Food Friday: Devil's Food Cake

I was asked in the office by Joan G. to see if I can find an easy Devil's Food Cake recipe. I told her I would try as this isn't something I have tried cooking myself and that if ever I would be learning as I go along. So for today I let my fingers do the walking and I have found the best link that can teach us how to actually make the tasty pastry that I am sure will satisfy the people that we love this coming Valentine's Day.

Luckily enough I found a blog that has this recipe and from the looks of things it seems quite easy to make. Check it out at: Epicurious - Devil's Food Cake Recipe

In the meantime here are the things you need to ensure that you have in your grocery list:

Baking/Nuts/Spices

all purpose flour 1 and 1/2 cups
baking soda 1 and 1/4 teaspoons
powdered sugar 2 cups
sugar 1 and 1/4 cups
unsweetened chocolate 2 ounces
unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tablespoons (approx)
vanilla 1 tablespoon

Oils and Vinegars

vegetable oil 2/3 cup
Dairy
buttermilk 1 cup
eggs 2
sour cream 2/3 cup
unsalted butter 1 stick

Now if you are like me, where I need a visual tutor at times to learn how to make things I found this cool youtube video by the myanonymousblog.com that is both entertaining and easy to follow.

Hopefully we all learned a lot from these sources as I know I have. Will update you on my personal blog at Metz's Secret Garden if I was successful at this attempt :) Till then, Happy Weekend everyone. :) xoxo

Food Special: Malaysian Laksa Recipe

I just featured Malaysia for our Travel Special for this week and I got curious as to what could be Malaysia's best known food or delicacy. So I fired up my AIM and started asking around. I finally found a friend of mine has been staying in Malaysia for the past 6 months and says that he thinks Seafood Laksa is the most popular dish here since he sees it in almost every corner he goes to and he seems to like it quite a bit. I also asked if he knows how to cook it and luckily enough he gave me a recipe he got from the nanny of the house he was staying in.

here is what he sent me:
Ingredients

*3 medium-hot fresh red chilies, seeded
*4-5 garlic cloves
*5ml/1 tsp mild paprika
*10ml/2 tsp shrimp paste
*25ml/1 1/22 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger
*250g/9oz small red shallots
*25g/1 oz fresh coriander (cilantro)
*45ml/3 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil
*5ml/1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
*2 fennel bulbs, cut into thin wedges
*600ml/2 1/2 cups fish stock
*450ml/scant 2 cups coconut milk
*juice of 1 -2 limes
*30-45ml/2-3 tbsp fish sauce
*450g/1lb firm white fish fillet, cut into chunks
*20 large raw prawns (shrimp), shelled and deveined small bunch of basil
*300g/11oz thin vermicelli rice noodles, cooked
*2 spring onions (scallions), sliced

Serves 4-5

Method:

1.Process the chilies, garlic, paprika, shrimp paste, ginger and two shallots to a paste in a food processor. Set aside the coriander leaves. Add the stems to the paste with 15ml/1 tbsp oil and process again until fairly smooth.
2.Cook the remaining shallots. the fennel seeds and fennel wedges in the remaining oil in a large pan. When lightly browned, add 45ml/3 tbsp of the paste and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
3.Pour in the fish stock and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add the coconut milk. the juice of 1 lime and 30ml/2 tbsp of the fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and adjust the flavoring.
4.Add the fish into chunks. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the prawns and cook until they turn pink Chop most of the basil and add to the pan with chopped coriander leaves.
5.Divide the noodles among 4-5 wide bowls. then ladle in the stew. Sprinkle with spring onions and whole basil leaves. Serve.

I have to say that cooking this dish takes a lot of patience and practice. I found it a bit difficult to do on my own until I found an alternative recipe from a youtube video which I think you might like as well.

Music Monday: Guitar Tutorials for Beginners

(Click Image to Enlarge)

For today's Music Monday I am featuring something a little different. In the past I have always featured artists and their songs and videos, but for a change I want to show you a series of videos that teaches us how to join in on their song and learn how music is made. I also chose the guitar as this is one of the most popular instruments to play while also being one of the easiest to learn. So to get started here is the Playlist on How to Play the Guitar for Beginners from ExpertVillage:

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Food Friday: Banana Bread

I have always dropped by every morning at our local baker just to grab snacks for the day and one of those snacks that I love getting is their Banana Bread. After years of buying from them I finally decided today to get to learn to make it myself. So I started looking around the internet highway for the best tutorial on how to make the best Banana Bread, but at the same time something that is so easy to follow that I wont get my brain in a knot trying to figure things out in the kitchen.

Luckily I was able to find a cool easy recipe at allrecipes.com that suited this particular need (this is the site that I go too for dessert recipes that are both fun and easy to follow). For their Banana Bread Recipe simply follow this link: Banana Bread

Now for those that love to watch how things are done by a professional (I still needed someone to show me how to do it). I have found this excellent video of how to make Banana Bread on Youtube.

Tech Topic: Extending Laptop battery Life

I just bought a new Compaq Presario CQ35 -109Tu(that was a mouthful) which came with the standard 6 cell battery. So far it has been able to give me an average of 1.5 to 2 hour usage time. That is pretty decent enough but it would still be great if it could last a little bit longer than that. I tried looking around ofr 9 cell and 12 cell replacements for it and found that they could cost between $56 to $149 shipping cost not included. That is quite a hefty sum to pay for extra juice. So for the meantime while I am saving up for the battery upgrade I looked around for the best way to maximize Mr. Q's Battery life. :) Cool thing is I really didn't have to go far to do this. HP had a lot of the answers that I needed.

Here is what they had:

Steps to maximize the life of your battery

There are actions you can take to make your battery last longer during each charge cycle and live longer over many cycles. HP always recommends following the instructions for charging and storage that came with the battery or notebook.

Manage battery power more effectively in Windows Make sure your battery gives the power you need, when you need it. Power Options in Windows XP/Vista/7 allow you to control the power management features of your notebook PC.

Tips for conserving battery power on notebook PCs

You can manually change the power consumption of your notebook PC and conserve battery power.

Reduce the brightness of the screen to the minimum readable level. Use the Fn and F7 or F8 keys to adjust the brightness.

Remove peripherals when not in use. External hard drives, CD-ROMs, Zip drives, PC cards, and other peripheral devices can draw power from your battery even when they are not in active use. Disconnect them when you have finished using them.

Reduce the speed of your processor. The faster your computer works, the more quickly it uses up the supply of power. By cutting down on processor speed, you can extend the charge of your battery. Methods to reduce processor speed vary from model to model, and your manual should provide instructions for doing so.

Turn off the Wireless On-Off button when it is not in use. If your notebook has one, press the Wireless On-Off button so that the light turns off.

Battery care practices
Battery cells suffer gradual, irreversible capacity loss over time. Such aging occurs more rapidly as temperature and discharge loads increase. Here are some suggested ways to minimize the capacity loss for your battery.

Store Li-Ion batteries between 20°C and 25°C (68°F and 77°F) with 30% to 50% charge. Do not leave batteries exposed to high temperatures for extended periods. Prolonged exposure to heat (for example, inside a hot car) will accelerate the deterioration of Li-Ion cells.

Remove the battery if the notebook will be stored (turned off and not plugged into AC power) for more than 2 weeks.

Remove the battery if the notebook will be plugged into AC power continuously (via a wall adapter or docking station) for more than 2 weeks.


Note: Recommendations for battery use and storage are covered in the HP User Guides for each model.

Calibrate the notebook PC battery
Short discharges and recharges do not fully synchronize the battery's fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. This can result in the amount of power available in one cycle being less than expected or the battery meter being inaccurate.

Under normal usage, batteries should be calibrated a minimum of once every 3 months. Your battery can be calibrated by following these steps:

Step 1 - Disable the Windows Power Management
In Windows, right-click the Desktop and select Properties in the menu list.
Click the Screen Saver tab and then click the Power button.
Under Power schemes, select Always On in the drop down menu.
Under Settings for Always On power scheme, select Never in each of the drop down menus.
Click OK on the Power Options Properties window and then click OK on the Display Properties window.

Step 2 - Fully charge the battery
Connect the AC adapter to the notebook.
Charge the battery until the Windows battery meter is at 100%.

Step 3 - Fully discharge the battery
Remove the AC adapter.Keep the
notebook on until the battery has completely drained and the notebook
automatically turns off.
Connect the AC adapter to the notebook.
Keep the AC adapter connected to the notebook until the battery has completely
charged.

Step 4 - Enable the Windows Power Management
In Windows, right-click the Desktop and select Properties in the menu list.
Click the Screen Saver tab and then click the Power button.
Under Power schemes, select Portable/Laptop in the drop down menu.
Click OK on the Power Options Properties window and then click OK on the Display Properties window.

Note: After completing the steps above, your notebook PC battery will be calibrated.

Following this actually helped me out a lot but if you really want to get the best battery life for your laptop and you have money to shell out, getting a battery upgrade either 9cells or 12cells would be the best. I also would have bought the ACER timeline series, since they last for 8hours, but they were Php5,000 beyond my budget and I really needed the 2.0Ghz processor power for the amount of multitasking that I had to do for work and blogging. :) The Acer timeline that was at 13.3 inches only had 1.33Ghz and no DVD player. Mr. Q had that and even lightscribe (this is used for labeling Dvds). Since the only issue I have is that Mr. Q can't last for long I just have to make sure that I get to work in places where an outlet is readily available :)

If you have any laptop battery tips to share please do share it over here. I would love to hear some more and am sure others will too. :)

Here are the links to some articles that I have found you useful as well.
9Hour battery Setting
Extending Laptop battery life - yugatech

Hope that this helps you guys out with your laptop battery concerns :) Till the next time. xoxo

Food Special - Mojos

I owe this article to my office mate Kara as she requested this recipe since last week and I for some crazy reason I had to tackle a few other things. So to make up for lost time am featuring this recipe today - :) Don't worry Music Monday fans, I have a special for you guys as well :)

Kara's Favorite Mojo Potatoes are those from Shakey's. I know how to make french fries and chips from potatoes but Mojos aren't really my specialty however I found someone that does here is the link to greensboring's Mojo Recipe. I have to admit I loved it since I dipped it in my own garlic recipe which you have to try yourself.

But like me and many of us that love visuals here is a cool Youtube video of another version of Potato wedges that you might want to try:

Tech Tuesday on Empty Streets: GSM vs CDMA

I have to admit that when it comes to mobile phones I am quite the fanatic and would love to get my hand on every single one of them out there, however, many such as myself have come across the two network types known as GSM or CDMA. I found that these two are completely different and that the phones that work with them or is designed for each technology type is different. One example would the that GSM uses a SIM card to function as with the CDMA there is only the need for registration of the phone.

Across the globe GSM is the most favored as based on research is the first wireless technology used for mobile phones and is the least expensive to set up compared to CDMA. CDMA on the other hand came out a couple of years after and is commonly favored by Countries like Japan and Canada as many of the users claim that it is more seamless and better to use. EVDO which is the faster data transfer rate version of CDMA allows users to enjoy seamless internet browsing and internet tv channels hitting speeds close if not above 1Mbps. GSM Fanatics claim that GSM is better because of the convenience of simply changing sim cards at the locality of where you shall be.

But luckily for a lot of us that seem to be a bit clueless still here is video that I found on youtube that discusses more about this particular topic.

Food Friday on Empty Streets: Tofu Burger

I know that this recipe is a bit delayed. I have been overly busy with my new job as an Accounts Manager in the company that I am working in and trying to learn how to balance time is quite a challenge. Eating healthy has become quite a challenge just as much as my job so I decided to bring my own lunch instead of eating out in the fast food chains that can be so easily tempting to grab a bite from. So for today am featuring a cool but tasty vegan meal known as Tofu Burger.

Here is how to make your own:
Ingredients
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 eggs
1 c. bread crumbs
3/4 c. walnuts, ground or finely chopped
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. soy sauce
Black pepper
3 cakes tofu, pressed

Procedure:

To press tofu: Place cakes between plates or baking sheets.

Weight the top wit ha bowl of water, heavy can or etc.

The sides of tofu should bulge but not split. Let stand 30 minutes.

Pour off water.

Saute vegetables and basil in oil until tender, about 10 minutes.

In large bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add bread crumbs, walnuts, and remaining ingredients.

Mash the pressed tofu with your hands and add it to the bowl, along with the sauteed vegetables.

Stir well. Pat into 6 large burgers.

Bake on oiled baking sheet, about 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown on outside.

Serve with ketchup, pickles, tomato slices, lettuce on whole wheat buns.

This is a large batch - may want to half the recipe and use 1 cake tofu.

And for those that like to watch how another version of a vegan burger is done here is a video that I found to help you guys out:

Food Friday on Empty Streets: French Apple Tart

Who doesn't like sweets? Me I just adore them and I more importantly love to bake them and make them for my loved ones. Today am presenting a very fun and easy to prepare dessert made from apples called French Apple Tart.

Here is how:
Ingredients
For the pastry:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
* 1/2 cup ice water

For the apples:

* 4 Granny Smith apples
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
* 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
* 2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water

Directions

For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Here is another apple tart recipe that you can try out:

Enjoy :) xoxox

Wellness Wed on Empty Streets: Homemade Facial Scrub from Orange Peels

I love doing things that constantly keeps my skin young and supple. Nothing beats doing that than a good facial scrub and what better to use than one that is made right out of the kitchen. So here is a simple recipe for beauty that you and your family can make.

Ingredients

* 1 Tbsp. orange peel (grounded into a pulp)
* 1 Tbsp. oatmeal
* 1 Tbsp. plain yogurt
* a few drops of honey

Directions
Mix ingredients together. Apply to face, and gently massage. Rinse thoroughly.

Here is a video of another home made facial scrub that you can try:

Tech Tuesday on Empty Streets: Touch Screen Technology Explained

I have often wondered and marveled at the miracle of modern science and one of the things that fascinated me was that of the emergence of touch screen phones and laptops. So I did a little research into the topic and below is a summary of what I have found out.

Think of the screen as a multilayer sandwich. On top is a thin plastic or glass sheet with a resistive coating on its bottom. The plastic or glass floats on a thin layer of nonconductive oil, which rests on a layer of glass coated with a similar resistive finish. Thin bars of silver ink line the horizontal and vertical edges of the glass. Direct current is applied alternately to each pair of bars, creating a voltage field between them.

When you touch the stylus to the screen, the plastic pushes down through the gel to meet the glass (called a 'touchdown'). This causes a change in the voltage field, which is recorded by the touch screen's driver software. By sending current first through the vertical bars and then the horizontal ones, the touch screen obtains the X and Y coordinates of the touchdown point. The driver scans the touch screen thousands of times each second and sends this data to any application that needs it. In this way, a Phone or Laptop knows when you're tapping an on-screen icon to launch a program or gliding it across the screen to enter data.

Here is a video about how the IPhone touch screen technology works:

Food Friday on Empty Streets: Tuna Sandwich

Since am on a very strict diet as I am trying to loose weight, I have been cutting down on carbs and one way is to prepare delicious Tuna Sandwiches. Not only is this recipe very healthy for the heart, but it is also a piece of cake to make :)

Here is how:

Ingredients

* 1 (6 ounce) can of tuna fish (if packed in water, drain it, and add a teaspoon of good quality olive oil)
* 1/3 cup of cottage cheese
* 2 Tablespoons of mayonaise
* 1/4 purple onion, chopped finely
* 1 celery stalk, chopped finely
* 1 Tablespoon of capers
* Juice of half of a lemon
* Pinch or two of dill
* 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
* 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
* (optional - lettuce and sliced tomatoes)
* Slices of French bread, lightly toasted

Procedure:

Mix all of the ingredients.

Serve on toast, either open faced, or in a regular sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes.

For a low carb option, serve on sliced lettuce.

Here is a cool video variation on how to make this delightfully healthy and tasty treat: