As promised, here is the recipe for the chocolate cake that I baked for my mother-in-law’s birthday.

You will need:

How to do it:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the pan. I used a 10-in round pan and a heart-shaped pan.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute on medium speed of mixer. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost with the buttercream icing.

For the buttercream, you will need 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of shortening, 4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar, 2 TBSP milk, and 1 tsp vanilla. First, you cream the butter and shortening together using an electric mixer. Add the the vanilla. Then gradually add the sugar one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Then add the milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

To color the buttercream icing, I used Wilton’s yellow, green, and red food colors, which my sister sent me from US. But you can also use the local ones. You will also need different decorating bags and decorating tips.

Here’s what the cakes looked-like without the icing on it….

…..with the plain icing as base
….and the final product….

What a success! This is my first time to design a cake using several colors. This is something different from my usual baking sessions, because I usually bake brownies, muffins, and chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting. I have also tried decorating cupcakes for my son’s 1st birthday and it was also a success. But, I think I still have to master the art of cake decorating. Maybe someday I’ll attend a cake decorating class, if the “budget” permits. hehehe (Medyo mahal kasi eh) Besides, I just finished attending a 3-day basic culinary class last June to enhance my cooking skills….hehe…

My 1-yr old son also participated in this baking session. Look how he enjoyed it….

Again, that’s it for now. Andre wants to play with me. See you on my next baking session. Ciao!

Yesterday was my mother-in-law’s 51st birthday. My husband and I, together with Andre, went to their house to greet her . This is her first birthday without Tatay, who passed away last October 2006. We asked her how would she want to celebrate her birthday. She told us, “wag na, ngayon pa kung kelan wala na”. I can still feel her pain of losing her behalf. Of course it’s really painful to lose a family member, not expecting it to happen too soon. I know they miss Tatay so much, I miss him too. She told us that she will just cook spaghetti and chicken for dinner.

Nanay is a family cook. Being a plain housewife, she cooks for her sisters who happens to live nearby. She lives with Mara, Abeth’s sister, who is still single but in a relationship right now. She’s a great lola to Andre. She takes care of Andre very well. Since we don’t want Andre to be left alone with her yaya, we bring Andre to her Lola’s house to take care of him whenever I have to go to the office, which is every Tuesday and Friday. She also cooks for our dinner every time I am not around. She used to wash and iron our clothes when I was pregnant kasi wala pa kami helper before. What a great help to us.

She is a great wife to Tatay, which I think is happy from where he is right now; a wonderful mother to Mara and Abeth; a nice mother-in-law (take note: magkasundo kami!); a great lola to Andre; a good sister to her siblings; a good daughter; and a person with a big heart.

To Nanay Beth, I want to thank you for raising up a good son, which happens to be my husband. For without you, I won’t be able to marry a wonderful husband and a loving father. Thank you for raising up a good man, which I owe that to you. May you have a longer and healthier life to see all your grandchildren grow. Happy birthday Nanay Beth! We love you! Mwah!

I baked the cake for her…I’ll post the recipe later….Ciao!

What is a Gestational Diabetes? It is a type of diabetes that starts during pregnancy. It usually begins between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. Most often, gestational diabetes goes away after giving birth.

With a strong family history of diabetes, because my father has it, makes me feel afraid of having it too, especial during pregnancy. There is a big possibility of having it. Actually, one of my sisters is currently suffering from it. She had it during her first baby, and now on her second.

Having a gestational diabetes is not easy. It can be unhealthy for you and your baby. Your baby may have a low blood sugar level or jaundice, or your baby may weigh much more than is normal. The mother may have a more difficult delivery or may need a C-section. The mother needs to have a special diet, limited carbohydrates and sugar intake. Rice, bread, pasta, cakes, and pastries are a NO NO.

My sister has to prick her fingers three times a day to get blood samples for her daily blood sugar monitoring. The doctor even advised her to take insulin to control her sugar level. Kawawa naman si sister. I’m glad I did not suffer from it on my first pregnancy. I hope I won’t suffer from it on my second.

One of the most common risks for developing gestational diabetes is obesity with BMI greater than 29. Gaining so much weight during my first pregnancy, made me decide to start losing weight for my next. I should start as early as now to prevent having this type of diabetes. It is really harmful to the baby. It can only be treated by changing your meal plan, exercise, and insulin.

I just hope no mother will suffer from it too. So let’s start having a healthy living to prevent the chances of having this type of illness that both the mother and the baby might suffer.

For the patola soup, I prepared the bola-bola by mixing ground porkloin, shrimp (shelled and minced), minced onion, kinchay, egg, grated carrots, and salt and pepper. I divided the mixture into two, one for the bola and the other for siomai. Firstly, I sauteed garlic and onion, then added chicken or pork stock. I let it boil then dropped the bola-bola. When the bola-bola is cooked (for about 5 min), I added the patola, misua, and put some spring onions and diced carrots to give the soup some color.

For the second half of the mixture, which I used for siomai, I wrapped it in a molo wrapper. Inspired by “Pao-Tsin” (my hubby’s favorite), I fried the siomai. Served the siomai with fried garlic, fried chili, and toyo-mansi.

For last week’s dessert, I baked the magic bar and nutty choco fudge. It both tasted good and were easy to do! Though the magic bar wasn’t that perfect because the bottom part crumbled, it still tasted good, sticky and not too sweet. For the nutty choco fudge, hubby loved it because of its moistness that melts in your mouth…mmmmm….i can’t wait to have another bite….mmmm

The onion rings and calamares were also a success. It’s my first time to cook onion rings, and boy, it was perfect! The mayo garlic dip I made also tasted good. You’ll need 1/2 c mayonnaise, 2 tsp vinegar or lemon, water, lots of minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Just mix all of it and add enough water until you get the desired consistency.

Haaay, i think that’s it for now.