Cute Streak

Uber-cute, portion-controlled lunch. bacon and stir-fried Taiwanese bitter greens. looks great. feels hungry. 

Organic tart frozen yogurt on a giant bed of shaved ice. strawberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, and mochi bits. BLUSH - Original Shaved Ice (Choice of four toppings included).

Cute may not be the right word, but it was free and delicious. RED RIBBON BAKESHOP - Pandan Macapuno Chiffon Cake.

Filipino Pantry Leche Flan

I can never really guarantee I can cook much if company stops, but there are a few pantry baking items I keep to ensure I could whip out a nice dessert or two. Marie Ange's almost flourless chocolate cake, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies or Stephen's blondies... but my favorite decadent pantry staple is a nice leche flan.

1/3 c sugar
1/4 c water
2/3 can sweetened condensed milk (non-fat okay)
6 egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk (non-fat okay)
1 t vanilla extract

Prep.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a small saucepan, caramelize the sugar till golden brown. Pour sugary syrup mixture into the bottom of a small baking dish
3. Whisk the custard in this order: condensed milk, yolks, evaporated milk, vanilla
4. Pour the custard into the baking dish, passing through a strainer to collect any solids
5. Place small custard dish into 9 x 13 baking tray to prepare the water bath for the flan. Fill water bath with hot water to surround the custard half-way the height of the flan.
6. Bake for 1 hour. It'll be jiggly when removed. Remove the flan baking dish from the water bath. Cool on counter for an hour. Then chill the dessert in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
7. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the flan and turn over the flan onto a serving plate. Garnish with berries serve it plain. I love serving it as a base for shaved-ice desserts or spreading flan cubes on challah/brioche toast.

Notes: Eerik and Kristin held a baking olympiad recently and I had to withdraw my flan entry. I tried to improvise and replace two yolks with an egg white... not changing temp and baking time too much, it totally turned the flan into scrambled eggs.

Boy Bawang: Better than CornNuts

I totally have a wicked migraine, but I came across an unposted picture that made me smile, so I had to write up my thoughts quickly.

From Exploding tastebuds lead to exploding waistlines

I'd say Corn Nuts have always been a well-loved snack in my family. However, it wasn't until earlier this year that I discovered Boy Bawang, a Filipino product that's much tastier, crispier, and easier to eat. Easier to eat? Am I crazy? Corn Nuts can feel like work because the over-sized kernels are so dense. Boy Bawang (or literally, "garlic boy") kernels are made of smaller corn kernels, that when fried, create a thin-shelled, hollow mini kernel. My love of the garlic flavor is just a tad bit extreme. As a garlic lover, it's a fantastic to actually buy a garlic-flavored treat that also contains real deep-fried garlic chips (or bits) in the bag.

It was especially disappointing when I realized that I've had access to this snack almost my whole life (you can find them in pan-Asian or Filipino grocery stores and online), but it took my secret blogging obsession (Filipino wedding videographers and photographers) to finally inspire me to try a bag. I found mine in Quincy at Sure Pinoy Food Mart.

Asia Fabulous II - Debriefed

Yesterday was pretty awesome. Pretty much everyone who said they'd come visited the house and joined us for an afternoon of eating and drinking outside in the sunshine. The bonus is that our house is really quite clean and attractive-looking.

beverages included Thai and Malay iced teas and mimosas

dishes included "filichino" pancit, Korean bi bim bap, penang curry, korean-fried tofu with a chili soy sauce, asian salad, adobo wings & hard boiled eggs (we ran low on the chicken and I couldn't stand wasting all the gravy goodness), Shanghai baby bok choy with veggie oyster sauce and toasted sesame seeds, & char siu bao

desserts included Vietnamese seamed sweet mung bean-filled glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaf, egg tarts, Asian cakes via baobaobakery, mango mochi, & sweet red bean buns

The main party crowd left and the die hards moved inside for gender war taboo. Then the babies came! Lisa brought both Holly and their doggie Acer. Jesse came by with Isaiah, too!

In all, good times were had and bellies left full. Until next year's Asia Fabulous!