Cheescake pudding?

Doesn't it look yummy?

So my husband, Richy and I  decide that we wanted to make a cheesecake last night.  Actually It was all his idea, as he puts it, "I've been dreaming about this cheesecake all week!~"  So we made it together. Richy's pretty much an expert when it comes to making things like this because he's made them in the past and they have come out quite good! This time it was more of a "watch and learn" lesson for me.  It was pretty easy to make this cheesecake, just a few eggs, butter, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, ricotta cheese and yogurt. I think that's about it. oh, and it had a graham cracker powder crust. If anyone is interested in the "Exact measurement" recipe I'll put it up :)  I'm pretty sure I am missing something or other in that list of ingredients I just gave for the cake, and it's probably something important he he...

So after we put all the ingredients into the stand mixer and mixed them up nicely he poured them into a cake pan with the graham cracker crust coating the bottom. After setting the oven to 325, we placed the cake in and left it for 1 hour, then we turned the oven off and let it sit for another hour. Yea, its kinda a long process.. I really thought it was going to be a bit faster but I guess cheese and yogurt take longer to cook and set ?

Ah, having a stand mixer makes life so much easier~! It has made me really develop a love for baking. I think it's kinda funny.. I have only really done like 2 or 3 things myself when it comes to baking and they actually have come out quite well! I've made cookies (and helped out in the making of many a chocolate chip cookie with Richy as the head "Pastry" Chef), bread (which I will get into later) and really decapitated muffins... I guess I can add cheesecake to my list lol!~ but honestly, even though I did help out in the making of this cake, I don't feel like it's truely mine until I have done every piece of it myself. :)

Getting back to the cheesecake here, when the cake was ready and we took it out of the oven, Richy was so excited to taste his masterpiece that in flipping over the cake to put it on a nice plate, it kinda slipped... Swiftly trying to recover the pieces. he managed to save most of it and put it in a bowl. So now, it ceases to be a cheesecake, it's more of a cheesepudding cake type mixture hehehe.. oh well. On the upside, the cake is really really really tasty! I just ate some in a little bowl! which I'm not regretting cause it's 1.02 am and it just hit my stomach like a ton of bricks... urg.. I should know not to eat things after a certain time. ah live and learn..

I think Tofu hates me..

So I think Tofu hates me. Why does it hate me when I love it so? I love it in all it's forms! Agedashi Tofu, Tofu Teriyaki, Soondubu jjigae, Toffutti ice cream bars... mmmm... I'm hungry now.. anyway, the point is , I really love Tofu and dispite my love for it, every time I try to cook with it I end up messing the dish up.  It's one of those things that will elude me forever I'm afraid. Maybe I'll master it some day.

So some time in December I decided that I wanted to make tofu. Again. And so I bought some Firm Tofu at my local H Mart and proceeded to go to town with it. Ok, not really. I'm not that skilled yet that I can cook without a recipe! I looked one up and found someone on a message board who had suggested BBQ. I had some BBQ sauce in the fridge that I really had not used up so I said, "Hey! that sounds like a good idea! BBQ tofu~! I'll grill it on my Cast Iron grill pan!."

I strained it, patted it dry and cut it up into little peices. Slathered my BBQ sauce all over and let it marinade in it for about 30 mins or so. Then I grilled it.  The idea was good.  It smelled good. Did'nt look all too appealing but here's hoping it tasted good. That was the most important part.

End result? Tofu that was kinda leathery, smelled like BBQ on the outside, had no flavor on the inside and well.. my husband didn't even want to touch it...  and he likes food !

Saddened and disheartened I tossed it and am currently perplexed and back to the drawing board when it comes to Tofu.  Well, at least it's a small conciliation that to this day even my husband who can cook up some awesome dishes is intimidated by it!! Tofu Gods, Help!!

Want some Limeade?

Limes. Limes are what inspired me to start this blog. You see, my most famous cooking disaster started with these little guys and my desire to please my family, whom I had not seen in a while, with my wonderful abilities.

In Colombia, the notion of a lemon does not exist. I mean, well, it sort of does but it's really a lime instead. And I had a craving for lemonade! So I took my cousins down to the supermarket around the bend and bought the biggest bag o' limes I could find! I had an idea and I was determined to see it through. They had no idea what what in store for them he he he....

So take a guess how many limes I decided to juice right there and then? yep, the whole bag. There were easily about 20 + limes in there (it was a big bag) and I managed to fill a pitcher will all of their juices. Nope, no water. Not a single drop. Oh, and no sugar either. Just pure 100% limey goodness. After all, what goes better to wash down that heavy lunch you just had but some "let me watch you as you choke and scream as your esophagus closes up" lime juice goodness. You should have seen my Aunt's face as she was the first victim to drink my concoction. Classic.

Needless to say I learned my lesson right there and then that that's not how you make limeade or any type of juice for that matter. It was only several years later that I actually realized that there is a reason why most commercial juices only have 10% juice.

Limeade anyone?