Mother-in-Law? Me?? Aw, Shucks....! :)

My eldest daughter announced yesterday that she is engaged to be married!  When I saw that on her Facebook page (welcome to the 21st century, ha ha), I was thrilled!  First, I thought, "Wait, is she even old enough to get married??  And how old does that make me??"  And then I thought, "Wow, I hope they know what they're committing to, and what a marriage covenant really entails."  And then, "Ooh!  Cake Pop wedding cake and favors!!"

I thought a lot of other things, too, just like every mom who's looking at becoming a mother-in-law (aka Enemy No. 1 and the butt of many MIL jokes).  But mostly, they centered around, "This guy better not hurt my little girl if he knows what's good for him.  I am really good at being passive aggressive."  ;)

Selina and her fiance are planning an 18-month engagement.  This gives them time to do the pre-Cana prep through their church, and it gives this mom time to dream about her little girl's fabulous wedding day!

So who's got awesome wedding ideas....?   I'm hoping to do the bride and groom cake pops, of course.  And as soon as Selina picks her colors I'll start brainstorming the other cake pops!

Picked her up from the airport, and her 1st stop was Goldilocks for some Puto!

A mix of Filipino (with Puto and Lumpia and Pancit as definite menu staples) and American food will be served.  Selina absolutely loves Puto!  When she was deployed (Go Navy!), she asked for a box of Puto to be sent to her at sea.  Yep, Filipina at heart, this girl!  Makes her momma proud!  From the Pinoy Food Blog, here's a simple Puto recipe, in honor of my Filipino-food-loving, engaged-to-be-married eldest daughter:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (or better yet rice flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups thick coconut cream (the first press. See How to Extract Coconut Cream or you can use coconut powder and follow instructions to make thick cream)
1 teaspoon aniseed

Directions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Add coconut cream to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.

3. Add Aniseed

4. Pour into banana-lined muffin tins.

5. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Have fun making (and eating) your Puto!

And when you think of it, please send up a prayer for Selina and Paul as they prepare for the covenant bond they're about to enter.   Thanks so much!


~ Pia