Frannywanny

My birthday is still 3 weeks away but it sure does feel like I just received my first ever birthday present this year the day when I received a brand new (and sparkling) oven from De'Longhi Philippines . I couldn't believe it! For more than a decade, we've had our trusty and super heavy duty convection oven that was purchased right after my family moved into our new home. That oven has been with us through all ups and downs. It was our handy appliance as we began baking more after Mommy had a stroke, it was my late night buddy when I was feeling restless and I just wanted to bake to calm my nerves, Papa loved using it to toast his bread and Pan, as some point, even learned to bake some yummy bread too. I remembered how Paul and I would master getting the right temperature to perfect our cheesecakes back when we had our little baking business too. However, the time has come for us to bid our old oven good bye. The temperature has always been so off burning pretty much half o...

"Hi, I'm Fran and I'm a Chocoholic." All my life, I've never (and I say this with conviction) been fond of chocolates. In fact, chocolate flavored cakes will never be one that I'd go for at any given day. I can barely consume an entire bar of chocolates and it's not one that I'd go out of my way to buy when doing my grocery shopping. Here at home, it has always been Papa and Pan who are the chocoholics in the family. All that has suddenly changed after I gave birth to my twins. The more I nurse them, the more I start to crave for chocolates. It's crazy! From chocolate milk to chocolate bars and truffles to chocolate cakes and ice cream. I would purposely order Iced Chocolate when I'm out with my family and we now have a steady supply of chocolate milk, bars of chocolate and tubs of chocolate ice cream in the fridge. I would like to think that it's my hormones playing trick on me and suddenly, I turned into this chocoholic mommy and beli...

A couple a weeks ago, Paul and I received two jars of Lotus Biscoff spreads from two kind friends. These were their going away presents and we really intended to pack both jars in our luggages and wait till we get to the Lion City before trying them out. However... we were obviously not marshmallow babies and we opened one jar the moment we got home. It was almost bed time but I couldn't help it. With a teaspoon, we each got a scoop and tried this much talked about Lotus Biscoff Spread for the first time. I tell you, it was delicious! No wonder a lot of people are crazy about it. If you love graham cookies then you'll definitely go crazy over this too. One lick and it brought me back to my childhood days where Mommy would pack those teddy graham cookies for me. I love the rough powdery texture of the cookie with a hint of a cinnamon. I was so excited with the Biscoff spread that I forced Mommy and Pan to try it out too. The next day, I got inspired to bake as I had two ...

*SPONSORED POST* As much as I hate to admit it, I do appreciate surprises. Well not the kind that would make my hair stand on its ends or those that would make my heart run a million miles per minute. I love sweet surprises. Those that would make me go “awwww” and get all giddy and smiley all throughout the day. Surprises that involves food is also a good thing. A few weeks ago, I was invited to a Myster Dinner . I’m no stranger to this kind of dinner as Paul and I were recently able to join one by Pinoy Eats World and we both had a blast. The invite simply instructed me to head to the Bonifacio Global City where I, together with other food bloggers, will be picked up and whisked away to our undisclosed location. The ride was quite long and guesses were thrown here and there as to where we’re exactly heading. Finally, as the van made a turn towards Quirino Avenue , I suddenly had a strong feeling we’re heading to somewhere familiar. A place that I truly love and have grown f...

This week, a nasty virus has struck our family. It hit me first..and it did hit it really hard making me unable to report to work for a day and leaving me coughing and sneezing for the entire week. My voice became unrecognizable and I always have to bring a pack of tissue and a bottle of water wherever I go. I really hate getting sick. :( Sadly, the virus may have left my body but this time it transferred to Paul and to my sister Pan. Poor thing, they're both down -- also missed work for a day and are still under medication leaving them groggy and sleepy most of the time. Needless to say, we avoided eating out most days of this week. Loading up on vitamin C and all things nutritious to keep our immune system up. Being sick doesn't mean though that I have lost my love for food. In fact, I spent most of my waking hours in the kitchen. True, my sense of smell may have temporarily became unreliable and so goes my sense of taste too. However it was just great timing that the ni...

I love citrusy desserts! In fact, I love it more than sweet chocolates that makes my teeth ache when taken in excess. I love the light, airy type that doesn't make you feel that you're adding in a significant amount of calories in every bite. I'm so happy to received a box of Lemon Cream Cheese Bars (Php. 190/box of 15) from The Cookie Jar . It's Rae's newest product and I got to applaud her for creating a delicious dessert. I had it after every meal for three consecutive days! I love the soft cream cheese filling topped with a lemon-y layer to give you that sweet-sour blend. I love how it was lightly dusted with powdered sugar. It's not too sweet nor was it too tart. My mom even reminded me about my disastrous lemon squares wherein I forgot to add sugar and ended up with a very sour lemon bar that not even by coating it with white powdered sugar could do the trick. *sigh* I guess baking is not really just for me. I'm glad though that a box of Lemon ...

Cookies are truly addicting, pair it with a glass of cold milk and it makes a perfect afternoon snack. For my family, we enjoy munching on a cookie or two after dinner. My personal favorite is Mrs. Field's White Chocolate Macadamia . I can never get over how delicious the chunky macadamia nut combined with its milky sweet chocolate. Mmm... I also remembered the time when I attempted to bake simple chewy chocolate chip cookies. I carefully measured all ingredients and followed the procedure to a T. Later, I drop spoonfuls of dough into my cookie sheet and carefully carried this to my pre-heated oven to bake. Like a little kid, I excitedly waited for my cookies to bake. Using a flashlight I would peek through the oven glass door hoping to watch my cookies take shape. To my horror, it went the other way. My dough started to flatten and spread all over, it was like watching a chemistry project gone wrong. Dumbfounded, I just stared at the oven and wondered what went wrong. The cookie...