CUPCAKE SECRET

Here’s another belated gift to myself – and it arrived in the mail today – yippee! My very own Cupcake Secret silicone muffin pans! What is it really? Well, it is just like your regular muffin pans but it has a secret… it has pins at the center of the cake and removable bottoms so you can place anything – marshmallows, a chocolate, even a fruit at the center of the cupcake! Or you may opt to use the small thimble-like container, if you want anything liquid naman at the cupcake centers – like maybe some melted cheese or dulce de leche or even dark chocolate! There are endless possibilities – all I need now is to find some very promising recipes, buy the needed ingredients, and have THE TIME to finally do some baking! I am just SO EXCITED!!!

NEW POPSICLE MAKERS!

Before I left for home today, I decided to open my emails and FB page to check out the greetings and thank those who greeted me on my special day. Then, I got a pleasant surprise when I saw in my email inbox an item for sale at Cash-cash pinoy…the popsicle makers that I had long been wanting to have! This is just the perfect thingy for the coming summer and the perfect birthday gift I could give to myself and my daughter! She would surely love this…and I just know we would both enjoy making different flavored popsicles together! Here’s looking forward to a fun summer with my new popsicle makers!

MY FIRST SILICONE MUFFIN PAN!

 The first time I visited Gourdo’s was during my mom's birthday last year...but I already knew then that the place is a gold mine for the latest kitchen gadget or other unique kitchen finds. So when I learned that there was a Gourdo's branch at Gateway, Cubao and it was right across pa where we bought a sansrival cake for Mama (Mary Grace bakeshop, I think) I immediately made plans to visit the place. Then, as luck would have it, after Mama's birthday dinner at Superbowl she said she needed to buy some cutlery and so I suggested Gourdo's and offered to accompany her there. Yipee! I got my chance to visit and browse thru the store as planned...    And indeed Gourdo's was truly a kitchen foodie's mecca! My eyes literally popped out of its sockets upon seeing the oh-so-many kitchen thingys that I wanted to buy but can't just yet. I saw many things that I have long wanted to have --- like a clear glass coffee press, stainless pepper grinder, bamboo style spoons and forks and my fave thing of all - silicone bakeware! Ever since I saw some of it in Sassy Veneracion's blog I just knew I wanted to have some. And indeed there were all kinds of them there. I even saw some that were already a bit dirty but were on sale at only PhP500.00. Just too bad that I didn't have money then...but I vowed to myself that I would surely go back and buy that!    I finally got my chance when I went off to buy gifts for a good friend and I decided to buy her some silicone bakeware since she is, after all, fond of baking…and since I was there na naman, I decided to buy a silicone muffin pan for myself…yippee!   Dream come true! I guess this would be my first step to fulfilling one of my new year’s resolutions to get back to baking once again…next, I would be buying round and square casserole pans (either silicone or ceramic) for my plans to make cakes or brownies…oh gosh I am so excited already…I wonder what my first cupcake to make would be??? Cheese, carrot or chocolate…hmnnn??? But first I need to scrounge around my old recipe files and buy some ingredients…ooooh I can’t wait for the weekend!

MORE KITCHEN THINGY'S - a gift from my mother...

During the last Christmas season, I was unable to buy many gifts for my loved ones…partly because of the economic crunch (well the Big Boss did not give us as much as he used to then the office too had a bit of belt-tightening and did not give out as much cash gifts last year) and then too the fact that we incurred so much expenses and debts from our house construction in BP which commenced since September 2012 pa. Up to now it is still but partly finished and we are foreseeing more expenses pa in the year to come before it can be truly called completely livable. So for the first time in such a while, we did not give out the usual atsara or espasol that we usually give to our friends in the office during Christmas. Well, I sure hope they understand in much the same way that we understand too that some of our officemates did not give out much gifts to one other…. after all,we are all in the same boat…this is why with the dearth of gifts we received this year, it is just as natural that we would tend to appreciate the few gifts that we did receive from family and friends this Christmas… like this gift I got from my mother. I am not really sure if she saw me ogling that cute pepper grinder at Gourdo’s last year…maybe she did which is why this is the gift she gave me…I am not even sure that it came from Gourdo’s but nonetheless it is truly, truly appreciated! I just love this clear crystal salt and pepper shakers and they are now a permanent fixture in our dinner table. Thanks a lot Ma!