Keeping It Real

Have you ever wanted to say something to someone but never ended up saying it for fear of hurting the person? Was there ever a time you chose not to say something just so things will not be complicated and for the issue to just die down?

If I were to describe my life now, it would have to be a series of wheels turning. So many aspects of my life have changed and there are also those going through changes. It's not the most comfortable feeling in this world but I know I have to go through it.

I've been raised to be tactful and careful with the words I say. It was recently that I realized that being too nice won't do me good most especially when the situation calls for me to lash out on people who dismay me to bits. I resolve to quit editing what I have to say whether this be in prayer or when I converse with people. It's healthier that way. Sometimes, we should say things the way we feel like saying it.

All I want is to be real with what I think, feel and say. It's important that I am spontaneous and true to myself. Life is too short to be spent beating around the bush. Just say things the way you like to say it. No cushioning, no sweet talk. No more sweeping under the rug for me.

Classes for Christmas

We're only more than two months away from Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year and I always look forward to the chilly breeze and the sight of Christmas decors in our home. I just know when it's Christmas. Our whole house smells of freshly baked cookies bars and pastries.

I'm continuing my culinary and baking classes. Since I enjoyed my class with Chef Dennis Hipolito's last Saturday, I'm taking two more classes.

October 11, 2008
Morning Class: 9:00 AM to 12:00 NN
Special Dips and Pates for the Holidays (for bottling and gift giving)

1. Dennis' Special Olive and Cheese Pate
2. Mushroom, Balut and Cheese Pate
3. Hot Gruyere, Kangkong and Pepper Dip
4. Roasted Bell Pepper Pesto
5. Roasted Garlic and Herb Spread
6. Caramelized Onion and Tomato Chutney

Afternoon Class: 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Christmas Goodies for Gift Giving

1. Super Moist Fudge Loaf Cake with Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumble Topping
2. Moist Banana Chocolate Loaf Cake with a Special Chocolate Glaze
3. Soft Holiday Walnut Bread with a Crumble Topping
4. Dennis' Christmas Wreath Bread with a Special Sauce
5. Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl Butter Cake Crumble Bars
6. Dennis' Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

For inquiries and those interested to attend the classes, call 0917-8486656. Classes are usually not repeated.

The Modern Girl Guide and Me

Sitting on my shelf is a new book that I bought on sale last Saturday at National Bookstore. It was a great deal for only Php 250. This must have originally been sold at Php 1,167. It's a 381-page pink covered book. It's called The Modern Girl's Guide to Life by Jane Buckingham. It's a Mod-Girl Survival Kit. I'm earnestly finding time to sit down and read through it.

This is the life guide that I need most especially now that I'm interested in so many things. The book talks about:

The only thing you should ever fake ... being a domestic goddess
Hot hair hints
Make up tricks for busy chicks
Treating your body right
Your cheat sheet for fabulous entertaining
Modern girl personal finance 101
When a modern girl makes a major purchase
How to land your dream job - I think I already found what I'm passionate about.
How to score points with your boss
Outsmarting nightmare bosses
How to be an electronics whiz
How to change a tire in stilettos
Painting: The easiest and cheapest way to transform your pad
Building a modern girl wardrobe
Buying lingerie that looks classy, not trashy
The Diva's guide to using a power drill
Zen and the art of bathroom maintenance
Keeping your bedroom blissful
How to fold a fitted sheet

These are just a few of the things I read on the front and back covers. I'm at this stage in my life when I want to better manage myself, have a business and at the same be ... umm ... domesticated (yes I want to be one). I don't know how these exactly go together in my so called life but I do want them to jibe. When I go back to work soon, I want to better manage my personal finances and I want to have a financial goal this time around. I have so many things on my mind and MBA is still not one of those. I do intend to continue taking classes to learn different things - food styling, culinary, photography and the list just goes on and on.

I'm absorbing as much as I can at this point. I want to be a better person and it's a matter of prioritizing what I want to learn. I still have my eyes on my goal - to make my family business succeed. I'm bent to take it to the next level and that's one of my goals as a modern day girl.

Premium Cupcakes

It was my first time to attend a baking session with Dennis Hipolito. He holds classes only every Saturday and I think that his offered schedules would fit me perfectly when I go back to work. We were only twelve students in class and I enjoyed learning the techniques of doing the different recipes. The sugar rush can be overwhelming. Dennis walked us through several butter based cupcakes.

1. Mocha Cupcake with a Chocolate Filling and Creamy Frosting
2. Prune Cupcake with a Melt in the Mouth Prune Frosting
3. Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcake with a Creamy Frosting
4. Mango Torte Cupcake - This is to die for!
5. Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake with a Fluffy Cream Frosting
6. Food for the Gods Cupcake

Well who knows, you might just enjoy these cupcakes from me this coming Christmas. :-)

Oh Abe

I'm usually out Friday nights and for a change, I happen to have a dinner date with friends at Serendra. The restaurant of choice was Abe. It must have been my 3rd or 4th time to enjoy Abe's Kapampangan food. I love Filipino food. I grew up preferring Kampampangan cooking since my Mom is Kapampangan. I remember my childhood trips to Pampanga and each and every time, my family and I would always have lunch or dinner at Everybody's Cafe. It was situated along the highway (which highway, I forgot).

For tonight's dinner, we enjoyed the pork asado, batute, binukadkad na plapla and adobong puso ng saging. For dessert, of course I wouldn't go home without it, we had maja blanca (two orders in fact), macapuno with halaya and turon. Dinner was just great!

I'm not sure where our next get together will be but we all agreed it'll be in some other place. Different food, different ambiance.

Back to High School Days

My whole day basic baking orientation today reminded me of days back in school. It wasn't just about math but it brought me back to my chemistry, physics and other science classes. (I think I'm having a nose bleed again.) While I did enjoy taking down notes and learning new things with Ma (she is my favorite classmate these days), I wished I listened more intently back in high school. I remember not being excited when it was time for lab work. First and foremost, I hate experiments. The process was just too tedious. Test tube A. Test tube B. Results. Conclusion. I don't even recall submitting a paper worth checking by my teacher. My conclusions were just plain DUH.

I was taught several things today about how ingredients react when combined. I didn't even know there were several types of flour, sugar. Baking as it turns out is science. It's about precision and it takes experimenting as well to know how replacing one ingredient yields a different result. I think I should see this exercise of product testing and recipe formulation as fun. My sense of taste is not as developed as Ma but I know this can be learned. For me, food either tastes good or bad. I haven't reached the level of being a food connoisseur. All I know is that I love food and most especially desserts. Yum!

We made 11 recipes today and I got to taste some of them. Most of the baked products were bread and a little of cookies. Being someone with a sweet tooth, I was naturally drawn to the cookies. As for the bread, I was just contented to look at them. I couldn't imagine gobbling up 11 different kinds of bread and cookies in one day. That's just too much carb overload.

Learning Curve

I'm taking advantage of my one week "vacation" from cake decorating school to learn other things. My classes will resume in a week's time and I'm busying myself learning how to bake. I'm not really a baker and my experience in baking is very minimal. It's really Ma who is the excellent baker. We work as a team. She bakes, I decorate. Simple. However, I strongly believe that if I want to be good at what I do, I should learn the whole process. In fact, I'm very willing to.

I've always thought that I'm a corporate person. (I guess I have another side that I didn't know until recently.) Give me a project to work on and I know my way around. Initially when I started decorating, I felt disoriented / lost. Why? Because the kitchen is not my territory. You have to understand that I'm used to sitting behind a desk and working on my laptop but an oven? I'm admittedly an amateur whether it's in cooking or baking and it takes practice and a lot of experience. Just yesterday morning while I was making my own gum paste and fondant, I was feeling my way around the recipe. Hmm, what ingredient goes before what? Both turned out well and I did learn a lot when I made it on my own.

What I love about baking is that it's experiential. You have to try doing it on your own to learn the tricks. Today, I'll be learning chocolate with S, a chef consultant. She's just a fantastic and generous person. Tomorrow, I'll be attending a free whole day orientation on baking operations. I think it'll be fun to know how commercial bake shops operate on a bigger scale. Then on Saturday, this is what's really making me excited! I'm attending a baking class with Dennis Hipolito. He holds his classes in New Manila and he is a chef consultant at Unilever. I'll be learning how to make premium cupcakes. :-D

I shall call it a day. I need a shut eye. It's 12:47 AM. Tata. Sweet dreams for me.