It’s almost that time of the year again…

Mother's Day, for me this is one of the special days of the year since we are reminded of how we owe our moms gratitude for all the care and love that they blessed us… aww!... but I want to be honest, I like it too because I’m a mom and I get to take a break from all the chores for the entire day!!!  Thinking about it made me excited that I came up with some decorated cupcakes for Mother’s day.  I hope you’ll enjoy looking at them as much as I did making them.  Here they are:

·         Hats, bags, rings and flowers are made of fondant and accents are pink and silver dragees.   

Where to find fondant? 

·         At your local craft store

Dragees?

·         I got the silver dragees from Kitchen Krafts online and the pink ones are from the Philippines.  

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

 

Mooyah-2-know!

Non-vegetarians and vegetarians are very much welcome to this place.  It’s my first time to eat at Mooyah Burgers and Fries today.  My husband told me about this place since Mooyah sometimes cater their lunch at work and he said that they’re good, kinda taste like IN–N-OUT, and we love that place, so once I heard that, I felt the urge to try and see for myself.  I am obviously not a vegetarian but I choose to eat vegetables whenever I can.  When I saw the menu at Mooyah, I got really excited because they have black bean veggie patty!  I of course ordered that with grilled onions, Mooyah special sauce (which I think is also similar to creamy Thousand Island dressing or In-N-Out’s Animal-Style Fries dressing) and Swiss cheese.   Let’s not forget about the fries by the way, they are a-okay because since they are considered seasoned-fries, I think they need a little bit more salt but that’s just ‘cause I like my fries salty.  As for their cheeseburger, I took a bite of it, their burgers are good too but I still think In-N-Out’s better.  Now, let me tell you about their veggie burger, although they should be known for their all beef-never frozen patties, they should be proud of their veggie burger the more!  I believe it’s the best veggie patty I’ve ever had in my life.  It’s like Morning Star no meat burger patty on steroids!  (No disrespect to Morning Star because, I still think they’re good).    The corn kernels on the patty adds a little sweetness to it, it’s juicy (surprisingly more than their regular burgers), smells good and definitely Mooyahmmy! 

Where to find Mooyah?

·         In Texas… Heehaw!!! J

Price?

·         Starts at $4.99

*If you are surprised to learn that In-N-Out has Animal-Style fries… all you need to do is ask and they’ll make it for you J

Say it with me… A-ROZ-CAL-DO!  (Arrozcaldo)

My idea of dinner this evening is to pan fry some salmon seasoned with salt, pepper,  garlic powder with a little bit of olive oil and butter and of course some sautéed green beans on the side but when I talked my husband this afternoon, he didn’t sound very good.  I know he’s not feeling well and I was right because he was at the doctor’s clinic when I called.  Before I went home I decided to buy chicken thighs because I’m pretty sure that salmon won’t be appealing to someone who’s sick.  My mom used to cook this chicken rice porridge for us when we are not feeling well so I thought I’d make it for my husband with his approval of course and I’m happy to say that he loved it.  If you want to try it, it’s really very simple so I thought I’d share this recipe with you…

Ima’s Arozcaldo:

3 tbsps canola/olive oil

1 small onion

2 tbsps of chopped garlic  

Pinch of Saffron

8 pcs. chicken thighs (whatever part of chicken you like)

2 cups of uncooked rice  

1 large box of vegetable stock/chicken stock

Ginger (it depends how strong you like it…this is important to remove the funky taste of chicken),

Salt and Pepper

Fish Sauce (optional)

Lemon

¼ cup crunchy fried garlic

Chopped green onions

Place the pot in medium heat, add oil and onions once they are translucent then add garlic.  Once the chopped garlic turns light brown add the chicken.  Let the chicken brown then add rice, saffron, ginger and stock then cover the pot.  Let it boil/cook until rice is cooked; make sure that the porridge is not too thick in consistency.  If so, just add more water or if you have extra stock that’s even better.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Before serving add chopped green onions, fried garlic on top and a wedge of lemon on the side.  You can serve it with fish sauce too if you like.  

*Many people are allergic to fish sauce so it’s safer to ask first.

*You may also add some hardboiled eggs if you want an extra topping.

*This doesn’t guarantee that you will feel better but I’m pretty sure if you eat it, take your medicine and get some rest… you will.  :)

Where to find fish sauce:

*In some major grocery stores they have it but you’ll have more chance of getting one in an Asian store of course.  

*Arozcaldo by the way means hot rice.  

*Arozcaldo or Arrozcaldo doesn't really matter to me... they both sound good.  

Hope you like it!  

 

I made some very common and simple cupcakes for Easter that I shared with my friends and co-workers. I must say though that… this is my version of semi-homemade, I was able to finish all these cupcakes in less than 2 hours. I used Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix, I normally like to bake my cake from scratch but this is a full proof mix, I really like it compared to others so I don’t mind using it when I’m in a rush but I know you might think that with all the mix-ins why not just do it from scratch, it’s just because I don’t want to sift cake flour and wash extra dishes, just cutting corners.. Also, I believe that it doesn’t matter if you use a cake mix as long as you make your icing from scratch. I always make Swiss meringue buttercream. (I got my recipe from Martha Stewart).

For the decos:

· M&M Easter Eggs (Speck-tacular)

· Purple, Pink, Blue Peeps Marshmallows

· Buttercream icing (thanks, Martha Stewart… I really love this icing!... to get the recipe please check her website and here’s what you type in the search field “Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Cupcakes”)

* I do not have the prices this time but I'm pretty sure they are all on sale now since it's already Easter.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!