spiCes

What? Snow on the very first day of spring? Yep, not here on our side though…in New York that is. But the bright and sunny outdoors do not really make up for an exactly nice spring day too. We are in fact in the 30’s with a bit of breeze, at that. Not as comfortably spring-y if you ask me.
Sometimes I can’t help but get affected by the weather condition, sometimes disturbing. But then, I saw this status update from one of my Facebook friends a while ago and it goes…

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes [get a] taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome -Anne Bradstreet

…true, so true. Now I need to check on these cheap credit card processing for some spring shopping! Hee!

One very special day in a womans life such as her own wedding is something that is worth cherishing. It’s been 13 years since we were married but I can still remember every little bits and pieces about it. From the cathedral, the lovely reception venue, my wedding gown, the whole entourage, the flowers, the food, the wedding favors, the cake, our special guests, even the after wedding blues. Our honeymoon wasn’t exactly something that one will consider as the best, but it is definitely memorable. We arranged for 3 rooms at the Manila Hotel for the wedding night. One for M and myself, of course. Another room for M’s family and a third one for my family. The night…yes,  it was fabulous.  But the next day was truly shaky as we had to rush my father to the hospital due to his current condition. He was already suffering from the big C then and I know that the night of my wedding he was feeling something already but he still tried his very best to do his part. from giving me away to slow dancing with me during the reception. This is something I should be thankful for though, the fact that he was still able to witness that very special moment in the life of his eldest daughter.

The weekend went by so fast. Starting off with the kid’s Luau Dance on Friday night, which was fun especially for the girl. The little boy did not exactly have the best of times since his buddies weren’t around and the only kids surrounding him were girls! haha! Saturday was spent doing our usual weekly grocery shopping and a playdate for the kids. Now, Sunday…was entirely a family affair, other than C’s first Reconciliation where he just had to go to the priest and pray.  Afterwards, we heard mass and off we went!

…to the beach, where the kids got to play a wee bit since it was fairly sunny but still breezy. it was lunch time then and when we felt our tummy’s grumbling…literally! we crossed the street and had a lovely lunch at The Clambox. Fortunately, they re-opened a week ago after closing store during the colder months…

We are 4 days away until it is officially SPRING here and we just can’t wait! I, cannot wait…An entry to

This dish may not be in any way related to the French Tricolour where the term originated, neither is this a traditional Filipino dish.

The Tricolore was used during the revolution and has since become a symbol of liberty around the world. Other nations have also adopted the design.

This tricolor Pasta Carbonara was part of our pre-Valentine’s dinner spread. The recipe is also from that ABCNews segment where Rachael Ray cooked up a quick and delicious meal for that special day, together with the Lovebirds I also made. Pasta with its roots coming from Italy, now plays a big part in our very own Filipino cuisine. We have easily adapted and embraced this dish as it is almost always present in parties and gatherings.  Significantly so in the roster of meals from different fast food restaurants in the country as well such as Jollibee and its Pinoy version of the Spaghetti.  That proves to be true even with the Carbonara.

I only tweaked it a bit using this three-colored Fusilli, instead of the usual spaghetti.

Fusilli (also called pasta twirls) is a small, thick, corkscrew shaped pasta. The word fusilli means “little spindles” in Italian. Green, red, and magenta varieties of fusilli (or any pasta) are created by using spinach, beet, or printer juice, respectively, instead of water.

Recipe  will follow shortly over is now posted at momcooks.dadcooks.
is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, PINOY style.

…i was half anticipating the possibility of going on a date for Vday because i knew all along that the kids are invited to a swimming party that day. that said, i also knew that the protective mom in me cannot just let them swim by themselves. so we stayed.
until it was time for them to play games in the gym and eat. that’s a good couple of hours more to ourselves.

[kaya dito kami napadpad sa Outback Steakhouse, hindi kalayuan sa lugar kung saan ginanap ang party ng mga bata.]

…and we can’t help but order steaks! opkors:) at syempre pa, hindi matatapos ang tipanan na ito ng walang???…

DESSERT! matamis na dessert!

We still had less than half an hour until it’s time to pick up the kids, enough time to order a slice of Raspberry Cheesecake.
so there goes the slight chance that we got away even for a little while… a good couple of hours.

[pasensya na at sa sobrang excitement sa matamis na ito, hayan...blurry ang kuha, hehe. sarap eh!]

An entry to , na may temang…TIPANAN. DATE or dating place as this week’s theme…for a while there i thought i won’t have an entry. you know very well that DATES when you have little kids here in the US and some, are very PRECIOUS! and rare! something to be thankful for! and another thing to be thankful for are facial kits for microdermabrasion, when you need instant rejuvination when going on a date such as this!:)…
[kaya sisiguraduhin kong maging kaibigan ng mga bata ang nagdiwang ng kaarawan ng matagal tagal na panahon, sa gayon...tuwing araw ng mga PUSO, siguradong makakatakas kami! nyahahaha!!!]

We must have had an Ihop overload already that this is the second time we chose Applebee’s again over the former. During the last two occasions, I had steaks that I decided to have a very light and healthy salad instead.  A plateful of crunchy baby spinach packed with scrumptious shrimp grilled into perfection and enrobed with a sweet and tangy bacon vinaigrette!  Yum!  I especially loved the crunch that the toasted almonds and crisp bacon bits toppings offer, that blends well with the  fresh red peppers and red onions.  Every bit of ingredient is perfectly proportioned to capture that one [or more] perfect bite.
I am just glad I ordered the regular plate at $9.99 instead of the half-size which is priced at a little over a dollar less only and yes, every little bit glided smoothly inside my starved belly.:] in half the time I expected to finish my lovely salad. Refreshing!

spring rolls from Pho Hoa, again. a bit dry for me, or maybe i didn’t put enough peanut sauce? i don’t know. what i know is that i enjoyed the Beef Pho Soup a lot more!

…an entry for

An old friend recently asked if I’m interested in putting up an online business. Something that has got to do with my website, of course. I told him, I am in fact thinking of doing something like that sometime in the future. It would also be something that tickles my fancy. Exactly what? That I will have to leave in your imagination for now. Part of the said conversation was the process on how to go about this bright idea and that includes the question on how to get an ecommerce software for the purpose of putting up a shopping cart on this site. I have alwasy been curious on how they are set up and how it goes with the assurance of making shopping online safe and fun. Imagine an online shop around here with a fabulous shopping cart! I am so getting all excited now!

…sunday lunch at Pho Hoa. M’s ultimate fave soup, Beef Pho. a traditional Vietnamese dish with thinly sliced meat and rice-noodle swimming in delicious soup flavored with asian spices.  it’s a hint for me to start making some myself. although it is fairly priced at $8 for a large bowl, i still think home-made will save us some $$$ still, huh? considering that it has become a weekly craving for us now:]

…i caught a glimpse of that cute little squirrel comfortably nestled atop a branch on a breezy day as i passed by my dining room window.  instinctively, i rushed to get my camera ready and take a snap! that’s the nearest zoom my lens can take, awww!

…an entry to

…i was going to have this for brunch last friday, but a better option suddenly came with the sudden ring on my phone. my neighbor, Mrs. Rambutan invited me for some Arroz con Pollo action over at her place. so with just one bite from the focaccia and a few chips, i rushed and had a wonderful rice lunch with Stel, add to that some chit chat action!
…the tuna focaccia is a must have again when i come back to Panera. it’s crisp on the outside yet soft in the inside focaccia bread was a great switch from the slipper-like ciabata which is for me crisper on the outside and so much harder to handle because of its soft inside. even the tuna filling is very good with the perfect amount of creaminess and slightly chunky texture. if only they serve this in half! you won’t catch me finishing up a whole order of this, it’s just too humongous!