spiCes

…something that we all look forward to when we go for a night or so hotel living, or should i say living of reality for a few days. when we get away to unwind a little. when we forget about everything behind to have room service, a nearby pool to wade in and yes…eat all you can breakfast!

…and i love love love this muffin! yummm-eeehhh! i even got another one with blueberries to go! haha!

…we can never have complete breakfast without the scrambles right?

this one’s S’s bagel. definitely with cream cheese.
had to end it all with a bowl or two of fresh fruits! no photo though, sorry..i decided to enjoy the last few bites without the camera getting in the way.:)

what’s that? before you scroll down…can you at least try guessing first? demanding! haha!
this has been part of our weekly ritual…the hubs and myself, that is. more often than not, Saturday mornings are spent in this place while the kids are in their karate class. it’s also the only ‘our-time’…and we make good use of it…

with…

dining…dimsum style!:)
kakainin lang po nitong mga larawan na ito, sa kadahilanang nagpunta kaming mag-asawa sa Doctor kaninang umaga para sa aming flu shots at blood test naman para k M…at syempre pa…wala ang mga bata…nasa school…kaya dito kami dumiretso! pramis! haha!

syempre pa ang paborito naming…chicken feet ay hindi mawawala sa order:) sarap!!!
lahok para sa Litratong Pinoy…na may temang…BALAK!

A continuation of the lechon kawali/deep fried pork roast post which we enjoyed for our New Year’s Eve dinner which also happened to be my birthday dinner as well. I did not make any appetizers since we actually went out for lunch which served as my birthday eat-out celebration.

This is the lechon kawali which the Hubs handled wonderfully using a turkey deep fryer. Crispy skin and moist meat inside were just delish.

Egg Rolls or Lumpia was part of our dinner too. I guess this could have been an appetizer but I included it in the main menu. I used  broccoli slaw by the way instead of cabbage coleslaw pack.

To balance the meat entrees (lechon and egg rolls), a vegetable side dish was a must. We always have a vegetable side in any of our meals, holidays or not. I made this vegetable stir-fry which you can make anytime.

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• broccoli florets
• asparagus
• mushrooms, sliced
• lemon-pepper seasoning
• salt and pepper
• oil

Toast  the garlic in oil for about a minute, Don’t burn. Set them aside in a plate. On the same pan, add the broccoli. Cook for 3-5 minutes or so. Then add the asparagus and zucchini. Stir in 1/8 cup of water, cover and let the vegetable cook until tender but not too soft. You want them still crispy. Add the button mushroom last, then season with lemon-pepper, salt and pepper. Stir gently and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the stir-fried vegetable into a platter then sprinkle the toasted garlic on top.

The white rice and 2 sauces. On the white bowl is a combination of soy sauce, half of lemon juice, finely shopped scallions and a pinch of red pepper flakes. This was the sauce for the lechon kawali. On the black bowl is a sweet & sour sauce for the egg rolls.

Here’s my dinner plate of second helping. I forgot to take a picture of my first serving .

And since it was my birthday, we had ice cream cake for dessert. Hubs bought this cake and proudly told me that it’s a layer of whipped frosting which I LOVE, chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and another layer of chocolate cake on the bottom. It was delicious of course.

The whole meal was delicious actually. We didn’t finish everything so leftovers for launch the next was also delish . For our Christmas dinner recap, check it out here.

LASANG PINOY SUNDAYS: HOLIDAY RECAP . Please join us at Lasang Pinoy Sundays and share with us your own Holiday Dishes Recap.

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Thank you so much to Dexie for initiating this!:) I hope this would be a very good start for LaPiS! and just a short announcement…maybe we can do the meme on a bi-monthly basis for the moment…say every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. and for those who might want to guest host, as i’ve always said…just give be a buzz! not that kind of buzz though! hehe!
I hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year celebration guys just as we did!:)

…after a long while, we came back to Panera for a simple yet hearty dinner for Samia’s 90909 birthday.

and this is what i had…the Lobster Sandwich.

…coupled with a bowl of deliciously warm Broccoli Cheddar chowder.

is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style! this week…freestyle!:)

dinner spread during Markie’s Christening.

In any or most Filipino parties, there’s almost always PANCIT or Noodles. This one is Pancit Bihon, one of the most preferred type of noodle dishes served in any gathering. truly PINOY. YUM!

…and of course let’s not forget the PORK BBQ!!! double YUM!!!!

Ito ay ang handa noong nakaraang Linggo sa binyag ng anak ng pamangkin ko na pinuntahan namin sa Connecticut. Anak ng pamangkin…great aunt nalang ok! hindi lola!!!! hahaha!

at marahil alam naman nating lahat na ang anumang handaang Pinoy ay one to sawa! ito ay kuha  ng mga hapon pa lamang, ngunit inabot ng hanggang pasado alas dose ng gabi!

ang BBQ, paborito ng mga bata. kaya maski na umaaso pa sa init ay di na napigilang kumuha ng tig-isang stick!:)

Lahok para sa na may temang…HAPUNAN! mangan ta!:) chow time! bon appetit! kain tayo! let’s dig in!!!

Mr. T grilling some yummy burgers!

M’s Sisig

..we spent the holiday over at our neighbor’s..Stel and this is something that I left unpublished. don’t want to let it go to waste so here it is! just a glimpse of the lovely cook out we had. thanks again neybur!:) sa uulitin!:)

An entry to Weekend Snapshot.

Grilling is the best way to bring out those flavors in shellfish, so they say.   significantly, reaping it’s greatest benefits is accomplished by cooking it right, where it should never reach that rubbery texture. instead, the meat should have an opaque color, soft yet firm. it is also best served at once just off from the grill or at least while warm. we have cooked LOBSTERS a number of times the good ‘ol fashion way, either steamed or boiled. delicious? yes! but never as good as this last time when i twitched a little bit to a more fancy way of preparing these crustaceans.

as this proved to be a first for me, i had to google on the correct process of grilling lobsters. and as always, i do not totally follow one specific recipe. instead i mix and match whatever i have gathered. and this was the result…

HOW-TO

instead of grilling right off, i still went through the boiling process just as how i used to do it. dunked in lotsa water with a sprinkling of salt and sugar and a few slices of lemon until the shell has turned orangey-red, one at a time.

next step was cutting it in half [i let M do that for me]. then i removed the sack from the lobsters head as well as the veins running through to the lobsters tail.

slathered liberally with melted butter, salt and pepper then broiled or grilled cut side first for about 3 minutes until the SHELL has turned bright red. another butter action, before i finally turned and grilled the shell side for about 4-8 minutes more.

served and devoured with lemon-butter-fish-sauce. oh so divine!!! and the smell? insanely appetizing!

is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style!

Happy nth! birthday again to my dear M. we did not do much on a supposedly very special milestone in one’s lifetime. o alam nyo na ang edad nya? life begins nga! hee!
bakit? overtime! ang lolo ninyo! sabado, which was his exact birthday, at maging noong linggo. pero ayos lang. sa panahon ngayon, wala tayong karapatang magreklamo, ika nga.

kaya dito kami nauwi…nanginain sa isang malapit na restoran na matagal na naming minamataan. A Cantonese-Polynesian Restaurant in the city.

Great food…love the peking duck combo platter! it has everything under it too! prawns, beef, mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts, french beans. even the kids loved their chicken teriyaki, cheese roll and pork ribs platter! friendly and prompt service, fairly priced and according to my kids…it’s like a hotel inside. must be the glimmering mini chandeliers and the smell. the smell of clean, if i may say so. we are definitely coming back.

The Cathay Pacific Restaurant
111 Hancock St
North Quincy, MA 02171
(617) 328-1115

Lahok para sa na may temang…Lahat ay Payak. Btw, the day ended up with a surprise home-made coffee and walnut birthday cake! Sorry, the cake photos aren’t as good due to poor lighting and let’s-get-this-over-and-done-with-moment photo shoot. sheesh!

…i have mentioned in this blog that weekends are my days off in the kitchen. this past mother’s day weekend is no exception…more so if i must say, right?

kaya naman heto ang isa sa mga niluto ni M to cap the whole brouhaha. hee! nang matapos ang pagpapasarap ng isang ina. isang masarap na pizza, pasta and those Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti that i got to taste-test care of Foodbuzz for free! it was totally awesome! Raviolis are another must have in our kitchen, even the kids love ‘em! anyway, everything [except for the ravioli] was good and homemade by M…which meant a lot more than anything else, korek?

…this on the other hand, ay larawan ng isa sa mga tunnels na dinaanan namin pauwi ng Massachusetts nang matapos ang aming kamakailang bakasyon sa Virginia.

An entry to Heto pa ang isa kong lahok.

…it was a very simple family bonding time, as they say. we spent the weekend registering the kids for their summer activities. S will do cheerleading and C is trying his hand on karate. i’m really happy for them that they are starting to like sports and recreation now, which they haven’t had the chance to do back in New York.

we also had another stroll and of course photo ops at the nearby beach and had lunch at Tony’s Clamshoppe. Not particularly happy with what i ate but it’s the view and the perfect weather that made up for it.

of course it was a no cooking weekend for me…this one was prepared by M for our pre-mother’s day dinner. lobsters, clams and shrimp platter. delicious!

…for our Sunday lunch we tried the newly opened Chinese Restaurant around the area and this is one of the good food we had…spareribs in white wine, or something like that. it was a relief to find an english translation on the menu as i was cautioned by my neighbor Stel beforehand that they didn’t have english menus, yet. but that the food was great. it was! for less than 30 bucks, we had our fill and some to-go’s too :0 defintely coming back in that joint. i just cannot decipher the name at the moment.
Now, I am dreaming of bright and fun family cruises if only we can afford it right now.
An entry to a not so wordless .