Fear of Yeast …. gone!

07/22/202007/23/2020 | Doyd

I’ve always wondered how to bake bread but I am a coward in terms of handling yeast. I have cooked many kinds of meals from different cultures but when it comes to using yeast, I am always intimidated. Why, you ask? I guess it’s because I never really saw how bread was made when I was young. It’s only now that we have YouTube, eBooks, Pinterest, etc. that I learned and discovered the many ways to prepare food and this trained me to cook better.

Many years have gone but it’s only now in 2020 that I realized I wanted to try again and learn to bake bread. The COVID-19 Pandemic was actually the primary reason why I explored new ideas at home while on stay-at-home order and I courageously faced my fear (from yeast…. yes, instant yeast).

Back in March 2020, my first ever try was to make a pizza dough for my family. During the start of the COVID pandemic, I wanted to do fun things with my children and I knew that if they made their own pizzas, they would be super excited. It was a success! I usually research online for recipes and watch YouTube videos on how other people make it. Then I write down my own measurements and ingredient preferences. After which I try to make it myself.

My first pizza dough plus each family member’s pizza creation

This is the story of how I faced my fear. From that day on, March of 2020, we never had store-bought bread at home. I tried many types of bread recipes and I will share them to you on my next posts.

To all those who haven’t tried baking, try it! Baking our own whole grain bread is actually one of the greatest things that happened to our family. We used to all love to eat white bread. But now, all of us eat whole grain all the time. I still bake special treats for my family of course. That is part of eating healthy, rewarding ourselves with treats. Treats that I made myself knowing that I only use the healthier ingredients.

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use pink Himalayan salt)
1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Procedure:

Using a stand mixer, mix the flour, salt and yeast. On low speed setting using the paddle attachment, start mixing the dry ingredients then add the water. Mix until the dough forms. Transfer the dough to a large bowl drizzled with olive oil. Make sure to coat the dough in oil, knead a little bit and form into a round dough. Cover with plastic wrap and proof for 2-4 hours at room temperature (I always use my proofing oven to be precise).

After rising, you can use the dough immediately and prepare to shape into pizza sizes that you prefer or you can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (make sure to rest the dough at room temperature before using).

This recipe is enough to make 4, 8-10 inch pizzas just like what we did. Bake your pizza at 450°F for 7-12 minutes depending on how big/small, thick/thin your pizza will be. Sometimes, I pre-bake the flattened pizza dough for 5 minutes, then add my toppings and bake it for another 5-7 minutes. It really depends on your preference.

I am planning to make some dough tonight and keep it for tomorrow’s Friday night pizza. What’s your plan?

‘Til my next post…. If you enjoyed reading, please like my post and thanks for reading.

Maíz con hielo (Corn with Ice) at Manila Sunset, National City California

06/01/201506/01/2015 | Doyd

Maíz con hielo is a cold, sweet and refreshing desert snack in the Philippines. We used to make these a lot during the hot and humid summer months when we had no school. It’s a very economical treat and it’s very easy to make even minors can do it themselves (except for opening a canned corn, they will need assistance from a grown-up)

The picture shown on my blog is a special version of Maíz con hielo. I ordered this from a small Filipino restaurant in National City and their version includes a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a small chunk of Leche Flan (Filipino Custard). Really, when you want to make this, you don’t need these special ingredients.

Maiz con Hielo with Vanilla Ice cream and custard

Here’s the recipe for Maiz con Hielo

Ingredients:

Canned sweet corn (Whole Kernel or Creamed Style)
Shaved Ice
White sugar
Evaporated Milk (or any milk available)…

Procedure:

In a large glass, put as much canned sweet corn that you like. i usually put 1/4 cup or a little bit more. Then add the shaved ice, sugar (depending on how sweet you want it to be) and milk. That’s it!!! Mix it well before enjoying. You can add any special ingredients like sweetened fruits, nuts, granola, ice cream, etc.

Easy right? I hope you can make some and show me some pictures of what you made. I will make some for my children tomorrow, they love it!

By the way, because we were in a Filipino restaurant, we ordered other delicacies like the Bibingka (Charcoal steamed Rice Cake) and Fresh Lumpiang Ubod (Egg roll Crepe with Palm Hearts and vegetables).

Bibingka (Charcoal Steamed Filipino Rice Cake with salty cheese, sugar and freshly grated coconut

Lumpiang Ubod (Fresh Crepe rolled Palm Hearts and mixed vegetables topped with sweet sauce, peanuts, garlic…

More vegetables please Mommy!!!! (Buchujeon)

05/06/201002/25/2015 | Doyd

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I can’t believe it myself but you’re reading it right. My title says “more vegetables please Mommy!” My daughter is an addict! She loves this recipe so much she can’t get enough and will even ask for more and not leave anything for her Dad.

This is Maangchi’s Korean Vegetable Pancake recipe called Buchujeon in Korean. You can see her recipe at her website but as always, I give my version a personal touch.

Here’s what I do:

INGREDIENTS:

Small Korean Zucchini (or italian zucchini)

5-8 Stalks of Green Onions

1 Korean Chili (I use this because it’s not hot/spicy – good for kid-friendly recipes)

1 Egg

A piece of small Carrot

3 Garlic cloves

Fresh Oysters (optional: or shrimp and try scallops)

Chop and julienne the carrots and zucchini. Add in the thinly chopped green onions and korean chili. In a separate bowl, mix in 1/2 cup flour, salt and 2/3 cup water or sometimes I use a store-bought korean vegetable pancake mix and follow the package instructions.

Chopped vegetables should be around 3 cups. Mix the vegetables with the batter and mix it up with your hands to spread evenly.Chop 3-6 pieces of fresh oysters and set aside.

In a big heated non-stick pan, put some olive oil and spread the vegetable pancake mixture. Put your heat to medium. Top the raw side of the cooking pancake with fresh oysters and one beaten egg. Wait about 5-8 minutes before flipping the pancake.

After 8 minutes, flip the pancake and add more olive oil (if needed) to make it crunchy (a cooking tip from Maangchi). Press the pancake down with a spatula and check once in a while to see if it’s getting cooked the way you want it to be.

My secret dipping sauce that really makes my daughter eat this pancake a lot is a mixture of 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoon of light soy sauce and a pack of splenda. You can use sugar if you want but I don’t have that in my pantry 🙂

Use other vegetables if you want to explore it! I’ve tried, sweet potato with green onions, chives and red peppers, I even tried bean sprouts with oysters as suggested by my husband.

Enjoy and let me know about your version!