Gone for 2 Years and Came Back Talking About Poor Quality... Silly Me.

Coming back from what feels like an eons-long writing hiatus, I gaze around my cute little home right now, feeling the settling calm and peace. The only sounds come from the shaking knob of the pressure cooker that our Ate Jona is attending to. Yes, hubby and kids are not yet home. I have a few minutes of luxury. And peace.

So I turn to my laptop (as usual!) and my blog (after 2 years!).

I was actually about to commence with Experiment #3, Day #2 of my current baking goal: perfecting our old family recipe, the pineapple carrot cake, and, in the process of doing so, unearthed my 18-year old high school Technology and Home Economics compilation.  I call it an "experiment" because i recently acquired an electric oven and I have been having a really hard time with it.

"Me and My Oven: It is a LOVE - HATE relationship. Yep." - Jaja Oquiñena

So I was searching for literatures on the causes of poor quality cakes. Now, I JUST HAVE TO INSERT: All credits to this compilation go to dear Ms. Demphna I. Saarenas, one of the best T.H.E. teachers (wonderfully calm and collected not even a burning batch of macaroons fazed her) of

My 18-year old Technology and Home Economics 

compilation (compiled by Ms. Saarenas).

all time (well, MY time, that is). I felt that I needed to record this wonderful piece of compilation online before the moths and bookworms completely eat it to nothingness (also, so that I always have something to go back to when I need to. Selfish, right?). SO here is my first online record on this wonderful compilation:




Causes of Poor Quality Conventional and Quick-Mix Cake
Source: Technology and Home Economics #4 Compilation (by Ms. Demphna I. Saarenas)
* all baked products were done by me with the help of little angels...

OUTSIDE Appearance
Peaked or Cracked: Oven too hot, too much flour
Pale color: Too little sugar, under baked; wrong-size pan
Too brown: Overbaked, too hot oven, too much sugar
Poor volume: Too much shortening or liquid, wrong size pan, too hot oven
Sunken: Too much sugar or shortening, too little liquid, under baked

These cupcakes came out sunken after its baking time was up.

INSIDE Appearance
Uneven grain: Too little liquid, undermixed, oven too cool, too much shortening
Crumbly: Too much shortening or sugar, undermined.
Tunnels: Too many eggs, too little sugar, poorly mixed

This Banana Bread came out just right 

in both inside appearance and flavour.

TEXTURE
Dry: Overbaked, too little sugar
Soggy: Underbaked or undermined, too much shortening
Solid: Too much flour, shortening or liquid
Tough: Overmixed, overbaked, too little shortening

Same batch of cupcakes from above... The texture 

was a little crumbly and little dry.

FLAVOR
Wrong flavour: Poor quality ingredients, wrong proportion of ingredients

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (using rolled oats) didn't look 

quite so mouth-watering but the flavor was PERFECT! 

But alas! The kids are now here and demanding my attention again! So I end this post with adorable pictures I took of them helping me with my baking this year... Here's to hoping I get to post at least one more article before the year (2013) ends!

Micah poses with the ready-to-bake batch 

of red velvet cupcakes. 

Pia and nephews Manu and Ali helping 

in a "big kids"-kind-of way.

My 2 new recruits for my future packing business!

End.

Battle of Wills: No one wins

Yes, it has happened. Clash of the Titans 2010. Pia vs her mom.

It was a string of "No!" "Why not?!" "No, Mama, no!"... for 10 minutes. Pia wouldn't give in. I wouldn't give in. We were at an impasse.

The debate:

First Party: "Pia, finish your assignment!"

Second Party: "Mom, finish na, no na!"

Pia's assignment was half finished. She counted all the pencils, safety pins, pots, question marks, etc. and wrote down (with a lot of resistance) the numerals but had yet to write down the number words. She was tired of counting. I was getting tired of her excuses ("i want water!", " look at my necklace, mom!", "i want to watch the big TV", "i want to write with this ballpen!", etc., etc.). And i was running late for work.

"Pia, if you don't finish your assignment, i will leave na!" I threatened. She replied, "No, Mama, no!" and sat on the floor to cry.

"Pia, get up. The floor is dirty."

Who would have thought that my little angel 

can exasperate the heck out of me!

Pia gives me a frown, her eyebrows scrunched, her eyes shooting daggers at me. She was the typical petulant kid.

I couldn't say whether she was just acting or if she was really serious.

And so it went on for another 10 minutes of yelling, supreme stubbornness and heartfelt defiance.

My patience was running out. Aarrgghhhhh!

I did the most childish thing: I went to my room and closed the door. However shameful this experience was, I will post it as a reminder to myself that kids are kids but parents should remain parents. And in this instance, sadly, I had failed to remain as one. (heartbreak) (tear)

End.