Still alone today as my bug is still assigned in Hamilton. I had pinoy bistek for brekkie, adobo for lunch and tortang talong for dinner. In between, my snacks are watermelon, strawberries , malaysian almond cookies, a very small piece of carrot cake and 2 pieces of chocolates. This little bunny inside my tummy is really driving me crazy eating. I always feel hungry but I have to be disciplined on eating only good type of snacks. I also did my second preggy yoga today. I feel I'm still flexible as I was still able to do all poses the instructor asked us to do. woohoo!!
I also got my cover for my new phone, Im happy with this purchase, only $12 including postage!!
Tuesday 27 November 2012
Monday 26 November 2012
Back from the hibernation
It's been awhile since I last posted on this online diary. A lot has happened from June till now, probably the most important is me getting preggy!! woohoo. I'm on my 22nd weeks now. I've been feeling morning sickness on my first trimester but all is good now. We have also found out that we are having a baby girl. =) I promise to post atleast every week now. More updates on the coming posts!!
Saturday 23 June 2012
Grilling fish outside of our house
Despite a cold Auckland winter (for someone born in the Tropics), my somewhat paleolethic habits have prompted me to grill snapper outside our house. So on an early Saturday morning on the last June weekend, I dropped by the Auckland Fish Market to buy a couple of medium-sized snappers after driving my wife into her office in the local insurance company (she was a bit busy as doing work during weekends, even for just a couple of hours is not a norm in corporate New Zealand).
Immediately right after arriving at our home (that's about 15 kms from the CBD where the fish market is), I wasted no time in grabbing the small BBQ grill that I kept just at the side of our small house and started piling up the used charcoal. I realised that they were slightly wet for quick use, probably because the grill was rained on a couple of days ago or more likely, as the grill is water-tight covered, because I've used too much water putting off the live coals the last time that I did grilling (couple or so months). I have to get my stock of charcoals I stored in my garage (garage which I recently converted into a "boxing gym" but it has been more than 3 months since I actually put on the boxing gloves and sweat it out with the standing punching bag. As a consequence my fairly aged car, a Nissan Primera Camino 1996, has to endure being parked outside and being covered with frost every morning. I need to get serious with this boxing stuff!).
Anyway, going back to the charcoal, I have accummulated 3 bags of different types/grade of charcoal. The story behind is that I initially bought a bag of charcoal that was really easy to use, but out of ignorance, I wasn't aware of the relative priciness. On my second purchase, I decided to buy the cheapest available; it felt and weighted like they were stones! This is probably what they call "coal" and not "charcoal". When I attempted to use them, it took my entire Sunday afternoon and partly the evening to successfully grill fish! It was horrible and took all of my patience and persistence, but I kept telling myself I should not give up and set my mind as if I was stranded on an island and I'd either sleep with empty stomach or persevere and have a yummy fish dinner. So basically, I started like 1 pm in the afternoon trying to start an ember on the rock-like coals. It was already 5-ish when I was able to generate enough live coals to guaranty a well-cooked grilled fish. My arms took a good deal of exercise by having to fan the live coals to life from a small ember for more than 3 hours. And I have to inhale a good deal of smoke and my eyes were already cursing me after an hour of constant irritation. But I managed to convince myself that failure is not an option if I were to survive in this imaginary uninhabited island. The third bag was a bit in the middle between the last two I've tried in terms of difficulty in creating embers. I actually discovered it when we were attending a get-together a friend couple's place (it was a dinner with a mix of watching and cheering our national fist "Manny Pacquiao" fight against his kryptonite nemesis, Juan Manual Marquez). It wasn't the kind of outcome we hoped for in the fight but it was a very enjoyable get-together.
And that's how I ended up with these 3 odd bags of charcoals of different types. I decided to use them in combination and thought this would be the best grilling session I will have so far (in a cost and convenience perspective, cost because I don't have to use all of my previous 1st choice charcoal and convenience because I don't have to endure an inordinate length of time in fanning live charcoals). But I learned another important lesson from the last session: it's not all about charcoal! I basically didn't have a good fan available and as a result, fanning the coals required triple effort to achieve the same level I had on my previous sessions! And once again, it took almost my entire afternoon to just grill a couple of snappers! I was literally starving and out of patience when I started putting the first fish on the grill. I didn't even mind or notice the cold winter wind but was silently praying that the threat of rain which the ominous clouds wanted me to know won't materialise before I finish my stuff.
After all those hard lessons, I decided that an activity as simple as grilling fish requires some serious planning and preparation. Next time, I should have all the following essentials:
1. A reliable and efficient fan
2. Sufficient fire starters and matches
3. Dry fuel. Any wet charcoals should be removed (and can be added back once there are enough embers). I also learned that I can actually extinguish embers on my BBQ grill without pouring water. I just have to cover the live coals with the airtight cover and that should do the trick as the absence of oxygen will put off the embers.
4. A mask to minise inhalation of smoke
5. A rainless weather (you can opt to use a canopy or tent though)
6. Some imagination (mostly, to help you with patience)
And with that, I will prepare a "grilling checklist" for my next session!
Immediately right after arriving at our home (that's about 15 kms from the CBD where the fish market is), I wasted no time in grabbing the small BBQ grill that I kept just at the side of our small house and started piling up the used charcoal. I realised that they were slightly wet for quick use, probably because the grill was rained on a couple of days ago or more likely, as the grill is water-tight covered, because I've used too much water putting off the live coals the last time that I did grilling (couple or so months). I have to get my stock of charcoals I stored in my garage (garage which I recently converted into a "boxing gym" but it has been more than 3 months since I actually put on the boxing gloves and sweat it out with the standing punching bag. As a consequence my fairly aged car, a Nissan Primera Camino 1996, has to endure being parked outside and being covered with frost every morning. I need to get serious with this boxing stuff!).
Anyway, going back to the charcoal, I have accummulated 3 bags of different types/grade of charcoal. The story behind is that I initially bought a bag of charcoal that was really easy to use, but out of ignorance, I wasn't aware of the relative priciness. On my second purchase, I decided to buy the cheapest available; it felt and weighted like they were stones! This is probably what they call "coal" and not "charcoal". When I attempted to use them, it took my entire Sunday afternoon and partly the evening to successfully grill fish! It was horrible and took all of my patience and persistence, but I kept telling myself I should not give up and set my mind as if I was stranded on an island and I'd either sleep with empty stomach or persevere and have a yummy fish dinner. So basically, I started like 1 pm in the afternoon trying to start an ember on the rock-like coals. It was already 5-ish when I was able to generate enough live coals to guaranty a well-cooked grilled fish. My arms took a good deal of exercise by having to fan the live coals to life from a small ember for more than 3 hours. And I have to inhale a good deal of smoke and my eyes were already cursing me after an hour of constant irritation. But I managed to convince myself that failure is not an option if I were to survive in this imaginary uninhabited island. The third bag was a bit in the middle between the last two I've tried in terms of difficulty in creating embers. I actually discovered it when we were attending a get-together a friend couple's place (it was a dinner with a mix of watching and cheering our national fist "Manny Pacquiao" fight against his kryptonite nemesis, Juan Manual Marquez). It wasn't the kind of outcome we hoped for in the fight but it was a very enjoyable get-together.
And that's how I ended up with these 3 odd bags of charcoals of different types. I decided to use them in combination and thought this would be the best grilling session I will have so far (in a cost and convenience perspective, cost because I don't have to use all of my previous 1st choice charcoal and convenience because I don't have to endure an inordinate length of time in fanning live charcoals). But I learned another important lesson from the last session: it's not all about charcoal! I basically didn't have a good fan available and as a result, fanning the coals required triple effort to achieve the same level I had on my previous sessions! And once again, it took almost my entire afternoon to just grill a couple of snappers! I was literally starving and out of patience when I started putting the first fish on the grill. I didn't even mind or notice the cold winter wind but was silently praying that the threat of rain which the ominous clouds wanted me to know won't materialise before I finish my stuff.
After all those hard lessons, I decided that an activity as simple as grilling fish requires some serious planning and preparation. Next time, I should have all the following essentials:
1. A reliable and efficient fan
2. Sufficient fire starters and matches
3. Dry fuel. Any wet charcoals should be removed (and can be added back once there are enough embers). I also learned that I can actually extinguish embers on my BBQ grill without pouring water. I just have to cover the live coals with the airtight cover and that should do the trick as the absence of oxygen will put off the embers.
4. A mask to minise inhalation of smoke
5. A rainless weather (you can opt to use a canopy or tent though)
6. Some imagination (mostly, to help you with patience)
And with that, I will prepare a "grilling checklist" for my next session!
Sunday 8 April 2012
Buggy's day
Today is Buggy's birthday so mejo hectic ang schedule. Started with the day with brekkie pinoy style beef tapa. Buti namn at nagustuhan nya so photo op muna.
Tapa king and queen with apple juice
Winner namn daw ang tapa so magiging regular na sha sa menu namin.
Then we headed off at St Pat's for the 11 am mass. Buti nlng maaga kami kasi ang daming tao.
After ng mass nag lunch ang bida (ang may birthday) for sa Zap kami ang kanyang paborito.
Tapos nag stroll muna kami sa Clouds dahil 2.50 pa ang movie na papanuodin namin. so Photo opp muna sa Clouds
We watched Wrath of the Titans, winner naman!
Happy birthday to the Bug!!
Empanada
This is my first attempt of an empanada! saka na ang recipe pag perfect na. photo nlng muna ngayon.
Birthday celebration 30 March 2012
It was my birthday on March 24 it is Bug bday today (April 8). We decided to invite our friends here to have a simple dinner. Napilitan na din kami maglinis ng bahay sawakas!
For the dinner, I prepared shrimps in garlic and butter, lamb skewers. Tapos nag takeway sa #1 bbq si Bug ng crispy pork (2 kilos) and some stir fried veggie.
Our guests brought fried chicken wings, pasta carbonarra, ice cream, chicken satay and cake. Ang cute ng cake na gawa ng friend namin. Ito ung photo!
For the dinner, I prepared shrimps in garlic and butter, lamb skewers. Tapos nag takeway sa #1 bbq si Bug ng crispy pork (2 kilos) and some stir fried veggie.
Our guests brought fried chicken wings, pasta carbonarra, ice cream, chicken satay and cake. Ang cute ng cake na gawa ng friend namin. Ito ung photo!
Happy birthday to us!!!!
Lumpiang tuna
I recently tried cooking lumpiang tuna and it was a hit. I'm posting it here so I would not forget the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 canned tuna
spring rolls wrappers
mixed veggies (peas, carrot and corn)
1 small diced onion
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Combine all the recipe in a bowl.
wrap the combined ingredients in the spring roll
Fry in oil.
Ingredients:
1 canned tuna
spring rolls wrappers
mixed veggies (peas, carrot and corn)
1 small diced onion
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Combine all the recipe in a bowl.
wrap the combined ingredients in the spring roll
Fry in oil.
Lamb skewers
Its been a while since I posted something here. The initial plan was to do at least 1 post per week but got busy with other stuff. I will try to catch up though.
For this Lamb skewers you need the following:
lamb chopped in small pieces
herbs (rosemary, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper)
soy sauce
chili flakes
olive oil
bamboo skewers
Procedure:
1.Cut the lamb chops to small pieces. Smaller pieces makes it easier to grill.
2. Rub the herbs and chili flakes to the meat. I dont measure the herbs I put in, but maybe you can use 2 tablespoon of mixed herbs to 1/2 kilo.
3. Put salt and pepper to taste.
4. Sprinkle 2 tablespoon of soysauce.
5. Marinate for few hours.
6. Put the meat to the skewers then grill.
7. Dab the meat with olive oil to avoid drying the meat.
For this Lamb skewers you need the following:
lamb chopped in small pieces
herbs (rosemary, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper)
soy sauce
chili flakes
olive oil
bamboo skewers
Procedure:
1.Cut the lamb chops to small pieces. Smaller pieces makes it easier to grill.
2. Rub the herbs and chili flakes to the meat. I dont measure the herbs I put in, but maybe you can use 2 tablespoon of mixed herbs to 1/2 kilo.
3. Put salt and pepper to taste.
4. Sprinkle 2 tablespoon of soysauce.
5. Marinate for few hours.
6. Put the meat to the skewers then grill.
7. Dab the meat with olive oil to avoid drying the meat.
Saturday 25 February 2012
Time to let go
After 9 years, my handy cutie calculator gave up, the numbers does not appear clear and I have to tap it to work.
I bought this calculator when I was reviewing for my board exams. This has been with me through think and thin, board exams, my work in SGV, EY Dubai, EY Auckland and Lumley. It has seen my dramas on every client I had. Everyone who sees this calculator finds it cute and girly. But now its time to go. Thank you my everdearest cutie purple calculator!
 |
| Canon calculator for almost 9 years |
Post Valentine treats
Bug and I did not celebrate Valentine's day due our busy schedules. He did not even gave me something which causes my disappointment for the week. So during the weekend he gave me this
Ten pieces of french macaroons! Yum!!!
He told me that he even went to our favorite Filipino restaurant to get me a halo-halo but bugger they are closed! I guess its the thought that counts.
Happy Valentine's Day!!
 |
| French macaroons |
He told me that he even went to our favorite Filipino restaurant to get me a halo-halo but bugger they are closed! I guess its the thought that counts.
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Saturday 11 February 2012
No meat Mondays
My friend N and I decided to have Mondays as our no meat day. Not exactly no meat because we can eat seafood, but ofcourse we intend to have a full vegetarian Monday hopefully in June. I alternately eat the following:
1. Mushroom soup and garlic bread - These are those easy microwavable mushroon soups you can find in the grocery. Then I just toast a garlic bread.
2. Tuna in crackers or sometime Tuna melt (bread, tuna and melted cheese)
3. Panfried salmon and rice
4. Tofu and sauteed mushroom
I am looking for more vegetarian/ no meat alternatives taht are easy to prepare. I will keep on updating my blog everytime I have new vege recipes!
Till then!!
1. Mushroom soup and garlic bread - These are those easy microwavable mushroon soups you can find in the grocery. Then I just toast a garlic bread.
2. Tuna in crackers or sometime Tuna melt (bread, tuna and melted cheese)
3. Panfried salmon and rice
4. Tofu and sauteed mushroom
 |
| Pan fried salmon and fried egg, the hotdogs are for the Bug |
 |
| Tofu and sauteed mushroom |
 |
| Baked mussel (cheese and garlic toppings) |
Till then!!
Sweet corn and pork binagoongan
Last week, Japanese sweet corn was on sale selling at 8pcs for $5 so I bought 1 pack. I love it just boiled, then rubbed with butter and spinkled with salt and pepper! super yumm!!
I also cooked pork binagoongan. My version I think is the easiest. I don't want to spend so much time. I just want to fulfill my bagoong cravings so here it goes. I prepared the following ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork, cubed (I use the part where there is a good size of fats)
1/2 cup bagoong (I use the bario fiesta original flavor)
1 tomato
5-7 cloves garlic minced
1 onion minced
1. Boil the pork with 1 1/2 cup of water and add the tomato. You can cut the tomato if you wish. The tomato will release fluids that will combined to the water.
2. Let the water evaporate and tomato fluid evaporate. If you choose a pork with good size of fat, the oil from the fat will be released once the water evaporates. If your pork is dry, you can add few table spoons of cooking oil.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the mixture, sautee for few minutes or until you smell the aroma of garlic and onions.
4. Add the bagoong. You can add more than 1/2 cup depending on your taste. Sautee if for 3-5 minutes. I like my binagoongan a little crispy so I sautee it longer.
5. Once you are done, serve it with rice.
I hope I have some mangoes here!
Till then!!
 |
| Boiled sweet corn with butter and salt and pepper |
1/2 kilo pork, cubed (I use the part where there is a good size of fats)
1/2 cup bagoong (I use the bario fiesta original flavor)
1 tomato
5-7 cloves garlic minced
1 onion minced
1. Boil the pork with 1 1/2 cup of water and add the tomato. You can cut the tomato if you wish. The tomato will release fluids that will combined to the water.
2. Let the water evaporate and tomato fluid evaporate. If you choose a pork with good size of fat, the oil from the fat will be released once the water evaporates. If your pork is dry, you can add few table spoons of cooking oil.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the mixture, sautee for few minutes or until you smell the aroma of garlic and onions.
4. Add the bagoong. You can add more than 1/2 cup depending on your taste. Sautee if for 3-5 minutes. I like my binagoongan a little crispy so I sautee it longer.
5. Once you are done, serve it with rice.
 |
| Crispy pork binagoongan |
Till then!!
Sunday 29 January 2012
Auckland Anniversary 2012 long weekend
This si the first long weekend of 2012, aside from the New Year weekend ofcourse. Bug and I were initially planning to go to Waiwera and try kayaking but due to recent death in the family, we decided to stay at home. I need to go to the office on Saturday to approve some payments to be made for Monday, Bug decided to work as well. Instead of going hoe early I decided to just stay and do some catch up work. I think it was a productive Saturday. I was able to complete some work that needs to be done for month end as well as clean my pile of papers in my desk and under my desk.
Sunday was all about food! We started our Sunday by cleaning the house. Bug did the laundry while I clean the house and cook our lunch. We head to the grocery to shop for our weekly stock then went back home for lunch. This is what we had for lunch.
I got a pre-marinated pork ribs from countdown. It took 3 hours to slow cook the ribs but this is so yum! I also baked my favorite banana muffin.
We attended the 4.30 mass in the City then headed off to Glenfield night market after. It was a feast of Asian food. I love going to night markets!
Im planning to do some work again tomorrow or prolly head out to the gym. Good night!!!
Sunday was all about food! We started our Sunday by cleaning the house. Bug did the laundry while I clean the house and cook our lunch. We head to the grocery to shop for our weekly stock then went back home for lunch. This is what we had for lunch.
 |
| Slow cooked ribs |
 |
| Banana muffin without egg |
 |
| Steamed sweet corn ($3 each) |
 |
| Takoyako/ Octopus balls ($5 for 8 pieces) |
 |
| Some kind of chinese bread |
 |
| BBQ mussels with garlic ($5 for 6 pieces) |
 |
| Chicken satay ($5 for 2 pieces) |
 |
| BBQ Squid ($3 each) |
 |
| Churros ($4 for 3 pieces) |
 |
| German sausage, this is a crowd favorite ($4.50 in buns) |
 |
| Sisig ($7 with rice) |
 |
| Cream puff ($1 each) |
Ba-bye Mamay
Mamay Bien died last week (Jan 22, 2012). He's been suffering for quite sometime, age has come to toll and he has been weak. I always pray that you are happy in heaven now. I love you Mamay!
Friday 13 January 2012
No Egg Banana Muffin Recipe
Today I tried baking banana muffin. We run out of egg so I tried the no egg version.
You will need the following:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 mashed bananas
kisses chocolates (cubed) or any chocolate available
Mix all the ingredients and bake in 180 celcius for 30 minutes.
I really like the results. Its moist inside but an almost chewy top and bottom. Yum!
You will need the following:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 mashed bananas
kisses chocolates (cubed) or any chocolate available
Mix all the ingredients and bake in 180 celcius for 30 minutes.
I really like the results. Its moist inside but an almost chewy top and bottom. Yum!
Saturday 7 January 2012
Northcote food court
For our Friday date night we decided to try the Northcote Food court. E had stir fried beef from a Thai place and I had my chicken katsudon from the Japanese place. Nothing extra-ordinary on the taste.
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