Chocolate Vodka

Here's one that will sure to tickle your taste buds! A drink that is straight up simple, great for a small gathering of friends or whatever event you're planning on doing. 

I've seen some flavored drinks out there including chocolate vodka, but I tell you, this one is made from real Dark chocolate. Which gives it a lovely thick lusty flavor to it. The best thing about this basic recipe too is that you can add not just chocolate but you can add some other flavors too! The minute I've tried this, I thought to myself, maybe I can add a bit of mango or pineapple or apple flavor to it. So it's not limited to only chocolate. Lemon, orange and other zingy, acidic touches are important to this to mellow down alcohol taste. 

The first time I made this, some weren't exactly a fan due to the fact that I only had one lemon and orange. I combined them. You can't really taste or feel them much since I made like a liter of this drink. So here's the recipe below:

• 1 kg Chocolate
• a bottle of Vodka ( Don't worry, the whole bottle wouldn't be needed *wink*)
• 3 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 1 kg sugar
• 1 liter of water

Now what you need to do first, on a medium high heat, dissolve the sugar into the water. Stir for a bit, just a bit though. Basically, what you're doing is a simple sugar syrup. Once that is done you can add the chocolate. I'm using a dark chocolate so by adding some sugar syrup in it, the bitterness of the dark chocolate will be toned down a bit, leaving room for additional flavors. Also add the lemons and oranges at this part. 

Once the chocolate is melted, add a bit of water if it's too thick. Make sure that the chocolate is at the right consistency according to your preference. Now comes the fun part! Adding the vodka. I know I have written in the ingredients list "A bottle of Vodka" but you don't need to use the whole bottle (unless you love alcohol that much). Try adding bits and bits of vodka to it until you feel it's enough. I used almost half of it, since I liked it like that. Some might not like it but I do. Now stir it, and cool! you can also put some ice in it. 

If you are making small amounts and serving it immediately, you can just divide the ingredients per person then use a cocktail shaker to cool it instantly. 

There you go! A perfect chocolate vodka to brighten up your chocolate-alcohol craving. . 

Cheers!

Rib eye steak with a homemade barbecue sauce and baked potato wedges

Picture may not look as appetizing, taken by my sister Hannah. <3

A successful dinner I made today. . It's the first time that my mom really liked my cooking, she liked some before but not as much as this one. It's just a simple steak with a simple homemade barbecue sauce that is sure to fill up your stomach. . Here's the recipe below,

Yield: 6 servings
Time: 30-45 minutes

Marinade for the steak:
• 1 kilo Rib eye steak
• 3 tbsp Salt
• 3 tbsp Coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Olive oil

Barbecue Sauce:
• 2 whole red onions, finely chopped
• A stick of Celery, chopped
• 1 Carrot, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 pcs tomatoes, diced
• 1 mango, sliced
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup Tomato Sauce / Ketchup
• 1/3 cup Soy sauce
• 1/3 cup Oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/2 cup Soda (anything you want)

Potato Wedges:
• 4 large potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp salt, for this I used rock salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried oregano

First of, caramelized the onions. It may take some time. As you can see, the prepping for the veggies are already on the ingredients list so it will be easy for you guys. Now once the onions are caramelized, add the celery, garlic, tomato and carrots. Just saute this for a bit then add the liquids ( Pineapple juice, Tomato sauce, Soy sauce, Oyster sauce, Honey, Soda, vinegar) then mix it well. Bring it to a boil then add the sliced mangoes and let it simmer for 15 minutes. This will thicken up the sauce.

Now while letting the sauce simmer, start on the potatoes. Don't forget to preheat the oven while making the sauce, 200 degrees celsius. As what the ingredients said, the potatoes are cut into wedges.

In a bowl, put the potatoes and add the olive oil and the salt, black pepper and dried oregano. Mix it well, remember to be very meticulous when doing it so the potatoes will be seasoned well. Place the potatoes, skin side down on a baking sheet and into the oven for 35 minutes.

Now, after the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, blend it up. Use a blender then strain it back. Don't blend it too much though, you don't want to have a really thin consistency. Besides you have to strain it so don't worry about some chunks. Once strained, heat it up again on a low heat and just let it reduce. This enhances the flavor.

For the steak, just add the olive oil gradually and massage the salt and pepper gently on each slice. Let it sit for a while until the potatoes are almost done cooking. By doing this method, everything will be finished together and will be served hot. These are served separately. You don't want a cold meat with hot potatoes and a hot sauce.

Now when grilling the steak, there are a few things to consider. As the cook, you need to make sure about what the preference of each one. Some may want rare, medium or well done. I myself prefers it rare unlike my mom she likes it well done and my sister medium, my dad on the other hand like anything. HAHA.

So what you need to do, cook the well done first, then medium then rare. Timing is important here. Below are the times for cooking.

Rare: 5-7 minutes on each side.
Medium: 7-9 minutes on each side
Well done: 9-11 minutes.

You can pair it with some corn kernel and buttered baby carrots like what I did or some other buttered vegetables. It's all up to you.

There you go, another recipe from the Self Proclaimed Chef! Hope y'all will like this for a decent dinner for the whole family. Cheers!

Lasagna

Ever since, I have made only a few lasagna and I really haven't grasped the idea of it. I don't know why but I'm just not a fan of it, though I have been curious. Before, I used to complain about the taste of the lasagna, on how cheesy it tastes. Then I tasted one of the best lasagna, there everything changed. I realized, the taste of the lasagna mostly relies on the type of cheese and the taste also of the bolognese sauce ( meat sauce ). So I've been searching some great cheese to pair with my lasagne and found most of the cheese they use are Mozzarella, Ricotta and Parmesan. Got me thinking, I should change things up a bit and so I used Brie and Camembert, mixed together in one layer, Mozzarella and Parmesan mixed on the top most layer. This is just an experiment of mine using a combination of two similar cheeses. The only difference is that Camembert originated from the Isle of France while Brie is from Normandy. Yes, I googled it and Normandy is roughly 5% French territory. .

Now back to topic, I used it since there's a slight difference in the taste if both cheese. The concept of this recipe is to portray the simplest recipe there is, it's just the cheese that is different.

Bolognese sauce:

• 453 g Ground beef
• a cup of diced onions
• 3 finger chilies, diced
• 4 garlic bulbs, finely chopped
• 1 ginger root, finely chopped
• 2 red and green bell pepper, diced.
• 3 cans of tomato puree, 260 g
• basil and rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne

Cheese:

• Equal parts of Camembert and Brie, about 225 g each.
• 225 g Mozzarella
• 50 g Parmesan

Pasta:

• 2 boxes, unbroken sheets, about 453 g

So first I made the bolognese or meat sauce. Just saute the onions for a couple of minutes until it's a bit clear then add the finger chilies, garlic, ginger and red and green pepper. Saute for a 2 minutes then add the beef. At this stage you should make sure that the beef is cooked perfectly ( I like my meat brown ) can be medium to high temp.

Once the beef is cooked add salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne, I just want to add this at this part, you can still adjust it on the latter part if the sauce tastes a bit bland. Then add the tomato puree, I used the canned tomato puree that can be bought at your local grocery stores. Bring it to a boil then simmer. You can even add a little bit of water if you want then reduce it. My way is just a bit quicker though. ;)

Now once the sauce is a bit thick and all the flavors have been blended well, you can add the chopped basil and rosemary to give it that fresh herb flavor to it, then voila! the meat sauce is done. It only takes 15 minutes to make.

Now for assembling the Lasagna ( I used the oven-ready pasta for this ), since I didn't use the bechamel sauce, I just placed straight on to the baking dish the pasta and that served as the first layer, then, I added the meat sauce, then another layer of pasta, then the brie/camembert cheese mix, then the mixture. I only did one layer of the cheese since I made it thick so you can really taste it. Cover with foil and cook it for 50 minutes at 170-180 degrees celsius ( 350 degrees Fahrenheit ), the steam will cook the pasta. For a quick meal with no hassle, use the oven-ready pasta, so much better than the one where you need to boil it first.

Now you must be wondering where the H is the mozzarella and parmesan, well, I added them at the last 10 minutes of cooking. That's why I set the cooking time on 50 minutes is because the you need to remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the foil and add the mozzarella with parmesan then bake it for 10 minutes. If 10 minutes is too long for you well, just keep a close eye on it until the cheese melts and browns perfectly.

There you go, a simple and easy yet tasty recipe of lasagna. My own take of the popular lasagne, hope you guys like it! Til next time, Hugs and kisses from the Self Proclaimed Chef!

Cheers!

Negros Adventure pt. 2

We arrived in the port at Amlan at around 1 am or so. We then took a pedicab that cost us P300 from Amlan to Dumaguete City. They have a weird looking tricycle than the ones we have here on Cebu, I was struggling due to my height. Not having problems whatsoever with my weight since it was only my mom, aunt and I on the tricycle. Oh! and the driver. Let's not forget the driver. LOL. I was leaning the whole time, I think it was a 30 minute ride, I forgot about the time. It was the worse 30 minutes of my life. I was leaning forward sometimes leaning on my side, and the only thing I can see was pitch black. If only you guys can feel my agony that time. The only thing that was inside my head was "This is once again, part of the adventure I wanted for some time now! DEAL WITH IT!". That phrase kept on echoing inside my head. Well, I also imagined a really nice and comfy bed in a hotel room that we are about to stay ( My mom promised me that! *wink*). 

Now we're in Dumaguete, we need to go to the Boulevard where the hotel was located, unfortunately the driver said, he wasn't allowed to go near there due to the restrictions. There are certain tricycles that can go to some places. So my mom asked him to just continue since there are no police at that time of night. He was a bit hesitant at first but in the end he did continue. We didn't know the name of the hotel, only the location. What my mom knows is that the hotel is near Shakey's restaurant. That's all, again the driver doesn't know where it is. We just followed the street until the end, still no signs of the restaurant, we did pass a few numbers of Inn's and hotels but my mom wanted the one that she "knew". A few minutes passed the driver can't go on further and transferred us to another tricycle/pedicab, one that can go anywhere in the city. My mom paid him P200 and another P100 for his kind gesture during the time, that's the reason for the P300 cost that I said earlier. 

The next driver gladly accepted us and guided us the whole time. Here comes the fun part and one of the highlights of the adventure. We started off by looking for that hotel and I swear it took us a while. The driver said that Shakey's has been closed for a long time now and that he knew the hotel beside it. It was named Bethel but my mom insisted that it wasn't it, so there has been an argument for a while but not a heated one, just a friendly argument. But here's the thing, the driver then said, "Almost all of the hotels and inn's are fully booked, due to the Palarong pambansa!" That was a bit of a shocker for us since we didn't have anywhere else to stay. By the way, the Palarong Pambansa is for a bunch of high school students  from around the country competing in a variety of  different sports. So back to the hotel search, the driver then just went around the whole city asking but luck wasn't on our side that not for all of them are fully booked. We were a bit disappointed since we don't have anywhere else to go, the driver even told us that he'll just stay with us until morning. Such a good man, we then just went to Mcdonald's to buy dinner. While on our way, I just ate the hard-boiled eggs ( what can I say? I'm really hungry that time and that also caused my hard-boiled egg addiction, if there's such a thing ). All of us have the same order, a quarter pounder meal and I on the other hand had large fries and coke and a double hot fudge. Yes! I was that hungry. . While still on the search, the driver remembered a motel in Sibulan, a few minutes away from the city. Then we immediately head on to that motel. 

 Long story short, there are available rooms in this creepy motel, well it was creepy during the night. . It was really dark and we went inside there garage as seen in the picture the one on the right, each room has their own garage, then we were greeted by a creepy shirtless guy. He was nice but creepy at first. I just have these weird feelings when it comes to motels. LOL. We never know maybe someone died in there without us knowing and again, YES! I'm the paranoia type of guy. The rooms were good though and it come with a price. P250 on the first two hours and P100 in the succeeding hours. . We stayed there for the night, more or less 6 to 7 hours. You do the math! :P

The next day we then checked out and went on with our plan, go to my mom's "friend" and talk them into something. Not sure what that something is and if ever I knew about it, I wouldn't mention it here but there's no dirty business, just something personal between them. Wild guess! 

We took a bus to a place, I forgot the name, it's in the mountains, I think it's a 3 hour ride from Dumaguete. Did I mention that we rode a tricycle from Sibulan to Dumaguete city where the bus terminal is? Yes, we did. Now, on the trip, I noticed some really good views but I wasn't able to get some shots due to the difficult position I was in and I don't know how to take pictures on a moving vehicle, I'm pretty slow in adjusting the settings of the cam. Still learning so bear with me on this one. 

I'm not gonna talk about the bus ride since nothing special happened there and I would like to cut to the chase. We went there, my mom talked. Oh wait, I saw some horses and we crossed a dried up river, all there is were some huge rocks. It was a difficult walk, look at me, I'm huge! I was sweating a lot. If I stayed I would probably fill the whole area with sweat. Eck! So here are a few pictures there, 

As you can see on the picture on top where there's a tree and some rocks, that's the river we crossed, no water there which is a bit weird. I do love seeing the horse men and the kid. There are two men on the horse that day but only took a pic of one. He's the one who showed us the way to my mom's friend's house. 

It is on that same day that we also met my uncle and aunt who lived in Bacolod. We met back in Dumaguete after the trip to my mom's friend. 

We didn't have lots of activities that day, well we went to the park at night and watched the festival there. You can see lots of small shops that sells mugs, key chains, toys, hats, shirts and some other souvenir items. There is even a small carnival and an Observation wheel a.k.a Ferris wheel. It was a bit fun. We ate at a Filipino restaurant that is really expensive. We hated it, the food isn't even that great. We should've gone to the cheaper ones instead. 

It is that night that we just strolled around the boulevard also and just rested on the sides since we were walking around the park enjoying the crowd and the things that were sold there. . Again, I was sweating crazy. 

I didn't have a picture of scene in the boulevard since there people taking pictures first and it seemed like they were practicing on doing night shots, so I just sat down and waited for my mom to buy some water since I was a teaspoon short to being dehydrated. 

My Aunt Bebet and Aunt Cherry were talking and my Uncle and I were also talking for a while. My mom on the other hand was still admiring the things sold by the vendor near us. I think she bought some bracelets there. She gave me one, I said that it wouldn't fit me but she said to just soak it in water then it will fit me. i guess it was like magic. LOL.

 I didn't know what material it was made of but I'm pretty sure it was one of the weirdest thing I've heard since the bracelet has this woody texture to it. Everything here has been weird. 

This one on the right was taken in the park. Heck, all these pictures were in the park. There's my mom looking at the necklaces and stuff. She was looking for some dream catcher necklaces that my sister asked. It was really fun, I knew I should've bought that big dream catcher. LOL

This was the last stall we visited since we were really tired. We needed some place to sleep.

Remember we went to the Boulevard to rest and my mom bought that weird bracelet? Well, I think it is there that she knew about the Wuthering heights Resort. When she knew about it, we then head there since we can't go back to the motel due to its price.




It's a bit of long drive from where we were but I reckon it wasn't an hour drive, 20-30 minutes give or take. LOL. So we arrived there and stayed for the night since we still have lots of activities for the next day.

I must admit though that the building is kinda creepy too and a bit old fashion but the beds are cozy and they have a huge room that fits 5 people. You just pay extra for the mattress. So the pictures were taken during the day, after we got a good and proper rest. Look at how we're all ready for the next trip. . Oh I'm not in those pics. . Just to clarify that. 

I'm gonna take a few minutes break, so I'll continue writing about the adventure on the next post. . It would be a long post since it's a three day trip! Stay tuned.

Cheers!

Negros Adventure pt. 1

So last Saturday April 20, I woke up to a really wonderful and exciting news. That news made me skip the internet for a few days and it also made my summer awesome. My mom told me that we're going to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. She told me that we need to find someone as a help. She knew someone there namely Emma, I believe she was related to my mom or something like that. Not so sure about it. 

She told me about that around 1 in the afternoon and that we are bound for Dumaguete at around 4 am Sunday. I was a bit hesitant though, I never thought I can wake up around that time since I usually sleep really late nowadays. At first I replied that I need to think about it ( though deep inside I was happy as a pup ) since there are lots to consider. 

After a few minutes, I had a talk with my mom about the whole trip. I told her, why don't we just go at that moment so I can just sleep on the bus and on the boat, it took a while for my mom to agree with me. She then called my Uncle who lived in Bacolod, a few hours from Dumaguete. Then they planned a whole new trip after looking for Emma. They said, they wanted to go to Apo Island where you can go snorkeling and watch some beautiful corals and fishes in the marine sanctuary there. There were heaps of plans made by them. 

I on the other hand searched the bus schedule and saw there's a 7 pm trip, though I only saw it on some forum online so I wasn't so sure about but still my gut tells me to take the trip, it was also said that the 7 pm trip was the last one. So we immediately prepared everything, packed all the essentials ( including two rolls of TP, can't go anywhere without them, LOL ) and everything was in a rush. My Mom and Aunt were in a hurry packing their stuff. I wasn't rushed though, as long as I have my camera and my shirts, face towels, and my "NECESSITY" ( tp ) were there, then I'm ok. . 

Time came and we were set to the bus terminal. It's an hour away from our house and we haven't eaten dinner yet because it was still 5 pm. My mom wanted to have a quick stop at Mcdonald's but I was so excited and worried about the time that I decided not to. 

We got to the bus terminal at around 6:30 and found that the bus has already left and that was the last one. Luckily there was a bus bound for Bato a place in the province of Cebu that has a port where the boat travels to Dumaguete. So we hopped on to the un-airconditioned bus so we can still make it to the boat. I think it was a four hour travel by bus and another hour by boat. 

While on the bus I felt my stomach growling and it's not a pleasant feeling at all. I can feel the hunger but there is no food inside the bus. We haven't brought nor bought anything, since then I felt regret of not stopping at Mcdonal's. I was starting to imagine the huge quarter pounder with large fries and coke ( my usual order btw ) Oh! and a double hot fudge! writing it now even makes me hungry and I had a huge dinner. LOL. I was so hungry at that time. 

An hour passed and we're in Car-car, a place in Cebu where it's famous for their scrumptious Chicharon ( Pork cracklings ). The bus door opened and suddenly a vendor went inside bringing some delicacies and thank God! there's chicharon and ampao ( It's sort of like rice puffs, LOL ) I was really hoping then that my mom would buy some since we're not seated next to each other. I kept on looking at her, waiting for her to call the vendor. Alas! she called the vendor and bought us some. I was really happy then, in my mind I thought, Eh, this is part of the adventure I wanted. Travelling is not always full of luxuries, you need to be able to think of ways to survive. . I'm not that kind of guy but I want to be. I'm an adventurer wanna be. So just bare with me in this. HAHA.

Now, I was happy with the food and Oh, there was water, my mom also bought it from the vendor. . Ok, so we arrived at the port and my mom got the tickets together with a few chips and HARD BOILED EGGS!!!! As you can see I emphasized the egg part. Yes, I love hard boiled eggs. :D We got on the boat, I finally got to use the restroom and ate a few chips and saved the eggs for later! *wink* 

Then the second part of the Adventure Begins. . . That would be on the next post since I would be posting lots of pictures and so you guys won't be bored reading a really long post. If you want something to look forward too, here are spoilers below:

Loads of stories behind these pictures and a lot more pictures to come! :D stay tuned! <3

Cheers!

Mercado!

Today I was awake early and went with my parents to the "Wet Market" or as what  we call it "Merkado" which came from the Spanish word "Mercado" meaning market. It is called wet market due to the extreme use of water to keep the fish or meat fresh and clean.  The market is located in Cordova named Pilipog, a couple of kilometers away from our house. Everything the sold there are fresh, from any kind of meat, fishes, poultry and vegetable selections. . . 

It has been a really busy day for them there, the whole market is flooded with buyers. And yes I am the only guy who's bringing a camera there, I stood out from the crowd. Lots of people were staring at me, some even smiled for the camera, unfortunately, the shots were out of focus or underexposed or sometimes overexposed. Too bad though. Here are some of the fishes there. I don't know some of them for I am not really familiar with them. I only know a few. For some reason, going with my parents to the market was a good way to start the day. They only go there during Sundays for it is the only day that my father is available, it's his day off from work. He's the only one that knows how to drive around here. 

 Here is my mom buying some shrimps. By the way, I'm allergic to shrimps so this is not for me. I used to love them but unfortunately, I became allergic to it all of a sudden which is really weird. Back to topic, she knows what she's doing, On the right you can see some crabs, I don't know what those are but there are orange things in there bottoms. HAHA. I really think it's funny to see those there. While I was taking some pictures, I can't stop but staring at it, I think it's the fat or something. Still not sure.

                                          

Here is my dad checking out the small fishes which is known as "Bolinao". It can be bought dried or fresh. Depends on how you like your fish to be.You can also see some clams, mussels and other kinds of shellfishes. On the right you can see some women busy with cleaning the shells. They use this really big knife where they cut a tip of some of them. It's really fun seeing them work in harmony. 

They are just there working while talking and just making the most out of their time. I bet they were just talking about some rumors or gossips going on there. HAHA. 

That's what I hear most of the time, that some "Tinederas" or female sellers or whatever you call it. ;)

What my mom bought that really caught my eye was the parrot fish also known as "Mol-mol". That is one of my favorite fish of all along with Tuna, salmon, etc. . . I don't have a lot of favorites for I am not really a fish eater kind of guy. I'm more of a beef/pork/chicken. Oh! I also love shellfishes and crabs. . 

Now for the meat and poultry part, we went to the next market just a few meters away from this one. This one is not that crowded at all, I guess it's due to the fact that the other market is new and somewhat an appealing place.

 

There's not much here really, just some chopped up chicken parts. You can see some whole chickens, chicken legs, breasts, feet, and the chicken heads. One of the disturbing ones there. It's a bit creepy seeing it there and the weird part is that I can't help my self but to take a picture of it and share it with you guys! HAHA 

 And here's the pork section, who says women can't butcher? This amazing lady is cooler than I thought. Not only that she knows how to chop up pig parts but she's also really friendly. I took a shot of her smiling but ended up deleting it due to the really poor quality of the picture. I'm guessing she knows my mom too. Maybe my mom always buy her meat there. You can see it there that the meat is clean and fresh. It's my first time here and seeing them. I have always wondered where my mom buys the pork. . . I've been having trouble taking some pictures here due to the fact that every time she slams that huge butcher's knife, bits and chunks flew and I don't want my camera or myself to get dirty and stuff. We still need to go to another market for the vegetables. LOL. I don't want to seem like a neat freak ( which I am not ). Just saying. HAHA

I did have fun today, it's a good thing I was up early. If I haven't, maybe I would never have taken these pics. Maybe I would never have a post for today! ;)

Oh for the vegetables, we went to the market under an old bridge (I'm just taking a wild guess since they call it "Tulay" meaning bridge.) I used to go there with my mom when I was a kid. Even the "Tindera" there was shocked when she saw me. According to her, I was really small when she last saw me, so apparently it was a really long time ago. That lady in the picture was the one who said that.  She's a really nice lady too. . Really friendly. Though some of the veggies she's selling 

This is the set up of the market there, It has improved since the last time I've been there. A lot has changed. It's much cleaner too.

I guess if we were there earlier, we can still see the place crowded and such. So many familiar faces there. 

It's fun seeing them after such a long time. Maybe this won't be the last time I'll go with my parents since I had fun. 

Oh! they don't just sell vegetables there, at the back, there's a vacant lot where they sell plants too. I remembered before, seeing lots of plants there but now, there isn't a lot. Hmm. Maybe the whole plant business doesn't click or they sell some of the stocks some place else. Here's my mom checking the plants out. <3

So that's the whole Wet market business. 

Cheers!