Bro Jojo's Birthday

The Birthday Cake

 March 5, 2012. MONDAY is the start of work week, and the 21st birthday of my little brother Jojo, who is now onboard for work. He made a call just in time for dinner and we sang a birthday song to him, we MISS him. We celebrated his birthday at home with favorite dishes served at MO2 Restobar and Grillers Oysters and Carlo's Bakeshop: selection of food made by Mom, my little bros Jaja and Jhaz and me. Here are the dishes served during dinner:

Baked Oysters of GRILLERS OYSTER HOUSE

Oysters/Talaba   is steamed and then baked with a coated with a creamy cheesy sweet  substance . My FAVORITE!

P 78.00

Spicy Bulalo of MO2 Restobar

This  is a different version of the classic bulalo  because  milk is added  for a creamy and tasty feel and fresh peppers for spicy  appeal.

P 160.00

Chicken Skin by MO2 Restobar

This dish is Jhaz' favorite, he is a chicken skin lover and already satisfied if he found one on the table. Crispy and chewy with a a spicy vinegar for dipping.

P 85.00

Pinoy Paella by MO2 Restobar

A favorite of Mom, every time we visit MO2 she never fails to order this dish. This is a yellow rice, not sticky, with seafood mix including crabs, shrimps, fish fillet and calamari. 

P 170.00

Spicy Gambas by MO2 Restobar

This is a traditional sizzling gambas in mouthwatering spicy pepper sauce with lots of fresh garlic and peppers mixed on it.

P 120.00

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Hawaiian Pizza by Pizza Hut

During our dinner, this served as the side dish, but none of us took a slice of it. I brought 3 slices of this at work the next day.hehehe

Mocha Crunch by Carlo's Bakeshop

The cake is a flavored chiffon  with some nuts and crushed biscuits layered in a butter icing.

Nothing fancy about this cake.hehe  

P 420.00

THE BIRTHDAY BOY ONBOARD MV CORRAL STAR

Doughnuts on a Lazy Day

Sugar glazed dougnuts

March 4, 2012, Sunday. It's family day, Sunday is about getting lazy all day, doing nothing, but it is the best time to bond with our families and loved ones. It is also a day to most Filipinos to praise and worship our Lord, a must do especially in our family. I started my Sunday with a call from my love (as always), a hearty breakfast and a Holy Mass. The homily was about carrying our own crosses as we get through life, some are big, some are small, some are black, some are white, and its up us to carry it and get a lesson out of it. These crosses God gave us has reasons and God gave these to us because He know that we can rise above it. One example is this: we complain that we have no enough shoes, but we don't think of people who doesn't have a foot or a leg , for that reason alone, we must be grateful for what we have. This homily exemplifies the reason in every pain or heartbreak we encounter, that at the end of the day, we have a GOD that is always there for us. After the mass, of course, we took our lunch and while watching TV, I've decided to spend the Sunday productively, I made doughnuts for merienda, with ingredients found in the kitchen.  Yehey!
Please see below the ingredients, procedure and the finished product.

Step by step process

INGREDIENTS
For the doughnut
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 medium size eggs
2 tsp baking soda/yeast
1 tsp salt
For the glaze
1/4 cup fresh milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
PROCEDURE
Doughnut
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, salt and 1 tsp of sugar.
2. Add on the yeast, 2 cups of flour, eggs and the remaining sugar. Stir in one direction only until sticky.
3. Gradually add the remaining 4 cups of flour in the mixture and knead it at least 5 minutes.
4. Set aside the dough and let it rise for a least 1 hour.
5. After an hour, knead the dough and flatten it using a rolling pin. Cut round molds on the dough and set aside to rise. Make round holes on the center for the shape of the doughnut.
5. In a frying pan, put an ample amount of oil for deep frying in medium heat. Fry donuts leaving each side brown and turning the other side for parity.
6. Dip the fried doughnuts in the glaze and place it on a rack to settle.
Glaze
1. In a saucepan of medium heat, combine milk and vanilla, put into boil and add the powdered sugar.
2. Stir gradually in one direction and set aside.