23 posts from 2006

Staying-up late 6 days in a row preparing goodies and waking-up early to prepare more foodies and doin' other errands(bathing the baby, getting Jethro ready for school, and still managing to go to work on-time etc) eventually took its toll on me.

A day before Christmas, the day I prepared my last batch of revel bars, i  woke up with a mild fever, aching joints and really bad headache. I really wanted to stay home that day and rest but we really had to check-in in a hotel suite with Henry's family. Do i let a big boy down? heh

Well anyway, to make the long story short, i spent Christmas eve in bed (skipping Noche Buena), and Christmas Day catching every snooze i can (Boy, did i look so anti-social?). Fortunately (or unfortunately?), in the comfort of a luxurious hotel suite in the metropolis. A Hotel suite is a hotel suite, BUT as they say, there is still no place like home.

AND, on the other hand, despite all the sleeping and snoozing, who says I got a good break from being an amazing milk machine?  

I had a home-service pedicure the other day (i share the same pedicurista with my mom-in-law). My pedicurista told me that she was supposed to "service" us on the 22nd, as requested by mommy, but decided to drop by last Wednesday (19th) instead. She told me she couldn't possibly drop by 3 days before Christmas. She was telling me how horrible the traffic had been for the past few days.

I concurred. I really couldn't agree more.

It's normal that during Christmas time, traffic suddenly becomes a round-the-clock thing. On typical days, there would only be "rush hours".  The main streets would be predictably clogged with motorists between  7:30-9:30am, or 4-6pm depending on your location. But nearing the holidays, it's really a different thing!  It's traffic all the time and everywhere!

And did you ever observe how, all of a sudden, during  Christmas day itself, there arent much vehicles on roads?

Now let me ask, where did all the festivities suddenly go?

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and in other news...

Henry had his hair fixed (where else, eh di at FIX) the other day. He was telling me how he amazingly couldn't decipher his hair stylist's (who's talking to another gay hair stylist) lingo.  Noticing Henry's quizzical look, his hairstylist said "Henry nakakaintindi ka ba ng salitang kabayo?" (salitang kabayo equals swardspeak?) He just said he can. it wasn't his intention to actually eavesdrop on the two gay's convo, he was just merely astounded, unconsciously trying to decode the not-usually-heard new lingo.

When he came home, he told me a couple of new gay vocabularies. It was incredibly hard to interpret the words he told me!

I guess i need to brush on my gay vocabulary. Next time, I'd grab a chismis magazine from the news stand. I'm sure i will learn a word or two of gay lingo from there.

 

For the past few days. i've been baking like crazy.  I was bakinh practically everyday. haay. Ok, this week,  i  baked 4 days in a row already (not to count the times i baked last week).

I always sleep late, and i wake up early the next morning. Indeed, Christmas is really just around the corner. Oh well..

  

GINGERSNAP COOKIES

 

 CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES and MACADAMIA NUT WITH WHITE CHOCOLATES

 

UBE/COCONUT CUPCAKE (without the icing)

Ok, be honest. Do you hold grudges? Do you allow old drama to determine your behavior? Grudges and a non-forgiving attitude do nothing but harm both parties. You might feel like you're "winning" by not letting someone off the hook, but you're only increasing your own worry and stress. Bitterness can lead to hate, which can sour a life. Forgiving someone does not absolve them of the wrong that you experienced. It can simply free you to live a life that isn't anchored to the hurt and resentment of past events.

For the past few days, people in Manila have been complaining it doesn't feel like Christmas yet because that crisp December air is yelt to be felt. Times are really changing. Just like these people,  when the Siberian wind breezes against my face,  that's the only sign that tells me that Christmas is just around the corner.

This morning,  i whipped up some stuffs in the kitchen, only then that i realized that Christmas is already rushing through. I was already up at 5am orchestrating everything in the kitchen: baked some revel bars for my son's school teachers, cooked some potluck food, prepared the family's lunch (good thing i have a reliable housemaid to help me around!). On the other hand, just the other night, i baked some cookies for a friend who picked me up earlier so that we can attend a conference today. And a few days before that, I baked Jethro some gingerbread cookies. (Whew!). Henry would always tell me "bumili ka na lang. Wag ka na magpakapagod (Don't bake anymore. Just buy!) But still, I prefer to bake my own goodies, it's cheaper that way, more scrumptious, it adds a personal touch.. labor of love ika nga :)

Since we had the new baby, I've been telling Henry that i feel like a pingpong ball during the day. If i'm not with Cheenee breastfeeding her, i'd be with Jethro teaching him, or at the shop doing stuffs of all sorts, or sometimes, i'm out with Jethro.The pirated DVDs we bought have been accumulating dusts for months already.  I'm guilt-stricken whenever i'm not at the shop, but i may say that i'm so lucky that my in-laws are the ones telling me to closely look after their precious apos Cheenee and Jethro.On the other hand, early morning/ late nights, i transform myself into a kitchen slave- cooking this, baking that. It's really ain't an easy job to be a pingpong ball (wanna trade places?).

well anyway, it's past 11pm already, im really tired right now and as i type, im pumping milk via an electric pump... (the only chance i get to go online). Tomorrow will be another busy day, we'll be attending another children's christmas party, i plan on baking some hotdog waffles and spaghetti for the kids early morning.

By the way,  the ube we bought from Tagaytay, i ought to make use of the ice cream maker Henry bought for me a few months ago...i'm gonna make some preservative-free, healthy, rich, home-made ice cream tomorrow night..

To wrap this up, i would just like to share some pics i took this morning..

(Wendy if you're reading this, tell mama i can bake revel bars na! but not as wicked as your mama's.. hehe)

 

 

 

 

i will blog next time where i buy my baking ingredients/materials :)

FINALLY, after years of prodding Henry to go to Sonya's Secret Garden, we finally hied-off to Tagaytay and had a taste of what Sonya's has to offer. (This was very unplanned, we weren't supposed to leave the house.)

Tucked in the rolling hills of Tagaytay, going to Sonya's took us more than an hour of travel. The asphalted, narrow road leading to Sonya's is quite bumpy (ahh... the potholes)... but when we set foot on the place, i could just can't complain any further.

To get to the restaurant, the winding path is lined with small, white pebbles. There are flowers and plants all around the place. Once inside the restaurant, half of it is like a green-house. The other half would be the dining area.  Jethro really enjoyed the raining-effect of the rain-tubes dripping on the see-through rooftop. The sound of steadily flowing water has this lulling and calming effect.. Henry and I really loved it! Cheenee, our 4-month old, on the other hand was looking all the time at the beautiful flowers. There were flowers of different colors all over the restaurant. The environment, the greens. the view... very relaxing to say the least.

The table was set with a bowl of fragrant rose (i was never really a rose person. In fact the smell of roses is quite repugnant for me). The fountain was decorated with rose petals, even the chocolate cake dessert was embellished with white rose petals. Flowers have never been this versatile to me until i visited Sonya's.

The food is all-you-can-eat type, served at every table. I packed Jethro food and Cheenee-food before leaving the house. It was only me, Henry and yaya who devoured the big-bowl of fresh, crispy, organically-grown salad (picked straight from Sonya's garden). Toppings served are: finely chopped hardboiled egg, melon, sweet mangoes, crunchy nuts and cucumbers, and white cheese. Sonya's whip the yummiest salad dressing that all Henry could say was "This is goood. Okay dito." (He later said that the salad was his most favorite food at Sonya's). We were gulped fresh-squeezed dalandan (a citrus fruit) juice on the side with sprigs of mint and it's really thirst-quenching! But I tell you, the salad alone made us already feel full.

 

Anyways, satisfying the gluttons in us.. hehe.. we were later served with steaming, whole wheat bun straight from the panaderia (bakeshop) with some sidings which made use of fresh herbs. Then, it was followed with Sonya's pasta with a choice of tomato pesto and chicken in white sauce. This can be mixed with fried salmon belly, anchovies, olives, shiitake mushrooms, and some steamed vegies. Lastly for dessert, we were served with rose petal-topped chocolate cake and glazed sweet potatoes. And ohh, we were given tarragon tea to wash down everything we ate.

We toured the place after the scrumptious meal and took some pics. Then we packed our things ready to go home.

We didn't leave Tagaytay without buying sweet, juicy pineapples, and freshly harvested ube (yam). We also dropped by at our favorite treffpunkt to buy our nitrite-free goodies.

And of course, we visited the Pinks Sister's convent to thank Him for all the blessings He has given the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Next time, we ought to drop by at Breakfast at Antonio's)

 

 

 

I got this from Santa:

 

 KitchenAid 5Qt Commercial Stand Mixer White

Equipped with a high-performance, professional-level motor, the Commercial 5 Series mixer can effectively mix up to 11 cups of all-purpose flour per load. Powerfully churns through large recipes and all types of dough to satisfy the demands of commercial use.
Features:

• 450-watts
• Bowl-lift design
• NSF® certified
• 5-quart brushed stainless steel bowl is seamless with sealed handle
• Direct drive transmission, all-steel gears and all-metal construction
• Commercial-style motor protection
• Includes NSF® certified burnished Powerknead™ Spiral Dough Hook, flat beater, and stainless steel wire whip
• Assembled with Pride in Greenville, Ohio (Sam Milby's mothaland.. kekeke)
• Dimensions: H 16.5" x W 11.3" x D 14.6" 25lbs

 What a beauty...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HULA-HULA

12.02.06

 

Taking a much needed break, Henry and I dined-out together and ate at Hula-hula Seafood and Barbecue Restaurant (while mom, back at home, looks after her precious apos.)

Hula-hula as the name implies is hawaiian-themed. But the moment i started browsing on their menu, i was disappointed to see a 'fusion" type cuisine. Honestly, being the (feeling) food connoisseur that I am, from my experience, more often than not, i have never found anything really delectable with fusion-themed restos. They're just fads- one restaurant opens down the block, then another one closes down a few blocks away. Simply because, a fad is a fad, and they come and go.

 

 

So, goin back to Hula-hula, they have this Luau feast for 3-4 persons, you can  choose among Bora bora, Japanese something, and another one i can't remember. We opted for ala carte instead since it's just me and Henry.

We ordered the seafood paella... it was served on a bamboo tube (or plate?). This alone really made me all-giddy and hungry :)

We opted for CRAB MARITESS as viand- fresh succulent crabs cooked in olive oil, chillies and generous amount of garlic. Just right for my taste buds! 

What's Hula-Hula then in a nutshell? Good ambience, brilliant interior design, and the food-  SUPERB.

                                         

They're really good and one of the best gastronomic treats we've ever had in

months! So, if you will be down south, i recommend you visit Hula-hula at Westgate in Alabang :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Chinatown

 

12.03.06

 Cuenca

 

It's no secret that i love tiangges (flea market) and Sunday markets. I love the tiangge at the Lung Center, Salcedo weekend market and Cuenca. Also, two to three times a year, Henry and I go to the World Trade Center to find great buys. But to tell you honestly, there ain't much to see at the WTC for a guy like Henry, because usually, i only go to beauty expos and Christmas bazaars :) And for three straight years, i have been going to WTC and Cuenca religiously for the expo/ bazaar exhibits especially during Yuletide season.

Two years ago at the WTC, I found my favorite vegetarian bars, cheap accessories and some healthy, "processed" foods (yes, there is such thing!). At the Cuenca bazaar however, i rarely ever find anything to buy and yet i keep on going there every year (and Henry finds me weird). I guess it's the festivity the drives me to go there. It's the excitement of all the people around me trying to do their Christmas shopping that excites me all the more :)

My stash for this year (yay!  finally, i actually bought something from tiangge!): earth-friendly katol (mosquito repellant coil) made from natural ingredients, and nice carter's baby clothes for Cheenee.

At least i didnt go home empty handed. Sweet! ;p

What song gives you the most holiday cheer?
Submitted by Roxy.

 

 

Bob Rivers surely got a handful and more of TWISTED hilarious yuletide songs. It started when i heard "Chipmunks roasting on an open fire.." a few Christmases ago on the radio... and the song's simply sooooo hilarious that i couldnt help but laugh.

 

You can click here to listen to his hilarious songs. 

 

By the way, here's a list of my personal favorites:

Chipmunks Roasting On an Open Fire

Twisted Chipmunk Song

It's the Most Fattening Time of the Year

Walking 'Round in Women's Underwear

Twelve Pains Of Christmas

Grahbe Yahballs

Jingle Hells Bells