Homemade Garlic Bread

The husband has been a fan bread for as long as i can remember.

And lately he's been requesting garlic bread, much like the ones from Sbarro. 

So i tried making a version of this bread. 

I've read several recipes and they seemed fairly easy. 

Now i'm sharing  my own version inpsired by Talentadong Chef!. 

I don't own a decent electric mixer for bread dough, i just kneaded by hand but they came out perfectly. 

So here's my own version of

Homemade Garlic Bread!  

You'll need:

For the dough 

• 2 cups bread flour 
• 1 1/4 tsp yeast (i used SAF which is the most common brand in our local baking stores) 
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 30 ml vegetable oil 
• 150 ml warm water

For the seasoning 

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder 
•  1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp dried basil 
• 1 tsp dried thyme 

Procedure:

1. Measure 150 ml warm water, sprinkle sugar and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it's foamy. 
2. Bring all the dry ingredients together - measure just 1 3/4 cups bread flour, salt. 
3. When the yeast mixture  is foamy. Add this to the  dry ingredients and oil. Initially use a spatula to bring the dough together. Keep mixing until you form a ball. 
4. Transfer to a floured surface to knead. If the dough is too sticky gradually add the rest of the your flour. Knead until the dough is smooth, usually for up to 10 minutes. 
5. Now it's time for the first rise. Transfer the dough into a bowl then cover with cling wrap.  Set aside in warm place. Wait until it's double in size, usually takes 1 hour. 
6. After the rise, punch out the air then knead for about 5 minutes. Divide into 8 portion and for each into 5 inch log. Transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking parchment.  It's time for the 2nd rise for 30 minutes. 
7. While waiting for the logs to rise, preheat oven to 350F. 
8. It's also time to prepare the seasoning. Melt butter on low heat, then add the spices, salt and garlic power. 
9. Just before popping the logs into the oven, brush the tops with the seasoning. 
10. Bake for about 15 to  20 minutes. Cool slight before serving. 

Try pasta recipe with the bread!

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DIY all the way!

Oh wow.. it has been months since i have ever posted anything on this page!

My bad ---just pure lack of inspiration and lack of time! I've been busy at home and at work.

But my blogging mojo and is now back and hopefully I can add more posts here regularly. 

For now, i'd like share my recent do-it-yourself project. These have been taking a lot of my time.  

My son requested this skeleton costume for this year's Halloween. 

Hippie costume: tied dyed shirt and vest made with felt cloth.

Now, why go DIY? There are a lot of ready-made stuff out there. Why spend so much time and effort doing diy?

Well for one, it is CHEAP! For a penny pinching mama, CHEAP truly is the magic word. With just a few scraps of cloth, i can already make a decent output. I ended up spending just Php 85 for the black shirt for the skeleton costume. Then for the hippe getup which the school required during an event, i just spent Php 20 to dye one old white shirt and Php 40 pesos more for the the smiley and peace sign pins.  That was a no-sew vest made from felt cloth which has been in my possession for year. Is used the same black pants for these two ensemble.

Two, DIY is the ECO-FRIENDLY route. Instead of getting new stuff that might and will end up at the back of your closets, why not look at what you already have and work with that piece you already have with you? The idea is to just work with what you already have, before acquiring more new stuff. That way, we lessen our waste because we use up what's already there.

Lastly, DIY brings out my CREATIVE side.  I love how i get to create unique pieces from the materials i already have on hand! I'm always up for challenges - like when my son requested that skeleton costume. I used pure black ensemble and white cloth (from scraps from an old white thirt) applique.

For any DIY person, Pinterest truly is a gem.  It is overflowing with DIY ideas not just for your child's costume but for other crafts as well.  

Stay tuned for more DIY projects from this page! 

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Baking Headstart: My very own Convection Oven

Last April, i finally got a headstart on my baking journey when i finally got the Imarflex 3-in1 convection oven with 30L capacity. Since then i learned so much and tried baking all sort of stuff from cookies to bread loafs to pizzas. The hubby also roasted a whole chicken in it. You can checkout my Instagram for a gallery of my baked success (and failures, too). 

Disclaimer: I am not being paid to publish this post, just sharing my experience with the product. 

Before i got this, I've tried baking in a turbo broiler. I managed to bake banana loaves, but baking took too long and it was quite difficult to "balance" the temperature inside. The top layer of the loaves can get burnt quickly, since the heat is solely coming from the heating component on top.  A convection oven circulates heated air to make sure even cooking on top, below and around your baking pans.   

Cream cheese cookies baking in my convection oven

Wondering about Weaning

I cannot give the exact date when my son finally weaned from breastfeeding. I guess it was about on the start of this year, he had just turned 3 years old. Now, he just promptly refuses whenever I offer to nurse him, just for the fun of  it. We would just turn away from my breasts, as if nursing was the ickiest portion of his young life.;)

Now after weaning, i can finally drink beer or wine without having to worry about nursing later. Now i can drink gallons of coffee without needing to count the milligrams of caffeine i've taken in. Now my wardrobe won't be confined to nursing clothes! But a wee bit part of me often misses that side of me, the nursing mama.

Looking back, here are some key points about our own weaning journey:

The 5-step DIY kids apron

It's my son's transition period to his new preschool and they have too many requirements! We had to spend one whole Saturday just to put everything together. Finally the checklist has been sorted out but one more thing is missing - a kiddie apron. They'll be using this during art activities. We looked for it at National Bookstore and in art craft stores but we did not find any that will fit our 3 year old son.

I knew i had to D-I-Y this one, eventually. But it's ok because DIYing is really liberating yet challenging, as it squeezes my creative juices. Plus i'll get to use up the remaining junk i have in storage. ;)

No need to bring out the sewing machine (though i wish i own one), just plain hand stitching will do. I got the idea from this blog.

So here's how i made this cute little apron.

Choco Oatmeal Bars

Recently i have been looking for healthier baked desserts. I usually scour the net for recipes, but i'm shocked by how much sugar a cake recipe calls for! So i usually follow the recipe, but use less fats (oil, butter, margarine) and sugar.

My idea is to incorporate oats, which is my favorite healthy food, to my baking. It's very filling and has loads of fiber. And i like its chewy texture when added to cookies. Plus oats has been known to help increase breast milk production, so nursing moms should really much on them.

I was inspired by the revel bar recipe from Bake Happy and All Recipes but i tamed down the butter and the sugar. Now, without further ado, here is my recipe for choco-oatmeal bars! The result was not so sweet but still deliciously decadent, in my humble opinion. ;)

Lemon Crinkles ala Expert ;)

So i bought a convection oven two months ago and this has awaken the baking diva in me. Really, i've been on Pinterest almost every time for baking ideas and inspiration.  

So far, this Lemon Crinkles have been our favorite and i'd like to share the recipe. :0 You can expect more recipes in my succeeding posts as i am really on a baking streak!  

Yummy lemon crinkles - best served with freshly brewed coffee and a big smile. :0.