Roller Coaster Diet

It has been a roller coaster experience when it comes to dieting. Not easy to do any kind of diet when my mind is full of ideas of what to cook. I know that I have to lose weight. I have been trying, not that I do not try at all, but I do not have the strong will power like my husband does. Yes he's a man and as you know they lose weight faster than women and he does have strong will power. We are on the same diet and I even started first. Within less than 2 months he had lost 34 lbs while me in almost 4 months was rewarded with 19 lbs. Yeah that's how fair diet life is.

I know I cheated. Here I am dwelling on the unfairness of the dieting reality. Reading on my friend's blog that she started, kind of fire me up tonight. I really have to stick to my diet and lose at least 50 lbs. Though this blog called Tastilicious, I can stir it around to make a tastilicious food that goes with my diet. And as a journal of my weight loss also. That's probably what I am going to do from now.

I am telling you now that's what I want to do even though this image of mango cupcake I am thinking to create and make is floating in my mind as I type. We shall see who's the boss. My will power of the mango cupcake!

If I keep typing, I bet the will power will win but if I stop... I am not sure who will win. It's not easy isn't it? You really have to want it badly. And I do! I think I do..I dooooooooooooooooooo!

Chocoffee Cake with Coffee buttercream

This image of chocolate coffee cake with the chocolate covered coffee bean has been floating around my mind since couple weeks ago. I just could not get rid of it. I think it is all because it's not part of this diet and therefore I am craving and keep imagining stuffs that I can't have. *sigh*..

I woke up this morning knowing that we are going to go to my mother in laws house who loves sweets, and going to look for a car which not gonna be fun, decided to whip something quick. Found a box of devil's food cake and decided to make my own creation with some coffee involves. Put in the whole box, add a box of butterscotch instant pudding, 4 eggs, vegetable oil probably like around 1/2 cups and water for 1 1/4 cups. What about the coffee? I mixed 3 tablespoons of instant coffee with the water and dumped everything in a bowl and mix them.

Another thing that help me decided on making this was because I went to World Market yesterday and found cute little bundt cake pans, mini loaf pans, cookie cutter and so on. It's a good timing, now I can try using my mini bundt pan.

Pour the batter in the greased and floured bundt pan, and put Hershey kisses inside the batter and baked them for 20 minutes. Now it's time to think about the butter cream, I thought while the cake is baking. Open my magic pantry and grab the can of vanilla butter cream. Mix 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules with 2 tablespoons water and whip them up until the mixture is incorporated. Put them in a plastic bag ready for decorating and set aside in the fridge. Once the cake is ready, let it cool before decorate them with the icing.

It turned out pretty good. Next time I will add more coffee on both the cake and the cream..but it was great. Love the consistency of the butter cream and the taste. Adding the bitterness of the coffee helps to reduce the sweetness of the icing. Perfect to splurge a little with a cup of hot tea or coffee. And after dealing with car salesmen I think we all deserve a little pampering don't we?

Siu Yuk a.k.a Babi panggang garing a.k.a Chinese Style Roasted Pork

I have been thinking about making this Chinese style Barbecue Pork a.k.a Siu Yuk or Babi panggang garing. Some of you probably say why not buy it at the store. Yes I know I could go to the Chinese barbecue place around here and grab one ready. It's not that easy, I have gone 2 times at a different place and different times and they were all sold out. They do have the Char Siu or the Sweet barbecue pork but not the crispy ones.

So I decided after researching on the Internet for the one that I think the best recipe, I went ahead and try it.
It's not as hard as I thought it would be.

First you have to clean the pork belly skin by scraping it with the sharp part of you knife. rinse with water. Then Put it down on your kitchen sink on a rack, skin side up and pour in boiling water. The side of the pork will turn white.
 This is after blanching the pork skin with boiling water.
Then poking the skin,   It's kinda fun doing this part. After done with poking them you have to flip it resting on its skin then slicing the meat part 1/4" deep and you can do 1/2" wide or 1" , I did around 1/2" wide.

Mix the marinade in a little bowl: five spices, garlic chopped but I think next time I will grated the garlic, salt, pepper, Chinese rice cooking wine. Pour it on the meat part and rub it in but not the skin area.

Then flip it down on a plate (skin side up) and wrap with plastic wrap. Let it sit in the fridge for overnight. The next day take it out and let it sit in room temperature for 20-30 minutes prior to roasting. Here is how to roast them, First glaze some vinegar on the skin, sprinkle a little sea salt on it, then put the meat on a rack with boiling water underneath, skin side down on a preheated 400 degree oven. Roast for 25 minutes then take them out, flip it, skin side up now, poke the skin again, then back in the oven, roast for another 30 minutes. If you see the skin is still soft and not cracking, use the broiler to boost it up.

The cracking sound when I sliced them up..it's worth the wait. It's perfect not too salty, crunchy skins, not too much fat. Simply perfection. Then I decided to boil few pieces of dark meat chicken, egg in soy sauce, and won ton..you got that right noodle with those siu yuk with boiled chicken and egg and won ton..garnish with chopped green onion and of course my spicy home made sambal for me. Taste like home..

I told my sisters about me making Siu Yuk at home.the next thing I know my mom send text message saying that she was amazed that her daughter can make Siu Yuk, something that she never make. Well back home we never run out of Siu Yuk, you can buy them anytime and never sold out. Why bother making them..well after this time I think I can say do make it at home. It taste much better!

Special Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I baked and brought to work and of course my husband's office mates got some too, Peanut butter cupcakes. Wonderful recipe! As usual when my son sees me cooking he will show a little enthusiasm for a little bit. He wants to help and of course I let him. So I give him a very important responsibility to unwrap the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and stuck them in the batter as I pour it on the muffin tin. He did good, no mess, all perfect. Put them in the oven, baked. He wanted to have them for breakfast but he can't take it to school. They have the "NO NUTS" policy at school. So I told him he can have them as his dessert after dinner that day. Took some to work and my husband got his part.

I was and still am on a diet but this craving for sweets is just way too strong. I made those goodies and I can't even eat them...heck I cheated. Not so proud of myself, but I need to know! What do I have to do?

Went to lunch with dear husband, and asked him if anybody say anything about the cupcakes. He said they like them, they said it's good. Even make the temptation to try one of them escalated. Back to my office, made a special trip to the kitchen. And I grabbed one. Feel really bad that I knew that I am about to cheat and the curiosity was equally intense. As my mouth opened and my teeth landed on the cupcakes, I felt something weird, paper! Took them out. Oh em gee..the paper cups from the Reese's peanut butter in the cupcake. So I guess my little assistant unwrapped the wrapper but not the paper cups.

Immediately I emailed my husband and my office mates, apologizing for those who ate the cupcakes. They are all laughed and said "but it's still very good".

On the way home after we picked up my Lil assistant, I told him what happened with the cupcakes. I said apparently we forgot to took that paper cups off from the peanut butter cups. My 4 years old assistant replied: Mom, I asked you last night like 5 times, what are we going to do with the paper and you did not answer me!

My husband could not stop laughing! I was so embarrassed..all along it's my error. Lesson to learn, better start listening to my assistant lol.

Pumpkins in the air

I am not a fan of pumpkin before I tried a pumpkin roll cake with cream cheese that my co-worker made for Thanksgiving last year at work. It was soft, moist and the creaminess of the cream cheese was oh so good. She is a baker, a good baker while me..not so much. So here I am with Halloween just passed and Thanksgiving around the corner, the weather dropping, and I found myself brought home half a dozen cans of pumpkin puree from the store.

I did made the pumpkin rolls with cream cheese last year for Christmas. It was worth the trouble. There's also a pumpkin bread that to my surprised my son could not stay away from it. I had the loaf of pumpkin bread on top of my stove one night, trying to let it cool a little bit before I slice them, only to found that he had dug some of it since he could not wait until it's cool and mommy sliced them. That's how good it was!

Pumpkin is in the air again for the second time in our house. After those half dozen cans of pumpkin puree I brought home, I have made pumpkin whoopies or moon pies. Did not know that lots of people are not familiar with whoopies. Moon pies are more popular. I read in one of the site that it was all started with the Amish, when the kids find moon pies in their lunch box they will get happy and scream : Whoopie!  and so there was how it then has a nick name of whoopies. Mine did not turn out perfect, shape wise, it's not flat like I want it to be. It does taste great though..that's what matter right? :)

I sent my husband to work with a tupperware full of these pumpkin whoopies, he said they were gone in 20 second. His co-worker emailed and thank me to those goodies and some of them ask for the recipes.

Then there's a pumpkin kisses cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. A very light and moist pumpkin cupcakes filled with kisses (Hershey kisses)  topped with  Cream Cheese frosting. One of his co-worker who does not like pumpkin, loves them. Did not make some for my co-workers, so I made more the next day for them. 

Love baking these goodies as the whole house smells so good. Each recipe uses about half cans of the pumpkin puree, left me with less than a half pumpkin puree. Hates to waste good stuffs, I was already laid on my bed with my son and decided to got up and search for stuffs in the fridge and pantry. All set, got all I needed to make bread pudding, which I add my leftovers pumpkin puree. I grabbed my leftovers home made whole wheat raisins bread and hawaiian rolls, cut them up and drizzled with melted butter. While I was whisking the egg, milk and sugar, and the good ol pumpkin puree and of course vanilla and pumpkin spices, my son got busy with the raisins and he came up with this idea of using hershey kisses, his treasures from trick or treater. The bread turned out really good, the color is so pumpkinish..orangish. My boss' wife had to stopped by in my office to tell me how good it was, so did my husband's co-workers. Even my 4 years old loves them. Such a wonderful pumpkin goodies!