Street Food and Appetizers

These are my recent cooking experiments:

Crispy chicken skin- I remember the ones sold in the streets back home, they're cheap, tasty and also bad for one's health (lol). Too bad they don't sell chicken skin in the supermarkets, it's a good thing though for health reasons but still, I wouldn't mind buying.

Crispy Spinach- It tastes the same as Crispy Kangkong, a popular appetizer back home. Served with garlic-mayo dip, it was more than just an appetizer for us but more of a main course as well.

Sourdough bread with Spinach Dip- This was hubby's successful experiment. Lei loved the dip while Lance enjoyed the store bought bread.

Surf the Net, Learn and Play

Lei at 2 yrs. old

My kids love these: Nick Jr., Boowa and Kwala, PBS Kids, Treehouse TV, Playhouse Disney, Fisher Price, Lego Games and many more. And as long as they are pre-occupied with these kid friendly, educational sites, I'm happy too.

Lei at 3 yrs. old

Kids nowadays learn to use the computer first even before reading and writing. Lance and Lei started early both at 2 years old. It has its disadvantages I know, but I'd like to focus on the advantages at least based on what I see on my kids. It's amazing how they figure out the games without reading the instructions, solve puzzles, learn different songs, be able to tell stories, etc. It's really like learning a lot through play and having fun all at the same time.

Lance and Alex playing Wii

Whether it's surfing the internet or playing game consoles, as long as the games are kid friendly and they know when to stop, I am all for it. But if there's playtime, there should also be study time and that remains a priority. Teaching them how to read and write are my biggest challenge these days. I hope I'm just as effective as the internet.

 Lance and Charlie playing Kinect

My Sweet Dreams

My family is not much into desserts, unless it's ice cream for the kids, Leche Flan for hubby. It's really me who's into these sweets really. I'm still not good at baking but I try hard, very hard. Fortunately for me, there are a lot of no bake desserts and I try to venture on that path.

I can't wait to try these two desserts: sylvannas and Mini Cheesecakes. Once I get the chance to try these, I'll surely post them successful or not.

New Shoes and My Cool Dude

Having kids make you think less of your own wants and desires. Whenever we go to the malls, I always look for kids' stuff mostly, what they want and what they need. During our recent trip to Calgary, in our hurry to leave early, I forgot to bring Lei's boots as she was still wearing her sleeping clothes and her baby booties which aren't meant for walking. I packed her Crocs but she refused to wear them and that only means one thing, she wants a pair of new shoes. She did just that when we went to Banff. She was barefoot the whole time and only agreed to wear new shoes.

Anyway, I looked for shoes on sale at Old Navy when we went to Chinook Centre but they were not on sale, I didn't want to spend that much on a pair of kid's shoes knowing that she has several pairs at home. Hoping to find cheaper ones at Cross Iron Mills to pacify my toddler, we went from store to store until I saw the espadrilles on the display window of Gap. It looks really cute though it's not really meant for winter use but Spring and Summer are fast approaching. A bit pricey for my taste but I got a bigger size hoping to make it last the whole year :D

We went inside the Crocs store and I almost bought a pair of wedges. I didn't like the fit though, the size 8 was a little too tight while the next size fits a bit loose. I don't want to spend on something that's not comfortable and would just sit on our shoe rack. I would have preferred the flats but they were not on sale and instead asked hubby to just purchase a pair for Lance. He got the cool looking crocband sneakers and that made my boy really happy. He also got a new hat and paired it off with his new shoes. On our way out, some guys commented "what a cool dude!" when he passed by.

Looking at him, my boy really looked like a cool dude, love the new hat and shoes!

Winter Road Trip

CrossIron Mills

The long winter months seem to drag, but I don't mind the cold temperature really. It's just that during these months we are usually cooped up at home. Road trips would probably start in the Spring through Summer. Few more months and we'll be hitting the road again, yeheyyy!!!

Chinook Centre

What I like about road trips is the hotel accommodations, not the trip itself but being able to stay comfortably in a place after a looong trip. I love hotels, the fresh sheets, towels, free breakfast (lol), the queen beds, EVERYTHING!!! I don't mind the cheap hotels either, as long as we have a place to stay for the night unless I plan to stay the whole time in bed and really not go out, I'd probably prefer the more expensive ones. How I wish we could stay for a week in a hotel. That would be FUN :D

The good news is, we didn't have to wait for Spring to go on a road trip. We went to Calgary, a 2 1/2-3hr drive from our city. The weather was good, not too cold nor too windy. A little shopping for the kids, window shopping for Mom and Dad, yummy lunch (or was it a feast?) at Pacific Hut, then back to our rooms at Ramada Limited. We got the cheapest rates and there's not much to expect really considering the price. The kids didn't seem to mind, they're perfectly happy and excited whenever we go on road trips and just like me, they like staying in hotels.

There is so much to see  but everytime we go to Calgary, we always end up at the malls which is not always a good idea (for obvious reasons).  Maybe we'll get to check out the other places next time and definitely scratch the malls from our list :D

Can't Wait 'Til Summer is Here

If and when we go next time to Calgary, these are on my list of places to check out: eau claire market and Devonian Garden. We will definitely go back to Pacific Hut, a Filipino restaurant with great food and probably check in to a much better hotel.

A visit to Drumheller in the Summer would be our treat to the kids. It was winter when we first visited the place and we didn't get the chance to explore the whole town. We are also considering a trip to BC and we'll probably try camping again, hopefully with some friends this time.

Our summer itinerary would probably include going to spray parks, playgrounds, road trips, swimming, picnics, fruit picking, BBQ and everything that spells outdoor FUN!

I'll be counting the months 'til it's Summer time!

Rice Cake/Puto Cake

I was aiming to cook Bibingka (Rice Cake) without the salted egg on top. The recipe seemed easy and I knew I would try it out first thing in the morning. I thought of making Mocha Pudding but I didn't have enough leftover bread and besides I haven't had a successful pudding yet.

Anyway, I cooked Chicken Macaroni Soup first, finished ironing the clothes before I decided to make the Bibingka. I prepared it in 5 minutes, baked it for about 25 minutes and the result? It tastes more like puto but definitely a yummier version. When Lance saw it, he called it a giant puto and later on, a puto cake.

Maybe if there were salted eggs on top it will be more like a Bibingka but I'm not complaining. My attempt to make Bibingka may not have been a complete success but it surely resulted to an easier, yummier recipe for puto. At the end of the day, what matters most is that it didn't go to waste and that it's still delicious, Bibingka or not!

"What's Ipit?"

Funny how we used to tell Lance to speak in English when we first got here. Now it's the other way around, this time we're encouraging him to speak in Filipino (he hasn't done it in a loooong time). He doesn't speak our native language anymore but he still understands it. Lately, I've been mentioning Tagalog words and he translates them in English. He thinks its a game and he's enjoying it. He still knows a lot but just can't say them anymore. For a boy who used to ask how many English words he knows now he finds the thrill in learning some Filipino words.

lance: I remember the word "ipit"
me: what does it mean?
lance: it's like this (opens the drawer) you put your finger there and when you close it, it's ouchy!

My Basket is Full

My kids have a roomful of toys but sometimes they aren't enough. Lei for example, loves to play with my kitchen utensils and if only I'd allow her, I know she would also play with my pots and pans. She is always opening the kitchen drawers getting chopsticks, spoons, forks and forever reaching the whisk, wooden spoons, spatula as in everything except for the knives (Thank God!)

Lance and Lei would even fight for the egg tray which they like to paint and at present serves as Lance's Bakugan tray. Boxes, they use as boats or beds for their toys.

It's no surprise that Lei likes my laundry basket as well. Every time I do the laundry and empty the basket, Lei hops in and pretends she's on a boat.  When she's not on a boat, she thinks she's a baby in a crib. She gets her Dora pillow and blanket and asks to be tucked in. I did just that awhile ago and she's now sleeping like a baby.

Now, who needs a crib when you've got a laundry basket?

Learning to Love Something aside from Rice

My family is now consuming more bread than we usually did. Before it was only Lance who's into bread but these days, hubby and I have warmed up to the idea of having bread in the morning or in between meals. Even Lance is enjoying the English muffins aside from his usual loaf bread.

As long as it's ham and cheese for me, I'm happy. I put some lettuce on it and a generous amount of mayo and I'm happier. Lance enjoys ham and cheese as well with no lettuce. Mark on the other hand would request for a poached egg along with the ham and cheese. Lei prefers a toast with strawberry jam and must be triangle in shape, or she would just munch on the cheese and ham slices.

With these different preferences, am I glad we're just a family of four!

New Recipes and Gadgets?

We had friends over yesterday afternoon. I prepared chicken macaroni soup and my strawberry banana crepe was publicly launched :D

After my success with the crepe, I am inspired to try new dessert recipes. Much as I'd like to try bread, I don't think my baking skills are that good for bread making yet. I was looking at the pichi pichi recipe but I have no idea where to get the lye water. I think my next project would be Sylvannas, but first I have to remember to buy Otap on our next trip to the Asian store. Oh and I'd like to try making Taisan too!

There are so much recipes out there to try. I tend to veer away from those that have too much ingredients and prefer to settle with recipes having pantry essentials as the main ingredients, this way I stay within our budget. Basics such as flour, eggs, butter and milk but I don't mind stocking up on new ingredients as well (sticky rice, cassava flour/grated cassava, grahams, chocolate morsels) and the list goes on and on.

I am also dreaming of owning a bread maker and an ice cream maker. SOON I'll have you in my kitchen :D Mother's Day is coming up anyway LOL!

Shots and Toys

The kids got their immunization shots yesterday. Three for Lance and five for Lei. It was a very painful and awful experience having received those shots all at the same time. I brought them to Park Place afterwards to partially alleviate the pain while we wait for hubby to pick us up. Lance requested for cheese popcorn and Lei wanted strawberry ice cream.

After their ordeal, what better way to treat sore and cranky kids was to bring them to Toys R' Us. Lance has been requesting for a Lego Ninjago eversince he saw the commercial. Lei got her own Lego Hello Kitty and it surely brought a smile to her face.

I know these toys wouldn't relieve the pain and it's still Tylenol who's gonna help me get through the following days or so. But at the end of the day, it's making the kids realize that after a painful day, there's some things to look forward to and that it's not the end of the world having experienced so much pain in one day.

A Very Sweet Afternoon

Heavenly Crepe

My second attempt in making crepes proved to be more successful. It was thinner, has a more perfect shape and really prettier than my first crepe. This afternoon, we had strawberry banana crepes for snack. I filled it up with strawberry jam and banana slices topped with a scoop of strawberry marble ice cream, more banana slices, jam and chocolate syrup. They were soooo good that for a moment I thought I was in heaven :D

Banana Split

As if the crepes were not enough, hubby followed it up with a banana split!

Dinner Chowking Style

Spinach with salted shrimp fry

I guess there is no end in missing the food back home. Thank God for Asian stores and the familiar types of food that they have especially fish sauce and of course the salted shrimp fry. How we loved 'bagoong' so much, that I don't have a ready explanation. It doesn't even smell good and it's too salty and I know a lot of people (even Filipinos) who don't like this stuff but I am definitely not one of them. Last night, we paired it off with wilted spinach just like Chowking's kangkong with bagoong. Another simple yet yummy dish, reminiscent of those rainy day meals back in the Philippines.

Crepe-D into my Sleep

 

I woke up from a power nap with absolutely no idea of what to cook for dinner. What's on my mind however was all about dessert. Sometime during my sleep I decided that I will make some crepe to partner with strawberry marble ice cream and that's what I did after cooking a real quick pork dish. I couldn't wait to start on the crepe and was about to start dessert since hubby was still sleeping but he woke up just in time so we ate dinner first. Halfway through dinner I started eating small bites of the crepe, my excuse? Lei finished dinner earlier and I was encouraging her to eat dessert :D

Photo Op

The main reason why we rearranged the house was for us to have a space for taking pictures just like in a studio. We managed to do so and had the kids do a little pictorial of their own. Lei as usual was not in the mood at first while Lance was too hyper and would rather goof around. After several costume changes, toys and a lollipop, hubby was able to get beautiful shots of the two. Can't wait to print and hang them!

Valentine Treats

Flowers from hubby

Valentine's Day is just another ordinary day for me, no romantic date at all but it was a day of treats for me and the kids. Hubby surprised me with flowers while the kids had cupcakes and ice cream all day. Last stop was making their own teddy bears and choosing respective outfits for their bears.

What made this day extra special was the presence of my loved ones and of course those sweet, little things. Come to think of it, I've always had those making every single day Valentine's Day for me.

Even without a date, my Valentine's day was still as romantic, a day full of love and with the kids included in the fun, it was indeed a family affair!

Sweetest Babies

Lance opened the door for me when I got home and he gave me the tightest, warmest and longest hug ever! My baby boy missed me so much while I was out. I didn't notice Lei was sleeping and when she woke up, I got a lot of embraces from my sweet girl too.

Now, why would I want to be out all by myself and leave my babies at home? I know, so I'll get more tight and sweet hugs from them again and wet kisses too!

A Day of Firsts

For the first time ever, Mark and I left both the kids with our friend Jocelyn. We had some errands to do and I had to be at a baby shower. So for the first time, I went out without my hubby and kids. I would say it was fun, a little overwhelming as it was a new experience for me. It was only for a couple of hours, I think I checked on Mark only twice but I surely missed my babies. It's good to be out though and have fun but for some reason I'm not used to not having my family around anymore. I'm happy though that Lei agreed to go to her Ninang Jocelyn's house, it was her idea anyway because she wanted to play with Mac. She's always been with me and when Lance goes on a play date she doesn't usually come or she'd ask me to stay with her. I'm just amazed with her progress and many thanks to our dear friend Jocelyn for having them. She is really good with kids and Lei adores her. Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart.

And now that Lei is not too clingy with me anymore, maybe Daddy and Mommy can finally go out on a date :D Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Cleaner and Cozier

After a night of hard work, as if that wasn't enough, we rearranged and cleaned the whole living room the next day. It looked nice afterwards but the rest of the house was a huge mess. I still have to clean the bedrooms, dining room and kitchen before I could say that our house is clean enough. Since we had to go somewhere, the cleaning was limited to the living room only.

When I got home in the evening, the coziness of the living room inspired me to continue cleaning. It was really late when I finished the bedroom, hoping tomorrow I'd still be in the mood to do some more cleaning and rearranging.

Still no Wok

We almost bought a wok but ended up buying a jumbo cooker with lid. What we're really looking for was a big frying pan, unfortunately the biggest size we've seen so far was nowhere near the size of what I want. And the big steamers back home? I'm dying to have one here!!! We saw a bamboo steamer at Superstore this afternoon, I don't know if it's worth buying, I really want my old steamer or the same kind at least.

And I need a fish scaler too! It's number one on my wish list right now!!!

Rellenong Bangus (Stuffed Milkfish)

I remember buying delicious rellenong bangus (stuffed milkfish) from a particular stall in the market. The reason why we don't make it ourselves is because of the grueling process of taking out the whole fish meat, cooking it, deboning it before cooking it again then stuffing it back before frying the whole fish. It's easier to buy, I know. 

Mark, however, was game in punishing himself with this process. He did this while talking to his mom on the phone who happens to be a superb cook.  He also gamely chopped the carrots and the other ingredients while we cooked the fish meat in salt and water. Deboning came next when the fish has cooled then I cooked it adding ground pork, carrots, bell pepper, etc. I stuffed it right back before frying. Now I've got huge oil splatters in my kitchen, next time I'll use the oven :D