Sunday, December 22

2014 Starbucks Planner; Unboxing


Hi there folks! I am back again with another post! This one's so late so I do apologize.

I got my 2014 Starbucks planner last week, not bad for a non-coffeeholic drinker like me. ^_^ You can read my 2013 Starbucks planner post here.

Anyways, to get started, here's a preview of the 2013 Starbucks planner Philippine edition. See how simple the box of 2014 planner looks now?


Mine was in yellow but SB planner comes in 4 (four) different colors; yellow, black, magenta and brown.






Last year's plain magnet lock is now a WOW! Don't you just love its vintage-ish look?




Tantananan! Here's a sneak peak of what's inside.






Here's what I love the most! Two pages of isometric graphs perfect for doodles! Yehey!


And stickers and of course, coupons too! ;D







Together with the planner comes an icon bookmark, depending on your planner's color. Coffee bean for yellow, coffee house for brown, sail boat for Magenta and Starbucks cup for Black. And yes, mine is a coffee bean!



So what can you say about Starbucks' new planner design guys?

Opss, before I forget, got mine from a blogger's giveaway together with a pen and a keychain! Thanks to Ms. Didi of http://candishhh.blogspot.com! :D


PS. I don't talk too much now, I prefer being silent. :P

Saturday, December 21

UPDATE: I am still alive!

Hi there guys! Thank you for dropping at my blog and I want to tell you guys that I really miss writing and posting articles here, which I can't do because of my very busy schedule.

No, I never forget everyone, I am thankful that I have readers like you and I will never stop blogging until the last second of my breath. Aw, very touching.

Anyhow, next time, I am planning to post everything about my job.

SO that's it for tonight guys! Stay safe and have a great weekend!

Monday, November 4

FEATURED: Piasten Praline


Mom got home with another pack of chocolate, she mostly bring home Toblerone or a sinlge Snickers in almond before. But today, it is a large box (400 g) consisting of 40 (forty) individual bit size chocolate goodies in assorted flavors. It’s from her students again I believe. It is one of the perks of being a good school teacher for years.


Some German chocolates have alcohol contents, as per my aunt. But this collection is purely wholesome. It comes in coffee, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and others, as I recall, if my taste buds serve me well. There are wrapped pralines and unwrap ones. I don’t know what the difference between the two is but they’re both luscious.


Germany is good in creating and innovating varieties of chocolate flavors since most of the brands came from that country like J.D. Gross (Read more: http://myxilog.blogspot.com/2013/09/featured-jd-gross-collection-superieur.html) and others like Haribo gummy bears. Don’t you just love cute and yummy gummy bears in different colors? Cause I do.


Do you prefer pralines than chocolate bar? Or vice versa? Why so?

Friday, October 18

Featured: Ludy's Instant Ginger Punch with Lemon

Hola lovelies! It's been a busy week and it's TGIF already. Yipee! Sorry for being MIA for so long, and I don't want to elaborate much, so here's a featured post for you. *wink*

I am a milk tea sucker, no, you're not allowed to disagree. Hihi. And since buying milk tea costs a lot, if bought everyday, Mom decided to buy me this Ludy's Ginger Punch from our local grocery. (Cheapest milk tea cost Php50 or $1.16)

This instant salabat (ginger punch) comes in a 150g glass jar.


Manufacturing date and expiration date is located at the bottom of the jar. The product can lasts up to a year, as you can see.


Other information like ingredients, direction were included too. But I guess they missed the Nutrition Facts section.


I was really impressed upon opening the jar. Powder was pressed and tight. The minty scent invites me to have a taste.


The grains look closely to brown sugar, but definitely have a very distinctive punch.


Ok, here's an almost empty cup I had after opening the jar. There's no single sign of dregs! Still, I opt to add a spoon of milk or two.


A jar cost approximately Php54-58 or $1.25-1.35.

If you're having a hard time with cough or sore throat, then this is a remedy I would opt to suggest. I don't take medicine that much, my family still believes that healing wonder of nature is the best among the rest. Hehe.

Will you attempt to try this product? And what keeps you busy these days? I'd love to hear from you! Have a great day!

Friday, October 4

3-Ingredient Aglio E Olio Recipe and Tutorial


It's Friday already! Wohoo! And it's TGIF again!

Anyways, I have here a step-by-step recipe (not-so-common recipe) to share tonight. This might be loved with pasta lovers! (Hm, I guess so.) Aglio E Olio mean "spaghetti with garlic and oil" in Italian, the simplest pasta dish ever.

Since everyone's so busy with work and anything else, here's a hassle-free dish. This recipe don't require precise measurement. I just used the following.


1 pack of pasta spaghetti (175g)
3 to 5 pieces of garlic (chopped or minced)
1 pack of extra virgin olive oil (20 ml)
pinch of salt (optional)

LET'S GET STARTED!

Wednesday, October 2

Featured: Peanut Kisses and Peanut Fingers from Bohol, Philippines

Ever heard of this stuff? If you're living in the Philippines or visited Bohol in the Philippines, then you probably have heard, or even tasted such products. :) These are just some of Bohol's famous delicacies.

My bff's Mom traveled to Bohol a month ago and brought me these pasalubongs. I am not a nut person (I am nuts mentally, hoho) but I don't consider peanut as one of the thing I am fond of eating, maybe occasionally. Have you seen any of my recipes with a peanut or even peanut butter as ingredient? Probably not. Because I am not a peanut person as I've said a while ago. Wait. Whut?

Anyways, I was not surprised when Mama (bff's Mom) handed me these goodies. I've read a lot about Peanut Kisses and tasted it already.


Anyways, she included a postcard of Floating Resto to make me feel envious because she had experienced to eat in that famous floating restaurant. Haha. That's a kid! Yet I do really envy her, as in. I want to try that eat-all-you-can buffet lunch too!


Monday, September 30

Homemade Pancake Recipe and Tutorial (Pancake from Scratch)

As promised, I'll be sharing the pancake-from-scratch recipe I'm using for years now. I know using commercially sold pancake mix is a hassle-free stuff yet it is very important to know how to make food from scratch, in case packs ran out of stock *wink* plus it is healthier than processed mix.

It is important to keep this in mind. The ingredients are divided into two parts. First, the dry ingredients, and the latter part is the liquid ingredients of course.

Let's mark the first part as Ingredient A (dry) and Ingredient B (liquid).


Ingredient A:

1 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


Ingredient B:

1 cup milk (can be fresh milk or evaporated milk) (must not be substituted with powdered milk)
1 tablespoon melted butter/cooking oil
1 egg (in room temperature)

Optional:
maple syrup
a slice of butter

LET'S GET STATED!

Sunday, September 29

Template Changed; Le Myxilog v3.0

Hi everyone! I am finally done with my unannounced hiatus, I guess. Because finally, my girly-girl theme was installed and now I'd be able to blog more. :D Yey!

Supposedly, the photo below was my last design for my new blogger template, but apparently, the codes messed up and I wasn't able to retrieve what was lost.


This took me 3-4 days of planning and 2 days of designing+coding actually. Nothing new still. I just want to came up with a simpler version (2-column) template.


Upon seeing my new template design, Mom told me "Babaeng babae naman!" (Too feminine!). And this is how I replied, "Eh ito ang gusto ng babae niyong anak eh. :D" (That's what your daughter wants.) I don't know. She's just used of my favorite color blue perhaps. Anyways, she still appreciated the outcome and told me it is wonderful. :D

You can see my previous templates here: http://myxilog.blogspot.com/p/layouts.html

So, what do you think about my new template? Is there something else that needed to be tweaked? Just tell me. I'd love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

It's October tomorrow already! Take care everyone!

Monday, September 16

Management Monday: Chocolate Storage and Substitution

Happy Monday everyone! Today's post is about tips and tricks on how to handle and manage stuff in the kitchen (like how tos and DIYs).


Last time, I've posted about the proper way on how to melt chocolate (Read here.). Today, I'll share with you how I store chocolates for baking and cake decorations.

Chooclate buttons
Image from HERE

Storage:

Store chocolate in a dry, cool place, below 75 degree if possible. At higher temperatures the cocoa butter melts and rises to the surface. When this occurs, chocolate develops a pale gray color known as "bloom". This condition does not impair flavor or quality and the original color will return when the chocolate is melted.

To prevent chocolate from developing bloom during hot humid weather, refrigerate in the original wrappings. Remove from the refrigerator as needed, since bloom may develop as the chocolate comes to room temperature.

Substitution:

Most recipes are so carefully developed and tested that you are more sure of success when you follow the recipe exactly. Generally, it is best not to substitute a sweet chocolate for an unsweetened chocolate and vice versa.

Featured: Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter

Cookie butter craze have been creating noise in PH since the beginning of 2013. Thanks to my cousin from California, I was able to try this for free.


I've read before that Speculoos is the Dutch name for biscoff, which originally came from Belgium. Others claim that Biscoff is better than Trader Joe's Speculoos yet I only have the latter and can't prove the difference yet.


True, this product is totally creamy, flavorful (though I can't taste any hint of gingerbread like what the packaging promised, but nuts) and very spreadable plus not too sweet and greasy (like our usual spread out there).


It is good, but I wasn't really impressed since there's really nothing peculiar with the product itself, unless topped on ice cream or frozen yogurt I guess. Mom stated "Yun lang yun?" (Is that it?) cause my brother bakes cakes with the same taste. -_- In my opinion, this isn't really worth the hype. It has made me expect a lot but wasn't blown away and hooked like others was. Now wishing that Biscoff (the other one mentioned earlier) will change my perception about this "cookie spread".


So if you haven't tried this cookie butter yet, Cookie Butter Manila, Joe and Cherry, Lorena and Loreta and other online shops were selling a jar in different price range.

Have you tried this product? I'd love to hear your views about it.

Tuesday, September 10

Featured: Mother's Cookies' Circus Animal Cookies

While reaching out for a newly discovered song's lyrics called Roar by Katy Perry, I saw my cousins running around munching something new. "Baby, what's that?", I asked. Without further ado, they handed me this big bag of goodies for me to try it myself. It's Mother's Cookies Circus Animal Cookies!


Circus Animal cookies, popular in the US, are small animal shaped cookies, which are covered in pink/white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. I've read a lot of stories, reviews and rants about this popular cookie brand. Others claimed it has changed a lot since the company's discontinuity. Well, I can't brag about that, 'tis the first time I've ever tasted the product.


Nothing fancy or peculiar with the biscuits actually. Not my thing really, only to those with sweet tooth perhaps.


Have you tried these cookies? I'd love to hear from you. ;)

Monday, September 9

Management Monday: The Right Whisk

Happy Monday everyone! Today's post is about tips and tricks on how to handle and manage stuff in the kitchen (like how tos and DIYs).


Every kitchen should have a whisk on hand. It might not be a must, but it's an essential kitchen tool. Don't you just love mixing your favorite cake batter with a handy-dandy wire whisk?

So today, I'm gonna show you several balloon whisks we own. Yaps, there were different types of whisks base on their purposes. (We'll tackle that in the future. ^_^)


Among the whisk shown on the photo above, which one do you own?


Monday, September 2

Kitchen Chronicles: Perfect Pancakes (Almost!)


Did you know how lame I was before when I first worked on my pancake from a scratch recipe? Don't feel pity for me everyone. After several trial and error, I guess I finally mastered the recipe. *wink* It actually isn't the recipe's fault why my pancake happened to be so ugly like in the left photo below. I may not used a great pan and I've messed with the technique.