Cutty

Because Rachel Ray (sp?) inspired me to do so, I made a frittata for breakfast. Here's a quick rundown of what I did.  1.  Slice ham, onions, yellow peppers (capsicum) into strips.  Slice mushrooms thinly. 2.  Saute everything in a sauce pan starting with the onions, followed by the ham and peppers.  Add mushrooms when everything is nearly cooked.  Turn off the fire and let the residual heat cook the mushrooms. 3.  In a separate bowl, beat 5 medium eggs and a quarter cup of milk.  Season with salt, pepper and add a dash of hot sauce.  4.  Throw in all ingredients into an oven-proof dish.  Baked at 400 degrees for 15mins or until set. This is best eaten with buttered toast and jam.  What a hearty breakfast for a long day. Note:  you may want to grease the oven-proof dish if you don't like it to form a crust around the edges.

As soon as we got back from Vic's office's annual Trick or Treat, Johann dumped all their goodies on the bed.  Both big and small Kuyas were excited to sort through their loot.  They got their usual favorites, jelly ace and a few Hershey's kisses.  They recently discovered Flat Tops and Curly Tops, so Javi horded them too.  This is the start of their love affair with candy. Before going to the office, we had to bribe them with candy just to get them dressed up.  "I don't like candy!"  That's what they said.  Ha! So now, they know what Trick or Treat is about.  I had to play cop and ration their treats to 3 pieces each.  Otherwise, we'd be battling tonsilitis tomorrow.  For sure, we won't have problems making them dress up next time. -------------------- Speaking of treats, the kids weren't the only ones who came home with them.  While the boys were with Daddy, I went to BHS with Bettina.  I came  home with these.....

I'm sure you've seen the article .  If not, I'm sure you've heard about it in the news.  We, the Philippines, have the worst airport in the world.  What people fail to mention was it was based on one criteria:  the availability of facilities for sleeping in airports.  Talk about sensationalizing an issue. I admit that our airport is in bad shape.  It needs repairs and updating. Chuvaness has detailed it in her blog so many times. One media personality pointed out that since it is the first thing that greets tourists, it has to be aesthetically pleasing.  I agree by a hundred percent. BUT, no matter how sophisticated or spacious the airport is, it is not proportionate to the number of tourists.  Take the case of the Cebu and Palawan airports.  But, that's beside the point. The point is, airports aren't for sleeping.  I am always surprised to find people finding comfort in an airport bench.  I assumed when the airport was desi...

In Facebook, a friend mentioned that it was her father's first death anniversary.  Then, people started commenting, "Happy 1st Death Anniversary!"  Duh?!?!  Anubuh?!?! I know for sure that death is never a happy event.   Since when is commemorating death pleasant to the people left behind?  Pwede siguro if death leads to sainthood.  That's so odd, ... so insensitive.

I spent yesterday's early afternoon testing my recipe.   This is how the end product looks like: This was my first time make pies by myself.  I was afraid to try it out before because I may end up over-kneading the dough and wasting it.  I got Johann and Javi to play with the dough.  They rubbed the butter against the flour.  That lessened the time of me manually kneading them.  When they got tired, they went back to the TV and left me molding the dough in peace.  I used a dusted Ziploc bag and a wine bottle for rolling out small portions of the dough.  I experimented with different pies pans, pan sizes, crust trimmings and fillings. Since I am making these for Christmas, I decided to employ the help of my houseboy.  I already taught him how to mold the dough, bake the crust and the filling. I've forgotten how back breaking baking is.  It really is a test of patience and perseverance.  Here are some of my notes:...

I attended a hands-on baking workshop last weekend.  It was facilitated by the San Miguel Culinary chefs.  I've always liked attending their baking classes because their recipes pass my taste test.  The chefs always shares practical tricks on how to make economical substitutes and how to cut time in the preparation.  Here are some of what we made: This experience convinced me to try my hand at baking again.  This time I will practice on pies and other cake recipes.  It's nothing fancy, but definitely tasty and appetizing. I am currently in the process of sourcing and costing ingredients and other materials.  Hopefully, by Christmastime, I will be ready to take in orders just like before. By the way, I am having my own boxes reproduced again.  I've contacted my printer already and a meeting has been set.  I am hoping that it is still within my price range.  Wish me luck!

My mother just got back from a three-week long vacation in the US.    She purposely went there to attend my cousin's wedding, visit relatives and to shop, of course. She recently discovered TJ Maxx so just imagine her fascination with the discount store.  She and my Auntie from the East Coast visit the store almost everyday just to have first dibs on the new shipment.  She got everything I asked her to get me.  I believe she got me more items than I got for myself during my trip last summer. Thanks to mothers who have the same shopping drive as their daughters, I now have a new set of clothes, two pairs of wedges and a pair of boots.  Hehehe.  Ang saya saya! 

Dear BPI, By the time I get through the Hotline number, my card may have already been maxed out.  My savings may have been cleaned up by some thief.   Thankfully, I have no urgent concerns to deal with you right now. Seriously, you need more people answering urgent concerns.  Waiting for more than 5 minutes is simply unacceptable. Sincerely, A Valued Client

When Vic and I went to Singapore a few weekends ago, it wasn't about shopping or being a tourist.  So, usual hotels we're familiar with were beyond convenience.  Besides, the rates would've been hiked up on F1 weekend, so we wouldn't have gone there. Thankfully, a friend suggested V Hotel Lavender. While most hotels boast of their accessibility through public transport, this one is the most truthful.  Literally located on top of the Lavender MRT station, this is one of the best hotels I've been to, in terms of convenience.  After a day of walking, I am never too tired to walk up to the room.  When we got hungry, there were several bread stores and take-away food stalls, a 24-hr Kopi Tiam, and Wendy's.  At the MRT station, there we convenience stores for drinks, snacks and emergency meds. We were 4 stops from Orchard Rd, 2 stops from City Hall and 1 stop from Bugis.  It beats having to stay in one of the hotels along Orchard, where we'd have to walk...

To one of the great movers of our time We owe to you how we live our lives today. *photo lifted from apple.com

I've been trying to get into target.com for a week now.  All I'm getting is this I've tried it several times a day, early morning, midday, early evening and at dawn .  It seems that the site is at its peak all week long.  This hasn't happened in years.  Grrrr!  Am I the only one having problems with this?

When I read books I usually exhaust the titles available under a particular author.  I've almost finished Debbie Macomber.  Now, I've moved on to Nora Roberts.  I'm currently hooked on the MacGregor Saga, starting with the MacGregor Brides then the MacGregor Grooms.  I recently found a book that tells the story of the ascendants of the modern day MacGregors.  Upon finishing the book, I looked up the author's website to see what book I should get next. Here's what I found (lifted from the author's website ): Nora parted ways with ******* (the publisher of this series) in 2002, so she will not write any more MacGregor stories.  BUMMER!  Just when I'm so immersed in the story that I view characters as real ones, this happens!?!?!?