tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81742007226996884532023-11-15T07:15:02.301-08:00The (mis)Adventures of a Kitchen Dilettanteamateur_bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06427772066082850750noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174200722699688453.post-4168786586884267902010-12-04T05:40:00.000-08:002010-12-04T05:40:38.218-08:00Apple Banana Cupcakes<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> I was seated down for breakfast when I noticed 3 overripe bananas in our fruit basket. Being a person who was never comfortable with being wasteful, my first thought was to make some banana bread. But the recipe I used needed around 7 or 8 bananas, so I decided to make muffins instead.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">No, this was not a recipe from Lola's collection. A few months ago, while browsing through <a href="http://www.allrecipes.com/">Allrecipes.com</a>, I came across this recipe for <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Banana-Cupcakes/Detail.aspx">Apple Banana Cupcakes</a>. It was well-reviewed by other bakers so I decided to give it a whirl.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At first I was a little intimidated since the recipe called for buttermilk, which isn't very common here in the Philippines. But a substitute could be made by simply putting together 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and a cup of milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mixing my batter I could already get a glimpse of the final product, thanks to the pungent smell of the nutmeg and cinnamon. Baking each batch for a little over 20 minutes, the recipe yielded 32 small cupcakes, which were really more like muffins I think. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs605.ash2/155718_479569015969_635285969_5718441_5772736_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs605.ash2/155718_479569015969_635285969_5718441_5772736_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1231.snc4/156353_479569265969_635285969_5718447_3497764_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1231.snc4/156353_479569265969_635285969_5718447_3497764_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a really good recipe. The cupcake was soft and light, not as heavy as a regular muffin. It was the "melt in your mouth" kind. I also chose to omit the frosting, since I deemed them sweet enough as is. It's a perfect pastry (or is it bread?) for the holidays! :)</div>amateur_bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06427772066082850750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174200722699688453.post-89765337500755884072010-11-30T16:48:00.000-08:002010-11-30T16:48:39.887-08:00Recipe #1: Oatmeal Crispies<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>OATMEAL CRISPIES</u> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/3 cup shortening</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 cup granulated sugar</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 cup rolled oats</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/4 cup water</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 teaspoon cinnamon</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reading this recipe made me imagine the Thin Oatmeal Crisps of <a href="http://food.clickthecity.com/b/Ot1e1d8">The Blue Kitchen</a>. It was that Pastry shop that gave me a taste of these really light and thin yet surprisingly sweet cookies that melt in your mouth. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was with this particular cookie in mind that I decided to give this recipe a whirl.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">After combining all the ingredients together and refrigerating it for about an hour, the dough was shaped into balls.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1205.snc4/155794_477575985969_635285969_5691450_2806368_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1205.snc4/155794_477575985969_635285969_5691450_2806368_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My favorite part of the whole thing was rolling the dough and pressing them with the bottom of a glass.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1143.snc4/148567_477576480969_635285969_5691462_2230766_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1143.snc4/148567_477576480969_635285969_5691462_2230766_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pressing each ball with a glass. Maybe next time I can roll it out a bit more?</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cookies didn't come out the way I had in mind. For one, they were a bit thicker than I wanted them to be and second, they weren't as sweet as I had imagined. They were still good though, so they definitely wouldn't be wasted. These cookies are best served with hot chocolate or coffee (I ate them with hot chocolate after dinner, woohoo!)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs577.ash2/149936_477577615969_635285969_5691491_914645_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs577.ash2/149936_477577615969_635285969_5691491_914645_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oatmeal Crispies, alongside the Apple Strudel Muffins I had baked that time too! :)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So recipe # 1 was unexpected, but still a success. Maybe if I made them with milk instead of water next time? :) </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">More to come! I can't wait for the next recipe that finds me. </span></div></div>amateur_bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06427772066082850750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174200722699688453.post-64303185195341728882010-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:002010-11-30T16:36:49.947-08:00The Quest<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've baked quite a few things since I started about a year and a half ago. I started with cookies and my lola's (grandmother's) recipe of apple pie.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs237.snc3/22444_220569037313_703412313_3242415_2589323_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs237.snc3/22444_220569037313_703412313_3242415_2589323_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple Pie! My lola's recipe (yum yum!)</td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When my <i>lola</i> was still with us she lent me a scrap book filled with recipes. Some were cut out from newspapers and magazines, others were penned in. I must have gotten my "sweet tooth" from her, as most of the recipes were of pies, cookies, cakes and other pastries.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs610.ash2/156244_477578535969_635285969_5691508_8293622_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs610.ash2/156244_477578535969_635285969_5691508_8293622_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A page from one of her scrapbooks</td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After she passed away, I was surprised to discover that there were about 5 scrap books all filled with recipes. Later on, I was handed more recipes in the form of 3 wooden boxes filled with index cards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1189.snc4/154139_477578265969_635285969_5691503_6031761_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1189.snc4/154139_477578265969_635285969_5691503_6031761_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hand-written recipe of Praline Meringue Cake</td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Browsing through the scrap books and boxes, I decided to start this blog to document the recipes I will try from her collection. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So here starts the adventures (or should I say, misadventures!) of an amateur baker. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Let's get bakin'! :)</div>amateur_bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06427772066082850750noreply@blogger.com0