Picture Clusters: November 2011

Was in the mood for chicken...

Yup, wanted to have chicken last weekend. So, decided to cook some for our Saturday lunch! ^_^

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Weekend Eating by Jenn

Food Friday

This week's Featured in Food Friday player is ......

Ms. Dexie who blogs over at feistycook with her post:
Creamy Beef Linguine with Black Olives

Most of us love pasta dishes and this one looks like it's going to be another family fave! Ms. Dexie's blog is a food-lover's haven where you can just be yourself and just take in all the simple ingredients that are mixed together to make a festive meal! Do visit her blog and give yourself a treat.

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Something Simple and Easy, that's what I want to call my Food Friday post for this week. :h

Ingredients used:

toasted bread
tomatoes, oranges, parsley
extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper
kesong puti

Kesong puti (lit. "white cheese" in Filipino) or Filipino fresh cheese is a soft, white cheese, similar to cottage cheese, made from unskimmed carabao's milk, salt and rennet.^[1] It has a soft, close texture and slight salty taste. Some commercial versions are slightly sour due to the use of vinegar in place of rennet. This cheese originated from and is produced in the provinces of Laguna, Bulacan, Samar, and Cebu. In the Philippines, it is a popular breakfast fare eaten with the freshly baked local bread called pan de sal.
*Source

Everything's just a matter of toasting (the bread slices), slicing (the kesong puti and the toasted bread slices), then assembling them on the plate, together with the other ingredients. The drizzling (of the olive oil) and the grinding of the black pepper over the the cheese and bread finishes everything off. Really easy. And tasty! :$

I read in a food post somewhere that they also fry the kesong puti first (in margarine, or butter) before eating it together with pan de sal...got to try that sometime! :P

Reminder: Please link back here (you may use the Food Friday buttons located on the right sidebar) if you're playing... and don't forget to visit other players as well and leave them some comment love! thank you.♥

*if you have problems with linking, do send me a message (or make a comment below) since I might be able to help...would hate to miss a food post from you! <3

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Personal Growth

...personal growth. <3

Sesame Seeds

Sesame seeds overload! I have no idea what they are called (the package was written in Chinese); one of my sisters gave us a pack after her business trip to China.

Each square is more or less about an inch big (or small, lol). But it was packed with all the sesame flavor that I loved. There were two variations: sesame seeds with peanuts and sesame seeds with dessicated coconut. :$

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Weekend Eating by Jenn

Food Friday

The next Featured in Food Friday player is.......

Ms. Winnie who blogs over at Something Sweet, with her blog post:
Fovititzh
*pardon my brownser's translation...it could be wrong.

Now who wouldn't want to taste that delicious looking treat! I believe that that's a special yeast cake with nuts incorporated into it. Looks quite new to me that I couldn't help looking around the internet for more about it! Winnie's food blog is filled with so many interesting information together with delicious shots of her creations. Don't be intimidated by the different language, just click on the translator link and you're good to go!

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When I was living with my parents we used to eat fish EVERYDAY. Yeah, everyday. I thought I had eaten all the fish that I needed to last me a lifetime, but I was wrong. Now whenever I get the chance to eat fresh fish I grab that chance. That's why when I saw some fresh fish at a recent mall trip I couldn't help but buy a kilo. I forgot what kind of fish it was (am terrible with names!) but it was so fresh I cooked and named it simply: Oven Toasted Fish

Ingredients:

fish
olive oil, coconut vinegar
garlic, tomatoes, pepper, salt,
butter

What I did:

Clean fish and cut into serving pieces. Add salt.
Slice tomatoes and put a layer inside buttered containers (I used medium sized aluminum containers), together with garlic.
Add the fish then drizzle a bit of olive oil. Add vinegar and pepper.
Place tomatoes on top, if you want.
Cover with aluminum foil, but not too tightly.
Place in oven toaster (or oven) for around 10-15minutes.
Remove the foil and check if cooked; then place back inside the toaster/oven to get those "burnt marks" (totally optional).
Take out when you're satisfied with the "burnt marks".
Best served hot.

Reminder: Please link back here (you may use the Food Friday buttons located on the right sidebar) if you're playing... and don't forget to visit other players as well and leave them some comment love! thank you.♥

*if you have problems with linking, do send me a message (or make a comment below) since I might be able to help...would hate to miss a food post from you! <3

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Unknown Weed Flower

Another tiny weed flower...no idea what it's called. I just think taking it's picture is worth it. :)

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Weekend Flowers
Macro Flowers

Link and Get Linked

I have been blogging for quite some time now and have learned a thing or two. Yeah, I can be kind of slow somtimes. lol. One of the things a blog needs is to have your blog linked to other sites. Of course there are lots of ways to do it, and one way would be to visit other blogs, leave a comment, and ask for a linkback. That takes time, though, but it can be done. Another way would be to join a group of blogs which also have one thing in mind: get their blogs linked to other sites. Since I can't be glued to the internet and the computer 24/7, I think this route suits me best...and one family-friendly group that came highly recommended was BC Bloggers.

I will be submitting my link to their site today, and if you're interested, just click on the badge. Submission is until December 15th only. See you there! :)

Yeah.

... just thinking out loud. graphically. 8|

Bibingka over the Weekend

Had these a couple of weekends ago...bibingka. It tasted ok. Nothing spectacular, but it wasn't a downer either. It was relatively cheap...i think it was around Php25 per piece. I would probably buy a couple or so again. Got three to take home and had that together with coffee. :)

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Weekend Eating by Jenn

Food Friday

The lucky Featured in Friday player for this week is........

Ms. Jean who blogs over at Ms. Yummylicious with her blog post:
Hainanese Chicken Chop @ Gastro Cafe, SS15 Subang Jaya

Hainanese Chicken Chop in generous black pepper sauce with crispy potato wedges.....YUMMMMY! I have always been interested in other Asian dishes and the black pepper sauce has been one of those that really interests me. Looking at that shot, my hands are itching to grab the chicken and take a big bite! But, that's not the only yummylicious food shot that Jean is offering us...you should check out her Yummy-licious blog and find her other yummy posts and personal recipes as well!

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My food post for today is something simple and light: Spinach Fettuccine with Chicken and Olives.

Ingredients used:

spinach fettuccine
chicken breast fillets (marinated then cut into medium sized cubes)
olives (I used black)
olive oil, butter, cheese (cheddar)
salt, pepper, tomatoes and garlic (diced)
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

olives, tomatoes, garlic, and marinated chicken breast

My procedure:

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in pan, then add a bit of butter. Dump in the cubed breast fillets. Stir occasionally, then add pepper, salt.
Add the diced garlic and tomatoes; after a few minutes add the olives.
Dump everything on the cooked fettuccine. Mix.
You may add some more olive oil if it looks dry.
Top with cheese and sesame seeds (optional).

My plate, minus the cheese

It was a nice snack; both my sons and I liked it. But I would have liked it more if I added a bunch of fresh basil leaves! ^_^

Reminder: Please link back here (you may use the Food Friday buttons located on the right sidebar) if you're playing... and don't forget to visit other players as well and leave them some comment love! thank you.♥

*if you have problems with linking, do send me a message (or make a comment below) since I might be able to help...would hate to miss a food post from you! <3

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Mickey Mouse flower

Ochna serrulata flower

...my SIL calls this the Mickey Mouse flower. I know, it looks way different than Mickey Mouse, but this flower goes through a stage wherein it sort of resembles Mickey Mouse, I guess. Hence the name. lol. :D

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Weekend Flowers by Tina
Macro Flowers

So lucky to be one of the top "most voted shot" over at Weekend Flowers! Thank you for the lovely feature, Tina! Grabbing the badge. :)

That time is near again...isn't it? ;)

I don't know about you, but I love receiving gifts as much as giving them. I want to make sure that the gift that I send out will be appreciated, too. Finding christmas gifts for girlfriends is relatively easy (I am one of the species, after all. :D ) since they are quite vocal about what they want. lol. I like it that way, since that gives me an idea what I'd be giving them. It's the boys that are a bit difficult, though...and I've got three of them in the family! Not that am complaining; I love the rough and tumble!

I just started with my gift-giving Christmas list...and ordered some online. Yeah, online. Lazy me. :r

I do know, though, that the recipients will love it! <3

Saturday breakfast

...breakfast, without rice. had that with hot choco. ^_^

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Weekend Eating by Jenn

Food Friday

This week's Featured in Food Friday player is....

Mr. Benji Dayo who blogs over at My Stuff (Just About Anything and Everything) with his post:
Dining at Lemongrass Shangri-La Plaza

I like the variety of food that if being offered in this appetite sampler ... it is making me drool! Really. I like the serving, too...it's just right and not too little. Or maybe I just have a big appetite. lol. If your eyes hunger for more delicious food shots coupled with personal reviews on some restaurants, then don't hesitate clicking on that shot!

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My post for this week is something that I've eaten lots of times, but cooked for the first time: Vegetable Spring Rolls (also called Beansprout Spring Rolls or Lumpiang Toge).

Since this was the first time that I'd be doing it, I thought I'd search the internet for a recipe that works for me (in other words: simple, easy to follow, and with the ingredients that I like). I easily found Ms. Cusinera's recipe {BUSOG! SARAP!: Lumpiang Toge (Beansprout Spring Rolls)} which I liked.

This is my version of her recipe (do click on the link above if you want to see how she cooked her spring rolls...and I do encourage you to click! :) ) As usual, I modified things a bit. lol

Ingredients used:

mungbean sprouts
squash, carrots, fried tofu (all julienned)
spring roll wrappers
onions, garlic, salt, pepper
oyster sauce
canola oil for sauteing and for frying

tofu, mungbean sprouts, carrots, and squash

Procedure:

I marinated the tofu first (soysauce, pepper, spanish paprika, mixed dried herbs) for a couple of hours. Next I fried the tofu slices then julienned them. Set aside.
The squash and carrots were also julienned and set aside.
Heat the pan and add the oil. Saute the onions first for a couple of seconds, then add the garlic.
Mix in the carrots and squash. Cook just for a few minutes.
Add in the mungbean sprouts. The sprouts will release some water so let it steam. Add salt and pepper.
The oyster sauce is added next, and mixed gently but thoroughly.
Once everything is cooked (but still crisp and not totally limp), turn off the fire.
I tilted the pan to separate the liquid from the vegetables and tofu so that it wouldn't be too wet when I do the wrapping part.
WRAP the mixture in the lumpia (spring roll) wrapper.

Pour enough oil on another pan and fry the wrapped vegetables. Since the filling is already cooked, there's no need to fry it that long; when the wrapper turns golden brown it's time to take it out of the pan and place it on a plate with napkins to absorb the excess oil.
Can be served hot or at room temperature, together with vinegar as a dip.

The lumpia that I cooked tasted slightly sweet, which was a bit weird. But we all loved it! <3

Reminder: Please link back here (you may use the Food Friday buttons located on the right sidebar) if you're playing... and don't forget to visit other players as well and leave them some comment love! thank you.♥

*if you have problems with linking, do send me a message (or make a comment below) since I might be able to help...would hate to miss a food post from you! <3

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On reminders...

I have quite a number of nephews and nieces and when we do get together it can be a riot! Staying in touch isn't that easy (though lately facebook has helped a lot, lol) so sometimes we lost track of who graduated from where, and when. I have always wanted to stay in touch with them (and their families) and that's why checking out those graduation announcements from invitationbox.com might be a cool idea. I know I'd love to receive one of their graduation announcements...gives me time to prepare what gift I'd be giving out! lol.