Filipino Chicken Curry

FILIPINO CHICKEN CURRY

8-10 pcs. chicken (I prefer dark meat - juicier and tastier)

1 large potato cubed or several small ones halved or quartered to bite-sized pcs

1 onion chopped

1-2 cans coconut milk (depends how much sauce you want and how creamy you like it - I used coconut cream powder)

curry powder (depends how you like your curry, I used about 6 tbsps)

1/3 head of cabbage chopped

 Saute onion in a bit of oil

 Add chicken. Pour in water, enough to cover chicken. Boil for 45 mins.

 Add coconut milk (or powder), potatoes, cabbage. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with rice (or I bet you can eat this like stew with some bread too!)

Leche Flan

We hosted a potluck dinner with another couple and their baby last night. At first, I was going to try this recipe I came across two weeks ago for a tomato curry and coconut rice. But somehow, I just didn't feel like making those. I was a bit panicked, not sure what to make... then I got a craving for one of my favourite Filipino dessert - leche flan! How about for a main dish? Since Sean loves curry chicken, and I've never made the Filipino version of chicken curry for him, I decided to make that.

I had a pretty good idea on how to make these, but had to make a call to my cousin before I started cooking, just to confirm... and had to make a couple more calls while I cooked for additional guidance. =)

Below is the recipe for the dessert. The recipe for the curry will be on a separate post.

LECHE FLAN

 

 6 eggs

1 large can evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

sugar (brown or white)

1 tsp vanilla extract

water

 

 Caramelize sugar by heating it on low in a saucepan and adding some water. Amount of sugar depends on how much caramel sauce you like. I used about 1 cup. I started with about 1/4 cup water, then added more as needed until I got the consistency I wanted - thick but fluid. Keep your eye on this as the sugar can burn easily.

In a bowl, mix eggs, evaporated milk, condensed milk and vanilla extract.

Once caramel is ready, pour to make a thin layer (or thick - it all depends on how much of this stuff you want to eat your flan with!) in the bottom of the container/s for the flan. Choose containers that would fit into whatever you use to steam.

Steam for 20 minutes and check. Check by poking a toothpick or a small knife into the flan. If it comes out clean, it's ready! If not, it needs to steam some more.

Slide a knife around the sides of the flan, place a plate face down over the container and flip upside down. Flan should slide down with the caramel sauce on top. Serve and enjoy!

OMG! It was caramel-y goodness!! Disclaimer - this is not exactly good for you with all the sugar involved... but it tastes so good! It was pretty easy to make and very few ingredients needed as well! I'm not sure why I always wait until I visit my cousin and request for him to make this in order to enjoy it! Looks like there will be more leche flan in my future! I have 2 more containers sitting in the refrigerator... sooo good with coffee! Looking forward to my afternoon coffee tomorrow, yum! =)

Going Gourmet for Maddi

When Maddi started eating solids, she was a pretty adventurous eater. She pretty much tried whatever we offered. Lately, however, she has been really picky. The last few days, she wouldn't eat anything but mandarin oranges.

So I pulled out my Williams-Sonoma baby & toddler cookbook and decided to step it up a notch in my offerings. I made cheesy pasta with broccoli & mini salmon cakes for dinner last night. This was what her plate looked like...

I was really excited to serve it, only to be rejected by tightly shut lips... which only opened for mandarin oranges. Really, kid?!

Maybe it's just a phase... because tonight, she ate one and a half of those mini salmon cakes for dinner! Yay, my efforts weren't for naught!

If you want the recipe, here it is:

MINI SALMON CAKES

by Williams-Sonoma

 

1 pc whole grain bread processed into fine crumbs in a food processor
1 small pc. boneless & skinless salmon filet finely chopped
1 egg loosely beaten
1 tbp lemon juice
1 stalk green onion finely chopped
1 tbp olive oil (or as needed) for frying
salt to taste

 

combine bread, salmon, egg, lemon juice, green onion and salt

divide into eight equal portions and fashion into small patties with your hands

heat oil over medium heat; fry one side for 3 minutes, flip and fry the other side for another 2-3 minutes or until cooked through and outside is golden brown
 

you can serve with sauce by combining plain yogurt, dijon mustard, finely chopped green onions and some lemon juice

Maddi Hug 2

Remember this photo when Maddi was a mere 20 days old? It is one of my all time favourites, just love it!

With all of the traveling we did last year, it was hard to keep up with taking pictures & blogging daily... so I didn't blog at all for almost a year, haha! I guess I'm an all or nothing girl =P

Trust me, we have tons of photos, but most of them are taken from our phones since lugging around the big SLR was not as easy as pre-baby days. I won't be blogging daily, but will attempt to at least be somewhat consistent. Looking at the old photos and reading past posts definitely made me glad I documented a lot of Maddi's first few months.

Maddi is now almost 14 and a half months old, sleeps in her crib overnight and for most naps. We sleep trained a few months ago but she still needed me to sit beside her crib and hold her hand until she falls asleep. A few days ago, I decided to start just putting her in the crib, kiss her goodnight and walk away. She cried a few minutes and eventually went to sleep on her own. Last night, she actually fell asleep within a minute.

Tonight, however, she stuck her hand out between the slats on her crib wanting me to hold it. How can I say no? My thought: it is definitely a lot more convenient for me to be able to just walk away when I put her to bed, but she will not always want me to hold her hand to sleep. The day will come when she will grow up and be independent, perhaps one day she won't even want to hold my hand at all. Let me just slow time down tonight and hold her hand.

As she tried to sleep, I examined her face. I can still see traces of how she looked as a newborn... her rosebud lips, and how she would suck her lower lip in sometimes, her gorgeous almond-shaped eyes that make her look more Asian when they're closed, her button nose and her baby cheeks that are so pinchable despite being so petite. Words can't describe how much I love this little person.

After 15 minutes, she sat up. For some reason, she still had a hard time falling asleep. She wasn't crying, just wasn't sleeping. So I picked her up and just held her. How I've missed cuddling her to sleep like I did those first few months. She is definitely heavier, but she fit perfectly in my arms and her head on my shoulder like she did when she was a lot smaller.

I started crying. I am plagued by something that I was told in my Bazu reading (a Chinese birth chart energy reading) that my relationship with my child will be challenged. This feels so perfect, Maddi and I have been so close... I can't accept that it will one day change and I won't be able to enjoy being so close to her. My heart broke a little just thinking about it, crying while rocking her and singing her our song to help her fall asleep.

As parents, we are so good at capturing our children's firsts... but we often don't notice the lasts. One day, it will be the last time she needs me to sit beside her crib and hold her hand to fall asleep, and I won't know until it is long gone. Not to say that I will never get frustrated when she takes forever to fall asleep in the future; but tonight, I found a reason to not rush, to slow time down, to just cherish the present and savour every moment.

When Maddi finally fell asleep in my arms, I asked Sean to take another photo of us... just like he did when she was 20 days old. It's a new addition to my favourite photos of all time.

Here's hoping that a mother's heart is powerful enough to change fate... but if not, then at least I have a great reminder to always cherish and make the best of every moment with this beautiful child.

Blame It On The Genius

Amidst a low and dark time in my life, I happened upon my passion for photography. Almost six years later, I find myself making the nerve-racking leap to not only pursue a career as an artist, but to also forgo the securities of a job and venturing into the world of entrepreneurship.

Some people are really creative, their process almost paranormal. Some people are really smart and have a good hold on how to tread through the rest of their lives. I am neither.

I once took a left-brain vs right-brain test and I registered as 47% left-brained and 53% right-brained. A bit of a right brain dominance, but not by much at all... I would say the test is bang on. Being almost as logical, realistic and analytical as I am creative, fantastical and free-spirited has definitely been a blessing at times; yet it has also been a source of much frustration. It often leaves me feeling like I may be good at many things but not excellent at any one thing.

I have gotten so much support and encouragement from family and friends, even strangers. Yet some days, I am just ridden with self doubt. I know the saying "I am my own worst critic" way too well. The voices in my head can really put a damper on my confidence.

For years, I have let these frustrations and insecurities hold me back from taking the plunge. A full time job, school and the general busy-ness of life competed for time and energy. Fear of failure paralyzed me and what seemed like an irresponsible decision of possibly putting our finances in jeopardy by becoming self-employed laid on the guilt for pursuing my dreams.

Becoming pregnant a couple of years ago was great news in more ways than just the obvious. Right away, I thought that being on maternity leave would be my opportunity to plan for a career switch. However, nine months into the leave, I haven't done anything. I can't believe I was actually considering going back to work! Somehow, that just felt wrong.

I may be really late at starting what I should have months ago, but there really was no other choice... not if I were to be true to myself, and be able to look Maddi in the eye when one day, I tell her to follow her dreams because she can do whatever she sets her mind to.

Taking this leap definitely makes me tremendously excited, but I'm also scared shitless! So how to cope with the negative chatter in my head and the pressure?

I heard Elizabeth Gilbert on a TED Talk shortly after her worldwide bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love came out and propelled her onto the world stage. She shared that prior to the renaissance, people believed that artists had geniuses that lived within their studios and collaborated with them to produce their art.

It is not the most scientific approach for the 21st century, but it does create that safe distance which protects the artist. Artists were protected from an inflated ego because they can't take full credit for brilliant work, since everybody knew they had the help of a genius. On the other hand, producing crappy work wasn't entirely their fault either because everybody knew their genius was a bit lame.

I need to keep reminding myself that I just need to keep showing up for my part of the job. I know it'll take time before my craft catches up to my taste. Until then, just blame it on the genius and keep giving it everything I've got.

‘Ole!’ to you, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert