Honey Layer Cake

I saw on YouTube someone making Russian Honey Cake. The cake looks delicious but preparation is tedious. I like the idea of the cake and decided to make it but with an easier recipe and also lower carb. Layering almond flour pancakes and slightly tart and sweet whipped cream was the answer. The cake, although not as light as chiffon cake, is delicious and moist and I really love the flavor of the burnt honey. I will make a proper burnt honey cake for sure.

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Seville (Sour) Orange Marmalade

Sour oranges or Seville oranges have been appearing in the Korean grocery stores for many years already but I ignored them not knowing they are the sour or bitter or Seville oranges that are best for marmalade. I only found out this variety when I went to visit my daughter in Savannah, GA. She has a "mystery" sour orange tree on her backyard. I brought home 2 fruits when they were still green. I looked online for similar oranges and discovered they are actually Seville/bitter/sour oranges when I sliced the fruits. They have lots and lots of pips which are rich in pectin that helps in the setting/thickening of orange marmalade without store-bought pectin. The sour juice has a very pleasant smell and mild flavor.

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Chantilly Cake

I have never heard of Chantilly cake which I read about recently. The most popular apparently is the one that Whole Foods Market bakes and sells. Well, I hardly go to that store anymore. I used to more than 20 years ago when it opened in Reston, VA.

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Portuguese Style Spicy Sardines

I can't explain why I suddenly have an appetite for spicy Portuguese sardines. I seldom ate them. Recently, I found out I really really like them on toasted crusty bread and also with steamed rice. Suddenly, the stores don't sell the Nuri Portuguese brand anymore. Any other brand of spicy sardines is not good enough, not even the ones made in the Philippines. The Portuguese Nuri brand is available from Amazon but I find the cost too steep at $5.00 to $6.00 per tin. That's $1.00 for each tiny baby sardine! I don't know about you but I'm not willing to pay that much for tinned sardines.

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Mango Chiffon Layer Cake

 

One of the food favorites I sorely miss living here in the USA is the Philippine mangoes. The hybrid mangoes from Mexico are not as good both in flavor and texture but I buy them as substitute because I have no other choice. In the Philippines, mangoes are used extensively  in cakes and other desserts and what I can never find where I live is the mango chiffon layer cake. I searched for similar cakes in my area and all the cake shops have terrible and less than mediocre cakes, IMHO. Nothing can compare with Filipino cake bakeshops. I even tried the much loved Korean bakeries but they are also sub par. There are Red Ribbon shops but they do not deliver and the locations are too far from my house, about 7 to 8 hours to drive. No way!

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Fathead Pizza

I haven't heard of fathead dough. I read about it a week ago from someone who lost a lot of weight by partial fasting, that is, not eating anything after dinner until lunch the next day. He combined the fasting with low carb diet recommending the fathead pizza dough. I tried it but it was not satisfactory because it came out too pale and soft.

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Curried Okra

I rarely buy okra because I can't stand its slimy texture. When I do cook them, it's on a very high heat dry cast iron pan which somehow reduces the slime. Yesterday, I asked an Indian lady at the store for recipe recommendation and she said to saute sliced onions, add the okra and stir fry over high heat, then add add a little curry powder just to flavor it a bit. Some coarsely chopped different colored cherry tomatoes make the dish colorful and add nutrition too.

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Buco (Young Coconut) Sherbet

I've made lots and lots of ice cream since I bought my Italian ice cream maker but I haven't made sorbet/sherbet in it until today. I used frozen buco (young coconut) because there aren't any fresh ones lately.

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Homemade Coconut Jam

Several months ago, I bought from a Filipino grocery store a jar of the best [IMHO] coconut jam. The label says it's from Quezon province. The jam is very dark and thick but surprisingly not very sweet. It's too far to drive to the store and the Filipino online store has sold out.

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Low Carb Brownies

These flourless low carb brownies are really good specially with a glass of iced whole milk. If you are craving for chocolaty fudgy brownies but trying to cut down on carbohydrates intake, this recipe will satisfy you.

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Pork Belly Vindaloo

I was watching Jamie (Oliver) and Jimmy's cooking show on Netflix. The first episode, Season 1 has Pork Vindaloo. I'm not fond of Indian cuisine but the bright red meat stew looked really good, I just had to try it. I adapted the recipe the show used which is available on their website.

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Peach Lemonade

I keep reading about Chick-Fil-A's newly added drink to their menu, Peach Lemonade. It sounds peachy! I have to try it one of these days.

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Frittata Muffins

I was reading The Clever Gut Diet Book and the author suggests eating plenty of a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. They contain beneficial phytochemicals. I have been cooking dishes that have a combination of colorful vegetables. Baked layered rattatouille was one and it was delicious.

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Pumpkin Cheese Layer Dessert

For Thanksgiving this year, I didn't want to make pie nor bake pumpkin cheesecake. It's just too much trouble preparing crust, etc. No bake was the only way to go. I used the mashed sweet baby pumpkin I had in the freezer to shorten the prep. Canned pumpkin is also good for this recipe.

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