Peanut Butter Raver

I haven’t always been a peanut butter fan. Maybe peanuts on their own, but not really peanut butter. I grew up on Lily’s, Ludy’s, and several other locally made pan-de-sal buddies. They are all rich and smooth and creamy and can put the H on any kid’s ADHD.

As my taste eventually evolved into looking for texture, I found a liking towards the chunky kind of PB. It is a bane for me that the only available ones with really crunchy chunks are the imported kind like Jiffy, Skippy and Keebler. Much to my disappointment, there has been a recent recall of all US peanut products because of the salmonella content found by the food authorities.

And as if by serendipity, while my sister and I were shopping at one Pan de Manila outlet, she reached over to grab Pan de Manila’s Crunchy Peanut butter. This gave a fantastic alternative – a locally-made uber-chunky peanut butter which is a good deal for PhP 95 for a 330-gram jar. In my opinion, this PB is to pan de sal as Sonny is to Cher. Yeah, I know Cher and Sonny broke up, but I just can’t seem to end my new found relationship with this crunchy PB.

Once you open the jar, you’ll be overwhelmed by just how much peanut chunks you’ll see. For every spoonful, you might just be able to find perhaps a hundred morsels of crunchy peanuts suspended in a just-right sweet peanut butter cream.

It’s so good that it makes me forget about my diet. I’m raving for you, love!

Tea and Sympathy

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea. ~Author Unknown

If you’re going to have tea, don’t just have tea… have a good one! There aren’t just black, white, and green tea. There are actually a lot of variations done with infusions.

I have a few personal favorites I’d recommend others to try:

1. Twinings Earl Grey Green – green tea infused with bergamot oil. This was named after a British Prime Minister in the 1830s, when a chinese diplomat was rescued from drowning by one of the Earl’s men. This tea is good for breakfast or afternoon tea leisure.

2. St. Dalfour Peppermint Black Tea – this French tea company has mastered the art of tea infusions while using Ceylon tea leaves which works great with peppermint.

3. Gold Leaf Honey Lemon Green – the aroma of this particular variety is very energizing, sure to lift up any glum day. Its affordable too!

Tea, I think, can be as tricky to prepare as brewed coffee. As there is no known (that is, to me) machine that can automatically prepare the perfect cup, you have to master making it like a trainee alchemist.

First off, know what your tea is. Different teas require different steeping time (that is, the number of minutes it infuses the water) and different water temperature.

Black tea generally should be made with water at a full, rolling boil, 212 degrees. Steep 4-6 minutes. Darjeelings are the exception, they should be steeped 2-3 minutes.

Oolong tea (also known as wulong tea) should be made with water a little bit below boiling, between 190 and 203 degrees. The water should be steaming rapidly and there should many bubbles rising in the kettle, but not really breaking the surface. Oolong teas (also known as wulong tea) vary dramatically and you need to experiment or follow the suggested steeping instructions on the bag. Many oolongs (wulongs) are perfect at 3-4 minutes, some need 6-8 minutes.

Green teas should be made with slightly cooler water, between 160 and 180 degrees. The steam should be wafting or gently swirling out of the kettle. Green teas should typically be steeped for much less time, 2-3 minutes.

White teas should be made with even cooler water, anywhere from 150 to 160 degrees, when you see the very first hint of steam. White teas typically should be steeped around 2 minutes, although some can be steeped much longer with good results.

Puerh teas are very different, I have had them made with cooler water, similar to a green tea. But my favorite method is to make them with boiling water and steep them a long time. Puerh teas should be steeped at least 7-8 minutes. I like to steep Puerhs up to 20 minutes.To keep puerh hot, while steeping 20 minutes, simply cover your pot with a tea cozy or even wrap it with a dish towel. It will stay piping hot.

Herbal teas should typically be made with boiling water. Herbals typically should be steeped a minimum of 4-6 minutes, some for up to 10 minutes.

taken from TeaSource

If you’re having coffee more than once a day, trade that one cup for green tea instead of coffee. Its known to have more effective antioxidants than coffee and can even help you boost your metabolism.

Lets go green!

Sometimes its ridiculous to make everything from scratch.

“Baking is for sissies.” – L. Tanguio a.k.a. Chua

Who doesn’t love cookies? The variety of what to choose from is practically endless: with fruit, jam, chocolate, peanut butter, almonds, macadamia, walnut, oats, raisins… Pastry eclairs, on the other hand can be very classic, yet still surprising.

Here are some ideas for comfort foods that are very easy to find.

Chips Ahoy Peanut Butter Chunky – I was able to have a taste of this while staying over at one of my girl friend’s place. She was obviously not depressed, the pack was barely half-finished. The cookies smelled a little bit of peanut butter, but the taste wasn’t that overwhelming. It is not far different from the usual crispy chocolate chip cookie variety, and however it remains very true to its “chunky” title.

The next best favorite is Pepperidge Farm’s Sausalito Milk Chocolate Macadamia cookies. For a little over a hundred bucks, you’ll be able to enjoy eight big cookies with very huge chunks of chocolates, and macadami halves which have been perfectly roasted to add just the perfect accent to the texture and taste of the cookie.

Lastly, I recommend Lemon Square Dream Cake Double Chocolate cupcakes. Amazingly, these dreamy cupcakes are very cheap, ten pieces sell for only 45+PhP in local grocery stores. It has a soft cake base and a very sinful chocolate surprise in the middle.

Thank god, technology and capitalism saved us from the trouble of having to bake these wonderful things ourselves. If its a rescue from depression, some chocolate binging, or simply a sugar rush you’re after, these three should definitely on the buy list!

Big Buddha Birthday

What was on the table were the Crispy Lemon Chicken, Steamed fish, and Beef with Mushrooms/Brocolli. Geovani and I opted to go without the starch, hence no rice for us.

Big Buddha, as I would say is not very ambient for lingering. At dinner time it was quite noisy, but not so much that we had to scream at each other. The washroom… well, it wasn’t disgusting. Hehe

The food is nothing out of the ordinary. I remember having had all those dishes in other Asian restaurants; there was nothing notable about the ones I had at Big Buddha. We opted to skip the starch, and that may just be why the food seemed to me as being too salty. The beef dish, I wasn’t sure if they named it with brocolli or with mushroom… there were three giant slices of shitake, and maybe more than a handful of brocolli. The crispy lemon chicken was good, though, because of the sauce. But maybe it could use a little less coating on the chicken. We had to ourselves the steamed fish fillet which Ageo said was good. I have to make a mental note that our taste buds aren’t as much compatible as everything else in our lives.

I think, much like any place serving chinese food, they should serve tea with all their meals. With the setup of the greenbelt branch as well, I think they have to deal with the trouble of keeping the food warm.

After we had to keep our cool through the whole course of traffic just to get there, I had to ask my self… was it worth the trip? For Gerard’s birthday, yes. The food? Well, lets say I wouldn’t go back for it as much as I’d like to go back to Jollibee!

Ice Cream Dreams

Other critics say its the next thing to Ben & Jerry’s, so I dared to give it a try. Not even pouring rain could stop me and my friends, Michelle and Onde, to scout for the mythological ice cream.

Alas, after their one hour of waiting, we scoured Podium at Ortigas and finally found Sebastian’s ice cream near Astroplus on the mall’s 4th Floor. One of the things I found welcoming about the stall was that they let customers try all flavors they’re interested in, and let them pick which one to choose. At PhP 85 for a single scoop, and PhP 140 for two scoops of ice cream, it would seem quite pricey for the regular Juan but the experience is exhilarating! Just to illustrate, while Michelle and I were talking about nothings, Onde seemed to be in his own little world with his Chocoholics Anonymous scoop.

What I had was a scoop of Butter Pecan ice cream which reminded me a lot of Quezo Ice cream that only Filipinos seem to enjoy. It felt like there was more salt than sugar, but every bite comes with a, tada, crunchy roasted pecan which made it all the more enjoyable. Although if you’re not a big fan of the Filipino “gelato frommaggio”, don’t try it.

Sebastian’s Ice Cream Studio offers nine mouthwatering flavors: (as depicted in their menu)

1. Double Dutch Deluxe – Cashew-vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate chips and a gooey-crunchy marshmallow-cashew swirl;
2. Mango Sans Rival – Cashew Buttercream ice cream garnished with cashews, wafer pieces and a luscious mango ribbon made with real mangoes;
3. Bananutella – Delicious banana ice cream with a thick Nutella Hazelnut swirl, made with real bananas
4. Up All Night – Creamy coffee ice cream with espresso fudge and coffee-chocolate chunks;
5. Butter Pecan – Crunchy butter-roasted pecans in rich buttery ice cream;
6. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – Creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with gobs of unbaked chocolate chip cookie dough and walnuts;
7. Chocoholics Anonymous – Rich chocolate ice cream loaded with dark chocolate chunks and a thick fudge swirl. For serious chocolate lovers;
8. Macadamia White – Delicate white chocolate ice cream garnished with roast Macadamia nuts;
9. Dublin Fudge – Bailey’s Irish Cream ice cream with a thick ribbon of rich chocolate Fudge.

You can find Sebastian’s at Alabang Town Center (near Timezone and Auntie Anne’s), Yaku and Shepherd’s Staff (Mall of Asia) and First Empire (BF Homes Parañaque). It’s definitely worth the trip!

Thanks to eat and run blog!