It is now 2016 and I cant quite wrap my head around the fact that 2015 is over. There were quite a few downs in the past year but they were totally eclipsed by highs the year had to offer. Here are my highlights: 1. Travel One of my greatest luxuries is to travel and 2015 sure did tick off a lot of places in my bucket list. I was lucky enough to visit 6 countries throughout the year and experience cultures that were alien but interesting at the same time. Because of JCI, I attended my first ever Asia Pacific Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The Philippines was a pretty big contingent that bagged a couple of awards like Best New Local Organization. Too bad however my bid didnt win -- but I am quite pleased that it was a finalist in my category. There is always next time. Added to this, Mart and I got to explore the gorgeous landscape by sea and steam train! Food too was awesome especially in the local driver pit-stops where it's cheap but damn good. Added to that we did a repeat of 2014's epic Northern Luzon road trip but this time in reverse. Our drive started from Manila then we took the west-side route and landed in Vigan for an overnight stay. The following morning we proceeded with the trip passing through Paoay, Laoag, Pagudpod before finally reaching our destination, Lal-lo, Cagayan, at 10pm. 2. Cook This year I really got to cook-- honing not just my Baking Skills. Highlights of the year would definitely be my Bun-Cha a souvenir of the family trip to Vietnam, The Monster Sandwich I prepared for H, Bacalao using a family recipe. The winners on the baking front are of course my Fudgy Brownies and making my first bread -- Cinnamon Rolls that H has touted the best he has ever tasted. Of course that could just be an extremely biased opinion. 3. Calligraphy Yes my hobby started in 2014 has definitely grown. The past year became a host of firsts regarding this topic. - Made my own DIY Traveller's Notebook from real leather and sold it - Organized and hosted the first calligraphy class in Albay - Dabbled in typography by attending classes by Abbey Sy, Alessa Lannot, etc. - Hoarded more craft supplies which includes more Holbein Watercolor, Peerless watercolor, Inks, nibs and of course my new baby -- the Silhouette Curio - Got my first BIG commission of 200+ escort cards for a wedding - wrote, edited and made a "logo" for my sister I am hoping that this year will yield even more growth for me in this craft. Of course I cannot end this blog post reminiscing about 2015 without giving a small portion in remembrance to my partner-in-crime and run buddy who is now in Doggie Heaven. Boston died on October 20, 2015 after being infected with erlichiya. It was painful for him but he really held on until we arrived from a trip to Manila so we could say good bye properly. I miss him terribly and would constantly hope that I'd still see him around the house but having JY -- his daughter and look alike-- around has soften the blow of losing him. Until we meet again buddy...
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Dont ever underestimate the power of a good sandwich. I have always loved a good sandwich, making one is SIMPLE EASY and very DELICIOUS. Especially if you have the right ingredients to create a winner combination. This is why for May, given my very hectic schedule studying for a board exam and submitting bids the recipe I chose is the perfect sandwich...something I'd like to call the MONSTER SANDWICH. With Martin's current obsession with smoking meat and fish, our ref is full of his little backyard creations. One that I really highlighted for this recipe is his home-smoked bacon. Upon frying on a cast iron pan the smoky flavor and spice rub really makes this humble piece of meat shine! There is no perfect way to make a perfect sandwich. Sandwiches are highly personalized creations because it is based on your tastes and hungers. For this particular sand-wish I raded the ref for all the good stuff I'd think would go with the bacon. I came up with the ff:
Now to assemble the MONSTER SANDWICH is all about layering. This is how I did it:
Truth be told it was one hard sanwich to eat because it was so tall! But my target audience - aka my husband- loved it!! Since I had extra vegetables I decided to create a small side-salad. (Also because I wanted the dish to somewhat still be healthy despite the heart attack nature of the ingredients!) It tasted so good that I had orders for the MONSTER SANDWICH from my mom the next day. So yes the perfect sandwich-- based on my opinion. Why not try making your own perfect sandwich? Be creative, go crazy and most of all enjoy your gastronomic works of art! Our family has always bonded over food. And the one thing that I will forever associate with my grandfather is his Bacalao dish. The clamor for this is so monumental that my uncles & aunts (and us grandkids) fight over who can get the most servings. Bacalao for us is served every Holy Week, especially on Good Friday and Black Saturday. It has become tradition that we beg my grandpapa,Papajoelouis, to make it every year and our vacation to Legazpi will not be complete without it. Now that he is getting older the dish is harder to make because (1) with worsening eyesight it is harder to debone the fish and (2) he forgets the recipe. Believe me Ive tried coercing it from him but it might be so secret that what he tells me doesn't seem to taste as good as his final product. Luckily I was able to find a recipe that is somewhat similar and with a little tweaks my uncles and aunt say it tastes just as good!! What will u need? 1. Salted (daing) labahita -500 g 2. Olive oil for frying and seasoning -1/3 c 3. Garlic (chopped) -1/3c 4. Potatoes (chopped and sliced circularly) -4 big pcs 5. Garbanzos - 2 cans 6. Tomato sauce (200g) and paste (3tbsp) 7. Bell pepper (sliced into strips)-4pcs 8. Olives (optional) First soak the fish overnight to remove most of the salt. Then dredge in a little flour and fry with olive oil. Afterwards drain and wait for it to cool. Once cooled you can debone the fish. In a pan saute the garlic, add the garbanzos followed by the tomato sauce and paste. Afterwards add the chopped potatoes, bell peppers and olives. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. While this is happening you can fry the circularly sliced potatoes. We will use this as toppings once we plate the Bacalao. After the 15 minutes is up you can add the deboned fish. Stir every once in a while for about 5 minutes. Once the time is up you can plate the dish!! Place all of the Bacalao in a pyrex dish and arrange the fried potatoes on top. Tadah serve while hot on a bowl of heaping rice! What i love about this is that it gets better every time you reheat the Bacalao. Yummmm!!! There must be something about Shawarma that has gotten my husband bananas. He loves the stuff, especially the garlic sauce!! Here in the Philippines, we've modified the dish to include our favorite food staple--RICE. Shawarma Rice has become a favorite snack for us here and I will continue to lament the lack of good joints that offer it here in Legazpi Albay. (Especially when the hun is craving!) Luckily I stumbled upon an article written by a childhood classmate, Gela Velasco, that details how you can DIY the dish in the comforts of your own home. Allow me to share this delectable nugget of information with you guys. Pinoy Shawarma RiceYield: 6 servings | Prep: 20 mins | Cooking: 30 mins Ingredients for the Shawarma Rice
After a dismal showing of my New Year's Resolutions last February -- was too busy and the month flew by so fast!! -- I decided to start March on a better footing. So while doing grocery yesterday, I realized that we had those really nice wheat soft tortillas in the freezer and I could probably make tacos burrito-style. (Thus tackling one of my resolutions of learning a new recipe each month.) This wasnt so challenging especially with the help of a little seasoning. All the dish needed was a lot of prep for the ingredients. So March Recipe: SOFT TACOS Ingredients: * Taco Mix * 1/2 K ground beef * shredded cabbage * shredded cheese * wheat tortillas (you can use regular ones actually or normal corn shells you get in the grocery) * chopped tomatoes and onions PROCESS: 1. Drizzle a little olive oil on a skillet and cook the ground beef until brown. 2. Follow packet instructions on the taco mix and pour the mixture on the cooked meat. Simmer for 3 minutes to let the meat absorb the taco seasoning. I like to burn the meat a little bit so that it has crunch and bitter taste. 3. Remove meat from the skillet. Wipe oil and put back on the heat. Get one tortilla and place it in the middle of the pan. Quickly add cheese, lettuce, the meat mixture, tomatoes and onions. Keep on the pan until the cheese melts a bit, slowly fold it onto itself. 4. Put on a plate and eat!! The entire recipe is really simple and I was able to cook the dish in 30 minutes. Really quick, more so if you prepare the cabbage, tomatoes and onions before hand. According to my perennial food taster, my husband, it was a winner dish!! He ate 3 pieces in succession so that must mean it's true. For added spice drizzle a little hot sauce and try the entire thing for yourself! |
Who is sab_adventures?I have always wanted to write. This will now be a creative outlet-- home to all my arts and crafts. So feel free to browse around my everyday adventures. Interests
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November 2016
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