Cutty

When it is my turn to bring the kids to school, I wait it out most of the time. So, it is just fitting that that I have a comfortable place to spend my "me" time.  I am tired of the usual coffee shops patronized by many.  They are often too crowded and noisy even in the early morning.  In my quest for a nice spot, I only have 3 requirements:  Wi-Fi connectivity, quality of food and parking space.  Here are some options I found near Tomas Morato, where my kids' schools are located. Goffa.  This small third wave coffee joint is located in F7 Rallos, owned and operated by the next door Purple Oven bakeshop.  They offer both savory and sweet options for breakfast.  If the options aren't to your liking, you may purchase your breakfast from the bakeshop and have it served at Goffa.  You are assured that the items are freshly baked.  Coffee is good too.  I particularly loved the round ice ball that chilled my mocha.  Yeah, ang ba...

I've heard good reviews about this new place called Books and Borders Cafe so I gave it a try.  My first visit was short but sweet that it required another visit. One thing I liked about the place is the ambiance.  The colorful chairs give a friendly, vibrant, " happy place"  vibe.  It felt like it encouraged people to linger, to read and to talk.   It was cool and comfortable enough. Menu.  The place offers BAD (breakfast all day) with a free serving of coffee.  It is varied enough with it's wide selection of cakes and meals.   Unlike the other book cafe , this menu is quite easy to read.  It was clear enough to know what you should expect from your order.   Unlike the other book cafe, when it says chocolate, it meant chocolate NOT cookies and cream. The menu items are reasonably priced, IMHO. In thise two visits, I tried the salted hot cholate, a caramel bar and bacon and eggs.  They all tasted good. I recommend the salted ...

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.

Now that Vic is away, I do not really bother making a menu for us to eat. I just leave it up to the help to figure out what they'll eat for breakfast. I usually inform them what to prepare for lunch or dinner. I just make sure that there's a stock of tocino, sotanghon noodles, misua, oatmeal and Koko Krunch available when they want it. ------------------- For more than a week now, I've been having breakfast away from home. It is mainly because I need to wait till Johann finishes school and because I am too lazy to eat so early in the morning. Most of the time, I spend it at the Coffee Bean because of the free wifi. I usually have the Salmon Scramble. Today, I got Eggs Ben. If I bring baon with me, I just eat it in the car then I just get a cup of chai latte or hot cocoa. One day last week, I ate at UCC because the parking space in front of my usual joint is being re-blocked. Not only did I find out that UCC didn't have wifi, they also increased their meal price...

Christmas day is almost over. Next thing we know, we're bidding 2008 farewell. Christmas Eve was spent with both sides of the family. We had two Noche Buena feasts. Our first was with the Endrigas . As usual, we had enough food to last us for days. I particularly feasted on Emerald's Pata Tim and Cuapao . I was too full to enjoy our second Noche Buena so I just nibbled on some nachos, a slice of ham and some leche flan. Johann ate three versions of his favorite (spaghetti) at three different meal times. Dec 24 was quite long for the kids. Though this is our second baby's first Christmas, Javi's gifts are not open yet. We didn't have the energy to open everything for him. He was already uncooperative at around 1130pm, so we decided to go to our own home. He slept for 5 hours straight for the first time. I am quite happy for that since I got to sleep longer. As for the older boy, Johann enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off. He didn't know which ...