Travel : Southwestward

It was a weekend getaway that we planned. But the planning stopped there. Up to the last minute, we have not decided where to go. So, while the taxi is heading to the South Bus Terminal we did a toss coin -Head=Moalboal, Tail=Alegria. 

This is how the weekend went:

Day 1 was all about Costa de Leticia. 
Day 2 was Suroy-suroy Sugbo. 

*The plan was Kawasan Falls, Basdaku then Molave Milk Station -or that was at least "the plan". What really happened was this.. 
1. Multicab ride to Badian (originally to Kawasan Falls), but while on the cab the driver told us that Kawasan Falls is still close to public. So, we ended up at Badian Public Market. Had Lunch and then waited for the "next ride". (Basdaku was cancelled due to "unexpected" events.) hahaha 
2. Ceres Bus ride to Molave Milk Station. We had our treat -ice cream from cow's milk and Kiseo from carabao's. 
3. Multicab ride to Carcar. It was a Sunday afternoon and most buses were "standing" so we ended up on a cab again! We were hoping to hitchhike but maybe.. our faces are not trustworthy enough because nobody stopped to the "thumb sign". 
4. Multicab ride (4th one) to (supposedly) Minglanilla (for KMK's station). While on the cab, we thought of stopping by at Junpin's house for one bottle. Unintentionally, all our Southwest trips ends up @ Junpin's. 
5. Taxi ride to Home. 
Just see the pictures for the real action..

all our bags are packed we're ready to go

Lunch @ Mang Inasal first, while we decide where to go..

*hihihi doing my nails while waiting for the bus to depart

and finally we arrived @ the Home By The Water..

Costa De Leticia was privy and a fairly new resort so the place was still well-kept. For a quick rundown, hmmm.. They had free wifi and breakfast, which is just expected for a 3000 Php per night resort, right? :) They had 1 infinity pool, an indoor and outdoor resto, their rooms (or at least, the one we got) was spacious the bed was a marshmallow, the restroom was nicely decorated with hot and cold water, the towels and linens looked and smelled clean (which is REALLY important for all resort who would provide free use of towels). The service was fairly fine too. For the not-so-good things, the food was not-great (they badly need a cook). The cable tv sucks!

@ Costa de Leticia

oh, another plus point - I love how the intricate details of their interior. It added "class" to the resort.

Okey, moving on to Day 2.

Breakfast and a little swim

L-R, U-D: Hubby's hitchhike challenge, Cab ride from Alegria to Badian, Badian Public Market, Photo op @ a waiting shed near the Molave Milk Station (while waiting for our ride to Carcar)

We had Ube flavored Ice Cream and Kesong Puti. 

  Just a little FYI. 13 KM from Carcar (Southwest ward) and you will arrive @ the Molave Milk Station. It is actually a farm, but only the portion where the station is open to the general public. A private tour could be scheduled if you have access to the owners of the farm. The station sells ice cream, shakes, cheese and of course milk, fresh from cows and carabaos. The ice cream comes in different flavors, ube, strawberry, chocolate and buko pandan were the available ones when we went there. You can also choose if you want the cow's milk or the carabao's.

xoxo

Molave Milk Station

Barili, Cebu

Costa de Leticia Resort and Spa

Alegria, Cebu

www.costadeleticia.com

Off The Grid

Sunday, March 11.
Wednesday, June 27.


108 days that I have been off the grid. Reasons are not necessary as of now.. saying I have been through a lot during that 108 days is an understatement! Nevertheless, I am back and I have a lot to talk about..

a lot!

Dream Home

Dreamhouse. Everyone has one or is @ one.

Through the years of daydreaming of what my ideal house would be (yeah, emphasis on the future tense), I mentally collected several ideas of what the interior of my house would look like. I have compiled in my mind several designs that I would someday materialize in my own 'lil home. These ideas and inspirations are mainly from Interior Design mags, online blog designs and tv-home design shows.

Since they are just in my mind (and perhaps due to age???) that these ideas slip at times and only when I see similar designs or concepts that I again remember, that -oppss, I saw and liked (or loved) this. Trust me, that kind of thought didn't just happened once, or twice. That is why I did this!.. a compilation of those ideas. These ideas are final -as of now. hahaha

soon you would no longer be a dream..

So where do I begin.. One things for sure, I don't want a big house. I prefer it to be cozy,I want it homey but chic, light in colors but at the same time, "male-gender" friendly -read as "should have hubby and my Miguel's touch".. I need to keep a mental note of that. hahaha

This would be one of the framed wall decor.

I love the idea of bringing nature inside the house. Surely there would be lots of plants in pots and maybe flowers in vases. I'm excited for DIY vases, shelving, cabinets, statement framed-decors. Greens, yellows and carnations in combo is so refreshing and goes well with natural light from big windows. Soft and palette colors would definitely dominate.

The Living Room:

The ceiling should be high and I would love a big french windows that would allow natural light to come inside the house. The settee should have high back rest, soft and comfy. There would be lots of plants, pictures and wall decors in different shapes and frames. The walls should be painted clean white, linis-linisan na look with a little playful twist! It should be a living room you would want to spend your afternoons at. It should have a very relaxing and cozy ambiance.

My inspirations:

Cactus by the window.. so melodramatic.
source: kooki.multiply.com

big windows with floor to ceiling curtains
source: www.designsponge.com

I love single wooden chairs and how it makes a small corner of the house look cozy
Source:  www.houseofearnest.com  

The Master Bedroom:

Luxury, for me, does not mean cars or a big house or precious jewels. For me it is a big "marshmallow" (read as: as soft, white and fluffy as a marshmallow) bed, a very spacious restroom and a tub with hot and cold water of course. Just picture that idea of luxury and that's how my master bedroom would look like. And just like the rest of the house, it would have palette colors.

marshmallow bed.
Source: www.google.com (ahahah)

a tub by the window
source: www.designsponge.com

The Kitchen:

I want to think that this is where I would be spending most of my time at home. That's what I want to think but that is not what is happening now. Cooking is an outlet but lately, I just need inspiration so I would lurk in my kitchen more. Maybe a picture of my dream kitchen would do the trick..

The kitchen should be spacious and welcoming to everyone in the house, specially the kids. The kitchen counter should have high chairs that mimics the set up of bars.. it should be a place where everyone would gather and just eat, talk, laugh..

Anyways, these are some of my inspirations:

The kitchen center island should have chalk board wall.
..the kitchen should be friendly to the kids too!
source: www.designsponge.com

lots and lots of shelving to display dinner wares, mugs, spices, and more family pictures.
source: random from google

More inspirations:

L-R: repurposed wine box, symmetrical and sort of symmetrical  home gallery

*whew. I must admit, putting all those stored ideas into writing was such a daunting task. I'm glad I crossed the intimidation and never let the thought of a BIG task get in the way. Finally, I now have this written repository of my future home. I could save the professional fee for an Internal Designer..who would need one when I got it covered! bwahahaha

xoxo

Thai Cuisine

My only other acquaintance with Thai Food  was with Awesome Siam. Last weekend we decided to give that 'acquaintance' a challenge match by trying another Thai Resto. Let us just accept that explanation for our indulgence so we can move on, awryt? :)

It wasn't my first, nor hubby's first, but it was our first together, so expect a little play of 'critics and reviews' here. And since my visit was more recent than his', we followed most of my suggestions. Opps, warning! This is a bit of a food porn post.

(Not part of the review) Our nice pics had nothing to do with the place or lighting , hubby's cam was just great! 'heheh

So, for the first critic: The place is nice and cozy, a bit private considering its location in The Terraces. The crew were still nice. My first visit was dinnertime, busy as it was, the crew accommodated our several requests to transfer tables (due to unexpected additional 'characters') and our little request to charge my friends iPhone (for free ha!). For this visit, they honored our request to sit in the couch even if they were preparing those tables for a dinner reservation (we had lunch @ 2:30 pm) and warned us on hand that that part of the resto is a bit warm. It was enough to let go of the fact that they served our Spareribs a little late. Three and a half spoons for the accommodating crew.

Lets go to the food, shall we?

Citrus and Herb Lemonade
195 Php for Pitcher and 85 Php for a Glass

I'll give this drink 4 and a half spoons! Very light and refreshing. The missing half to make it perfect 5 would go to consistency. My first try was better than the second -the second was less lemony.

Tom Yam Goong (Spicy Baby Prawns & Lemongrass soup)
245 Php
You can request for mild if your not a fan of spicy foods.

This is another 4 and a half spoons! The soup is really good and the shrimp was cooked just right. I love it too that you can still feel the texture of the vegetables -they're not overcooked or overpowered by the soup.

Peppered Squid
(yep, you read it right, it doesn't have its 'thai birth name')
185 Php

Now, this is just 2 spoons. Hubby is s sucker of sea foods and it was his idea to sample the Peppered Squid. We should have taken our queue on its lack of 'Thai birth name' that this is not one of the bestsellers. tsk tsk tsk. The sauce was really good but the Squid and its coating was just bland.

Pineapple Rice
good for 3-4 persons, 160 Php
(but if one of you is a sucker for rice, dahh.. this would be enough for 2)

Hmmm, this is 3 stars. I'm not a fan of sweet rice, I love the savory ones. This is a bit bland for my taste too. The Bagoong Rice made its mark on me, I'll remember to stick to that next time.

Suon Nuong (Grilled Pork Spareribs)
245 Php

This is 5 spoons for me when I first tasted it -and it still is on my second try! Now, this 3rd dish is a too much for 2 persons dining but I recommended this to hubby. This was the reason for our Lemon Grass trip, so there goes the explaining again.. (hahaha) The pork is juicy and has softness that melts-in-your-mouth. The pork alone is a bit too sweet but dipping it in its sauce give it a totally different taste. Almost heavenly! :) I love the cucumber salad that goes with it too.

Lemon Grass
Lower Ground Floor, The Terraces
Ayala Center Cebu

I want to develop a better relationship with this Resto, not just an acquaintance! Their prices are definitely not for everyday indulgence so here's what I recommend -put them at the top of your special-occasion-go-to's.

xoxo

Copy That!: Chicken Snitzel

I am not sure if I should include this recipe post on my "Copy That!" files. I've been cooking this recipe for quite sometime now, this is not my first Chicken Snitzel session nor my "only" version.. Yes, I made several tweaks and turns to this recipe that every cooking session is not the same as the other, yet it yielded the same result -Awesome Chicken Snitzel! hahaha

A good cook, for me, would and should be able to cook under different circumstances, environments and set-up and still deliver the same outcome -good food!. I live in the city where groceries and markets are just like 5 minute drive. However, there are other circumstances that would still challenge you not to have all the ingredients you need, circumstances like -tinatamad kang lumabas ng bahay, or for a more tolerable reason, budget is tight or you don't have enough time left to make that trip to the groceries or market anymore. Thus at times, I had to do some tweaking of the original recipe so it would adjust to what is in my pantry atm. I'd say that's how a home cook's creativity and culinary knowledge is tested.. feeling Invention Test in Masterchef ang drama. I'm pretty sure that's where they patterned the idea.

Ok.. so for this week's dose of blog-lovin.."this cooking" version of Chicken Snitzel.. 

Love how it looks (and tastes) so herby. 

The parsley leaf as plate decor gives a hint of how the dish would actually taste.

You'll Need:
1/2 kl Boneless Chicken Breast (filleted and pounded so they would have more or less the same thickness)
2-3 medium size day's old bread (for this recipe I used store bought bread crumbs due to time constraint)
a cup of Flour
an Egg
half cup of Milk
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
"the herbs" - Basil and Parsley (original recipe had Thyme and Rosemary too)
grated Cheese (Parmesan if kaya ng budget)
Olive Oil (EVOO if you're after the health goodness of it)
Butter
S&P

Tip:  You can use low fat milk too. This recipe is quite loaded with carbs, low fat milk is one way to lessen it.

You'll Do:
Step 1: Prepare 3 bowls.
Step 2: Rub S&P and the minced garlic on both sides of the chicken. This is the only seasoning of the actual chicken so season it well.
Step 2: Place the flour in bowl 1.
Step 3: Whisk the egg and milk together in bowl 2.
Step 4: If using Bread, chop bread together with the herbs in a blender or food processor. If using store-bought Crumbs, you may chop manually the herbs and combine it with the crumbs. Add the grated cheese. Mix them well in  bowl 3.
Tip: Arrange the bowls according to the above order for a more organized cooking later. Trust me, it minimizes the mess.
Step 4: Coat the chicken according to this order - flour and dust if off. dip it in egg and milk. coat it with the bread and herbs mixture, press the crumbs against the chicken so they would stick well.
Step 5: Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the chicken when the oil is hot enough. Fry for 2 minutes each side under medium heat.
Step 6: When the second side is cooked, add butter and give the chicken and butter 30 seconds to a minute bonding time. =)

Let it drain on paper towels, you don't want to serve it greasy. Serve it with a little creativity. =)

my first snitzel. hahaha
i improved a lot on presentation and documentation, won't you agree?

Now, for the review:
Hubby's: Awesome!
Miguel's (my 2 yr old): Wow!
Tita Sebya's (Miguel's nanny): Kalami!
Well, one word from my important critics is enough.  *BIG Smile!

ang natira. bow!

This was what was served for Sunday Lunch-Din. *yeah, 3pm lunch na kasi..

xoxo

Balancing Work and Life

Let's start the workweek with this..

xoxo

Healthy Eating: Chicken Pesto Pasta + Simple Cabbage Salad

Hello blogosphere! I'm still here. =) My apologies for being MIA for a while.

Anyways, I am back with a vengeance, este, with recipes -yes plural! That thing that kept me from blogging, had kept me from cooking too. Its been quite a while, I missed them both terribly. Thank God for this Sunday (I have a lot to thank for!), am glad for some "me" time. =)

Awryt, awryt.. so here's my come back post.

For a little background... Sunday lunch is the best meal of the entire week -that's one of the traditions of our lil family started. And because of that, Sunday lunch has become the most thought of and anticipated meal of the week.

Friday, when I told hubby that we will have Pasta today on Sunday. I planned to use the few left over ingredients from last New Year's Eve cooking for our Pasta Sunday. Then, Sunday came, I opened our fridge and realized, we had an "abundance" of Cabbage too. That's were I though, I should do a combo of pasta and salad. *wow, this is my first combo feature.


So, the Chicken Pesto Pasta..

This has been one of my go to Pasta recipe when I have palates to satisfy but I don't feel like trying something new. The other go to Pasta is of course, the staple in every Filipino home, the spaghetti.


You'll Need:

You choice of Pasta. Cook according to "manufacturer".

The left over ingredients -All Purpose cream and Pesto sauce mix + Onions and Garlic

Oregano, S&P
*late sa pictorial na si Basil and  Boneless Chicken Breast

~I had to add dried Basil because I only have 30g Pesto mix and it won't be enough for a 500g Pasta.
~My original recipe didn't Oregano in it too. I just experimented with before and discovered that it would add tang and sweetness to the mixture. Since then, I have been adding it, but it won't hurt the flavor if its absent though.

You'll Do:
Slice the Chicken Breast into long strips and saute them together with the onions and garlic until the Chicken is lightly browned.
Add a cup of "pasta stock" (the water you used to bring your pasta to life).
Prepare the Pesto mix according to manufacturer, add them to the chicken and bring them all to a simmer. Once you can see little bubbles, lower the fire and add the All Purpose Cream.
Add a teaspoon of Oregano and Basil. *I used more basil for this though since again, I am a bit short of Pesto mix. Taste it and if you feel like it, add more S&T.
Lastly, add the Pasta and mix them well.

Tip: White sauce based Pasta tends to look dry and actually dry up quicker than tomato based ones so always have a little more extra white sauce.

Now, for the Cabbage Salad..

This is a simple salad of Cabbage, Carrots and Red Bell Peppers tossed in Mayo, All Purpose Cream and Oregano. Pretty, right? =) It's a refreshing variety to the richness of the Pasta.

Enjoy!!!

xoxo