Low carb meal: scrambled eggs with veggies and bacon

So my boyfriend decided to start cutting down carbs and I got motivated to do the same to lose some of my own weight and to keep him motivated. Following a diet is more fun when you do it with someone else, right? :)) I wont totally go low carb. II'll just try to prepare my own meals whenever possible and avoid carby foods especially sweets which I really love.

So today, because I have some spare time, I decided to make omelet. I ended up not cooking a flat foldable egg though, so this is actually scrambled eggs. 

Easy sour cream recipe

I have some recipes that call for sour cream, but sour cream isn't cheap in my place so I sometimes feel hesitant buying it. Another issue is that I am seldom able to consume the entire cup - a total waste of money! So I thought I should try to use sour cream alternatives that would yield the same result in baking, but use cheaper ingredients. I'd also like to try sour cream substitute on recipes that call for yogurt because the yogurt that I get in my local grocery stores contain gelatin and I *think* the gelatin is making my baked goods rubbery.

Here's an easy sour cream recipe from The Frugal Chef  that I'd like to try:

Simple milk tea recipe. Sugar free

Missing teh tarik, I made a cup of simple milk tea today. Not as good but it's alright.

Ingredients:
1 lipton yellow label tea bag
3/4 cup hot water ( try 1/2 cup for more tea flavor)
1/4 tsp stevia powder or more

Procedures:
Let tea bag steep in hot water for 3-5 minutes
Add milk and stevia then stir.

posted from Bloggeroid

Review: A flourless, low-carb brownies

I tried a low-carb brownie recipe where the goodies are baked on a muffin pan. The recipe I used was as follows:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
4 packets (4g) NutraSweet
1 tsp white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line muffin pan with muffin liners.
Melt butter then mix in the cocoa powder
Add the egg, water, vanilla, and NutraSweet. Mix well.
Fill each muffin liner 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes.

Low Carb Cloud Bread

Trying my best to avoid breads, I am taking note of this cloud bread recipe for future use. The recipe is titled "carb free cloud bread" but it has some carbs, actually, so I'm going to call it low carb cloud bread instead. I read that while it's fresh from the oven, it's like meringue in texture, but once cooled inside a sealed container, it turns "nice and chewy".

Flourless brownie recipes

OK so on Monday I'll work as an employee for the first time. For 2 years I worked from home with a foreign company, but my employment will need me to take a train, a jeepney, and about 20 minutes walk to get to the office. So, it's gonna be more tiresome. And I will miss having meals and snacks always ready in the fridge at home.

I think bringing some homemade baked goods will me will keep me from being lonely at the office. What I plan to bring is brownies, and I'm taking note of some recipes I'd like to try.

I've been trying to avoid grains in my food so no matter how much I love my old fudgy brownies recipe (try it!), I'm gonna try these:

Low-Carb Flourless Chocolate and Oatmeal Cluster Cookies

Oatmeal is what I have almost everyday for breakfast. It provides my body energy and fiber, it's easy to prepare (instant ones), and it's so good when sweetened!

In attempt to divert from the usual oatmeal breakfast (in a bowl, with water and sweetener), I'll try making oatmeal cookies instead for breakfast. These cookies can even be made the day or night before, which saves more time in the morning. :) And of course they are good to eat at any time of the day too!

Low-carb almond flour snickerdoodle cookies recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened at room temperature or melted slightly in the microwave at lowest setting

1 1/2 cups almond flour or almond meal (almond flour gives a more finely-textured cookie)

3/4 cup granular Splenda or Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener (or sugar if you don't care about having low-sugar cookies)

1/4 cup brown sugar (or use 1/4 cup more granular Splenda or Stevia, or any proportions of sugar/Splenda/brown sugar you prefer to make 1 cup total sweetener)

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar



Ingredients for rolling cookies:

2 T granular Splenda or Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener

2 tsp. brown sugar

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Details: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/10/attempting-low-carb-dessert-recipea.html

Meringue Cookies Recipe

3 large egg whites (3 ounces or 90 grams)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup (150 grams) superfine or caster sugar (or process granulated sugar 30-60 seconds in a food processor)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/MeringueCookies.html#ixzz2XWffmQmc


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3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup Splenda granular (I used a little less than 2/3)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 handful of crushed almonds (optional) or 1 pecans (optional)

Details: http://www.food.com/recipe/south-beach-diet-friendly-chocolate-meringue-cookies-353514?oc=linkback


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3 egg whites
1-1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash salt
3/4 cup sugar

Details: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/vanilla-meringue-cookies

Peanut butter cookies recipe - no sugar added

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar substitute
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients, drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet, and bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 12 minutes or until set.

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/low-carb-peanut-butter-cookies-67015?oc=linkback

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Flourless, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
(Makes about 2 dozen small cookies, recipe adapted from Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies from Cookie Madness.)

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 cup granular Splenda or Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. Mexican vanilla (or vanilla extract)
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (check sugar content, the one I used had only 1 gram sugar per serving)
1 tsp. water
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Details: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/10/recipe-for-flourless-sugar-free-peanut.html#sthash.bA3TWF3W.dpuf

Chocolate mint cupcakes

I decided to begin selling cakes and cupcakes.



Been planning to experiment on the choco cupcakes and mint frosting. It's a challenge to accommodate all preferences of customers. XD

Baking temperature and time for 7-inch round cake

I have a recipe book whose 11 x 8 inch cake I wanted to try, but divided the ingredients by 4 to make a small round cake (7-inch).

I was worried about the temperature and time of baking. The ones written on the recipe are for the bigger rectangular cake, so that doesn't apply to my 7-inch cake.

So I search the web for recipes for 7-inch cakes, and found many Victorian Sponge Cake results. I based my baking on one of the web pages in the results, which said that the 7-inch round cake should bake 18-20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Only one egg was in the batter, by the way.

My carrot cake came out nice when I followed that. :) I hope it works on all sorts of cakes as long as it's on a 7-inch round pan.

Update:
This recipe says bake for 15-25 minutes. Maybe 15 minutes is good for a moister cake.

French vs. Italian vs. Swiss Meringue

I've been reading a cookbook that I just bought and I came accross a page where they give a brief explanation on the three types of meringue. Not making meringue often, I always wonder how they are different from one another. Maybe these can help:

Colorful Bread

My cute, colorful bread! :D I was even lucky that I noticed I could form a "heart" as I was taking photos.

I rarely end up with edible breads because they are usually too yeasty or rock-hard, but this one smells right, feels right... EXCEPT, I forgot to put in some salt! lolol. I always forget things. xD Anyways, I guess we should enjoy this bread with some spread or filling. :)

Dinner Rolls

I love these dinner rolls that I make. They're the breads I make best so far - soft, slightly sweet, and buttery.

I was told that they taste like the ones at The French Baker. :D

Pay no attention to how dark its browning is. It's not burnt. :)

Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe

Here's my favorite chocolate cake recipe so far. It is adapted from Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate cake.

It is rich and chocolatey, but is also dense so I'm still looking for a chocolate cake recipe that is lighter.

Ingredients for one 8-inch cake pan:

1 cup sugar
14 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 177 degrees Celsius. Grease and flour a round 8-inch cake pan.
In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
In another bowl, mix together all wet ingredients EXCEPT boiling water.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ones. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed, about 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water. Mix until well combined.
Pour into the floured cake pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool in pan for ten minutes before removing. When completely cooled, frost with frosting of your choice.

Best way to freeze and thaw baked cupcakes

I made a dozen of carrot cupcakes tonight, but don't want to frost them with cream cheese frosting until Friday or Saturday. I thought I should freeze them until then, because simply refrigerating might not preserve them well.

Apple Muffins

This makes about 6 muffins. It's supposed to make 9 but I had six because I used square muffin pans which are a bit large.

Cherry Fudge Cheesecake Recipe

Here's a cheesecake recipe I found on the leaflet of a pan I just bought. I haven't tried it yet, but based on a quick Google search, I think this is a Betty Crocker recipe :)

The "Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix" already includes chocolate syrup, I believe.

Roman Style Chicken (Recipe)

This blog may be called "Pinay Baker" but I want to post recipe of non-baked foods too! :)

You will like this chicken recipe if you like Italian flavors and the tangy taste.

The capers I use are the ones in bottles, soaked vinegar, so that brings the tangy taste to my dish.