One Fine Day...

Snaps from my Saturday morning jog!

Morning has broken...

Approaching the Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant...

Closer shot

Sunbathing?

Today's catch...
A lifetime of togetherness...

Upgrades...

Here's a continuation of yesterday's post.

Yesterday's batch of puto came with cheese filling and salted egg as toppings.

shown here with a mini (but plain) version

It was sold for a higher price but the office people didn't mind. They must've really liked my creation that they didn't have second thoughts about shelling out a few more pesos for the yummy munchies. Or it could've been that they had no other options for their afternoon snack. Whichever way, it was a good thing that my puto were sold out.

I'm already thinking of other ways to make these yummy little munchies more interesting. There had been suggestions from my colleagues that i should experiment with other flavors like ube (purple yam) or pandan. The suggestions were noted down and shall be considered for subsequent batches.

How about chocolate-flavored puto?
We'll see about that later...

Ciao!

Shawty!

I'm talking about my new hairstyle.

From long, soft waves of crowning glory...

to a short, geometric style, wash and wear cut.

And then there was more!

The excitement about my new preoccupation hasn't worn off yet (and showing no signs of wearing off me probably for a couple more months). The second batch of puto was a hit with my officemates (it sold like pancakes!) that they asked some more of it the following day.

Unfortunately i didn't cook another set, thinking that if i do it on a daily basis, people might get used to it and eventually get bored by it. But i guess i was wrong. My colleagues were clamoring for it. Hehehe!

So i did another batch last night.

Let's just wait and see what happens...

Magic!

now you see it ........................... now you don't! ;)

Duet

two of my office friends singing Points of View

Points Of View
By Joey Albert

Look, It's Happened Once Again
it Happens Every Now And Then
feeling The Hurt And Hating All The Men
ready To Stop It All

that's When I Need A Friendly Face
to See Me Through These Lonely Days
just To Put Some Sunshine In My Place
don't Take Too Long I Need You

refrain:
here I Am
i Haven't Gone That Far Away
and Since I Am
that Kind Of Friend You Know
would Stay With You Through All The Pain
never To Leave You In The Rain
ready To Listen To What You've Been Through
your Woes And Blues And Share Each Other's

chorus:
points Of View
we've Been There Once Before
and Kept Our Points Of View
it Doesn't Really Matter If They're Never Quite The Same
we Have Our Rules In Different Ways
we Play The Games Of Different Folks With Different Strokes
and Keep Our Points Of View

see The World Seems Bright Again
it Only Darkens Now And Then
most Of The Time There's Just No Telling When
look Up And See You've Got Me

refrain:
here We Are
we May Have Gone Our Different Ways
but Since We Are
the Kind Of Friends Who'll Always Stay
no Matter What The Pain
learning To Love That Cap O Rain
ready To Say We're Here To Stay In Every Way
although We'e Got Our Different...

chorus:
points Of View
we've Been There Once Before
and Kept Our Points Of View
it Doesn't Really Matter If They're Never Quite The Same
we Have Our Rules In Different Ways
we Play The Games Of Different Folks With Different Strokes
and Keep Our Points Of View

points Of View
we've Been There Once Before
and Kept Our Points Of View
it Doesn't Really Matter If They're Never Quite The Same
we Have Our Rules In Different Ways
we Play The Games Of Different Folks With Different Strokes
and Keep Our Points Of View

You can listen to the song here.
It's got to be a nice BFF anthem ;)

Family Affair

(Another one of them post backlogs)

One fine Saturday, a private pool, family members, lots of food and drinks, fun and laughter. Nothing beats spending time with the family.

THE KIDDIES

i love this particular shot where the water seemed to float mid-air!


waiting for their turn with the mic!


while bro opted to meditate ;)

and later that night.... hehehe! you know what i mean ;)

As Billie Jean plays...

We’re having a light dinner at Chef’s
Complemented by some laughs and banter
When music filled the air

My head started nodding to its beat
And a smile slowly showed
Stretching from ear to ear

“I like that sound,” I said.
“It’s a classic 80’s sound…
I’d recognize that bass line anywhere”

Then he smiled, kind of amused
At the way I acted, but nevermind.
What mattered was he was there
(with me!)

And I love that smile
That it sometimes moves me to tears.
I’d recognize that smile anywhere.

Puto!

It’s past 2 o’clock in the morning and I have just finished cooking my 2^nd batch of puto.

When I cooked my first batch, I didn’t have my own steamer and mold. But knowing myself, I constantly think of ways to improvise. So I got our big wok, deep enough to fill it with water and spacious enough to fit an 8"x11" aluminum tray. That's quite a big puto that had to be sliced into 3"x2" little pieces.

But this time for my 2^nd attempt, I borrowed my aunt’s steamer and bought those little plastic cups to serve as mould.

the finished product

still in their mould, fresh from the steamer

And here's the recipe that you can try for yourself:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup oil (coconut or vegetable oil)
1 tsp. vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup evaporated milk, mixed with 1/2 cup water
slices of cheese (to serve as toppings)

1. Sift flour for 3 times.
   
2. Add all the other dry ingredients and mix well.
   
3. Gradually add the oil, milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix well in one direction. This prevents it from bubbling.
4. Pour by teaspoon and fill up to 3/4 of the moulder.
5. Put the cheese slices on top.
6. Steam for 10-12 minutes.

I hope you have fun doing it as i did.
Enjoy!

I, Food tripper

So.... it's been quite a while since my last "blogging spree". Unfortunately, i've been busy with tasks in the office, places to visit, and all those things in between that i got too tired (and sometimes lazy) to blog about them. I have a lot of backblogging to do. The pics are waiting to be posted, too!

But what i'm excited the most to talk about today is about my recent kitchen/cooking adventure. I signed up in an evening vocational class at my high school alma mater and is now three weeks into my course on Food Trades.

Now i'm not really new into cooking and kitchen stuff. My mother taught me how to cook some Pinoy dishes like Tinola, Sinigang, and Pinakbet to name a few, before i reached my teen years. I even had some experimentations with leftover foods or have come up with my own dish from scratch.

So there were questions why i signed up for the class.

For one, i can say i am a "food tripper". Given the chance, i can be pretty adventurous with food, but lately, i've been pretty much into those carinderia stuff--those little sort of restaurants that can be found in almost every street corner or even small alleyways or backstreets and they serve some mean lutong bahay (home style kind of food) . So, yeah, it's kinda like an adventure too! Manny and i are constantly on the lookout for new carinderias to crash into, for variety with our workday lunch.

But why stop at just eating? Why not make my own food and be able to profit from it? I think it's more fun to be able to create something that i and my family (and friends too!) can enjoy plus the option of earning some dough from it.

Armed with newly acquired knowledge from last Friday's class, i made some puto last night and brought it to the office for some "taste test" before i could finally announce that i am open for business, although Papa and my siblings already gave a thumbs up with the taste.

And i was very happy to see that my officemates appreciate and actually liked my puto! Perhaps i could post some pics later when i cook my next batch coz i was pretty much excited last night and very serious in following the recipe to the dot that i forgot to take snaps of it.

This will surely make Mama smile!

More to come! Have a nice day y'all!

Brownie Boy (one of them post backlogs)

I was at the office when i got a text message from my brother. He said he had just baked his "perfect" brownies (after some hit-and-miss episodes!).

Now usually, it was my sister who bakes the yummy foodies, armed with her baking know-how and experience (she took up culinary arts as an elective in high school). But somehow, she gets frustrated everytime her brownies don't turn out the way it should be.

So when bro told me the "good news", i told him to save some for me-- not just for my consumption but because i also wanted to take some pics of it so i can send it to mom (and also showcase it here in my blog, for the world to see! hehehe!)

It was the first thing i asked for when i got home because i was excited to see (and taste!) it for myself. He'd sprinkled confectioner's sugar and ground cornflakes (for texture, i guess). As per ate's suggestion, he placed halved cherries on top for added color (and perhaps some flavor). And voila!

the tasty treat!

And guess what...

It really tasted good! Not bad for someone without formal training.