Long Weekend Menu

prior to the week long rains we grilled some ribs

Since it has been raining these past few days, we haven't had the chance to use the grill again. Too bad because I marinated pork belly, ribs, pork chop and prepared burger patties ahead of time so that we can grill them anytime. So I had to do some quick changes with regards to our menu. After my first driving lesson (yes, it was raining) I took the still frozen milkfish and decided to cook it in tamarind soup with lots of spinach. Easy, delicious and kids love the soup with rice.

milkfish in tamarind soup

Today is a holiday (Victoria day), kids didn't want me to go driving today and I, on the other hand didn't want noisy kids while I'm trying my best to drive. I got my nerves to deal with, last thing I need are kids in the backseat driving me crazy. So we just had one of those lazy days at home, endless napping, eating and watching TV. While watching Chopped just after the appetizer round, hubby got up and went to the kitchen and prepared sushi using only flavored tuna and cucumber. It was followed with an all meat dinner and more lazying around afterwards.

After my lazy day, with chores piled up, tomorrow is surely going to be a busy day for me. I hope I can still make a delicious meal tomorrow or I wouldn't mind having sushi again :D

BBQ and Some Fun in The Sun

Picnic!

It has been a warm week and because of this, it's so nice to be out. The kids' bicycles, scooter, and other outdoor stuff are now out of the garage. Just waiting for a warmer temperature before I let them swim in their kiddie pool which I already inflated this morning. The kids love their time outside but would sometimes complain about how hot it is.

kids picnicking while daddy's cooking

Everybody's tending to their lawns already, mowing and planting flowers. I love walking to school these days just watching all those pretty flowers and seeing everybody enjoy the sun, moms pushing babies on their strollers, children playing nonstop in the the playgrounds and simply because I've missed the SUN.

Grilled pork chop and Eggplant salad

I haven't done any spring cleaning yet. All our winter jackets are still out and yes, there are still so much to do which I'd probably save until Lance's summer vacation :D

Spring Food Trip

Fresh from our BC weekend (not to mention tired too), with lots of unpacking and some other chores to accomplish, I only got the patience and time for quick meals. We had so much to eat during the weekend so it was understandable that the first few days since we got back, I didn't cook and just kept reheating the leftovers.

My Roast Turkey leg which turned out to be more like a Pulled Turkey was thrown into a vegetable salad the day after we got back. The Pork with Shrimp fry went into hubby's lunch and was reheated over again for dinner, the same thing happened to the Sweetened Cured Pork.

I only started to cook when all the leftovers were gone. We needed a break from all those heavy meals so I prepared some sandwiches but hubby's still turned out to be heavy as I filled it with bacon, a patty, egg, cheese, lettuce and tomato as requested.

For lunch, I experimented with the turkey breast seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and some herbs before baking it for 2 hours while covered in foil. I sliced the cooked turkey breast, flavored the slices with some butter then baked them for a few more minutes before serving them with raspberry sauce and a milky gravy.

I love Spring! The weather is great, the sun is out, good food is just around the corner and they're in my kitchen :D

BC Weekend

beautiful trees along the way

We went on a road trip to British Columbia over the weekend. It was supposed to be a 5 hour drive but we stopped several times to check out some places and pose for some pictures. We reached Fairmont Hot Springs a little after 3pm, about 7 hours or so of traveling.

First on the agenda after checking in was to eat a very late lunch. We unpacked all our 'baon' and we ate to the point of discomfort. After that very heavy meal and having rested for awhile, it was time to go to the hot springs for a very relaxing dip. We stayed there for 2 hours before heading back to the cottage to prepare for our grilled food feast.

Once again, we were filled to the brim, not only with food but with laughter as well. Having stayed in one cottage allowed us to spend more time with our friends, gave us reason to stay up late and just really enjoy each others' company.

I woke up early and decided to cook breakfast before packing once again. Our one and only agenda for that day would be to drop by at Funtasia which was right in front of Fairmont Mountain Bungalows where we stayed for some fun time with the kids. We ended up riding the bump cars which are nowhere near the bump cars I used to ride when I was a kid. But yeah, it was still fun and quite an adventure, several hard bumps and a headache afterwards and I was still hoping it wasn't time to go home yet.

An overnight's stay is never enough but it felt good to be out no matter how challenging it is to travel with kids. But more than the fun and quality time spent, I'm just thankful that we all got home safe :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!

Ginger and Five Spice Burger Patties

We gave in to our burger cravings but this time around, there was no need to go to Burger King to pick up our usual orders. I had been searching for patty recipes for the past two nights and found this recipe. Ever since my best friend posted a picture of her five spice burgers, I knew I had to try it. Unfortunately, our five spice powder remained unopened until last night. Finally, I made burger patties with ginger and five spice while watching American Idol last night and I knew from the smell permeating in the house that it`s gonna be delicious. We were not even planning to cook it yet but we gave in to the temptation. Thank God we did!

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!