Happy Holidays! :)

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Here's something our family gave to our relatives for this holiday season - Banana Chocolate Chip cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream. As always, Banana and Chocolate go well together, thus we have these cupcakes, and how much more good will it be if you top some chocolate butter cream on it? :)

I used my favorite Banana Chocolate Chip bread recipe for the cupcakes. Then I just reduced the time to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway. 1 recipe makes about 15 cupcakes. The chocolate butter cream recipe was inspired by two recipes.

It's still a busy time now and hope to be back soon!

Have a blessed, healthy and happy 2011! :)

Banana Chocolate Nutella Smoothie

This was inspired by our team's ever memorable team building trip in wherelse but there (?!)


For a little twist, I combined peanut butter and Nutella for a more nutty action.

For 3 medium sized cocktail glasses, I used:

3 ripe lacatan bananas
about 1/2 cup of nutella
about 1/2 cup of peanut butter (local - Lily's peanut butter. Love it to bits!)
about 3 cups full cream milk
1 tsp of vanilla
brown sugar - I suggest you drop a teaspoonful one at a time and do your taste test.
1 cup of crushed ice


Lucky you if your blender can crush ice really well!

Mine cannot crush thoroughly so I manually shaved ice through my manual ice shaver! Yes, like pawis-steering.

For more creamy texture - if you have vanilla ice cream handy, by all means add a scoop!

What to do: mix them altogether in your blender and slurp-slurp-slurp! (Or you may opt to chill it longer)


The heat is definitely ON! How's your aircon doing?

I have been to this wonderful promised land for just four times and been ordering Mango Shake like there's no tomorrow on the first three trips. Just for kicks, I tried this on my fourth visit and so glad I did. Of course, I will still have my Mango Shake - but now I know what else to get on my 5th, 6th and so on...

BORACAY, 'til we meet again!

Banana Caramel Cookie Crunch

This one I learned from a good friend who is now happy in heaven. She came up with this in a retreat some decade and a half ago I guess, where she was OIC for the food committee. Just because she was left with very few resources, she came up with this fun and easy to make dessert. Funny this can be a Banoffee pie's neighbor!

And so I learned that you have to make do with what you have in the kitchen and you'll see that you can make something spectacular out of them.


On the photo you see:
Crushed chocolate chip cookies / Any butter cookie you like
1 Ripe Banana (lakatan)
Caramel syrup
Chocolate Syrup (Hershey's or Clara Ole, or melted chocolate!)


*When my friend shared this with me, she said she used Chips Ahoy, ripe lacatan bananas and melted Hershey's chocolate!


No official measurements! Just assemble it in any order you desire!

I like to assemble it this way:

In a plate or cup, put the crushed cookies, then sliced bananas, pour the caramel and lastly the chocolate syrup!

You may also opt to add a little vanilla ice cream or whipped all purpose cream, and instead put them in a small clear glass to make it appear like a trifle, plus a cherry on top! :)


This one's for you Sab! I know you are smiling down on us!


Alright everyone, dig in!!! :)

*this is an addition to my Banana festival moment. Simple, pero ROCK! bow!

Sweetened Banana and Sago Pearls in Coconut Milk

OR Minatamis na Saba at Sago with Gata...

I was too curious and eager to make this since I laid my eyes on its recipe page. I have been eating sweetened bananas with the usual evaporated milk or condensed milk or fresh milk, so why not try something new?

The original recipe and procedure can be found in Good Housekeeping's Easy Everyday Meals vol 6. Page 122.

For this version, I used:

8 ripe saba bananas - sliced horizontally as seen on the photo
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
more or less 3 cups water
1 cup Cooked Sago Pearls
2 stalks pandan leaves
1/2 cups fresh or canned gata (coconut milk)

First make the sweetened banana:

In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Stir, add the bananas and stir well, bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer until bananas are tender and the liquid is somewhat thick and syrupy.

Feel free to add sugar and/or water (little by little) to achieve your desired amount of sweetness and consistency.

Then add the sago pearls, and the pandan leaves, simmer for about 5 more minutes so the sago will also absorb a little sweetness from the syrup.


In case cooked sago pearls aren't available you can use:

1/2 cups small sago (the packed ones from the supermarket)
3 cups water
2 stalks pandan leaves

To cook the sago pearls:
Boil sago with pandan and water until cooked, this may run for more or less 30 minutes, depending on the size of your sago pearls. When done, wash sago and add them to the sweetened bananas, then same drill as above, simmer for about 5 more minutes so the sago will also absorb a little sweetness from the syrup.

***If you have access to the market, I'm sure there are stalls selling cooked Sago Pearls (together with other Halo halo ingredients). It's good to use the cooked ones to save time, effort and gas. Just wash them carefully with water and drain well before adding them to the bananas et al.

To serve, put bananas and sago pearl on a bowl, pour the syrup, some crushed ice (optional) and lastly, pour over the coconut milk.

This is one of the many versions of our good ol' saba con yelo that I love to make and eat (oo naman!). Indeed it's a great way to appreciate Gata (Coconut Cream) in your dessert!


Thanks to Good Housekeeping! :)

Happy banana festival! Happy weekend! :)

Banana Choco Nutella Cream Pie

My blog has been appearing in my sleep, talking to me, saying how irresponsible I have become. No single entry for the past 4 weeks? How could you??!

How could I?

I felt like I left another baby in the middle of nowhere. Sorry bloggy. You see, I have been busy, but it doesn't mean I forgot about you. No, I think about you all the time! :)

I have been trying to write drafts in my notepad however I couldn't finish them just yet. I have been praying for second winds at night but they never came to me.

But anyway, I am here now! :)

And so the quest for the banana festival continues!

Banana Choco Nutella Cream Pie --- Long title? :) ChocNut is even supposed to be in there!

This version is inspired by Ross' recipe (whom I have been convincing to make her food blog as she loves to cook too!) and another version from Pauline. Thank you ladies!

Some time ago, Nestle All Purpose Cream came up with two flavors of their All Purpose Cream: Chocolate and Mixed Berries. Given this recipe, I grabbed the Chocolate All Purpose Cream (luckily, it was buy 1 take one then for only 50.00 Php) and made this cream pie.

As done here, it's best to make the cream filling first so that you can chill it. It's easier to assemble your cream pie if the filling is chilled.

For the filling:

6 ripe lacatan bananas - sliced (about 1/4 inch and will look like thick coins)
2 packs of Nestle Chocolate all purpose cream
about 3/4 cup of Nutella (or any other hazlenut spread available in the market)
4 tbsp of white sugar (you can put less, depending on your sugar level)
a small drop of vanilla essence

Beat cream, nutella, sugar and vanilla and if they are totally mixed well, fold in the sliced bananas and chill for about 1 to 2 hours.

For the crust and toppings, I used:

about 1 cup to 1 and a half cup of crushed MY San graham
about 2 to 3 tbsps white sugar (you can put less, depending on your sugar level)
a small pinch of salt
about half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder
about 3 to 4 tbsp melted butter (I used Magnolia's Baker's Best)
about 16 pieces crushed ChocNut (Pauline says to crush it with your fingers!)

Mix crushed graham, sugar, salt, cinnamon in a bowl then create a well in the center, add the melted butter. make sure the butter is evenly distributed and as much as possible try to achieve a kind of "slightly wet and sandy" kind of crust.

Put half of the crumbs on the bottom of a rectangular container and press it down and set aside or put it in the fridge. Set aside the other half but do not put it in the fridge. The butter will harden and it will not be easy to loosen the crumbs for your topping.

After 1 to 2 hours, pour the chilled filling onto the crusted container and smooth the top with your spoon or with a spatula. Top it with the remaining crumbs and the crushed ChocNut and chill it one more time for at least an hour before serving.


Note: Nestle Chocolate all purpose cream is not available anymore in the market (unless they bring it back, that will be great!) So in this case, you can use the regular all purpose cream about 1 and a half pack and mix it with 1 cup of melted chocolate.

I like to add more ChocNut on top however, my body says DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. Heeheehee! Hope you'll enjoy this!


Ooops, it's almost time to go now!

It's nice to be back!


Until the next KusinaSerye and banana festival entry! :)

Banana Pancakes

Good morning! :)

Banana adventures are here again so expect more banana action in the future.

As a start, I would like to have some banana pancakes. I have said before that I like french toast more than pancakes, but that does not mean I totally dislike the latter.

I can never say NO to banana pancakes.

Ooooh what more if I have a waffle maker. I can try Banana Walnut Waffle a la Pancake House... right, honey? (parinig?)

I have tried a couple of mixes when I was younger and lazy (lazier?). I used to make them using the "Just add water" and your done kind of mix. But it just doesn't match the classic good ol' thick, fluffy and moist pancakes.

So I went back to Maya Original Hotcake Mix.

I just followed package instructions, added 5 very ripe mashed bananas, mixed them well and cooked them in a very hot non-stick pan. I used up the whole box (which i think was 500grams) and 8 pancakes came to life.

On the photo however, there's only 5. The last three were not included anymore ;)

I tried to make whipped butter, but unsuccessful. I wanted to achieve the Pancake House style but couldn't! Any suggestions? :)

For the syrup, here at home we use Clara Olé Maple Syrup. I guess this is one of the most affordable and still yummy pancake syrup I have tried. I like this brand in fairness!

Swak Sa Bujey!!! (Fits the budget! / Bujey = Budget).

Know more about Clara Olé here.

I also like the combination of banana and cinnamon, so just before serving, sprinkle some cinnamon powder over the pancakes.

MMMMmmmm.. smells good and tastes a whole lot better! :)


How about you, what's for breakfast?


A happy Monday and a great week to all! :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread and Custard Top

Banana is a staple fruit in our household. Hubby loves it, little Javier loves it, I love it and my Angels love it! Yeah, as in everybody in the house!

When I do my weekly Friday market with Dad in Law, I always make it a point to buy ripe lacatan bananas and well, as said, since everydody loves B-A-N-A-N-A-S, it would take only 3 days and they are gone, gone, gone. As a homemaker, I want to have a stock of it since we always run out of it. So last week, I decided to buy the green ones (aside form the ripe ones), those that are about to reach their riping glory in a couple of days. Me - wishing that it will be enough of a wait until the ripe ones disappear.

For some reason, the green lacatan bananas ripened so fast (is it the weather?) that we were already na u-umay to eat them. We are avoiding it to reach the rotting stage and be thrown into the garbage with a sad face.

Thank goodness I have Yummy Magazine for this month (for May too!) and I have found the perfect way to use them and justify their presence and usefulness! Thanks to Aileen Anastacio's recipe! It's soooooooooooooo d-lish!


Banana Chocolate Chip Bread by Chef Aileen Anastacio (Yummy Magazine, June 2009, p30-31)

1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup corn oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Preheat oven to 350F (177C). Grease and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan

2 Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to mix. (the first four!)

3 In another bowl, combine brown sugar and corn oil. Add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mashed bananas.

4 Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture. Stir until combined. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and mix just until combined. Pour mixture into the loaf pan.

5 Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Remove bread from the oven then allow to cool for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool for another 15 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Just a thought:
I think you can add one or two more bananas to give more banana-full-a-flavor!



So after the success of the banana chocolate chip bread (Thank you Lord!), my next plan was to create a collaboration of the bread and a custard recipe (well, i guess, even food/recipes can collaborate! Hindi lang si Justin Timberlake at Madonna! Oh, I love JT!)

Where will the custard go? On top of the bread just before serving. Parang icing effect!

I found this nice custard recipe in Good Housekeeping's Easy Everyday Meals vol 6. It's not too sweet, that's why I like! And my party people liked it too!

For the custard (got this from the Banana Cream Pie recipe, p134) :

2 cups of fresh milk
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup of fresh milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

mix 2 cups of fresh milk, white sugar and salt over low heat. In a bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of fresh milk, then whisk in egg yolks. Combine the two mixtures and cook, whisking constantly, over low heat until it thickens and bubbles, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the custard from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Then transfer to a bowl and cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer.

I am glad to have at least a cheap icing bag with a few pins to go with it for only a hundred something pesos! Heheehee! Ang arte ko!

Hmm.. why not add a few sprinkles of Cinnamon Powder?

Wow! That was fun!!!

Just thinking, maybe next time, I will add a little cream cheese in the custard! What yu tink?

And this was another unexpected morning baking session! I like impromptus!

I know, i know, this is another pampa-jubis (keyword: majubis) food but what the heck, it's yummy! And it happened in God's and nature's perfect timing. Me and my bingeing time! :P So ladies, let's eat sweet!

Happy weekend! :-)