From My Kitchen

Jenn says, KAYA!

Problems with the monitor hindered me at first to resize and edit the pictures I intend to use for my challenge layout, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise as I realized that I needed to put a recipe for the layout. Thanks to Lee for telling about it.

My sister came home late last night, so it was only today that I was able to start and finish the layout. A buzzer beater for me. =)


Journaling:
When I was still much younger, I remember telling my brother that I don’t know how to cook. He told me that if I love to eat, I also must know how to cook, so I could sustain my love to eat. I cannot recall that particular time when I finally mustered the courage to handle oil splashes and the heat in the kitchen, but it was that particular message that really opened my senses to realize that as a human, I also must know my way in the kitchen.

Being born in a family of foodies, I am happy that my love of eating now goes beyond fast food and boiled eggs. Cooking is one great skill to know, and now, not only can I sustain my tummy, I can also sustain my food blog with some foods I cooked in the kitchen. These three dishes were just some of those I cooked. – Jenn (29 September 2009)





As for the recipes, I didn't really want to expose the recipes, so I decided to use three pictures and have the recipes hidden. Actually, the pull out journaling not only have the recipes for each dish, it also had some introduction about the dishes.

Creamy Carbonara
Before, it was just a dream of mine to cook carbonara, because I always fail whenever I make a roux. But, when I was invited by my SFC friend Ela to help with the carbonara dish she is serving, I realized I don’t really need a roux to make a delicious carbonara dish. This dish was cooked, served, and shot 10 July 2009, when
I needed to put an entry in my food blog. This dish was one of the easiest dishes I can whip up.

Ingredients:
250g. spaghetti, cooked
1 (250ml) box all purpose cream
1/4 kl. ham or bacon, cubed
button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup evaporated milk
3 big cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of Italian seasoning
Cheese
1 tablespoon butter
Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:
>>> Sauté garlic in butter. Add ham or bacon just before the garlic starts to brown and allow the meat to cook for a while.
>>> Add mushrooms then pour cream and milk slowly. Stir a bit and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.
>>> Upon your discretion, add some grated cheese to help the sauce to thicken, but it’s totally optional.
>>> Just before the sauce gets too thick, season the sauce with some salt and pepper and some nutmeg and Italian seasoning.
>>> Pour over cooked spaghetti, sprinkle with cheese and some cayenne pepper if you want your dish to be slightly spicy.

Chicken Macaroni Soup
The chicken macaroni soup is one of my rainy day comfort foods. The hot creamy soup just helps ease up the stress, and is really a soul food in itself. It was through my mom that I learned that the way the dish creamier is to allow the pasta to cook along with the chicken, because the starch from the pasta will help in making the soup creamier, and it also helps in saving time in the kitchen. This dish was cooked, served, and shot 22 November 2008.

Ingredients:
205g. shell macaroni
1 (370ml.) can evaporated milk
Chicken, cut up to pieces
1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
celery and red bell peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium sized onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough water to cook the pasta.

Directions:
>>> Sauté garlic and onion in butter. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until the chicken changes in color. Season with salt and pepper.
>>> Add the macaroni and pour enough water. Boil.
>>> Add the vegetables and milk and simmer until the pasta is al dente and the soup is creamy.
>>> Serve immediately.

Some Notes:
>>> Serve with garlic bread if desired. You can do that by spreading some butter in slices of bread and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning. Toast.
>>> Some people serve this dish with toasted garlic bits on top. Try it, too, if you want.
>>> Other vegetables you can add include green beans and cauliflower. Explore and enjoy!

Buttered Prawns - Dampa Style
Once, we were quite tired eating the same old halabos na hipon every time mom would buy prawns. So when she bought some prawns sometime in 2006, I decided to check my brother’s collection of Food Magazines for a different prawn recipe. This recipe by Mayeth Toledo was published in the September 2005 issue of the said magazine. The picture I used for this was cooked, served, and shot 04 September 2008.

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo tiger prawns
1 cup clear soft drinks (7-Up or Sprite)
1 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 small ginger, crushed
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon liquid seasoning
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoons chopped spring onions or leeks
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
>>> Marinate prawns in soft drinks for 30 minutes. Remove from marinade and reserve marinade.
>>> In a pan or large skillet, heat oil and one tablespoon of the butter and sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger.
>>> Stir in prawns. Add one-half of the soft drinks used as marinade, and the ketchup, liquid seasoning, salt, and pepper. When the prawns change color, stir in the cornstarch solution. Simmer until mixture thickens.
>>> Turn off heat. Blend in remaining two tablespoons butter.
>>> Sprinkle with spring onions before serving.

Materials Used
Patterned Papers - KI Memories, Cherry Arte, Basic Grey, DCWV, Miss Elizabeth, Love Elsie, and some papers in my stash that I don't know of.. =)
Fonts - Traveling Typewriter, Cambria, Century Gothic
Others - Tracing Paper (Canson), Thread (DMC), Glue (UHU), Pen (Sakura)

Techniques
Stitching, Letter Cutting

About Me:
A person with multiple personalities who's very much into blogging, traveling, photography, and eating. Trying to come back into scrapbooking and is hoping to create more layouts based on the pictures she took. Check her blogs at: Jenn Was Here and An Autobiography in the Works among others. But, if you want to check her food blog, please head on to: I Live to Eat! (life is short, eat all you can)