams. I even wake up in the middle of the night thinking of how I can get through the following day unscathed.

Take today for example. I was at a loss on how to fund one final check. Sales were down because of the weather and people are spending less. Time was running out and so was my luck. I was about to go home defeated but I guess the Lord had other plans. I was able to cover that final check at the last minute. The bank closes at 4pm but they allowed me one final transaction at 4:45pm (thanks UCPB).

God must really, really, really love me. I am beyond grateful. I asked and He provided. (I wonder though if the extra stress is really necessary? Kidding Kuya Jess. Aylabschu!) Now I can enjoy my "ME TIME" on Saturday. "ME TIME" is the one day of the week wherein I can refrain from thinking about work. Although "ME TIME" entails waking up at 6:30AM on a Saturday, I don't mind because I get to don my ISCAHM jacket and toque and spend half a day in the kitchen learning different cooking methods and techniques from real chefs.

I first learned about ISCAHM (International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management) from Angkowl Neil, a friend from IRC days. He said "ok dun" but I wasn't sold on the idea. It was only when my aunt, Tina C. Diaz, answered my queries that I decided to enrol. She is the managing editor of Foodie magazine, by the way.

Here are some pictures from my "ME TIME ". I forgot to take photos of the different cuts of veggies and potatoes. My gosh my hand hurt from all that chopping. I didn't know that there are more than 10 ways to chop a potato. My knife skills were pretty rusty!

My classmates and I with Chef Sean and Chef Uli, Canadian and Swiss chefs.

different dressings and sauces.

Ceasar salad, pepper cilantro crusted tuna salad with shoe string potatoes, mesclun greens with apples and prawns, curried chicken salad, shrimp cocktail, thai beef salad, warm bacon potato salad. All plated by Chef Sean. YUMMERCH!!!

I will take, err, grab some pictures from my classmates and post them soon. Till then be safe!!!