Bread Pudding

I was chatting with a friend a few days ago and she suddenly asked me if I have a recipe for bread pudding. She said she has a lot of stale bread and thought making a pudding would be a good idea. I said I don't have a recipe, but have an idea what ingredients are needed. While chatting,  I surprised her by making bread pudding and sending her pictures. The pudding was in the oven in less than 10minutes. Trust me, if you have all the ingredients and you had an idea(or your friend's idea), experimenting is so easy to do! Within an hour, I was able to send her pictures of the the finished product. Now is that awesome or what? Lol..

Bread pudding is very popular in many countries including Philippines, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, France, Germany, other Asian countries and USA. In the Philippines, we just call it pudding, from the Spanish word budin. It is a bread-based dessert consisting mainly of stale bread, cream or milk and egg. Some recipes may include vanilla, dried fruit, cinnamon, honey and nutmeg. In some countries, sauces like bourbon sauce, custard sauce, caramel sauce, maple syrup or whipped cream on top of the pudding.

Below is the recipe for my bread pudding

Ingredients

6     pcs           bread slices, cut into cubes
2     pcs           whole eggs, slightly beaten
2    cups          2%milk
1/2 cup            white sugar
2    tbsp           butter, melted
1    tbsp           cinnamon
1/2 cup           dried cranberries (or raisin or any dried fruit)
Maple syrup

Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

 

In you baking pan, put all the bread and sprinkle the dried cranberries and melted butter. Set aside. 

In a bowl, mix milk, beaten eggs, sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the bread.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve with maple syrup.

Potato Pancake

Ever since I was a kid, I have always love eating potatoes. Whenever a meal is served at home, menudo, afritada, nilagang baboy or ginisang ground pork, I will always look for potatoes in these dishes. I also like it mashed with gravy, baked with sour cream, French fries, harsh browns etc. But for a long time and I have been thinking of making potato pancake. I have tried it when I ate at a Polish buffet and liked it. And thought of experimenting on it one of these days. Well, this is the day!

The idea came back to me when I bought dried mashed potato flakes at a store, it was on sale. I bought it because my daughter and I eat mashed potatoes almost every week. Today, I thought instead of mashed, I'm going to experiment on potato pancake. I used the regular pancake recipe, and just substitute potato flakes instead of pancake mix.

Potato is an edible root crop. It is starchy and is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Only the root crop of the potato plant is edible. The flowers, leaves and stems are toxic. There are about 5,000 varieties of potatoes, although the common species, Solanum tuberosum, is grown worldwide. Different countries have different preparations for this crop. Million tons of potato is produced every year. And 2008 was declared as International Year of the Potato by United Nations.

After buying potatoes, it usually has a few weeks shelf life. It should be stored in a dry, cool place. When it starts sprouting and becoming green in color, then it is no longer edible. What I usually do is trim the green part and the side with the sprout before I cook it.

So here is the simple recipe for my potato pancake.

Ingredients

1      cup        instant mashed potato flakes

1      cup        2% milk

1      pc          egg

1      stick      butter

Procedure

Mix the ingredients except butter to make a batter. In a saucepan, melt butter and pour one scoop of the pancake batter. Flip after 3 minutes to brown both sides. Serve with pancake syrup.

Coconut oil

I have been gone for almost a month and you might be wondering if I quit writing. No no no. I know, I know, this is the longest I have been out. No blog posted for almost a month. But thanks to some people who still read my old blogs. 20 views today. Not bad for someone who has been inactive for so long. I have a valid explanation readers. You see, I have been experimenting. What's new?  You would say. But not with cooking. Yes, shocking? Well, I'm a bit shocked myself. That I was convinced to experiment on beauty regimens.

People close to me knows that I don't pay much attention to "beauty treatmens". I'm not vain. I don't have rituals in the morning or at night. I just don't have the patience for it. And I don't really like putting chemicals esp on my face. I just wash my face with warm water at night, no soap sometimes because I didn't put anything on my face anyway. Well, aside from eyebrow pencil. Well, who is not obsessed with their " kilay" anyway. I seldom put on face powder or lipstick. Moisturizer only on winter , when the cold weather makes my face so dry. A bit of lotion. That's it. I seldom wear make up. And nothing to stop my skin from aging.

But then I realized I should be taking care of my skin. I'm now in my 40s and my skin is different from 20 years ago. I now have liver spots on my face, more blackheads, and maybe some wrinkles a few years from now. But I don't really want to put on chemicals. If I wanna take care of my skin, I want to use natural products.

And that's when the experiment started. My friend, who is so vain (don't worry she knows she is vain and she is proud to be one), introduced me to coconut oil. She said its so good for your skin. And that I should try it too, and that I would be happy with the result. She was right.

Coconut oil, the tree of life, as we all know is very healthy. It is rich in vitamins and minerals and consists mainly of saturated fatty acids. It has a lot of health benefits. From improving digestion, helps weight loss, improves immunity, antiviral properties etc. But I will mostly focus on its skin care benefits.

It is believed that coconut oil is very effective as skin moisturizer. It prevents aging of the skin. It has no side effects. It also helps treat skin diseases. It promotes hair growth and gives it a shiny glow. The benefits are endless.

My experiment started 3 weeks ago. I bought a refined organic coconut oil in Tony's. But you can also buy it anywhere (Costco, Amazon etc.)

1. First I used coconut oil as home made scrub. Below is my friend's "recipe".

    1/2      cup    oatmeal
    1/4      cup    baking soda
    2         tbsp    coconut oil
   1/4      cup     warm water

Mix all the ingredients until it becomes  a paste. Apply on your face and whole body. Leave for 10 minutes. Rinse after. You don't need to use body wash after, because the scrub will serve as body wash. And you will notice how soft your skin has become, even after 2 showers, it is still soft and not dry. You can do this regimen weekly.

2.  I also use coconut oil as anti-perspirant and deodorant.  I sweat a lot. And get very frustrated with deodorant sold in the market. It darkens the skin and doesn't really protect you even though that's their claim. For years now I have been using Eskinol face cleaner as a deodorant. The one with lemon. It has been effective. But then I notice I have to re apply everytime I sweat. And so I end up taking a shower 2-3 times a day especially during summer. So 3 weeks ago, I experimented on coconut oil. I noticed it reduces perspiration and at the same time no odor on underarm.

3.  As a mouthwash/toothpaste.  It is claimed that coconut oil helps fight bacteria in the mouth and so has been used as a toothpaste and mouthwash. What I do is mix it with my toothpaste everytime I brush. Half a pea size on top of the toothpaste.

4. Hot oil.  This you can do once a week too, together with the scrub.  Apply the oil on your hair, rubbing esp on the scalp. Put on shower cap. Leave for 10-20 minutes. Rinse hair after. Apply a little of shampoo and conditioner.

5. Feet.  My feet are so dry. I always apply lotion because its just so dry its frustrating. Instead of lotion I apply coconut oil and put on socks at night.

For now that's how I use coconut oil. But believe me, it has a lot of beauty and skin benefits. It can also serve as make up remover, lip balm, face wash, shaving cream. massage oil, stretch mark reducer, cold sore treatment, insect repellant, exfoliant, cold remedy, diaper rash treatment, hair detangler etc. Imagine all these benefits. 

So what are you waiting for? Buy coconut oil at your nearest store!! Lol. Send me a feedback on how this miracle oil has improved your skin. In the meantime, I have to log off. Time for my weekly scrub!!!