Yogurt with Banana and Honey

This is the continuation of my yogurt project. I have to put flavor in it so I can enjoy it more and wouldn't be just tasting the tangy taste of the yogurt. The addition of fruits means additional helath benefits. 

So as part of my experiment, I added the staple fruit in the house to my homemade yogurt...bananas!!! Ideal for breakfast, snack, or dessert!

To sweeten the yogurt, I drizzled it with honey and topped it with sliced bananas...easy eh? If you want it sweeter, feel free to add more honey. It tasted like the store bought yogurt...but cheaper!

I super love! love! love!

Here's the picture of my flavored yogurt.

Happy eating!

Nachos

The recipe of the dip is basically the same as my Taco filling, which I posted here. I just used the store bought nachos instead of the taco shells. The only addition was the melted cheese, which is just the cheese spread (chizwiz), mixed with milk to make the consistency thin.

The hubby requested this because I think he had a hard time eating tacos, coz the tacos kept on breaking and reminded him of nachos. So he said that we have try the nachos next time... so here it is!

Homemade Yogurt (Yoghurt)

According to Wikipedia, Yogurt (or Yoghurt) is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk.  The milk is heated to kill the undesirable bacteria and to denature (I need a biochemist here!!) the milk proteins so they won't curd but set together instead...whew!

 Yogurt, is a rich source of protein, calcium, riboflavin. Flavored yogurt can easily be spotted in the supermarkets and specialty stores. Put some garlic and herb and you'll have fat-free dip. It is so versatile!


Nowadays, the frozen yogurt (I'm so into it by the way) is so popular and making a huge rave, because it's refreshing, healthy and...EXPENSIVE. 

Since I love yogurt and I can't really afford to buy that everyday because I will more or less spend 700 pesos a month for a daily fix of yogurt, I started to research on how to make my own. When I found the perfect recipe, I immediately tried it. And wow..that was easy!

The prep and heating time is short. The ingredients can be easily found in the supermarkets. After you prepared the yogurt mixture, you just need to wait for 6 hours for it to set...and you're done!

I got this from the ever reliable Yummy Magazine (jan-feb 2011 issue). I cut the original recipe into half, coz I won't be needing 2 liters of yogurt since I don't want to waste money in case the "experiment" will not be successful.

And the finish product? I can safely say that it was a success! I tasted it and it was like the commercially bought yogurt, a bit runny though. But that's the difference between a store-bought and homemade yogurt. To make it creamier, I strained the yogurt using a cheesecloth that I put over a strainer...I turned it to greek style yogurt!

For those who want to make their own yogurt, here's the recipe. Original recipe is not yet posted on Yummy's site.

Ingredients


1L Fresh milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt (read the label, make sure it has "with Live Microorganisms")


Heating the Milk
 1. Heat the milk in a saucepan until small bubbles appear on the side. While continuously stirring, cool the milk a bit until you can comfortably dip you fingers for 5 seconds.

2. Pour 1/4 cup of plain yogurt in a small bowl. Yogurt must be at room temperature.

yogurt that i used. use 1/4 cup per liter of milk

Make sure it has live micro-organisms

The plain yogurt will serve as a starter. I don't know if my biology is correct but the live microorganisms will "procreate" in the warm milk and will help the milk to ferment.
 3. Laddle a cup of warm milk into the yogurt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with milk.
 4. Cover the the saucepan with lid and wrap it with a thick towel and secure with clips.
 Fermenting the Milk
 1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F. Turn of the oven. Put the milk and yogurt mixture inside the oven and let it rest for six hours.

Wrapped in a thick towel and place inside the preheated oven.

Chill the yogurt. Wth this recipe, you can now make your own flavored yogurt.

ENJOY!

Baking 101: Cassava Cake with Coco Custard Topping

I don't know, but aside from the meat and pasta, we always have kakanin in our Media Noche...suman, bibingka, biko, kalamay basta anything kakanin. We usually order them or buy them in the market. 


This year, I thought of making the cassava cake. Tired of the usual yema like topping (which I can buy from a nearby kakanin seller here, even everyday), I searched for something new and interesting twist of the usual cassava cake. And voila! The goddess of all Cassava cakes (well, for me!)...

I got the recipe from here, and the recipe was from Ms. Nena Zafra, though I don't have any idea of her, I can't find any information about her in the net, I thank her for this recipe...uber yummy! 


Even if I tweaked the recipe because I don't have enough amount of the ingredients, it still turned out wonderful. 


For the original version, click here. For my version, see below. hehehe!


My recipe is good for one 11x7x2 pan or 13x9x2 pan.


Ingredients


Cassava Cake


3 1/2 cups grated cassava
1 cup white sugar
2 small cans (154g) evaporated milk
1 cup coconut milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter


Mix all the ingredients, pour in a baking pan and baked for 35 mins or until done. 


Coco Custard Topping


2 small cans (154g) evaporated milk
3/4 cup condensed milk
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsps flour
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten


Mix the evap, condensed, coconut milk and flour in a sauce pan. Cook over low heat, stir constantly. When the mixture is thick, add the egg yolks. Make sure to stir the mixture to incorporate the eggs well. 


Turn off the fire and pour the mixture evenly on top of the cooked cassava cake and broil the cake until light brown.


Enjoy it warm. 


Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Christmas Eve Dinner

I know it's already late, but anyhoo...Merry Christmas and Happy new year everyone!


Again, I've been very busy and I finally found a little time from my super hectic schedule to update my blog. Nothing special happened during those days, and I barely touched anything in the kitchen...well except for the utensils that I'm using to eat hehehe!


So, to rekindle my love affair with food, I volunteered to cook for our Christmas eve dinner! Tiring but happy! Coz I literally was the only one who prepared the food, no help period!


But it was worth it...really. 

Here are the pictures of our food. I prepared the lasagna (click here for recipe), which is now my official choice of pasta, the herb roasted chicken which I got from here with gravy from chicken drippings, and the cheesy vegetable, my family's all time veggie favorite!


The dessert, buko salad, not included in the picture was prepared by my mommy (oh yes, she helped pala). The sandwich, also not in the picture, with ham (that i preferred fried rather than just sliced straightly from the big circle of ham) went with the bread, some lettuce, tomato and a little mayo...simple but yummy!

Cheesy vegetables, (fried) ham slices, lasagna, roast chicken

a little of everything...

Of course, I enjoyed the night because I ate and spent time with my family. That's the most important thing right! The family that eats together, gets fat together! heheheh...


Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! I wish you all the best and happiness in life!!! 


Cheers to the wonderful year ahead!!!