Accidental Salt-Free Pandesal

Tonight i reached a milestone in my baking life. I made pandesal from scratch. Without a bread machine. I would have pat myself on the back if remembered to put salt on it (facepalm!!!!).

Making the dough wasn't the hardest part. It's the waiting game that irks me. Total waiting time for the dough to rise? 2 hours!

And of course baking time requires another 30-40 minutes.

and a minute or two for it to cool

Voila! Serve it with a laughing cow. (I deserve it, I know)

Reposting the recipe from this site. It turned out great even without the salt hehehe.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 cup lukewarm milk << i used low fat evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
• ½ cup sugar << i used brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt  << please do not forget this!!
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 ½ cups all purpose flour or more as necessary << i used bread flour
• Breadcrumbs << i used pulverised panko bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm water in a big bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes, and then stir well.
2. In a bowl, combine milk, butter, eggs, sugar and salt.
3. Add milk mixture and 2 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Beat with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until smooth. Gradually stir in remaining flour, adding more if necessary.
4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough, adding flour as necessary, until dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky (around 10 minutes).
5. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size.
6. Transfer dough to a lightly floured board. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, roll in breadcrumbs and place in a baking pan lined with wax paper.
7. Cover with a cloth and let rise for at least one hour or until almost double in size.
8. Bake in 225 degree F oven for 20 minutes and then increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Quick and Easy Tuna Pasta

With our crazy schedule this past few weeks, I can no longer afford to cook food that takes an hour or more to prepare. Rudel was also in no mood to wash the dishes. But after living on Kopitiam food for two straight weeks i couldn't take it anymore. I'm cooking!

And since we have no time to go to the grocery either i ransacked our pantry and found 1) chili corned tuna, 2) a can of chopped tomatoes and linguine. Hmmm... Tuna Pasta it is!

Side story: I've been on a hunt for canned tomatoes that isn't too sour. I've tried popular brands like Del Monte, Hunts, Heinz but all failed my taste test. Then i finally tried Cirio which i found in Fair Price Plus, Tampines. I've  never heard of this brand before but it said on the label that it was from Italy so it's worth a try i figured. 

It was indeed. It wasn't too sour and has a hint of natural sweetness of the tomatoes. Bingo!



I sautéed about a tsp. of garlic in a tsp of olive oil until lightly brown then added the tuna.  Finally, add the tomatoes then stir. Add about 1/4 cup of hot water (i reused the water from the pasta) and a some salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes and you're done. Easy peasy


Here's how it turned out. And oh I got to use some fresh basil from my mini garden (kilig!).

Hello

Welcome to my blog's new home. I decided to move it here because i find blogger easier to use than wordpress (if you must know).

Past few months have been really hectic. I can't even find time to cook anymore. How i wish this episode would end already. I miss my weekend hikes. I miss doing nothing. I miss our normal routine. So what have we been up to?


Hot yoga. This has been keeping me sane. I force myself to do this at least 3 times a week no matter how busy our schedule is. It has helped release all that STRESS!!



House hunting. Yes, we are finally moving out. Soon. The process of finding our new home has not been easy--let's just say too many bumpy roads along the way. But what's really difficult is the thought that I may not have this perfect sunrise view anymore after we move out.



Everyday before i go to work i take a picture of this spot. It's so beautiful.



Furniture hunting. This is the part i'm enjoying. It makes me giddy and excited. We are finally going to have our 'own'.

Almost, but not quite

And we're back in the city.

Our quick escape to Bintan was almost perfect. Rudel and i agreed that in all of our past trips to Indonesia this has been (so far) the best yet.  We loved the hotel we stayed in and i really liked the body massage service at Nirwana's Recreation Centre.

We spent most of our morning in this hut bonding. I loved that we were able to talk about a lot of things without being distracted by  the TV or computer.  To be honest though, we were tempted to use our phones. It's the hardest part to stay away from specially Instagram, Flipboard and FaceBook (yes, in that order!).

I was really surprised how beautiful the beach in Bintan is. It was almost perfect if not for the tar (black oil) that tainted the place.

Our almost perfect dinner. It was good but i think the price was just too much, way too expensive! We had these on our last night. If you ever come to this resort, please please do not order any Korean or Italian food. I don't know why they even have those in their menu. They obviously have no idea how properly to make them  (to be edible at least!). Their Kimchi soup and Spaghetti bolognese was really yuck and grose! Sorry but those are the only adjectives i can think of. I mean if you really want to please your guests and really want them to be back, invest in your chef! Send them in a Korean or Italian cooking school. I'm sure it will be worth the investment. People will come back again and again because one you have a great place and service and second but most important of all you serve the best food. REMEMBER, good food makes people happy. And if they are happy, they won't mind spending a lot of money.

 

Here now at Nirwana Gardens

We are here now at Nirwana Gardens Bintan, Indonesia. Amazingly, I'm able to blog not because of the hotel's internet connection but through our internet connection at home. Yes, you read it right. I'm connected somehow to our secure internet in Singapore. I don't know how my genius husband did it but it works!

Anyway, we decided to get away from city life for the weekend. Eating out and watching movies felt like a weekend routine already and it's the last thing we wanted to do for our 2nd wedding anniversary. I think everyone will agree that this island's nearness (along with Batam) to Singapore is the main reason why city dwellers prefer going here over Thailand, Malaysia or even Bali.  Going here require's less effort and that's what you're paying for.

It's our first time at this resort hotel and so far we are enjoying it (except for the food but that's another story that deserves a separate entry). Their customer service had minor hiccups at first but we forgot all about it as soon as we saw this amazing and relaxing view.


Forget their lobby. All you need is this view and unlimited sweet and salty fresh air.


After the stressful process of checking-in we were greeted by this lovely living room. Check out the rattan carpet and reading chair.


And then we saw our bedroom. So ROMANTIC!


The TV can be rotated. Hence, you can either watch from your bedroom or  living room. Nice idea eh?


The bathroom was clean and so spacious. Toilet and shower room were separated. I also love the sliding door.


His and her sink plus huge mirror!

Can i stay here for a week? For free?

 

 

 

 

Wander Seoul Part1

I promise myself I would finish these Seoul entries even if it’s 2013 already and the trip happened last year. I’m finishing this. Forgive me for the delay pero sayang naman kung di ko ma-ipost tong pictures di ba?

One of the great things about Seoul is its super efficient and well maintained subway. It practically runs the entire city. It is extensive and massive compared to the Singapore’s MRT. One of its disadvantage though was that the number of stairs sadly out numbered the escalators. Imagine our poor feet and legs at the end of every day.

We were surprised to see magazine stalls and vendors of clothes inside the train platform, something you won’t see in Singapore. Amazing that they managed to keep the stations clean and organize.

We thought we were going to missed Seoul’s beautiful autumn colors. It was after all the beginning of winter when we arrived. There was no snow yet. It was freezing cold. Leaves have fallen off the trees and the branches were just waiting to be covered by snow. A depressing site for first time visitors, I know.

 
We were lucky enough to have seen this colorful spot in Namsan Park. It was in fact the only place in the city where we saw a glimpse of autumn.

Of course, it was a great photo op for us. This was taken very early in the morning, sun rays adding more beauty to the place.

 
Seoul Tower at Mt. Namsan.

 
The trees looked dead but they sure have a unique way of being picturesque.

At the top of Seoul tower, we got to experience the 360 degree view of the city. From afar, we saw Han river dividing North and South Seoul. Our Korean friend Jerry said that North Seoul is the old city where most middle class families live. The Southern part is the new and modern Seoul. I believe it’s were the famous Gangnam place is located and where the rich and famous hangout, if you must know.  

How far we were from home.

  
Seoul, chaotically organized.