Anyone Likes Ube or Purple Yam?

(This is my home-baked Ube Cake)

"That is a beautiful purple color! Does it use artificial coloring?" I often hear these comments (from people who don't know) when they see pastries made of ube. They are usually surprised when told that it is the inherent color of the tuberous root crop.

Ube or purple yam is a crop that is grown for its enlarged roots like potatoes. Ube is sometimes confused with the purple sweet potatoes but they are two different kinds. Ube has a darker brown and rougher peeling while the purple sweet potatoes has a lighter brown and smoother skin.

Purple yam is a common staple in the Philippines. Filipinos use it mostly for making tasty desserts. They use it as a jam, an ingredient for cakes, and other delicious pastries. You can also make it into ice cream. In every Filipino gathering, you will see one or more menu made of ube.

Ube is one of my favorite flavors. I've always loved ube ice creams, cakes, and anything with ube in it. In my opinion, its taste is a blend of vanilla and almond flavors, some say also vanilla and pistachio. I guess it depends on the palate, lol. Anyway, if you want to find out its taste, try it out!

Dutch Baby Comfort Food for Winter

Delectable, delicious Dutch baby pancakes! Just thinking about it makes me do an alliteration, lol. Hot, boiling, and aromatic coffee paired with these fluffy, delish German pancakes while seating by the warm fireplace. Isn't it a wonderful thing  to start your cold winter day?

Tortilla Soup

9 oz. Bear Creek Tortilla Soup Mix
1 package Corn Tortilla, cut into strips(separate 1 cup and fry the rest)
8 cups water
12.5 oz.  can Hormel chicken breast or any leftover chicken meat
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsps. cooking oil

cilantro (optional)

PROCEDURE:
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
Whisk in the soup mix.
Lower heat to medium ,add the drained chicken breast pieces, and then simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Put the cup of tortilla strips in the soup. This will make the soup a little thicker.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and garnish with fried corn tortillas and cilantro.

Frying the corn tortilla:
Heat oil or butter in a skillet.
Then put the rest or remaining corn tortilla strips.
Toss and stir until golden brown.
Use as garnish for the tortilla soup.

My First-ever Blueberry Cheesecake!

Conquer your fears! That's the motto that came to my mind today after I've tasted my first-ever baked blueberry cheesecake. I've been wanting to bake a cheesecake for more than a year now, but my fear of not making it right stopped me from doing it before yesterday. All I could think of was that, what if I mess it up, the ingredients will be wasted. I have also the tendency to get discouraged right away, so if I don't make it right the first time chances are I won't be motivated to do it again. So I've planned to do it and then chickened out, so it was postponed and postponed until this week I decided to try it out, no matter what the outcome is.
So yesterday, I finally had the guts to do it. I researched on various sites on cheesecake recipes and got my cookbook to get some tips on how to bake a great cheesecake. I combined the different ideas I read and put it into fruition in my recipe.
Being a first-timer, I had some mishaps along the way,Lol! I forgot to grease the pan with a cooking spray before putting the crust mixture. I already tried pressing the crust on the pan when I read on my cookbook to at least spray the pan first so when you take out the crust it will be easy and the cake won't stick. So I have to take out the crust mixture from the pan and do it all over again. Sprayed the pan and then put the crust mixture and pressed it into the pan,voila! Done with the first part, a little problem but I'm learning along the way.
I was a little worried at first with my mixer because I have only a hand mixer. I didn't know if it could handle mixing a thick mixture like the cream cheese. Because I remembered with my previous hand mixer it overheated,LOL! Well what did I expect with a $10 dollar mixer,lol. Anyway, it fared well to my surprise, I guess becuase it has more power than the previous one,thank God. So another worry solved.
Everything went well with the cream cheese mixture and the crusy so I started baking it. I was so excited about it that I keep opening the oven. I was afraid it might get burnt. But later on I realized my mistake. Opening the oven a lot will make the top of the cake crack, from what I've read. Another lesson learned for a first timer, so I made a mental note to make
research on how to prevent cracks on my cheesecake next time. but it wasn't such a major issue though, I got lucky I was planning on a blueberry topping, so the topping covered the cracks. So my cheesecake seemed perfect to look at with the topping on it:-)
The hardest part in baking your cheesecake for the first time is the waiting. I had to wait overnight before I'll be able to know how my cheesecake taste like. the reason for the long wait is because I have to refrigerate the cheesecake first. But the wait was all worth it, my husband said. This morning when we tasted it, it was very good. It came out really well, was very creamy.I was so happy it turned out as I expected it to be. It may not be visually perfect but the taste was divine. It goes well with coffee!:-)
So I guess, I conquered my fear and made the right decision. And now I can't wait for my next cheesecake adventure!
Here are a couple of photos of my masterpiece. Enjoy!

Breakfast Idea: Leftover Chicken Fajitas with Pita Bread

Do you want an easy breakfast idea? If you have some leftover meat, like leftover roasted chicken, pork, or beef, make it into fajitas for breakfast. Saute it with sweet onions and sweet bell peppers then season it, you will have a fast and easy breakfast! Lay it in between folds of warm tortilla or in my case I used toasted pita bread.

My version is with a Filipino twist. Instead of using fajita seasoning, I just used soy sauce and a little vinegar, and of course salt and pepper! Salty with a little acidity. We love to drizzle it with a guacamole mild spicy sauce. Yum! Breakfast is ready.

Penne Alfredo with Roasted Garlic and Herb Chicken

Summer days are starting to let us feel its scorching heat. The desert is turning golden brown even more, with hints of green, and some flowers blooming here and there. You cannot get out and enjoy the heat of the sun longer or you'll get sunburn.

It was an overcast sky today which was a nice change from the very hot, hundred degree temperatures the last few days. We did not have to turn all the AC's the whole day. God is good!

Anyway, I can never choose between a very cold, icy winter or a very hot, fiery summer. So, I'd rather just be thankful I can experience both extremes, which tells me I am alive and living well! Thank God for the wonderful life whether it is hot or cold.

Because it was a wonderful day, it was also a great day to do some cooking! I made some penne pasta with homemade alfredo sauce. I also pan-grilled some chicken breasts which were seasoned with roasted garlic and herb. It was pretty easy and quick to make. Dinner was served with ice-cold cranberry juice. Time to eat!