.jpg)
Carrot cake arranged in the chic-looking cupcake tower bought from Shopwise (about 300 pesos, buy one take one!)
.jpg)
Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Recipe to follow...
Friday, January 25, 2013
Cuppy Cakes 101
Motherhood somewhat boosted my confidence in accomplishing things, domestically speaking. Before I got pregnant, I was intimidated by the thought of baking. I love desserts, cupcakes, among them and I never realized how easy it is to make my own cupcakes until I dared to take baking lessons and practice at home for several months to a year. The Christmas of 2011, I had the guts to bake cupcakes to give away to my officemates. They were low-fat red velvets with cream cheese frosting. They were low-fat because instead of oil, I used mashed pumpkin. They turned out great and because I'm lucky to have a husband who's very generous in giving compliments, I immediately felt like Martha Stewart. After two-days, we were still eating leftover cupcakes which turned out to be hard as rocks. I felt guilty about giving them away and was terrified for those who did not eat the cupcakes immediately. Some of them were even burnt inside. Hay.
The Christmas of 2012 was a bit different though. I was more prepared and didn't risk on trying anything new or beyond what the classes or my own experiences have taught me. This time, even if they were still far from being perfect, my cupcakes were yummier and prettier. I must have baked around five batches of cupcakes during the Christmas season and all I can say is that all of them turned great, except for a very few burnt ones that I was able to detect beforehand. Since I am already working from home, we just gave the cupcakes to my husband's officemates. I was happy to hear compliments from them, too. Maybe this year, I will be working on my frosting swirls and designs. Who knows, I might venture into a business soon. Hehe. Just dreaming.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Friday, January 11, 2013
Our Baguio Family Getaway
Happy 2013! I've been so lazy to squeeze in my busy schedule updating this blog so just to keep the ball rolling, I will blog about the most fun thing we did during the holidays. Sometime in November, while the three of us were having dinner at home, I blurted out from nowhere that I wish to be able to spend Christmas in Baguio. Well who would have known that an opportunity to go there has already been planned for us! Last December 26, my husband, the two-and-a-half year old Inigo, and I were running late for our 11:15 am scheduled trip to Baguio. Good thing the bus terminal was just a few minutes away from our place so we made it. We remembered to pack everything---clothes, toys, accessories, etc. even our home-cooked lunch and snacks while on board. Since we were taking the Deluxe Victory Liner bus, I thought the latest we'll get to Baguio was at 5pm. Due to the traffic in EDSA and up north, we arrived at 630pm. Inigo slept twice in the bus for an hour each and in between, we just looked out for cows and goats, trees and mountains. Oh, and they also provided android tablets for passengers so we took advantage of those + free WiFi.
In Baguio City, we got stuck in traffic and that's when Inigo went a bit fussy. He asked for his toys and kept on dropping them. Imagine us having to look on the floors, and asking our co-passengers if they've seen an angry bird toy as small as a calamansi! haha. That was funny. But we survived the trip and didn't lose any of his toys, thankfully.
We checked in at our hotel and headed out for dinner. It was freezing outside! And we had to walk about 300 meters to get to the restaurant. It was a charming old house that they renovated and they served really good and comforting Japanese food. We ate salad, ramen, tempura, sashimi, california maki (Inigo's favorite), and finished off with green tea ice cream. It was delish.
The next day, we went to strawberry farm in La Trinidad. To get there, we took a cab and paid around 150 pesos. I would have paid more for the driver's skill considering all those zigzag roads we passed! In the farm they don't charge you entrance fees but their strawberries are much more expensive. We paid 400 pesos for one kilo of strawberries that we ourselves picked. Inigo had so much fun picking and eating strawberries. I had to wash several strawberries using the water from our water bottle because he wouldn't stop asking for more strawberries to eat. After the picking, we went to look for strawberry taho stationed just outside the entrance to the farm. We also had strawberry ice cream. The taho sold for 25 pesos while the ice cream for 20 pesos. My husband had to go for a second serving of the taho. It was that yum.
From La Trinidad, we got a cab back that took us to the Bencab Museum. There my husband got our 2013 calendar. We enjoyed the trip because aside from the art works, the gallery had an amazing background of lush green mountains. We had lunch at Cafe Sabel --- organic spring rolls, adobo rice, tinapa rice, and organic tea.
We had to meet a friend in Cafe by the Ruins so off we went via a jeepney. It was quite a long ride and Inigo dozed off. They serve really good coffee there, which was a refreshing change from the commercial coffee shops in Manila.
We had dinner lovingly prepared by our friend T. at his place. The theme was Mediterranean so we had gyros, couscos, tabouleh, salad, etc. We played Monopoly, drank beer, and told stories like we always did before. It was nice to have friends look after Inigo and see them playing games with him. He was happy to tag along to Mommy and Daddy's parties. Thankful to the little one for letting Mom and Dad have a break from the usual routine at home.
On our third day we stayed in the hotel for half of the day just to pack our stuff. We were to leave that midnight. We checked out but made sure to leave the bags in the hotel so we could still tour around. We went to Camp John Hay. Had lunch at Le Chef and hang out a little at the hotel's garden & playground. Our friend kept on wishing we stayed there instead because it was so much nicer. The playground had animal statues that Inigo loved. We sang "Wild Animals" almost the whole time we were there. He also couldnt get enough of the wooden train there. We sat in the train and chooed away! They also had tents and we made use of one of them for a quick breastfeeding session. Hehe. We also bought our Good Sheperd Ube Jam & Peanuts from one of their shops at the back. From Manor we walked to the Mile-Hi Center where they sold more pasalubong items. We didnt shop much as the ube jams were already heavy. I wish I had time to choose nice bonnets and hand gloves and scarf. But we were already tired from walking. We went back to our friend T.'s place for some dinner and wait for midnight. Inigo was already asleep when we went to the terminal. Hubby went back to the hotel for our stuff and we just met at the station. The ride home was fast and Inigo was asleep the whole time. We were in Manila by 5am and back at home even before the sun came out. We were so tired and we got sick...as in the three of us, but that's another story. I was just happy we recovered quickly and out and about again the next day.
In Baguio City, we got stuck in traffic and that's when Inigo went a bit fussy. He asked for his toys and kept on dropping them. Imagine us having to look on the floors, and asking our co-passengers if they've seen an angry bird toy as small as a calamansi! haha. That was funny. But we survived the trip and didn't lose any of his toys, thankfully.
We checked in at our hotel and headed out for dinner. It was freezing outside! And we had to walk about 300 meters to get to the restaurant. It was a charming old house that they renovated and they served really good and comforting Japanese food. We ate salad, ramen, tempura, sashimi, california maki (Inigo's favorite), and finished off with green tea ice cream. It was delish.
The next day, we went to strawberry farm in La Trinidad. To get there, we took a cab and paid around 150 pesos. I would have paid more for the driver's skill considering all those zigzag roads we passed! In the farm they don't charge you entrance fees but their strawberries are much more expensive. We paid 400 pesos for one kilo of strawberries that we ourselves picked. Inigo had so much fun picking and eating strawberries. I had to wash several strawberries using the water from our water bottle because he wouldn't stop asking for more strawberries to eat. After the picking, we went to look for strawberry taho stationed just outside the entrance to the farm. We also had strawberry ice cream. The taho sold for 25 pesos while the ice cream for 20 pesos. My husband had to go for a second serving of the taho. It was that yum.
From La Trinidad, we got a cab back that took us to the Bencab Museum. There my husband got our 2013 calendar. We enjoyed the trip because aside from the art works, the gallery had an amazing background of lush green mountains. We had lunch at Cafe Sabel --- organic spring rolls, adobo rice, tinapa rice, and organic tea.
We had to meet a friend in Cafe by the Ruins so off we went via a jeepney. It was quite a long ride and Inigo dozed off. They serve really good coffee there, which was a refreshing change from the commercial coffee shops in Manila.
We had dinner lovingly prepared by our friend T. at his place. The theme was Mediterranean so we had gyros, couscos, tabouleh, salad, etc. We played Monopoly, drank beer, and told stories like we always did before. It was nice to have friends look after Inigo and see them playing games with him. He was happy to tag along to Mommy and Daddy's parties. Thankful to the little one for letting Mom and Dad have a break from the usual routine at home.
On our third day we stayed in the hotel for half of the day just to pack our stuff. We were to leave that midnight. We checked out but made sure to leave the bags in the hotel so we could still tour around. We went to Camp John Hay. Had lunch at Le Chef and hang out a little at the hotel's garden & playground. Our friend kept on wishing we stayed there instead because it was so much nicer. The playground had animal statues that Inigo loved. We sang "Wild Animals" almost the whole time we were there. He also couldnt get enough of the wooden train there. We sat in the train and chooed away! They also had tents and we made use of one of them for a quick breastfeeding session. Hehe. We also bought our Good Sheperd Ube Jam & Peanuts from one of their shops at the back. From Manor we walked to the Mile-Hi Center where they sold more pasalubong items. We didnt shop much as the ube jams were already heavy. I wish I had time to choose nice bonnets and hand gloves and scarf. But we were already tired from walking. We went back to our friend T.'s place for some dinner and wait for midnight. Inigo was already asleep when we went to the terminal. Hubby went back to the hotel for our stuff and we just met at the station. The ride home was fast and Inigo was asleep the whole time. We were in Manila by 5am and back at home even before the sun came out. We were so tired and we got sick...as in the three of us, but that's another story. I was just happy we recovered quickly and out and about again the next day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)