Chocolate Mousse and Graham Cake

It can be argued that chocolate is mankind's favorite dessert. May it be in candies, bars, truffles, syrups, ice cream or hot drinks; the dark yummy goodness has captured the love of many worldwide. 

Today I decided to do something different. I'm usually cooking or baking but this particular cake needed no baking at all. It's called the Chocolate Mousse and Graham Cake. I got the recipe from the back of the box of graham crackers. It's one of the easiest desserts that I had ever made. The ingredients are simple and easy to acquire. The results are to die for. Creamy chocolate cream interspersed with crushed graham crusts. My family do agree with me that this is one of my best kitchen creations to date. 

FOR THE CRUST:

1 pack of Graham Crackers

6 tablespoons of Melted Butter

FOR THE MOUSSE:

2 packs of Nestle All-Purpose Cream

30pcs of Flat Tops Chocolate 

2 Sachets of Milo Energ Drink

 The Graham Crackers are crushed first. I used a blender to do it in record time. It's easier than pounding the cracker into bits using a mortar and pestle. I melted six tablespoons of butter and mixed it into the crushed crackers. The butter will help keep the crust together. I then used a cake pan and lined the bottom with the graham and butter mixture. This will be needed to be refrigerated for 10 minutes in order for the crust to solidify.

The mousse is made next. I melted the Flat Tops by putting them in a metal bowl and hovered it above boiling water. The steam helped to melt the chocolate to a semi-liquified state. After this I added the All-Purpose cream and Milo and mixed everything with an electric Mixer. It is important to have the cream chilled before putting in with the chocolate. It will make it easier when layering the graham in between. 

After this, take out the crust from the refrigerator. Pour in the ready made mousse into the pan and intersperse with cream. Garnish with Graham crumbs, a bit of cream and square graham crackers on top to make it look wonderful.

See! It's quite easy. Definitely my best cake to date! It looks amaking and tastes absolutely delicious. It's a winner with my family and I do look forward to making it again for family get togethers and special family events.  

The cake must be chilled for more than three hourse to make it more solid. I do think that I should add clear gelatin to the mousse next time so that it wouldn't melt too easily. The extreme heat here in Manila had melted the cream about 15 minutes after I had gotten it out of the freezer. Adding gelatin to the mixure will make its shape last longer.

Bon Apetit! 

Cooking Katsudon!

It's not a secret that I love Japanese food. There came a time in my life when I was obsessed with everything Japanese. Their culture was intriguing to me as a child and I always watched those anime shows that were shown on TV. As I grew older I also loved to make Japanese food and the best way to express that love is to learn to cook my favorite dishes. I usually make Sushi or Onigiri when I think about Japanese cooking. I had also experienced making Miso Soup and Sukiyaki. But I never experienced making Katsudon until now. Kinda ironic since it's quite easy to make!

The wonderful thing about the internet is that you can find a recipe for absolutely anything. So I visited youtube and looked for a recipe. Lo and behold I found a really cute Youtube channel called "Cooking with Dog". It's a online based cooking show hosted by a grey poodle named Francis and a Japanese chef whose name is not disclosed.

I have almost all the ingredients but I we didn't have any ready made bread crumbs available so I crushed two packs of Sky Flakes crackers to substitute for it.

 I then rolled my pork cutlets with seasoned floor, dipped it into a bowl of whisked eggs then covered them with my home-made bread crumbs.

 After that I fried with olive oil until the pork cutlets turned a wonderful shade of brown. It looks wonderful.

The breaded pork cutlet must be simmered in a mixture soy sauce, sugar, mirin and bonito stock. A lightly whisked egg would be poured on top after that. The ready made Katsudon can now be put on top a steaming bowl of rice.

TADAH!

I'm really proud of this achievement. The rosemary made the Katsudon look pretty in the picture. It looks even more yummy in person.

Although when I tasted what I had made I realized that I should have added some more sugar. The mixture was okay but it lacked a bit more sweetness. Overall I think I did good but I think I could do better next time. I guess that's the problem with just following a recipe without tasting it first. At least I know what to do next time. Lesson learned!

For anyone who wants the recipe, just click on the video link.

The little things that makes life wonderful

I woke up today feeling refreshed and peaceful. It's been a long time since I've felt this way and to tell the truth i really makes me happy to feel at peace with myself. It's like a butterfly who had just left its cocoon. I feel alive, reborn.

 

What I'm feeling inside is already being reflected in my physical self. I have clearer smoother skin, shinier hair, and my body no longer feels numb. I used to suffer from physical ailments like my arms and and shoulders aching or my legs being numb with pain. Today I no longer suffer and feel any pain. I feel free physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I'm taking my life one day at a time and I try to do the things I love since I now have time to do those. I may have lost my job last year but I actually think of it as a blessing. I feel as if I've been freed. Now I have more time to do photography, art and even dabble with a side business where I can have the opportunity to earn some money. So I'm not worried at all about my future. In fact I'm quite positive about it. 

One of the tings that I love to do right now is taking pictures of the things I see around me. My house is filled with plants and flowers. Gardening is my mother and late grandmother's passion so it's not surprising that our home is surrounded by a lot of trees, shrubs ad flowering plants. Birds of different kinds and sizes visit out place a lot. Today I saw a new species that I haven't seen before.

I wonder what kind of bird this is. It's not a Maya for sure. I'm thinking of making a painting of this bird. Let's see if I'll be able to do it.

Life and Learning

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog. And to tell the truth I really haven't had the urge to update at all. I could blame it on a lot of things but I guess in the end it really doesn't matter. I'm just happy that I can update it again even if it took me a while to do it.

Life is really complicated sometimes. I know that don't have any room to complain. I have a wonderful family, awesome pets, a really good job and friends whom I trust and love. But there's been always a part of me that I've been struggling with. Sometimes I think that I am having bouts of depression. Other times I just want to smile and just tell myself that I can get through this. 

I've always been looking for a purpose, for meaning as to why I am here on this earth. There are times that I lose the urge to do the things that I used to love. I guess, in the process of probing for meaning, I had forgotten about what is important and that sometimes we just have to do things just for the sake of it. That having a purpose isn't important. Experiencing life in all its facets is.

Today, I've done some activities that I have just stopped doing for no reason at all. I've ridden a bike again. I cycled around our small garage area and even if it was a small space it made me happy that I could do it. I also took my camera out again. The pictures that I had taken aren't really stunning but at least I've done something and that in itself makes me happy.

 

I hope to get better at taking photos and even be more active at blogging. I'll do it one step at a time.

Amigurumi: Cute Chick

Today was such a lazy Sunday so I decided to do crafts once again. I took out one of my favorite Japanese crochet craft magazines. I bought this at a local bookstore for a really great price. 

The magazine contained pictures of different crochet projects. A lot were about Amigurumi (the Japanese art of creating crocheted stuffed toys). There were also projects about how to make really useful objects like containers, wallets, hair accesories, and even kitchen related items like pot holders and such. 

I decided to make another Amigurumi chick. I already made three before but I gave them away to some friends of mine. I believe that Amigurumi should be shared or gifted away. I like making people smile using my crafts. 

The process started by crocheting the body. I used the pattern included in the magazine. Japanese patterns are quite easy to understand once you get the gist of it. Even if I had limited knowledge in Japanese, I was still able to create the base.

I filled the base body with fiber/cotton and then I crocheted the wings and the cute top next.  The parts are to be sewn together to create the completed chick. It took me an hour and a half to finish everything. 

I added a triangular orange felt cloth for the beak and sewn two beads for eyes. The end product looked really cute. Although I think my chick was a little bit too obese compared to the ones featured in the magazine.

After I finished everything I took it outside for a little photo shoot. I've named it 'chickidee'. That name is quite dear to me since my mom used to call me that when I was kid.   

The long vacation is ending soon. I'm quite sad that the Holy Week has come to a close. I still have one day of vacation left. Even if I dread coming back to the office I am still happy. This long weekend was my most productive yet. I was able to relax, do a lot of crafts and also was able to clean my room. I guess I'm improving bit by bit. 

Sewing Adventures: Creating a Cute Pouch

I inherited a sewing machine from my grandmother a year or so ago, It happened just a few months before she passed away. The machine runs on electricity and is about fifteen or so years old. It is a SINGER sewing machine. One of the most trusted brands when it comes to sewing tools. 

Today was such a lazy day but I wanted to something creative and productive at the same time. My digital camera needed a new pouch and I wasn't in the mood to drop by the mall and buy a ready made one. Instead, I opted to make my own.

I inherited a lot of cloths, laces, ribbons, and threads when I acquired the sewing machine. I chose a pink cloth for the pouch and the a light yellow cloth for the lining. I also chose a cute lace little ribbon to create some added details.

I love the colors that I had chosen. And I think my dog loves it too. Mellow suddenly sat on my materials as soon as he saw them on the floor. I guess he wanted to help me sew my little pouch.

Or maybe he just wanted to sleep on it. Lol! I had to carry him away so I could retrieve my materials. Thankfully none of the cloths were soiled and the laces got away without a scratch. 

Sewing the two cloths together was quite an uneasy process. I'm not used to this sewing machine yet. I had only used it twice since the time it arrived in my home. It wasn't a surprise that I could barely sew a straight line. But I did manage to create something beautiful despite the crooked thread lines.

I finished sewing the pouch in an hour or so. I think this is the smallest item I had ever sewn. I attached the lace into the upper edge of the pouch and attached a lavender colored ribbon to heighten the kawaii feel.

Isn't it cute? And it fits my digital camera just right!

I'm a bit happy with the result. Although I think I can do better. I need to practice sewing more. As they say, practice makes it perfect. But I'm glad I was able to create something. Today was a great start!

DIY Chocolate

Mai gave me this really cute DIY Chocolate kit a day before we journeyed to Singapore. Since I love making crafts, I was really excited to make this once I had the time to do so. The packaging is quite cute and colorful. Although I find it funny that it claims that its contents are made out of 99% cacao when its clearly a lie. 

 

The pack contained four sheets of felt cloth, different colored threads, a needle, and a container for the finished 'chocolates'. It also included an instruction booklet that was written in both English and Japanese. A paper guide helped me create the shapes that I needed to cut out of the felt sheets.

The cut outs are then sewn together by hand. It took me quite some time before I finished the shapes needed to create the fake chocolates. These are then filled with organic cotton stuffing and decorated with thread or or different colored felt cut outs. 

There were six chocolate shapes all in all. My favorite would be the one with almond/pistachio 'nuts' sewed on top. Making the fake nuts was quite a challenge since it was so small and I had to also fill it with stuffing so that it wouldn't be flat.

 

It took me about three hours to finish everything.I'm quite happy with the result and the 'chocolates' are now proudly displayed in my room. 

Thanks Mai for giving this to me! I really appreciate it.

Breaking Free

I have a confession to make. I have been suffering from Depression for quite some time. I don't know when it started but I do know that I was on an all time low last year. 2011 hasn't been a kind year to me. I lost a lot of important people in my life. Loved ones died, friends came and went away. Everything made me feel miserable although I was blessed in a lot of ways. I was always unhappy. I lacked energy to do the things I loved. Then it dawned to me that my depression was something that I can fight against. I needed to fight it. I was just 27 years old. I had a life in front of me. I didn't want to waste my life feeling down in the dumps all the time.

Looking back at my life, I realized that I am experiencing an imbalance. I am caught in a destructive chronic cycle. A product of years of abusing myself. I didn't eat healthy foods. I rarely slept early. I lost my sense of self by following what others want me to do rather than what I wanted to do.

Lack of sleep led to me feeling cranky and depressed the following day. This also leads me to eat unhealthy foods that were high on sugar. I guess it was my body's way of regaining the energy that I needed for the day. Eating sugary foods contributed to my weight gain... which also contributed to my self-confidence taking a nose dive.

For years I had the perfect figure. I didn't need to worry about what I was eating. Suddenly my metabolism started to slow down. I was getting fatter around my midriff. I couldn't fit in to my favorite pants anymore. I'm not fat - yet. But I'm starting to go on that road. I need to stop it.

Not sleeping early also meant that I lacked energy to do the things I loved to do. I wasted my time on things that did not matter. I hardly did the things I loved because most of the time 'I didn't feel like it'. Losing the energy to do what I love led me to have feelings of frustration. And it made me feel even more depressed.

This was the cycle that I was whirled into. Its hard to break from bad habits that were forged from years of self-neglect and self-abuse. But that doesn't mean that everything is going to stay that way forever.

I am lucky to have a supportive and loving family. I am lucky that I have friends who care about me. I am lucky that I have two dogs who act as my stress relief. And I am lucky that I know that I have the power to change my situation. Its not easy but I guess I'll do it one step at a time. Then maybe one day I'll become the person that I really want to be. Some day soon I will seize happiness.

Salad and Yakult. Yum Yum

I'm starting eat more healthy foods. I eat more salads and more fruits. I heard a saying that our bodies respond well to 'good food'. Food is like fuel. Give the wrong kind of fuel to your body and it will feel  'wrong' too. Its a matter of giving my body what it really needs. I really should stop snacking on junk foods too. Its not healthy and I think that I crave it not because I am really hungry but because of the psychological effect it gives me. I'm still struggling with this though. But someday I might be able to proudly say that I'm junk food free.

My Current Desk

I also realized the importance of having a clean environment. I read an article somewhere in the internet that our environment is only a reflection of our psychological state. Yesterday I took some time to clean out some parts of my room. I threw out a lot of trash, used toiletries and dusted off my furniture. I oddly felt a sense of relief when I finished doing that impromptu spring cleaning. And I also felt the urge to keep it that way, clean and dust free. There's still a lot to do though (like cleaning out my closet and letting go of clothes that no longer fit me) but its a great start.

I also took a trip to Singapore with my best friends since High School. Mai, Emille, Katlee and Rhea are one of the most important people in my life. Being able to take an out of the country trip with them really made me feel happy. I'm planning to post pictures from the trip in the next few days.

Visiting another country also widened my perspective. Now I want to travel more. I want to be exposed to what the world can offer. I know I want to travel back to Japan one day and I will do so perhaps next year.

Life is starting to be great again. I'm starting to find my balance and my worth in the world. I feel better than before.

Puppy Love

February is the month for 'love'. Its time time when hearts are over used and flowers are sold everywhere. Most cultures celebrate Valentines Day on the 14th of February. I'm not really into the romantic part of the occasion but I do appreciate all kinds of love - even the puppy kind.

I have two Shih Tzu dogs whom I love very much. My first dog is Fluffy. She's two years old. Fluffy loves to lick me a lot. Loyalty and being lovable is one of her best traits. She follows me everywhere and sometimes when I feel down she just jumps on my lap as if she knows instinctively that I feel off.

This is Fluffy. My first dog.

My father bought Mellow last year so that Fluffy can have a mate whom she can be with. Mellow is only a year old. He's a fat puppy and sometimes I even think he's a little bit obese. But he's undoubtedly cute. He's so cute that sometimes I can't help but to hug him all day long. 

This is Mellow. He is only 1 year old.

Mellow loves to show his love by sleeping on people. Unlike other dogs, he likes to be hugged. He's so used to it that he doesn't care if you hug him for a long, long time.

Ever since the day Mellow was introduced to the house things had gotten really exciting. Mellow and Fluffy are rarely away from each other. 

These two are always together.

Sometimes they fight with each other.

But most of the time I think they love each other.

Puppy Love

Aren't they cute? I'm so blessed to have two wonderful dogs. They greet me with so much love and happiness whenever I come home from work. These two are my living breathing fluff balls. Its the best  de-stressing therapy in the world.

I love my dogs. Do you have dogs too?