[Ny Minute Now]

I've just received a copy of the newest IKEA catalog in the mail and I'm telling you, nothing—not even the spiffiest, clearest computer screen—can beat the feel of paper and flipping through the printed material. Having it in your hands, going from page to page; going back a couple of pages...

Now, when it comes to furniture and interior design, I'm pretty much democratic in my tastes (at this point, I have to be!). I like how IKEA mixes high and low price points along with modern and playful designs. From gigantic baroque-inspired mirrors framed in solid wood, down to cheap-'n-cheerful lamps, storage bins, and wine glasses. I've pored over most of the book already, and here are a few of my favorites. You may also browse the catalog online, by the way, where I grabbed these screenshots. Enjoy!


Screenshots from http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com.

Labels: 30-Day Blog Challenge, home and living, kitchen gadgets

[Reposting from "Baked!" at Yummy.ph ("Perfect Muffins") January 21, 2010]

If there’s one baked treat that has proven to be the most elusive, I would say it would be muffins—blueberry ones, in particular. Sure, in the past I’ve made banana chocolate chip "muffins" from a basic banana bread recipe; or even airy chiffon vanilla cupcakes, but those are quite different from the honest-to-goodness breakfast domes—perfectly crusty outside, cakey and crumbly inside—that we all look forward to in coffee shops and bakeries.

It has taken me a year to finally come up with blueberry muffins I would be proud to share with the world. After dozens of flat, sunken disasters, I’ve deduced that there are two essential things a home baker must have when broaching the crusty/cakey-dome territory: a kitchen weighing scale and an oven thermometer.

For two reasons: One, a good weighing scale—ideally digital with a ‘zero’ button—ensures precise proportions of ingredients, in the same way as using measuring spoons for baking powder and baking soda help achieve perfect leavening balance in the recipe.

Two, just as one would tediously measure dry and wet ingredients, one should also factor in the right oven temperature. In the recipe I’d modified below, "Good Eats" host Alton Brown recommends preheating the oven to 380°F and raising the heat to 400°F upon placing muffins inside the oven. This temp-tango is achievable with the use of an oven thermometer. And even if one’s kitchen is equipped with an electric oven, a proper temperature reading helps a baker gauge oven calibration and watch out for maintenance or repair requirements.

Good news is, these two initially unnecessary kitchen gadgets aren’t ultra-pricey investments: My thermometer from Landmark cost less than P400, and the digital scale from the department store set me back around P980—worth the mini-splurge considering a can of Comstock blueberries from the grocery, or a bag of frozen ones from Healthy Options are way too precious to be tossed in the trash if the muffins fall flat or form undesirable concave dips in the middle.

That said, baking truly is a numbers game. But for every patient participant, the rewards can be very fulfilling—and delicious.

Blueberry Muffins

Yield 12 medium-sized muffins or 6 extra-large ones Prep Time 15 minutes Baking Time 15 to 20 minutes


1 cup plain yogurt (or two 125-gram packs of Nestle Creamy yogurt)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 small egg

6.25 ounce cake flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup blueberries (or 1 can of Comstock blueberries, drained); reserve 1/4 cup for the topping


1 Use a fine sieve or a regular strainer lined with cheese cloth to drain extra liquid from yogurt. You’ll end up with about half a cup of thick yogurt. Set aside.

2 Preheat oven to 380°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with oil or cooking spray, or use cupcake liners for easy removal and cleanup.

3 In a medium bowl, sift all dry ingredients together and discard tiny leftover lumps.

4 In a large bowl, blend yogurt, vegetable oil, sugar, and egg until pale yellow. You can either use a hand mixer or large whisk for this.

5 Add dry ingredients and stir for exactly 10 counts. Do not overmix or you’ll end up with holes—or ‘tunnels’—inside the muffins. Gently fold in 1/2 cup of blueberries into the batter for 3 counts and stop immediately. (Don’t worry about the flecks of flour, they’ll disappear during baking.)

6 Pour batter into muffin cups and top each one with a small mound of berries. Place in the oven and raise temperature to 400°F.

7 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn pan around after seven minutes to distribute heat evenly. Muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted comes out clean or lightly crumbed.

8 Let muffins cool inverted on a parchment paper-lined wire rack. Store in a Ziploc bag in room temperature for the first two days, and transfer to the refrigerator if storing longer.

Labels: dessert, home and living, kitchen gadgets, recipes, stuff I buy, TV shows, Yummy

Over here at NyMinuteNow.com, at least half of my posts are food-related. I can't help it: While I've never gone to chef school or anything fabulous like that (it's still a distant dream of mine to be able to attend the French Culinary Institute in New York City...on full scholarship), food—and the creation of food—is very close to my heart. Ever since I'd put two and two together that it's cheaper and immensely enjoyable to go to the supermarket and whip up my own fare, the kitchen has been one of my favorite places to be in.

When I’m not watching Giada de Laurentiis or Ina Garten whip yummy, yummy things—I, of course, am only too happy to copy—on Food Network, I'm online checking out Alton Brown's Good Eats episodes.

I got the perfect grilled cheese recipe from one of these YouTube uploads. Basically, it shows you how to spread dijon mustard on a slice of bread (just on one side), grate cheese over it, add salt and pepper, cover it with another slice, and then press onto two hot, lightly-buttered pans.

If you happen to own a panini press, I suggest we become friends.

I've made mine using a sandok, pressing the sandwich down as flat as I could with a big peppermill on top of the utensil (you can also use a big can of corn to do this) and flipping the sandwich back and forth—like that scene in The Devil Wears Prada wherein Adrian Grenier’s character is standing by the stove, making a Jarlsberg cheese sandwich.

I usually accompany my sandwiches with a big pile of Nacho Cheese Doritos, but this time, I've 'kicked it up a notch' by lightly oiling a small bowl, grating fresh parmesan cheese over the bottom—forming a circle of cheese—and microwaving it for about a minute. You'll know it's done when the kitchen smells funky. What you end up with is this crispy, delicious, knock-your-socks-off accompaniment to a classic, comforting grilled cheese sandwich.

Finish this off with an icy glass of iced green tea or lemonade. And for dessert, a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped with sliced almonds sweetly caps a truly delightful meal (or midnight snack)!

Tell me: What’s your favorite comfort food? What ultimately makes you salivate?


Part of this month's Cosmo Series, 14th of 16 posts also published at Cosmo.ph.

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Labels: celebrities, Cosmopolitan, food, kitchen gadgets, New York, pro-blogging, recipes, TV shows

After several attempts at making muffins last year, and another failed (flat/sunken) try a few days ago, I've finally succeeded in making blueberry muffins that looked like how they were supposed to look like. You see, unlike cookies and brownies, or even some cakes, muffins require unbelievable precision and an exact method to yield perfectly domed and crumby results. This time around, I used a kitchen weighing scale (to measure the flour) and I believe that made a world of difference.

If you're curious, I followed Alton Brown's recipe from a Good Eats episode ("The Muffin Method Man") which you can find here. Brown describes in great detail—and in an absolutely fun way—the science behind this tricky baking territory. Enjoy!

Labels: celebrities, dessert, food, kitchen gadgets, recipes

This is a pretty cool gadget, the Boiley Microwaveable Egg Boiler, not to mention, it's cute. I got it over the weekend at the Kitchen Collection store. So far, it does what it says: boil eggs in the microwave (one at a time). Just a warning though if you get this, it gets really, really hot when in use. You also have to pierce the yolk first, which is pretty easy with the accompanying thick needle featuring an easy-to-hold orange nub.

Labels: food, kitchen gadgets, stuff I buy