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

The Day we Turn Older

A year older. Would that mean we get wiser too? Or that we would have accumulated more wealth (or debts, hahaha)? or have stored more fats and shed lesser sweat? Does that mean more experience to tell and more knowledge to share? Dah.. It's hard to ponder on the could-haves of the past year. Though it is important at some point, I believe what is more important to ponder on your day is how people have shared their time to make you feel loved on your B-day.

But aside from "muni-muni" time, how does one celebrate one's big day?

Before we go there, let me say Thank you to sponsors.. este, THANK YOU to all who took time and effort to make me feel loved on my last BIG day! I know its not my birth month anymore but the euphoria still lingers up to this month. Time check, October 7.

surprise birthday cake from people close your heart! 

ma-effort birthday greeting.

call from friends who are miles away, their greetings, stories and most specially their laughter. Janice, N and Xy.. Miss you gurls. You come home na beh. hehehe ok, ok, Virtual meeting nalang.

Fun times with family...laughter and tickles. =)

time to do what you love to do... and some me time.

this would just be an add-on! Thanks Pa for the WONDERFUL 'add-on'!

Again and again, thank you to all who made my day and birth month special. 2011 birthday is now part of my short list of best-birthdays!

xoxo

Happy Coffee Day!!!

To all coffee drinkers, addicts and enthusiasts, Happy National Coffee Day to us!

National Coffee day actually falls on the 29th of September. Technically, today is still my 29th (happens to be part of the nocturnal group who answers calls),  kaya, happy coffee day pa to me.


Just a bit of Trivia: There are 111 million of coffee drinkers around the world consuming more than 440 billion cups of joe every year. And the numbers keep rising.


2nd trivia: The most expensive coffee in the world is Indonesia's Kopi Luwak, $50 per cup. This comes from coffee beans that are eaten, digested and excreted by civet (an little animal). Now, i really dont know why people pay for it, in fact pay much for it, when actually its from animal poop. I am a coffee addict but I cant bring myself to even imagine drinking something out of poop. Gross!


Anyways, I hope all coffee drinkers in the world can enjoy their favest cup of  today (yesterday for some)!


Here's my National Coffee day indulgence..

bit blurry

xoxo

How Much of the Philippines You have visited?

I got a C-!

know your grade now!

definitely not a good grade for someone who thinks she loves to travel.


SHOULD visit new places more! 


xoxo

Shabu-shabu

Let me say this first... Finally, naka shabu-shabu din ako!!!

For quite sometime now, I have been making kulit the husband to try Shabu-shabu. I heard a dozen positive feedback about it plus the cooking-cooking is intriguing. 

Unexpectedly, our friends from Manila, took us to one during our trip there. Let me say, it was not just an ordinary Shabu-shabu experience, it was an EAT ALL YOU CAN! Imagine my happiness when I learned it was Eat-All-You-Can-Cook dba?! saya!!!

But ok, that's it. I promised that for this post, I will let the pictures narrate the experience. So here it is..

squid, shrimp, fish, crabs, variety of clams

chicken, pork and beef in spicy and non spicy bulgogi, terriyaki, curry, garlic marinade

There were veggies and different noodles for the Dashi and greens like Leaf Lettuce for the red meats.

There was a variety of sauces too, you can even invent your own sauce combo.


while waiting for me to get the other ingredients..

So, let the cooking begin!

 may hotdog din, ang stapple food ni Migz kaya saya rin nya!

 go Pa, cook!

 mukhang sarap ng seafood stew nila ah!

The only spoiler with this experience was that ang bilis kong nabusog! Aside from the get-all-you-can serving nila, they will serve you a hot pot with rice, stir fried mongo sprouts and beef, topped with sunnyside egg. Pinapak ko kasi yon while waiting for our soup to cook kaya bilis ko tuloy nabusog. Next time, deadma na yon food pot na yon. It was good, however there were a lot more yummy food na negligible na sya.

Must try ko din ang cookies and other ice cream flavors nila.

Next trip, mghuhunger strike ako before going there so I can enjoy more the food.

Seoul Garden is located at the 3rd floor of SM Annex,

SM North Edsa

xoxo