Chocolate Marble Cake

I confess I am not much of a baker. I am often intimidated by baking techniques especially when it comes to cakes. I have done a few cakes here and there but they are often pretty simple and uncomplicated. You may notice that a lot of my cakes are cheesecakes as not only are they my true favorite, they are quite easy to make. One of those cakes I have often wished to make was a marble cake. Before, just thinking about attempting one scared me so I postponed making one for the longest time.

Spicy Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Nowadays, I am in-love with anything that has coconut in it. Perhaps because I do miss my lovely island of Marinduque where we are surrounded by towering coconut trees. I have so many lovely memories of my childhood that involves this amazing tree and of course, it's delicious fruit. My parents own some piece of land in the barrio (small village in the outskirts of our town). Most of the land is devoted to rice fields but the mountainous areas are all covered with coconut trees. My parents have tenants who stay in the land either for free or for a very low rent and in return cultivate the rice crops among other things. Occasionally, we visited and to see how things were going, if the harvest would be plentiful as the rice that we ate then really came from these fields (well, when I was young I really didn't care for that but my parents did, of course.) For me, I was more concerned if we would either be able to ride the carabao (our beast of burden and really the farmer's best friend in the Philippines) during the visit and if they would be willing to give us some fresh coconuts straight from the tree. 

Chocolate Applesauce Cookies

Chocolate and applesauce flavored cookies that are melt-in-your-mouth tender and delicious. So flavorful and light, you simply can't have just one!

I have a splitting headache as I write this post tonight so am afraid you won't get much of a write-up with this cookie recipe. Suffice it to say these chocolate and apple flavored soft cookies will become your kids' favorite. I can say that as my two tots absolutely loved these. Oh yes, hubby and I had a fair share of these cookies, too. So flavorful and quite light, you simply can't have just one. They are uncomplicated to assemble too so even your kids can help you make these. Make it a baking weekend and make these with your family. Please enjoy!

Fruit and Chocolate Oat Bars

I love to give my kids snacks that I make at home and from scratch. That way, I can ensure I know what they are eating and don't need to worry much that they are taking in too much processed food. Of course, like any other kids, they love to snack on something sweet and fruity. My solution is to make them some wholesome granola bars that not only will they enjoy (something that satisfies their sweet cravings), but something that I won't feel so guilty giving to them as I know they are quite nutritious, too. Using good quality ingredients (organic, if possible) is always my aim whenever I cook or bake and that ensures a truly wonderful result every time.

Brittany Butter Cake

Do you love shortbread? Then you will love this cake. It is a cross between a shortbread and a cake and as you can imagine - with the "butter" in it's name it's got to be delicious and it is! This cake which originated from Brittany is traditionally made with salted butter though nowadays many recipes use plain unsalted butter. I stuck with the original idea and enjoyed the dense salted butter taste of the cake but if you prefer to use the unsalted butter instead, feel free to do so.

Celebrating Green and Welcoming Spring Recipe Round-Up

I hope you have all enjoyed the daily recipes we shared the past two weeks for our March theme - Celebrating Green and Welcoming Spring! I didn't want you to forget any of these fantastic recipes so here they are all again in one place. Celebrate the coming of Spring with any of these fabulously delicious food! Enjoy!

Green Tea White Chocolate Cheesecake

I am a huge tea lover. I drink tea a few times a day. I find it to be relaxing and truly enjoyable. I especially love to use tea in baking particularly the Green Matcha Tea. It provides not only a wonderful natural green coloring but the subtle taste of green tea always provides the perfect contrast to the sweetness of  a cake. I have often desired to make my own version of Green Tea Cheesecake as I have often imagined how yummy it would be even though I haven't actually tasted one yet. Of course, naturally, I thought adding some white chocolate to this mix won't hurt at all. :)

Chicken Adobo (Chinese Style)

If there is a dish that defines what Filipino cuisine is all about - it's adobo, the unofficial, national dish of the Philippine islands. There are as many versions of adobo as there are many islands in the Philippines. Perhaps not as many as 7,107 islands (the whole Philippine archipelago) but ask each Filipino family and each will tell you their own adobo recipe handed down from one generation to another differentiated not so much by the kind of ingredients they use but more on the style or technique in cooking the dish. 

Beef Rendang

In countries with tropical climates such as the Philippines and Indonesia, especially in the olden days when there wasn't any refrigeration available, people had  to be creative in finding ways on how to preserve meat. In the Philippines, we use vinegar to help keep the meat longer. Adobo is the classic example. Meat is stewed in vinegar with other seasonings to ensure that it can be kept for days. The wonderful result is that not only does this technique lengthen the life of the dish to several days, the food tastes even better as it is kept longer.

Chicken with Mushrooms in Brown Sauce

I have made this Chinese-inspired chicken dish a few years ago and both hubby and I loved it. It such a flavorful dish that will satisfy anyone's palate especially those who love Chinese food. For some reason, I have forgotten about this recipe. I remembered it when I was browsing my online photo album and the photo of the dish suddenly appeared. I can now recall why I haven't shared this dish yet here. The first time I made it, though it was already great - we were missing a few ingredients that would make it even better.