RECIPE: Creamy Beef and Mushroom

My husband loves beef dishes, so I came up with this one.

I'm not claiming ownership of this recipe but I didn't learn this anywhere either. This is very similar to how I do white sauces for pasta, I just replaced the ground beef with chunky ones.

The name of the dish speaks for itself.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 kilo of beef, cubed (1/2 inch thick and about 1 inch long)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can of sliced mushrooms
1 carton of all-purpose cream (250 mL)
Salt and Pepper to taste

HOW TO COOK:

1. Pre-heat the wok.
2. Under low fire, melt the butter.
3. Saute the garlic. Make sure that the fire is low so that the butter and garlic won't burn.
(Burnt garlic gives out a bitter taste and we don't want that for this dish.)
4. Saute the beef.

5.Adjust the fire to medium and occasionally stir the beef with the garlic to make sure it is cooked evenly. Cook the beef for about 8-10 minutes.
6. Add in the mushrooms and saute. Cover the wok and let it cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Add the all-purpose cream and mix well.
8. Occasionally stir as you let the dish cook for about 5-7 minutes.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Stir and cook for a few more minutes and the dish is ready for serving.

Pansit - The Ultimate Filipino Birthday Noodles

"Pansit na naman?!" (Pansit again?)

This is a running joke among Filipinos because "pansit" has been a staple dish during birthdays and other celebrations. So, I've decided to share how I cook pansit through this blog. Though I know most wives already know how to cook this, this still might help others.

PANSIT BIHON - My Way

Ingredients:
**Note** Most of the measurements here are mere approximations. I don't usually measure my ingredients. I just go by the taste-test method.

1 kilo pansit bihon
1/2 kilo of pork, cubed
1/4 kilo of squid balls, cut into halves
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1/4 cup onions, chopped
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 pcs. carrots, medium size, sliced into small strips
2 pcs. chayottes, small size, sliced into small strips
1 whole cabbage, sliced into strips
6 cups of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce

How to cook:

1. Pre-heat the wok, then pour the cooking oil.

2. Saute the garlic, then the onion.

3. Add the pork cubes. Saute until meat is cooked.

4. Add the squid balls. Saute until cooked.

5. Add the carrots, immediately followed by the chayotes. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

6. Pour in the soy sauce, then the water. Cover the wok and let the mix boil.

7. Add the cabbage. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.

8. Separate the ingredients and place it in a bowl, leaving the soup mix (sabaw) on the wok.

9. Put the pansit noodles on the boiling soup mix. Mix them well till the noodles are cooked. you will notice that the soup mix will slowly be absorbed by the noodles as they cook.

10. When the noodles are evenly cooked, get the veggies and meat ingredients that you previously set aside and mix it with the noodles. Or, for a better-looking plate for serving, put the noodles on the plate first and the cooked meat and veggies on top.

So, that's it, pansit! I cooked this for my hubby's birthday and he loved it. I hope you like it too!



The Crayon Party

Get your inspiration and do your own version!

A great party doesn't always have to be expensive. You can add little details that would make it more personalized. As an example, I will be showing you what I did for my youngest daughter's birthday party.

When it comes to party styling, it would help if you have a specific theme. For this party, we chose a generic theme, crayons. This theme is very close to my daughter's heart because at this stage, she is particularly fond of colors and identifying them.

So, I started doing research on the internet, looking for visual pegs and ideas. I started collecting images and thought of ways to incorporate them in our theme. I'm placing those inspiration pieces side-by-side with the actual execution we did for the party.

CAKE

 

I wanted a simple one-layer cake to stand on top of a cupcake tower. But when I saw a picture of a 2-layer cake on the net, I immediately wanted the same. Incorporating designs from other cake pegs, like the name block and the number topper, I made my own design and gave it to the cake-maker. In the end, I was happy with what we got. We had a 2-layer cake on top of our cupcake tower.

Back to the drawing board
Here's a tip, when in doubt, sketch! I don't bake but I know some very reliable cake makers. However, being the control-freak that I am, I make sure that my suppliers get my vision. And what better way to explain than through a drawing. See?

PARTY GIVEAWAYS

The party giveaways were the hardest to look for. There are a lot of nice crayon-themed giveaways, but most of them are not available in the Philippines. I was set on having the crayon pillow and I found a local manufacturer, problem is that they wouldn't take my order since my deadline was a bit tight. Solution: I sourced the raw materials myself and had my aunt sew the pieces together, and ...voila!!! The finished product was even better than I imagined.

CANDY BUFFET

 

We had a fastfood birthday party and I wanted to make it more special by adding crayon details and a special highlight... a candy buffet. I found lots of inspirations on the internet but I was going for a "colorful but organized and dainty" look. I think I was able to achieve that with my DIY candy buffet. By the way, I was tempted to get a supplier for this but I found out that I can cut the cost in half if I did it myself. So, here you go...

 

NAME DECOR

 

I chanced upon this letter decor while I was browsing through images of candy buffet. I thought it would be a nice touch to the candy buffet so I incorporated it to the design.

TABLE DECOR - Crayons in Jar

I thought of having table centerpieces that still carried the theme but most of what I saw online were difficult to make and at that point I had very little time to prepare. Then I saw this jar full of crayons and I thought of using it as a table centerpiece and it could double as a craft activity for the kids while waiting for the party to start. So, I placed one short drinking glass on each of the tables and filled them with crayons alongside pieces of coloring pages of famous cartoons (Dora, Barney, Mickey Mouse etc.) It was a hit!

If you're planning for a kiddie party, here are my tips:

1. THEME- think of one, decide on it and stick to it. You'll find that your preparation is easier if you already have a theme in mind.
2. RESEARCH - You'll find a goldmine of ideas on the internet. So, google away!
3. Whenever you can, DO IT YOURSELF - it may take some time and effort but you'll find out that you will save a lot of money if you DIY things, and it's so much more fulfilling than paying somebody else to do it.
4. Consider TIME - choose concepts and ideas that can be executed according to your time frame.
5. EDIT YOURSELF - a tip not just for writers but for all creative minds out there, especially mothers! Sometimes we get too excited with our ideas that we end up with more than we can actually handle.

My Purple Attic

This is my purple attic
Where I create with love
When you seek a place to go
Just take a look above.

Climb up a world of wonders
Where beauty grows and glows
Step inside my dreamland
Leave all your foes and woes.