Showing posts with label childhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childhood. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

One Colorful Afternoon


Minutes before the kids arrived from school, an idea popped on my head---rainbow spaghetti! Saw this on Pinterest awhile back but too scared (of the mess perhaps?) to try it. To be honest, I prefer working alone in the kitchen but spending time with the kids doing something exciting is also priceless. Besides, there's more to life than watching tv and using the ipad right?

green and purple for Leila
blue and red for Lance
Kids and mess are most definitely interrelated but hey, if it makes your kid creative, so be it. Playing in the rain, getting all muddy, going home with ripped or stained clothes are just some of the perks of being a kid. I think, when you don't let them get down and dirty, it somehow diminishes their sense of adventure.

taste test!
I want them to grow up bold and brave (not daredevils) but really exciting people. Someone who isn't afraid to get out there, confident and full of life, as colorful as these rainbow spaghetti :D

tada!
Look at that, so pretty! I wish we had more food color (next time there will be yellow and orange). The kids were so happy with how the rainbow spaghetti turned out. They want this for their lunch tomorrow.

how cool is that?
I can't wait to get more food color and try it on other pasta shapes. This is great for a rainbow themed partyyy!

eating time!
the finished product!
The kids' verdict? It tastes like regular spaghetti (of course!) but it's more awesome. Yay! Good job mom :D

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Long Lost Food Pix

So I have unearthed some food pictures from my camera, let's see if I still remember what they are and I'll try my best to describe them.

spaghetti with butter and grated parmesan
My kids love spaghetti however they like the sauce plain meaning no meat or veggies. They tend to sift through the sauce leaving bits and pieces on their plate. During our vacation in New Jersey few summers ago they saw their cousin Tristen eat her pasta this way. It also reminded me of my dad who used to eat spaghetti with only parmesan on it so I tried it with the kids and surprisingly, they loved it! I love it too as it is so easy to prepare, I do eat it too except I put some garlic powder on mine.

honey garlic wings
pizza
We were addicted for awhile on honey garlic wings and pizza which we normally have during movie night. We would rent a movie and literally pig out. We haven't done this in awhile, the movie yes but not the wings and pizza (ugh!)

mixed seafood
Frozen mixed seafood in a bag cooked in canned tomatoes. A little like paella but my lazy and short cut version. Don't forget to enjoy it with fish sauce!

steamed bok choy
Hubby cooked this one. I have requested this again and again and he still hasn't cooked it. I don't know how he did it but it was delicious, so flavorful and had a nice crunch from the bok choy.

Pinakbet
Hubby's favorite pinakbet! I cook this probably once a month so I'm guessing I've already posted this one already. I'm gonna try this bulanglang recipe next time.

grilled beef and veggies
If there's one thing I don't mind cooking everyday it's gotta be steak. I am no expert on steak cooking nor do we buy the expensive steak cuts but I love experimenting on marinades. The one on the picture looks like store bought dry rub. I also found this grilled korean marinated flap steaks recipe from Pinterest which is definitely a keeper!

pork asado
I remember liking this dish when I was little. We always eat it at Goldilocks every time we go to Manila. This and their lechon kawali. I have never learned how to cook it though. While I have attempted cooking it before it was never successful until I tried this pork asado recipe. I tweaked the recipe to my taste, more five spice powder I think.

chopsuey
This vegetable dish has become our recent favorite. I have cooked it more than five times since December. I like to change the veggies every time I cook this just so we won't get sick of eating it. The quail eggs are a must! Thank goodness for canned quail eggs :D

Shrimps in pineapple juice
I rarely cook shrimps but when I do there's always a chance nothing's left for me. My friend taught me this recipe. I eyeballed it though (pineapple juice, brown sugar and soy sauce). I have posted this previously.

grilled shrimp
I forgot the exact marinade I used for these shrimps. Pretty sure there's lemon and soy sauce in there :D

crispy smelts
Leila goes crazy over these crispy smelts. She can eat a ton with lots of rice too. Lance is another story, as much as he loves fish he only wants tilapia. He doesn't like eating the bones and tails of these smelts (tsk tsk!)

pork in mango curry sauce
I scored a few free indian and thai sauces a few months ago. I used the mango curry sauce on pork instead of chicken. I bet this sauce will work on shrimps too.

fish and chips
When we went to BC back in June, we stood in line for hours just to get a taste of fish and chips. They're amazing! I still have to get the right batter though :P

vigan longganisa
We don't go to the Asian stores anymore because I tend to buy stuff we don't normally need. But when we do go there I like buying longganisa, frozen grated yam, and other whatnots.

adobong kangkong
This particular dish I don't get to cook as much as I want to because this type of water spinach isn't always available which reminds me that I really need a trip to the Asian store ASAP.

ube halaya
And lastly, one of our favorite desserts. I can't believe how easy it is to make this and that's mainly because one can buy it already boiled and grated. I use one can of condensed milk per one pack of yam and close to a cup of butter and lotsa lotsa grated cheese on to!

I'll take more pictures soon. Glad to be back :D

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Journey from the Past

from the album Slim and Slender days
at my slimmest
While putting the kids to sleep, I thought of eating lettuce dipped in vinegar and bagoong na alamang (shrimp paste) but I fell asleep.
I've always been skinny when I was younger until I discovered snacking on leftover rice topped with bagoong and calamansi after school when I was in Grade 3. By the time we moved to Manila when I was in Grade 4, I started packing on the pounds. That's when every food became my favorite.
It didn't help that my mom's a great cook. She let me help in the kitchen by mincing the garlic, cutting onions and tomatoes. For years that was my role and believe me or not, I wasn't really paying attention then. The very first meal I cooked was sauteed corned beef with cabbage and bell pepper until I progressed to cooking adobo, nilaga, sinigang and the rest I should say was history.

Lei helping Mommy to cook
Lance cooking
back at being heavy :-)