My take at Pandan Flan

This weekend, I had to give in to my craving for something sweet, egg-y and creamy.  I thought of making some custard cake or tart, but suddenly thought of that really delicious Pandan Flan that I had at Crimson Resort in Mactan last month.

I like a good Leche Flan, but I try to avoid the ones that are too rich (unfortunately, most of them are). But when we were at Crimson, they had, among the many dessert varieties at their buffet, a leche flan with a twist.  It was Pandan flavored and it was sinfully good. It was creamy but light, melted in your mouth and had just the right amount of Pandan flavor in it--not too aromatic or overpowering.  I vowed to make my version of it.

Pandan Flan, along with other desserts from Crimson Resort in Mactan, Cebu.

So here's my take at Pandan Flan or Pandan-flavored Leche Flan.  It turned out really good, but next time I might make it a little lighter. This was so rich and creamy, I can even taste the calories in it.  I might make the caramel a little less sweet too.

Freshly baked. I was so happy to see these babies come out of the oven. They smelled so good!

But overall I was so happy with this. I'm already thinking about serving this for dessert the next time I have the neighbors over.

Finished product. Creamy, rich and delicious flan.

If you want to try it yourself, here's the recipe:

8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 can evaporated milk (if you want the flan to be lighter, try to substitute this with whole milk or 2%)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup refined or light brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the custard ingredients (eggs and milk) well in a glass bowl. Do not use an electric mixer. It will cause the mixture to bubble and will result in plenty of holes or craters in your flan. Just mix well with a whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Make the caramel. Mix the sugar and water and heat over medium-high while continuously stirring until it reaches caramel consistency (it should be light brown in color).  Place ramekins on a roasting pan. Divide the caramel among your ramekins, making sure the bottom is completely covered. Once the caramel hardens, pour the custard/flan mixture in each ramekin.

Pour boiling water in the roasting pan, about 1-inch deep.  Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and poke holes on it so steam can come out. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Chill your flan before serving. Run a knife through the sides of the ramekin and invert the flan into a plate to serve.  Top with fruit--raspberry or strawberry makes for a good garnish.  Enjoy!

Success

I must give myself a pat on the back.  I've been living a healthy lifestyle for almost two years now, did lose weight as a result of it and maintained my weight at goal.

Ok. I did slip once in a while. Earlier this year, I went back up to 130 lbs.  But I quickly shed the pounds off before it went out of control.  And now I must admit, rather proudly, that I look fantastic in my vacation photos.

So as I was browsing through our photos earlier today, while I had my brother giggling on the phone [my siblings and I do that all the time--look at photos together while on the phone and laugh, make fun of, or compliment ourselves], I couldn't help but feel ecstatic about how my body has changed.

Yes, those are my abs right there! I didn't cut my head in Photoshop and put it in someone else's body, or vice versa.  I do actually have a 6-pack now (I did count the packs and there are indeed six of them, hehe), would you believe it? Well, it's in there somewhere, I promise.  And sometimes it shows, like in this photo, when I get lucky and some amount of lighting, shadows and the right angle, along with some holding of breath, work together to give me such a flattering look!  Of course I hold my breath to tuck my tummy in!  Heck, even models with perfect bodies do the same when they have their photos taken.  Why shouldn't we?

Like my friend Chelo who recently blogged about her ongoing success with weight loss, I owe this look to exercise (mine is just cardio and pilates), a balanced diet, and discipline--lots and lots of discipline.  It helps to have a disciplined husband who knows exactly what "moderation" is. He inspires me too!  I have yet to do better with getting the right amount of sleep, but I'll get there.

I am inspired--yesterday by Chelo's blog and today by this photo.  I am beyond motivated.  I am committed to be in it for the long haul, for life.  It took a lot of hard work to get to this, turning back is no longer an option.

Join me in raising a glass.  To being healthy and looking good!!!  :-)

A Lovely Weekend

When my long vacation was over, it felt like my entire summer was over too.  But just as I got my vibe back to working, I realized that I don't really need to take a long time-off to feel like vacationing again. Afterall, we are not even halfway through the summer here. And all I need are the weekends to enjoy it, or what's left of it.

There are so many things to do and so many places to see here in the summer.  One of our favorites is Lake Tahoe. It's only a 3-hour drive away from our place. The idea of Tahoe didn't really appeal to me at first, especially after coming back from a long tropical vacation. But we had a raincheck on a cabin up in Tahoe from last Christmas. We were planning on a ski trip back in the winter but cancelled it at the last minute after we learned that my sister's father-in-law had died and they had to make an emergency trip back to the Philippines. My brother-in-law is from Ilocos.

My booking for a 4-bedroom cabin was non-refundable, but luckily the owner agreed to give us a raincheck that we could use anytime the place was vacant.  I almost forgot about it until last week. The owner emailed me that she was selling the place and suggested we use the cabin soon. Once she sells it, we could no longer use our raincheck.  So, without much planning, my sister and I and our families decided to drive up to Tahoe for the weekend.

The nice thing about impromptu trips is that you don't have everything planned to the minute. We did have a rough plan of how to spend the weekend there, but we weren't holding ourselves to a schedule. We did what we felt like doing. We were flexible. We had only one goal--to relax and enjoy Tahoe in the summer.  But there are so many ways to enjoy summer in Tahoe. You could go hiking, biking, boating, swimming, gambling, sightseeing or just have a picnic by the lake. I am happy to report that we did everything except hiking and gambling--all in one weekend!  And in the end, we had a lot of fun and we still came home relaxed.

Will share more photos soon.

Another boy!

I am so happy for my brother and my sister-in-law.  They are having another boy!  I'll be welcoming a new nephew soon--in November, puhon.

I had wished for a girl in our family since all of us siblings, and my cousin J, have boys.  But we're all equally happy with another boy. At least we won't have to buy new stuff!

I am also [secretly] envious. I wish it was me pregnant and going on maternity leave soon. I like the idea of staying home and taking care of babies. I like the thought of kissing the husband goodbye in the morning and throwing my arms at him when he comes home from work. Sometimes, I dream of that life!

But that's not the life I live, so having the opportunity to do that and be that, even for just three months, is like living a dream.

Rebirth

Wow! I can't believe it's been two months and I hadn't posted a thing. I mean, really? In the past, I've seen myself so many times starting something new and never finishing it. Well, it happens. But there are three things that I promised myself I would keep going with: photography, exercise and blogging. Sadly, blogging is slowly falling off the list and is hanging by a very fine, delicate thread.

It annoys me when the husband tells me that I spend way too much time on Facebook. My initial reaction, which I don't say to him, is always, "Well, aren't we the same? I see you on Facebook a lot too! Just because you don't post anything doesn't mean you are not there lurking!" Really!  Sometimes he is even more updated about my friends than I am. And when I tell him about something interesting that I see on FB, more often than not, he's already seen it. So go figure!

Ok, yes. I admit I'm being defensive.

But I'm afraid he's right about something, and I feel that I have to change that. Free time isn't a lot so when I spend too much time on one thing, another gets neglected. I would rather spend more time in this space and less time on Facebook. And here why...

1. Blogging tells me so much more about my friends than what I can see on their wall, their photos and shout-outs.
2. Blogging allows me to read and think and learn. I feel the exact opposite with Facebook.
3. I feel that I have to think three times before posting something on my wall or making a comment: "Is this the right thing to say? Will I offend anyone? Will somebody else see this other than the ones I'd like to show this to?" With blogging, I feel more empowered to say what I want to say and nobody will judge me.
4. Facebook doesn't challenge me at all. Writing does. And when I overcome a challenge (meaning I actually complete a blog post, hehe), the satisfaction that comes with it is so much better than any nice thing said to me or about me on Facebook.

When I met Aileen, she told me I should blog more. She said I write well, which I don't hear a lot from other people. I find writing so difficult, which is why I don't like it. But when Aileen Siroy--one who has a travel column and a celebrated blog, and one who has been published quite a bit--tells you to write, how can you not be flattered?  I've been thinking about what she said ever since she said it, and I can't help but be inspired once again.

Chichi paved the way for this blog to be created. Now, Aileen is giving it a rebirth!  Thank you to both of you!  More to come from me... I promise.

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Photo: A nice gift from Aileen.  Thank you, Ai! :-)