All Adorned for Christmas

Planning:
Hubby: I want a Christmas tree for this Chrismas Ma..
Me: SUre!


Preparation and Buying:
Hubby: This one Ma..lets buy this too..
Me: No, I dont like the color.


Hubby: Let's buy this one (red socks and Santa's cap) and hang it in the living room.
Me: no!
Hubby: Let's hang this one in the Christmas tree Ma..
Me: It doesn't go with out theme Pa.
Hubby: *sigh


Actual Decoration:
Hubby: How do you want the Christmas lights to be hung?
Me: Follow the arch..
Hubby: Add more flowers on the tree..
Me: No, our theme is minimilistic.


In summary, he conceptualized it, I executed it. He who conceptualized has no-say on how the implementation was done. However, both parties were happy with the outcome!

Recycled Milk Can ni Migz + an old Candle + a few store-bought
plastic pine leaves with Gold and Blue accent and a poinsenttia

3 ft plastic Pine Tree

Our color scheme is Gold and Red, and again, the theme is minimalistic and modern. We bought our tree in Ayala, Basement 2. They have different sizes and colors, but we chose the traditional Green Tree (it would go best with our Gold and Red theme). All the ornaments were grouped by color too (not by type, like most stores would do) so if you're like me who had a color scheme in mind already, choosing the decors would be a whole lot quicker in Basement 2.

a little more detail

the red Angel

Balls and Leaves, all Gold!

the curtain christmas lights

This is hubby's part -setting up the Christmas lights.It looks so dramatic and makes the duyan more inviting. Totally suitable to emo-emo moments.


I'm glad Christmas and New Year's eve are on weekends. Looking forward to spending the eves under our Christmas light or under our small tree..


xoxo

Awesome Siam

It was not my first time in Siam, in fact, it is worth mentioning that Hubby and I had our full and Red wine during our 2nd anniversary there.. however, I would say our last visit there was the best so far. Best by category of satisfaction, not just with food, but overall experience. Whahaha.. Let the pics narrate the overall experience.

However again, let me just iterate that Siam is a must-visit and must-come back because of their awesome lighting -the even yellow lighting! Oh well, must-visit and must-come back with a camera! Don't get me wrong, the food on its own is superb -affordable for its caliber, the service is not impeccable but not bad also. The staff is accommodating, serving of first round of order is fast.. noticeably though, second or additional orders takes longer. 

Top to Bottom: yumyum Tom Yum, Tropical drink (forgot the exact name),
Siam Sampler and Chicken with Walnut.

Oppsss, before I'm lost, let me go back to the topic. What made a great impact with our recent visit was the splendor their lighting would do to our photos. We were just using a 12.1mp Digital Camera but the product was two-thumbs up! There are a lot of resto that would offer good food, good service, affordable dining experience but only a few would give all those PLUS awesome lighting for awesome documentation produce. oh, diba.. endorser na ako ng Siam.

Papa

Miguel

Me

See what i meant? =)

So, for good food + awesome documentation, visit Siam.

Siam Thai Cuisine

Ground Floor

The Terraces - Ayala Center Cebu

xoxo

Taco Bar

My 2nd food post for the week.. Food Porn too.


The recent activities and celebrations gave me more opportunity to have new creations and recreate previous successful food experiments. So, for this blog's feature.. tan ta dan... Taco Bar! This is a "re-creation", from the successful "make your own taco night". First experiment model was sold out thus as a hypothesis the experiment was a success. As well as the succeeding "models". =) I believe, this recent model (and the source of these photo documentation) arrived to the same hypothesis! hahaha so scientific.

so mouth-watering, right?

This is one of the dishes I prepared for Papa's birthday beach party.. and presentation was more of a Taco Bar but the concept of making your own Taco was still kept.

You'll Need:
For the Beef Salsa:
1/2 kl Ground Beef
1 can of your favorite Tomato Sauce
6-8 large near ripe Tomatoes
1 red Onions
2 cloves of Garlic
Salt and Pepper


For the Taco Garnish:
1 large White Onions, julienne
1 medium/large Lettuce
1 block of Cheese, grated


You'll Do:
Slit the tomatoes skin, length of 1-2 inches is enough. In a pot of boiling water, drop the tomatoes for 5 seconds, just so the skin would separate from the actual tomato. Remove from the boiling water after 5 seconds and submerge it in ice cold water to cool down the tomatoes and stop the cooking process. Peel them once they're manageable to work on and cut into chunks. I love using near ripe tomatoes because you can actually feel the tanginess of the tomato even if it is incorporated with the store-bought tomato sauce. 


Cook the Beef like you are cooking the Spaghetti sauce. Saute the garlic, onions and beef until the juices of the beef will disappear. Add the tomato sauce and bring it to a simmer. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add the chunks of tomatoes and leave it over fire for no more than 1 minute. There is no need to cook the chunks of tomatoes, you just want them to be incorporated with the sauce..

Assemble the Taco as you wish.. However, a piece of advise -we eat with our eyes so having an enticing presentation sends signal to our brain that what we are eating is *yumyum!!! Plus it makes you (the cook) look like a pro. whahah

So, here is my arrangement. Taco-Lettuce-White Onions-Beef Salsa-Cheese

A Pastry Experiment

These little adorable tarts.. oh so beautiful tarts.. lala la la.. these tarts makes me sing and imagine that great feeling one feels when we see our creation turned out beautifully and artistically!

It was my first real venture on the pastry side. Yeah, yeah, I did a little cheat.. awryt, half of it was a cheat! I didn't have an oven for my perusal yet.. but that didn't stop me from wondering what beautiful creations I could make.. Eventually, the wondering led to something.. led to these..

A little bit of history first, if I may.. I found this bakeshop that sells beautiful breads and other goodies that for the price it present, is already a real good deal (is my penny-pinching getting real obvious na ba? hehehe). So, i grab a few of those beautiful tarts they sell and added own fruity touch to it.. It added sweetness and freshness to the egg tart and at the same time, I created a whole new tart variety.


You'll Need:
Egg Tarts - You can buy "ready-made" like what I did or if resources will permit it, you can make your own.
5 tbsp of freshly squeezed Orange juice -if you want the tart to be a little more juicy, you can add more..
1 tbsp of Lemon juice
1 tbsp of Orange zest
1 ripe Mango, diced
1 ripe Apple, diced
2 tbsp brown sugar


You'll Do:
In a nonstick pan, add the brown sugar and juices and let the mixture simmer and make sure that all the brown sugar has been dissolved. Once you see little bubbles appearing, add the zests and apples. Let it simmer under medium fire for 2-3 minutes or until the apples become soft.
Let the mixture cool down before you add the mangoes. 
Add the fruits and juice to the tarts, depends on you if you want more or less. I would recommend for it to be a little juicy though so be generous in adding the juices.


Serve with a smile.


xoxo

Trick or Treat 2011

October 29, 2011 --- It was Mama and Papa's Trick or Treat.. oh well, I am not ready for Migz's Trick or Treat yet, we maybe joining this year..we may not..

Happy Trick or Treat!!!

Newez, this is an office activity.. almost everyone participated, the activity a success!!!

in character

half face

in character again

girlaloos

Little Red Riding Hood

Butterfly in a Nara

who u? hahaha

The Punisher?

Green Monster.. hahaha

Shark?

Fairy Tale/Cabaret

Hahaha, sa totoo lang, I didn't know the inspiration for the face paint ng boys. They just googled pictures and copied  what they liked. As for the girls, fairy tale/cabaret ang inspiration. Make up galore, parang Parlor ang floor namin.

Overall, it was fun. Almost everyone eagerly and happily participated.

xoxo

A Pasta Idea

The world don't need another Pasta recipe, I know! but I can't help it. Spaghetti is my first love, Baked Ziti was my second. Carbonara was my third. Pesto Pasta was my fourth. So you see, I have a lot of relationship with Pasta. Hindi ba obvious na I love Pasta?!

My love for the food itself had evolved to the love of inventing new taste that would suit me and my food "critics" -my boys at home. =) Hubby has some kind of aversion for non-spaghetti pasta while my baby boy is not-so-fun with sauces yet.. he loves garlic and oil or just the pasta alone. Nonetheless, that won't stop me from coming up with new ideas and introducing their pallet to a new taste. Who knows, their pallet would evolve too..*hoping! hahaha

Anyways, weeks ago an idea came into my mind.. and shall i say, between the idea and the actual thing.. other than the recipe itself, the rest could be documented as "history".

So..this is my idea -Penne with Asparagus and 2 Cheese.

You'll Need:

*Setting of Expectation: Excuse the lack of measurement, this is the "first generation, first experiment" so it was more of a trial and error. Just taste, taste and taste as you go along so you would be guided. 

Blue Cheese, crumbled.

Cheddar Cheese, grated.

1 bunch of Asparagus, cut into 1 and 1/2 inch long

Chicken, boneless breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces

White onions, finely chopped

Heavy cream

Chicken stock or the pasta water

Salt and White Pepper

Penne Pasta - i dont usually use Penne, so I have no reliable input on what brand to use yet =)

You'll Do:

Prep:

In a bowl, marinade Chicken with Salt and White Pepper. You can let the marinade set for 5-10 minutes if you have extra time. If not, start your prep with the chicken, so it gets marinated while your slicing/preparing the other ingredients.

Cooking:

Cook the pasta according to the "manufacturer". Cut off a minute or two of the cooking direction though. You will know why later.. Saute white onions for half a minute then add chicken. Continue with the saute until chicken is a bit browned. Add the asparagus and saute for another minute. Then, add all the liquids (stock/pasta water and heavy cream) and bring it to a light simmer. Once you see little signs of simmer, add the cheeses. Let it simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until most of the cheeses are melted. Add white Pepper, salt if you prefer. Taste it before adding salt though. The saltiness of the cheeses, maybe enough to season the entire sauce mixture. Once it taste perfectly, add the pasta and mix it well. Let it cook for another minute (and this is the reason for cooking the pasta a little shy than the manufacturer's instruction).

Serve while hot (I believe pasta with white sauce are best when hot. Unlike, the tomato based once, wherein at times, its best when it has stayed in the ref for a day. Oh well, I am stating a personal preference.).

Serve with a smile.

xoxo

A Healthy Way

An apple on your cereal, or some sultanas, more salad on your sandwiches, or a banana.. la la la..


That's the lyrics of that Children song advocating eating fruits and veggies. I say it's a good campaign for kids and kids at heart..anything promoting health is, well, good! Experts always say a balance diet should have this and have that.. bla-blah..blah.


Yeah, I get that! But. It. Is. Hard! With Jollibee, KFC and all those fastfoods and their mascots calling you.. Adding to that those quick snacks and bfasts that coffee shops offer now. I mean its easy, fast and accessible. Its hassle free food and service! Who can say No to that? One can't wake up early everyday to go to the market, buy fresh stuffs and then prepare for healthy bfast or work snack or pack lunch. Diba? Plus, there are just days when we want to keep on "snoozing" the alarm clock until the last minute. I know health is important but our current society and set-up makes it almost not all the time practical to get healthy and fresh food. 


I find Henry Sy's idea of SM Fresh Market a great innovation for city peeps. But then, not everyday that one can go to SM and get their serving of fresh fruits or salad.


That is why again.. excuse my lots of "that-is-why", im trying to have continuity here.. hahah. Anyways, that is why my office's new concessionaire is a bliss! He or she (the owner) is a bliss for shamelessly copying Henry Sy's idea and bring it closer to the masa. =)

love the avocado season! You know that Avocados's fats are good fats.. and our old belief about it is nothing but a myth.. oh well, this topic might belong to another blog. we'll see.

It might be a no-originality business.. (a typically Pinoy style) i don't care! He is doing the majority of the population a big help. Yes majority! Who says that fruits and salads are for girls only? A lot of the people I came elbow to elbow with while selecting what goes into my paper container are men. real men! 

personal concoction/

I hope this concessionaire stays with our company until I am here.. whoopppsss! that was a bit selfish.. awryt, until there are peeps who aspire to eat fresh and healthy food. Ayan, generic na. =)

xoxo