spiCes

the magic bullet. that’s how i know it is called. we received this as a Christmas present from one of my cousins in CT, and it is the Bella Cucina version of the said smoothie maker. it does ‘replaces a food processor, blender, and coffee grinder’ all in this one simple gadget and it is in fact a breeze to operate and ‘can do virtually any job in the kitchen in 10 seconds or less’ as the original bullet claims. this brand does all those too. i’m glad. Marco is glad, beyond glad. he just loves making fruit smoothies and milk shakes, which is good. he even promised to make the kids a glass of vanilla milk shake everyday.

these photos were taken during my cousin’s demo of the said product…on Christmas day. hehe! with all the round fruits that night, it was a hit and it still is in our household! thanks again, ate Vic! i love it as you said i would!:) health-wise, it is a good product because it has lessened Marco’s soda intake since we received it! plus the design fits oh so perfectly with my other kitchen toys!  more importantly, i am loving the idea that it saves in cleaning up time too since you can go ahead and drink from the cup itself.

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

true. i, for one can attest to that. those days during my childhood when we always looked forward to heavy downpours if only to play out and marvel on the fun that it brings as soon as we get soaked. literally.
[thanks to lynn for that quote i plucked out of her FB status]

but i also learned how to value the beauty of warmer sun shiny weather, more so when we moved here in the US. summer for me now just comes a quarter of a whole year. all the more it is well appreciated.

after all, there are small and simple ways out there to counter the heat that the summer tags along….like CHILLED DRINKS! which qualify as a grand solution to defy that thirst.

for breakfast. a CHOCOLATE MILK SMOOTHIE. made by M for last week’s Sunday breakfast.

lunch. fresh WATERMELON SHAKE. still made by M one weekend.  mah man truly knows how to quench his thirst, you see.

and for dinner [onwards:)]. mah tall glass of CHILLed KIRIN. what i had to CHILLax on my very recent Shabu birthday dinner.

is a weekly FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style!

at first glance…
iisipin mo na ito ay hindi inuming pangbata…more specifically parang BEER hindi ba?

…paano kung nakita mong ang umiinom nito ay isang paslit? tulad ng aking bunso…NAKAKAKILABOT hindi ba?

ok, ok…hindi rin! haha! i tried! pagpasensyahan na po ninyo..this is the best i can come up with:) btw…this is just rootbeer soda!:)
An entry to na may temang,,,NAKAKAKILABOT/hair raising or scary?

This week’s theme is all about alcoholic beverages, be it wine, beer or spirits… or any alcohol infused food, at that.  I still prefer wine among the three general classes.

…specifically, WHITE ZINFANDEL. between a red and a white,  i fancy the otherwise in between rosey color of a Zin and the fact that it is not as dry and tart but sweet enough for my taste bud. i may even consider cross country moving just to be near this beloved wine!

an off-dry to sweet, pink-colored rosé wine. White Zinfandel is made from the Zinfandel wine grape, which would otherwise produce a bold and spicy red wine. As such, it is not a grape variety but a method of processing Zinfandel grapes.[source:WIKI]

…now, if we talk about food with a sprinkling or more of alcohol…what tops my list is one that is literally a pick-me-upper! a slice of TIRAMISU. i’ve made a number of tiramisu variations in the past, with or without the alcoholic content. but this one is store bought. the cheapest one there is i think, selling for less than $3 for one 8×8 square. good enough for a sudden rum-flavored rich and creamy dessert or snack craving.

is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style! Btw, this is just a prelude to our upcoming theme WE are ONE! next Sunday…as we turn ONE! [HINT: anything that is ONE, FIRST, the number ONE...just about what you can post with these words in mind!] Enjoy and CHEERS!

Yes! Another week is over and it’s time to unwind. Friday nights are meant for movie marathons in the household for us and probably in yours too. After a well prepared and filling dinner prepared by M mostly [the kitchen is all his during weekends, you see] now we are in front of the bube tube watching some old flicks on cable while enjoying his freshly made fruit salad. Later on…yup, you guessed it right. It’s time for some booze too, hee!  I’ve never seen so many varieties, types, kinds of beers until we got here in Boston.  All kinds, taste, brew and even color and flavor.  But did you know that there is a so called Beer Universe?  Yes!  It’s such a very informative page where you can find all there is to know about beer.  It is an awesome website especially dedicated to all who loves beer.  There is so much to learn… rom the types of beer, its aroma, how light or heavy it is, how it is served best, to homebrewing, pubs, to reviews, ratings, alcohol content and so much more nifty ideas. It was actually created by 2 talented guys who are so passionate for beer and social networking. Hence, the world that focuses on beer was born for other people who are equally passionate about this drink.

Square (slang), an unhip person.

…but in food presentation and other food styling methods, this four-sided- four-angled shape has found it’s way as to being considered as ‘hip’ for years now.  This is evident in hotels and up scale restaurants mostly and even in food related television shows.

I was also hit by the bug once, when I bought every single square plates, bowls, serving platters and even condiment containers and bottles that caught my fancy, in different sizes and colors. This Gourdo’s white ceramic cup and saucer set was bought 3 years ago during our last visit back home at the Living Well Store, Podium in Ortigas. Since it was still a bit pricey then [and heavy], these square tableware….so I only grabbed 4 sets.

Having said that, I normally use them during the weekends and when we have guests as I tucked them away on the top most level of my cupboard. It would be difficult to get a replacement of these square saucers and square-based cups, so I don’t want to risk breaking them.

So…what’s square in your agenda this Sunday?
is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style!  Happy and hip to be SQUARE!  Enjoy your week!!!

I was kind of late in checking out this week’s theme for Thematic Photographic which is DRINK. It would’ve been so timely since today I realized, I ran out of coffee and so I headed to McD’s as soon as I dropped off the kids to school…to try their McCafe. ..and yes, I didn’t have the courage to wait and drink it until I get home. so, i wasn’t able to take a shot of my caffeine dose.

Now, this is the Philippines version of the lemonade here or Limoncello..actually its taste is a cross between lemons and limes. This is our Calamansi and I miss it so dearly. All we have access to here are the bottled ones which costs an arm and a leg! Even my kids learned to love this drink…as for us, we also love it as a dipping sauce mixed with fish sauce or say sauce. ooohhh! i am literally drooling, just thinking about it:]
Go ahead and check more on this theme, here!

First of, I’d like to apologize if there is a little confusion in the theme this week.  I originally posted ‘gulp, gulp’ as the title of the said theme, but then i realize we might be getting the same entries as what we had for the 4th edition of LaPiS which is ‘summer drinks‘.  So i decided to trim it down to a more distinctive option…HOT beverages.  I know we are getting a bit confined to two or three very popular options here. coffee, tea or hot cocoa. but as they say…you are only limited by your imagination! So get it on with your early morning or not comforting hot drink fix!

This is how i like my own dose of coffee, not everyday do i get to make it look and taste as special as this though:]…topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling or two of ground cinnamon, sometimes with a wee bit of kahlua chocolate sauce when i’m getting all too fancy:]…btw, i find myself getting more loyal to Dunkin’s dark roast lately, when i run out of Stew Leonard’s Hazelnut grounds mixed with French Vanilla.  something i inherited from my cousin in CT.  mixing the two flavors make up for one rich and aromatic brew!

so how do you perk yourself up before rushing into a hectic day?

is a weekly FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, PINOY style! tagay na!