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I’m addicted to those .75 cents starbucks vanilla bean scones. I don’t know why, I just love them. But .75 for a small piece can get a bit pricey if I buy 3 everyday, so I decided to bake them myself. Besides, I’m on a baking streak this week, so I might as well try and see if I can create yummy petite vanilla bean scones.

So I set off to buy the ingredients for the scones. My pantry is pretty much stocked with baking ingredients and the only ones missing are the following:
-Heavy cream
-Whole milk
-unsalted butter (I used them up the day before for brown butter chocolate chip cookies. They were to die for)
-Vanilla Beans

I went to TJ (Trader Joe’s) to purchase the missing ingredients and was able to get my hands on everything except for the Vanilla Beans. For this batch, I needed 3 strings. Since TJs didn’t have them, I walked over to a Whole Foods and found the beans. My eyes bulged and my heart sank when I saw the price: $10.99 per string. :O was pretty much my expression when I picked it up. Holy guacamole, vanilla beans are expensive! I really didn’t want to pay that much and almost gave up on making the scones. I stood there for about 2 mins then decided to look up inexpensive places where I can buy vanilla beans on my handy dandy phone. Some sweet lady on one of the forums mentioned that it’s cheap at a Cost Plus World Market. I used the maps on my phone to see if there is one nearby, lo and behold, there is one! So, I put the fucking expensive beans from whole foods (hate whole foods btw, organic schmanic is so pricey. Don’t get me started on organic stuff…) and drove to the World Market.

Once I got to the world market, I immediately searched for the vanilla beans. To my delight, I found them and squealed when I saw the price: $2.99 for one! I quickly grabbed three and paid for them with a huge smile on my face.

I got home and proceeded to bake the scones. Then, I made the glaze and dipped the scones. After an hour, the glazed set and I tried the vanilla beans scones and oh my, the scones are so good! Amazing. I did a great job baking them if I do say so my self. I mean look at these beauties (taken after freshly glazed)

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

And they were scrumptious. No, I’m not going to post the recipe, this isn’t a food blog. Go find the recipe on the internet, it’s easy enough.

Ah happy tummy filled with scones and korean bbq. Wish I could make these for Uriel. Oh well, see this is why it’s his loss. I’ve changed for the better and can cook and bake like a pro now.

Okay, I want to eat more scones. Good thing I run a lot. Haha.

I haven’t been cooking anything from the cookbook. Quite honestly, the book is intimidating. I’m not saying I’m giving up. I’m just cooking whatever I feel like eating =) Today, I decided to whip up some Pinoy style spaghetti.

What’s the difference between Italian spaghetti and Filipino spaghetti, you ask? Well Filipino spaghetti is sweeter and made from tomato sauce, banana ketchup (it’s Filipino ketchup), ground meat, onions, garlic, and spices. It’s really good, and I actually prefer it over italian spaghetti. I’m a bit biased, well because, I grew up eating that type of spaghetti. I added soft boiled egg, because I love eggs, and I love gooey yolks. The egg actually came out a bit overdone for my taste, but it made slicing it easier.

Well, I take it back. I do have some talent in baking. I decided to take a break from french cooking and looked up a brownie recipe online. I found a relatively simple one and lo and behold! The brownies turned out great! It’s delicious, moist, and to die for! =)

Due to the success of today’s cooking exercise, I will still bake desserts. I think I’ll just get the recipe somewhere, and not from Julia Child’s cookbook.

On a random note, why is kosher salt so pricey? I mean I don’t mind, but why does it cost more than regular salt? Oh well, just wondering =)

Some pictures to make you salivate =)

Hot from the oven

Drool =)I ate 3 pieces already!

Anything with flour that is. I can make some kick ass desserts as long as they do not include flour.

Today, I continued my journey in mastering the art of french cooking. I know one thing that I am not a master of: BAKING! I always have trouble baking cookies, brownies, cakes. I thought Julia Child’s recipe will help me bake a perfect cake. Ha! Wrong.

I followed the recipe to a T. The first cake came out looking like a damn pancake. Seriously. After following the instructions and meticulously measuring each ingredient, the damn thing came out flat as a pancake. Don’t believe me? Here’s proof:

Pacman chocolate cake!

Er, I mean pancake. MAJOR FAIL

I was ready to quit and resign as a girl who can cook but cannot bake. But I decided to try again. After all, practice makes everything perfect. I’m sure not everyone tries to bake a cake from scratch and got a perfect result.

Well, I tried it again, and this time, I used a different flour and added baking powder and baking soda. Julia Child’s recipe does not call for baking powder and baking soda, so I think that’s why the first cake didn’t rise. The cake rose this time! However, it’s still not as high as I thought it would rise. At least it was twice the size as the first one. I made a chocolate butter icing.

I mark this baking experiment a semi-success. The end result was pretty tasty, however, I don’t think I have the knack for baking. Measuring is not my thing. I’ll just put it in the list of things that I’m not good at. You know, relationships, baking… Haha =P. Anyways, this does not mean that I’ll give up. Maybe I’ll ask my good friend MM to show me how to bake. After all, she is starting a business in the baking industry =) But for now, I will not try my hand at baking anything with flour until I get proper training.

Solid proof that baking is not my thing:

***UPDATE***
Everyone loves the clams! Yay! They’re not bullshitting me either =) I’m so happy!
***End UPDATE***

I like cooking. I watch food network all the time. My family and friends know I’m a good cook. I’ve been told I can probably start my own catering or restaurant business if I want to. I decided to diversify my cooking by learning french cooking. So, I bought Julia Child’s cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.

Okay, I know you guys are saying that I’m just a biter, stealing Julie Powell’s idea. Sort of. But I’m not blogging to get a book deal. Besides, everyone blogs these days. I’m blogging for therapeutic purposes. And honestly, cooking is a therapy for me as well. It calms me and makes me happy. I’m cooking my way to move on. To heal. I don’t know if it will work, but I want to try. I’m sure I’ll be reminded of Uriel when I cook, since whenever I try new recipes, I always tell and share it with him. And I think I’ll be feeling like that in the beginning, but hopefully, as I progress and cook more dishes, I’ll feel differently and hopefully not miss him. I guess you can say I’m cooking to fix a broken heart. Cheesy. But I hope it works.

With that, here goes my journey to learning the art of french cooking. May Julia Child guide me and help me become an AWESOME french chef. Damn that sounds corny! Haha.

Today I made: Clams A La Mariniere aka Fresh Clams steamed open in wine and flavorings. The recipe actually called for mussels (moules), but I could not find any fresh mussels! I went to 3 supermarkets and none had any. They had frozen cooked ones, but those won’t work. The end result was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I need other people to taste it first though. I think I need to start paying attention to good wines. I used to just depend on my boss to order good wine for me, but since I’m getting serious about cooking, I need to learn myself. Trip to Napa Valley! Hehe =)

Here’s the dish. I don’t like thyme, and I either put a bit too much, or I just don’t like the way it taste. Good thing the dish is still pretty good.