Food Friday: Chocolate Eclair Squares

Happy New Year guys! How did you spend your New Year's Eve? I was up making some desserts for us, a little bit of experimenting, if you will. This is a quick and easy recipe that anyone can do. It's very delicious, too!

Ingredients
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz each) Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 tub (8 0z) Whipped Topping, thawed
64 Nilla Wafers
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
Beat milk and pudding mixes with whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in whipped topping.
Arrange 16 wafers at the bottom of an 8-inch square dish; cover with one-third of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers twice.
op with remaining wafers.
Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Melt chocolate squares. Drizzle over dessert.
Enjoy!

Makes 16 servings, one square each.

Food Friday: Thanksgiving Ham

Last week was Thanksgiving and we had Ham. We decided to skip the traditional Turkey feast and had Ham. This is not the same as the Pinoy hamon de bola but the hind leg of the pork that is cured. Slowly simmered in a pool of pineapple juice then baked for an hour, this ham was delish!

SkyWatch Friday: Fly My Little Pretties! Fly! Fly!

Fly my little pretties! Fly! Fly!

-Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz

So said the Wicked Witch of the West and off the birds flew as if posing for a spectacular shot! I went on a little trip yesterday with my friend Geraldine and explored the Santa Monica Pier. It was one of those days where both of us had nothing else to do and so we decided to go on this trip.

Our first stop was to check out the Carousel. Aw, we didn't get on it though. I know, I would feel faint if I get on one. I guess I've already passed the stage were I enjoy going around in circles!

Like two little girls (and we still are!), we went on the Ferris Wheel! Hahaha for $3 a pop, the ride was worth it! We explored the area a little bit, had a bite to eat and by sunset, went down the boardwalk and stepped into the beach.

I absolutely loved the sunset! It was an early sunset, though but it was perfect for us because we still had to take the bus home.






Location
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, California

Food Friday: Cappuccino Mousse Cake

Hey Food Friday peeps, I'm back! After a few weeks of hiatus, I have come up with a sweet treat for you: Cappuccino Mousse Cake! Yummy!

I have a hankering for sweets these days and I just couldn't help myself. I also found a recipe online for this delicious treat (It's not the recipe for this one though).

Recipe
Ingredients

• 4 ounces white chocolate
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection® Saigon Cinnamon
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1/4 cup sugar
• chocolate curls for garnish

Directions

1. Chill clean mixing bowl and balloon whip in freezer for whipping cream.
2. Heat white chocolate in a medium microwaveable bowl, uncovered, on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds at a time until mixture can be stirred smooth. Dissolve instant coffee in 1 teaspoon hot water. Add dissolved coffee, 1/4 cup heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon to chocolate and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
3. Place semi-sweet chocolate and shortening in a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave as described in step 2. Place foil muffin liners in eight muffin tins. Working on one chocolate cup at a time, spoon about 1 tablespoon melted chocolate into foil liner, and, using a small pastry brush, "paint" chocolate about half-way up each liner. Chill in refrigerator or freezer until hardened, about 10-15 minutes.
4. While chocolate cups are chilling, whip remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream in chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and whip to very stiff peaks. Very gently fold whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture, taking care to maintain the fluffiness of the whipped cream.
5. Remove chocolate cups from refrigerator and carefully peel off foil liners. If chocolate becomes too soft, return to refrigerator for a few minutes. Fill each chocolate cup with about 4 tablespoons whipped cream mixture. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired. Refrigerate; let stand about 5 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Recipe: allrecipes.com

Food Friday: Palabok

My mom and I tried to make our own version of Palabok, one of my favorite rice noodle dishes. We did make an error in judgment and followed a recipe that she found online and came with disastrous results. There was something not quite right about the taste, unfortunately. But I snapped a shot of it before we...disposed of it.

It does look yummy but looks can be deceiving! Happy Friday!

SkyWatch Friday: Nighttime

I have tried taking pictures at night scenes and I must say I am astounded at the pictures I took! They look absolutely breathtaking, don't you agree?

These photos where taken at the Griffith Observatory in California last Friday and Sunday. Yes, we came back just to see the Planetarium and I wasn't disappointed! I loved the illusion that made everyone believe that we were spinning! You've just got to see it to believe.

Back to the topic at hand, these shots were taken at the rooftop of the Griffith Observatory overlooking the skylight of Los Angeles.

SkyWatch Friday: Dusk

On our way home from our early dinner at Hop Li, we passed by Echo Park in Los Angeles and I couldn't resist taking a few snaps for SkyWatch Friday.

I really loved how the sun's colors accented the clouds and made it look puffs of pink.

Food Friday: Porto's Cheese Rolls

Heaven. This flaky pastry filled with cheese is purely heaven! We bought a dozen of these delicious bits of heaven at Porto's Bakery, possibly the best bakery in California!

Sinking my teeth into its flaky goodness is something that I want to experience again and again and again...

I know I'm sounding overly dramatic but these cheese rolls are yummy! They take me back to the time in high school when we would race to the canteen and buy the 5 PHP cheese bread fresh from the oven [read SU Cafeteria]. I know good old cheese bread cannot compete with Porto's cheese rolls but the memories and friendship are everlasting.

Porto's Bakery
Glendale Location
315 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
tel. (818) 956-5996
fax (818) 956-0696

Burbank Location
3614 W Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 846-9100

Food Friday: Porkchops

I had pork chops the other day with potato salad and a few carrots. I'm not really fond of carrots but I just eat them to satisfy my brain telling me to eat healthy. I know I should but you know how it is, I'm a self proclaimed carnivore!

I didn't make the pork chops and my potato salad came from the deli but it was still delish.

Skywatch Friday: Staring at the Sun

This is my first entry for Skywatch Friday and I am looking forward to joining this meme next week. I've been scrounging around my lappy for good sky photos and I came up with only a few. I'll take more shots in the future!

I took this shot when I had my going away party with my hubby's family. We went to the beach and I couldn't resist taking a snap of the sky underneath the trees.

Click Skywatch Friday for more entries

Food Friday: Nectarines

What are they, you ask? Well basically, Nectarines are a kind of Peach that has a hairless skin; Peaches are fuzzy by the way. It is said that nectarines are erroneously believed to be a crossbreed between peaches and plums, although they do belong to the same species.

Quite frankly, I have never tasted Nectarines before because I'm really not a fruit person. However, grapes, apples, oranges, and grapefruits are another story though.

Food Friday is a weekly meme by Maiylah.
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Info: Wikipedia

When SAHM-one Speaks: Ideal Age to Get Married

"When you were younger, did you set an ideal age to marry?"

I always recall the first scene in the movie "The Wedding Planner" when I think about getting married. I don't know what but it has been innate in our culture that women have to get married. As a child, I never really thought about getting married. Sure, we played house and I played with my Barbie and Ken dolls a lot but it never really seemed to sink in.

As I got older, I learned that it is ideal for a woman to get married during her child-bearing years to decrease the chances of congenital disorders that come with an older woman. In my mind, I thought that getting married between the ages 24-28 were ideal.

When reality came knocking at my door, all my thoughts flew out the window! When it came down to it, I said "yes" when I was 23 and said "I do" a few weeks before my 24th birthday. I guess that still counts as 24, right?

I know my parents were thinking that I would be done with school and be working by the time I would even utter the word marriage to them, but they where wrong. We finally told them in August that we were planning to get married. The month of August was still the first semester of our school year. Yes, I was still in school. Aw, don't raise your eyebrows at me! I wasn't pregnant and I was delayed for three years which explains why I was still in school. I can't go deeper and explain why I was delayed, only that I didn't fail any subject.

When SAHM-one Speaks is a weekly Meme by Mitch.
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Food Friday: Thai BBQ

A few weeks ago, I indulged in one of my favorite restaurants here in L.A., The Original Thai BBQ Restaurant. You might think that this restaurant would serve something different, but no, aside from their authentic Thai cuisine, they serve their version of Thai BBQ! It's basically like Pinoy BBQ but they have their original Thai BBQ sauce that definitely makes it unique. This sauce is sweet and delightfully complements the BBQ, making it one of my best Thai dishes.

This mouthwatering fare is quite affordable and can be shared by two people! Add that with my fave Phad Thai, this meal definitely soothes my desire for Pork Spare Ribs!

Location:
The Original Thai BBQ Restaurant
5324 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 962-2004
Accepts AmEx, Visa & Mastercard

Food Friday is a weekly meme by Maiylah.
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Want to join? Click here.

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