R&R (Lazy Mode)

grilled milk fish stuffed with onions and tomatoes

Finally cooked the milk fish and pompano during Lent. No meat during this time, or at least we avoided it as much as we could. Missing (again) the fresh seafood back home and Mom's fish with turmeric!

baked pompano

Missing a lot of things and family (of course) but life has to go on, it's just a matter of doing things that bring simple joys. Be it a road trip, visiting friends, a stroll in the park or watching a movie with the whole family, whatever it is, as long as it takes my mind off all the worries.

last night's cheesy baked pasta

Ironing clothes is one effective way. Kept me busy for half of the day and seeing my basket of folded clothes empty is more than enough to bring a huge smile on my face. Since Lance is on Easter break, I can also afford to be lazy, taking power naps and having a much needed R&R.

We also had pasta last night because nobody wants to do the grocery :D

Spotlight!

Talk about being at the right place at the right time. That's where we were when a photographer snapped a picture of Lei and I while getting rid of a bag of flyers down at the Fairway Plaza recycling depot. On our way back to the car, the man approached us and informed me that he's from The Lethbridge Herald, he asked our names including Lei's age. The next day we were on the newspaper. My little girl was ecstatic, me as well!

The article was about recycling changes in our city, just so you know :D

Easter 2011

We did it for the second time and could be the start of a family tradition, the kids went egg hunting once again. Last year, the Easter Bunny left a map but this year, he left some clues as to where he hid the eggs.

first clue directed them to the shovel where another clue was waiting

more eggs in their wagon

The kids had a blast, me too (love, love the chocolates)! Next year, we'll be more organized and we'll ask the Easter Bunny to hide more eggs.

found some eggs near the huge tree

and yes, more near the fence!

I wanted to prepare an Easter Feast at home but we opted for an Easter (potluck) Picnic at Henderson with our Lethbridge Family. The weather was nice and the food was a usual in abundance. Most importantly, the company and laughter made the afternoon all the more wonderful.

happy egg hunters

A Happy Easter indeed! I wonder what the elusive Easter bunny has in store for next year!

Rice muffins for the potluck

Blessings and Miracles

Happy times with our Lethbridge Family

This post is dedicated to our friends, who, over the past few days went through such a difficult phase but was rewarded with the BEST in the end.

Hunks of Lethbridge

Living abroad, as I've come to realize is no easy thing. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, the advantage is more on the financial aspect but the disadvantages start from the sadness that's dwelling (and never ending) in our hearts and second would be the uncertainties particularly in our case (we are still waiting for our Permanent Residency papers).

The BABES!

Our friends were not able to renew their work permits. Imagine their fear and worry over this unfortunate situation. Fortunately, the management was very supportive but then again, everything all boils down to legality and paper works, unsure of what their next steps would be and yeah, amidst the support of  friends and relatives, I'm sure it was more than nerve wracking and we, as friends can only say kind words, offer prayers and hope that everything will be alright.

Congratz Martinez Family!

And true enough, by God's grace, after five grueling days, the miracle has come. We all know that their PR papers will soon come but not this soon. Nevertheless, we are happy for them and hopefully, we'll have our own miracles too.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has 
   made the Lord his hope and confidence.                                                                                 - Jeremiah 17:7

Lei's Magic Jelly Beans

gourmet jelly beans

My kids adore candies of all colors, shapes and sizes. Sometimes I can't help but indulge and give my sweet tooth a treat as well but I'm not or I guess I'm so over that candy stage already. I'm more of a chocolate/cake lover (kinda) person, more of a cake lover I think but I don't give in to my cravings on that aspect since I'm the only one who'll end up eating the whole cake which isn't a bad thing actually (lol).

munching jelly beans while watching a movie

Since the kids got a lot of candies and chocolates from Halloween and Christmas, we didn't buy any sweets for several months. Up until now we got candy canes, Halloween candies and the others left on the containers were either the wrong color of lollipop (Lei wanted purple ones only) or according to Lei, tastes yucky!
 

sugar rush goofiness

Lei requested for jelly beans one time and I got her some gourmet jelly beans at Walmart. There were more than 20 flavors and from time to time she munches on them, settling on a particular flavor until there's no more left before moving on to another flavor. Too bad my favorite white jelly bean which was coconut flavored got eaten first :D

Rice Bowl/Rice Toppings: Beef Version

Corn in Coconut Milk

By the time we got home this afternoon, I was not only hungry but famished! Our last meal was the deviled eggs during breakfast. Anyway, I snacked on Corn in Coconut Milk while I sliced the beef thinly and separated them into two containers. One batch was for the beef steak and another one was for my awesome, marvelous and wonderful rice bowls/rice toppings.

Amidst the hunger pangs, I meticulously seasoned the thinly sliced beef with salt and pepper before rolling them in cornstarch (with cayenne, onion and garlic powder). While frying them in hot oil, I sliced the carrots, bell peppers and half of an onion. When the beef was done frying, I sliced them into bite-size pieces before throwing them back into the pan with the veggies and a half cup of General Tao sauce.

I served it over hot rice and hubby made his special concoction of Maggi Savor and Worcestershire sauce which brought the already awesome, marvelous and wonderful rice bowl another level up :D

Egg Talk

Lance's Easter eggs

Lance had to bring three hard boiled eggs to school today for their Easter egg painting activity. I decided to boil some extra just in case he drops them before the activity and the rest of the extra eggs went into our breakfast.

Deviled Eggs with Bacon

This morning I made Deviled Eggs. I was originally planning to make these for Easter but since I got plenty of hard boiled eggs, I went ahead and served it for breakfast along with canned sausages. They're perfect for appetizers and in our case, perfect for breakfast as well since hubby likes eggs.

last night's HUGE chunk of meat

Yesterday, I was looking at some Egg Curry recipes to partner with our huge steak but I couldn't decide which recipe to follow. The ones I saw have so much ingredients and all I wanted was a simple Egg Curry recipe (simple, meaning less than 10 minutes of preparation). By the time I finished viewing the recipes, the steak was almost done and I was too lazy to prepare anything that would go with it. But I made a mental note to myself that the next time I cook chicken curry, I would include eggs. Now, that is a simple Egg Curry recipe!

Rice Bowls/Rice Toppings

Gorgeousness in a Bowl

After using them for the chicken wraps, I cooked the chicken tenders with some carrots, spring onion, bell pepper, General Tao sauce and the result was a delicious chicken bowl dish. Cooked in less than 10 minutes, preparation included, what more can you ask for?

 

Yesterday at Ricky's All Day Grill, I ordered their Amazing Ginger Bowl and from the name itself, it was indeed amazing. Breaded chicken fillets cooked with carrots, red onion, sesame seeds and a sauce I couldn't distinguish (my lucky guess would be an orange ginger sauce). The onion made all the difference because it made the dish tastier. I could make my own version, mix and match pork/beef/chicken with different sauces and it's going to be awesome, marvelous, and wonderful, in other words, AMAZING as well!

A Star Wars Fanatic and A Drama Queen

When Lance was such a huge fan of Star Wars (around late last year), we got this Star Wars drawing book. He didn't appreciate it at that time because he thought he was too young to be drawing the different characters and kept complaining that it was too hard. So it went to a box somewhere and his Star Wars stage slowly faded. After several months, I took it out again this afternoon and showed it too him. He jumped out of excitement and was back to his Star Wars addiction. He happily traced the characters and chattered the whole time, lecturing about the different characters, I could barely hear what I was watching. Anyway, he was preoccupied for awhile, although there was no silence I was glad he stayed on the activity table for sometime. A little peace for mommy, until Lei saw her kuya's drawing book! A dream turned into a nightmare, waaaahhhh! Gotta find a Princess drawing book tomorrow :D

The Apple and the Worm Inside my Head

The Apple and the Worm

I bit an apple that had a worm.

I swallowed the apple,

I swallowed the worm.

I felt it squiggle,

I felt it squirm.

I felt it wiggle,

I felt it turn.

It felt so slippery, slimy, scummy,

I felt it land, plop!

In my tummy!

I guess that worm is there to stay

Unless.........

I swallow a bird someday! 

Lance needs to memorize this poem before May 5th. He will be performing this along with a classmate for the Mother's Day Tea. The teacher decided to give it earlier and they're supposed to practice this during their Easter vacation. Well, I couldn't wait for Easter Vacation, Lance and I have been practicing this morning and night for the past two days (poor boy!) and he's so close to memorizing it already. And yes, it's stuck on my head too :D

From Hawaii to Canada

The recipe I used for Butter Mochi came from my childhood friend who lives in Hawaii. She said it was delicious, I took her word for it and I'm glad I did. It was my first time to buy and cook glutinous flour. I didn't know what to expect, the mixture was almost soupy and for a moment I wasn't sure it's going to form into anything. I was watching it the whole cooking time and when the top started to turn brown, that's the only time I breathed a sigh of relief. I tasted it the moment it went out of the oven and couldn't decide right away if it was delicious or not. My bad, I should have cooled it completely. Anyway, it was so delicious I brought one tray to a party and left the other one at home but I had to send someone to get the other tray. Everybody loved it! It tasted like Tikoy (Chinese Rice Cake) and the coconut made all the difference. My special thanks again to my friend Mag!

Vigan Longganisa

Longsilog (Sausage+Fried Rice+Fried Egg

The recipe was from my mother-in-law and it was hubby who made these native sausages over the weekend. We didn't finish the 4 day curing period and proceeded to cook them on the 2nd or was it the 3rd day? Anyway, hubby and I both love these type of sausage, it's garlicky, tangy and salty, very different from the usual very sweet sausages. It would have been better if there were casings available but since there weren't any, we did the skinless version.

We are going to make another batch of vigan longganisa anytime soon and we plan to add a little more vinegar, bigger slices of pork fats and more garlic. I will be adding paprika too and yeah, we just might make our sweet version of longganisa/sausage as well :D

Fajitas, Almost!

It says on the box fajitas, but since I only used the tortilla and filled it up with breaded chicken fillets, sliced bell peppers, lettuce, cheese and a three cheese ranch dressing, it may be aptly called a chicken wrap. Whether it's a fajita or a chicken wrap, I couldn't care less, it was delicious!

It's a Wrap!

Once again, I made those yummy chicken tenders, sliced them and used as filling for the tortilla. Lance mentioned before that he wanted those wraps but so far he hasn't tried the one I made probably because he had three bowls of macaroni and cheese for snacks.

Anyway, I think based on my standards, it was really good but I'm still waiting for the other judge, my hubby. I will be making chicken wrap for his midnight snack so verdict won't be in until much later :D

Accidentally Sweet

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Cheese with my sweet sauce

After watching a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode featuring BLT sandwiches, I immediately prepared one for our midnight snack. I was nowhere near the remoulade sauce they made but I accidentally created a sweet and simpler version. I started with mayonnaise, mustard, ground pepper, salt and a whole lot of sugar instead of a dash which made it sweeter than I would have wanted but decided to use it simply because I didn't want it to go to waste. Hubby was intrigued by the sweet taste and told him it was a sauce I created inspired by the remoulade sauce. The sweet sauce blended well with the saltiness of the bacon and cheese. It was a delicious and heavy sandwich and today we had one for breakfast, again with my sweet sauce!

My Own Chicken Tenders

The kids deserved a treat after behaving so well at the dentist this morning, plus the fact that they weren't able to eat breakfast before we left the house so we searched for a place to eat and since the pizza places won't be open until 11am, we ended up at Dairy Queen. Lance, who is a picky eater always pick either chicken nuggets, chicken tenders or chicken strips which are basically the same. He usually has a big bag of nuggets at home which he already finished in a span of two weeks. He said he liked the one at Dairy Queen which when I inspected were huge strips of chicken. He never really liked fried chicken but as long as it comes in the form of nuggets, strips or tenders, it's a yes for him. While he was in school, I asked hubby to fillet some chicken thighs, put them in this egg and milk mixture that I made before rolling them onto the flour (with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and paprika). And yes, it was delicious. Lance gave my chicken tenders a passing mark :D

Dinner in Bed

Tapsilog is easily translated to marinated beef + fried rice + fried egg. Usually served for breakfast but we had it for dinner last night and I had Lance deliver it to hubby who's in the bedroom. Lance thought it was Father's Day because we did a brunch in bed for hubby last Father's Day. So nice of him to remember and associate eating in bed with special occasions :D

Laing (Taro leaves in Coconut Milk)

waiting for the coconut cream to turn into oil, a long process but worth the wait

I cooked Laing for the second time and yes, there's a technique and it's pretty simple. It's a dish that doesn't need any mixing at all. Not even occasionally. You just basically have to wait for the coconut cream to turn into oil and that's it, you got delicious Laing already. But wait, I still got some secrets to spill. First, it's tastier to use the cooked/sauteed shrimp fry and add the coconut cream little by little. The longer you cook it, the yummier it's gonna get and won't spoil for a long time.

A Visit to the Dentist

Treats from the Dentist

The kids and I had a very early appointment today at the dentist. They weren't looking forward to it and have been anxious for a couple of days now making me anxious as well. I didn't want to deal with tantrums especially in public. Anyway, I think it went smoothly. I didn't hear any screaming or wailing while I was comfortably lying down on the dentist's chair. And when I met up with them after our check ups, they were pretty excited to show what they got in their loot bags. I'd say, they'll be jumping on our next visit except Daddy who's gonna be paying for everything :D