I actually liked the bird in her hair.

…of my Curly Universe!

It’s been a little over a week since my last post, eek!

My curls and I have been swamped with many (wonderful) things, hence the absence. But, those post-less days made me nervous and edgy. Is there are term for that in the blogosphere? Post withdrawal? No-post malaise? Post-less anxiety? Teehee.

Since my last post:

1) I became a kid again by sliding down a bouncer with my niece at her fabulous birthday party. (More on the cupcakes I baked and all the fun at this Scooby Doo-themed celeb later!)

2) A new post at work made me rediscover the old-school charm of red China Markers.

3) I’ve gotten new crafty books and am jumping out of my skin to bake and sew from these wonderfully written resources:

4) I undertook the gargantuan task of reorganizing my closet. Took two days, lots of hard decisions about parting with certain things and lots of plastic bins and labels. I can now make full use of my shoes after storing each pair in containers like this.

And patiently labeling each one with the type and color of each pair (i.e. Heels: Blk Strappy; Sneaks: Nvy Stripe and so on) with a labeler like this from Dymo.

A bit much? Teehee, I DO have my curly quirks! (But seriously, I owe my closet’s full functionality to that labeler. Thanks to Ana for lending it to me!)

5) Despite the strange weather, Summer is announcing itself through nature’s colorful telegram: jacarandas in full bloom along our street. I never really liked purple, but these are practically pretty. I want to borrow the colors for a sweet-little-something-sewn.

6) On an un-crafty note, and because Sex And The City opening weekend is just a few days away, I saw Charlotte’s Mr. Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) in Father’s Office in Culver City last Friday! I wanted to say something, but was too shy.

That’s been my week. Looking forward to more posts, blog-hopping, hopefully joining contests, answering memes and everything else possible, just to prevent another bout of post-less anxiety!

Hello again to all, and welcome back to me.

As a frustrated dressmaker, I’m fascinated by the creative genius of clothes designers. The whole lot of ‘em, even the ones whose clothes I’d never consider wearing (or making). It was after this TVC came out that I started paying attention to Chanel. (It’s Baz Luhrman’s 2-minute take on the Roman Holiday storyline, starring Nicole Kidman. The ad had me as soon as that poofy pink dress unfurled!)

Since then, I’ve been guilty of gawking at anything Chanel.

I’ve spent undisclosed amounts of time in bookstores and Amazon, inhaling stuff like this:

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was a beloved figure in couture history. And now French filmmaker Anne Fontaine is making her life into a movie! Audrey Tautou will play Coco in Coco Before Chanel, a biopic that will attempt to portray the designer’s life in Paris before she became a rising star in haute couture.

I’m confessing: I can’t wait!

I found it! This Dymo label maker tvc came to mind while I was baking this weekend. Glad I tracked it down on Youtube. Watch, and giggle.

Oh no, Dale.

So, my boy lost it on Top Chef last night. The Quickfire challenge was a relay race that had the cefs scrambling to section oranges, peel artichokes, dress a monkfish and whip up mayo by hand (something I’ve always wanted to do!) When his team lost, Dale promptly punched (and dented) the steel cabinets in the kitchen with a very malutong “F*CK!”

Dale Talde is now the official bad boy for this season. They flashed one of those polls on TV during a commercial break, asking viewers to text in their answer to “Which chef annoys you the most? Lisa, Spike or Dale?” Dale came out on top with 47% of the votes.

I thought for a second last week that the perception of Dale’s bad attitude would pass, but he’s really carved a niche for himself in the jerk department with this week’s show. Maybe my judgment is clouded (well, yes it is) but I don’t think he’s THAT much of an a*s. A bit of a divo perhaps, but who isn’t, in their own way? I have to admit to the same when I’m in the kitchen sometimes! (Just ask my family!)

His team also lost the Wedding Wars challenge, where they had to cater a wedding for 250 guests. They worked for 14 hours AND manned the buffet tables at the reception with no sleep. I would’ve keeled over.

Lisa made a Chocolate Hazelnut cake (recipe HERE) for the Groom’s Cake that I’m dying to try.

But in the end, Nikki got the boot. I’ve been waiting for her to get, uhm, served.

To end, I’m d-d-k-ting this Pinoy anthem on keeping it cool to Dale. Dale Talde, cool ka lang. Kawawa ang mga stainless steel na cabinet na yan. Spare the steel cabinets next week! Ahehe.

I’ve been following the Bravo cooking show Top Chef for several seasons now. Noted with mild interest that this season has a Filipino chef in the running. Dale Talde is a 29-year-old Chicago native who’s been quietly forging ahead in the culinary race that unfolds every week on my TV.

(By the way, what’s with the “look at my shiny silver belt buckle” pose? I’m not a fan.)

At first, I have to admit Dale didn’t blip on my radar because my early favorite was this guy, Ryan, and only because he’s cute. Yes, I’m shallow that way.

But he got axed last week for attempting to do a five-course meal at a tailgating party. Oo nga naman, five courses? Over ha.

But, Dale peaked my interest because he won a challenge two weeks ago. Last night, though, he finally won my vote because he made a Halo-Halo for one of the challenges.

Halo-Halo is literally “mix-mix”, a layered, shaved ice concoction of sweet stuff, topped with ice cream, that you’re supposed to mix altogether when you eat it. Dale’s Halo-Halo was prepared with the flavors of lemongrass-infused young coconut water, avocado puree, braised mango, bruleed mango, kiwi, candied cashews, young coconut meat, rice krispies and chili rings.

Ooh la la. (Kahit walang kaong at nata de coco.) Sounds like heaven, even without the traditional ingredients of kaong and nata de coco.

And I also found out that Dale works in Buddakan in New York. I was blessed enough to try Buddakan in Philly with friends and I loved it. I have good memories of that place, and its connection to Dale means points to the Filipino chef in my book.

Dale says of his “don’t mess with me” ‘tude:

I’m Asian, not the tallest dude in the world and I look like I’m 12. In the kitchen, you have to have a presence about you or you’re gonna get eaten alive. You’re always running at 100 percent. You don’t know when to stop. I have no OFF button.

Ha! I often say I have to prove myself more because I’m short and I look (and sound) like a little girl, so I know what he means.

Here’s a video of Dale from the Top Chef website, where he explains how his Filipino background influences his cooking:

I’m crossing my fingers for this guy!

The 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off took place last April 14, 2008 and Carolyn Gurtz, a 59-year-old homemaker from Gaithersburg, MD, took home the grand prize of $1M. The winning recipe is for the Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies you see above. Carolyn also won $5,000 from JIF Peanut Butter because the product was her recipe’s main star.

The website for the Bake-Off is HERE, but I’m posting the winning recipe below as well. I’m not a peanut butter fan and this seems like it might be too sweet, but you might like to try your hand at it. I’m curious to see what a cookie worth a million dollars actually tastes like!

———-

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Domino® or C&H® Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Create ‘n Bake® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.
3. Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
4. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
5. Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

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A friend (hi, Maggie!) has been on my case for the past three years or so to join the Bake-Off. Ever since I learned how to bake, it’s actually been my dream to do so. Maggie doesn’t know this, but every time she mentions it, my heart starts to race! That’s a good sign, yes? The contest takes place every two years and if I wanted to join the 2010 run, I should start thinking about it now.

I don’t know why it’s such a scary thing for me. Another friend has already volunteered to eat all of my experiments and, at the very least, the exercise of creating and submitting the recipe should be fulfilling in itself. Aaah, I can’t think about it too much or I may just keel over! To even just be a finalist would be great. But I kind of want to have a picture of myself like this when my name’s announced:

Teehee. Ok, I’ll THINK about it.

Mary Ann Esposito is the chef/host of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) show Ciao Italia. When I first came to the US and didn’t have a job yet, I spent my days devouring cooking shows on the Food Network. Those shows fed me in more ways than one and I became a devotee.

But then, as I channel-surfed one afternoon, Mary Ann came into my life. I caught her just as she was breaking up some chocolate for her Torta di Vino Rosso, a cake that intrigued me because the main ingredient in it was red wine. (If you can’t drink it enough, might as well eat it too, yes?)

She wasn’t a big-named celebrity chef with cult status. She didn’t have a line of cookware named after her, nor did she have olive oil bottles with her face on it (sorry, Rachel Ray.) She was unassuming, genuine, warm and reminded me of my Tita Jesse (who is one of the most genuine souls I know.) She welcomed me into her kitchen (albeit a studio one) like that one aunt you have who always seems to be lost in the steam of pots and pans, always whipping up meals that fill both your stomach and your heart.

Since then, I try to catch Ciao Italia on PBS whenever I can. One thing I like about the show is how Mary Ann ferrets out these authentic cooks in Italy and interviews them as they make their signature dishes right in their rustic kitchens. She talks to them in that beautiful language as she explains to the hopelessly un-Italian viewer (me!) how each dish is comes together from fresh, local ingredients and flavored with the locale’s history.

I once caught an episode where a cook named Filomena made pasta with flour, olive oil and eggs. Her hands looked like they had many stories to tell, kneading life into dough and deftly shaping it into delicate fusilli with a metal skewer. I would love to meet Filomena and have her teach me how to make pasta from scratch!

I also visit the website often, as it’s brimming with must-try authentic Italian recipes. The site has this great Recipe Box feature, where you can store all the recipes that interest you. I’ve tried my hand at several of them (including one you’ll see above), but my first was the Red Wine cake that introduced me to Mary Ann five years ago. It’s been a delicious ride ever since.

Beyond the lights of Kitchen Stadium or the speed of a 30-Minute Meal, grazie a Dio* for chefs like Mary Ann, whose quiet instruction allows home cooks like me to discover and explore other culinary avenues.

* Vi, did I get that right? Teehee.

I’m a frustrated dressmaker, and I say this because the most complicated things I can sew well are drawstring jammies or skirts. Sewing zippers terrifies and fascinates me at the same time, and it’s this kind of interest in clothes construction that makes me ferret out designers and costumers, if only to look at their pieces and marvel at how talented they are.

I’ve been stalking Jaqueline Durran online ever since I saw the green dress she designed for Keira Knightley’s character Cecilia Tallis from the movie Atonement.

It appears in the movie only about a fourth of the film’s running time, but it’s the one thing I remember visually. Granted, a LOT happens to Cecilia in this dress (watch the movie!), but I think it’s more because of how rich that green is.

Green is my favorite color and before the dress above, my favorite green movie outfit was this one, worn by Estella in the fountain scene of Cuaron’s Great Expectations:

But just look at how stunning THIS dress is:

Ah, lovely. If you look closely, there’s delicate cutwork on her neckline and all that graceful drapery around her hips.

What’s even more fascinating is the story of how Jaqueline Durran, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the costumes in this film, found the perfect shade of green. After poring through all the green silk and organza in London, she zeroed in on three choices: a lime-green silk, a black and green organza and another type of green chiffon. A master dyer studied the swatches and special-dyed 100 yards of plain white fabric into the combination of all those hues.

And no wonder I was drawn to Durran’s costumes. She also designed those in another film I love, Pride & Prejudice:

And she assisted my costume hero, Trisha Biggar, for Star Wars Episode II:

In a parallel universe, I’m a costume designer who has yards of special fabric at her disposal and can pleat and smock and construct corsets with my eyes closed.

In this lifetime, though, I still can’t do a decent zipper! Tutorials for cookies, anyone?

Flour prices in the US more than doubled in the past month. This means that all types of baked goods—from cupcakes to pizza—are going to cost you more per bite.

Heard this all on CNN yesterday and was quite dismayed by the news. This impacts home bakers like me who will find pricier flour on grocery shelves.

This is all because of rising wheat prices in the US, owing partly to the increased demand for ethanol. (Ethanol is a substance derived from corn that has a myriad of uses, but mostly as a fuel.) Farmers are now planting more corn than wheat. And with the dollar’s poor showing in recent months, foreigners are turning to the US for their wheat needs. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that 59% of wheat produced in the US is EXPORTED, dwindling the supply here and puffing up prices like a properly made soufflé!

Globally, poor weather conditions didn’t help the growth of wheat crops around the world either. There was a winter freeze in the US and droughts in Australia and France.

A 50-pound bag of flour is now $37, up from $16 just four weeks ago. CNN tells the story of how such a jump in prices is affecting Manhattan pizzeria owner Joe Vicari, who feels bad for charging his “working people” customers $5 for two slices. I understand how Joe feels. If baking was where I got my dough (oh, the puns just keep coming), I would feel bad as well for making customers pay more for a cupcake or two. Someone who’s in the business of making money from baking/cooking has to love it fiercely. If their life’s purpose becomes less affordable for patrons to enjoy, then it just becomes, well, less purposeful.

I’m due for my next bag of flour and plan to monitor the prices over the next few weeks. Hunker down, bakers, we’ll pull through somehow!

When flour prices turn ridiculous, I’m just going to vent all this frustration into sewing projects. I have a lot cloth to work with from years of collecting a yard or two here and there. Oh, and some pretty Japanese paper! And yarn too! Ok, getting ahead of myself. Pulling back now. Haha.

For the CNN article on the flour fiasco, click HERE.

By the way, the poster above was an ad for Gold Medal brand flour in 1941 (I just love retro food packaging, don’t you?), the year when the company started enriching their flour, upping the thiamine content and adding calcium and iron to it. This was because studies at that time showed that millions of Americans were suffering from inadequate diets. Flour is such an integral part of nutrition and, on a deeper level, our palate’s memories the world over. I hope this whole thing blows over soon.