Project 365: Jan. 30, 2011 (day030): Beri Blueberry Cheesecake

Thank God Zion's condition is already improving. Well, at least his fever had subsided and his appetite is slowly going back to normal, which means his throat's not painful as yesterday. Nonetheless, I still make sure that no / less sweets for him today. As a result, I had a hard time eating this blueberry cheesecake which we bought from Banapple. I had to put Zion to bed first before I could actually eat my slice of cake. Anyway, the blueberry cheesecake was a good break from the chocolate-based cakes/pies we usually buy from Banapple. The cheese and cream layer was not that sweet, as compared to its Red Ribbon counterpart. And the ample blueberry toppings was really good. Perhaps next time, I would try their other cheesecakes. Then again, I could go back to my favorite banoffee pie. :-)

Project 365: Jan. 26,2011 (day026): Back to Bread

As I go back to my normal routine, it's time to go back to my No-Rice-At-Night Diet. Due to our Cebu trip, I took two days off from this diet. And now I'm back in Manila, it's also time to go back to my bread diet. I was able to successfully do it for the past 21 days, trying to eat 1 or 2 slices of bread at night instead of my usual 1-1.5 cups of rice. I was fortunate enough to lose 2.5 lbs after trying it for about 10days (considering that I only have minimal exercise and workout). I must admit that it was difficult at first, especially if we have sinigang or nilaga as our viand at night. But I guess after the first week, my body slowly gets accustomed to the habit. No longer do I stare at the rice bowl sadly during dinner. Iam contented with having bread at night. I am hoping that I will be able to maintain this healthy habit. I am also hoping that after this, I will also be able to reduce my lunch time rice intake. Good luck to me. So help me God! :-)

Project 365: Jan.16, 2011 (day016): Of Chips and Coffee

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was able to finish Zion's reviewers just in time for his exam next week. I was also able to finish my other weekend chores - grocery, attend the basic photography workshop, check the laundry, fix the room. And since I was not doing anything, I decided to take a short afternoon snack. It was a weird snack craving - coffee and chips. Got curious with the Banoffee Blast-flavored coffee from Nescafe. Fortunately, it tasted good - usual coffee with a tinge of banana flavor. The potato chips were my usual favorite. Nice way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon! :-)

Project 365: Jan.13,2011 (day013): Green Halo

On my way home from work, I decided to drop by the Cubao eXpo in Cubao. This used to be the Marikina Shoe Expo, where lots of shops sell Marikina-made shoes. Today, there are still those shops that sells shoes. But aside from the old shoe arcade, new shops selling various products have also opened in the area. There are also a lot of restos and bars that cater to the younger crowd. One of these restos is the Green Halo. A friend once introduced this resto to me. She introduced this resto as an organic cafe. Having said that, I thought, I might not find the menu interesting because of the mostly vegetarian menu (okay, I admit I am more of a carnivore). But after trying out their Pesto Pasta and French Toast, I began to love this place. I am not really a pesto fan, but I certainly love Green Halo's rendition of the said dish. The French Toast with all the chocolate syrup on top, is very sinful, yet very comforting to tired office workers like me. The nice thing was their food items are reasonably priced. The cozy ambience inside the place was also very conducive to bonding with family and friends. If you find yourself in the busy area of Cubao, try dropping by the Green Halo. :-)

Project 365: Jan. 11, 2011 (day011): Penoy Perstaymer

As we were heading home today, we dropped by our suking eatery to buy our favorite pancit. While waiting for our order, my cousin bought 1 piece balot and 1 piece penoy. Curiosity got the better of me, so I asked my cousin to buy another penoy. I am an avid balot eater since I was a kid, though eating the sisiw was not really my favorite. However, it is my first time to try penoy. At home, after I ate some pancit, I closely examined the penoy. Hmm.. The penoy is marked with an "X" to differentiate it from the balot. I then cracked the egg.. Hmm.. No sabaw (liquid contents).. I then noticed that the penoy is similar to the typical hard-boiled chicken egg. The albumen (white part) tastes like that of the chicken egg, but the yolk (yellow part), tastes like the yellow part of the balut. Hmm.. Tastes good. Hmm.. I am thinking that I should go for penoy rather than balut.. At least no sisiw will be thrown... :-)

Drooling Over Mango Bravo

Last Sunday, my balikbayan Aunt, Tita Leila (belated happy birthday po!), celebrated her *toot*th birthday (very confidential info.. sorry.. :-D). As a treat for their mom, my cousins Melvin and Michael bought some delicious pansit sotanghon and the very yummy Mango Bravo cake from Conti's. My cousins arrived shortly after we have already eaten our lunch, but that didn't stop us from having about a plateful of pancit sotanghon and some "small slices" of Mango Bravo. We still had some "shyness" left within ourselves that we didn't gorge on the entire cake (had to constantly remind ourselves that it was Tita Leila's birthday... not ours.. tee hee!!).

Anyway, the Mango Bravo cake (despite the small slices we had), was superb! Though my Mom said it was quite "nakakaumay" because of the creamy icing, I still think the chilled mixture of mangoes, cashew nuts, chocolate drippings, and the mala-choco-mouse and sponge cake layers, was really something a sweet-tooth-person like me can't resist. Instant high! (again I had to remind myself that the cake was Tita Leila's... not mine.. tee hee!)

I am now thinking of dropping by at Conti's branch in Serendra (near my office) or in Trinoma to get my mango-bravo-craving satisfied. If my memory serves me right, a slice of Mango Bravo would be around P75 to P85 pesos. Well.. not too bad for 10-15 minutes of palate bliss! Yum! :-D

The Genuine Article - Vigan Empanada

About a week ago, my officemate/friend Shy announced that she'll be spending the weekend in Vigan with her mom (G.I. ang batang ito - Genuine Ilocano! hehehe.. peace tayo Shy! Ü). Right after she announced this, all of us made our "pabili list" (pinagsisihan mo ba ang pag-aanounce mo ng Vigan trip mo, Shy? hehehe..). We requested bagnets, vigan longganisa, and mine was the famous Vigan empanada. I ordered a dozen empanadas so that everyone here at home can have a taste of the famous Northern Luzon delicacy.




Monday morning came, and a woozy-looking Shy came into the office carrying all our "bilins", including my 1 dozen Vigan empanadas (obviously, hilo pa sa byahe ang lola.. hehehe..). Luckily, our office refrigerator, wasn't filled yet (being a Monday morning), so I had the chance to select a secluded spot in the refrigerator for my 1-dozen-empanadas. I labelled the pack with my name, so no one in the office would "accidentally" get it. I was thankful that I'll be going home with my father that afternoon, which means no hassle carrying the empanadas while fighting my way to get into the MRT (yes.. getting inside the MRT is a battle!).

Immediately, when I got home, I asked my cousin to cook/fry a couple of the empanadas (nao-obvious na di ako marunong magluto... hahaha!). It was also good timing because I didn't like our viand that night. I excitedly munched on my first empanada like a kid who's entering Jollibee for the first time (in other words, super sabik! hehehe..). It was N-I-R-V-A-N-A at the first bite!! I texted Shy like an addict high on ecstasy - "Grabe Shy! Ang sssarrraap nung empanada! HEAVEN!!!". It was really sumptuous, a hundred times better than the Vigan empanada we usually buy in Tiendesitas (yes, I am a Vigan-empanada afficionado). One can really savor the longganisa filling, which means that there is ample longganisa within the empanada (hindi tinipid ang longganisa!). The flavor from the parboiled beansprouts (toge) and the grated green papaya were mixed very well with the meat, that even an anti-vegetable person like me was able to appreciate it. Of course, I ordered the special empanada, which means one whole egg was added to each empanada, which provided additional flavor and texture to the dish.



That night, I forgot my diet (deliberately), and chomped on 2 big pieces of empanadas. Forget the diet, forget the cholesterol, minsan lang naman 'to! :-D