Mahalo!

Finally made it to Lethbridge's first official food truck the Flyin` Hawaiian this morning! I was there at exactly 10am, no lines yet which was a relief. It was a pretty cold morning but I would've probably ignored the negative temperature. I've been dying to try their food for a week now but had to wait for hubby's off which is today so that was our first stop of the day.

I ordered everything on the menu. The service was amazing and the owners were very nice and polite. Oh and the food? Amazing of course! My top favorites were the donuts and pina colada. They are to die for (no exaggeration) especially the donuts (OMG!)

I honestly can`t wait to try the other food they serve (BBQ pulled pork and ribs).

The customer next to me was just as excited to order like me. I didn't know a food truck can do that to a person but apparently it does.

Try the Flyin` Hawaiian and feel the excitement too :D

Follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook for their schedule, location and menu!

Inspired

Watching food network shows late at night is probably a bad thing. It either makes me hungry or it literally makes the wheels in my head turn. I badly want to make something gourmet or at least something close to it but of course it has to be easy plus I gotta have the ingredients in my fridge. So after watching, I browsed recipes after recipes and found a few that looked promising. I fell asleep inspired.

Morning came and I went on to prepare parmesan crusted pork loin for lunch (easy peasy!) This is a keeper and even the kids loved it. I knew I had to serve it with some vegetables and soup. I was torn between asparagus and zucchini but chose asparagus instead. I used canned mushroom soup (nothing gourmet about it I know) but added bacon bits on top (haha!)

panko, parmesan, oregano, rosemary, garlic salt, pepper

used mayo instead of greek yogurt

ready to throw in the oven

grilled asparagus

I was so excited to plate it even though I had no idea how. I couldn't wait to taste it and it felt like a post Valentine celebration.

tadaaa!

post Valentine's lunch date

I knew the kids would love it as well but theirs didn't include the asparagus and I used the soup as gravy.

kiddie version

He loved it!

Lunch was a success! While the pork loin was in the oven I marinated beef chunks which I was planning for dinner. I found this awesome cumin lime beef kabobs recipe and decided to give it a try. We love beef and I was definitely intrigued about the cumin, I just knew this would be a very flavorful dish. I didn`t have any wooden skewers though but still decided to go through with it and serve lemony grilled zucchini ribbons with it. I also made soup out of canned tomatoes, celery and mixed veggies.

I forgot to take a picture while the beef was grilling but I grilled it on the same pan.

This recipe is another keeper. It was so good I made another batch the next day because we had friends over. And the marinade for the veggies? I`ll surely use it all the time, the veggies were sooo good!

Dessert is probably my most favorite part of a meal but I rarely make them. I did try this fruit salad with pudding recipe but I only used a can of fruit cocktail and a pack of vanilla pudding mix. I served it over graham crackers and cool whip. Again, easy peasy! I never knew a can of fruit cocktail would taste like this when you add vanilla pudding mix. Would definitely do this again with more fruits next time.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S! ALWAYS BE INSPIRED :D

Refreshing Reward

pina colada

I got sick around Valentine's. I had this terrible headache, I felt dizzy and nauseous at the same time. It turned out to be common colds again but worse this time around.

I had been salivating for my usual drink of pina colada which happens to be my favorite drink ever (hands down!) but my throat was acting up. I knew I was on the verge of having tonsillitis and drinking something cold and sweet would definitely exacerbate my already aching tonsils :(

Tired from sleeping and being sick, I turned all this negativity into something productive and did some early spring cleaning.

finally organized this little space

properly filed impt docs

no more overflowing mails and papers from school :)

I only did a few areas but these were the areas I have been avoiding for the longest time (storage closet, filing cabinet, kids' room, closet, mails/papers). It was so time consuming to sort through clothes, mails, paperwork it took me more than 11 hours on the first day. I was also doing laundry at the same time since I took down the curtains and changed the bed sheets. I was running around like crazy and wanted to do one hundred things all at the same time. I did manage to get things in order but since I started late (1pm) by the time I finished at 11:30pm, I was ready to die. I knew I pushed myself too much but nothing a good night's sleep won't cure. I honestly couldn't wait to wake up the next day as I made a list of things I wasn't able to finish.

The next day I started a little bit earlier and finished around 9pm. I was still feeling sick and tired but decided to reward myself with a pina colada.

With my favorite drink in hand, feet up..best day ever right? :D

My Very Own Barista

enjoying her strawberry frappe made by daddy

I mentioned on a previous post that hubby and I started making our own drinks at home. I'm happy to announce that while we aren't turning into alcoholics, we have found a new love or let's just say a new found appreciation for coffee. I am not a huge coffee drinker nor is hubby and usually I prefer my coffee cold. Hubby however, brings a travel mug to work but rarely drinks coffee at home partly because I don't like making something I don't really like to drink.

So what changed? Hubby (finally) convinced me to purchase a stove top espresso maker and frother then he started making cappuccino, frappuccino, macchiato, frappe and whatever else we desire.

To be honest I don't know the difference between a cappuccino and a frappuccino. I love the sound of it yeah but whether I'm drinking a latte or plain coffee, espresso or some other fancy coffee, making it at home and not spending a few dollars on something I can't even tell the difference actually makes much more sense.

strawberry frappe, espresso, cappuccino

caramel macchiato

iced caramel macchiato (mine!)

iced frappucino

More than the taste or the coffee itself, I think hubby loves being able to do these various drinks at home. If you ask me, he won't stop until he's able to do latte art :D

Valentine's Day Gifts 2014

Valentine's Day fell on a Friday and this time around I waited until the day before to prepare the teachers' gifts. I also bought (cringe) valentine cookies for the kids' class party instead of trying to make something at home. Considering my limited baking abilities or lack of talent in that area, buying has got to be the best option.

I did have ideas on what to give to the kids' teachers days or probably weeks before. It just took me awhile to sit down and start putting them together. Thankfully, the kids only have two teachers this year meaning, less gifts to prepare. Don't get me wrong, I love giving gifts and thank goodness for Pinterest, so much ideas in there.

jar candle

nail polish

chocolates

I could make these cute little gifts all day long plus they cost next to nothing because I already have these in my stock pile. The candles I got for free, nail polish .05 each and chocolates .50 each. The tags I printed awhile back, valentine bags I scored at 50% off last year.

Leila's teacher was surprised to get all three gifts and as she read the gift tags, her reaction was priceless. It was indeed an (awww) moment :D

A+ for Effort

I wasn't going to post this originally because we didn't like the end result but looking at the pictures, Leila did have a lot of fun making this 5 minute chocolate chip cookie so here it goes...

 

Ours looked different from the recipe no wonder it didn't taste good enough for my little critics. I'm sure it is a great recipe which I managed to mess up even though it is a simple, no bake recipe (haha). Anyway, my little helper had fun and that's the most important thing I guess :D

Something's Fishy

I'm trying to post regularly hence the shorter posts. We craved for fish and breaded pork and when we crave for something it's gotta be on the table ASAP!

The recipe for the breaded pork came from a friend of ours. I used pork loin instead of pork belly (next time I will use pork belly). Marinade consisted of fish sauce, lemon juice and garlic. Breading used was a mixture of cornstarch, flour and crushed potato chips. I tried two versions, the first one I used both cornstarch, flour and BBQ potato chips. The next one I only used flour and plain potato chips. I prefer the first batch I made, using BBQ potato chips adds more flavor and using both cornstarch and flour makes it crispier.

cornstarch, flour, bbq potato chips

breaded pork

The fish sauce is probably the surprise ingredient there. I wouldn't have used it for marinades but flavor wise it's awesome (just ignore the smell!)

pinaputok na tilapia

Speaking of fish...I made broiled stuffed tilapia  for a change and chanced upon butterflied milk fish so I marinated them in vinegar, salt, garlic and ground pepper paired with boiled spinach, chopped tomatoes and onions seasoned with fish sauce and lemon juice.

daing na bangus w/ boiled spinach salad

Now, if only I can open some windows and get rid of the fishy smell :D

If I Could I Would

chicharon

Pretty sure I have posted this before but I haven't made this in a long time. Yup, it's that special it warrants  its own post. I don't even remember the last time I made chicharon (pretty sure it's close to a year or maybe more).

I found some pork skin with a little fat (trimmed from pork belly) inside the freezer. I usually save this for pork sisig but decided on chicharon instead. It is one of Lance's favorites and of course hubby's, okay and mine too.

Those store bought ones are nothing compared to these. If I wasn't afraid of the oil splatter I would make these in large batches and probably munch on them 24/7. Maybe not 24/7 but pretty close to it :D

Cooking the Obvious

Because hubby is on leave, it only means one thing (ok maybe two!) gotta have food and eat when it's time to eat.

grilled honey ham

grilled honey ham, egg, cheese, veggies, sweet mayo

grilled honey ham and egg sandwich

He wakes up late so it's either brunch or lunch already. I usually make it few minutes before he wakes up and because he wakes up at exactly the same time everyday (how creepy is that!), by the time I'm done and everything's set up, we're both ready to sit down and eat a warm meal.

waffle sandwich with bologna, egg and cheese plus lemon smoothie

I wish I have a weekly menu planned but I don't. I always go to bed thinking what's gonna go to the kids' lunch bags, what do I cook tomorrow? It works for me though because between that time when I start thinking and waking up, something just pops up. Either it's a craving, or something I saw on Pinterest but most often than not I mentally add up what's in the fridge/freezer. Like I knew the next day would be a poutine day (just because) I remembered there's a bag of fries downstairs.

poutine and strawberry smoothie

poutine for kids' lunch

It may not be the ideal thing to do but I go with what my gut's telling me to cook. Okay, I'm not sure if it's gut or what (haha!) Actually, I cook whatever makes sense. We have this so I cook it. From time to time we do entertain our cravings and make a special trip to the store to get the ingredient but most often than not it's cooking what we already have.

steamed and fried dumplings

Hubby was craving for dumplings few days ago and I knew eating out wasn't the best option. I would rather spend the money towards buying groceries which I did and the dumplings were only $3.88/bag. They all taste the same to me anyway (haha!)

hot dogs in ketchup, worcestershire, soy sauce and brown sugar

I'm not fond of hot dog in a bun, I would rather eat it with rice actually especially when cooked like that in the picture. Found this hot dog recipe but sauteed mine in garlic and onion, omitted the mustard and added soy sauce.

breaded beef and vegetable tempura

I knew I had beef in the freezer, the kids won't enjoy it if it's cooked like steak. I don't have much veggies either to turn it into (sinigang or nilaga), I don't feel like using it in a stir fry. So I decided to just slice them thinly, season with salt and pepper, roll into cornstarch then fry. I still have zucchini and carrots and decided to do vegetable tempura. Okay the tempura thing was just an excuse to use the deep fryer (again!)

love this thing!

Leila came home from school the next day requesting for the breaded beef again. Who am I to refuse her request? Now I have a valid reason to cook the same thing for the second time. I knew hubby would notice but he didn't complain, partnered it with the pickled veggies I made few weeks ago. The veggies are awesome! I am going to make some more and hopefully pick up some mason jars soon. :D