Foodie Tribute for my Late Father and a Recipe

 Growing, I 've witnessed my  Father's passion for gardening and cooking.  I was more drawn into gardening than cooking. IN fact, I  did not like cooking at all  even as an adult and was living alone at my own.  My father  used to tell me that whatever you put in the ground will  produce something.  Our backyard was always full of veggies  that  he planted.  I was very inspired and told myself that I would love a  vegetable garden in my garden when I grow up.

12 years ago today, he suddenly passed.  It was a huge  blow on us especially for me because I  would have never imagined losing my Dad two weeks before my wedding day.  It was very tough to swallow but  we have to move on and accept the truth that he's gone.  I still miss him till this day.  I regretted that I was never  vocal with my  affection for him.  I never told him how much I love him and how much I appreciated everything he have done for us.  As I was  picking veggies in my garden, I was thinking of my  Dad  on his death anniversary.  It's painful to think that I will never  be able to talk to him.  I am  glad that he visits me  once in a while in my dream, just like old times, he  was always supportive and big fan of me.  This post is for you Papa, I love and miss you very much!

 I didn't  really start cooking until I got married.  MY Mom told me once, if you don't learn how to cook, your husband might not like that so I  tried my best to learn how and now I love cooking at home.

I made this  Egg Fritata for our breakfast.  Here's a simple recipe.
Ingredients:

• 3 eggs beaten in a bowl
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• a dash of Kernel's butter seasoning
• 1 large tomatoes, sliced thinly
• fresh dill

 Direction:

• Mixed the eggs, salt and pepper, and butter seasoning
• Place a small size of frying pan in a medium high heat  and spray with  cooking oil spray
• When warm enough, pour the egg mixture.  Cook for 2 minutes  then layer the  tomato slices on top.  Cook for another minute then turn the heat off.  Sprinkle some cheese then transfer  it to the plate.  
• Put the dill on top and  finish cooking it in a microwave for one minute.  

We ate it with fried rice that I cooked with  fresh green beans and soy sauce.  We also had some sausages, sliced  fresh cucumbers and kiwi for dessert.  That was a nice and yummy brunch.  I hope that my Dad was looking down on us and be proud that I learned how to cook.

Electric Wine Opener with Pourer and Stopper

Sometime last year, I got one of the electric wine opener from Ozeri.  It had the  digital battery meter  that is displayed on an LCD screen where you can gauge whether to charge it or not.  We have used it whenever hubby and I buy a bottle of wine.  So when I was offered another chance to  review another wine opener, I wanted this this wine bottle with corkscrew and accessory set.  Unfortunately, they have sent me the wrong one which is a bit disappointing but it's okay.

I have received this electric  wine opener with pourer and stopper instead which is fine.  It includes t a foil cutter  to remove the seal of most  wine bottles.  Just a simple push down  button  removes the  cork which is  a lot better than the old one that I have.  It has a contoured ergonomic grip, an elegant charging base, LED charging light indicator, and a bonus pourer and stopper.  

This would make a great   gift for  your loved ones who love to  drink wine.  You can buy this in Amazon though this link.  If you love entertaining at home, this  is a great addition in your kitchen.  It makes for  an elegant entertaining that your guest would surely notice.

Hubby and I doesn't always  drink wine, we only buy  a bottle whenever there's a special occasion that we need to celebrate.  He loves the effect of wine on me because I go on a  laughing  streak.  For some reason, wine makes me laugh and I turn red every time.  I don't even drink  a big amount, just a glass makes me tipsy lol.

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the product/s mentioned  to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

My Own Version of Quinoa Pilaf + Recipe

Supergrain of the Future is what they call  quinoa, it's a complete source of protien.  I like that it is nutient-rich and very versatile to prepare.  This makes a great substitute for pasta, rice, or couscos.  This is great in salad and soup, as a side dish, or as a hearty main course.

Quinoa is something that I shy away from making because I don't know the product.  But after seeing recipes from blogs, I gave it a try.  I bought a box  of this traditional  gluten-free quinoa and tried to   make  the  recipe that comes in the box.  When I cook, I don't exactly  follow the exact recipe, I change ingredients, I cook what is available in my pantry/fridge.  For the first time I cooked half of the box (there's only 2 and 1/4 up of quinoa in this box), here's what I prepared.
Ingredients:

•  kale, sliced thinly
• Green beans, freshly picked
• I/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/4 cup celery. diced
• 1 green roma tomato, diced
• scallions, chopped
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 rap oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 cup of sliced almond (I did not put almond as I didn't have it)
• Argan oil, optional

 Preparations:

• In a 1 ans 1/2 saucepan, add 1 cup of traditional quinoa and 2 cups of water,  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all water is  absorbed.  You will know when the quinoa is done when you  the germ ring  along the outside of the grain and it's soft and translucent.

• In a pan, saute vegetables in  olive oil until crisp. Stir in oregano.  Sprinkle salt and peper.
• Add cooked quinoa and mix well.  Salt to taste and finish it off with few drizzle of culinary  argan oil

 We ate it with the pan fried  turkey sausage, it was delicious!  Surprisingly, I thought the kids and hubby will just take a few bits and they will say "It's alright" but they liked it!  I thought it could use  a little flavoring to elevate the taste.

Since we all like the first time I made the  quinoa, I decided to make the rest of the quinoa in the box today but I altered the ingredients once again.  I told you, whatever is   available in my  fridge that's what I use when I cook, lol.

•  1/4 cup yellow bell pepper
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup ornage bell pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced kale
• 1 small shallots, diced
• 4 link sausages, browned
• 1 cup  thinlysliced beans
• 1/2 cup eggplant
• a small piece of ginger, chopped
• maggi seasoning
• rgan oil
• salt and pepper

 Instead of olive oil, I  sauteed the veggies in a pan where I browned the  sausages.  It's  grease add so much flavor to the veggies.  I added some maggi seasoning after I sauteed the  veggies.  I like my veggies crunchy so I only sauteed it for 5 minutes.

 Finish it off with an argan oil.

 The kids said that incorporating the link sausages in it  is so much bette than  a separate  turkey sausages.

So that is for  my  successful ittle adventure with quinoa.  I might  buy again or I might not, depending if my family is craving for it.  I think I can eat  this dish once a week.  It's easy to prepare and it's delicious.  I just wish it's not too expensive.  This small box cost almost $5.  If youthink about it though, it's not  that much  cnsidering that I made two  separate dishes out of a small box.  I am ju0st comparing the price I guess to other commodities.  

Modern Wicker Deep Seating Loveseat Set

During our mini road trip last weekend, one of the  beautiful  establishments we've looked ta is the  Arts on Broadway display  in ugarcreek.  I even liked the  outdoor  furniture that they have displayed in the front.  I did not take pictures inside though, I did not know if it's allowed there but that was a regret for me  not to take any photos as the arts  are gorgeous!

If I have a big patio or deck, this modern Wicker deep seating Loveseat set is what I would like to have.  I have seen this at http://homeandpatiodecorcenter.com.  This would be great for a relaxing time with family  outdoors.  Now that summer is on it's peak, outdoor is where we spend most of our time with.   We dp a lot of  outdoor activity as a family and it has been  fun!

Hubby has been looking for a larger home for us but unfortunately, the ones that we liked is not affordable.  Right now, we are focusing on  paying off our  loans (car and home) so that we can  afford to get a bigger home loan.  I am a bit worried  because hubby is having a hard time at his job so  we might  change plans for the future.  Moving back to the Philippines is one option for us, my kids doesn't like the idea but I would love to!

Culinary Argan Oil and a Zucchini Dish REcipe

You know that feeling when  a company that you work with appreciate what you do and  give you a little extra reward.  One of the  food box subscription that I love is Try the World because it  offers  different  cuisine from around the world  every month.  

 I was pleasantly surprised when I received this two bottles of culinary argan oil because I  did not expect that I would receive such a sweet gesture.

What I love is  that, he included some recipe  which I could try.  Thanks Diego!  This argan oil is a product of Morocco and it's great in drizzling   over  a menu that you just cooked.  

 Here are some dishes I used it for.  The first one is the  sauteed  mixed vegetables  (kale, eggplant, bell peppers, onion, green beans, and ground beef).  Cooking this is very simple.  You just basically  chopped the veggies that you want then mixed it up with the   browned ground beef .  Seasoned it with soy sauce and pepper and drizzle  an argan oil  when it's cooked.

 Another dish I drizzled with argan oil is this  green beans adobo.  I will write a recipe for this when I get  time.

The last one is this zucchini dish that I made  a couple of days ago.  Here's a simple recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size zucchini, copped
• 1 medium size shallot, chopped
• 1 large size  tomato, chopped
• Dill
• .5 lb ground pork
• salt and pepper
• cheese

Preparation:

• Layer the veggies into a pan.  Cook it for 5 minutes on a medium high heat with lid.
• On a separate pan, brown the  ground pork.  Then open the lid of the veggies and  spread the browned ground pork on top of the veggies.

• Cook for another five minutes with lid.  Then spread a half a cup of cheese and cook for two minutes.  Drizzle  some argan oil on top.

You can serve it with steamed rice.  Squeeze a lemon wedge in it. 

 Bonnapetit!

Favorite Food on Rylie's 10th Birthday

One of  my daughter's favorite  snack is  sweet rice.  I made 3 cuos of sweet rice and mold them into cupcakes with cashew on top.  We used the Hello Kitty  cupcake satand that she got as birthday gift last year from hoer friend, Akesha.

I loso have some Hello Kitty bento accesory so I used it to tien into the theme.

Another  Filipino dish that she likes is rice noodles.  Here's the ingredients:  Bell pepper, carrots, kale, celery, garlic, shallots, and chicken.

I pre-boiled the chicken  so I can shred them up.  I also used the broth to pre-cooked the noodles.

Just saute the ingredients in a pan with vegetable oil for  5-7 minues in a medium high heat then add the cooked rice noodles.  Add soy sauce and black pepper for  more flavor.

Wedges of lemon  can be squeezed into the  dish which adds a  nice twist.

She also love chiken BBQ so I made her some.  I mixed up some dry rub for the chiken before putting it in skewers and grill it.

It turned out really  nice.  I only used two chicken breasts for this BBQ, just enough for the four of us.

A little bit of  oy sauce mixed with sriracha and honey  makes for a  delicious  sauce.

We baked a small cake, whipped a cream cheese  with yogurt for icing and topped it with fresh blackberries that we picked from thegarden.

It's not the fanciest cake  but good enough to stick a candle and for the celebrant to  make her wish and blow the candle.  The cake actually tasted really moise and soft!

So that's about what we  have prepared to celebrate her tenth birthday.

Glad that my kids are  contented of what we give them.

I think that it's  important to teach the kids the simple  things that make them happy and what  really matters in life.  

The love of the family  is the most important thing.  We might not have material things but  it's great that we get to celebrate life's special moment together.

Hubby and I won't be complete without these precious gifts!  These two are our  the  best gifts we could have, they are our life's treasure!

So grateful to have a husband who is a great  father  to our children.

I wish you  great health Anak and we love you ery much!

May God continue to bless you as you continue to grow.  

TryMyKitchen: Dining Experiences

We just got back from our short vacation  at Hershey, PA.  We had a fun time out there  but we decided to cut it short so we can go to other places as well while my husband is still on vacation leave.  We are planning to go  to an Amish  place today so after I am done with this  post, we are heading out the road again.  Anyway, I am sharing some photos of our vacation's dining experience in Hershey, PA, the sweetest place in the world.  We stayed at Super8 and we thought it was really nice.  They have complimentary breakfast everyday which we like.  They serve  eggs, sausages, bread, bagels, fruits, coffee, juice, and some dessert.  What I love about it is that, their location is in the middle of everything so even though they are not as luxurious as other hotels, the price is  just right. 

Another establishment that we tried dining into is the Bob Evan's.  We were not impressed by their food but the employees were nice.  They even knocked off the price for both of the kids' meal.  I am not sure if  it was one of their  promo for the summer or they can tell that we didn't really enjoy what we had especially our daughter who  barely touched her food.

Another place that we tried is the Chipotle.  We have never been to any  Chipotle establishment before so  we didn't know what to expect.  We were disappointed.  Their food wasn't worth the money you pay for.  I will  write a separate post about it later.  

I wish that TryMyKitchen is available here  in the US already.  Right now, they are based in London but they are planning to expand around the world.  I can't wait for the  Foodie Experiences that we can enjoy with TryMyKitchen.  TryMyKitchen is all about dining experiences that travelers will love.  What cool and unique about their service is  the diversity aspect of it, from gourmet dining in restaurants to eating at someone's house that they call Supper Clubs in a social setting. Here's what you can expect.

The supper clubs are a great way to learn about London and meet others. Although the experience can be attractive due to its social nature, the food quality is often very high. TryMyKitchen is setting out to deliver what the foodie wants - whether social or not - we measure success by the foodie walking away from the experience wanting to tell their fellow foodies about it. 

London Supper Clubs  is the way to go  if you are traveling or visiting London and you want to experience a truly unique dining adventure. Here's a unique twist, if you love to cook and you want to host a dining experience for travelers, you can list your kitchen at TryMyKitchen and  you will be included in their network.  I've seen some Persian, Italian, and Asian cuisine listed there which lead me to believe that you can pretty much choose whatever cuisine you want to try. If you are not into Supper Clubs, there are    London Restaurant Experiences  that you can choose from.  Here's are some samples of what you can  try.   Photo taken from their blog

Vietnamese Feast

Maldivian (Maalai) Seafood Supper

Okay, just by looking at the picture, makes me hungry already.  Do you think, it would be great to have this kind of services all around the world?  Not only you get to try different cuisine but you also get to socialize with the hosts which is  truly unique.  London is one of  the places in our bucket wish list to visit so if we will be given  a chance to visit, I will definitely try the TryMyKitchen  dining experience, it would be fun!