How Are You?

That's exactly what we ask when we haven't been around and bumped into someone familiar along the road. Right? 😊

Well, I have been gone for so long! It would be great getting myself familiar and doing something again that brought so much familiarity, purpose {for lack of a more appropriate term right now} and gratefulness into my otherwise "robotic" life. Oh, don't get me wrong: my life the past couple of years have been very meaningful. Not perfect {nobody's life is perfect, ever}, but it gave so much meaning to the words "Live, Love and Learn" 💖

I still love taking pictures ...

Lunch

Had lunch a while back with in-laws. Even if we live in one country (lol), seeing them takes planning. They live more or less around 2hours away from us; and that's if traffic is at a minimum. It would have been great seeing them again this weekend, but ever since Inay and Itay have passed on we seldom sleep there (at my in-law's house) anymore. My youngest (and sometimes me, too) gets into a fit when the area is dusty and since nobody sleeps in our old rooms... well, just imagine the dust accumulated after a couple or so of months. ugh. Such a pity. The house needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, that would need some funds, something which is not in abundance right now. :-/

Anyway, it was great seeing them again..even if it was just for a short lunch. After all, nothing can really replace family. 

Reflection :)

Getting there ... Soon Enough.

AGES since I last posted here. Am so sorry, bloggy. Things these days are just not that conducive to blogging anymore. Well, there are still days (like today) when I do get the chance to sit down and blog. But there's always something that takes me away. Like ... cooking, cleaning, sleeping (yes, it does), and other worldly chores. It's summer now. So I can indulge in being a procrastinator every once in a while.

That is ... Until summer ends. :P

Most Days a Week

Most days of the week I wake up early to fix breakfast for the kids. Nothing terribly fancy, but I like to make sure that they don't go to school on an empty stomach!

My teen has the school bus, while the first grader I need to accompany to the school. They both have to be in school before seven in the morning, so you can just imagine how I feel every school day: harried! lol. But am glad it only happens in the morning ... after I get my first grader to school, I get my "me" time. Actually, it's not totally "me" time, since that's the time when I do the groceries, or do odd stuffs. Occasionally, I do get to do what I really want ... SLEEP! But not for long, though. I've got to be up and running again to fetch my first grader come lunch time!

Shot was taken while I was walking, and I noticed the "banderitas". Must have been a fiesta, or something. But that tall building is going to be one of those condominiums that has been sprouting here and there lately. It is quite tempting - buying a condominium, specially if it is near our son's schools. I am not totally sold out with the idea of living in a condominium (or anything high-rise) at the moment, though. But am not closing the idea, either. If possible, I'd like to live in a building all my own. :)

Gone So Long

Have been gone a long time. Blame it all on the crappy internet and my recently unreliable computer! I think it's asking for a replacement ... or maybe I'll just have this fixed. The thought of having a new computer is tempting, though. But, not really a necessity. :P

Things have been kind of "unsettling", lately. My mom died; something that I totally didn't see coming. I mean, not this year, anyway. It just made me realize that life is really that fragile and we musn't take it for granted. Her leaving us happened two months ago, and my sons and I were fortunate enough to visit her while she was still earth-bound. Actually, we arrived on a Friday (caught a plane on a Friday, had to let them skip school) and she left us the next day. It was really heart and gut wrenching ... that was how I felt. Still feel, sometimes. Am sure my siblings feel the same way, too .. and we are all coping with it in our own different ways.

Our Papa is also dealing with the pain ... and I wish we can be with him. We're fortunate that we have one sibling who is willing to drop everything and stay at home with Papa. Taking care of an ageing parent is not easy, am sure. We will forever be grateful to her and the sacrifices that she was/is willing to take ... all for the family.

Getting overly sentimental here. I just miss Mama. And Papa. Really miss them so much; already got plane three tickets for our Christmas break at home!

I pray and hope that she is all right wherever she is right now. Huggsss

My Eldest

My son was given a violin during his birthday a while back, and sad to say, we haven't gotten round to finding him a teacher nearby. Plus, his school activities these days take so much of his time (including the weekends, at times). I know he keeps his violin inside his cabinet near his bed, and am guessing he hasn't checked it in a while. No idea if he is going to need a violin bridge or something similar. He just doesn't seem to have the time to laze around, tinker with his things, and do nothing. When he's here at home, he spends lots of time in front of the computer ... playing. What else is new? LOL.

We miss him right now ... he's at school, in one of this camping school activities. He'll be back Monday. :)

Finally ...

Well, finally I got to sit down and open my computer! Unfortunately, don't have much time. Actually, while am sitting here and blogging (plus surfing, lol), am also waiting for dinner to cook, helping my youngest with his assignments, and getting updated regarding the incoming typhoon (with the television in the background, am sure, once the school assignments are all done). That might not sound a lot, but for me it is! lol. Oh yeah, almost forgot: thinking of doing the laundry (or maybe I just might do it tomorrow; hopefully the rain wouldn't be a problem). See, am not so busy. :P

Did get to try one of these just recently, though:

Saratoga Peanut Butter (and a pretzel with peanut butter inside)

It tastes nice enough. I could get used to it. It's not too sweet and I just love the crunchy peanut bits! :)

It's great to be able to sit here and update again. :)

PS. I couldn't continue Food Friday anymore, and Nick (from Intelliblog) was gracious enough to continue it for me. Do visit his site and add your food treats there every Friday! I will try to visit every once in a while, when time permits. Thanks to everyone who has shared with me their food posts! There's no need to stop...let's continue sharing our love for food!

Rainy Season

I know, summer (for this year) in my part of the world has already come and gone. It has been raining almost everyday the past couple of days. But I can't really complain since if it means cooler nights, then so be it. We still turn the air conditioner "ON", of course. Maybe out of habit? lol. But I feel safer at night with the windows close, so....

The heat was totally unbearable this last summer. We had to turn on the two electric fans downstairs every morning, and the air conditioner at it's maximum at night. Am really so happy it is now way cooler at night. Though of course for sunny isles real estate it must feel like the perfect weather out there! :)

School!

My eldest will start grade 9 tomorrow.

While my first grade will start on the 16th (June).



How time flies ....

Just dropping by, in between household chores and finishing some school stuffs. Life is going to be pretty hectic again. Early mornings, rush hours, late nights, etc.

Life. :)

Food Friday

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

Ms. Winnie, with her post Unique Cheesecake with Homemade Cheese", on her site: Something Sweet.

I love how Ms. Winnie decorated her cheesecake! So fun! Click on the shot to see some more lovely and delicious pictures of her cheesecake (as well as the recipe!). 

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Something light and fresh this week: Cauliflower and Pasta (with Coconut Milk and Basil)

Ingredients:

• pasta of your choice (cooked according to package directions)
• cauliflower
• ground pork (optional, if you want to make it vegetarian)
• basil cubes (here is how I did mine)
• coconut milk (fresh, frozen, or from a can, or powder....whichever is available)
• salt, pepper, garlic
• arugula

Procedure:

• Place ground pork on hot pot with a bit of water. Add salt and pepper. Once water has evaporated, brown the meat for a bit, then add garlic and cauliflower. Mix till cauliflower is half-cooked.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta and keep warm.
• Add basil cubes and coconut milk to the cauliflower and pork. It's not going to be a soup, so go easy on the amount. Turn off fire.
• Add to the pasta and mix well.
• Adjust seasoning, if you have to.
• Add a side of arugula (which I drizzled with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and calamansi juice), or any green of your choice.

Enjoy!

I really loved the dish, though my youngest was not so fond of the arugula. Weird combination, but I have never really been known to follow what is tradition. lol. When it comes to food, I have always believed: To each his own! :P

I would like to say, though, that this is going to be my last Food Friday post. Well, I just might post (will, most probably) some more food posts, but it would not be strictly on Fridays. lol. I love food too much. :D

Also, I would love to thank everyone who has played Food Friday! Through this weekly thingy I have learned not only about new (and old) restaurants, new recipes, new ingredients, new ways of cooking, but also about the different cultures and the important role that food has been playing... Again, many thanks! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

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Food Friday

This week's Featured Food Friday player as randomly chosen by Inlinkz is ...

Ms. Czjai, with her post: French Toast with a Twist, on her blog, The Rebel Sweetheart.

Now that would be a lovely sight to wake up to! Want to know how to make it yourself? Click on the shot and check out Ms. Czjai's yummy post!

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My youngest and I cooked this a couple of afternoons ago: Devil's Food Cake topped with Almond Butter. Honestly, we had no idea what we were going to add as a topping, so we gathered what we had available, and decided to play. :)

Ingredients

• almond butter
• cream cheese
• honey (organic, raw, and unfiltered preferred)
• one box cake mix (we chose Devil's Food Cake because of it's name, lol)

Procedure:

• Cook cake according to package instructions.
• Let cool.
• While it's cooling, mix the three ingredients. Sorry, I didn't measure them. Ugh, my bad.
• We were having too much fun mixing things up.
• Add the topping only after the cake has cooled. That doesn't mean we didn't eat a few pieces while it was still hot, though. :P

We bought those pretty little shiny candy drops together with the cake mix. We all thought it would look real pretty on top of those cakes. Not that tasty, though. lol. We decided to ditch them and leave the rest of the cupcakes candy-drops free after our first taste. Can't deny it looks pretty! :P

Yes, the cake mix was delicious. Loved the chocolatey taste.

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Food Friday

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

Mr. Nicholas, with his post: Cheaters Smoked Salmon Pizza, on his blog: Intelliblog.

Curious why Mr. Nicholas called this Cheaters Smoked Salmon Pizza? Looks delicious, doesn't it? If you love pizza (like me!), then click on the shot and see how you can make this yourself, too!

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Since it's now summer time here (and my kids are not so keen on summer classes - can't blame them! lol), we have been waking up late. That's why our breakfast these days are usually heavier than our school days breakfast fare (fruit, soft boiled eggs, and juice/hot choco, plus the occasional cereals), which should be done in a flash. lol. Here's our "usual" summer late breakfast food: Eggs Two Ways, is how I'd like to call this. :P

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Potatoes (diced)
• Bellpepper (diced)
• Tomatoes (diced)
• Chili leaves (or use what you have available)
• salt, pepper, garlic, onions
• Coconut oil for frying

Procedures

• A. Put the diced potatoes on hot pan with oil. Then add the bellpepper, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put everything in the center of the pan, then top with the chili leaves (careful, there might be a bit of oil splashing since the leaves are "wet"). Immediately put the egg on top, some salt, then cover the pan (so that the leaves and egg will cook because of the steam).
• I like my egg "cooked" on top (am not a fan of "raw" eggs, though it does look good in pictures. lol), so I waited till it was no longer "red".
• Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with pepper.

**I added salt on the egg before putting on the cover; you may omit this, if you want. Instead, you may add the salt and pepper together after transferring the whole thing to a plate.

• B. Place potatoes on hot pan with oil. After a few minutes, add the bellpepper, then the garlic, onions, and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper.
• Remove from the pan once cooked.
• If there are no more any oil on the pan, add about a tablespoon. Once hot, add the beaten egg.
• Put the cooked mixture on top of the scrambled egg, then some chili leaves. Place on one side only, so that you can easily flip the other side to cover the mixture.
• Cook some more, if you want, by flipping the whole thing over.
• Drizzle with ketchup, or whatever you fancy.

Both dishes were yummy served with toast and our desired drinks (we all had hot choco that day). It's delicious with hot steamed rice, too, am sure. Yes, I will be serving more of this the next couple of days. Most probably change the chili leaves to whatever I have available! Or maybe add plantain bananas. LOL. Crazy, huh?! :)

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Food Friday

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

Ms. Czjai, with her post "Hong Kong Holiday | The Lucky Nugget", on her site: The Rebel Sweetheart.

Traveling is always a pleasure, in my opinion. Specially if you are faced with new things - including food! Join Ms. Czjai as she narrates a portion of her Hong Kong Disneyland trip and some of the food that they encountered along the way. Click on the shot!

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The last couple of days has been quite hot and humid, so I really didn't do much experimenting when it came to cooking. This was a mainstay for the past few days: Mango Smoothie with Chia Seeds.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango slices (been freezing some ripe mangoes)
1 cup coconut water (chilled)
1 pc banana (or pineapple slices)
1 tbsp raw organic honey (or coconut sugar)
2 tbsp chia seeds

Procedure:
Blend the first four ingredients together till you're satisfied.
Add in the chia seeds, then mix. Wait for a bit till the seeds have bloomed before slurping. :)

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Journey

Took that mobile shot while we were on our way to Silang, Cavite last weekend (19 April 2014).
Edited using the phone, too. I just wish I can find an app that lets me post here (blogger). It would be way simpler! :)

Food Friday

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

Ms. Hazel, with her post, Exam season, on her blog: In the Big Chili.

Yum Yum Yum! Perfect treat for someone who has been working 9hrs per day for the past couple of days...right, Ms. Hazel? :) Click on the shot to know more about Ms. Hazel's lovely post!

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Something really simple for today:  My "Pumped Up" Cereals.

Ingredients:

• Cereals of your choice (I used Nestle's Fitnesse Clusters {Almond Nut})
• Milk (I used Almond Breeze {AlmondMilk and CoconutMilk blend})
• Chia seeds (preferably left to soak in the milk/liquid first till it "blooms" to a gel-like consistency similar to tapioca)
• Cacao nibs (mine was coated in coconut sugar)

Procedure:
Mix chia seeds and milk. Once the seeds have bloomed (mine took about ten minutes), add in the cereals and cacao nibs. Enjoy! :)

My shot shows chia seeds that have not bloomed yet. Had to wait for a bit, and by the time the seeds were ready, my cereal flakes were already soggy! lol. Lesson learned. Still, it was delicious!

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Food Friday

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

Ms. Winnie, with her post, "Chocolate Mousse Cake on Hazelnut Crust - Gluten Free", on her site: Something Sweet (Winnie's Blog).

Doesn't that look tempting! Expect to be greeted with yummy treats when you visit Ms. Winnie's blog! Click on the shot above and be transported to cake heaven!

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A light snack for this week's food post: Avocado Spread on Cheesy Toast.

Ingredients

• Bread of your choice (I had baguette, which I sliced)
• Avocado (ripe and mushy)
• Cheese (your choice, or whatever you have)
• salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil
• calamansi/lemon juice
• coconut sugar/ honey (optional)

Procedure:
Put salt, pepper, and cheese on bread slices, then toast. Go easy on the salt (usually cheese is salty enough).
While the bread is toasting, mash the mushy avocado together with about a teaspoon of calamansi/lemon juice and a sprinkling of coconut sugar (totally optional; you can use honey {raw and organic preferred}, if you want).
Once done, add on toast.
Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil, pepper and salt.
Devour, paired with your favorite drink.

I finished everything on that plate! Yes, I did. Honestly. :)

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Getting Online

Haven't really been updating this blog as much as I want to ... thankfully, it's summer time now. Was thinking I'd have more time to dabble with this blog, but then our helper had to leave. Meaning, I will be doing the household chores that she used to do: washing (clothes), cleaning the floors, etcetera. One thing that I won't be doing, though: iron the clothes. lol.

I think it's fine. That means I have to move around (instead of just sitting on the couch and watch tv! lol) and get all sweaty. LOL. I am trying to eliminate some of the harmful chemicals that she wanted to use (floor cleaners have now been replaced by just a vinegar and water solution), and I tell you, it feels good!

Been reading up on some natural remedies, household cleaners, food (etc...) and even if the ingredients mentioned aren't readily available in our local wet markets, I still want to try them. Some I buy online (from local suppliers), while some I buy from Healthy Options (I wish we have more similarly oriented stores). So far results are great. Loving the "super foods" (spirulina, camu camu, etc). That's for another post, though. lol.

Household chores are beckoning me. :P

Food Friday

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

Ms. Sumee, with her post "Roasted Brussel Sprouts", on her blog: Sumee's Culinary Bites.

I love eating vegetables, and this is one veggie that I'd love to try! Ms. Sumee's recipe is so simple, it's no wonder it became such a hit with her family! Want to know how she prepared them? Do click on the shot!

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White Squash with Sardines (In Tomato Sauce), that's what I cooked last night. First time I have ever served that veggie here at home, and am so glad my kids liked it. I liked it, too. :)

Ingredients

• White Squash
• Canned sardines in tomato sauce
• moringa leaves
• coconut oil
• onion, garlic, black pepper, salt
• calamansi juice
• soy sauce (optional)

Procedure:

• Skin the white squash then cut and remove the seeds. Dice and set aside.
• Place coconut oil (use your favorite oil) on pan and saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Dump in the diced white squash and mix. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking till it gets tender (half-cooked), which was roughly around five minutes in my case. 
• Add the canned sardines, then let it simmer for another five to seven minutes.
• A few dashes of soy sauce was added at this point. Mix and adjust seasoning.
• Turn off heat and add in a handful of moringa leaves.
• Wait for around two minutes, squeeze some calamansi (to get the juice),  then serve.
• Loved it with rice and some crispy fried squid.

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Food Friday

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

Mr. Nicholas, with his post "Quinoa Tabouli", on his site: Intelliblog

I bought a pack of red quinoa a couple of weeks back, but had no idea what to do with it! This recipe looks like something that I'd love to try! Click on the shot to check it out!

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My post for this week: Pancit Bihon

I know, I didn't cook it. Our neighbor have nothing but praises for this eatery/restaurant, so we decided to buy one small bilao (originally a winnowing basket for removing rice chaff {source}) of pancit bihon earlier today. Their smallest bilao was actually good for 8-11 persons.

There was a line when we arrived, and we had to wait again after ordering (they cook your order only after payment). Waiting wasn't really that long (we waited for more or less around 10-15mins, depends largely on the number of people ahead of you), and their waiting area was air-conditioned and separate from the dining area.

I liked their pancit, even though I must admit it tasted a bit bland. I would love to add cilantro, or maybe some more veggies into the noodles; my youngest loved it (he ate more than a plateful, and he kept asking for more!).

Would we buy from them again? Oh yes. Definitely. :)

Please don't forget to add a link back to this site (you can get the buttons here; deciding to use text instead of buttons is fine also) to be able to add your posts below. Many thanks and hope everyone is going to have a great time this weekend!

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Not Much

Haven't been updating this blog as much as I'd love to ...
There just seems to be too many things to do the past couple of weeks. :/