Saturday blues

I miss my home in Manila especially during weekends when we go to the wet market.

I miss seeing the bright colored flowers and the beautiful flower arrangements that they make for our church.

 I miss seeing the various fruits in season neatly lined up in the stalls. 

Here are starfruit, oranges and Philippine mangoes.

I miss eating locally grown bananas that are sweeter and yummier than the ones abroad.

 I miss the scent and taste of sweet pineapple and sour green mangoes.

 I miss buying "kakanin" or sweets such as glutinous rice.

 I miss going home and pairing the glutinous rice or "suman" with sweet mangoes and hot tsokolate (local chocolate in tablet form)

And finally, I miss the vendor going around the neighborhood in their bicycle shouting and selling "taho" or soybean with caramelized sugar and tapioca.

Oh, such fond memories of being in my hometown.

For the meantime, it's cereals, fruit and yogurt for breakfast.

Happy weekend!  Blessings!

Anti-aging Diet

Most people look forward to the weekend so they could rest, spend time in church fellowship, hang out with family and friends, finish their long overdue DIY projects, or just eat and eat. 

There are many diets that claim to be beneficial one way or the other. 

Today's blogpost will feature some anti-aging diets... you'll know why later.

Wildberry Cafe's Fresca omelette and Garden skillet

I enjoy the weekend because it's the time for me to be with my family especially my husband.  On Saturday, we had breakfast at Wildberry Cafe.  We got there at 8am which was good because we were seated right away and at the same booth where we were the first time.  Oh, we had a heavy breakfast and although our orders had no meat in them, they were rich and very delicious, as always.  By the time we finished our meal, the place was packed with many people still waiting in line.

Later that day, we had visitors at my in-laws place where we had more food.  There was no special occasion to celebrate - just bonding with family and friends.  We had "lechon pata" or roasted pork thigh.  This was no ordinary roasting - it took 5 hours to cook and crisp the skin.  Ohhhh... it was absolutely delicious and definitely part of the anti-aging diet such that you might not reach full life potential!  But then again... eating a little won't hurt.

Lechon pata, bagoong, and pancit

And then, we had more anti-aging food... FOR REAL.

Have you tried eating Kale or Whole Foods' raw kale salad?  It was my first time to try and I must say that I loved it.  Kale belongs to the family of collard greens and they are absolutely packed with nutrients, cholesterol lowering properties, etc.  I've always thought that kale was tough to eat and difficult to prepare but the WF raw kale salad was wonderful - it had tomatoes, cranberries, pine nuts,  and a EVOO-lemon dressing.  They have a kale salad recipe on their website that I will try soon.

Have a great and healthy week!

What's for lunch?

My lunch today was:  1/2 cup white rice, salad (spinach, tomatoes, slivered almonds, feta cheese with walnut vinagrette dressing) and a slice of pan fried, lightly salted milkfish.  It was simple but "satisfyingly delicious" and packed with nutrients.

No Filipino meal is complete without rice.  I didn't have brown rice (which is much healthier) available at this time.

Spinach is "rich in vitamins and minerals and is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection."  Read more on World's Healthiest Foods' website.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which has been found to have anti-cancer properties and is rich in potassium, vitamin B6, nicain (aids in lowering high cholesterol levels) and folate. 

MIlkfish or Chanos chanos (Forsskal) is locally known as "bangus" or "bangos" in the Philippines and is the predominant species being cultured in the Philippines.  More info HERE.  I love eating bangus especially when it is pan fried - ahhhh, it brings so many wonderful memories of being in the Philippines.  After 8 weeks of being in another country, I am getting homesick.

It is my desire to continue eating healthy and I hope I inspire you to do the same.

Cheers to good health! 

A wickedly soaring high weekend! [2nd Wedding Anniversary]

 My husband and I are celebrating our 2nd Wedding anniversary on January 17.  Yay!  It's amazing how fast time flies - it seems just yesterday as the cliche goes.  Here we are now... 2 years of wedded bliss.

Our journey together has been exciting - with our own taste of ups and downs, highs and lows - but its all good.  This is the first time that we celebrated in the US (we celebrated our 1st in Manila) and it was fun.

Since our anniversary date happened to be on a Monday, we opted to celebrate on the weekend before that.  We started off by watching "Wicked" at The Cadillac Palace, thanks to our family member's very generous Christmas gift.  This was followed by a long walk along North Michigan ave., braving the cold air while sipping our hot 7-11 hazelnut coffee, followed by window shopping at The Water Tower Place where we explored a very cute doll store: American girl dolls.  This was capped by an uber nice dinner at The Signature Room located on the 95th floor of John Hancock - wow, what an awesome nightscape and superb food!  We had tuna tartare, Carnaroli shellfish risotto and Spice crusted Alaskan halibut.  Dessert were Dark & white chocolate mousse cake and vanilla creme brulee'... yum!  

It was another wonderful day (and night) of being together,  deposited lots of memories in our memory banks.

The inner diameter of our wedding band reads:  "Deus nos iunxit" - God has joined us together - He really has. 

I love you today and forevermore ☺♥☺♥.

Cadillac Palace, The Water Tower Place, The signature Room

Comfort drink [Oberweis chocolate milk]

I have fond memories of Magnolia bottled fresh milk delivered right to our doorstep in Manila.  It was more expensive than the ordinary milk sold at the grocery and it was such a treat when my parents bought us a bottle or two - I remember gulping the half-a-liter bottle in one sitting.  I particularly loved the chocolate milk... and the melon milk (yup, they make milk with that flavor in Manila).

Today, my husband introduced me to something in the grocery when we got to the dairy section.  He was like saying:  "Wife, meet Oberweis"  so I gladly took it out of the chiller and into our little cart.  Later, when we got home and I was kinda upset about something, he gave me a glass of this unassuming chocolate milk.  While I was ranting and venting, I unconsciously took a sip and as the rich, silky, creamy, delicious, chocolatey milk caressed my taste buds, I suddenly had nothing but warm, fuzzy, happy happy happy thoughts!

Oberweis Dairy
Chocolate Milk

It was absolutley "SImply the Best!"



Now, I can't wait to be introduced to it's higher form of evolution: Oberweis chocolate ice cream.  More on that later.



Happy Feet! [DMV day]

I have been driving in Manila for over for 21 years so I can definitely be called a "Manila driver."  It's crazy driving in Manila - I miss honking the car horn, getting across the intersection praying to God that I'd get safely to the other side, inching my way through traffic and along small alleys with tricycles and market vendors on the street, playing cat and mouse with smoke belching buses and jay walking pedestrians, driving so fast just to reach the hospital in time for my newborn baby's delivery, etc.  Oh, it was fun and at times, stressful.  But they say that "If you can drive in Manila, you can drive everywhere."

I have been procastinating on getting my DL for 2 months because of being too anxious about it.  Yes, I was very anxious.  I tried to drive here but I observed that their driving habits are different from us, Manila drivers.  Here, people observe road courtesy and right-of-way towards pedestrians and other vehicles.  Todays weather was nice, sunny with a little cool breeze and since hubby was off from work and it was the first work day of the year 2011, I told him I was ready to get my DL.  It was funny because I felt like a student driver:  fixing the mirrors, wearing my seatbelt, completely stopping at the STOP sign, looking behind and on the side for oncoming traffic, reviewing road signs and their meaning and reading the driving rules of the road. 

My anxiety was quickly replaced with excitement as I handed my application form and finish the written exam.  Then I had to wait for the examiner for the practical driving part.  Hmmm... I couldn't remember what I did when I got my Phil. DL but this time, he instructed me to drive, turn, stop, back-up, merge, and park.  In the end, he told me that I passed.  Yay!  After a few minutes, I already had my DL - total cost USD30. 

Time to celebrate!  Hubby let me drive in the freeway - oh, to drive at 65mph/105kph again... such heaven!  Then, lunch at Olive Garden - yummy!

Appetizer platter:  calamari, stuffed mushroom and fried mozarella

Ministrone, Ravioli di portobello

yummy ravioli

Another stuffing for the hips and my belly.  Enjoy! ☺♥☺

Finale Date [Dec. 30, 2010]

I love it when my husband takes me out for a date.  Both of us have a passion for food and desserts and we really enjoy eating out.  Lucky for him since he seems to metabolize food fast... sorry for me for obvious reasons. 

For our finale date for the year 2010, we went to a Japanese resto called Sakuma.  It was a nice place - very cozy, friendly staff and delicious food. It was a little pricey but hey, it's good food.  The Chef (and owner), the man standing behind the bar) made the sushi and sashimi.

To start off, we ordered the Maui Island sashimi:  Yellowtail & tuna tartare with scallions and Chef's sauce.  At first glance, the food presentation looked weird but very intriguing.  Hesitantly, i got the small spoon and a small piece.  Oh my... it tasted wonderful!  There was a wonderful play of flavor and texture - you could feel the crunch of the fish roe, taste the tangy, sweet, salty sauce and smell the freshness of the tuna.  Very appetizing indeed. 

On to the entree'.  I got the Beef shogayaki:  marinated sirloin beef with onions.  It was similar to beef terriyaki but not as sweet.  Hubby got the Beef skewers a la Sakuma.  Both dishes were yummy and the portions were enough for a hearty meal

Dessert was a choice between vanilla, red bean and green tea ice cream:  red bean for me and green tea for him.  Creamy, not so sweet ice cream.  Sarap! (Filipino term for Delicious!) 

Whew!   There was a lot to celebrate this year as a couple and we are looking forward to a lot more this coming year 2011.  Happy New Year!  Here's to more dates with my husband ♥.

Appetizing appetizer [Crab rangoon recipe]

When it comes to food, I like it fried. I love foods with a 'crunch.' I love hearing food pop inside my mouth. I know it's bad for my gallbladder and my weight but hey, we all need a little treat once in a while right?



One of my latest favorites that fit in this crunchy criteria is Crab rangoon. My husband and siblings-in-law have introduced it to me and i owe all the calories and cholesterol to them ☺. The name sounds foreign and complicated but it's really easy. The recipe that i used was from Asian cooking made easy (http://youtu.be/PYApf9Om3MQ).

Ingredients:

8 oz pack cream cheese (I used the less fat variety)
6 oz or 1 small can of crab meat
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
garlic salt
1/4 cup spring onions
wonton wrappers (i used vegetarian wonton)


Procedure:
Combine softened cream cheese and crab meat. Add the worcestershire sauce, spring onions and seasoning. Place about 1 tsp of filling on the wonton wrapper. Seal 2 adjacent sides with water and fold to form a triangle. Fold the triangle one more time and join/seal opposite ends together. Fry the crab rangoons in very hot oil - it will take half a minute for them to be crunchy.
Serve while hot and crunchy. You may dip the rangoons in sweet and chili sauce.
Have fun!