Our First Airbnb Experience

As much as possible, when time and budget permits, I would like to take family vacations every year. 

For this year, we thought of exploring more places in California. . . initially (haha).  But then Hubby said it would be nice to go to a . . . new country!  So we checked the places where I (as a US resident) don't need a visa to travel and where the airfare won't break the budget!  And we came up with. . . VANCOUVER!  Did you know that Vancouver is just 3 hours away from LA?!  I didn't know that!  

It was an unforgettable vacation (not the way how I want it to be though).  Why?  My little big boy and I were under the weather (he was running a fever) the day we arrived in Vancouver that we had to stay in bed the whole day.  And the most stressful part about the trip was we had to rush him to the hospital one morning because he was having chills, his nails were turning purple and his lips were starting to turn purple too . . . I just got scared!  

So we really only had one day to explore Vancouver.  But it's okay, it gave us another reason to go back, haha!  We may not have seen a lot of places the city has to offer (and there are a LOT!) but we still had a good time because we were just chilling, taking things easy, eating (ofcourse! haha) and just enjoying each other's company (a good friend was with us too).   

And I think, staying in a place that is not a hotel or a place that has that touristy vibe made the trip more relaxing.  (You will see why shortly.)
  

Thanks to our Airbnb find!

It was actually our first time to try Airbnb.  I got inspired to try it  because some of my good friends (my childhood friends!) who went to Bali last year stayed at a beautiful villa which they got for a good price!  (To read more about their Bali weekend, please click here to head to my BFF M's blog.)

For our trip, we found a 2 bed and 2 bath condo which has a fully functional kitchen, washer and dryer. It is in a good location because there is a shopping mall across the place, restaurants nearby, walking distance to a train station and with what happened to us, we are thankful that it was also near a hospital!

The place was clean, bright, comfortable and homey!  It didn't have airconditioning system which is totally fine because we didn't need one!  The city had a lovely weather during our trip.

The place was everything we hoped for.  It was exactly how it was pictured and advertised.  Don't you just hate it how some places can mislead you with their published pictures?  Haha!

Here are some pictures of our beautiful nest . . .

Master's Bedroom

Walk-in closet

Master's Bath

Bedroom #2

The kitchen has everything we need. . . for cooking and eating.

We did our laundry before going back home, haha!

This is our view from our balcony . . .

As first time Airbnb users, we were lucky that we had a good experience!  And I hope it stays that way in our next trip. . . no, make that TRIPS!  Hehe

If you are planning for a vacation, I suggest you try checking out Airbnb!

As what Airbnb says in their commercial, when you travel, "don't go there, LIVE THERE!"

And that was exactly how we felt . . . having a home away from home =).

If you are planning to go to Vancouver, here is the link for the place where we stayed.  

You're the man Tyler!

July, you're here!!!! =)  Wow, more than half the year has gone by!  Did someone put it in fast forward?! 

Just as I've been doing for the past few months now, I start the month with a post about the recipes (mostly sweets, teehee) I've tried.  So for this month, I am posting about the Ultimate Cheesecake recipe of Tyler Florence. 

(Trivia:  Did you know that July 8 is National Blueberry Day?  I learned about it from the Princess' summer school)

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts.  And if you ask what my favorite cheesecake is, I don't have a particular favorite but Blueberry will be up there in the list (and OMG, Cheesecake Factory's GODIVA Chocolate Cheesecake!)

Actually, I have a go to recipe for a blueberry cheesecake which I've blogged before here.  It is a super easy and quick, yummy recipe which needs NO BAKING!  I haven't tried making a baked cheesecake (yep, those pretty ones which we see in restaurants) because they intimidate me, haha.    

Since I had some blueberry pie filling leftovers sitting at the ref, I thought of challenging myself and stepping up my cheesecake game!

There are so many cheesecake recipes online and one of the highly rated I've seen is that of Tyler Florence's from the Food Network site.

And all I have to say is. . . you're the man Tyler!  (with matching fist bump, haha!) 

And thank you for sharing this recipe!  It is absolutely a winner!

But most specially, thank you for making me believe in myself, hahaha!

As Tyler mentioned in his video, what makes cheesecake smooth and creamy is putting them in a hot water bath (also called the Bain Marie method).  

To further explain why, I read this at www.chatelaine.com:

Why do I need a water bath?

Some cheesecake recipes don’t call for a water bath, but we prefer this method. The water bath (also known as a bain marie) is used to regulate the baking temperature of the cheesecake. Since the temperature of water never exceeds boiling point (it turns into steam), it keeps the cheesecake baking at an even, slow temperature. This prevents the cheesecake from overcooking (especially around the edges). The steam created by the water bath also further protects the baking cheesecake, keeping the air in the oven moist and humid to prevent the top of the cake from drying out and cracking.

For the complete recipe of Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake (I suggest you watch the video too), please click here.

My personal notes for this recipe (based on my experience):

1. I added 2-3 tbsps of sugar in the graham crust (only because the graham crackers I used aren't that tasty)

2. The recipe called for lemon rind but since I didn't have a rasp grater, I just used (1 tbsp of lemon juice).  The next time I make this, I would use 2-3 tbsps to get more "Zzzing".

3. If you see yourself baking cheesecakes (lots of them! haha) in your future, I suggest you buy a Springform pan =).

Happy Baking!  Here's to more good times with homemade cheesecakes!

A Father's Day Post for Hubby

How was your weekend?  Ours was beautiful and fun-filled because we celebrated two special occasions.  First, we had a family get together for our Princess' 5th Birthday and second, we celebrated Father's Day with a simple lunch at our favorite BBQ place.

So to honor this special man in our lives, I did a picture collage of him and the kids and posted it in FB and wrote:

"Thank you for showing your love in the simplest things"

(It's true.  If there is one word that would describe him, it would be "simple".  He may be a man of few words but he never fails to show us that he loves us everyday.)
 

Since Hubby doesn't access his FB regularly, I told him that I posted something in FB for him!
*me, feeling giddy*

So after seeing it. . .

Hubby: Baby, bakit laging nakatalikod ako?

Then I remembered what I posted last year for Father's Day (pls. see below)

Hahaha!  And then I laughed out some more when I realized that in the other picture in the collage above, he was wearing an Iron Man mask!

But I have to say something about that!

Me:  Para medyo artsy ang dating di ba, dramatic! =)

Hubby: Ano ang dramatic sa hindi kita ang mukha?

LOL

All these time that we are having this conversation, he was saying everything with a straight face!
Haha!  And if you ask me what is one thing I love about him, he just makes me laugh without trying hard!

So Sweetheart, I owe you a full frontal picture!  And I want to share it with everyone who reads this blog, haha!

HAHAHA!  

I know you hate this picture and probably you'll hate me more for posting this. . . but I do know you love me (SO MUCH!) that you actually won't mind. Haha!

Happy Father's Day!  

We love you Daddy!

THE Crinkles Recipe You Have To Try

I'm on a (cookie) roll!!!

After posting my favorite chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe last month, I am posting another cookie recipe I tried and which I absolutely loved!

I've already blogged about a Crinkles recipe (Crinkles are chocolate cookies that are soft and chewy, it's like a brownie cookie) before (you may read about it here).  They turned out okay, I thought they can be better.  

Since I will be bringing some cookies for the Princess' Promotion night this Friday, I thought of baking these sweet treats.

And so my quest to find a better Crinkles recipe began.

By the way, do you know how I choose recipes to try (in general)?  I google for images!    

The food photo which looked best (and yummm!) wins!  Haha!

I saw one and I knew I had to try it!

Why?

Two words.

DOUBLE. CHOCOLATE. (Now, let's say that again)

Thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction, we got to enjoy these . . .

chocolatey, chewy and moist Crinkles!

(Did I say Double Chocolate?)

So I'm happy to say that the search is OVER!

(Cue Survivor's "The Search is Over" song here, haha)

I highly recommend this recipe if you are a Crinkle (or Chocolate!) lover like me!

My little big boy loved them so much, I had to stop him, haha!

Here are my notes for this recipe (based on my experience):

1. Putting the cookie dough overnight (or more) in the ref is recommended.

2. I found the crinkles a little bit sweet so for the next batch, I will just use half a cup of semi-sweet choco chips (original recipe calls for 1 cup). 

3. Baking time that worked for me was 10-11 minutes.  I suggest you make a small batch for different baking times to see which would suit your taste more.

For the full recipe, I suggest you hop over to Sally's blog as she has a detailed explanation for it.

Please click here.

Happy Baking!

My Favorite Chewy Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Hello, I'm still here! =)

Things have just been quite busy at home that I couldn't find (or make) time to blog.  So before the month of May ends (can you believe we are almost at the middle of the year), I want to post something for you.

I have a confession to make. . . I don't like baking cookies!  

It's funny that I can bake a banana loaf (my favorite recipe here) and I managed to bake my boy's Chocolate Birthday cake (you can read about it here) . . but cookies?  Not really my favorite thing to do, haha!

I've tried a couple of recipes before which didn't work out and I tried one recipe which  I liked (I even called it "my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe" back then).  But somehow, I just stopped baking cookies. I thought buying a bag of Chunky Chips Ahoy at the grocery is the easiest (and smartest, haha) thing to do!

But having seen a lot of recipe feeds in my FB about homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies encouraged me to try baking some again.

There are a lot. . .like A LOT of chocolate chip recipes online.  So I just went to Food Network (because I'm a fan, hihi) and saw that they have a recipe for a Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie!  (Hubby and I prefer chewy over a crunchy cookie.)  

Thanks to Food Network, I found my new favorite recipe!  Woohoo!

I am sooo happy with how they turned out!  

They were thin and crispy on the edges and then . . . 

Moist and buttery inside. . . Yummm!

A recipe which called for 2 1/2 sticks of butter (I knowwww) is promising right?  As they say, butter makes everything better!  Haha!

One of the things I did for this recipe which I think helped in enhancing the flavor of the cookie is putting the dough in the ref overnight.  In the recipe, the baking time for the cookie is 12 minutes. However, for my batch, the perfect baking time was around 10-11 minutes.  I suggest making a small batch for each time to see which one would suit your taste (in terms of color and consistency).  

This is my take-away from the recipe of Food Network: When you see the edges of the cookie turn golden, even if the middle part is still soft, take out the cookie from the oven and let them cool (for 10 mins) before transferring them to a cooling rack.  I am not a baker but I think the residual heat from the pan would cook the middle part a little bit more. 

I found the cookies a little bit sweet so I might reduce the granulated sugar next time.

But this recipe definitely works for me!  It is hubby-approved (he is NOT a fan of anything sweet!) and I think that says something about these cookies (and his love for me, hahaha!). =)  

For the full recipe, please click on this link to head to Food Network's site.

The Asian Orlando Bloom

I caught a couple of episodes of "Rush Hour", a new TV series which is based on the popular film (with the same  name) starred by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

While watching the pilot episode, the guy who plays Detective Lee (played by Jackie Chan in the film) looks oddly familiar and I couldn't really pinpoint where I've seen him.

Until one of the characters in the scene called him an Asian Orlando Bloom!

That was it!  He does remind me of Orlando Bloom!

*Photos are from the web


Riiiigghhhtttt?

What do you think?!

So I went online and googled about this actor.

His name is Jon Foo.  He is an English actor, a Martial Artist and a stuntman.  He was born and raised in London and is of Chinese and Irish descent.

His most popular role was probably Jin Kazama in the film "Tekken".

To know more about him and his filmography, please click on this link.

If you are going to ask me about the show, it's just okay.  It can be better.  It actually had mixed reviews.

As for me, I don't mind watching it if it means getting a dose of Orlando Bloom-ish every week, haha!

Homemade Chocolate Birthday Cake

And just like that, the first quarter of the year is over!  I wish I've put up more blog posts this March (they are all in my draft folder though, haha!).  I've wanted to write and share so many things with you but I just couldn't find (and make!) time to do so. 

The best part of our March is . . . our little big boy turned three!  He is sweet, adorable and handful (as they say, boys will be boys) at the same time.  He wears his heart on his sleeve, he likes being around kids and has a ready smile for everyone.   He couldn't talk straight yet (if we need an "interpreter", his Ate comes to the rescue, haha) but he can talk in sentences.  And just like me, he loves to eat and loves chocolates!

For his birthday, I wanted to do something special for him.  So I challenged myself to bake a cake (must be chocolate!) for him.  Yep, you read that right!

And I did!  Woohoo!

Thanks to an easy to follow Chocolate Cake recipe given by my friend, B.  Then, I just got buntings, candles and sprinkles to decorate the cake (read: to make it look more fancy, haha)  

I'm so, so, so happy with how this chocolate cake turned out! 

It was so funny that when I showed it to my Mom during our video call. . . she can't (she won't!) believe I made it!  Haha! (Thanks Mom!)  I had to call Hubby and let him tell my Mom because she knows that he can't lie to her, haha!

What I love about this cake is it gets better each day!  I found that it actually tasted better the day after.  I think the next time I'm going to bake, I will bake the cake part a day earlier.

So if you want to take the big leap in baking and bake a chocolate cake, here is a good and easy to follow recipe:

B's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake
2 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mayonnaise
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven at 300 degrees.

2. Combine milk, sugar, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan.  Blend well, bring to a boil and then let it cool.

Bringing it to a boil

and then letting it cool  . . .

3. Sift together the following dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Add mayonnaise to the chocolate mixture.  Then beat in eggs one at a time.

5. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Mix gently until well blended. Do not overmix.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. (Insert a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out dry, it's done)

Note:  I suggest you weigh your baking ingredients using a scale.  The unit of measurement may be the same but the weight is actually different.  For example, 1 cup of granulated sugar is 225 grams while 1 cup of cocoa powder is 118 grams.  

I used Chocolate Ganache (an icing made of chocolate and cream) for this cake since Hubby prefers this type of icing.  If you like to try this too, please click on this link to go to Bake Happy's site which also features a chocolate cake recipe (which I want to also try one of these days).  

Note: In Bake Happy's directions, she puts the ganache in the refrigerator overnight and whips it the next day.  I've put mine for a couple of hours and it still turned out well.  

Here's the birthday boy enjoying the icing of his cake! =)  

I know, frosting a cake is not really my thing.  I call it a "rustic" way of frosting, haha!

If you want  to try the icing made of condensed milk (which also sounds yumm!) from my friend's recipe, here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup cocoa
3 teaspoons butter
1 can or package of all purpose cream
1 can condensed milk

Just mix all the ingredients in a double boiler and stir constantly.

Please click on this link on how to make a double boiler at home.

As they say, never under estimate the power of Chocolate! =)

Happy Baking!