Pouring the cream! I'm currently trying to make my first batch of Creme Brulee. Oh god. Is it going to be good?!

Now people call him an Angry Bird. :(

Awww. :( Di po siya Angry Bird! 

Angry na siya. :(

Yan ang isa sa madalas ko naririnig pag naglalakad ako pauwi.

Pag pauwi ako, I walk from the MRT taft station until sa kanto ng Cuevas Bakery. So, sa araw-araw at gabi-gabi ba naman na nilalakad ko yan, hindi maiiwasan na mamukaan ko na ang mga tao na madalas andun.

At ang mga lugar sa Pasay City along EDSA ay … well, alam niyo na. Siguro may apat na beerhouses at isang motel akong nadadaanan palagi. Gabi-gabi, nakikita ko sila sa mga kanya-kanya nilang mga pwesto.

Naririnig ko palagi ang mga conversations nila – amongst themselves at sa mga potential customers nila. Nagbibigay lang sila ng mga presyo sa mga dumadaan na mga lalaki.

Tapos mag aantay lang sila sa mga upuan sa may tapat ng kani-kanilang mga beerhouses, nakadisplay at ready na bilin pag sila ang napili.

:(

:)

I looked around online and found that the ingredients are all basic. Eggs, butter, sugar and chocolate. I mean, how can one mess that up?! But boy, I was wrong to assume that baking this would be a real piece of cake. ;)

Soufflé is a kind of dessert that is not to be underestimated. Today I just found out that beating the egg whites and the yolks separately can be a dreadful process. Well, if you don’t have an electric mixer. I don’t have one so my arms really hurt!

When beaten thoroughly, the egg white foams up and the yellow yolk pales. Wonderful!

Preparing for the heat!

As proof of this feat, here’s a shot of the post-mixing and beating process. I’ve poured the mixture (eggs and chocolate) in their own containers made of porcelain – also called “ramekins” and put them in the oven. I took careful note that the oven has been preheated at 150C, as I’m not sure how it should be for I haven’t done it before exactly. (I was just putting fate into the hands of the recipe I got somewhere!)

They looked very familiar. Every batter looks like the brownies batter.

The chocolate came from the Lindt’s Excellence 70% dark chocolate (144Php). I’ve chopped the chocolate into little pieces and melted them in a glass bowl dipped in hot water. While making this, I couldn’t imagine how could only eggs and chocolate could make brownies-like fo

After 25 minutes, I came back and checked what’s going on with my little lovelies.

Almost done!

It was just like in the cartoons where you’d see a baking cake rise up, only to fall again if you open the oven and cold air comes in. After the oven timer went off, I waited a few more minutes before taking it out.

It’s difficult to keep the shape of the Soufflé. On my first try, I wasn’t able to keep up this risen shape. :( I have yet to find out techniques for that.

Anyway, after letting it cool for a bit, here it is.

Chocolate Souffle

Now I know why they said na sobrang bitin ang Thor – kasi it’s so AWESOME gusto mo na malaman kung ano mangyayari. (I want to see more NOW!)

The Mjolnir - "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

It’s definitely one of the movies I would recommend. Actually, gusto ko na i-recommend sa office now, but I think ako na lang hindi pa nakakapanood. Haha! So I recommended it to the taxi driver nung pauwi na ko (“Kuya! Nanonood ba kayo sa sinehan recently? Panoorin niyo po THOR! Ay napakaganda ho!”)

OK – Now Captain America na lang, and then The Avengers na.

So hyped.

“THORoughly” was coined by Jenny-chan ;) Brilliant, I say.

I have to remember to start bringing a small foldable umbrella from now on. Getting caught in a rain is not so much *fun* when you’re alone. Hehe.

I started with this. Actually, without the swirls on the edge. :D
It’s green because Jobelle likes green (I don’t know why! Sabi niya dati pink. haha)

If you slice up the cake, you will get this:

I added some cherries on top. :)

Here are the three slices I made.
I plan to put eyepins at the back of it and make it into a cellphone charm or keychain.

and finally. :)
Happy birthday!

^___^v

I especially loved the ending song! Back then, I had no why to find out what it was, who sang it and the complete lyrics.

But today! HOORAY for the intarnetz! :D

I found it!

(Season 1 only; lyrics performed by Wheatus.)

Never gets a chance to breathe

Searching for the talismans

And racing down the Dark Hand

He’ll win with just his hands

Yeah, you know Chan’s got a plan

He never can be beat

Always landing on his feet

Protects his Uncle and niece

From Shadowkhan and deadbeats

Yet he would rather laugh than fight

It’s wrong or right?

You gotta like him!

Jackie Chan!

Where’s the talisman?

You got to find it now!

You always do somehow!

Lyrics I got from Wiki.

Video is here: :)

Coming from a third-world country, I was used to getting by with what was immediately there to survive and make the most out of it. Then when I first went to live in Japan for more than a year, I was overwhelmed to see an Asian country having a good quality of life like this! I got used to the modern conveniences which I never thought I’d be able to use.

Back then, given their high standards for living, I was pretty sure that they would find it difficult to live outside of their country or to even lose these kinds of conveniences.

But right now, after the 9.0 earthquake, they showed the world once again that they could handle this disaster gracefully, just like what they did after the WWII. Everybody is cooperating, even in the simplest thing that they could do or contribute. My friends there tell me they try to minimize their power usage – which is difficult because almost everything in the house is run by electricity (i.e. hot water, stove).

An earthquake like that could have easily toppled down those buildings, but most of it are still standing proudly right now in their cities – with countless lives saved. I was reminded of the strength Japan has – that even in the midst of a disaster, no matter how hard the ground shakes, they still refuse to falter.