Jinky's Belated Birthday Bash

I just turned __3 last August 25. To thank our Lord for having gone this far, hubby and I decided to prepare something for our dear friends and loved ones. Dear blogger friends also brought something to share that's why we had overflowing food and drinks.

Food we feasted on were:

Lechon (cooked to perfection by Pollo Porco)
Crabs
Shrimps
Fish Kinilaw
Sinugbang Panga
Sotanghon Guisado
Mixed Seafoods
Baked Macaroni
Pasta
Thai Rice
Fruit Salad
Fresh Fruits

For making this day such a blast, I would like to thank Sir Gilbert Tan, Orman & Avel Manansala with Marzz, Arnel & Rose Lim, Gay, Ric and Sheng, Xyril, Alexis, Junith, Bryan, Ipe, Jouis, Lovely, Ethel, my brother Alan and sister Alpha, Alvin, Emy, and to my ever supportive hubby Arnel and kids!

Also, to all of you who remembered and took time out to greet me on my special day, daghang salamat! You rock, people!

Thank you, guys! :-)

Tiramisu So Sweet

Our home is full of tiramisu lovers. The reason why we're so sweet (he he he!). This is a dessert anyone can concoct anytime, anywhere. Owing to its simple and easy to find ingredients.

This is my version of this classic dessert. . .

Ingredients:

Choco Grahams
Cream
Milk
Chocolate syrup

I love doing this piece because I usually do it with my kids around. Presently, they can do it on their own without me supervising them. We just mix in a big bowl the cream, condensed milk and chocolate syrup. We then put this mixture in between layers of grahams biscuits in a tray. We all love our tiramisu in thick layers to balance the sweetness. As shown on the picture above, a tiramisu that is chocolatey but not too sweet! This is best served chilled not frozen.

Recently, an australian friend of mine made her own version of tiramisu for my sister's birthday. Here it is!

In lieu of almond nuts, she used our local sweetened and sugary peanuts. Quite pricey because she also used cream cheese and espresso for the filling. But it's worth it because it really tasted heavenly! She replaced grahams biscuits with a chiffon cake she baked personally. This is the tiramisu made with the best effort and competency while mine is made out of love and patience.

How about you, guys, what's your tiramisu made of?

Now It's Biko

Here's one of those recipes my lola taught me when I was still young. It's one of the delicacies being handed by our family from generation to generation. It normal to find this fare on the table during fiestas, birthdays, reunions, weddings, etc. and even on times wherein we should be fasting :-)

Olaer Resort, where I grew up under the care of my grandmother, used to be filled with fruit bearing coconut trees. Cooking with gata was not a problem then. You just have to do a little strolling under those coconut trees and presto, one, two or more coco fruits await you there. Armed with our old "kaguran", making gata for biko comes over easy.

For every kilo of malagkit, we use three pieces coconuts and 1/2 o 3/4 kilo muscovado sugar. We used to cook this using wooden fire. Cooking time usually lasts for 2 to three hours. This is often served as snack or dessert.

How about you, what's your biko made of?