MR. MINESTRONE

Haligilet loves minestrone! And so, to make up for the time I've spent away from him, I made an attempt to replicate his favorite minestrone experience here at home.

My recipe is more "Pinoy" because most of the ingredients I used where just the veggies I had in our ref crisper, and aren't found in the Italian recipe. Kumbaga, umeffort mag-experiment ba! Hahaha.

So here's my version of minestrone. Feel free to this healthy kiddie palate-friendly dish!

Ingredients

3 tbsps. butter
1 medium onion chopped
150 grams boiled chicken breast deboned and flaked
2 chicken cubes
100 grams cubed squash (to replace zucchinis)
100 grams cubed carrots (to replace the kidney beans)
1 pouch tomato sauce
1 cup cooked pasta, ideally macaroni
(but I used the leftover cooked spaghetti from Haligilet's birthday)
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 small pechay, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1) Melt butter over low heat.
2) Saute onion and add flaked chicken breast.
3) Add chicken cubes, saute for two minutes.
4) Add squash and carrots and saute for a minute.
5) Add tomato sauce plus 2-3 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
6) Add cooked pasta and celery. Simmer.
7) Add pechay leaves (and celery tips) and simmer for an additional minute.
8) Add salt and pepper to taste.
9) Serve hot with crackers.
Makes 7-8 servings.

I attempted to take a picture of the finished product but couldn't get a decent one because Haligilet was getting impatient. And who was I to be a roadblock to his favorite dish? :)

Happy cooking (and eating)!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

A BALANCED DIET

Some fruit...A bit of carbs...And a hint of dairy...

Bizu-tiful!!!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

JUST GOT LUCKY

Merienda, anyone? EKS-OH-EKS-OH

TURNING JAPANESE

Over in Greenbelt 5, a Japanese resto has been steadily drawing in lunch and dinner crowds since it opened late last year. John & Yoko, the more "sophisticated" version of its brother, Sumo Sam, is a modern take on Japanese cuisine, a welcome contrast to the hippy-ish roots of the restaurant name.Dinner last night was light. No weight loss pill needed. Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

ITCHY FEET

Yes folks, I am leaving for another out of town trip on the wee hours of Tuesday. With all the travel assignments I've been getting, it would've been great to have those professional SLRs with the really sophisticated lenses like the Nikon rifle scopes, rather than just the point and shoot thingy that I have. Not that I'm complaining. My Canon buddy has served its purpose for years now.

So where am I off to this time? Somewhere south of Luzon once again where our team plans to get a load of this...
Lord, help me.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

ITALIAN MADNESS @ MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Our family had a dinner date at the nearby shopping mall. A Friday night date has already been a tradition for Haligi and me ever since we started going out, and we carried on even after our wedding. And this Friday of all Fridays, was extra special because we had a special guest--our very own Haligilet.Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

BRINGING HOME THE BACON

Feigning ignorance of my hypertensive heart and fatty liver, I marked my first night in Cebu with a meet and greet with the famous CNT Lechon. This, by my book, is eligible to join the bacon of the month club...Crisp and tasty pig skin, with underlying layers of flavorful and juicy meat--wash it down with a bit of Coke Zero, equals a taste of heaven. Hahahaaay, ang sarap talaga ng bawal!

Till we MEAT again, CNT :D

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

BE BACK LATER

Catch you later folks. Our orders of pepperoni crunch and cheese pizzas are here. (Thank you Lord, for Shakey's Rada!!!) The thin crust delights shall keep us company as we watch this...
Am feeling a bit guilty because this is surely bad for my pre-hypertensive body--the game only, not the pizzas. Hehehe!

Malamang tambak na naman (kami!) Later!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

MEA CULPA

Sorry for being terribly amiss in doing blog updates. This week has been terribly toxic. And if there is a word that means MORE TOXIC than toxic, then that's how my week is turning out to be.

In place of a regular entry, I'm leaving you with some photos of the welcome surprises that I enjoyed in Vigan... More anecdotes (and more photos) next time...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

LOVE AT FIRST BITE

Finally, after months of aborted dining attempts and anticipation, my friends and I finally had the taste of that much coveted Pepper Lunch meal. This restaurant over at Power Plant Mall's concourse level ,has been drawing queues and raves both day and night. Thanks to officemate K, who deemed it fit to celebrate on 08/08, our Pepper Lunch dream finally became a reality.

Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

1 pc. Zobrixol
1 pc. Nafarin
1 pc. Vaneular
1 Claricort for dessert(before bedtime)
And a dash of Elica cream

Seems like maver is steps away from being a grandmaver. Kulang na lang ang blood pressure monitor at enervon prime! Hehehe!

It ia indeed a blessing that our company shoulders 100% of our medical expenses, including the "drugs." Nonetheless, I feel really bad because all this just goes to show that I am getting effin old!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

LUNCH @ LEGASPI

With gas prices on the rise, Haligi and I decided to let the van rest for the day. Braving the overcast skies, and with Haligilet in tow, we walked to good ole Legaspi Sunday Market to hear mass and to grab today's brunch.Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

PASTA MECCA

Awa ng Diyos, natuloy naman ang dinner :)...

Last night, my best friend, A and I met up after months of being away from each other. Blame it on the demands of motherhood, toxic schedules, out of town trips and everything else in between. And what better way for pasta junkies such as ourselves, to catch up on old times, than to have it at one of our favorite restaurants--that little nook along McKinley, with superb food, cozy indoor lighting and wonderful memories...

Located right across Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, it is a quaint 35-seater pastry shop that, to me, serves good and reasonably priced selections of our favorite italian dishes. We never did get to figure out the correct spelling of the place because the two signages right at the facade are spelled differently. Ano ba talaga, kuya?

A, RAO (our other best friend based in Sydney) and I love La Nuova's mix of homey ambience and high-end quality food, sans the expected stiffness and pretentiousness. We've shared lots of joys and tears in this little pasta haven of ours--from RAO's failed relationships, A's (aborted) plans to see a marriage counselor to seek marriage family counseling, and even my occasional senti questions on how to save your marriage. The only drawback is that the place is quite small, so I'm sure neighboring tables shared our joys and tears as well. Hehehe. Despite this, we have since voted La Nuova as one of our favorite hangouts. Missing RAO mode.:(

Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

BAG OF BEANS, LOADS OF CHARM

Our family trips to Tagaytay are never complete without a stopover at our favorite coffee place. Bag of Beans, that quaint, cozy, little bakeshop-cum-coffee shop (and now conference venue) is tucked away at a clearing right past the city proper, and serves a wide array of mouth-watering breads, desserts, and pies. Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

NODOLS

The CANTOON kind.
This was what I had for lunch during today's immersion exercise in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The purpose of the trip was to familiarize ourselves with our partner's microfinance (MFI) and credit repair processes. We observed one of those coop meetings where a group of 20-30 "nanays" aged 18 to 60 years old, congregate to remit fixed savings and loan amortizations to the coop's account officer. In return, the coop members gain access to credit and credit repair services, insurance and other deposit instruments. They also get to be part of an extended support group as they establish deeper and closer ties with their co-members.

The microfinance sector envisions a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services all aimed to improve deposit and repair credit trends. It was an insightful experience as I was able to have a greater appreciation of this "movement" that has taken the countryside by storm.

But the most exciting part of the experience is that I had a serving of this.

Kaya naman pala masarap ang pancit CANTOON sa Batangas. Madaming MENIRALS! :)

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

MAVER MEETS PETRA AND PILAR

Two nights before former officemate, R's scheduled exodus to Singapore, my galpals and I trooped over the stylized carenderia that has been drawing crowds (and raves) since it first opened its doors to the public. Petra and Pilar, the new dining establishment along Export Drive near corner Pasong Tamo, applies that familiar dining credo of providing good, familiar, home-cooked meals, only this time in more comfortable, air-conditioned surroundings.
Read more...

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

ANGRY SIYA

Malalim ang problema ni stingray...
Kahit ako kumunot kase hindi ko alam bakit hinain to sa canteen!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

CHICK-BOY

Iba na ang pabling...
Malasa, malaman, makatas, malambot, malusog.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

SWEETS FOR MY SWEET

Ever since I could remember, Haligilet had developed a very strong bond with sweets. Theirs was a love affair that blossomed ever before he turned a year old.

As I recall, his fascination, no, obsession, with all things sugary began even before his first tooth came out. Be it be cereals, cookies, chocolates, jelly beans, gummies, yada yada yada, walang pinalamapas si Haligilet.

Case in point...
To further complicate things, he also had an affinity with things non-edible...Both a parent's and a dentist's nightmare, indeed.

Backed by a family history of diabetes, I resolved that I would steer my loved ones clear of known agents of the killer disease. Obviously the resolution was not firm enough. My son slept with the enemy, and how!

I was really puzzled how Haligilet developed such affinity with his glucose fiends este, friends. After all, I have tried to keep the enemy out of our abode for the longest time. But with my weight and waistline, what credibility did I have, right? Hehehe.

Alas, I found the root cause. The affinity had been passed from one generation to the next...
Kung ano ang puno, siya rin ang bunga.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

ANG GA-LAING!

In the interest of time management, I had this for lunch at CWC--Laing Pizza is a medley of Bicol's finest delicacies--it's having Laing and Bicol Express all in one go. All that on a paper-thin crust with loads of melted cheese--the taste is to die for!!! And while the look of the dish may not be that appetizing, please do not judge the book by its cover. After all, the pizza is not a book. Mwehehe!

Ga-laing mo men!!!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH