Christmas is definitely my favorite season!

Christmas is just a week away...

The mornings are getting really cooler and cooler, nights are shorter, Christmas décor and lights are in full parade, the malls are decked with different and pretty decorations.  Christmas is right around the corner…

My family went around to the different malls, we just enjoy looking at the different decorations this year.

There's a gigantic Christmas Tree in the lobby of Shangri-La Mall

Dreamy Facade of Rustan's, also in Shangrila

Megamall Decors

Megamall Atrium

Virramall, Greenhills

at the Trinoma Mall

Market! Market!

Nothing signals Christmas like the warm glow of colored lights and the magical memories we've created as family and friends gather together.  From our Home to your Home,  MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

Join CDO Holiday Whole-Meat Ham Promo!!

CDO Holiday Whole-Meat Ham is currently having a promo.

They will be giving away a CANON IXUS 120 IS!

So, if you want to join, the mechanics are simple, please read on below:

* The raffle promo is open to anyone residing in the Philippines.

* Interested participants need only to register by filling up the registration form with correct information and submitting it.

* An entry can only be valid if the information written in the submitted registration form are also valid and correctly belongs to the participant. The fields that need to be filled out are as follows: (a) Email address; (b) Name; (c) Gender; (d) Birthday; and (e) Mobile phone number. Entries with incorrect data and information will be considered null and void.

* A participant may register and submit as many entries as he/she can, provided that each entry must have a unique email address and mobile phone number.

* A participant can increase his/her chances of winning by: (a) becoming a fan in the CDO Holiday Whole-Meat Ham Facebook Fan Page; and (b) sending Facebook friend invites to join the promo. A Facebook account is required for the above mentioned options, and each of them constitutes one (1) raffle entry for the promo.

* Two (2) units of Canon IXUS 120 IS Camera will be given away to two (2) lucky winners in the raffle draw.

* The online raffle draw will be held on December 22, 2009 in Rakso Computer Technology, 3rd floor Ricogen Bldg., 112 Aguirre St., Legazpi Village, Makati City.

* A participant can win only once in the raffle promo.

* Winners will be notified through an email confirmation and a phone call from Rakso Computer Technology.

* Prizes shall be claimed 60 days after the notification in the CDO Foodsphere, Inc., #560 West Service Road., Paso de Blas, Valenzuela City. For winners residing outside the Metro Manila area, delivery of prizes shall be arranged.

* Winners must present the email notification and a valid ID when they claim their prize or upon delivery.

* All employees of CDO Foodsphere, Inc. and Rakso Computer Technology, their dealer network, accredited advertising agencies and suppliers, and their relatives up to 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity are disqualified from participating in the promo.

* Promo period is from November 20 to December 21, 2009.

To register, visit their website here: CDO Holiday Whole-Meat Ham Promo!

Fish Fillet with Tofu and Tausi (Black Beans)

This is my sister's specialty.  I would always prefer that she cook it instead of me.  Really, it taste different, the dish taste like it came out of a  Kitchen of  a Chinese Restaurant.  Thank you sis, for cooking me this wonderful dish!  Both healthy and filling...  Yum Yum!

Ingredients:

500g fish fillet (Cream Dori or labahita), cut 2 inches wide, 2 inches long

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper

200g tofu, cubed (or more)


1 cup cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled/minced


2 small onions, sliced


2 tbsps all-purpose flour

2 tbsps cornstarch, diluted in ½ cup water

1 cup Button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 cup leeks, sliced

2 tablespoons black beans/tausi

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 cup water (or juice of canned mushroom)

2 tbsp Oyster Sauce


½ tbsp Sesame Oil

1 cup Young Corn (canned), sliced

Few slices of ginger (about a thumb)

Directions:
1. Marinate sliced fish fillet in Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper for 30 minutes. Roll fillets in all-purpose flour, fry until slightly brown, set aside; Do the same to your tofu, set aside.

2. Mash black beans/tausi. Heat pan with cooking oil, saute garlic, onion, and then add tausi, sauté for 5 minutes, then add water (or liquid from the canned mushroom), let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then add carrots, young corn – stir for awhile, then the mushrooms and leeks. Add oyster sauce and sesame oil, ginger and the diluted cornstarch. Season to taste (add salt or soy sauce and if you want, a bit of sugar).

3. Then add the fried fish fillets and tofu into the sauce. Serve hot with rice.

Note : You can still add your other favorite vegetables like brocolli, sayote, and cauliflower

Happy cooking!

LUMPIANG SARIWA (Fresh Vegetable Roll Recipe)

Lumpiang Sariwa or Fresh Vegetable Roll, is a dish composed of different vegetables. Can also be considered a one dish meal because of the meat and shrimp in it. It could be eaten wrapped in lumpia wrapper or uwrapped like a stirfried vegetable dish and still with a sauce.

There are just so many versions of this dish around. Some recipes vary in the kind of vegetables added to it, other versions use Ubod (heart of a palm tree) and carrots only. and some recipes vary on the mixture of the sauce – it could be salty or sweet. In our family, we grew up eating this food and it is one of the many favorites of the family. I can have this any time of the day. And we prefer our sauce a bit sweet with the right blend of peanut butter. And we want to use fresh lumpia wrapper bought in the market (just be sure you buy fresh and still soft), not the frozen ones.

If you’re a fresh lumpia or vegetable lover, you gotta try this version. We just had this a week ago, and it was just soooo delicious.. In fact, I made a big batch, gave some to my Nanay and siblings, and we had it for lunch & dinner, and kept the rest of the batch in the refrigerator, and I had this for almost a week, or whenever I wanted vegetable in a meal. I think ‘am gonna cook this again next month – that is, if I can find fresh lettuce, coriander (wansuy) and fresh lumpia wrappers (not frozen), for without this three ingredients, it won’t be as delicious.

Ingredients

• VEGETABLE FILLING:

• 2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

• 2 big onions, finely sliced

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/4 k ground chicken meat

• 1/4 k shrimp, peeled, deveined and minced

• 4-5 tablespoon fish sauce

• 1 medium cabbage shredded, (approx 3/4 k)

• 2-3 large carrots, julienned

• 2 medium chayote, julienned

• 3 medium potato, julienned

• 2 medium sweet potato, julienned

• ½ cup Kinstay coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup water

• Salt and Pepper

Should you decide to use a homemade wrapper, here is the recipe.

WRAPPER:
• 1 pc egg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup flour

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• ¾c to 1 cup water


SAUCE:
• 1 cup water

• 1/2 to ¾ cups sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 6 tbsp soy sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 to 2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water


GARNISH/TOPPINGS:
• 10 pcs or more romaine lettuce leaves

• 1 bunch ciltantro/coriander (wansuy)

• ½ cup garlic, finely chooped

• cloves garlic


Directions
VEGETABLE FILLING:

In a large casserole, saute garlic and onions in vegetable oil. Add ground chicken and then the shrimp, sauté then add the fish sauce, let it simmer for 2 minutes then add water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Add the potato, sweet potato, stir well, then add carrots and chayote and stir-fry 5-10 minutes (or until they are half cooked) then add the cabbage and kinstay, cook for another 5 minutes. Its ok if it tends to be a bit dry, we won’t be needing the sauce of the vegetables. Drain in a strainer and let it cool.

SAUCE:
Combine water, soy sauce, sugar and a bit of salt in a small pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer over low heat until it boils, then get the peanut butter and put some of the cooking liquid sauce in it and stir (this will help melt the peanut butter, so that when it is mixed with the cooking sauce, it will blend in smoothly). Season to taste (this will depend on how seet or salty you like the sauce to be. Then get the dissolved cornstarch and mix it with the cooking sauce until it thickens. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Transfer into a gravy bowl just before serving (you may add a bit of finely chopped garlic into the sauce before serving it).

WRAP:
Combine egg and salt. Gradually add flour & salt, alternating with water. Beat with a whisk until smooth. Beat in oil gradually. Refrigerate batter 1 hour. If you want a thinner wrapper, add some more water gradually.

To cook, brush a nonstick pan with oil and place over low heat. Ladle in 2 tablespoons batter, swirl to cover pan and pour off excess. Cook until the wrapper can be lifted with a spatula without sticking (if batter bubbles, the pan is too hot). Turn and cook just to warm the other side. Set aside and cover with a towel to keep warm.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Place a lettuce leaf and coriander in the center of a wrapper. Add 2 tablespoons filling. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling; wrap one side over filling and roll to the other side. The edge of the lettuce will stick out. Seal edge with water or sauce. Wrap each lumpia in wax paper. Serve with sauce and minced garlic in the side. Enjoy!

Busy, Busy, Busy ...

‘Been pretty busy this past days, tied-up with a lot of things…

family, small business, chores, errands, etc. etc. ….

But I’ll be back soon, promise ...  :)

Halloween Season Again!

The term Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe’en, is shortened from All Hallows' Even – e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening and Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred.

Halloween is fast approaching. It is a favorite occasion for people who like costumes. Costumes are said to be used to scare off demons. Actually, Halloween is a pagan practice which started hundreds of years ago. But lately, it has become so popular that a lot of people (young and old)  are looking forward to it every year...

A few days ago we went to SM Toy Kingdom and they have a lot of costumes and accessories available for all ages. Most of the items are really affordable and your imagination is the limit.

From the costumes,

to make-up,  hair accessories and wigs,  creepy hands, anything, including long black nails…

or something to dress-up your place...

My Daughter's Blog...

www.samsjoy.blogspot.com/

Hello Friends,
Please visit my daughter's blog.  It's seeing the world through the eyes of a precious little girl ...   it's a work in progress, just launched it today...  See you there!!!

Beautiful Smilies ...

Just like to take this opportunity to thank Jays   - from Babydoll.nu for the beautiful smilies....
Take care friend ...    and thank you for sharing your cuties...

HAINANESE CHICKEN (or Chicken Rice)

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of Chinese origin, a local specialty from the island of Hainan off the coast of China, most commonly associated with Singaporean or Malaysian cuisine, it is also commonly sold in neighboring Thailand. The version found in Singapore region combines elements of Hainanese and Cantonese cuisines. The dish was popularised in the 1950s by Moh Lee Twee.

This is one of the favorites of the family. I love this one dish meal, you have the chicken, rice and vegetable in one recipe, very light yet filling. I happen to develop my version of this dish because my husband loves this so much, one time when we were in Singapore, he was able to finish 2 orders of this dish in big bowls. And when my sister tasted this recipe, it became an instant favorite as well. I hope you’ll enjoy preparing and eating this dish as much as we did. We consider this as one of our comfort foods.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 ½ kilo Whole Chicken
1 Head Garlic, peeled & smashed
½ Tbsp. Whole Black Peppercorns
2 Large onions, diced
2 Tablespoons rock salt
½ tbsp of Ginger, sliced julienne
1 to 2 pcs Chicken broth cube
Enough water to boil the chicken
2-3 cups of rice
4-6 cups of chicken broth (the broth of  boiled chicken)

Dipping Sauce for the cooked chicken:
½ cup Soy Sauce
3-4 tbsps. Sugar
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger
½ tsp of Sesame Oil
Red Chillies (optional) Chopped coarsely

For garnishing:
Bunch of cilantro (optional) Coarsely Chopped

Optional: For the vegetable soup
Carrots, Pechay Baguio, portion of the Chicken broth

Directions:

Get the whole chicken, rub the skin of the whole chicken with rock salt. Wash it thoroughly with water, let it drip for a moment, and set aside. In a small bowl mix the stuffing - crushed Garlic, Whole Black Peppercorns, diced Onions, Rock salt and ginger very well and stuff it inside the whole chicken. Put the whole chicken in a big casserole, fill it with water till the chicken is covered with water. Cook it on high heat till it starts to boil, let it simmer on medium heat, add the chicken cubes, simmer slowly till the chicken is fork tender, add salt and pepper in the broth if needed.

Take out the cooked chicken from the broth, put in a separate container with lid so it will stay warm while you cook the rice.

On a separate cooking casserole, or you may use rice cooker if you like, wash the rice with water, drain all water from the rice. For every cup of rice, put 2 cups of the cooked broth from the chicken. Adjust the amount of the broth according to your prefence, if you find the 1:2 ratio too much. Cook the rice on medium heat, stirring it once or twice for even cooking. Cook it till its done.

Meanwhile, you may prepare the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients, except the Chillies (optional). Mix it very well. 

Serving suggestion:
Put a big scoop of hot rice in a plate, cut up the chicken, and put sliced chicken beside the rice and serve together with the vegetable soup and the dipping sauce for the chicken.

Note:

For this dish, we really need a whole chicken and put the stuffing inside. I’ve tried using other parts and just put the flavoring in the cooking water, the chicken didn’t came out as tasty. You may choose to use the Cilantro as garnishing when serving the meal, or mix it with the dipping sauce (we prefer it mixed with the sauce, it has a very nice taste). If you like more vegetables, you may add steamed Petchay Baguio or Bakchoy (whatever is available in your area), some carrots and other vegetables that you like. Sometimes, what I do, if ever there’s more broth than what I needed for  the rice, I cooked all the vegetable in it and this can serve as soup. Or you may put cut up vegetables on top of the almost cooked rice and let it steam there for awhile.

As for the dipping sauce, it you don’t like it to be too sweet, you may adjust it according to your preference (but from our experience, the sweeter, the better the sauce will taste). Should you choose to use the chillies, just mix it with the dipping sauce.  Enjoy! 

My 1st Award! Getting to Know Me Award

I would like to thank Mabel of SWIRLING THOUGHTS for giving me my 1st special award. Thank you Mabel for including me in your tag and making me feel that you want to get to know me, I really appreciate this.

This award comes with a tag of telling your five things you love to do & passing it to 5 friends.

5 Things I Love
I love to cook, I was inspired by the many wonderful cooks in our family

I love to craft, turning simple/ordinary things into works of art.

I love watching romantic movies.

I love taking pictures, capture every special moments of my whole family.

I love surfing the web, I could spend many hours in it and be fascinated by the new things I learn.


I'd like to pass this award to the following 5 friends:
(how I wish I could still add more names to this list …)

Enchie of From My Kitchen and Beyond

Lulu of Mouth’s Delight

Kim of At My Tabletop

Kaye of Random WAHM Thoughts

Cecil of Kitchen… the Heart of Our Home

Thank You Lord...

After typhoon Ondoy, I was again reminded to thank each day as it comes… Count my blessings – big or small.  Sunday morning (September 27) after the typhoon, when I woke-up, I prayed a simple prayer of thanksgiving, “Lord, thank you that my whole family is safe, our whole house is ok inside and out, and Thank You Lord for a new day ahead of us …

I came across this website - Circle of Prayer, and just wanted to share with you this prayer shared by one of the contributors …

Father, we ask for your mercy especially in this time of a great ordeal. Last weekend, I have seen the wrath of nature before my eyes when the super typhoon came to my town. There was non-stop heavy rain and the amount of water it brought in 6 hours is equal to a month's rain that it all the rivers and the dam overflowed resulting into a massive flood that claimed the lives of thousands of people in my town and althroughout the metropolis.Praise you for sparing my family from losing any member of my household even if the flood already reached the second floor of our house. But Father, my heart cries out to those people who lost their homes, their properties, and right now are short of food, medicines and a warm shelter.This is a very difficult time for us. In fact,We have been informed that there are still 2 more typhoons coming in the next few days and you know that we have not even recovered yet for the past calamity.There are still a lot of dead bodies yet to be found by their families as they are burried beneath the mass of mud and flood waters. Father, we do not know what to do now. Please don't let another typhoon hit our country. Have mercy on us, Father if we have been sinful people. I know that this circumstance is a wake up call for all of us to become more concerned with our environment and not be consumed by worldly things for everything in this world is just but temporary and they could all vamish in just one snap. Father, forgive us and give us a chance to redeem our nation. We still want to see the future with the young ones around us, more time to be with our family and loved ones. I lift this up to you, Father for I believe that you have plans for all of us. We commend our spirit into your hands, if it is thy will that this shall be our time. If it is not yet, heal my country father and all its people of the wounds that this tragedy brought us and let us find you and yearn for you from this day on and forever. For only i you can we find salvation and deliverance.

Praise you Father for all those people who have reached out to my fellowmen by sharing food, clothing, and medicines. Bless them father for their good hearts and let them have their rewards in heaven.

Father, we know that your love is divine and your heart does not seek to let your children suffer. We rest our faith and lives on you.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Circle of Prayer (Website of American Bible Society)

McDONALD’s Frontera Verde

Location : Julia Vargas, Ortigas, Pasig City

A very cozy branch of McDonald’s, I must say this is a very good example of what a McDonald’s store should be. It opened middle of 2009, and yet it has become one of our favorites.  It is a 24-hour store.

They have Mc Café inside, so while children are having their own favorite McDonald’s Meal, parents can have a decent cup of coffee with a delicious pastry.

This branch has a big open-air space upstairs, also ideal for hanging out at night or for children’s party as well. It has ample parking space outside for free, and if that’s full, there’s an adjacent big pay parking lot beside it. And to top it all, there’s FREE wi-fi.

My daughter had a blast in the  McDonald’s Kiddie Crew Program here last summer and looking forward to the next one...

it's a sweet sweet memory  ...

3rd Meatball Recipe : SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS

And lastly, we’ll use the 3rd portion of the meatballs we’ve set aside. Once the meatballs are ready, fry them in medium heat till a bit brown and well cooked. Don’t over fry them or they will turn our dry and loose its juices. Set aside, we’ll use them later.

Ingredients for the spaghetti sauce:

2 tbsps Cooking Oil

1 tbsp Garlic, chopped

3 medium Onion, chopped

½ kilo Ground Lean Pork

½ kilo Sweet & Juicy Swifts Hotdogs, sliced diagonally

1 pouch Spaghetti Sauce (Filipino Sauce)

1 pouch Hunt’s Spaghetti Sauce (Regular type)

1 pouch Tomato Sauce

¼ - ½ cup water

4-6 tbsps Soy Sauce

Salt, Pepper & Sugar for seasoning

Procedure:

In a pan, sauté garlic in cooking oil till fragrant, then add onion, stir well, then put the ground pork, saute till the pork turns pale in color, add soy sauce and pepper, sauté very well and let it cook for a few minutes. Then add all the spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce, add water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Then season to taste, if it needs salt and sugar, adjust according to your taste. Lastly, add the fried meatballs and simmer for a few minutes more and its ready to be mixed with boiled spaghetti noodles. Topped with grated cheese. Bon appetite!

Note: If you want, you may decrease the amout of ground pork and just add ¼ kilo since it already has meatballs, and add more hotdog instead.

2nd Meatball Recipe : MEATBALLS W/ SWEET & SOUR SAUCE

For this recipe, we’ll use the second portion that we have set aside in the freezer. Thaw it if it’s still frozen, and form again into balls. Once ready, fry them in medium heat till a bit brown and well cooked. Don’t over fry them or they will turn our dry and loose its juices. Set aside, we’ll use them later.

Ingredients for the Sweet & Sour Sauce:
2 medium, Onion, sliced in chuncks
2 medium, Tomatoes, sliced
1 medium, Green Bellpepper, sliced
1 medium, Carrot, sliced
2 tbsps Cooking Oil
1 cup water
4-6 tbsps. Banana Catsup
2 tbsps. Vinegar
½ cup Brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
¼ cup Cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Procedure:
In a saucepan, sauté onion, and tomatoes, then add carrots cook for a few minutes, them add the bellpepper. Saute them for awhile, then set aside in another container. In the same saucepan, put the water, banana catsup, vinegar, brown sugar, salt (about a pinch) and pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer over low fire, taste if it needs more sugar and salt. Then thicken with cornstarch dissolved in water and gently simmer again. Lastly, put back the stir fried vegetables into the sauce, and when ready to serve, add sauce into the fried meatballs. Enjoy!

1st Meatball Recipe : ALMONDIGAS

Soup type of dish with Meatballs in Miswa and Patola, another comfort food...
(Miswa is a very thin variety of Chinese noodle. Cooking miswa usually takes less than 2 minutes and sometimes significantly less.)

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Vegetable cooking oil
1 tbsp Chopped Garlic
2 medium size onion, sliced thinly
3-4 pcs. Medium sized, tomatoes, sliced thinly
½ cup Fish Sauce
1 pc. Pork Cube
200 gms. Miswa Noodles (more or less)
Sliced Patola
4-6 cups Water
30 pcs. Pork Meatballs

Procedure:
In a pot, saute garlic till light brown, then put onion, then the tomato. Saute well, then put fish sauce, let cook some more. After a few minutes, add 4 cups water, let it boil over medium heat, and add the pork cube. Once it boils again, drop the meatballs one by one in different points in the pot so as to avoid the meatballs from sticking with one another. Let it simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, then add the separated miswa noodles and shortly add the sliced patola. Simmer again for 2-3 minutes then turn off the fire and serve while still hot.

Note: There are times, when I choose to add less meatballs, I add peeled boiled eggs into this soup dish. Just add it in the last part of the cooking process. You can serve soysauce with calamansi in it as added seasoning on the side. The amount of Miswa noodles will vary depending on how thick you want your soup to be, the more miswa you add, the thicker the soup will be.