Reserved

Everybody is getting married na. And they are using all the good motif kasi nakareserve na  daw sa knila yun hahaha Jaja and Goeff used the green and bronze motif - so I had to scratch it off my list, Val and Jorell are using a similar color scheme and Sharl and Oli will be using green as well.

I'll be using (drumroll please!) - peacock colors as my wedding theme. Reserved for me. Check the timestamp of this blog pa. LOL

I'll be using indigo, teal, fuschia, aqua, olive, gold, copper, and bronze. Colorful wedding :)

I want tropical flowers, purple orchids and blue flowers.. ooohhh

Bridesmaids would have peacock feathers as headdress. And the flower girls would have cute little wings on their backs..

O nauna nako sa theme na 'to. hehe Reserved!

My Purpose

Sometimes I get so tired of the way my life goes - I get tired of the supporting my brothers and sisters, I get tired cooking, cleaning the house, thinking of next sem, thinking of how daddy's therapy is going, how mom's blood sugar is doing, planning the next year for our family - lahat! yeah, I get tired of my resposibilities! Sue me for being human.

But after every outburst, I realize how much I love my family and how much they love me back then I go back to being the ate and the daughter that they need.

It's not easy being the ate of six kids (yeah I still call them kids! haha) and the daughter of a half-paralyzed dad and a diabetic mom. It was never my parents' intention to pass their obligations to me, they did not want to get sick, they did not foresee that they would not be working at such a young age of 50 and 46. I love them for trying to help me even in their condition, I love the fact that mommy always prays for me before she goes to sleep and I love the way that daddy still calls me his "son na babae" and that way he makes me, mommy and my brothers and sisters laugh with his antics.

I am lucky to have brothers and sisters who appreciates all the hard work that I do and makes adjustments when I'm financially broke. I have Denise, who is a CPA right now, Dane who just started working last week and graduated as cum laude from UST last March. Enzo, who despite being the lokoloko strives  every semester to bring home passing grades. Gio who I look up to for pursuing his dreams and gets consistent A++++ grades in his PT subjects. Then there is Andi, my beautiful sister who makes me smile each time she asks for something for school - sbrang nahihihya! She belongs in the top 10 of her highschool class. Of course there's Gino who is an achiever in his own way - we are just a  year apart and I did not get a chance to help him out pero I admire him for supporting himself and not being a financaial burden to my parents.

I was crying yesterday because this green little monster in me came out - envy. I started thinking why I do not have a big savings account just like people my age, why can't I buy the things I need without planning waaaaaaaaaay ahead before spending. Then I realized that my biggest investment is my family, and I get the fruits of my labor through each smile and each hug and kiss I get from my family. I am rich because I have 3 wonderful sisters, 3 equally wonderful brothers and 1 and 1/2 parents (si daddy kasi half nlng gumagana hehe) that other people can only wish for.

Now I know my purpose - Papa Jesus sent me here to be a blessing to my family. 

Recipe: Ampalaya con carne

Ingredients:

2 pcs medium size Ampalaya

1/4 kilo beef giniling

1 onion finely chopped

5pcs garlic crushed

oyster sauce

patis

ground pepper

salt

1. Chop ampalay into small sizes and wash in salt for 3 times. Set aside.

2. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until onion is slightly transparent.

3. Add the grinded beef until it changes color and let it simmer in its own oil.

4. Add a bit of fish sauce(patis) and pepper for flavor. Let it simmer.

5. Add the ampalaya then add a little water. When the ampalaya is already cooked add oyster sauce, add patis and pepper if necessary to suit your taste. 

**Chicco does not normally eat ampalaya, but he liked the recipe above. When washed with salt, the bitterness of the Ampalaya is lessened. I added oyster sauce in this recipe to overcome the remaining bitter taste the amapalaya has.

Fortunately, my brothers and sister also liked the recipe! woohoo! This is a nice way to cheat them into eating veggies. hehehe

Blast from the past

I always open my facebook account, its one of the sites that I go to whenever I go online. I never knew that one of my biggest surprises of 2010 would be from a facebook message.

It is nice to be part of new beginnings, and I am honored to be invited to Val and Jorell's wedding. I have known them since college and I remember Val's debut like it was just yesterday, Jorell's two-toned top and the joy of spending a night out with friends. I remember that during that time their relationship was kept a secret and when it Jorell's turn to say a message to Val, the room suddenly became quiet. haha

Their relationship did not survive college, they broke up. But, it was no surprise that they got back together after a while, they are perfect for each other and their relationsship is a living proof that true love exists. They are couple to look up to and it makes me super happy that they would be Mr. and Mrs. Tan next year and I would be there to witness the moment when they become one.

Of course, an added bonus would be that Kat and I would be joining the ceremony as bridesmaids! Kath would be flying back to Manila for the wedding and it would be a reunion for us B11 girls :)

I am soooo looking forward to May 1, 2011! woohoo!

Suelas

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for shoes, especially for flats! Months ago I heard good reviews about SUELAS, but I never got around to buying a pair - that is until 2 weeks ago and now I am addicted! I have two pairs now and I ordered two more, its super comfy and they have a variety of styles and colors to fit everybody's taste. OMG this becoming an addiction! To shoelovers like me, this is definitely worth the money :)

Recipe: Chicken Pesto in creamy white sauce

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for pesto so for Chicco's birthday aside from the Tuna Spaghetti, I made Pesto Pasta in Creamy white sauce. Here's the recipe, maybe you can try it out, its very easy to make since we can already buy proceesed pesto in supermarkets.

Ingredients:

3pcs chicken thigh

Processed Pesto in a bottle

fresh milk

Nestle cream

pepper

salt

Magnolia Gold Butter

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

250g of bow tie pasta

Boil the chicken in water and salt mixture. Once done, separate the chicken from the broth. Set aside broth to cool, and make chicken strips from the meat.

Heat 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive oil in a pan, add a significant amount of butter, just enough to give the buttery yummy taste :) Add milk then 250ml of Nestle cream, whisk mixture until it boils. Add chicken strips and a cup of the chicken broth then boil in low fire. Add 2 tbsps of the pesto mixture and whisk again, after it boils add another 250ml of the Nestle cream. Add another 2 tbsps of pesto a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Boil in low fire until mixture thickens.

Cook pasta as per package instructions. I used bow tie pasta for presentation purposes. They are sooo cute :)

Flying Gecko - Baguio City

When you are learning to cook, its important to familiarize yourself with various dishes, that is why on our Baguio trip we tried different places to eat. I already blogged about Forest House, here is the second installment. I introduce to you - the Flying Gecko.

Flying Gecko can be found along Session Road, you really would'nt notice the place if you're not walking since the place was really not that big. Because I did my research before going to Baguio, I know excatly where to find the place. We went to Fyling Gecko for our last lunchout in Baguio City.

Like the other places in Baguio, Flying Gecko was not airconditioned, hey who needs airconditioning in Baguio, right? We got there around 10:30am, so we decided to have our breakfast/lunch there.  We went through the menu and I decided to try their New Zealand Fish Fillet and Chicco sampled their Beef Bourguinion.

The Beef Bourguinion was a surprise! When you bite the beef it seems like there is an explosion of flavors in your mouth, it was a dish like no other. This dish is originally a french cuisine, but the version from Flying Gecko incorporated a Filipino feel to the dish. It was worth every cent we paid for it. A big plus was the serving size, it is actually good for sharing.

The fish used for the fish fillet is mahi. It was topped with almonds and the fish has a lemon taste to it. Like the Beef dish, the fish fillet serving was huge! I would definitely recommend this.

I hope you get to visit Flying Gecko :)

RECIPE: Tuna Spaghetti

There was nothing left on the fridge today and I don't have the energy or the will to brave the heat outside and go to the grocery. It was past lunchtime and we have'nt eaten anything the whole day. I checked the ref and found out that I have leftover spaghetti noodles from my brother's birthday, leftover tomato sauce from the pork in tomato sauce thingy and also Century Tuna in oil. What to do? Improvise! Right then and there I decided to make my own version of Tuna Spaghetti! Mind you, it's the first time I made this dish and it came out really well :)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

onions

garlic

pepper

sugar

Filipino style tomato sauce

1 can Century Tuna flakes in oil

Italian Seasoning

cheese

Magnolia Gold Butter (I often use this is cooking - gives a salty taste to the dish, and I sooo love the smell) 

Spaghetti noodles

For the sauce:

Step 1:

Saute minced garlic and onions in Magnolia Gold butter until the onions are transparent. Add drained Tuna and a dash of peppe, let it sit for a while for flavors to blend together.

Step 2:

Add tomato sauce and let it simmer. Add a dash of sugar and Italian seasoning and again let the flavors blend before adding the next ingredients,

Step 3,

Add grated cheese and again a dash of pepper. Stir and adjust seasonig to your taste.

***Cook noodles as per package instructions

There you go, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

RECIPE: Pork in Lemon-Sprite Marinade

I wanted cook something with Lemon juice in it, so I made a recipe from scratch. My brother, sister and Chicco sampled my dish and they loved it.. (well, i think they did. hahaha) Sorry if I don't have the exact measurements. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork

4 pcs lemon

garlic

onion (sibuyas tagalog)

pepper

sweet onion

half a bottle of sprite

soy sauce
sprin onion

Step 1:

In a bowl, mix about 1 tbsp of soy sauce, juice from three lemons, minced onions and garlic, half a bottle of sprite and pepper. Lastly add the pork refrigerate and marinade overnight.

Step 2:

In a frying pan, sear the meat on both sides to seal in the flavor. Set aside the oil used for frying. After all the meat is done, put the meat together with the marinade in a pot. Add freshly minced onions, a dash pepper plus the juice from 1 lemon and a little water then let it boil unitl the meat is tender and the marinade is reduced.

Step 3:

On a frying pan, heat the oil used for searing the meat and caramelize sweet onions. (cut in circular shape)

Step 4:

Once the marinade is reduced, sprinkle with spring onions and place caramelized sweet onions on top. Serve with love :)

Forest House - Baguio City

I was browsing through my Baguio pictures and realized that what makes Chicco and me click is the fact that we have a lot of things in common and we also have our differences which does not make us lose our individuality :)

One thing we have in common is our love to cook and eat. So when we went to Baguio last week, we tried some foodie places that were given good reviews.

First stop? Forest House, which was located about 15minutes (by cab) from where we were staying. After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we went straight to Forest House.

The place reminded me of a storybook house, it has a cottage vibe which makes it cozy and homey. The place was supposed to open at around 10:30am but we came a bit too early.. still, the staff was courteous enough to invite us in and accomodate us. We were given the option to dine at the overlooking part or inside where it is less chilly, we opted for the inside table because I wanted to take pictures of the interior.

When we were given the menu, I was actually impressed with the variety of dishes they serve. From the menu alone, I was convinced that that this was not an ordinary dining experience.

We chose Seafood Gambas for our appetizer and I have to say that its the best Seafood Gambas that I have tasted, it was a bit spicy which made me eat it in small servings. It was the perfect appetizer.

For the main course, I opted to eat St. Peter's fish in Honey mayo, don't be fooled byt the fancy name, St. Peter's fish is actually our local tilapia. I was curious on what magic they would do on the tilapia, When the dish arrived, it was plated perfectly, and the honey mayo sauce was heaven to the mouth, it removed the fishy taste of Tilapia while maintaning the natural taste of the fish. You can also tell that the fish was really fresh because it was tender and it literally melts in the mouth.

 

Chicco chose the Pork in Lemon grass Marinade. Just like the first dish, it was plated very well. Just remembering the smell of the meat and the spices it was marinated in makes my mouth water up to now. The meat was so tender and was juicy all throughout! It was seasoned perfectly!

Finally after a very satisfying main course, we chose Peach-Cherry cheesecake for dessert. Aside from the main restaurant -Forest house also has a pastry shop which makes cakes for dessert in the main restaurant. It was not the best cheesecake, but the combination of cherries and peaches made my taste buds happy :)

 Did I mention that all the dishes came with buttered veggies straight from their very own garden? Sulit tlaga!

Forest House gave us the fine dining experience in Baguio City, the food was superb and the staff was really accomodating and courteous and they are in formal uniform which added to the high class vibe. I would trully recommend eating there. I promise you won't regret it.

Oh - you should try their Benguet Blend Coffee. They have the best coffee in Baguio, believe me - it came straight from Chicco the coffee critic himself! I would blog about the other Baguio foodie paces that we tried, so stay tuned to my next entries. :)