Homemade Quick and Easy Cinnamon Bread

I thought of it, I wanted it... so I baked it. 

I really love cinnamon... if it weren't so expensive I'd probably eat from Cinnabon everyday : ) Here is my own quick and easy cinnamon bread. I like mine plain but if you want to put raisins, walnut or anything else that catches your fancy then you may. (I'll tell you when to add them.)

 What You Need:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• one stick of butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp bakung powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• raisins or nuts (optional)

For the streusel topping

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp butter

  Let's Bake It!

 For those of you who thought baking was a challenge.... you will be pleasantly surprised that its really quite easy.   

1. Sift together all the dry ingredients (Flour, cinnamon, sugar, salt and baking powder). For the flour you can use cake, all purpose or whole wheat whatever you want.Set aside.

 
2. In a large bowl mix all the wet ingredients. Lightly beat the eggs with a fork and add the softened butter or margarine (leaving it on the table for 30 minutes is enough to soften it,). Add this mixture to the milk and stir a little to achieve consistency.

3. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mixing as you add, make sure you stir all the way to the bottom of the bowl so you don't miss anything.  If you are adding nuts or raisins you have to add it now.

4. Prepare the streusel topping.  Mix all the streusel ingredients until it's crumbly and looks like this...

 

5. Pour the batter into deep loaf pans (about 3 inches deep). Pour one layer first about 1 inch thick and top it with the streusel mix then pour another layer and repeat the same procedure with the topping. I like to make the topmost streusel thicker because it makes the bread top sweet and crunchy.  Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes, check if its done by sticking a toothpick into the bread if it comes out clean its done, if not then bake it for another 10 minutes.

 

 ALL DONE!!!

Cool before removing from pan and slicing.

        Nice and crunchy on the outside 

Soft and moist on the inside

 Enjoy Your Homemade Cinnamon Bread !

Ave's Moist and Savoury Roast Chicken

I've always hated how commercial roast chicken can be so dry and horribly flavored so I have tried and tried and tried and now have come up with a roast chicken recipe that stays moist inside and flavor packed to the core :) You guys simply must try this....

  

Ave's Roast Chicken

One Whole Chicken about 1.2 to 1.5 kgs.
3 Tbsp Rock Salt
1 Tbsp Ground Pepper
110 grams margarine (half of the entire stick of margarine)
Dill or Celery (I use Dill)

Here we go!

1. Mix margarine, salt and pepper. I know it 3 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of pepper may look too much but more than half of that ends up in the dripping pan so don't be afraid to be generous in your portions.

2. Divide the mixture into two and put the first part inside the cavity, take about 3 stalks of Dill (or Celery) make a knot and put into the cavity as well. The Dill or Celery gives it a little kick of spice without overpowering the chicken's natural flavor. I grow my own Dill cause I use it for a lot of my recipes, if you don't have it in your herb garden you can buy some at any supermarket. Plug the opening with a little chicken fat (I get mine from the butt part of the chicken)

3. With your hands rub the rest of the margarine salt pepper mixture onto the chicken make sure you cover every nook and cranny : ) Its kind of hard to make the mixture stick to the chicken skin... I chill my chicken a bit so the margarine will harden a little when it comes to contact with the chicken, this trick makes the mixture stick (love how that rhymes hahaha)



4. Skewer the chicken with that thing you get with your rotisserie oven (not sure what its really called) make sure the prongs are sticking into the chicken flesh and locked into the rod nice and tight. Set oven to 250 degrees, cook for 2 hours, yep that's how long it takes so make sure you have ample time to prepare and cook we don't want you having dinner at midnight :)

5. Cooking time can vary a little depending on the size of your chicken, I test mine by pricking the chest part really deep with a toothpick, if the bubbly liquid that oozes out is clear then it's done slightly pink means hold your horses it needs to stay in the over longer. If you noticed I used an aluminum pan to catch the drippings, I store the drippings in the ref and use it for making gravy for other recipes or I use it to add flavor to plain ole fried rice.

6. Enjoy your masterpiece!

No Whim Pata Tim :)

Easier than it looks, promise.  Never even thought I can pull it off the first time I cooked it, but I did. Now I can cook it with my eyes closed, of course it's better when I cook it with my eyes open ;)

What you need

1 front pork leg
5 pcs Star Anise
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 pcs beef cubes
6 cups water
Pepper corns

What you need to do :)

Wash the pork leg, rub it with salt to remove all the icky things stuck to the skin. Prick it with a fork in several places before putting in a pot, bend it to make it fit DON'T slice or chop it. . I like to cook mine in a palayok but any ole pot will do.

Add all the ingredients to the pot and cook on high fire until it comes to a boil. Turn the heat low, cook for an hour then give it a taste test, adjust taste accordingly, add sugar or soy sauce. cook for another half hour or until the meat is really tender and the sauce turns sticky.

You can add button mushrooms or young corn if you want :)

Serve in a bed of pechay Baguio for cuteness factor :D

(Excuse the typos and whatever else there is that doesn't look right... I was doing this in a hurry)

Hidden Treasures in Tam-Awan Village in Baguio

Nothing makes you feel more comfy than good food and good ambiance.  I’ve been to Baguio several times but this is the first time I got to visit Tam-awan Village. 

It’s an old Igorot village, about 30 minutes from Burnham, they restored the village’s paths and huts and turned into an artist’s haven. What caught my interest was the old Igorot huts, they were preserved in their original condition and were offered for rent at Php500 night per person.  Imagine being able to live like an Igorot for one night (or more if you chose to J ) you can wear the bahag too if you want a total immersion thing,  but you’ll probably freeze your arse because it gets really cold there at night.

The artworks were superb and not limited to paintings, there were handsewn bags and trinkets….there are no two alike so you are not in any danger of being in an awkward situation where you have the same bag or earrings as the lady sitting next to you in someone’s wedding.

The best part of the village is the quaint little café at the top of the hill inside the village.  Oh anyone would fall in love with the warm decors and the delicious food. Actually delicious is an understatement, the food was not only good it was heart warming in its authenticity. The Bagnet was fabulous and the Pinikpikan was divine, but nothing beats the hospitality and the warm smiles of the people working in the café. 

Only one problem, there were too many things on the menu and we couldn’t eat them all at the same time J…We will definitely come back…

Baguio All Over Again... Slideshow: Ave’s trip from Batangas, Luzon, Philippines to Baguio was created by TripAdvisor. See another Baguio slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

First Stop the Sweet Tooth Booth : Peach Panna Cotta

I believe that everyone has a sweet tooth so for my first run its going to be something that will make that sweet tooth shiver with anticipation.

I first tasted panna cotta when we ordered the dessert sampler at Pizza Hut, I fell in love with it and so did my husband.  I just have to know how to make it, and I was pleasantly surprised that it's so easy to make. Here I am making Peach Panna Cotta, a little twisted version of the regular panna cotta. If you can't swing this one you are not meant to cook at all :)

 Peach Panna Cotta






What You Need;
1 sachet of unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup fresh milk
2 cans of Nestle Cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 can peach halves
2 vanilla beans ( you can use 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead)

Lets Get Cooking! 

1. Drain the peaches and save the syrup.  Divide the gelatin in two, dissolve the first half in the syrup from the peaches and the other half in the 1/3 cup of fresh milk. Get your vanilla bean, split it in half and soak it in the milk and gelatin mixture. Set aside.

2.  Carefully slice the peach halves, make wedges or cubes, whatever suits your fancy. Line them in the base of your bowl mold in a pinwheel, flower or any design you like. Heck you can even spell you name with it :). This should be good enough for three molds.

3. Lets get back to the gelatin you soaked in the peach syrup. Pour that into a stainless pan and cook in low heat.  Make sure you stir the mixture slowly while its heating up so you get a smooth and even texture. Watch it carefully, don't let it boil, as soon as you see that the mixture is starting to thicken up and tiny bubbles start to form then its done. Pour that on top of  your sliced peaches and set aside. Oh make sure you only fill the bowl mold half way as you are still going to pour the panna cotta mixture on top. Refrigerate for an hour.

4. Check that the peach and gelatin that's chilling refrigerator is already firm before you move on to the next step. If you pour the panna cotta mixture while the peach gelatin mixture is still soft this may cause the gelatin to collapse.
 

5. Mix the cream and sugar and cook in medium heat, as soon as the cream starts to bubble add the gelatin and milk mixture(remove the vanilla beans). Turn the heat low and stir slowly for another minute and pour on top of the peach gelatin mixture. Refrigerate for two hours.