#46: A Lazy Dessert - Chocolate Ganache

Savory Sweet Life snapped this picture for me. :-)

Oh I had been very busy marketing our audio and voice-over services in JuanFoundSound I realized I haven't visited my friends here for  more than a month now. Being up to my neck in marketing and baby-sitiing tasks, I still had the gall to look for dessert. Unfortunately, I haven't got some fancy stuff in my pantry for some decent dessert. I looked in my fridge and I found these left-overs: chocolate chips, all-purpose cream and margarine.


Hah! Chocolate Ganache! okay, fine it's just chocolate sauce. Ganache happens when you add a bit of liquor to it. :-) 


TAKE 2: Hah! Chocolate sauce! Now this rich and lovely sweet sauce can store in your fridge for a week and you can drizzle it on practically any dessert. cake, bread or fruit. It's really brainless you may think why I even bothered to publish it here!


Chocolate Ganache or Drizzle
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup all-purpose cream 
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp flavored liquor (an optional addition for you to have the right to call it a ganache)


Instructions:
Are you ready for this?
Place them in a microwaveable glass bowl and pop in the microwave at high for 30 seconds. You will see it has melted a bit. mix thoroughly until smooth. Tadah! This yields approximately 1 cup of sauce.


Okay, get a plate, a banana, drizzle it with the sauce and... oh what's this? The last few pieces of my sunflower seeds! Yes... nutty chocolate and banana. Sweeeet. 

A Wedding Message

"Really? You want me to write that?"

Yes, my friend asked me to write a wedding speech for her mother-in-law who is going to speak at the wedding of his son. She said she thought of me because I wrote well.

My dear, being able to write well does not mean I can write a wedding advice that should sound like it came from a marriage veteran. I have only been married for 6 years after all. Well, she insisted. So I prayed, breathed in and mustered all the bits of wisdom that I collected from my mentors, friends and my own experience. I tried my best to make it sound motherly. Read more to see what I actually came up with.

#45: Keeping a Nice-Smelling Kitchen

Aahh... the smelly goodness of tuyo served with vinegar.
Thank you panlasang pinoy for the pic!

Our kitchen is our kingdom. It is our lair. It is where our family's delight are sauteed, stewed and baked so we better make it a nice place to stay in. I have a number of things in my mind that will keep our kitchen (at least) smelling clean. Filipinos most especially need to do this because we just loooooove garlic and patis (fish sauce) and bagoong (fish paste) of all colors, tastes and odors. Not to mention tuyo, buro, dilis, tinapa, durian... the list goes on and on! Yes, I know there is still the clutter but perhaps we can talk a bout that on another (looong) entry, hahaha. The Clutter Monster, after all, is a very tough foe. So let's attend to the smell first. :-)

To the Corporate Planet and Back

Hello my food-hugging friends! I apologize for being invisible lately. You see I just went a bit hormonal (haha!) and I kinda got busy with a recent attempt to visit the corporate planet. Read about it here. :-) 


http://anneandlifeingeneral.blogspot.com/2011/08/to-corporate-planet-and-back.html

#44: Cream of Celery Soup

30In the past entries, I have shared soup recipes like Leek and Broccoli Soup and the Pumpkin Bisque. This time, I'm delighted to introduce you to another creamy soup that is both hearty and refreshing for the palate because of featured ingredient: celery. I know some people are not fond of the flavors from this family of vegetables. Cilantro, parsley, along with celery just taste too much like freshly cut grass for some. But this soup will give this vegetable a new face and will easily become a family favorite. Gone are the days when you can only use it in pansit or chopsuey. You kids will not notice that they are gulping a good serving of celery in each serving. 

I tried to do that "heart-shaped sauce" trick  move but  I think
I failed to make it look like a heart but more  a guppy.

Cream of Celery Soup

Sosy Level: 4

Pawis Level: 3

Featured Ingredient: Celery 

Ingredients:

2 tbsps butter

3 cloves garlic minced

1 large onion chopped

2 medium potatoes chopped into small pieces

1/2 tbsp salt

pepper to taste

1 big bunch of celery, leaves and stalk chopped into small pieces

6 cups chicken broth

2 tbsps powdered milk dissolved in 1/3 cup water

3 tbsbps cream (optional or for garnish)

How to: 

1. In a deep saucepan or soup pot, melt the butter in medium high heat. Saute onions until slightly translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium low and cook covered for 5 minutes or until the potatoes have softened.
3. Add the celery and turn the heat to medium high. Saute for 2 minutes or until celery is fragrant and has softened a little. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes then turn heat off.
4. Ladle out the vegetables into the blender pitcher and puree the vegetables until smooth. Pour the pureed vegetables back into the broth in the pot. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
5. In the same pitcher, pour the milk and give it a whiz. Pour the milk in the pot, making  sure you get all the sticky puree in the pitcher and add it back to the soup. add some cream if you like. Stir the soup thoroughly then check the seasoning. Turn on the stove again to heat the soup through. Serve hot with a stick of celery and a dollop of cream for a dash of showmanship. ;-D


By this time, you have enough good ole', home-cooked cream soups under your belt.