Photo-of-Interest Monday: Bacon-topped Yang Chow

I was really hungry the day I took this photo. Also, a bit sick if I recall correctly. Normally, I'd rather not partake in food while under the weather but my favorite kind of fried rice from my one of favorite restaurants was at hand and I hadn't eaten anything else either.

My parents had left me to my own devices because of errands they had to run. Of course, they left me the fried rice and some other food too, but I was craving something greasy. A light bulb dinged to life in my head as I remembered the last pack of bacon we had in the freezer.

In quick succession, I defrosted and cooked the bacon, placed the fried rice in a bowl, then topped it with crispy bacon.

Alone in the house and not having to worry about propriety, I wolfed the thing down and became another notch on the blissfully fed and satisfied tally board. I was one happy female and I forgot about being sick.

I guess I could say that sometimes the cure for sickness is really awesome food. 

This has been a Monday post brought to you by The Purple Madhouse.

On Why Quality Sometimes Trumps Quantity

Image from inpirationfeed.com

I've always gravitated to quality more so than quantity. I believe that quality will get your money's worth and that it's not a completely bad thing to spend on good things; you just have to make sure to spend what you can spend and not more than you make.

I've experienced people telling me that I was wasting my money on buying expensive things just because I believed that it was worth it. Disapproving looks accompanied with patronizing sighs were oft directed at me whenever I acted upon an impulse to buy what I deemed "quality stuff". One memory that comes to mind is the time I had bought some rather pricey yet extremely yummy ice cream as a reward for finishing exam week on a relatively okay note. A then friend of mine proceeded to lecture me, almost as if he was questioning my life choices. I remember he said that he could buy a dozen cheaper ice cream with the amount I spent that day on a single cup. 

The thing is, for people who think the way I do when it comes to the practically age-old argument of quality vs. quantity, it's never about how many you can have but the value of what you have. And just because I prefer quality, it doesn't mean that I spend ridiculous amounts of money just to get that; I am well aware of my paycheck's limits. Wanting quality doesn't always mean you are unwise with your money. Admittedly, managing money is difficult but you can always learn from every experience.

I try to save for the things that I want. It is said the quality takes patience, so I try not to balk on biding my time for something I really want. It gets frustrating but in the end it pays of.

Here are my rules:

• There is nothing wrong with spending some money on good, quality food once in a while. Don't let people get you down for wanting to treat yourself with gourmet ice cream as a reward. :]
• If you to buy something of quality and spending your money on it won't directly affect anyone, then gosh darn it you shouldn't get lambasted for doing so.
• Again, never spend more than you can afford. Never let a price tag bankrupt you.
• Also, it is possible to find a cheaper alternative to products without sacrificing quality. It's untrue that quality always means expensive.
• I believe that quality products that  will last a very long time is worth investing in. Think about it for a second. Because it will last long, even a lifetime, you won't have to shell out money for another one for as long as it is functional. I always apply this rule when it comes to shoes, bags, and gadgets.
• Take care of these things. It makes quality go a long way and it shows how you value the things you work hard for. 

On a final note, I would like to say that I do not purvey materialism with this post but I don't believe that it's bad to want things for yourself. If you work for it and your're being wise about it, I see nothing wrong in indulging yourself. But that's me.

This has been a Wednesday post brought to you by The Purple Madhouse.

DISCLAIMER: No copyright infringement intended. I take no ownership of the image used in this blog post. Images found on the internet are considered for public use unless explicitly dictated otherwise.

Food Escapades: Puto Cheese

After much debate on whether or not to bake (I was feeling lazy, even for baking), the kitchen saw the resurrection of some goodies last Thursday night. I had been craving for some puto cheese for a few days then and, rather than buy, my usual direction was to make them.

 

The recipe is fairly easy to do. All you need is flour of the cake-purpose kind, baking powder, white sugar, eggs, some water and, as I prefer it, a lot of cheese, cut, beforehand, into half-centimeter thick slices. You begin by mixing the dry ingredients together with water in a clean bowl. Once you’re done with that you can get start with the eggs.

 

For the recipe, you will only use the whites of the egg. Separate the egg whites without harming the yolks in any way you can; it’s very important that you don’t get any yolk into the whites. CAREFUL should be the resounding word in your head when dealing with egg yolk and white separation. You can try the basic technique of catching the yolk back and forth with the egg shells, just be careful not to burst the yolk’s protective membrane while doing so. Since I am a failure at this particular technique, what I do is catch the yolk with my hand and let the whites seep through my fingers into a bowl. It’s messy but it gets the job done. 

Once you’ve completed the egg white isolation stage of the recipe, you’ll need an extra bowl, a mixer, and some sugar. Use the mixer the beat the egg whites while gradually adding the sugar. The recipe calls for the whites to be “stiff and fluffy” so you’ll have to keep at beating until so that when you turn your mixer upside down, the mixture holds into stiff peaks. You can learn about beating egg whites here.

 

By now you’re ready to start folding your egg white-and-sugar mixture into the flour mixture from before. Mix them well until there are no more clumps and you’re almost done. 

Place paper liners on your molds (the molds I use are cupcake-like in shape and come in separate pieces, usually made of heat-resistant plastic or metal) and scoop the batter into them then top with the pre-cut cheese; I opt to put as many as the mold will hold without spilling the batter because the more cheese there is, the better.

 

Now all that needs to be done is to steam the puto cheese for a few minutes, let cool, then have at ‘em.

 

This has been a Thursday post brought to you by The Purple Madhouse.