breakfast for dinner

Remember how your parents told you not to play with your food, but you kept on doing it anyway?  We love having fun with the stuff we eat, don't we?  So much that we have to be told not to do it.  Come on, admit it - even as adult, you can't resist the temptation sometimes.  ^_^

I'm not really fond of blogging about food and food places, but as this week's happy thawts are hinged on dinner, this'll sort of be about a food place.  But no, it's not quite a review.

For years now, my cousin C has been egging me on about how we should meet up outside of family gatherings.  We agreed it would be nice to go out like how we used to when we were younger, except not for teenagery stuff this time.  Anyway, we were finally able to set aside some time to do it this week.  And that's happy thawt number one:  Seeing one of my favorite cousins on a workday. It was nice getting together like that. I'd almost forgotten how fun it could be to just hang out with her.

So here's an awful phone-cam photo of us, after-work eyebags and all.
Photoshopping this would take a lot of work, so forget that.

Now here comes happy thawt number two. 

We agreed to meet in Eastwood City, since it was a midpoint of sorts after work (both for her and myself, and for the Hubby, who was joining us).  We walked around a bit and decided on a place called Slappy Cakes.

We were quite drawn to Slappy Cakes because of two things: the thought of having breakfast for dinner (i love pancakes), and the thought of having some fun with our food.  Each table had this griddle in the middle, where diners can cook pancakes just how they want them. The menu even offers several different kinds of batter, and a gamut of sweet and savory fillings and toppings.  How fun is that for a pancake-lover, right?

You can make yourself something comforting like a  a blueberry-strawberry buttermilk pancake...

Or attempt a designer banana-walnut-peanut butter-salted chocolate pancake with Nutella, or a crazy bacon and cheese and mushroom pancake with mango syrup.  Or not.  ^_^

The batter comes in these nifty squeeze bottles that minimize the mess...

... so you could also make your pancakes into any shape you want to.  Hearts or stars or letters and stuff. In fact, the  folks in the other booth were spelling words out with their batter.

As for our table, we wondered ...

So here's the Hubby on flipping duty ...

... and our mini vegan-batter pancake with banana and bacon, just about getting bubbly.  There's nothing vegan about this pancake anymore though.  We're not trying to be vegan, but we went for the vegan batter because the food server said it tasted good with bacon.  Who would've thought, right?  It was pretty tasty, actually.

It's the sort of place kids and non-boring adult pancake fans would like.  I'd probably come back, but with a couple of nephews or a nieces next time.

how to make peppermint bark

Cheers to a brilliant, easy, Christmassy gift idea that doubles as a dessert!    I've never tried making (or  eating) peppermint bark before, but I've recently become acquainted with it and I reckon it's a common holiday treat.  I learned this recipe from a girl named Allie, whom I've had the privilege of meeting during my short stay in Vegas.  

You Will Need:

8 oz semisweet chocolate
8 oz white chocolate
Candy canes or peppermint candy


How To Make Peppermint Bark:

STEP 1: Crush the candy canes (or peppermint candy).  Make about 1/3 cup of crushed candy, then set this aside.

Note:  The finer the candy bits are, the less they will stick to the chocolate later on, so you'd want to make the pieces rather coarse, not pulverized.  About the size of rice grains.  We used a kitchen knife today, but I think using a mortar-and-pestle is a smarter option.


STEP 2:  Melt the brown chocolate using a double boiler.  If you don't have a double boiler, improvise with two saucepans:  boil water in one saucepan, and put another pan on top of that one.  Place the chocolate in the top pan.  The steam from the bottom pan will rise to the top pan, melting the chocolate nicely.

It's important to use this double-boiling method so as not to scald the chocolate.  Burnt chocolate = gross = not good.

(Uh ...  I'm really no good at photo-documentation because I get distracted so easi... oh look, a teddy bear!  I'm so sorry I wasn't able to take shots of the other steps. *sheepish grin*  )


STEP 3:  Pour the melted chocolate in a cake pan. Spread with a spatula to make a nice, even first layer.

The size of the pan you use would depend on how thick you want your peppermint bark to be.  We wanted ours to be real thin, so we used a 10x12 pan to make quarter-inch-thick pieces.  A smaller pan of course will yield thicker layers.  A rectangular or square pan is ideal, but I suppose a round one will do if you're not the type of person to obsess over even-sized pieces.


STEP 4:  Stick the pan into the freezer until the chocolate hardens.

STEP 5:  Melt the white chocolate this time.  Pour the molten white chocolate over the hardened brown chocolate layer - and similarly, spread to make it even.  Let cool.

STEP 6:  Before the white chocolate hardens, sprinkle the crushed candy canes over it.  Let this sit in the freezer awhile to let it solidify completely.

STEP 7:  Slice into neat, even-sized 2-inch squares.

Okay, fine.  It isn't so easy to slice them neatly.  Irregular, uneven pieces are an excellent idea too.  You can tell your friends later that this adds character.  :)


Yields:6 to 8 regular servings, or
2 candy-lover servings


Prep time:1 hour (it depends on your freezer's capabilities, actually)

Serving Suggestions:

I think peppermint bark is pretty straightforward, but I imagine it would look good with green jellybean garnish and / or those edible sparkly thingies.
Several pieces in a clear candy bag tied with Christmassy ribbons would make nice giveaways.

* All photos in this entry are mine.
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tarragon love

The tiny patch of tarragon in our herb garden has been flourishing this year (whee!).  It's one of the herbs I am least familiar with, so I spent some time getting acquainted with it. 

Image not mine.  Nicked from this site.

my top three uses for tarragon:

1. For making a nice cup of calming tea

Tarragon tea is said to detoxify and reduce anxiety.  I've found that it's a perfect pre-bedtime drink; if I had a cup or two while watching television at night, I'd have an easier time falling asleep.

Procedure:
Pour a cup of boiling water over a teaspoon of fresh tarragon leaves (or half a tsp if dried, or two if frozen).  Cover and let stand for two minutes. And don't add sugar.  ^_^

It's nice as a cold beverage too:  Let cool, add cold water and ice. Add a drop of vanilla extract or honey if you want it sweeter.

2.  For not-so-plain rice

Procedure:
Drop a sprig or two of tarragon into the rice cooker before the rice boils.  When cooked, remove the leaves, mix and serve. That simple!  In effect, you would be cooking the rice in herbal tea instead of plain water, making the rice absorb the flavor.  Tarragon adds a mild fragrance and sweetness to rice, makes for a good companion to meats (like lechon manok), esp. spicy meats. 

This process can be done with almost any herb actually - mint and chamomile are excellent rice-spicers, me thinks.


3.  For adding a kick to mango shake

To reap the benefits of fresh fruit shake, it should have little or no sugar (not refined sugar at least).  Herbs like mint or pandan have long been used to add sweetness to beverages, but tarragon is a good choice too.

I.m.ho., the flavors of mango and tarragon complement each other. 

Procedure:
Make fruit shake the usual way, but this time, add tarragon instead of sugar.

And another one of my favorite uses for tarragon:

My rabbit Davey loves it.  He gets excited when he gets a whiff of freshly-picked tarragon.  It's a healthy bunny-treat, besides.
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this week's new like: prosciutto e melone

My godfather gifted us with a huge slab of prosciutto (Italian ham), and I've been loving it this week.  Coincidentally, the night before I encountered that pretty parcel of pork, I found an article on CNNGo that lists it as one of the World's 50 Most Delicious Foods. 

I Googled for recipes, and I learned that one of the best ways to enjoy it is sliced paper-thin and wrapped around wedges of melon.

Images not mine.  Taken from the web.

Or any shape of melon, I guess. But it seems laying them side-by-side on a plate is acceptable too:

Photo not mine.

I had to shoo away my ham-related fears (such as the possibility of salmonella, and the scare of fat settling in my hips forever).  This prosciutto e melone looks so intiguing, it's something I just have  to try. Luckily there was a whole honeydew in our fruit basket.

I have neither the tools nor the skill to cut ham neatly, so I just sliced it as thin as I could with the best knife I found in the kitchen (MENTAL NOTE: Buy fillet knife or other appropriate appliance).  The clumsy bits of ham I came up with weren't large enough for wrapping around, so I just opted for the "lay them side-by-side on a plate" method. 

You must forgive me for not taking any photos; I don't think I did a very presentable presentation - it was good for eating but not really for photoblogging.

Besides, I was too excited to eat everything, so I once again failed to take a decent photo before gobbling it all up.  (Burp)   I must say it was heavenly - the subtle saltiness of the ham and the sweetness of the melon compliment each other.  It makes an excellent light dinner. 

But the ham alone is delish - it's silky and moist, it kinda reminds me of sushi.  It's totally deserving of that slot in the 50 World's Best list.
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this weekend's happy thawt: strawberries

This weekend's happy thawt: fresh strawberries in the fridge. ^_^

My Dad brought a batch of fresh ones from Baguio, and I'm excited to stuff them in my mouth. I just need to decide on how.


They're nice in shakes or smoothies, or on top of cake or ice cream. Dipping them in chocolate or butterscotch is sexy; eating strawberries in sugar and cream makes me feel like a child again. But in my opinion, they're best eaten plain, in their full berry glory.

P.S. I shared a fat one with my rabbits. They love strawberries too. ^_^

baked potato soup

Last Sunday, the Hubby and I had lunch with his side of the family; we went to this resto with fabulous baked potato soup. It was so freaking yummy that within the first spoonful I decided to try to replicate it at home. I Googled various baked potato soup recipes to get a general idea, and then for lunch today I made attempt number one.

I'm happy to say that attempt number one turned out to be really good soup, and I'm proud enough to share my improvised recipe here.


Baked Potato Soup

You will need:

• 2 large potatoes, diced (or around 2 1/2 cup or diced potato)
• 2 cups water
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (around 1/4 cup)
• 2 small cloves of garlic (or one large one), crushed
• 1 cup evaporated milk or cream
• cheddar cheese, grated (or any cheese you prefer, I suppose)
• a few tablespoons of spring onions, finely chopped
• fried garlic chips

Optional:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• a few sprigs of rosemary, minced
• bacon chips
• salt and pepper

Procedure:

I know this is called "baked potato soup", but some of the recipes I found didn't require baking the potato since the vegetables have to be boiled together anyway. So here goes --

• Boil the potato until soft. By soft I mean easily mashable.
  
  Suggestions:
  Boil the taters with rosemary (or any herb of your choice); I chose rosemary because it adds a bit of tang.
  If you don't have herbs, you can use chicken flavor cubes. You can also use chicken broth instead of water, if you prefer.
• Remove from heat. Draw out half of the potato cubes and mash them separately with a fork. Combine the mashed potatoes and potato cubes in the pot.
• Toss in the onion and garlic to the potatoes-and-herb mixture and bring to a boil.
• At this point you can add butter if you prefer, and/or a few tablespoons of grated cheese.
• Lower heat and let simmer.
• Remove from heat and stir in the milk or cream.
• Serve warm in individual bowls. Top with spring onion, garlic chips and more grated cheese. Bacon chips would be a good idea too. Makes 4-6 servings.

chocolate fix

I've always loved chocolate, but lately I've been craving like crazy. How have I enjoyed one of man's most delightful discoveries this week? Let me count the ways.


1. Chocolate dipping

This has got to be one of the most brilliant party ideas ever. I recently attended a younger friend's birthday recently, in which we were served fruit and sweets and scrumptious dipping chocolate for dessert.

I happily pigged out

My favorite thing to dip was the gigantic marshmallow. Uber yummer.

death by chocolate

If you don't have a fondue thingy, you can serve chocolate dip in a bowl. I tried it with a bunch of kids once, and it was an absolute hit.

CHOCOLATE DIP

• Melt chocolate cubes in a double-boiler (I prefer it dark ;) ).
  * If you don't have a double boiler, boil water in a regular pan, and place a smaller pan above it; melt the chocolate in the smaller pan.
• Stir in cream.
• Voila!
  
  

DIPPING THINGS
(serve with skewers or toothpicks)

• Marshmallows - always a crowd favorite!
• Strawberries
• Slices of other fruit (banana, melon, etc.)
  
• Dried mangoes
  
• Pretzels
• Potato chips - kinda weird, but it's wonderful!

2. Chocolate cupcakes

An older lady-friend of mine runs a small cafeteria, and lately she has been experimenting with baking. The other day my dad bought three cupcake samples from her; he left them lying around so I ended up sampling them all (hee hee).

My verdict: She could still improve on the presentation, but the taste is A-one.


3. Iced Milo

I usually prefer rich, hot chocolate eh, but these days it's too warm for hot chocolate.

I'm not particularly a fan of Milo (because I think it tastes like watered-down cocoa), but I once bought an iced Milo on my way to see a movie, and I loved it.


This evening, I noticed that we had sachets of Milo at home and decided to fix myself a treat.

ICED MILO - MY WAY

• Empty four Milo sachets into a tall glass (the extra sachets make up for the watered-down taste :p )
  
• Dissolve in a small amount of lukewarm water.
• Fill the glass three-fourths with cold water and stir.
• Mix in a drop of vanilla.
• Add ice cubes.
• It would be more fun topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, but it's good with or without.

girls talk: my comfort food

Yumyum :) What a delicious topic for this week's Girls Talk.

Ice cream and chocolate are probably the easiest choices for most ladies (including myself!) so I won't be sharing about my fondness for them right now. I will instead share about my two other go-to foods for comfort.

(1) dried mangoes

Dried mangoes are slices of heaven on earth! I like eating fresh mangoes too, but there's just something extremely enjoyable about the chewy, bite-sized, textured and sugar-added sweetness of dried mangoes.

We Pinoys ought to be really proud of this product, I hear westerners go crazy about them.

(2) cute cupcakes

Not just ordinary cupcakes, mind you; they have to be the cute, iced kind with sprinkly bits. They're not just yummy to eat but lovely to look at too, so they really make me happeeee. Forget about using a fork - I'd much rather sink my teeth into them!

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Another loverly entry for

Brought to us by the enjoyment of life in

home-grown greens

I really appreciate my Dad's little herb-and-vegetable garden. I kinda thought that was just his thing, something he does for his recreation -- it was only until recently that I realized I was harvesting its benefits as well.


First of all, growing herbs saves a bit of money. If they were grocery-bought, they would have been a bit pricey and i would have had to use them sparingly.

I love Italian-esque recipes, and I love that I can go crazy on the herbs. I'm free to experiment and it doesn't hurt to use as much as a cup of basil in one preparation of pasta sauce.

Secondly, the obvious: When I need them, i can just pick them fresh.

So many times I've had sudden cravings for pesto, or tinola with malunggay, or soup, and I love that I don't have to drive to a store to buy the greens. It saves me a lot of time.

Thirdly, my rabbit-friends benefit from the garden too. Every now and then I serve them a treat of a fragrant herb salad. (The bunnies are not allowed to stroll in the garden though, because they will attack everything in sight). When we're out of pellets or the staple kangkong, it's refreshing to know that I don't have to run out and buy some because I can give them some garden greens.

Davey and Pepper know how to give back to the garden of course; they provide a daily supply of natural fertilizer. ^_^

Fourth, because they're home-grown, I am assured that the greens I eat are pesticide-free. They even have the holes to prove it.

Fifth, some of the other plants have medicinal or have some other practical use aside from being pretty. The tea trees, for example, ward off mosquitoes.

happy accidental baked chicken

I was very hungry and wanted to eat something good and satisfying without having to go out and spend. I checked our understocked kitchen to see if anything was available for me to be able to concoct a good meal.

... a few slabs of chicken breast ... no vegetables whatsoever except potatoes ... a jug of soy sauce, a few ounces of vinegar, a bit of olive oil ... leftover homemade pineapple syrup ... a whole lot of spices and dried herbs ...

So once again i challenged my creativity; the goal was to make a yummy, semi-impressive dinner for the Hubby and myself and whoever else wanted to eat with us. I'm glad to say that the objective was accomplished. My only regret is that I didn't take note of how I made it, so I may not be able to make it again.

In an attempt to maybe sort of preserve the recipe because I might want to cook it again, I'm retracing my steps.

So I combined soy sauce, a drizzling of vinegar (I wanted to use calamansi juice but I was too lazy to cut and squeeze and strain), crushed garlic, a bit of curry powder, a bit of ginger, pepper and a few tbsps of cinnamon in a pan for marinade. I did not bother to measure nor take note. I was thinking of throwing some pineapple juice in but later decided I wanted to drink it instead (Oh well, maybe next time). I planned to put in some fresh rosemary from the garden but forgot to. I let the chicken breast soak for twenty to thirty.

I preheated the oven for - I don't know, I really wasn't paying attention. While that was happening, I massaged the chicken breast in the marinade because It seemed fun.

I found me a right-sized baking pan. I poured some of the marinade into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom. I sat the chicken breasts on it, and rubbed them with black pepper and dried basil. They looked yummy already. I put some potatoes and an apple onto the pan to bake with the chicken.

I put the pan in the oven, put the heat on max and waited. I passed the time drawing in my sketchbook. I enjoyed my baking so much that I forgot that something was baking in the oven. Good thing the Hubby decided to check. It must have been ready in fifteen to twenty.

I poked the potatoes to see if they were cooked. They were still a bit hard so I decided the whole pan should go back in for a few more minutes.

In the meantime, I decided to make some topping-sauce. I minced two small red bell peppers freshly picked from our garden. I let them boil in around a fourth of a cup of water. I added some of the marinade and the leftover pineapple syrup, brought it to a boil.

While the rice was cooking, I put in a handful of dried lemon basil into the water. This gave the rice a fresh, herby flavor. After i scooped it out of the rice cooker, i drizzled a small amount of olive oil.

I served the chicken breasts side-by-side on a rectangular plate, their surfaces spattered with the pepper-and-pineapple sauce . I put the baked potatoes and apple (now sliced) on the side. I did not think of taking a picture because i didn't think it would turn out that good.

The nameless, amazingly good, happy accidental baked chicken was a delightful surprise - kept the Hubby and me remarking how good it was. I'm hoping I can duplicate the flavor some other time, or perhaps make a better version of it. Maybe next time I'll put that pineapple juice into the marinade.

if all evenings could be this simple

It was a good evening. I felt very peaceful and satisfied. I wish every evening could be something like that.

Eating out is not a luxury the Hubby and I can afford as often as we want to, but we get to every now and then. Thanks mostly to his Mom and Dad who love eating out and bring us along sometimes.

Just the other evening, the Hubby and I decided to go on a little date. My place of choice, he said. We hadn't gone out with just each other this month yet (I think), so it was a real treat for the both of us. It was in fact a good ender for that week in which I mostly stayed bored and depressed at home.

I wanted to try a place we hadn't yet eaten at. I don't know that many restos, so I Googled. I clicked on the ones that seemed interesting and showed them to the Hubby.

We finally decided on a Japanese place a few minutes' drive away from where we live. That resto's already been around for a few years; I've heard of it before but have never tried it prior to that evening. Their food tastes nothing like the usual Japanese restaurant fare - it's so much better in flavor, presentation, and serving time. I went home very satisfied.

What I like about Japanese cuisine is that it generally has less grease, and the servings aren't too humongous. I was glad to have room for dessert, because the green tea ice cream tempura was a wonderful washdown.

We walked around a bit after dinner, like we were teenagers on a random stroll. Luckily I wore my flats. We were kinda dressed like teenagers too; we didn't have company so there was no pressure to appear all presentable. Just semi presentable.

Since it was an early dinner, we were home before 9pm - a good, healthy time to start winding down. I settled down in front of the TV with my sketchbook and let my brain numb to the cotton candy comedy I watch every night.

nomnomnom-ing

I arrived home at around half past two this morning, a full moon smiling with me as I stepped out of the car and into the threshold. I came from an awesome night with old schoolmates from the absolutely amazing college of UP Fine arts. It was great to see them all again, all in one place, all at the same time.


I've been looking forward to a rendezvous such as this. It would be a decade since I last saw most of them (online / television / magazine sightings excluded), so you could imagine how excited I was.

We had dinner and drinks at a really cute, cozy resto in QC owned by 3 other schoolmates. Really, really lovely place. Would you believe it? - It's called Nomnomnom Happy Food. Wonderful healthy gourmet-ish food at fastfood prices. Highly recommended.


Some 60 or so folk came, UP CFA graduates from different departments and various batches of the late '90s. There was a whole lot of us from our block and we filled half the smoking area. Everyone sort of just adapted into the scene, as if simply picking up from where we left off almost a decade ago, like we were never separated by years. Most of them looked just like the way I left them.

A lot of things were pretty much the same ...

R and J were still the fist to arrive and the last to leave.
D still has the nicest camera, and is still married to R.
MB still looks like she did in college.
MD still has her subtle-funny way of telling stories .
G is still nicey and unintrusive.
A is still the pretty girl who has never had a boyfriend.
JP is still on whatever regulated substances those are.
AL is still the weird artist type (with ultraman toy watch to match), still talks like a cool geek and is still a self-proclaimed closet gay.
D is still openly gay and openly flirts with AB. AB is still a sweet-and-sensitive toughie and is still dating C.
H is still a heckler.
L is still his heckle-buddy.
The single girls are still single.
And there was this whole confuddled commotion with paying the bill, like how things usually went when we ate at Mang Jimmy's ten years ago.
And JP hitched a southbound ride home with me like he used to.


... Though there have been a lot of interesting developments:

JP finally graduated (Centennial batch! Woot!) - big news of the evening.
D is a classy sort of sexy-manly gay who does some designing and a bit of modeling.
AB has a lot of uber-cool tatts.
MD just recovered from an operation that revealed she had a parasitic twin (oh yes, she gave us a detailed, descriptive report while everyone was eating).
MB, one of the owners of the resto we were eating at, is now a successful entrepreneur with a couple of businesses.
H is engaged.
D and R have three kids now.
R is a respected teacher at a girls' private school.
D spells his name differently now. He has a studio and does glamour photography; we see his work everywhere.
AL is a filmmaker and has a thing for K-pop.

It felt a lot like college hang-out days all over again - except that people were now more stable (in every sense of the word) and the guys knew how to handle their drinks (i.e., no drunken vomitfests). Too bad a lot of the other friends weren't able to make it.

It was a much-needed trip away from the usual everyday of present life. I'd love to call it a great night of catching up with old friends, but great is an understatement. Hoping and waiting for a second round ...

girls talk: i'm a chocolate fan!

I realize i haven't had any chocolate in weeks because I temporarily gave in to another food craving. I can't believe I haven't even noticed!

Anyway, i chanced upon this sweet idea at Girls Talk:




The point i guess is to share about our favorite chocolate. Here are some of mine:

Reese's rules.

m&m's have got to be one of the most brilliant chocolate innovations.


Hershey's is my default comfort food.
I love it in Kiss form, too.

I've actually tasted this only once - when I was ten years old.
I never forgot about it and I still crave for it from time to time until now.
I thought it was that good.

Another unbeatable classic.

This is something I really can't afford to splurge on;
I only happened to try it when a friend brought some.
Halleujah, Royce potato chip chocolate is just heavenly!
It's a unique combination of two of my favorite happy thawts eats.
Who would have ever thought potato chips went well with chocolate?

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This cute meme is hosted by Girls Rule! Drop by and share.
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i can't get over cupcakes

I had another episode of cupcake craving.

I got over my loyalty to the usual cupcake shop that I go to and finally ventured to check out another one. Instead of snacking at Cupcakes by Sonja, I satisfied my craving for sweets at Marta's Cakes.

The first thing I noticed was the brightly-colored interior that slightly echoed Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, only without the Burtonesque edginess. I imagine that if you took out the greens and whites and replaced them with black, put in some carved pumpkins, it'd be a cute, twisted Halloween funhouse.

Marta's unique concept cakes were on display. It contributed to that overall cheery atmosphere good for cultivating happy thawts. The Hubby and I were actually tired and not-so-happy that day, but being in that shop cheered us up quite a bit.

I love those jelly-like lamps. It's like they're floating overhead, waiting to be caught.

Anyway, yeah, the cupcakes. They weren't as fluffy or as decorated as Sonja's, but that didn't bother me because they were nonetheless yummy and much less expensive. They weren't that spectacular so i forgot to photograph them, but they were good enough to satisfy. Two thumbs up.

Another cute feature of Marta's is that they sold cupcake decorating kits (and cookie decorating kits as well). For P105, you got two plain cupcakes, tubes of brightly-colored icing and candy sprinkles. It's something not only kids would enjoy but adults would too. The time we were there, a young couple was spending their date decorating cookies. I thought of bringing my discipleship group here for an outside-church session over a cookie-painting activity.

Next time, I'll be checking out the chocolatey goodies in Xocolat. Hope i like.

cupcakes = love

Diet is "die" with a "t".
It seems like I'm on a cupcake craving phase again. Lucky for me that a few cupcake places are just a short drive away.


I just lo000ve Cupcakes by Sonja. It easily trumps most of the other cupcakes I've tried (so far). It's a really cute shop that sells these precious cakes. My favorite items on the menu are Red Velvet Vixen and Berries N' Cream.

Who cares about the two kilos I already gained?
I thought about dropping by again this coming week. Maybe every other day if not every day. I'll try each kind. I'll be a pig. Fat and happy, that's my philosophy.

In the photos above: Peppermint Patty, Cookee Monster and uh, this mint and chocolate thing. Also lovely.
Below: Vanilla Sunshine, Berries and Cream and a chocolate something


Near Sonja's is Martha's. I've yet to try the cupcakes there; I've been told they're delightful. Still all this time I can't shake my loyalty to Sonja.

cream cheese samwich with a twist

Yesterday i fell in love with a new snack.

Tomato and basil sandwich with cream cheese

I was supposed to make myself a ham-lettuce-tomato-and-cheese with mayo on wheat bread, but I had an inspiration. I decided to grab the tub of cream cheese, pick some fresh basil leaves from the garden and make something else instead.

All the ingredients are favorite food items of mine. Pure b l i s s .


ingredients:

2 slices of wheat bread
Cream cheese
2 slices of tomato (preferably the plum kind, or the salad variety)
Fresh basil leaves
Optional: A sprinkling of rolled oats


and then:

Spread the lovely white cream cheese on the bread REAL thick.
Place (thin) tomato slices onto the stuff.
Lay a layer of fresh basil leaves.
Sprinkle the oatmeal.
Wolf down.

cooking for fun

I just cooked some Honey Mango Chicken for the Hubby and me for dinner tonight. It was so easy to make, and really yummy. I experimented some and it turned out quite successful. I'm so proud of me, whee!

Cooking can be so fun. Sometimes, I mean. I can't say I love cooking, can't even say I'm good at it, I don't even cook that often, but I take pride in whatever yummy stuff I manage to make.


Things I Love About Cooking
[I mean, at those rare times that I like to spend time in the kitchen]

• There's a bit of excitement because I anticipate enjoying the eating. It makes the boring chore of slicing and dicing and peeling and boiling a lot more worthwhile.
  
  
• When other people appreciate my cooking, it's really flattering. I'd feel like a real pro. I'd forget that I was a kid who managed to turn meat loaf into corned beef from the can to the pan.
  
  
• I find that cooking is another channel for creativity. It's not like creating a poem or a painting, but it stimulates my right brain, particularly when I substitute and improvise.
  
  
• I enjoy experimenting with flavors and colors. So far, I've been lucky not to have had any major disasters.
  
  
• I've found that preparing food with another person is a great bonding activity. In fact, when I hold a sleepover for my young disciples, I make sure we include cooking a dish or baking in the list of activities. We've made some pretty good paella and chocolate chip cookies in the past.
  
  
• Cooking's a way of loving. Whether it's as easy as butterscotch syrup or as challenging as risotto, I get to put my heart into what I serve to the people I love.