The Foodie's Food Trip

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

After moving to our new apartment a month ago, I finally baked something!

I've always wanted to try the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe, but never had the chance. One thing that encouraged me the most is an episode from Friends, when Monica was trying to copy the chocolate chip cookie based on Phoebe's grandmother's recipe. Turned out it was the Nestle Toll House recipe. hihi!

So now that I've got my oven, got my baking utensils and finally bought ingredients, I baked! Funny thing is, I can't find any Nestle Toll House chocolate chips! hahaha!

You can get the recipe from Very Best Baking.

I Need a Pressure Cooker

A few hours ago, I was cooking pork sinigang for dinner. When I cook pork sinigang, as my mother taught me, I will usually boil the meat for at least 30 minutes (and can reach up to an hour, depending on the meat) to soften the meat. When the meat has soften a bit, that's when I add the sliced tomatoes and onion and leave it to boil some more. After everything has cooked, I'll add the sinigang mix & other vegetables and cook some more! :D

The stove in our apartment is an electric induction cooker, and I realized then that our electricity bill will surely be higher than expected everytime I cook meat! So now, I'm thinking of buying a presssure cooker. I am now searching for a few pressure cookers online. But the thing is... I don't know how to use one. I'm scared that in the middle of my cooking, it might explode or something! hihihi!

So for now.... it's still a thought. 75% possibility :D

Lemon Cakes

I love having guests around or going to our friends' house so I can bake something. On a normal day, there will only be two of us at home - me and hubby. An 8-inch cake will take us one week to finish, and there's a big chance that half of it will just be thrown out. I can make muffins that's 10-12 pieces a batch, and we'd still end up throwing 1 or more. So, if I'm sure that there will only be the two of us eating whatever I'll be baking, I try not to bake at all. Finally, some of our friends decided to drop by our place during the weekend... my chance to bake something again!

For a change, I decided to make something without chocolate. Something completely opposite of chocolate... something with lemon. So there goes my search for a lemon-something recipe - lemon cookies, breads, cakes, etc.

I found one by Ina Garten, it's a Lemon Yogurt Cake. But... I'd rather not do that. Hubby already hates the thought that I'm not baking something chocolate. Baking something with lemon is already bad, baking it with yogurt (which he hates a lot) will just make it worst. Good thing I found a Lemon Cake recipe by Ina Garten. :)

Friday evening I went to the supermarket and bought my ingredients - buttermilk and lots of lemon. When I got home, I prepared my ingredients so that I'll just mix and bake on Saturday morning (our friends will be arriving after lunch).

Saturday morning, I started "harvesting" my lemon zest, then squeezing the lemons for my lemon juice. Once I'm done with the lemon, I pre-heated my oven and did the cake.

The output: oh my gosh! I never expected it to taste so yummy and moist! The lemon syrup really made it more moist and soft and lemoney. The lemon glaze was also hmm-mmm-good! Just the right amount of sweetness. The sweet and sour was in sync!

I used a tube pan for this. And since I only have one small tube pan, I used my cupcake pan for the others.

If you love lemon cake, you have to try making this Lemon Cake. If you're not a fan of citrus cakes/sweets (like me & hubby), try it! Recipe can be found at FoodNetwork.com.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Been gone for a while. Working has been a big hindrance to my blogging! And to my baking! tsk tsk...

Anyway, here's a new recipe I'd like to share. Since it's already obvious and I think I've said it a million times that hubby & I love chocolate, and a chocolate chip cookie is not enough to satisfy our cravings that day, I searched for a double chocolate-chip cookies.

Sorry for the blurry photo... I just used my phone to take a shot. The important thing is they were yummy! They're not as chewy as I expected, but chocolatey nonetheless.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Real Simple

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk-chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Lower to medium speed and add the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Form the dough into approximately 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
Bake until the centers are just set, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

My New Apron

A few days ago, my sister was here for a week of vacation with her friends.

When she was here, I accompanied her to this store that sells kitchen stuffs - baking, cooking, etc. We looked around and drooled at what the store is selling... we love them all!

Before we left the store, I was able to purchase something... this cute little apron.

By the way, that apron... it's for kids. :D I chose to buy this instead of their adult aprons (which also have cute designs) because this size fits me well, and covers all the right places. The adult size just hangs too low, I would need to clip the neck part.

Cute, right? :D