No Subject

No, I didn't forget to blog. It's just that it seems the 365 project is becoming more personal than what I hope it to be. Not everything interesting to me may be interesting to you and I don' t want to bore people to death with what's happening (big or small) in my life. So I'm moving my 365 days of Lekker project in a personal journal, and will continue to just share useful stuff in this blog. I've been moving away from the original purpose of this blog and I want to make it concentrated on cooking, house keeping and matters related to that - but oh boy, I am easily distracted. So I will do my best to manage my interest.

ciao for now!

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My Weekend in the Weekend Markets

Hello 2013!

This is my post for 2013! I'm really glad that I finally snatched some time to do blogging. I know I have mentioned this a thousand times that I'm not feeling inspired to cook nor to even take photos. But I'm happy to say that this weekend I got in the mood to take photos.

First things first. I love farmers organic markets that opens only on weekends. I get to find hard to find produce, plus they are all organic. I go there almost every week, to either to shop or just look around for something interesting and then eat with friends. But I never took photos in all the years I've spent going there. So I did some last Saturday:

 L: My "must buy" in the market. I love jackfruit! R: A young girl looking at the cotton candies.

Fruit stall that sells tropical fruits.

The same fruit stall also sell freshly roasted chestnuts.

This vegetable stall  I think is the biggest stall of vegetables in the market. They got almost all of the veggies I'm always on the look out for. However, I recently lost my fondness of buying my stuff here because they are too pricey in my opinion, after buying I felt like robbed :P;  they are always crowded; they sometimes say different prices for their produce, I guess because they get confused and can't focus due to a lot of buyers; and this weekend, they forgot to put my cherry tomatoes in my grocery bag, and unfortunately realized it when I was already home - i had to buy it again today. Long story how it happened and not exactly their fault because I could have checked, but I was absent minded. I guess the bottom line is they are just quite a bit unorganized when they get crowded.

This is the first stall you'll see in the entrance. These kiat-kiat shrubs(?) look adorable. Kiat-kiat is also known as mandarin.

So this was my Saturday. On Sunday I went to Legaspi farmer's market, which basically the same as this, but only more options in the produce, and more diverse food selection, arts and crafts. In summary, I ended up with a lot of fresh produce that's resting now in my fridge. I went crazy with cherry tomatoes though:

The left most is the most common tomato size. The second one was the cherry tomatoes I'm used to. However, the last one was just super cute I can't resist, I must buy! It reminds me of alatires.

Cherry "alatires" tomatoes up close.   (segeway : I used Fuji finepix X10 in this photograph, not bad for a compact camera, eh?)

So since I have so much cherry tomatoes, it has to go first in the menu.

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Support Pet Adoption

For a change, I'd like to share something other than cooking (and hopefully this will excuse me from not posting any recipe for more than a week).

I volunteered in an pet adoption event held by CARA Welfare Philippines last Saturday and covered it in behalf of Mark who's a member and their designated photographer. CARA (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) is a non-profit, non-government organization ran by dedicated volunteers who aim to educate citizens in regards to responsible pet ownership, animal welfare and rights, promoting spay/neuter/TNR to control animal population. CARA offers low cost spay/neuter program and veterinary services to help low-income households be able to afford medical assistance for their beloved animals. A common misconception about the organization is that it is a shelter. Unfortunately, it isn't. The facility CARA have is a clinic. The rescues are fostered by members, and when they are ready, they are sent up for adoption.

I could write a whole lot about the sad facts about the lives of cats and dogs stray population in this country, why it happens, how people neglect them, how the majority of citizens are apathetic, and how much people feel sorry but never make a move to help be part of the solution. I could go on and on but that's another story.

Looking at the bright side, I'd like to share heart warming photos of people who dedicated their time to get these less fortunate animals find a loving home, and people who went to either adopt and open their homes to them, or donated for this cause. Even when I lose hope on people at times, there's still a tiny bit part of me who believes that there are still a lot of good people among us.

It was nice to see that there were a lot of people who have shown interest in the adoption. They may not all have adopted, but it's a great chance for us to educate people why we do what we do,  responsible pet ownership, and why it is important to consider adoption first rather than buying a pet companion.

Tireless volunteers assist people with questions how to go about adopting a cat from CARA.

Potential Adopters are interviewed and are asked to sign up an adoption sheet. Just like any adoption centers, CARA ensures that the animals will get to a home where they can be supported and cared for, provide appropriate food and medical assistance when necessary. CARA also makes follow up visitation to the adopter's home as part of the adoption policy. 

Here are the adorable rescued dogs that also came in the hopes that they will find a family and forever home . They are very healthy, well behaved, friendly and very loving.  The lovely girl on top is their foster parent who have at least 13 rescued dogs under her care. 

The two little girls were very excited to bring home these two cute cuddly tabbies. (Right) Handsome Antonio the cat was one of my favorites and I'm truly happy for him that he got adopted too by these two young ladies :).

The cats are very grateful to these wonderful families who opened their hearts and homes to them.

It was an eventful Saturday. I was tired but it was worth it. After the event, Gerry, Anton and I went to dinner and then had a full body massage after. Nice eh?

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Tonight's Dinner

A few of my friends are dropping by tonight to return a few stuff from each other. To make the visit fun, we decided to have dinner together. But in this shack, everything that is cooked and served is vegetarian, so I hope they like what's in my menu.

Fingers-crossed for my carnivore friends :P. I hope I still get a chance to take some photos.

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What's In My Fridge?

If there are articles about women and their purses,of what things they always carry and can't leave the house without, I wonder, for a home cook's perspective, what are the things you can't afford to not have in your fridge?

I made a short list of my essentials. Here we go!

French beans is a must. I use it a lot not only because it's one of my favourites, but it's a perfect match for almost any dish - as a side or salad. There are also varieties on how you can serve it. Parboiled, steamed, stir-fried or grilled. All yummy!

I always stock up on tomatoes, both big and small. This is by far the most used vegetable/fruit in my cooking.  I love it in my scrambled eggs, soups, in my salad, tossed in my pasta, or just to eat it as is. I also use it as a relish mixed with salt and vinegar. It taste good too when fried, roasted, or baked.

I turn to potatoes when I cut down on rice. It's a great source of carbohydrates but wouldn't make you as bloated as when you eat rice. I can do a lot of things with it - hash browns, mashed potatoes, deep friend potato balls, boiled or baked!

I love Japanese cucumber over normal cucumber because it's thinner and smaller, easy to consume in one sitting.   It is my quick fix when I crave for something green and fresh. It's also great for quick salads, salsa,  and even a healthy drink!

I feel like I'm naked without lemon. Juice, tea, cocktails, soda, water, salsa, soup, sauces, dips, pastries - they all count on Mr. Lemon here. And I'm crazy about the smell!

Yes, we have a love affair. Kiwi is just irresistible to me and I must have it once a day at the least :P.

So I'm curious, what's in your fridge?

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Wanted : Inspiration

I'm back in Manila along with two contradicting emotions. I'm happy to be home, reunited with my cats and can finally stop from worrying now that I can care for them again. I'm also very sad that I'll be living alone for a while. Mark stayed in the Netherlands to work. We both decided that he stays and start working on our future there, while I come back, take care of our life here until we are ready to move with our cats. In the two straight years of being together for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (unless he's out on a photo shoot assignment or hanging out with his friends without me), I became emotionally dependent on Mark, and that's why this time is really tough on me. I feel miserable without him.

So now I am trying to work on getting myself together and focus back on my productivity. It's tough, but life is not designed to be fair and all fun. I have to be strong, reasonable and focused on the goals we are trying to achieve, look on the bright side of the sacrifice we both made.

At this point I still feel uninspired to do anything. But it will pass ;) and hopefully in the coming days I'll be able to share recipes again and great food photos.

Ciao for now!

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Holland Holidays!

Yes, I have been quiet and lazy and neglecting this blog and photography. The truth is, I've been busy freezing my ass here in Holland :P. I haven't done anything cooking related because my mother in law has been pampering me and Mark with good food! I'll be here for a month and planning to do more food related activities and shopping in the coming weeks after the hectic Christmas and our Dutch wedding - yes, we are holding another wedding celebration, this time with Mark's family and friends who didn't make it in the wedding celebration in Manila.

Anyways, I plan to get like top 5 or 10 Dutch food that I love and make nice photographs of it. I also plan to visit vintage shops and hunt for nice, unique food styling props. But actually, the #1 in my list is to visit IKEA! oh yeah!

Have a great holidays everyone! Enjoy this time of the year with good food and great company!

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Lekkericious Overhaul

Lekkercious needs an overhaul. I'm planning a couple of changes - mostly aesthetics. Please stay tuned!

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I Got a Heart Locket From Tika!

... a Heart Locket Blog award :)!

I'm super psyched to make a great food picture, whether it's just a simple meal or what not, before I post the cute award icon.

Thanks Tika, I feel honored and happy to receive this from you :). It inspires me to make good food photographs. Lately, I've just been clicking away and just only concerned in showing the outcome, but not really spending time in composition and styling - and that's because I'm often impatient out of hunger :P. I want to shoot, get over it, and eat!

So hopefully, I can make good ones in the coming days :).

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Birthday Letter From Mark

I was feeling extra lazy since this morning. I just want an easy Sunday, bum around with my cats, sleep in, and spend a quiet evening with Mark. Besides, I seldom celebrate my birthdays - and it's not because I don't like the fact that I'm getting old - I am just like that. Funny how I take more enjoyment planning Mark's birthdays and other less meaningful occasions like Valentine's day, house warming, or meetsaversary (which we just invented) than my own special day.

This evening, Mark woke me up from a nap with a very cute letter, printed in a special textured paper.

Dearest Pupi,

Today you have completed 29 trips around the sun! It's time to have a big slice of cake and celebrate! This year we are taking it easy. no big party so no mix and mingle with your friends, just the 2 of us. We will find a nice resto & blend into the scenery there while we enjoy the food. You wanted to stay in and whip up a nice meal in your kitchen which I love, but today your cooking must grind to a halt so that you can rest and enjoy your special day. So go get ready, chop chop, and let's have a nice evening together pupi. I have a feeling it will be grate!

Love forever,
Pupi

The words slice, mix, blend, whip, grind, chop, grate were all printed in bold, like some sort of subliminal message. After reading it out loud, Mark brought his present, a multi-purpose food processor! Yay! It's so cute how he made way to get these words describing a food processor put it all together in a form of letter and make it jive altogether.

I joked that the letter should end with "Love forever, Imarflex".

You can call it cheesy - but I call it creativity! Love you pupi!

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I'm Officially On Leave

The month of July is going to be extremely busy so I'm announcing my leave of absence from food blogging.

I'm getting married!!!

Since Mark and I have taken a year to procrastinate in planning, we are now paying the price of the delay - cramming. We have always pictured a simple and intimate gathering, far from the traditional wedding. But planning a simple celebration wasn't as simple as we thought it would be. Budget, invitations, guests, ceremony, venues - all these things we have to take care of in a very limited time. So wish us luck :)

I might post wedding updates here and there - and maybe, if you like to cram like us, you can get an idea how to plan a wedding in less than 2 months.

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High Fiber Diet Project

Aside from bringing back the old sports and physical activities I used to do 2 years ago, lately, I also took some time to asses how healthy my cooking is. I mostly cook vegetables than meat but still, I feel like I'm still not eating right. Actually, I was alarmed that I could hardly fit myself in my shorts, pants, and xs clothing. I partly happy because I've been struggling to gain for years. As much as from XS I am now S, I then, should and must remain S. My waistline is now 27, and although my arms, thighs and legs doesn't look fat, it's accumulating right at the middle - my belly :P. I don't look fat, but I'm definitely getting there. I figured, it's easier to work on those extra fats now than 120 lbs. later. I'm 5 feet tall and my frame is small so I can't really gain that much, else I'd look like Doraemon.

So I reviewed my food intake. I realized that I should also watch the food I eat when I'm not home. I realized that although I rarely eat red meat when either I'm at home or out with friends, I eat a bunch of crap with them. I am also deeply inlove with rice. And if I order out or cook my favorite Filipino dishes, I can consume 2 1/2 cups of rice. It's not too often, but I feel like it's often enough to make me gain. So now that I'm a few pounds over my ideal weight, I figured I should start getting a bit conscious of the food I cook and eat out.

So my menu for the rest of the week will be high fiber food and lots of fruits and vegetables. I will also lessen the amount of salt I use in my cooking (I love salty food), and salty food causes water retention in your abdominal area. Not that I'm vain, but I still wish to see myself next summer in bikini without feeling uncomfortable and conscious :P.

So let's see what healthy stuff I can come up with this coming days!

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Welcome New Food Crew

I went to the mall to go to an alteration shop for my dress, and to get my favorite stilettos fixed - but ended up geeking out in the department store home section for interesting plates and nice glasses plus cute forks. So here's my new crew which will grace my foodies soon!

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Flowering Tomato Plant

I've been doubting my tomato plant to bear fruits recently. It's because according to Mark, tomato plant needs to be planted on the ground, not just on a pot of soil because it needs a lot of soil nutrients to bear fruits, which my pot of soil (it's a huge pot btw) will not be able to supplement. But look what I found today :

It's bearing flowers!

So tiny and beautiful!

I have very little knowledge about plants and this is the first time in my life that I tried growing various herbs and stuff in my balcony, but my hope went up when I saw the flowers. The same excitement I felt when I saw my basil plant growing flowers. That was the beginning of its monstrous growth. So now I'm thinking fruits will come next (keeping my fingers crossed). But whether it bears fruits or not, it's fine with me. I'm happy to see my green plants healthy. They add color to my balcony, and relieves my stress.

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Sandwich Fever

It's been two consecutive weeks of being busy with photography and software testing. I like positive busies. Busy is good. I hope that the time and effort, all the hard works, bear me fruits soon :).

And for the sandwich fever, I owe you a story on that :).

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Pickled Jalapeno - My Latest Craze

Jalapeno love from Hazee.

My addiction to Krispy Kreme's chocolate cake, crab paste, tiny pickled cucumber and sambal manis are over. I'm not exactly into spicy food, but I am recently hooked on pickled Jalapenos! Thanks to my friend Hazel, who gave me a big jar of it, now I can't stop eating it every lunch and dinner.

Weird as it sounds, I eat it together with almost any dish (with rice), as is. The level of hotness of a pickled jalapeno is not as strong as a fresh one. I just love that kick of spice that boosts my appetite.

Careful though, I heard spicy food can give you body odor :P. I eat 3 pieces per meal, and so far, it hasn't come out of my pores yet haha! Also, they say spicy food is notorious for exploding your ass (mine is still intact :P). So if ever you find yourself in the jalapeno addiction, just eat moderately.

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Plants Update : A Month Old Tomato Plant

Only a month and few days had passed, but look at my tomato plant! I never thought I could ever grow something from seeds. My baby tomato makes me feel so proud :). I know it's too early, but I can hardly wait to see it bear fruits!

Tomato leaves up close.

My mint is also growing like crazy! Hello Mojito!

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Geeking Out on Recipe Booklets

I went out yesterday to get supplies for my arts and crafts project for the valentine's day. While waiting for Mark, I dropped by at a bookstore and found interesting recipe booklets. There are tons of recipes online, but it's still nice to have these printed booklets on your shelf and browse the old school way. So I bought 4 to add in to my collection.

I'm totally digging it and very excited to try some of the dishes!

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How I murdered the fish

- and buried it in lotsa veggies.

I was in the mood for some salmon grilling last evening but we didn't find one at Kang's, a Korean grocery store closest to us. So Mark settled for a salted fish flounder and thought it was good for grilling.

Fish has always been a challenge to me when it comes to grilling or frying. I hope that you could give me some tips to effectively fry or grill them without mutilating the flesh, or burning. In this case, there were 3 fish, one was mutilated, the other 2 were quite burned :P.

Here's the dinner idea. Just make sure you take care of your fish when you do this.

Grilled Fish served with Veggies.

Ingredients:
- Marinated fish, good for grilling (Salmon is a good candidate)
- Brussel sprouts
- potatoes cut in medium-sized cubes (baby potatoes recommended)
- baby carrots (optional)
- slice of lemon
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable preparation:
1. Steam the brussel sprouts and baby carrots. Do this separately as it might need more time for the carrots to soften than the brussel sprouts. You don't want to serve soggy vegetables.
2. Boil the potatoes. If you are using baby potatoes, make sure that you scrub them before you boil them to remove the dirt/soil. Drain thoroughly when ready.
3. Set the vegetable aside when ready.
4. Whisk extra-virgin olive oil on brussel sprouts and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. It's a nice idea to grill your potatoes after boiling them. Season with salt and pepper.

For the fish, just properly grill it and you'll be fine.

To serve :
Surround the fish with your veggies, and top it with lemon. The lemon helps minimize the pungent fishy taste (lansa in tagalog, sorry I don't know how it exactly translates). I love lemon on fish :).

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Happy Holidays Everyone!

There's so much catching up to do here, but for now, let me greet you happy holidays!!!

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