Fall

Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. - St. Francis of Assisi

Back To School

First day of school marks the unofficial end of summer. This only means hello to falling leaves, cozy sweaters to be adorned, cooler weather which signals life to turn indoor and the return of seemingly endless school activities for new and old students.

A call from my husband at 6am this morning prompted me to wake up and prepare my student's breakfast. Thank goodness, a cup of tea perked me up! 

Breakfast is necessary because it refuels our bodies after a long period of fasting. What we fuel up on is entirely essential as when.
I presume that all mothers like me know that when children skip breakfast their cognitive function decreases making them incapable to focus in school. Moreover, enjoying healthy breakfast on regular basis provides children a good jumpstart to a very busy school day.

Catering a nutritious breakfast is not a daunting job. There are easy and quick ways to prepare delightful yet healthy breakfast without compromising our time and tight schedule. 

Fried rice is surely a big heat to every Filipino family especially when paired with scrambled egg or fried fish. Not only that, it is inexpensive and a great way to make use of our leftover rice. We can also add fresh fruits to our ordinary oatmeal and cereals like fresh blueberry, strawberry and bananas. Whole wheat options, smoothies and breakfast parfait are also enticing breakfast ideas. Involving my daughter in the planning, presentation, preparation process like allowing her to make custom sandwiches and home-made trail mixes makes her meal more feasting.

While school cafeterias offer abundance of youngster's favorites, I prefer my daughter to bring home-cooked meal for lunch and merienda. I always tell her that packed lunch ensures me that she's having the balanced diet and it is always cheaper.

As the familiar adage goes 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'

Fried rice and crispy Tilapia fillet

Recipes are freely available online.

One thing I've learned when I was pregnant is that we can always consume our usual portion of cheese, egg, peanut butter, meat, fish, lentils, tofu and nuts. And the foods can be used without measuring throughout the day are as follows: Asparagus, Beans, Bitter Melon, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Egg Plant, Greens, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Spinach, Sauerkraut, Tomato wedges, and Zucchini. (just thought it's worth sharing for expectant moms!)

Happy first day of school B.C. students!

Black and White

She's playfully sophisticated!

My old Cotton On polo looks perfect on her!

"Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh." - Luke 6:21

Stuffed Bell Pepper

The first day of September indicates that Holiday Season is just around the corner. We Filipinos especially children usually start to think of our wish list and we also conceptualize our Christmas gifts. We also begin to set aside family conflicts and differences and let love, peace and joy reign in our home. In addition, we also plan for the sumptuous holiday dishes.

Ingredients:

4 pieces bell pepper

ground beef

3 pieces longanisa

1 beaten egg

1 cup mixed vegetables, (carrots, corn, and baguio beans or sweet potato instead of corn, green peas instead of beans)

green onion

2 calamansi

salt and pepper

banana ketchup

olive oil 

onion 

garlic

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the tops off each bell pepper and soak them in a boiling water for at least 2 minutes.
3. In a skillet, add olive oil and saute the garlic and onion. Follow the Pinoy style of sauteing.
4. Put the longanisa, ground beef and brown. Add salt and pepper.
5. Add the mixed veggies and put ketchup.
6. Scoop the cooked mixture into each bell pepper. On top, drizzle 2 tbsp of beaten egg and sprinkle green onion.
7. Arrange in a baking dish and bake for at least 20 min.
8. Voila! Enjoy your meal!

KainangPinoy deserves the credit.

God's mercy knows no end. - Didache

Happy BER months! May our Christmas be merry as yours!

Chrysanthemum

I'm happy that my eldest is blissfully untouched by narrow-mindedness and pride. I just love her innocence because she doesn't seem to care about having techie gadgets. She doesn't care if most of her dresses were not purchased from an upscale shop. By the way, what she's wearing in the pictures below was bought from a flea market in Q.C. by her lola. 

Archie and I always tell her that we are not wealthy and that our money is tight but we always believe in giving her a good education. School will start few days from now but she refrained from buying unnecessary school supplies. She told us that simple inexpensive things from dollar store bring simple joy.

When it comes to our children, we always aim for the stars.

Emma's Farm

We all needed a little break, so we decided to spend a day at Emma's farm with the Liwanags and some new friends. The place reminded me of the picturesque scenery of the palayan (rice field) near our home in Masiga. It's a place to behold.

 Marveling the beauty of the countryside

Enjoy the remaining days of the summer holidays!

Cilantro-Lime Rice

I've tasted the best rice-chicken combo popularly known as Kabsa when I was in Jeddah. This is an Arabic rice dish to die for.  Sad to say, Arabic restaurants in Manila only seem to display culinary folklore in their menu list and they can't seem to offer the same taste to the locals. One of those I've tried didn't even satisfy my taste buds. This is probably because it is not part of our main cuisine.

On the contrary, I didn't know that the chicken and mutton Biryani of Singapore would be the closest to the taste of Kabsa. Having this rice dish is like having the entire banquet of flavors and spices. On few occasions, I've tried to imitate the recipes provided online but I ended up cooking Paella. The latter anyway is also one of my favorite recipes ever.

Last Saturday, I found myself scavenging through our fridge for something to eat but I found a bunch of cilantro leaves and lemons which are beginning to rot sitting in one corner. Since I can't possibly imitate the Kabsa or Biryani, I thought of trying the Cilantro-Lime Rice idea that I found while I was browsing the Manila Spoon blog. As a rice eater, this recipe is something fresh to me and it is also something that any average cook like me can prepare with ease.  In addition, I was inspired to do it because my eldest loves the lime aroma.

To my surprise, Dayne finished her share with gusto. She loves it with porkchop.
I modified the plating by putting a little drama using onion leaves. No wonder, Dayne had it pictured and posted the image on Instagram as well.

For the recipe, click this link: http://www.manilaspoon.com/2012/05/cilantro-citrus-rice.html

or you can visit www.manilaspoon.com or simply type manila spoon. Having www typed is already obsolete although you can still use it. Just sharing. Wink.

It's pretty amazing that the author of the blog made the cooking procedure so concise and easy to follow and she also proved that it is indeed lovely to match it with any Pinoy viands.

"We must be ever thankful for small miracles, and ever hopeful for receiving greater ones." (Elmer Schultz) - Didache, August 21