Because ref cakes are awesome

Whoever doesn't enjoy desserts is missing an integral part of his/her life. Yes I'm saying it. Integral. Desserts are an embodiment of pleasure, indulgence, simple joys that sould be taken with moderation, but never permanently skipped for whatever reason.

It's a natural high.

*cue superhero music* Ghoent. Defender of the swee-universe.

Kkk.

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This is one of my favorite desserts to make at home (aka the ONLY dessert I can make from scratch, huhu). Ze familia enjoyed this version when I first tried it, so prepared another batch and this time made sure to document it.

This is not something new, but because I like looking at it and seeing how pretty it is, I will put it here. blahblahblah.

Presenting...

The Peach (or Mango) Oreo Ref Cake!

Ingredients:

Good for 1 ~11.5x7x2in tray (i used a 2.5L tray)

1 pack Graham Crackers

1 pack vanilla cookies

4 packs cream

1 can condensed milk

1 can peaches or 3 pieces mangoes

I made 2 trays for this batch. You may use any type of vanilla chocolate cookies, as you can see I combined Oreos with Bingo, aka I used one pack of oreo and added a few more cookies (because the more cookies the better). The brand of cream's not an issue also, I usually use Nestle though. And please use condensed milk, not condensada. I don't know why, let's just say I have more faith in the condensed milk.

First up, as soon as you get home with these ingredients, shake the cream (to remove whatever settling that has occurred) and then chill it for at least 2 hours (or as long as when you shake the pack, you know it's no longer in liquid form). NOT freeze. Relax. Chill. This is an important step. When we make the filling, the consistency of the cream should be - surprise! - creamy. Not runny, not liquid.

While the chillin' is happenin', get a big bowl (emphasis on big. You'll be mixing everything in here, aka 4 packs of cream and a can of condensed milk) and in here start breaking your cookies into bits. So I do the "oreo twist", scrape off the filling, then break the cookies. Breaking them with the filling inside makes it really messy, so I find this method more efficient (and less likely for me to eat the cookies). Take note, I use the term "break the cookies", and not "crush". We'd like to eat chunks of it on the ref cake, making it very "cookies and cream" only more awesome. Set this aside.

Let's get to the peaches (or mangoes). Slice it according to however you like. A can is more than enough for the tray, but if you prefer to have plenty of toppings then go ahead and slice as many as you want. Set aside.

2 hours of chilling done? If so, pour the 4 packs of cream and can of condensed milk on your big bowl with the cookie bits. By this time you may come across 2 problems:

1. The cream's runny. Deym. I told you to chill it for at least two hours. The thing with this is that if it's still runny then your graham crackers will just float in this mess and not settle on where we want it. That's fine, but the OC in me won't be too happy. Chilling it in the ref won't really help by this point so, prevention is better than cure. Something like that. Y'all know what I mean.

2. Your bowl's too small. That's an easy thing to deal with. Transfer it to a bigger bowl. But that's messy, will waste some of the mixture, and time consuming. The question here is: why didn't you use the big bowl in the first place?

Mix mix mix mix mixture. Done? Get your tray and Graham crackers. Dip the Graham in the mixture, and layer as base. This makes our base moist and yummy, since usually the base of ref cakes are dry as the cream doesn't get to be absorbed by this layer. Fill in gaps with crushed graham. Pour half of the mixture on top of the base, then layer another graham. This time the dipping's no longer necessary. Pour the rest of the mixture on top.

Some people like to top this with crushed graham right before finishing with the fruit, but I like it bare with just the peaches/mangoes as top layer. If you have extra graham then let's just put this on record: do what you want to do. It's the only way you'll be happy. Yep. Because desserts have subtle life messages like that.

Chill overnight. I'd prefer you not freeze it because the thawing that follows kinda skews the consistency (other parts liquidy while the others rock solid), so just chill it in the ref overnight. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE MARSHMALLOW TEST. EQ on the line. My advise: Wait for this worth it piece of heaven!! I suggest then that you prepare this at night so that right after preparing, sleep-immediately-and-wake-up-and-get-your-spoon-and-knife-and-plate-ready-and-slice-and-eat-away. 

Sounds like a plan to me. Happy eating!

My favorite postcard today.

Sharing with you guys my favorite postcard to date!

I don't know. This just got my exact kind of weirdness spot on. It'll be difficult to top this.

Postcard's from the Netherlands. :)

Museum hopping.

Who else here enjoyed the Museum Day last Saturday? FREE entrance to the National Museum, Ayala Museum, Metropolitan Museum and the Lopez Museum whuttup!

A day of arts, history, and culture appreciation. We got to visit two (wanted to do three though!), the National and Ayala Museums. Both I really enjoyed, with plenty of stories and beauty to absorb. The Ayala Museum was also culture rich; too bad cameras aren't allowed so you'll have to experience that on your own. For now, enjoy more photos from our visit of the National Museum!

Wooooot sablay in da hauz!

After touring the National Museum we went straight to Ayala, had some drinks and rest (commuting and touring are tiringgggg oh hey it rhymes), and then went to the museum. I enjoyed the most the first floor, where there are around 60 (?) dioramas of our history. I just wish we had more time so I could read each and every glass box. Those were some awesome display!

Got to buy this postcard booklet of Ferdinand Zobel's paintings, as memorabilia. I really enjoyed his works!

One of my favorites!

The print quality's not great (not good even), but I just like the works so much so had to add this to my collection. Yey!

Hope I get to visit more museums! Oh Philippines, why do I love you so much?

This weather.

Today the skies chose to be more melancholic. 2 months of intense heat and vibrance just calls for this sepia dreamy filter to finally set the mood.

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Am really more of the summer kind of girl, beaches and fruit shakes all over. I prefer being the "sunshine-y" one over the emo, though i find nothing wrong in including some emotions in the mix.

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A friend once told me, "emotions are valid."

There are times where I question my self for having feelings, thinking about things, replaying memories, imagining the future. And I tell myself that I am an idiot for doing so. That what I'm feeling really isn't worth any time, whether mine or others'.


But no, emotions are valid.

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And then i see this quote,

"The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough." - Ernest Hemingway

You will be dead soon enough.

And all the more I just want to dive in humanity. To just stop and think a while, talk a while, feel a while. What are you doing now? What am I doing now.

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Strength is not to ignore emotions. Strength is to acknowledge and face it. It's a good adjective to receive. And after you've realized that you are strong, you'd just once again want to be vulnerable. To subject yourself to that rollercoaster again, because after learning that you'll get through it, you'll next realize that these rides are what makes you. They makeup life, they make you who you are.

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They say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

And some say that is not true.

I once said that yes, it is not true. The pain, was painful. The meaning of painful, look it up. But I'd advise you not to try it.

But now that I think about it, it is true.

Because you'll live. And you'll see that the other side is rewarding. And you'll be thankful you went through it, because growth was waiting for you. And you'll blossom. And you'll dance. And you'll discover. And you'll live. Really live. And you'll just be thankful.

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This weather. Makes you think. Good and bad, good and bad.

Kailangan.

Bumoto.

Higit sa pagiging karapatan, ito ay isang responsibilidad.

Chapter Three

This shall be my most cryptic chapter yet, because I shall be annoyingly vague and useless, freewriting as I think and realize all these thoughts and emotions unwelcomely marinating and consuming my free (and yes not so free) time.

A milestone has happened last err yeah week blah blah blah. ERASE. Tsk.

It was a big deal. For me, at least. Not sure with the other one, but but but the way it looks now it's not.

It's a milestone because nothing remotely close to it has ever happened before (asterisk). It isn't necessarily good, nor bad, but it's something worthy of a place in my bank of memories.

I am mainly hard on myself for not being able to let this go easily. I mean, I should be ~cool about it I guess. But. But.

jahfiacnialdonwosliaeuvniuaerhiuanurhincairglnaieioaehoaicjksjic.

Yuck. I am writing about this. The normal me won't be sharing this out here, but I'd just like the future me to look back and read this post and re-live the confusion and nonsense thoughts and blabbing and how so much of a girl I am at this exact moment. And cringe at the thought of it.

But future me, I'd like to remind you, that that day was an awesome day. It was. :)

Things could be more positive, if you ask me. But if it doesn't go somewhere along that path, it isn't really up to me.

"...wait for it!..." says Barney.

All I can do is just that.

And what sucks the most, right now, is having to feel/imagine that this really could all just be nothing.

Nothing.


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"Make way for the bigger, the better, the reckoning, the miraculous and the beautiful. It’s ready for you when you are."