Birthday Cake

I can’t believe it’s already been a year. Whew. How did time just sneak past me so quickly? Around this time last year (December 12 to be exact) C and I welcomed the 3rd member into our family, the very best Christmas gift we could have gotten. Looking back, I can’t even begin to count all the milestones, the exciting “firsts” (and equally wonderful seconds and thirds) that brought us so much joy. The year past seems to be bursting at the seams with our happiness…even in the midst of many (many!!!) sleepless nights, tired-to-the-bone days, and instances of parental insecurity and uncertainty (we’ve had our share of those too!).

At this one year mark, I can’t help but look back and examine how I did as a mum so far. I’ve tried to give the best of myself, filled her bottles and bowls with what I feel are good things, protect her but also give her many opportunities for discovery and exploration. I’ve put the things I love, that I hope she learns to love, in her path – books, good food, snuggles (and more than the occasional kitchen demonstration). There are definitely things I might have done differently, in retrospect. An adjustment here and there, a little more diligent here, and little less stringent there. But on the whole, none too shabby I think…I hope.

And on her first year birthday, I baked a cake. Nothing earth-shattering, but something that I believe the mum I want to be would do.

In my search for this first birthday cake I looked through all my cookbooks, magazines, and bookmarked cake files. I wanted something special but simple. Nothing over the top (no 3-tier princess cakes please) but something worthy of holding that momentous single candle. As fate would have it I found that very cake on another food blog – a cake baked as a birthday cake (or future birthday cake) by a girl who was expecting her first baby (who at this writing has already celebrated that all-important 1st birthday). It was the classic of all classic birthday cakes – a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. You don’t get any more simple-but-well-loved than that. You can find the recipe HERE. If you find yourself in need of a birthday cake I implore you to give this one a try – it is perfect…moist, light and vanilla-buttery. In my pre-party test-bakes I made it both in layer cake and cupcake forms and both turned out wonderful. The recipe makes two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, but I made two 8-inch cake layers and a dozen cupcakes instead.

I used a different frosting from the one paired with the cake originally as it was not holding up too well in my warm-humid native climate. I finally settled on the recipe below which is adapted from the Cupcake Bakeshop. I love that it uses 3 kinds of chocolate that you adjust based on your taste. The recipe below uses my preferred quantities for the different chocolates, but you can find the original recipe here.

Fudge Frosting
(Adapted from the Cupcake Bakeshop)

• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 3 oz semi sweet chocolate
• 2 sticks (one cup) unsalted butter
• 5 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

- Melt the chocolate and the butter in a double boiler and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Sift the powdered sugar and salt into a bowl.
- Combine the milk and vanilla.
- Add the milk/vanilla mixture to the sugar/salt and whisk until incorporated.
- Add the melted chocolate to the milk/sugar mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge. When chilled whisk again until fluffy.

I am so happy with the way the cake turned out, but more importantly I am so happy I actually made it. I’m sure all mothers have different (and many!) moments they mark that define themselves as mums. Baking little C’s birthday cake was definitely one of mine.

Happy birthday once again my little cherry bomb! You spin me right round baby and mama wouldn’t have it any other way :)

To everyone else…I hope you are having a fantastic holiday season!

Maple Roasted Pork Cutlet with Apples and Onions

Pork. To me, one of God’s most delicious gifts, brimming with good things from the tip of its pert nose to the end of its squiggly tail. Despite the tides all turning to healthier and more sensible eating, I still stubbornly throw myself with wild abandon at all things pork.

That being said, there was one cut of pork that I didn’t quite enjoy as much as the others…pork chop. Strange, as I live in a country where almost everyone loves a good pork chop (including my best friend who doesn’t even like pork anywhere near as much as I do!). I, though, find chops, dare I say it, too lean. I prefer getting my pork in the form of a slow cooked belly or hock, a whole roasted lechon, smoky barbecue ribs, or a pata tim in its sweet-sticky sauce. With a pork chop, you’ve got a whole lot of loin and a thinnish strip of fat at the end. It just doesn’t do it for me.

Until I met King Henry…

Maple Roasted Pork Cutlet with Apples and Onions

• 1 x 400 gram bone-in pork cutlet, preferably a King Henry cutlet
• 2 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 apple, cored, peeled and sliced into wedges
• 1 big white onion, peeled and sliced into wedges
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

- Score the fat side of the cutlet in a cross-hatch pattern.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Pour over the pork cutlet and sprinkle with some freshly cracked black pepper. Leave to marinate, turning every so often, for at least 30 minutes. Make sure to get the marinade into the scored fat side as well.
- Mix 1 tablespoon soy sauce with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Set this aside – this will be the basting sauce.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F.
- In a roasting pan or tray toss the onions and apple slices with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place the pan in the oven.
- Heat a non-stick skillet on the hob over medium high heat. Add a good glug or two of oil. When the oil is hot add the cutlet. Let this sear in the hot oil for about 3-5 minutes on both sides until golden brown. Hold the cutlet with a pair of tongs and sear its fat side, giving it a nice burnished hue and crisping up the edges.
- When your pork culet has achieved a nice sear all around (don’t forget the fat side!), take the roasting pan out of the oven and lay the cutlet on the onions and apples. Return to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, basting with your saved soy-maple mixture every 10 minutes or so, or until done to your liking.
- This serves one but is easily scalable to serve more.

A King Henry cutlet is cut from the mid-loin to about 1-inch thick. The bone is French trimmed (fancy!) and the skin removed. Although, for all intents and purposes, this is still technically a pork chop, its hefty size and correspondingly largish swipe of glistening fat help me to be forgiving. In fact, we (yes, I drag my husband along my wicked ways) have become big fans of this cut of pork! It always feels luxurious and celebratory at a fraction of the price of a good (beef) steak. Indulgent yet thrifty...I can definitely get behind that :)

And speaking of easily attainable, this is a snap to make. The marinade/basting sauce consists of only two ingredients…ok, three counting the pepper. It may seem a bit fiddly to score the fat but believe me it is worth the miniscule bit of effort it will take for you to do it…you will be rewarded with crunchy edges of fat caramelized in a sweet and savory glaze. If you’re really feeling lazy you can forgo the roasted apples but I urge you to give it a try. It goes amazingly with the pork (as apples are wont to do) and just think of it as doing your main dish and sides in one pan! As the pork roasts atop the apples, the maple-soy marinade, along with the juices from the pork, mingle with the softening apples and the slowly caramelizing onions. I know, yum!

King Henry is now on our regular grocery rotation, gracing our table once in a while, another cut of pork I have grown to love. Worry not, I do also actually love many healthy things, but pork still remains a steadfast friend, never abandoning me in times of heartache or stress. And I too vow to never abandon my loyal, delicious, and oft misunderstood pig.

Croquetas/Croquettes (in patty form)

As I’ve mentioned before, I wage a continuous battle against food waste. Now more than ever, with my new goal to Simplify, and with it endeavor for more meaning and less cost, this battle becomes even more important. Waste not, want not, as has often been said. And so true that. Less waste means more savings, extra cash to spend on a much loved pleasure, less junk clogging our landfills and waterways…and it can also mean a delicious treat if you know your way around leftovers!

One of my mom’s favorite ways to give new life to leftovers was to turn them into croquetas (also known as croquettes). Everything from leftover mince to smoked milkfish (yes, that’s tinapang bangus!) would find their way into my mom’s croquetas. As children, we loved these little breaded logs of soft potatoes and tasty bits of meat. We couldn’t care less if they were leftovers. They were delicious and that’s all our young minds needed to know.

Just as you can’t predict what and how much leftovers you will find yourself with on any given day, I don’t have an exact recipe for these croquetas (just as I don’t have one for this cottage pie). Simply put, this is what I do: I take whatever leftovers I have, whether it’s fish, mince, pork chops, longanisa (a local sausage) leftover from breakfast, or even vegetables (roasted vegetables would be awesome in this), and I shred/chop it to smallish bits. Then, depending on how much meat/veggies I have I take a couple, or more, potatoes and boil until soft, then mash. For these croquetas pictured I actually used leftover mashed potatoes (extra points for more leftovers used!). I then season the mixture with salt and pepper. You can add any other seasoning you’d like -- have you got some extra herbs lying around that need using? Chop them up and add them in! Add cumin and chili for a Mexican flavor, or soy sauce, sesame oil, and cilantro for something more oriental. Some cheese would also be delicious if this fits the combination of flavors you’ve got going so far (think chorizo, smoked paprika, and cheese…MMM!). Then add an egg and mix well. I just eyeball the mixture to see whether I add one or two eggs…but mostly one egg is good enough, leftovers usually not being all that much to begin with. I add all the seasoning before the egg so I can taste it before I add the raw egg. Now, shape your croquetas into logs or patties or balls (or anything your heart desires) and coat each in breadcrumbs. I personally prefer patties as I feel they cook better (and quicker) that way. Shallow fry in hot oil until golden on all sides.

You can serve this with a salad and it makes a wonderful meal. It’s also great tucked into a bun for a picnic or a packed lunch. You can serve them with a dipping sauce of your choice – some garlic yogurt, sriracha, or even that old staple…ketchup!

Now that I have a child of my own, I often think of what food traditions and values I’d like to pass on to her. Definitely my love for real, home cooked meals. My respect for food and where it comes from and who brings it to us. My wariness of junk food. An appreciation for true quality…which does not necessarily equate to what is more expensive. My love for vegetables. The belief that something lovingly crafted in your own kitchen will always be better than something bought in a store. Dark chocolate over candy bars. Eating with your hands…ok, this she is already loving :)

Part of these things that I’d like to impart on little C is the avoidance of food waste. And that means no fussing about eating leftovers! For my part, I’ll promise to make them as tempting as possible :)