Pandesal! bird nest and Scout!

No, wait, we’re not turning this into a cooking blog hahaha. I just thought of sharing another accomplished moment we recently had. But before I go on praising myself here hehe… let us give you a little background about “Pandesal” and what it is… so go on click on the link. Yes, I made exactly that… Pandesal! I still can’t believe it! I made Pandesal! LOL!

The Pandesal!

We only are able to eat this lovely thing in the Philippines or whenever it’s available in the oriental store (which does not quite come close to eating the real thing). And now in the comfort of our home away from home… we are actually eating freshly baked Pandesal! The smell, not so much the look hehe (I have yet to perfect cutting the dough), and specially the taste… it’s the real deal! Thank you Google! And to all online Pandesal recipes out there that made this historic moment possible! Hahaha! Sorry for all the excitement… I just can’t believe it!

I really did it! :)

Another cool thing happened was, we discovered (all this happened over the weekend by the way hehe) that there is a bird nest situated outside our front door’s ceiling! How cool is that?! I tried to take a picture of the nest with the bird still on it but every time I do… I’d scare them away :(

the bird nest

Lastly, we got to hang-out with our next door neighbor’s ever so lovely dog, Scout! She’s 14 years old and yet she’s still full of life and excitement! I remember the first time she introduced herself to us… Warren was outside mowing the lawn and all of a sudden this huge dog appeared out of nowhere in front of him staring at him… my dear hubby was so scared that he called for me! Hahaha! It turned out she’s the sweetest dog there is!

with Scout

Hot Chocolate Soufflé

It was Easter Sunday and we thought of doing something special and so… I brought out my all time fave dessert cookbook! Flipped through the pages and looked for the ones that our little pantry could accommodate haha! And found this! Not bad… not bad at all! A little mishap in the baking time… but still good! :) Oh, this recipe calls for tablespoons of coffee or brandy but I skipped those because as you know, our house is coffee and brandy free! : )

The recipe:

2 tablespoons superfine sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons brandy or coffee
4 eggs, separated, plus 2 extra whites
1 recipe Dark Chocolate Sauce, to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Butter a 4-cup soufflé dish and dust with 1 tablespoon of superfine sugar, break the chocolate into pieces and place in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water with the brandy or coffee. Cook over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the remaining superfine sugar and egg yolks. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold 1 tablespoon into the chocolate mixture. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the egg whites and, using a metal spoon, quickly fold together. Pour into the buttered soufflé dish and plate on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until risen and just set. Dust the soufflé with powdered sugar and serve immediately with the sauce.

Serve 4. Note: take care when melting chocolate not to overheat it. It loses its gloss and becomes very thick, making it difficult to combine with other ingredients.

Ta-da! A little wobbly in the center… but we had a good laugh about it! LOL!

Another random thing… last Saturday we had a trip down memory lane. We visited the NYS museum here in Albany and came across the “Sesame Street”! oh yeah! I grew up watching this show! Seeing it in person – though a replica – was just plain cool! Brought back memories for sure! Haha!

♫ ♪ Can you tell me how to get How to get to Sesame Street ♪ ♫