Lung Center Sunday Market

My boss is really nice. He lets me come in for a later shift on Fridays and Saturdays. I take advantage of this for when I want to do other stuff during the day, so I'd come in at around 6PM. Since Alfred now comes in at night, there were some Saturdays when I actually stayed at work until his shift ended at 5AM on Sunday. This weekend was one of those days.

We left the office a few minutes after 6AM (Alfred also had to render overtime), and I suggested we visit the Lung Center Sunday Market. My parents had been there two weeks ago and picked up the new members of our family. The Market was also featured in Yummy mag's May issue. Off we went.

I got a pink leatherette apron that was really designed for when you wash the dishes. So I do use it now when I do that, and I'll be using it too when I make truffles and when I finally go back to baking. I thought it would be hot to wear, but it hasn't been. The material actually feels lightweight.

We had breakfast at one of the stalls - Bicol Express and Beef Caldereta. In my opinion, it needed more salt to taste, but it was just right for Alfred. It was filling though, and did not cost us much. We also brought home prawns that my dad cooked for Sunday lunch!

I will definitely keep the camera in my bag at all times, I missed photo opps that day for not doing so! There are pictures in this post though.

We'll be there again next Sunday - this time armed with a market list for what we really need for our food experiments the following week. Going there is a good reason to walk around too - something we should do more often!

Yummy

In May, I bought my very first issue of Yummy. I had seen it in stores at least once before but I thought it was an expensive glossy and that it wasn't local. I didn't bother to actually go close to the rack it was on to read anything. So anyway, I saw it at the Ministop in our building that one evening I was in the mood to buy magazines.

I had skimmed through its pages but I had to sit down again today and just really read and savor all that was yummy in there. I had already bought the June issue on Saturday but didn't want to actually start reading that without digesting the previous issue.

I truly enjoyed the magazine and I admit that it has stirred in me some interest in cooking, in a way that no Food Network show has. Haha. In fact, there are a couple of recipes from there that I have resolved to try in the coming months (I can't bring myself to say weeks because I know I won't be able to accomplish much if I do):

1. The Mango Mousse looks simple so maybe I'd give it a try. How do you puree mango? Do you simply put it in a food processor? I wonder if my chopper will do just the thing.
2. The Berry Trifle by Aileen Anastacio and/or Christine Jacobs' Chocolate Trifle.
3. I would definitely want to make the Chicken and Avocado Salad.
4. Sausage and Baby Potatoes Salad looks like something I would enjoy, and so would Alfred. It's a must try then.
5. The Asian Chicken Salad looked yummy too, I'm just not too sure about the chillies. I've got to give it a go though.
6. The Cojunudo is very interesting, if only by the use of quail eggs done sunny style to top everything ala Eggs Benedict.
7. Alfred mentioned wanting to try stir fry noodles so I am going to suggest he give the Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Pork and Basil a try. Yes, this one's for him. There's a Beef Curry recipe in there that he might just want to try, but I will leave it up to him.
   
8. I would be in charge of the Coconut Tapioca Pudding with mango and papaya.
9. I've never tried baking bread of any sort here at home but I might just start with the Ensaymada that they featured. Good luck.
10. The Garlic Adobo Flakes Benedict can be a joint project of ours. Alfred can take care of the chicken adobo.
    
11. The Mashed Potates in 3 ways must be tried too. We've only had homemade mashed taters a few times because we haven't perfected it. Maybe it's in one of the three recipes. My brother will sure enjoy that.
    

Aside from the food projects, I also picked up interesting stuff from the mag:

1. Envirosax - Reusable shopping bags/totes that come with lovely designs are now available in select stores here in the Philippines. I gotta check that out. We have canvass totes here at home that can do the job, but they are quite bulky to take with you and would not fit some of my smaller bags. It would be awesome if even big stores would actually allow the use of these alternatives to their own plastic bags. The next wonderful thing that could happen if bags like these were produced locally. It would be even more meaningful because it meant that the bags did not have to use jet fuel just to get here. But they (the makers of the product) are right, it is a step in the right direction.
   
2. The Lung Center Sunday Market - It has been featured in the papers before and my parents have gone there once or twice in the past (a very long time ago), but I've never gone there myself. Since I get off work at about 2AM on Sunday mornings and Alfred logsout a few hours later, it may be a good idea to go one of these Sundays. I'll just show him the pictures of what yummy food we can have there and he would probably say Yes!
   
3. Lori Baltazar's food blog Dessert Comes First. She writes beautifully about how she experiences food. I think I should add a different blogroll just for the food blogs I now have on my list.

I can already foresee the glossy mag being worn out over the years (unless my laziness overcomes me) like the recipe books my mom used she used to cook regularly. That's a mark of a good food magazine, in my opinion.

I am so ready to devour the June issue.

What an awesome kick-off for a long weekend!

A colleague from work, Kiss, wrote a very flattering review for the choco truffles I've been making. I love getting comments about what I make, because it affirms it for me. You know what I mean? I make them not so much because I want to make money out of them, but because I truly enjoy doing so. Knowing that they are appreciated is really the icing on the cake. :)

I'm already thinking of variations to the Oreo Truffles. I will be trying some things out during my long weekend, which officially started at 4AM.

Yes, I have a long weekend - 4 days - ahead of me. I usually have Sundays and Mondays off work but I volunteered to go to work this Monday since one of my colleagues was on vacation (and she still isn't back). To compensate, I'm off for Saturday. Then my regular off is here - Sun-Mon, and then I availed of a one day vacation for Tuesday so we can also attend a book launch.

The downside is that I have all this time, but I'm not going anywhere. I really was looking forward to finally going to Bolinao with friends. We've been planning a vacation for the longest time but it hasn't materialized yet. This time last year, we were in Sagada exploring the cave and going up and down mountains just to see the waterfalls (I wanted to provide a link to my Live Space album but the site is down). Anyway, the vacation may still become a reality, as long as everyone's still interested. There's still some sun left.

I have not been blogging much lately, and that includes blog-hopping. Part of it is because my PC is sick. Sick, I tell you. Just today, it took me almost an hour just to wait for it to boot up properly. I had to turn it on and off countless times.

Boyf has a pretty good idea what's causing it but we've been delaying dealing with it because I didn't want to spend for the computer again when I haven't even paid for the monitor in full. Since I received my leave conversions though, we're thinking of using some of that money for this. I was hoping it would be for our vacation though (specially since our birthdays are coming up fast).

Hmm.. Blogger now has a blogroll feature and I am going to give that a try in a bit. My blog list and blogroll are both getting longer and longer I'm not sure I want to keep both on the sidebar looking that way. I do like seeing the blinkies though. Oh well.

My dad just woke up and apparently, we're going swimming today! My mom's office has an annual summer outing and they get to take their families. This year it happens today. They didn't tell me beforehand probably because I'm supposed to be working Saturdays.

This means I won't be getting any significant sleep this morning, I don't really mind though! My nephew - if you know me or have been reading up on my blogs, you would be able to guess which one - Esban is of course tagging along.

Okay, I gotta stop and get some blog-hopping done before I take a shower or a quick nap.

Hearing Mass. EcoWise at ShopWise. and a Boodle feast - Part II

So hearing mass was the first part of the Sunday night. After the priest dismissed the congregation, Alfred and I parted with Joy. I would have wanted to take Joy up on her invitation to her new apartment and have some pasta that she prepared that afternoon. We had to turn her down though, for two reasons: Alfred really really wanted to eat at a particular restaurant, and we had some grocery shopping to do.

We've been to ShopWise several times already, mostly when we needed to buy Pedigree or Alpo for Zune. There was a also a time that we bought vegetables and fruits there for my week's diet. I've seen the banners and adverts they have regarding their reusable eco-friendly bags and always thought that that was a fantastic idea. I never bought one before because we had no real intention to make ShopWise shopping a regular activity. Last night, we decided to buy the bag because, well, as it turns out, we do visit ShopWise almost every other week.

I took pictures of the bag but I'm having a hard time uploading using my mobile phone. Argh.

So we got the bag and the cashier started filling it up with our items (it's a big bag) and then I read about the reusable bag and their double points promo. For ShopWise card holders, much like SM Advantage, you get points for your purchases. For people using the bag, they get double points for all items that fit in the bag. So the reusable bag has three purposes : 1) reduce the amount of plastic used by Shopwise customers; 2) have a sturdy big bag for your grocery items; and, 3) earn double points for your Wise card.

I really just bought the bag for it's eco-friendly purpose. I've also been declining plastic bags from Ministop, often just carrying or pocketing the stuff I purchase. I also wish they would allow us to bring our own canvas bags when shopping at SM. Or perhaps SM should have their green bags available for clothing purchases, etc., and not just for use in their Supermarkets and with conditions at that.

Anywho, we've been really conscious about plastics and waste lately, it figured in quite a number of our recent conversations. I've mentioned that the Choco Oreo Truffles ala Bakerella are a big hit and people are actually ordering it from me now. I can't help but think about how wasteful the packaging is. Yes, you've guessed it, it is plastic. So Alfred and I were thinking of alternatives and paper bags just don't seem a good idea so we got the microwavable plastic stuff (more expensive than the ones I've used) and then we'll just put tags on it to encourage buyers to reuse the container or give it back to us to take a small amount off their next purchase. We'll see how that goes.

Finally, we could sit down for dinner after running around that massive grocery store. Alfred originally wanted to eat at Hap Chan but I wanted a Boodle feast at Seafood Island. Either way we would be spending around 500 pesos for the meal. Just as before, we thought about how gluttonous we looked ordering a feast for 3-4 persons, while there was just 2 of us. We looked at a family of about 3 adults and 2-3 kids who also ordered one of the boodle feasts. Are they having the 3-4 version, or the 5-6? Hopefully the latter. In fairness, they had additional orders.

My Cooking Master Boy and Thursday Thirteen #11

Cooking Master Boy - that is Alfred's favorite anime. I enjoyed watching it too when it was on ABS-CBN but for Alfred, it's like a how-to guide for cooking. Seriously. He's been watching the series again, but this time through Youtube.com or Crunchyroll.com or some other video site that carry the any or all 52 episodes of the toon.

He's been wanting to cook the perfect Yangchow fried rice, or even just to simply perfect the art of adding egg to rice. The other day, after watching an episode of Cooking Master Boy, he claimed to know the trick to get it done. For breakfast yesterday morning, he got up and tried his newly learned trick. In fairness, he didn't disappoint. So breakfast was a big, fun event yesterday. :)

A couple of hours later, while we were at the mall looking for a chopper/food processor to make crushing Oreos an easier task for me, he still couldn't forget about his wonderfully cooked fried rice. He was disappointed at not having taken a photo; I said we'll capture it on film next time - if he can recreate it. :)

Today, I am bummed about NOT being able to post a decent TT in the past 3 or 4 weeks. Really, I had several ideas and posts written out in my mind but I never reached the keyboard to get them all out. Does that happen to you too? I think it happens to many of us - we actually think about stuff that's happening around us and react to them, and then later think what a great post that would turn out to be - and then not get to post.

So here's my thirteen posts I have yet to write.

1. A post for or about my Mom and our relationship. Of course with Mother's Day last Sunday, I thought about how we didn't grow up as 'good friends' but having an ok relationship nonetheless. Instead of posting those thoughts right away, I stopped to look for her pictures that I can scrap and include in the post.
2. My top freebie hunts for digital scrapbooking. I have long wanted to feature maybe two designer blogs at a time, as my little way of thanking them for all the wonderful designs they give away to cheap-o's like me who grab every freebie that comes their way. :) When I get to do this, the first one I would write about would be Susan of Raspberry Road.
3. My follow up post about our day at the beach waves of Club Manila East. I have not finished my layouts of our pictures. And I MUST talk about the indestructible paper bracelet.
   
4. Ramble about what I'm going to do for social change. As a young girl I was involved in many activities that contribute to society. I really was a child rights advocate and not just one who would talk about it. Now, I don't really do anything in that front and I wish I could change that.
5. My thoughts on being a non-active Church member who does not attend Sunday mass (or any mass for that matter). I specifically want to dig through my thoughts and feelings about what I can do to be part of either the Youth movement or Sunday School. I know I have something to contribute, I'm just not making time.
   
6. Our third anniversary in the company. On the 23rd, Vanette, Edsel, Bea, Joey and I would be celebrating our 3rd year at NCO. We're down to 3 from the original 24 (am I correct?) who started training as L2 TSRs. We were the special class that spent one week at Camelot Hotel. We were the class with a lot of potential.
7. I wanted to share an inspirational video that I watched while I was at work the other day. It's about how our attitude towards events and things in our everyday lives could be key to what becomes of us . At least that's what I remember about it. I will watch it again and get the link up here someday.
8. Ramble about friends and why I am not like others who spend so much time with friends. This is something I think about very often.
9. Budgeting and saving money; making money. I really would love to travel and go on trips but don't have the resources for it. I've been earning three times as much as I did three years ago and yet my bank account doesn't have much. I know I can be thrifty if I wanted to, so why am I not so? I also make a little money through my blog over at http://verabear.bravejournal.com but I'd also like to explore how else I can earn online.
   
10. Marriage/Wedding plans. Okay, there are no concrete plans yet
    
11. I have not added Steve Berry's The Third Secret to my bookcase. I read this weeks ago.
12. How my luck is turning and my team is performing well at work now. I wanted to write about each team member to go with the pictures of our videoke night. That's another item on my "to-scrap" list.
13. The baking courses and schools and I read about online and why I want to sign up. Last month, I had plans to sign up for baking courses (which would have started in May).

I will post about these things SOON. If not, well, at least they're on this list already. Hahaha!

Read my past TTs here and here.

Finally you get to see the Truffles!

YUMMY-NESS
I've been munching on these a lot lately:

Yes, ever since watching the 7th Heaven marathon on Studio 23 during the Holy Week and the twins lured the others into telling them their secrets over cookies and milk. I also discovered Double Stuff Oreos during a rare errand to MiniStop and have found it difficult to resist grabbing a pack (or two) when I see the shelves restocked.

I was exceptionally happy then to see Bakerella's recipe for the yummy truffles. As I posted on the 24th, I finally made them:


I love them - very much. It took a lot of willpower to resist eating every piece in this package that I brought with me to work. All I thought was that I brought them to share and that I had to make them last until morning when Alfred comes in and that helped curb my desire to gobble them up.

I'll make more on Tuesday or Wednesday because one of my friends at work wants to bring some on his out of town trip. Mmmhmmm.

SEARCHIN' MY SOUL TONIGHT
Remember Vonda Shepard singing that in the intro credits to Ally McBeal? I'm listening to her music as I surf through the net. I just love the soundtrack for that TV series. I got the two CDs they came out with but I can't seem to find them. So I'm listening through Music Messenger. It makes me feel good to sing along to those tunes. Even the slow ones lift me up. I'm not sure why.

Truffles a la Bakerella

Yesterday after work, we took Zune to the vet for a checkup. He's been weak and has not been eating much lately. They checked his temperature and found he had a slight fever, they tested his blood but didn't find anything. He has some meds to take and he does seem to be a little better today. Thank God.

After Alfred left for work just as soon as we've had lunch, I set out to do the Oreo Truffles from the famous Bakerella. I've been wanting to make those in about 3 weeks and only got the time and the cream cheese yesterday. They are so easy to make (although my hand kinda hurt after all the crushing, a food processor would have really come in handy) and they turned out very very yummy. I took some to work last night and those who tasted it liked it :)

I took pictures, but I couldn't find the cable for my camera so I'd have to delay posting those. I made 46 small round truffles and the choco coating wasn't as smooth as Bakerella's. I used Semi-sweet baking chocolate because that's what's available to me. I will make those again sometime soon. To give away or to sell even. :)

I didn't coat all of the balls in chocolate last night because I had to go. I wanted to do them again this afternoon but something is off with my chocolate - it just wouldn't melt to the right consistency! I think it's most probably because I refrigerated the semi sweet choco chips last night, and I probably shouldn't have. So I only managed to coat a few pieces today. I will bring them to work again tonight. Hehe. Then tomorrow is another day for truffles! :)

Bacolod Chicken Parilla

Note: I just changed the IM control tonight because Tracy tried it out earlier and mentioned that the screen was too small to read actual conversations. When you click on the current button (as long as it shows my username, it means I'm online), a conversation window will pop-up and we can continue to chat even after you navigate away from my blog, as long as you don't close the pop-up.

After work on Monday night, boyfriend and I decided to have dinner at this new place along Scout Reyes called Bacolod Chicken Parilla (or something similar). It opened just a few months ago. I pass by it every night to work and I've found it intriguing that there's always a lot of people there, even at 11pm. It was time we checked it out ourselves.

As you approach the restaurant, there's a sense of familiarity - everyone seems to know each other. It feels like a hangout, really. Plus you're greeted by the guy that I perceived was the owner, though I'm not sure about that.

The grill is outside but even you take a table there you won't necessarily smell like barbecue. Since the location of Parilla is somewhat like an exclusive village with public roads, there are trees around and you won't smell car fumes, so it's really okay to stay outside. Alfred and I chose to dine indoors though.

Aside from the usual chicken inasal, which was great by the way, we ordered Salmon Head Sinigang, a soup dish. Heaven! We loved it! One order is just enough for two, though honestly I could have eaten it all since I didn't have rice. :) It was so good I couldn't wait to tell my dad and the rest of the family (who know how to appreciate good food) right away. I've posted before about how much Alfred and I love to eat and we'd really go back to spots we've had good experiences in, or new places that had raving reviews by friends. Parilla folks will definitely see us again, and again, and again. :)

It doesn't hurt that it's just a few minutes walk home too. So after the filling dinner that didn't cost us a fortune, we were able to walk off some of it on our way home!

Hap Chan - overeating!

In our 8 years of being together, we've spent a lot of time (not to mention money) dining out. There have been times that we'd dine out fewer times than usual or we'd go for cheaper options, when we find that we didn't have much extra dough to spend. Those occasions, I must admit, are few and far between though. Alfred has always maintained that, sure, we needed to scrimp on some things, but never on nourishment. He really would go all out for good food. Of course, there were times when we'd come out of a restaurant dissatisfied and would feel that money was not well spent, but there are more times that have us leaving very (very) happy. Last night's dinner was one of those of the latter.

Since it was my off, boyfriend and I decided to go out after his shift at 6pm. It wasn't particularly so we could eat out, but so he could go shopping for a pair of jeans. I wasn't in a particular mood to shop, but I wanted to buy some essentials so I agreed anyway. After making our purchases, we had to decide where to eat. There are now a lot of options in Cubao/Araneta Center. There's our favorite Boodle meals at Seafood Island, fastfood joints, SM and Gateway food courts, and many others. We were on our way to try The Aristocrat, when I saw the Hap Chan sign. We were just talking about Hap Chan a few days back and so I asked boyf if he wanted to go there, which of course, he did.

It wasn't difficult to pick what we'd have, though I must admit, we seem to have chosen standards, and we weren't adventurous at all.

Yang chow rice, camaron rebusado (fried shrimps), Lemon chicken, and fried tofu. We could have done without the shrimps but I wanted to have some. Or we could have had more than just fried tofu. But we were very happy with everything we ordered. So happy, that though there were only two of us, we wiped out everything!Call us gluttonous, call us pigs, haha. :) We just know how to appreciate good food!

Good luck to dieting...