There she goes.... 

FLOWERS AND A STUFFED BEAR FOR VALENTINES 

Goin' for some sledding 

Buchi

What to do with a half a pack of glutinous rice flour and some mung beans? Make buchi of course.

Buchi-buchi

I soaked the beans overnight. Rinsed them twice , rubbing the beans to remove some skin. I then boiled it in water until soft. Drained out the water. Process (well, I actually used the blender) to make a paste. Add some sugar and condensed milk (proportions according to taste). Place back in pan. Continually stir while cooking until it forms a soft dough like consistency. Set aside to cool.
Season rice flour with a pinch of salt and sugar. Mix in water. Form into soft dough.
Form the bean filling into balls. Make the same number of balls with the rice dough. Flatten dough and place filling in center .Pinch and roll to seal.
Roll in a plateful of sesame seeds to cover the whole "ball". Deep fry until golden brown. Place in paper towels to remove excess oil.

Kakanin

This is actually my mom's recipe. I know the whole process of making this but I'm not too confident with the exact measurements of the ingredients. And while my mom cooked the malagkit in the stove top the one I made was cooked in the microwave. I find using the microwave more convenient since I don't have to stir the malagkit while cooking just to prevent the bottom from scorching. Plus it only takes 15-18 min. to cook.
Baking at home was done in the turbo broiler/convection oven so I had to make some minor adjustments with the gas oven in our apartment. Same with some of the ingredients like the gata , malagkit and panucha.

Bibingkang Malagkit

2 c. sweet/glutinous rice, pre-soaked overnight
3 c. coconut milk
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar

Topping:
3-4 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. condensed milk

Drain out water from the rice. Place in microwaveable rice cooker . Mix in 2 c. coconut milk, salt and sugar. Set for 8 min. high heat. After which add the remaining 1 c. of coconut milk and make a quick stir. set for another 8-9 min.

For the topping simmer the coconut milk in a pot/pan until thick. When it's thick enough to cover the back of a spoon, add the sugar and condensed milk. Simmer until it's almost like a thick syrup (doing this cuts the time of baking and prevents the rice from drying up)

To assemble: place the cooked rice in a baking pan/dish. Level and smooth it out with a spatula . Pour in the topping . Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 min.

Kare-kare or Kaldereta?

I first tasted this dish during one of our weekend visits to my mother-in-law. Bought from a small carinderia owned by their neighbor and family friend. It was a very interesting dish. Pieces of beef with potatoes and carrots with a thick tomato-based sauce just like caldereta. But it also has a slightly yellow tinge and a hint of peanut butter to it just like in a kare-kare. Now, this left hubby and me debating the whole time while having lunch whether it was kaldereta or kare-kare. To settle things we asked the carinderia owner what the said dish was. As it turns out it was supposed to be a kaldereta but they ran out of liver spread so they used peanut butter instead.

Kaldereta with Peanut Butter

Ready-to-cook Crispy Fried Chicken

Back in the Philippines, I would watch the Daza's cooking show every weekend. The recipes were quite easy to follow and the ingredients could be certainly bought at the local supermarket,yet I wasn't able to cook any of them. I was a little lazy in writting them down (hey, what do you expect weekends are supposed to be rest days). But I do remember a few tips in cooking.
In one particular show, Mr. Sandy Daza mentioned how to have a ready-to-cook fried chicken with a really crispy skin .

Steamed Chicken

I marinated the chicken in some minced garlic, salt and pepper for about 30 min. inside the fridge. I then dredged it in cornstarch seasoned with onion and garlic powder (you can also add any powdered spices or seasoning to the cornstarch). Steam for 30 min. or more depending on the size of the chicken. Cool the chicken.
Place chicken in ziploc bag or any tightly-sealed freezable container.
If you feel like eating fried chicken or have very-unexpected guests just thaw the chicken in the microwave then deep-fry.

Another Stir-fried Vegetable Dish

Ingredients:

1 dozen quail eggs, hardboiled and peeled
6 chinese sausage, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch circles
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into squares
baguio pechay, cut into 1 inch length
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. tapioca starch dissolved in 1/4 c. water
salt
pepper

Saute garlic, onion and sausage. Add in broccoli, cauliflower and bell pepper stir fry for 3 min. Add quail eggs, oyster sauce, dissolved tapioca starch and pechay. Season with salt and pepper. Stir fry for another 3 min.