corn dog

What is essential is invisible to the eye.  

I read that from The Little Prince.  I am sure he was not talking about corn dogs, but I believe the same is true for corn dogs.  No matter how great the batter, the meat is really the meat.  

I bought spicy Italian sausages.  They were looking a bit square--literally after I got them out of the chiller, but after they had warmed up, it was apparent that they were quite well rounded.  Not unlike some people. 

who are you calling chicken?

I was a bit nervous about the sticks.  While I didn't want the puny ones that may break or seem like it would break.  The ones I got were quite dangerous.  I mean, I seriously was reminded of stakes hammered into vampire hearts in some old movies.

not a toy

The length and width was perfect for the stubbly sausages that I got.

ready for wardrobe

The dough?  Oh the dough.  I hope it would turn out well worth the drama.

golden ribbon

I enjoy working with dough--but this was extra extra fun!

I wrapped the strip all around the sausage, tucking and stretching and pinching where I need to.  

"what are you all looking at?"

After I had wrapped all six, I had some extra dough, so I decided to put a little extra on the corn dogs too!

It was the perfect time to use my brand new cookie cutters!

pimped

Now, I anticipated that the details would make the corn dogs cuter, but I didn't expect them to look as cute as they did coming out of the oven.

Really.

REALLY.

BEAR with me

The contrast of the animals made me gasp.  Maybe I even clapped a little ;)

bunny Wabbit

 

the gang

How did it look inside?

Well...

Tada!!!!

not bad at all

Of all the things I've baked, I think this one is really the one I was most happy about the end result.

where's the party?

corn muffin

So I am posting the corn muffin photos first, only because there are less of them than that of the corn dogs.

everything yellow--so far.

I love that the first few ingredients thrown together were all yellow-ish.  It made my Sunday morning, if plausible--even brighter :)

I got the recipe online that promised to yield what is being sold at a chicken place--one I would frequent only for the corn muffins.  The chicken was pretty good, but it was never really the attraction for me.  I remember buying half a dozen to go last year, only to have eaten two even before I got home.

This was the real reason I bought the corn meal.

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Mixing everything was easy enough, but the batter was so sticky that I had trouble keeping the side of the cups clean.  

I mitigated the situation by wiping the rims but I could only do so much--as a result my muffins were orbited by burnt brown batter.

muffin olympics

The verdict?

It did come out similar to the ones sold at the chicken place, only these had a richer texture--moist.  It still had the grainy feel without being dry.  It also was more buttery.

I loved how these turned out! :)

I'd be mindful next time though when I bake because I anticipate that these would benefit with a little more salt on days that I need something savoury.

same time next week? :)

Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt

This is really what started it all.

inspiration

I tasted the Lindt Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt.  For the last two days, whenever I close my eyes at night, I remember biting into a piece of...heaven.  I don't want to seem too dramatic, but really--it's that good.

I ate the whole bar right there.  I'm a sinner.  Sorry body.

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Looking through the pantry I found a pack of self raising flour that I bought by mistake and decided I should use it up.  So I decided that I'd make muffins.

I read that if you use this kind of flour, you should skip the baking soda and baking powder--even salt because they are already added in.  I knew I'd put salt in still through because clearly, that was the inspiration.

use me

I googled for recipes and found Double Chocolate Chip and Yogurt.  I would need to change it up a bit, but at least it would have the  chemistry all worked out.

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I didn't have yogurt.

So, I mixed milk and vinegar.  It didn't churn.  Great.

I added two small limes--calamansi and then I got some results.

i love how the wet stuff look together

I am quite nervous about this one.  Really.  I am substituting/adding/removing too many things!

chaos

Give me bitterness.  Dark Chocolate.

Give me sweetness.  White Chocolate.

Give me saltiness.  Errr... Sea Salt.

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I put more dark chocolate that what the recipe called for--around 50% more.  White chocolate was nowhere in the recipe too.  I put half the dark chocolate amount.  Going to gooey here :)

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Fast forward to how it turned out after baking.

By inspection, not good :(

Booooo.

THE SELF RISING FLOUR DIDN'T RISE.

stunted

The muffins were compact.  The only redeeming factor was that a star, one STAR came through.

a champion

I was worried that I wasted all the ingredients.

After a deep breathe, I tasted one.  Not the star.  It was there as a sign of hope.

excuse a MOIST

It was soooo moist.  And good.  I love how all the flavors came together!

It actually tasted of lava cake.  

So maybe the self raising flour didn't perform--but the rest of the team compensated.

I got my happy ending.

mushroom++ calzone

I was waiting all week to have a chance to make calzone.  The successful pizza making was more than inspiring to work with dough more.

I knew it was going to be mushrooms inside but I wasn't sure what else to put inside.  I even consulted my mom and went back and forth the aisle waiting for inspiration.

chop chop chop

Mushroom and onions with cheese.  Mushroom and rosemary chicken.  Mixed mushroom and cheese.  Mushroom with spinach.  Maddening.

sorry Smurfs

I decided I'd make a few different kinds--it gave me an excuse to to try them all!

I knew the first one was going to have tomato inside.  So I made a tomato sauce with garlic, some herbs and topped that with mushroom and mozzarella.  Nothing too exciting, this was my standard.

expected

Rolling the dough came much easier than last time, now that I have a somewhat proper rolling pin versus a long fatter-than-the-usual chopstick used to stir fry.

No eggs left because I used them all up so I glazed with olive oil.

to me, that looks like a smile.  really.

My first calzone had some leakage issues, but I must say it looked pretty good for a first.

early lunch

 Obviously, I had to taste it so I can adjust the next batch.  I actually made four.

Straight out of the oven it was really warm, the cheese mad melted, the bread tasted good, the texture was perfect, it was soft and firm where it ought to be.  I AM KEEPING THIS DOUGH RECIPE.

It was really more than I could have hoped for.  I had tasted the filling prior to the calzone baking so I knew what to expect but with the melted cheese and the fresh-out-of-the-oven smell.  I was blown away. 

I have the feeling I'd be making calzone more and more.  And more.  And more.

So for the experimental filling.  I chose to localise it.  Chinese Sausage.  Yes.  With Mushroom.

this seems crazy (fat)

I sliced them and cooked until the fat became translucent.

polka dots

No one really describes the cooking time that way.  They'd say, oh I cooked it for x minutes or I cooked it till the oil from the sausage came out but no one says I cooked it until the fat became transparent.

skinny

I rolled a little thinner this time and made a rectangular shape--for no other reason but that I wanted to try it out.  

The break part came out really crispy--the sides were practically garlic sticks.  LOVE.  I am not sure which I like better, so I'd probably make both again next time.

dessert

While I was so full from eating half of the first calzone, I ended up having another giant half.  Because I couldn't stop myself. 

favorite guy

I was starstruck. I walked into the mall and saw my favorite Gingy :)

Seeing Gingy made my day--weekend!
I practically spent the rest of Saturday gushing over him and occasionally saying "Not the buttons".

I thought our picture is perfect as a Christmas card. Sooooo, here is my advanced...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
with love from Tracy & Gingy :)

invisible

Today, I'd write about invisibility.I know a good man who would always joke that he is invisible, I think he does it only because he likes the song. In reality, he probably knows that he is seen, maybe not by as much as one would see someone flashy, but those who see him recognises such marvel.I took the first photos not knowing what was there.

When it dawned on me what was there... I realised how lucky I am to have made the discovery ;)

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It is amazing how translucent and seemingly colorless the dragonfly is--for me, that is what makes it outstanding.

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It seems odd to some people how I decide on things, or how I choose to see things. I think that I may sometimes--maybe often, take the expression "live simply" quite literally.

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In this context, I may be taking SIMPLE and BASIC as synonyms.

I'd be one who would pick a white shirt from a pile of clothes. I think there is no better drink than water. Vanilla ice cream is quite, the bomb. Sugar and milk kill the tea. Salt is the only thing that a steak needs.

VERA special plant

I received an aloe vera plant from a colleague. Seriously.

I thought that was really sweet :)

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Since receiving it, I had been googling like crazy on aloe vera preparation... and each time I find one, I'd think that I would be better off buying the processed ones.

While that means losing on the nutrients, it ensures that wondrous summerish taste. Besides, it was really the taste that had drawn me to aloe vera--the benefits part was just a bonus.

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I saw a giant tub of sweetened aloe vera the other day. I didn't put it in my cart... but I'm seriously thinking about it!

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I'm kind of worried about my plant though.

Apart from the money tree I have on my desk at the office--which requires (almost) NO EFFORT, I don't really have any experience on growing plants.

Plus, I live in a building--which means the plant is in a pot that is a poor substitute for the ground. Forget fertilisers. I don't have any!

Did I mention "no sun"?

Some of our plants died after we moved to our new place because of the orientation of our flat. It is pretty awesome visually--and cool, considering that we live in a tropical country. The drawback though, is that there is no direct sunlight at any point.

Good for me :) Bad for plants :(

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We shall see if love is really enough to keep anything alive.

The Getty

I'm so glad I made time to visit the Getty. While there is not as many finds art wise for me, I must say that the place is so beautiful.A tram leads you from the drop off point to the entrance of the museum.
I swear the entrance smelt of Magnolias and Lavender!Everywhere you look you'd find something pretty to look at. I especially like how they hung fragments of artwork from the high ceiling.While taking a break from walking and standing, you can find a couple of areas where you can observe people...or, observe people observing people.While there were more famous paintings there, I was so happy to see a sketch that I recognised immediately :) I didn't even know it was there!The viewing decks are spectacular too.In fact, I love the viewing decks more than the actual view--which was LA traffic, framed.

Wayfarer's Chapel

We went to the loveliest chapel today!You could hardly see it because it is mostly made of glass.I wish I was able to take more photos. Actually, I wish more that I was able to spend more time inside....The view from the garden is stunning too!We were in a rush as we were racing to get another spot before sunset, but I was lucky enough to see the notes on the bricks.The shadows on the bricks make me smile :)