Love is in the air again. Lovers would be definitely thinking about what to give a special someone. How do you express love? You can’t count how much we love; much more there is not enough way of expressing it. One may just express it in words of love, a hug, a kiss, a touch, or just a smile.

Red Ribbon has come up with a cake that can sum up all the love you can give and share. The new Roses and Kisses Cake, sugar roses and Hershey’s kisses top this chocolate pound cake with chocolate chip filling, a delightful and meaningful Valentines gift.

To those chocolate lovers, experience the ultimate chocolate cake, Chocolate Heaven. Combination of brownies, chocolate mouse, icing and curls just too chocolatety! Yummy , really for chocolate addicts.

Red Ribbon’s Roses & Kisses and Chocolate Heaven Cakes, available for your loved ones this Valentines! Its more beautiful with Red Ribbon.

Simbang gabi with a twist, attended the last “simbang gabi” in Kapamgpangan  held at San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor, Pampanga with Jeric, and Dianne for the Eden Keso de Gallo. The traditional Misa de Gallo, was highlighted with a featured dish  “Cheesy Squash Puto “ which was served as a treat to the churchgoers after the mass.

San Guillermo Parish, Bacolor, Pampanga

Kraft Eden Cheese aimed to bring back the joy and faith of Filipinos during this festive occasion.  The well-loved cheese brand launched the Keso de Gallo - a nationwide event coinciding with the traditionally celebrated Misa de Gallo (a Catholic Christmas tradition wherein nine dawn masses are held starting December 16, which will culminate on Christmas Eve).

Parallel to the nine-day Simbang Gabi, Eden brought the goodness of Filipino dishes to Pinoys in nine different towns including Bacolod City, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Naga, Butuan City, Laoag and Pampanga.

At least 300 “kabalens” enjoyed the “Cheesy Squash Puto” a recipe done by pupils from the San Matias Elementary School in Pampanga.

Kraft Eden Cheese Squash Puto

Squash Puto (Pampanga)

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cup squash, cooked and mashed

3 ¼ cup all purpose flour, sifted

1 ½ cup washed sugar

4 tbsp baking powder

1 bar Eden Cheese

½ cup margarine, melted

1 ½ cup butter milk

8 pcs. eggs, medium, beaten

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 cups water

Procedure:

1. Combine all dry ingredients together.
2. Make a well at the center and add the liquid ingredients.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Add smashed squash and grated cheese. Mix well.
5. Pour mixture in a molder.
6. Steam for 45 minutes.

“With Eden cheese, we will explore the wonders of our country’s cuisine while providing an extended feast that will bring joy and delight to as many families as possible,” says Alex Tacderas, Category Marketing Manager for Cheese and Spoonables, Kraft Foods Philippines.

For more recipe with Eden Cheese, visit http://www.sarapngbuhay.com.

P.S

This Christmas I had the chance to connect to the roots of my DAD this Christmas. Attending mass said in  Kapampangan dialect  and reminiscing the culture and traditions of Kapampangan during Christmas. How I wish I were fluent in the dialect.

Thanks to Kraft Eden Cheese, and Keso de Gallo, I felt my Christmas was complete. The Keso de Gallo  in San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor Pampanga event will be in our memories for a long time.

The Keso de Gallo experience was our topic during the family gathering we had on Christmas Day.

Anchor butter has been part of our breakfast table since I was a kid. Since I grew up in a family who love to cook and eat, Anchor butter was always there to add flavor to every meal. Anchor butter in pandesal, “ube halaya”, “nilagang mais”, hot cake, “ bibingka”, puto bumbong , and polvoron are some of the food that I used Anchor butter a lot. It was always there in our grocery basket and fridge.

Food Bloggers take center stage in testing their culinary skills in a cook fest  “The Connoisseur Duel: The Grand Food Battle” sponsored by Anchor at the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts (Walter Mart Makati) held last November 26, 2009.

Donning our chef’s hat and apron, we cooked several tasting dishes, our very own cooking masterpiece. Both the yellow and Red teams braced the 50-minute challenge of cooking three kinds of dish using the different Anchor products.

All of these cooking activities were done at Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. MIHCA production kitchen is essentially a “playground” for us bloggers where we unleash our creativity in cooking though no formal training. We had full access to world-class equipment and materials, oven, cooking pans and utensils.

I was lucky to be a member of the Yellow team that prepared “Mum’s sopas”, main dish of fried Dory fish with white sauce, fruit salad and sweetened ladyfingers. We did have a great time, enjoying the whole process cooking and making the food presentable to the panel of judges; Leah Barin, Food Service Manager, Fonterra Brands; Juan Miguel Borja, Senior Chef Instructor at MIHCA ; Dorothy Ferreira, well-respected pastry chef and culinary teacher. The entire dishes used Anchor butter and Anchor Culinary cream.

Anchor shares to us secrets of great cooking; some recipes are passed on from generation to generation, others new creations. Visit http//www. AnchorRecipes.com; for these are recipes that are guaranteed to be delicious as these are made only with ANCHOR BUTTER as well as other Anchor/Fonterra products.

Anchor ….Taste is truly our passion!

Leopoldo “ Black Hole “Quinto, Jr. of Baclaran won P 500,000 by eating 13 hotdogs in a span of 10 minutes in the Big Bite Matching Hotdog Eating contest sponsored by 7- Eleven last November 14, 2009 at Music Hall SM Mall of Asia. He vested 25 other contestants.

Second runner up- was Kyle “The Beast” de Guzman, a nursing student from the University of Pangasinan, took the150,000 pesos prize.

I considered the two as the best Filipino Gurgitator. Job well done ! We will expect more from 7-eleven to host this new spectator event.

Here’s my previous post about the lauch of this event: http://www.annakatharinamd.com/2009/07/06/who-will-emerge-as-7-eleven%E2%80%99s-filipino-fastest-hotdog-eating-machine/

Big Bite ® Match is the biggest competitive eating event in the Philippines visit www.eatingmachinesphilippines.com/ for more information.

7-Eleven is celebrating its 25th year of being the largest convenience store chain in the Philippines. For inquiries about franchising, please contact the Customer Hotline at 724-10-31 or the Mobile Hotline at 0920-945-2036

Eden Cheese wants to set a Guinness World Record for the most number of Filipino dishes made with Eden cheese in a single day. Their target, 5000 dishes out of Eden Cheese , which will be held on December 14, 2009 at Araneta Coliseum.

This also aims to showcase our Filipino food culture in 5,000 dishes as a unique, wonderful and utterly tasty experience. On December 14, cooking enthusiasts, culinary students, kusineros, chefs and foodies for one battle royale featuring cheese, with Kraft Eden products demonstrating their versatility in various dishes, from the savory to the sweet.

I grew up in a family who loves to cook, my lola a certified cusinera and my Dad a Kapangpangan who can dish out anything. I use to attend “handaan” wherein my lola was the cook. I never got tired of watching her prepare morcon , and pastel both prepared with cheese.Everything then was prepared the natural way, all ingredients have to be fresh and of the first class quality. My dad was the one who introduced to me the use of cookbooks and how to experiment on some ingredients. I might not have the time to cook but I can do any common dish.

Be part of history, be involved, lets promote Filipino dishes and join the Eden Cheese Event.
Be a Yumm Member and give your own Eden Cheesified recipe. Join Eden Cheese in setting our World Record attempt to cheesify Filipino dishes! Visit www.sarapngbuhay.com !

Eden Cheese is YUMM , Your Ultimate Meal Makeover! Your Ulam Mas Masarap
Eden Cheese , A yummy and Inspiring Christmas, Cheese possibilities to the Limits

Ang Sarap ng Buhay sa Eden Cheese!

I was able to attend the first Celebrity Cook –off Challenge sponsored by Doña Elena Cuisinera Club held at Annabelle’s Restaurant at T. Morato Quezon City. In the competition, celebrities and guest displayed their culinary genius in preparing appetizing Filipino dishes using Doña Elena olive oil.

Guest celebrities Gladys Reyes and Bernadette Allyson displayed their skills in preparing a meal using Doña Elena products such as Pure Olive oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Doña Elena Cuisinera Club advocates the use of olive oil as good partner in the kitchen. An oil rich in monosaturated fat Doña Elena olive oil has an anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive property. Olive oil is also abundant with polyphenols, a potent anti oxidant that scavenges harmful free radicals in the body.

Be a Cuisinera Club member. Cuisinera Club is a cooking community established by Doña Elena to provide first-time and experienced home cooks (we call them cuisineras) , who re pushing for a healthy eating lifestyle. Cuisinera Club aim to encourage and teach cuisineras easy ways on achieving a healthier lifestyle through better nutrition, which can be achieved by using olive oil in their daily cooking.

Some of Doña Elena Products are Doña Elena olive oil, Doña Elena sardines, Doña Elena Anchovy, Doña Elena olives , green and black.

My last birthday was one of those meaningful days. The celebration lasted for a week as I hop from one event to another. The week started with greetings from my friends here in abroad through facebook. All along Dianne was with me as I treasure these moments.

We had one evening at Texas Roadhouse Grill, at El Pueblo Real de Manila, Ortigas Center. We both had a sumptuous dinner, of Jessie James Sampler as a starter. The Great Ribeye is a mouth-watering 10-ounce certified US steak and Mighty Oreo Mud Pie it is an ice cream slash cake all in one. Texas Roadhouse Grill, authentic Old West experience, visit them at Ortgas Center and Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

Another day was spent with mommy bloggers for the newest cake from Red Ribbon, New White forest.  The cake dressed in white, white chocolate, white chiffon, luscious long-stemmed, red maraschino cherries on top and generously finished with white chocolate shavings. Let there be white, The new White Forest Cake at Red Ribbon.

At home, my mom and siblings prepared a native dinner, with “inihaw” and we have to eat in banana leaves. A simple one but relatives came to celebrate. I even had the chance to make a wish as I blow the lone candle on my cake.

At school my students and co- faculty had something for me. There were lots of greetings through texts , facebook, emails and blog comments, wishing me a happy birthday , good health. Really, this birthday meant so much because of the people who made it more meaningful for me. Thanks to you all.

P.S

I also got my most expensive bag as of the moment courtesy of Dianne, Jeric and Roxanne…

(Seems like my kids are richer than me…)

Filipino eating machines can go to the nearest 7-Eleven store in their area and avail of the Big Bite Pack that contains five hotdog sandwiches of their choice and one Big Gulp.  Participants should finish the five sandwiches in the shortest time possible. The fastest hotdog eaters from 7-Eleven stores nationwide will compete in a grand culminating event where only one will be proclaimed champion and will receive Php 500, 000 in cash. Contest will run from June-26 up to Aug 15.

In 2007, 24 year-old Joey Chestnut won the 92^nd Annual Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest. His record is downing 66 hotdog sandwiches in 12 minutes.

 However, here in the Philippines, there is yet to be someone declared a champion gurgitator – until the 7-Eleven Big Bite Match, eating 5 hotdogs at the shortest possible time. 7-Eleven aim to provide Filipino competitive eaters a venue where Filipinos can be recognized in an international scale to highlight their one of a kind skill.

Those joining the Big Bite ® Match hotdog-eating contest will have their name posted with their record time. The 7-Eleven Branch in Farmers Cubao, had 2 minutes and 30 seconds record time.

For those who do not want to join, they can enjoy the Big Bite Pack that contains five hotdog sandwiches of their choice and one Big Gulp. This the 7-Eleven’s way of celebrating their 25^th year of being the largest convenience store chain in the Philippines.

Recent reports indicate that Red bull energy drink products in Hongkong has been identified to be laced with traces of cocaine in some of the samples coming from Austria and United Kingdom. Retailers were immediately advised to pull out Red Bull energy drink off the market.

Energy drinks do proliferate in most convenient stores and drugstores here in the Philippines. To some it has become a habit to take one before work , for students  they have to take it before examinations and to keep them awake  through the night as they are reviewing. Along the streets you will see vendors selling Extra Joss in sachets and a bottle of mineral water to motorist caught in the traffic. I have seen security guards mixing the said energy drink during their break time.

Cobra, Extra Joss and I –ON energy drink s have the following main ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, ginseng and royal jelly.

Effects of these ingredients are the following:

Caffeine : One will experience less drowsiness, less fatigue, more rapid and clearer flow of thought.

Taurine : Is a kind of amino acid  ( protein) and helps regulate water and mineral salts in the body.

The B complex vitamins are in smaller amounts however, we can get these from the food we eat every day. These are also water-soluble vitamins so that anything we eat in excess, it goes to out of the body in the urine. You may notice that your urine turns more yellowish every time one takes these energy drinks.

Ginseng : increase energy and endurance, reduce fatique and effects of stress and prevent infections. increase mental and physical capacity

Royal jelly : can ameliorate the physical fatigue after exercise

Ginseng and royal jelly have myriad other benefits aside from what I have mentioned.

If one eats the proper diet every day, rice, vegetables, meat and fish. One can get these ingredients. A cup of coffee in the morning provides about 80 mg of caffeine.

Imagine yourself, drinking 1 cup of coffee (80 mg caffeine) in the morning, a bottle of cola ( 50 mg caffeine) for lunch, an ice cold tea ( 50 mg caffeine) and a bottle of Cobra (134 mg caffeine) in the early afternoon to ward off sleepiness and a night cap at Starbucks coffee ( 85 mg caffeine). That a lot of caffeine in your body, a total of about 400 mg of caffeine in your body. Warning , as the dose of caffeine is increased, it can produced nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, tremors and palpitations, oftentimes mental block if you are a  student.

Be careful of taking these energy drinks. It can do more harm than good when taken in excess and taking them becomes a habit.

Whatever the celebration, it’s more beautiful with Red Ribbon ! Yes Red Ribbon cakes, have always been a part of our birthdays, weddings, Christmas , graduations and other festivities. Red ribbon cakes are not only for blowing your birthday candles but are also popular as gifts , token of appreciation , get-well greetings or just saying I am sorry.

There is  a new Red Ribbon cake,  Cookies and Cream with Oreo, it has cookie chunks, with layers of vanilla and chocolate chiffon and very creamy. On top of the creamy icings are delightful Oreo cookies.

Another to watch out for is their Chocolate Marble loaf. A rich buttery pound cake with luscious chocolate swirls, every bite is special.  Perfect to take home as “pasalubong” be as a whole loaf or slices.

Aside from cakes and pastries, new meal offerings are the Improved 100% All Beef Salisbury Steak And Creamy Carbonara.

Salisbury steak is generously topped with rich mushroom gravy sauce with, creamy mashed potato, buttered corn, and carrots sidings

Red Ribbon Carbonara, with chicken, bacon, mushrooms, cheese and premium spices, topped with parsley, shaved parmesan cheese and bacon bits. Also with new side bread and herbs

I am glad one of my clinics is near a Red Ribbon branch, at Taft avenue, corner Pedro Gil St. For sure will always drop by for their cakes and pastries to take home.