My boy just turned 12!
Whew! I now have a tween. Almost a teen, but not quite. It's another stage in parenting that I am still quite unsure about...
Anyway, since this is a foodie post, I will not discuss my fears in parenting a tween. Instead, let me share how I prepared for our mini birthday party. I honestly didn't know what to prepare and just decided to make what my kids prefer to eat.
We were not expecting any visitors but I planned on sending some to our family friend so I had to make extra effort. Besides, even if it were only a family affair, it was a birthday celebration! We gotta make it special.
The Birthday Cake
A few days ago, I asked my son what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. It's not like I'm a cake expert or anything, but you know, options are still good (while crossing fingers he does not ask for anything complicated) LOL.
He said he wanted a chocolate cake for his birthday. Hmmm, I just used this trusted chocolate cake recipe of mine and thought of a way on how to personalize it for my boy.
First, I made sure I loaded it with chocolates at the sides - Twix and Kitkat fingers here... and of course, chocolate sprinkles! It's a must for any chocolate cake we bake at home. LOL.
Then AMONG US.
The thought almost came instantaneously. I have not yet upgraded to fondant-cake-levels, so instead I quickly made this Among Us cake topper through Canva. Then there were lots of Among Us free photos on Pixabay.
Et voila! "Among Us" chocolate birthday cake!
Oh, should I mention that the chocolates at the sides disappeared quickly as soon as we sliced the cake? Dentist alert!
Croissants To Impress
I have referenced Nadia Hussain in my recent food posts. On her Netflix series, she shares how to make impressive and delicious dishes but barely break a sweat.
She said, if you are able to make several dishes using the same set of ingredients, then that would be awesome! And why not?! I love the thought too.
She shared this yummy croissants recipe in one of her episodes. Really, they look and taste so good and you don't have to work as hard.
First, bakery-bought butter croissants. Why bother to make your own, when there are more experienced bakers who can make them? LOL. Then, make the cream cheese fillings. I've also found a hack to a cheaper cream cheese option (hint: I make them!) so I can now afford to make lots of cheesecakes! ❤️
Just make a slit on the croissants and set them on a muffin tray. Add the cream cheese filling and top with some strawberry jam. Pop it in the oven for a few minutes. Yey!
Chocolate Croissants
Options. Options. I always think that it is nice if there are options to choose from on the table.
For the second batch of croissants, I used my leftover chocolate ganache from the cake. These croissants were gone in a blink!
Spring Rolls
My boy loves spring rolls so I decided to add these to the birthday menu. I made the meat fillings the night before. Again, making use of the same ingredients for different dishes. Half of the meat was used for the spring rolls, while the other half was used for the spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti is a constant in a Pinoy kid's birthday party. Lol. I seasoned them with the same spices and then just divided for the two purposes.
Now, much as I love spring rolls, I do not really enjoy wrapping them. It's normally my husband who does it. Haha. But this time it was my turn. What I did, I used bigger spring roll pastry wrap and made long (around 6") rolls. So less time spent on wrapping the meat. I only cut them as I was deep frying to make them into bite-size pieces.
Seriously, I had to hide these spring rolls from the kids otherwise nothing would have been left for the party.
Save My Sanity
As I am the only one who prepares everything on occasions like these - birthdays, Christmas, New Year... It could be tiring and stressful sometimes especially when I run out of time. But I honestly enjoy it too.
Thankfully, my children are now bigger that I can employ some from help from them. Repeat after me - "delegation". I have to admit, I only have 2 hands and extra pairs will really help me a lot!
Next, preparation is key. I make a list of the menu I want to serve on that day. I keep it simple, but it should not compromise the taste and the looks of the dish. At the same time, if you can make use of the same ingredients and same prep method to make multiple dishes, that's gonna save a lot of time and effort!
How about you, how do you do about preparing for special occasions?
