Frikkadel - Delicious South African Braised Meatballs

In 2007, we had the chance to go back to South Africa. We stayed there for about six months. We really had the best of time. We love the people we met and became friends with. We love the stunning scenery especially the game parks. And of course, the food, the glorious food we enjoyed tremendously.

How to get the perfect Dome on your Muffins (Simple Techniques to make your muffins look great!)

I love muffins! Blueberry muffins were the first muffins I have ever attempted to bake. The taste was great and some of the people I have shared it with loved them too. However, I was never fully happy with the way they looked. They look small and rather flat on top, unlike the yummy muffins that I see from bakeries and coffee shops.

 This muffin was cooked in a Demarle Flexi-Muffin tray. 

No need for any liners when you use Demarle.

So, I did  a little research and in the process discovered these few simple techniques that can make your muffins look like they were made by the pros. Here goes:


1. Make sure you use the correct temperature. I suggest baking your muffins at 400 F.  I know most muffin recipes (including the ones I have used previously) all tell us to preheat our ovens to between 325-375 F. That heat range is just not enough. While it will surely cook your muffins, it will not give you the full rise that you want. You need a higher temperature (others even recommend 425F to begin with but that makes my muffin too dark!) to immediately activate your leavening agent to start working. Of course, you need to adjust cooking time, unless you prefer crunchy muffins! :-) For me it's between 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean (as they say!). Experiment!

2. I had the privilege of watching a pastry chef make some muffins and I asked her what tips she can give to make sure muffins rise nicely. She told me to make sure that all the ingredients needed are in room temperature (that means -- eggs and butter shouldn't be used straight from the fridge). Leave it out first before you use it. I didn't ask the reason why but I can imagine if you need high heat to help the muffin rise during the first few minutes of baking, I guess, if you put cold ingredients there then that won't help. That's my own non-scientific reason. Perhaps I should research more. Clear as mud, huh?

Also, especially, if you are using the cream method for making muffins - make sure that you add each egg one by one, instead of dumping it all in one go. This is to ensure that each egg is properly incorporated in the batter.

* Another helpful tip she shared (not related to this topic but I'll share it anyway!) is that eggs should be placed in a separate bowl or receptacle when you prepare it. Do not immediately dump it with the other ingredients. In case the eggs are rotten - then at least, you can just replace the eggs and not the entire batter. Very practical.

3. Once you have mixed the batter altogether immediately place it in the muffin pan and then directly to the oven (without much delay). This is especially true if you are using baking soda. I think this was my worst mistake, I often leave out mine in the counter for who knows how long (like I almost  forgot I was actually baking or perhaps remembered...ooooopppps... I did not preheat the oven and then had to wait!).  I think I am getting better at this! :-)

This was another tip I got from a pastry chef who said that once you have mixed both wet and dry ingredients the acids in the leavening agents begin to work right away and if you leave them in the counter top too long then they become ineffective. While baking powder has the double acting capacity and heat may assist in giving it the rise it needs that's not the case with baking soda. Either way, why risk it? If you want yummy looking muffins go for that oven quick!

4. Make sure your batter is thick. You don't want a liquidy batter so if that happens to you make adjustments in your recipe - perhaps you need more flour, perhaps less butter or oil.  Remember it should be "spoonable" not "pourable." I think that's a pretty good test!

5. Now this final technique makes a lot of sense, if you ask me. Fill your muffin pans/cups until it is nearly full. Therefore, forget what you have read in muffin recipes that say fill up your tins 2/3s full. It's quite obvious, it will not rise as high if there's not enough batter on the muffin pan. This means, instead of 12 you will probably only make about 9 muffins (unless you really have a lot of batter!). Don't forget to add some water to the empty cups when you bake them.

There you go! While I may not have given you the most scientific of all explanations, baking is a perfect science after all, I have found these simple tips to be quite helpful. Hopefully, it will be helpful to you too! :-)

Disclaimer: I am not a baker nor a pastry chef just a humble lawyer (what do I really know?) so I cannot fully guarantee the results but these have worked for me so try it and hope it works for you too! Please do let me know. Thanks for reading and dropping by! Have a great day! :-)

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All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

In Memoriam

On September 6, 2011, we laid down to rest, our third child Brooklyn Alexie Raines. She was only 37 1/2 weeks old and was delivered stillborn. Today, a year after, we commemorate her short life. I believe that even though I never saw her alive (though felt her kick many times while she was in the womb), she has given my family so much reason to live for. This is why I am writing this piece, to honor my little baby, and to ensure that her memory lives on and that her passing is not in vain.

What happened to us on that fateful day of 29 August 2011 can only be described as tragic. It was obviously the saddest moment of our lives and the pain, though it may ease up as the years go by, will probably never go away. However, I will not linger on this for no amount of commiseration will ever bring her back. Instead, I want to remember the short life she lived and what she meant to us.

I believe that despite what happened to us, there is still so much reason to rejoice and give glory to God for. Just a few months before, on June 5, 2011, we had a major car accident. You can see below the damage it has caused our car. We were hit from behind by an SUV running at the speed of 90 mph. The car was totaled. Miraculously, truly by God's grace, all 5 of  us survived. Yes, Brooklyn too, survived the ordeal. Sadly, a few months after, she left us.

You may wonder...how can a baby survive such an accident and then eventually say goodbye? Why? I honestly do not know the answer. Certain circumstances that happen in life sometimes leave us without any clear explanation. It was God's providence and I accept it. Of more importance to me, rather than answering the question why, is to ask what has God done for us? 

One of us was taken away but the Lord in His kindness and mercy chose the rest of us, all four of my family to continue living. I still have my two beautiful tots. I still have the most wonderful husband in the world who truly lives out 1 Corinthians 13 on a daily basis. I have lost Brooklyn (and my sorrow is beyond words) but the Lord allowed me to keep the rest of my family. For this I am truly grateful. I cannot ask for more. Brooklyn has shown us that life is precious and that every single moment counts.

  

If there are any lessons at all to be learned in this difficult experience; it is to truly trust God and to be thankful regardless of the circumstances. As I look back, I cannot imagine how I managed to keep myself in one piece if not for the love of God that has been shown through Mark, William and Sophie, my immediate and church family and countless friends. During the most trying times, they were there for me, lifting me up in prayers, helping me in practical ways and, comforting me in my grief. Sometimes it is when we go through the toughest times that we truly experience God's love and presence. This is when I learned to trust Him more, to depend on Him more. I do not know what tomorrow may bring (Life is indeed short as Brooklyn's experience has shown) but I am assured in Romans 8:28 that "...all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."   

One of the Lord's kindest providence was the timing of the burial. We wanted to have it on a Monday after my parents have arrived from the Philippines. However, we could not do it because it was Labor Day, a holiday, so we had to postpone it till the next day, Tuesday. This was the same day that my little boy William was to attend his first day of Kindergarten. I was apprehensive and a little anxious about the timing of it all. How can these two momentous yet significantly different situation happen on the same day? I didn't know how I can bring myself to say goodbye to Brooklyn in the morning and then bring William to school immediately thereafter. It seemed odd. In hindsight, I think I know why the Lord orchestrated it this way. It was no mere coincidence. In the morning, as we laid Brooklyn to rest, I, and the rest of the family, were not only in tears but quite in deep sorrow.  But then just before noon, we were all excited to see William off to school. If it did not happen this way, I would have just been wallowing in my grief all day long. But the Lord reminded me, while there is much sorrow when you say good-bye to a loved one there is also much to rejoice when you see life around you. Taking William to school for the first time that same day gave me hope and peace and even joy knowing that I still have so much to live for.   

After what happened, I also have learned to appreciate and love my family more than ever. Yes, there are so many challenges in raising children and managing a household, but the Lord has given me the chance to build my own house (for this I am eternally grateful) and I hope and pray that I will give Him honor and glory as a Mom and a Wife. I thank the Lord for my loving family and for Brooklyn who gave us much joy albeit in a very short time. Like David, I look forward to meeting her again someday. 

For now, as we look at the many sunrises and sunsets in the horizon, we pray that we will keep Brooklyn's memory afresh and never forget how the Lord dealt kindly with us during this very difficult time. My hope is that when you read this, not only will you remember our little Brooklyn but that you may seek the Lord, feel the same love that He has shown us, and have joy and peace amidst all trials and afflictions. To God be the Glory!

Slow Cooker Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Meat-Loaf

Gluten-Free Version

One of the earliest cookware that I have purchased when we first came to the USA was a slow cooker. I've had mine for about 7 years now and it has truly been my best friend in the kitchen. I rely on it when we have guests. I like that you can just place your favorite ingredients there and then leave them to cook for 6-8 hours and you come back with the yummiest dish (as you smell the aromatic flavors waft through your house) and you didn't even fuss. I can cook hours ahead of time which leave me more time to do other things (like clean the house perhaps before the guests arrive!). And of course, it's indispensable in summer time 'cause I can cook desserts in it without having to turn on the oven. What a big help.

I have quite a few recipes that I cook in the slow cooker over and over again.  One of them is the Meatloaf - a classic American comfort food. If you don't do it right,  meatloaf can be dry and bland. But since this one is cooked in the slow cooker, it has never happened to us. It always comes out moist and flavorful, too. For this I am indebted to Taste of Home's - Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Meat-Loaf recipe. I adapted it to suit my small family and, at that time, used the the ingredients available in my pantry. Since it all worked out well (sometimes we finish the whole loaf in one sitting, courtesy of William!) I decided to just stick to my simple adaptation.

Also, since we have been dabbling on a more gluten-free diet, I have replaced the breadcrumbs with ground almonds, but if you're not into this, feel free to just use bread crumbs. Honestly, I can't say which is better because they are both good. I don't even miss the breadcrumbs when I use the ground almonds but I leave that decision to you! Enjoy!

Regular Version

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Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup ground almonds (I use Trader Joe's)*
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 tsp salt 
3/4 tsp rubbed sage (the most important!)
1 pound ground beef 
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp Gluten-free soy sauce

*Use seasoned bread crumbs instead if not doing the gluten-free version

Procedure 

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well (mixture will be moist). Shape into a round loaf.

Place in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until no pink remains and a meat thermometer reads 160°F.

   

In a small bowl, whisk the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and soy sauce. Spoon over the meat loaf. Cook for another 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

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Chai Tea

I love Chai Tea! I was first introduced to Chai Tea in December 2003 during our honeymoon in New Zealand. A friend of Mark is married to a lovely Indian lady and we stayed with them while in New Zealand. She brought us to one of the tea shops in Christchurch and convinced us to try Chai Tea. I have been hooked eversince.

Here's a photo of myself in Christchurch in 2003 and many pounds ago!

Since then till recently, I never learned how to prepare my own Chai. So more often than not, I end up buying from Starbucks or getting a prepared mix from the grocery. While they taste ok, I find them to be so sugary.

Finally, last July our friend Samuel B. from India came to visit us. Not only did we have a lovely time with him, he taught me how to make Chai Tea! The authentic way and with only 1 major ingredient - Cardamom pods. Wow! It was the best Chai I have ever had! I think the reason why I never tried to make it was the thought of having to mix or grind many spices. I was so wrong. It is quite easy to make. Thanks to Sam I no longer need to spend money to make my own authentic Chai Tea right in our own home.

Here's what a cardamom pod looks like.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia by Sanjay Ach.

While cardamom is the most essential spice to any Chai Tea, sometimes I experiment by adding a cinnamon stick, star anise or fennel seeds to the mix. I make about 2-3 cups worth 'cause I like to have one in the morning (as replacement for coffee) and one in the afternoon, to keep me alive!

So enjoy your homemade Chai Tea! Have it with ice in the Summer and serve hot during Fall and Winter!


Ingredients

6 cardamom pods, crushed or split open
1 stick cinnamon (optional)
2 Chinese star anise  or 1/4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
2 cups water
1/2 - 1 cup milk (use more if you want it creamy)
2-3 tsp black tea leaves (or 2-3 black tea bags)
Sugar, to taste


Procedure 

Place the cardamom pods and the other spices (if using) in the sauce pan (big enough to accomodate about 3 cups of liquid). Pour in 2 cups of water.

Using medium high heat, bring to a boil. Once it begins to boil lower the heat to medium and continue to boil for another 2 minutes to extract more flavor. Add  the milk and wait till it boils again. Once the liquid starts to boil and the milk is starting to foam well, add the black tea.

Cover and remove from the heat and brew for 3-5 minutes depending on how strong you want your tea to be.


Strain then transfer the remaining tea to a mug or tea cup. Add some sugar, to taste.

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But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 1 Timothy 6:6-7