Daniel Fast - Week One

I'm fasting. 

Not just any fast but a spiritual fast too. 

I'm participating in a Daniel Fast with my church for the next 21 days and it's been quite an experience. I'm on day 6 right now so I chose to use this blog to go over some of my struggles, Daniel Fast recipes and thoughts with where I'm at.

The Daniel Fast is pretty simple. We're allowed to eat all fruits, vegetables, whole grains (whole wheat pasta, quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat bread and tortillas) legumes and nuts. We can only drink water throughout the entire fast so that means absolutely no coffee. (Struggle #1) 

I'm also participating in a separate fast my Pastor suggested in addition to this. 

Week one- No Media (TV, news, radio, I'm still using the internet but I stay away from my google reader and the news)

Week two - Say three positive things to the people you know. No negative words. 

Week three - Do random acts of kindness.

First of all, it doesn't help that my past posts are about rich cupcakes and tasty cakes either. I have a major sweet tooth and I'd give up meat before giving up my beloved cookies and cakes. Plus baking relaxes me. (Struggle #2)

So here we go. 

Day one was definitely the hardest day for me, which I kind of expected. I'm used to waking up and turning on the news while I'm getting ready for work. The funny thing is I'm getting out the door earlier than I've ever been. I don't know if it's because I'm being less distracted but it feels good to be on time for once. 

I usually look forward coming in to work because I can sit down and drink my first cup of coffee. You see, coffee is my weakness. My last meal on this earth would probably be a good quality chocolate cake, fudge and a cup of french roast coffee. So not having to drink coffee was something I wasn't looking forward to. I sat at my desk with a banana and a cup of water feeling unsatisfied and irritated. On top of that, I got the biggest headache in the middle of day. One of my co-workers stopped by my desk and told me "I looked lost." The food wasn't too much of an issue but the lack of caffeine was kicking my butt. 

Day two arrived and I felt better. I noticed I was much more relaxed and my usual feeling of anxiousness disappeared. I began to question whether coffee was the culprit for my anxiety and restlessness issues all along but it was too early to tell. 

Day three. Yup, coffee was the problem. I'm full of energy (yet still fatigued) and I feel good. The last time I gave up coffee was when I was pregnant with my daughter. Pregnancy alone messed with my hormones so I didn't get to notice my burst of energy.

Before I go on, I know I'm spending a lot of time explaining my coffee (or lack of) experience but it's so much more than that. The Daniel Fast is a great way to feel closer to the Lord and I've been feeling a big difference in my faith. I've spent more time reading the word and devotionals on how to become a better parent and a wife. I already feel a difference on how I treat my daughter and my husband. Instead of walking through the door feeling irritated about a messy house, I set my purse down and spend time with my family. Cooking and cleaning can wait.  

When I feel stressed about a situation or when I'm having difficulty with the fast, I pray. I pray for strength and the extra push to get me through whatever I need to get through. 

The amazing part of it all is that I'm only on Day 6! Imagine what I'll be feeling in a couple of weeks. I'm not saying that it'll be an easy journey but I know I'll be stronger and wiser once I'm done. 

Just like my pastor said, "If you want to change something in your life, do something about it." 

And in case you were wondering, I haven't lost a pound either. Just the feeling of putting natural foods in my system makes me feel healthier. I remember thinking this fast would help me lose some of the weight gain from the holidays but so far it hasn't and I'm ok with that. 

Almond Bread and Cupcakes

The past couple of weeks have been jammed packed and eventful in our household. I mentioned earlier that I was in charge of baking cupcakes for my cousin's birthday on Thanksgiving and came up with flavors the day before. 

Yup, procrastinator at it's finest. 

But before I go into this any further, we spent Thanksgiving week at Disneyland with my husband's side of the family. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to visit the magical kingdom during the holidays, you are totally missing out. 

I was seriously like a little kid in a candy store. 

And to top it off, it snowed on Main Street too! I cried and ate snow. The end. 

So here's a couple of pictures from our vacation. 

I think I lost five pounds from laughing and immediately gained it back eating cream cheese pretzels. Nothing beats Disneyland. 

Anyway, back to my beloved cupcakes. So I decided to embrace my Filipina roots and made Ube Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. (Ube is a purple yam that is widely popular in Filipino desserts) 

I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Burnt Lumpia, and was more than pleased with the outcome. *FYI, his Chicken Adobo recipe is to die for too. 

As for my second cupcake, I decided to make Black Bottom Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. If you love the taste of dark and sinful chocolate, this is definitely your cupcake. 

After eating bad and unhealthy food during my trip, I was craving something "healthier" to bake this past weekend. My manager recommended an Almond bread that she got to try from her  Cooking Light magazine. I'm a chocoholic so I was a bit hesitant at first but ended up trying it anyway. Needless to say, the bread was made at 9 p.m. Friday night and gone by 7:30 the next morning. My four year old  loved it and called it a cake for breakfast. 

So here's the recipe. The reason why I call this bread "healthier" is because it only calls for two tablespoons of butter. It has the consistency of a pound cake and we all know how much butter is in those things. 

I'll be freezing about 10 loaves just in case there's a bread emergency at my house. (Yes, there is such a thing Ü)

UbeCupcakes

Adaptedfrom Burnt Lumpia

Makes about 2 dozen

1 cup grated ube yam (can be found frozen in Asian markets)

2/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 Tablespoons butter (1.5 sticks), softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain and thaw the ube yam. On some foil, place ube in a steamerbasket and steam for 15-20 mins until it’s soft.

Place the ube into a small bowl and mash.  Let it get to room temp. Add the milk andvanilla to ube. Mix it well and set aside.

With a paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butterand sugar together on medium speed until combined.

Add eggs one at a time and blend after each addition.

Add oil and mix.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in aseparate bowl.

Little by little, add the flour mixture to the egg mixture andmix on low speed until combined.

Add a small amount of the ube mixture to the egg mixture andcontinue to alternate between the flour and ube until combined.

Place paper baking cups into muffin pans and spoon batter intocups until 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

Frost cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. *Recipe below*

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Adapted from annies-eats

For the filling:

8 oz. creamcheese, at room temperature

1/3 c.granulated sugar

1 large egg,at room temperature

2  oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcake:

1 ½ cupsall-purpose flour

1 c. firmlypacked light brown sugar

5 tbsp.unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp.baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. water

1/3 c.vegetable oil

1 tbsp.cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanillaextract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Linethe cupcake pan with liners.

Filling - In a stand mixer, beat creamcheese, sugar and egg until combined. 

Mix in the coarsely chopped chocolatepieces. Set aside.

Cupcakes – Sift flour, cocoa powder, brownsugar, salt and baking soda.

In another bowl, mix the water, oil,vinegar and vanilla extract.

Form a well in the center of the flourmixture and stir in the wet ingredients until smooth. Do not over-mix.

Divide the batter among the muffincups. Fill the center of each cupcake with filling evenly.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the topsare light golden brown.

I personally like this type of cupcakerefrigerated and unfrosted but I chose to put a cream 

cheese frosting on top toeven out the bitterness of the chocolate. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from allrecipes

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups siftedconfectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanillaextract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter untilcreamy.

Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners'sugar.

Store in the refrigerator after use.

Almond Bread

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 (7-ounce) package almond paste
• 2 large eggs 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
• Baking spray with flour (such as Baker's Joy)
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• Dash of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Spoon the flour into  measuring cups and make sure to level with a knife. 
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until well combined.
4. Place granulated sugar and the next 3 ingredients (stopping right before almond paste) in a large bowl.
5. Beat with a mixer at medium speed for three minutes until well combined. 
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. 
7. Mixing at low speed, add the flour mixture and 1/2 cup milk alternately to butter mixture. Beat just until mixed.
8. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with baking spray and sprinkle with sliced almonds. 
9. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Use a toothpick to check if it's done. 
10. For ten minutes, cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove the bread from pan; cool on wire rack.
11. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk with a dash of salt.
12. Whisk until smooth then drizzle the glaze on top of the bread. Let stand until set.

Happy Baking!

♥,

Anna

I'm Thankful For.....

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I thought I'd take the opportunity to express what I'm grateful for this week. I've definitely gone through my ups and downs this year but I couldn't have gotten through them without the people (or things) below . 

I'm thankful for my health. 

I thank God for being able to wake up and experience a new day. His beauty surrounds us and I get to soak that in during my morning commute.

I'm thankful for my husband, Daniel. 

If you meet him for the first time, I guarantee he'll be make you laugh within the first ten minutes. I've fallen in love with him at least a hundred times over.  

My daughter, Lainy. 

She's a carbon copy of her daddy and I'm thankful for that. She's funny, sweet, extremely smart and talented. My life changed the second I laid my eyes on this beauty. 

I'm thankful for my wonderful family. 

Life is so much brighter when I'm surrounded by the people I love the most. 

I'm thankful for my friends. 

I'll be honest and say that keeping true friendships takes a lot work. In my early twenties, the quantity of friends was what it was all about. 

But throughout the years I started to notice that when my life changed (marriage and kids) my friends changed too. I'm grateful for the friends who decided to stick around

Have a wonderful thanksgiving everyone! 

♥,

Anna

DYRDEK?

Do you really do everything kind?

This is my motto at the moment.

Think about it. Do I really do everything kind? Or is it because I'm infatuated with every Rob Drydek show on MTV right now? (I'm leaning towards option #2 on this one.) 

I find it funny that the show, Rob and Big, has been on the air since 2006 and I just now discovered the hilarity of Robert Stanley Dyrdek and Christopher Boykin?  I'm all about Black Lavender and Bobby Light/The Chunky Boys right now.

Unfortunately I'm about six years too late to discuss this show with anybody else. I want to talk to my friends about the mini horse and the younger Drama days but it just doesn't make sense to bring it up now. It shows on MTV2 at 1:00 a.m so we're not talking about prime-time television anymore. 

On another subject, I can't believe Thanksgiving's already next week and I have yet to find the perfect recipe for dessert. 

My side of the family decided to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night because we'll officially be in Disneyland next week! It's a quick trip with a bunch of fun cousins so I'm looking forward to eating, riding rides and crying during the firework spectacular show. I don't know what it is but Tinkerbell flying through the air just tugs on my heart strings every single time.

This year my job is to make one side dish, Candied Yams, and a dessert. 

I asked my husband, a.k.a. The Caramel Lover, if I should make a Tiramisu or a Caramel Pecan Pie and immediately regretted asking. That's like me asking him if we should watch Steel Magnolias or Abraham Lincoln The Vampire Slayer on a Friday night? It's a major duh. 


Caramel Pecan Pie
adapted from allrecipes

1 (9 inch) unbakedpie crust

36 individuallywrapped caramels, unwrapped

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

¾ cup white sugar

3 eggs

½ teaspoon vanillaextract

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan over low heat, slowly combine caramels, butter andmilk. Cook until smooth but stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt in a bow and gradually mixin the melted caramel mixture.

Stir in pecans and pour filling into unbaked pie crust.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool until filling is firm.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

♥,

Anna

Let's Make Whoopie

It's been over a month since I posted my last blog.

I guess you can say I'm in a social media rut right now because since then, I've deleted my twitter and about one step closer to deleting my instagram. It's not a personal thing towards anyone I know but sometimes I feel like I want to hide in my little bubble and go back to not knowing anything. 

Here's the thing though.

I LOVE social media. I wouldn't have gone through the Giant's season without my beloved tweeps on twitter. (On a side note, HOW 'BOUT THEM FREAKIN' GIANTS! World Series Champs after being on the verge of elimination against the Reds and the Cards? Insane. This picture right here warms my heart.)

Anyway....

Once upon a time I was on a social site called Facebook.

I loved Facebook so much that I would log into work and my daily routine would look something like this:

1) Clock in.
2) Check my email.
3) Go on Facebook and browse my timeline. (I looked up info on my best friend in kindergarten and found out she's a full on porn star now *true story*)
4) Work.

I was pretty much teetering between #'s 3 and 4 for the next the seven hours. It was unhealthy.

But what really got me was that I felt like I knew TOO much about my friends. I'd go to gatherings and talk to them about what's been going on in their lives but I pretty much knew what they had to say already. Apparently reading people's timelines for eight hours gave me the power to read their minds and I refuse to be that powerful. 

The very next day I deleted my Facebook. 

I've been Facebook free going on two years now and I'm totally ok with it. I'm out of the loop and lovin' it.  

So that's kinda where I am with Instagram. Even though it's just pictures, I feel like seeing what people ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner's on the top of my limit on how much I should know about that person. No judgment!

And for the record, I will be going back on twitter when Spring Training starts. Not being on twitter during the baseball season is equivalent to not having access to the outside world. It's completely necessary. 

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to make my first whoopie pie. I took the easy route and used a boxed devil's food cake mix and made my own marshmallow fluff frosting for the filling. 

I'm gonna be honest and say that it tasted just like... cake. 

The good news is that I got to walk around eating this particular cake while watching TV and putting my daughter to sleep. 

A hand-held cake is a plus in my book any day!

Here's the recipe:

Whoopie Pie
adapted from Betty Crocker

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® Devil's Food cake mix

¾ cup water

½ cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper

In a mixing bowl, mix all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Next beat 1 minute on high speed.

Pour batter into a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Next, seal the bag and cut small hole off the bottom corner.

Pipe batter into 36 small circles onto cookie sheets about 1-inch apart to allow for spreading.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until set being careful to not over bake.

Cool 2 minutes and remove from cookie sheets.

Place on cooling rack. Cool completely before filling.

Once cookies are cooled spread Marshmallow Fluff filling (recipe below) on flat side of one cookie. Top with the second cookie, flat side down to make a sandwich.

Marshmallow Fluff filling

Adapted by marshmallowfluff.com

1/2 cuo butter or margarine
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup Marshmallow Fluff (about 1/2 of a 7 1/2-oz. jar)
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: 

In a medium bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and remaining ingredients until light and fluffy.

Happy baking!
Anna ♥

My Favorite Time of the Year!

I love everything about Fall.

I love pumpkins, cold weather, boots, cute jackets and please don't get me started on the TV shows. The Thursday night line up on NBC speaks for itself guys. 

First of all, The Office is one of my all time favorite shows mainly for the following reasons. 

Jim Halpert, Jim Halpert and Jim Halpert. 

Also, I just discovered the show Parks and Recreation and it has become my current crush at the moment. 

For those of you who don't know me, I'm an obsessive person when it comes to certain things. A normal person would wait each week for the next episode and slowly work themselves into it but I'm not like your average bear. I watch it in my phone and obsessively watch the one and only episode on my DVR just in case I missed a funny line the first twenty times. 

I then Wikipedia the characters in the show and half of my conversations with my husband starts with topics like "Did you know that Chris Pratt was on Moneyball?" 

My life's suddenly filled with all sorts of Parks and Recreations. 

I've done this in the past with I Love Lucy, Sex and The City, Family Guy, Portlandia and Chopped. If I'm ever on a game show that requires me to answer questions about any of the shows I just mentioned, I'd win...  hands down. 

AND I'm competitive. We may or may not be friends after I win. 

Anyways, I decided to bring in this wonderful season by making Pumpkin Rolls. This delicious dessert is basically a spongy cake wrapped around a rich cream cheese filling.

For the longest time I was intimidated to make this because it required rolling and shaping but I finally got the nerve (and a day off) to face my fear. 

And to be honest, it wasn't hard to make at all. 

So here's my recipe. 

Note: I used parchment paper instead of a towel. It's a little harder to roll but it gets the work done. 

   Pumpkin Roll

   Source: Adapted from allrecipes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly.

3.  Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

4.  Lay parchment paper on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the paper. Carefully roll it up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-paper on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes.

5.  Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

6.  When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it and spread icing onto it. Immediately re-roll (not in the paperl this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving.

Happy baking!
Anna