Garden Fresh

How I wish we could grow our own vegetables again. Nothing beats organic and freshly picked veggies, not to mention, free.

By the way, this isn't my garden. But I'm wishing it were mine with all the lush veggies growing.

A Healthier Alternative

Last week, I had a craving for the greasy and fried burgers from Mc Do. But I decided against it and ordered from Good Burger. I ordered their Persian burger, as always.



Then I decided on going healthy all the way by ordering fried veggie strips. I thought they'd be like those fried vegetables from Japanese restos, but instead, they were made from veggie "meat." They tasted ok with the sweet chili sauce, but I still prefer good old french fries.

Beautiful Day

I love clear blue skies just like this...

Time Wasters

I chanced upon this online article (forgot the name of the site) that listed down all of her time wasters. So I decided to draw up my own list and this is what I came up with:

1. online forum - nonsense/mindless chatter but I'm addicted to it
2. internet surfing
3. having to redo our helpers' work
4. explaining instructions to our helpers over and over
5. watching TV
6. picking up after the little girl (and the husband sometimes)

Knowing these now, I can probably cut back on some and divert the time to more productive activities. I'm pretty sure I can come up with an even longer list, but for the moment, these are my major time wasters.

On the other hand, reading, over sleeping, taking long baths are considered luxuries and not a waste of my time. It's my way of destressing and I wish I can have more time for these.

What wastes your time?

Fish In Black Bean Sauce

I'm posting the recipe here (from memory), before I completely forget about it. It's a dish that I would like to cook again since it's so easy and simple to prepare.

Fish fillet cut into small strips
black beans (tausi) - around 1 tablespoon
slivered ginger - I used plenty
chopped garlic
chopped onions
sili (optional) - just 1 pc
tokwa (optional)
1 tbsp oyster sauce

I used olive oil since I didn't have any sesame oil. I sauteed the onions, garlic, ginger and sili. Then I added the fish pieces, then the tausi. And finished it off with oyster sauce.

My dad suggested to add tofu next time. Sorry, no photo of the finished product since I everyone was hungry already.

Blogging Once More

Blogging always takes a back seat whenever I find myself lazy or too stressed out. But for the past several weeks, it's more of the latter which has kept me away from my blogs.

For the meantime, let me just share some pictures we took in Sta. Rosa some weekends ago. I watched Chef Sau (of Chelsea Market, Le Bistro Vert and another resto that escapes me right now) prepare some dishes which were really very simple to do. But as always, I have yet to make something in my own kitchen.

For the Kids

Here's something for the little diners.

Vegetable Juice

Over the weekend I tried out freshly juiced fruit and vegetable shakes. I don't normally like the taste of vegetable juice, but I "bravely" bought a large cup. I felt "healthy" just drinking that juice! It had romaine lettuce, ginger, bananas and pineapple. It was fibrous, but overall, the taste was good.

This morning, I've been searching the internet for some recipes so I can prepare some at home, especially over the Lenten holidays. Time to cut down on the soda and recharge with some home made (and preferably organic) juice. While some veggies that are used in many recipes seem unappetizing to me (think red beets, parsley, radish), there are still so many vegetables that can be mixed with fruit to come up with a yummy shake. I plan to make a shake with romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumber, celery and ginger. Of course, not all those veggies in 1 shake.

I'm still looking for recipes and I'll try to experiment this week. If I'm able to successfully make a yummy shake, it will be posted here for sure.

Do Your Share

March 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm (local time).

*photo taken from www.myearthhour.org.

Staying Put on Holy Week

For the first time in several years, we are staying home during Holy Week. It's a much welcome respite for me, after several weeks of no rest (no weekends!).

Aside from rest and going to church, I also have a list of things I want accomplished:

1. Clean out the ref. I hope I won't find anything that's growing already. Eek.
2. Have photos printed and organize in albums. I'm so behind with this project.
3. Work on IB.
4. Teach the new helper on how we do things around the house, house rules, etc.
5. Catch up on some movies.

How about you, what are your plans?

Green Weekend at Nuvali

There are lots of activities aside from the food and dry goods bazaar:

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday:
Bazaar
Green Vendor Showcase (2-3)
Foundation/Charity group Talk & Craft Demo
Indoor activities
Outdoor activities
Restaurant indoor activities

Sunday:
Bazaar
Organic & Food Market
Mass
Cooking Demo with Invited Chef
Gardening Lecture c/o Herbana Farms
Green Living & Wellness Talk c/o Echo Store/Nurture Spa
Live Ambient Music

Indoor Activity Choices:
Nail Art
Glitter Tattoo & Face Painting
Cookie & Cupcake Decorating
Ceramic Painting
Beading Station
Caricaturist
Kiddie Salon
Puppet Show

Outdoor Activity Choices
Balloon Sculptor
Magician
Mascots
Jugglers
Fire Eater
Fire Dancer
Pantomime Artist
Inflatable Playground
Calesa Rides

Steamed Fish with Ginger and Onion Leeks

This is one dish that is so easy to prepare, does not require measurements, cooks in 15 minutes, yet healthy and flavorful.


Ingredients
onion leeks
spring onion (optional)
grated ginger
sesame oil
soy sauce (optional)
salt
fish - I bought dory recently, so it's what I used.

I just washed the fish, sprinkled a bit of salt, drizzled about a tablespoon or two of sesame oil. In my original recipe, soy sauce and spring onions were not included. But in other recipes that I read, these were added so I just combined the recipes.

Drizzled a tablespoon of soy sauce, I used the low sodium version. Topped the fish with the ginger, onion leeks and spring onions. Wrapped the fish in foil then steamed for about 10 - 15 minutes. Steaming time really depends on the size of the fish.

Dealing with Clutter

An assortment of books, magazines and whatnots have piled up near the wall in our room. It's such an eyesore for me, especially since it's near my side of the bed, so I decided to buy these baskets. Aside from it being an eyesore, dust was already settling on top of the piles.

Those reading materials that the little girl and I often get are stashed in the open basket. The rest of the pile are now stashed and hidden in the covered basket.

This is such an easy way of dealing with clutter. But well, yes, I realize that I eventually have to open that basket and throw away most of what I threw in there.

Yup, I do like Espresso

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

But I don't think I'm all that high strung. Hmm....

Dusting Is What I Hate Actually

You Are Dusting

You are meticulous, focused, and extremely detail oriented. It's likely that you have the cleanest home of anyone you know. You notice all the little things that people seem to overlook. And it's not unusual for a tiny detail that's out of place to get under your skin. Your perfectionism has no bounds, and in most cases, it's an asset. The world needs more people who can dot every "i" and cross every "t". You're the type of person who appreciates a job well done. You believe that effort counts for a lot.

What Household Chore Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

I Should Do This More Often

I don’t know how I did it, but I was way below budget when I did the groceries yesterday. For the past several months, I’ve always been over budget even with a grocery list to guide me. From time to time, I'm right on target or even below budget, but I'd like it to be the trend this year.

So here are some tips which I practiced when I was at the grocery:

• Avoid looking at the bargain section. Oftentimes, I would spend a good P300 in this area alone because I thought I was getting good “deals.”
• Stick to the grocery list but allow for some unexpected purchases like those new cookies which I’m sure the husband will like.
• Make a quick scan of the pantry and toiletry cabinets at home before doing the list. I realized that I had stored so many boxes of fruit juice, bottles of dishwashing liquid and packs of laundry powder since these were staples in my grocery list.
• Avoid straying into the household section and thinking there will be items which would be useful at home. Like those new plastic containers or sponges for the dishes, because chances are, you’ve still got something that is just sitting in one of your cabinets waiting to be used.
• I also didn’t linger in the beauty section. I might just decide that I want to “try out” the new moisturizer or get a new toothbrush for the little girl simply because it's cute.

Anyway, I hope I can do this more often now. We'll see in two weeks time when I have to make another trip to the grocery.

Decorating Projects Done

As mentioned in this post, here are a couple of pictures of the new picture frame and accessories that I got. I was able to accomplish my small decorating projects over the weekend and I was immensely pleased with the results. Simply moving around objects, or keeping some old ones and bringing in new ones can do a lot to improve or update the look of the house.

The picture frame which can hold 4 pics so it's also a great space saver.

The small incense holder on top of the lacquer tray which I placed on our altar table.

Coffee and Tea Overload

But it still wasn't enough, and I'm still craving for more. I've always wondered what was so special about Vietnamese coffee and I tried it once in a popular dessert place and it disappointed me so much. But when we went to Vietnam, I tried it out and it blew me away! It was so strong and it tasted like chocolate too. We had coffee and tea daily and we even bought their coffee strainer and lots of coffee to make at home.



They prepared the hot coffee first then we stirred it with the condensed milk then poured it into the glass filled with ice. It was so refreshing!

Itching to Decorate The House

I’m quite obsessed now with decorating our home. This was how I felt when we had just newly built our house. Over the holidays, I had some free time and for some reason, I browsed through several interior design magazines. And I felt that I had not tended much to our home because of our business, so while it’s not bazaar season yet, I will take advantage of the time to tidy up our home and spruce it up a bit.

I've already taken off all the upholstery in the living room and brought it to the laundry cleaners. With a toddler at home, our couches tend to easily look so unkempt and dirty. I've also disposed of some old Alice Blue candles. After awhile, they turn icky and they haven't even gone halfway down. I've also disposed of some clutter that made it's way to our foyer table. Now, when I get home, I love looking at how neat it is.

I’ve started moving knick knacks around the house, taken down a few accessories and bought some new ones. I also bought one of those small indoor plants which just need watering once a week and placed it in our guest bathroom. I plan to get a couple more for the master's bedroom if the one I got doesn't die on me. On our recent trip to Vietnam, I bought table runners to replace the old ones we bought from Shanghai a couple years ago, salad servers made of carabao horn and incense holders made of marble. I got these, not because I like incense, but I just fell in love with the intricate detail and carvings. Of course, a trip to Vietnam would not be complete without lacquer ware, so we got a set of trays.

During my lunchbreak today, I got frames to display some photos. I’ve also selected some photos for printing and hopefully I find the time this weekend for this mini project of mine. I was inspired when we visited the home of the hubby’s cousin. Every table in the living room had framed photos and it looked so nice. It didn’t appear cluttered at all.

I'll take pics of my latest purchases and post it next time.

Resolution for 2010

This blog has been neglected way too long, and it's pretty much the same state of our home. lol.

This 2010, I only have 1 resolution which I inted to keep. Of course there are other resolutions, but if I have too many, I doubt if I'll be able to do any. My 1 resolution is to be ORGANIZED. I always, always fail here, no matter how I try to file or document anything at home. Sure, I manage to be organized for 1 week, but the rest of the time, it's complete chaos!

I realized over the holidays that I have too many documents. As if I didn't know that already! Anyhoo, I was planning to finally put all our family photos in an album. I knew I had several (close to 200 actually) printed photos lying around somewhere. When I tried to look for those photos, they were nowhere to be found. It infuriated me so! Now I need to sort through all my digital files and print another bunch, along with several hundred more photos. Argh!

Our desk, is not a desk anymore. It's piled with so many folders and envelopes. And you know those folders? Those are my attempts to organize our papers.

And that's not all. I brought out our passports for an upcoming trip this month. I also searched for my old passport to check on my US visa which is due to expire next year. I cannot find it! I turned our vault upside down and it's not there! I was planning to go to the US this year. Can you imagine the hassle? Until now, I haven't found it yet. And it's my favorite passport because it has a lot of stamps. The loss of my visa is not what bothers me, it's the sentimental value attached to the passport that I'm after.

So this year, I vow to be more organized.