Our town fiesta falls in August. At this time of the year, people in my hometown of Tuguegarao are busy preparing all sorts of activities to celebrate the occasion. Living overseas, I always ponder upon all the memories I had celebrating the occasion. I remember how our…
PAMPERED! That’s how we were for the duration of our stay in Manila. Our hosts, O and D, really know how to take care of their guests. The warmth and hospitality that we were fortunate to experience far exceeds the five star rating in hotels. …
I heard echoes of laughter and I was jealous that I wasn’t there. The wooden walls reverberated familiar voices through the phone, voices of my aunts who traveled for more than half a day just to be with my mom as she celebrated Papa’s birthday. He was…
“What did you have for breakfast?“, my friend asked me. “Uhhhm… an avocado shake“, I answered. And her face did not hide the disgust when she heard AVOCADO SHAKE, like I said something politically incorrect. Truth to tell, I also reacted the same way the first…
I step closer to the carousel of the airport baggage section – I feel like I am sleep walking. After spending the last 26 hours in airports and airplanes (and sleeping most of the time during the flights), I can’t wait to get home. I am feeling…
“The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” This is what this image seems to say to me when I walked to the park today. My friend Rowena commented that it is human nature to always think that way. We should change this…
I was literally stuck. I was staring at my laptop, not knowing what to write for my next post. Until I saw this post on the page of The Breakfast Store. For the child in all of us… “When you wake up in the morning, (Winnie…
I wouldn’t be surprised if Anthony Bourdain and his crew find their way to the northern tip of the Philippines to try the much loved Batil Patung. Batil Patung is the local version of stir fried noodles served with an egg topping (patung). and a side serving of egg…
Simple pleasures… These are the moments when you least expect it and it makes you feel special. So I was on our veranda that morning with the refreshing summer breeze cooling me down. I saw this street vendor hawking buko (coconut), aimlessly driving his bike carrying…
I was at a local Filipino grocery looking for goat meat. The lady beside me commented that I didn’t seem like a person who would be looking for goat meat. I was confused. “What do you mean by that?” I asked politely. But she answered me…
Joey (my son): Mom make some Zucchini bread. Me: I don’t think I ever made one yet. Joey: Oh yeah, you haven’t but Nicci’s mom made some and it was good! Me: Let me get the recipe and I’ll make it sometime. Joey: You could make…
I used to enjoy lechon kawali (crispy pork belly) as is. But when my brother in law introduced me to pritchon, the this dish became a staple in my party repertoire. In fact it’s always a star during my parties. Every one enjoys the fun of rolling their…
Callos is a stew of ox tripe. It’s one of those recipes that needs TLC; you have to go through the process of cleaning the tripe, cook for hours until it’s tender, remove the scum, replace the water and then repeat the process until tender. Luckily,…
If my oven could talk, it would probably say “girl, I need a break!” Haha, because it’s true, I have been under a baking spell. For the past few months now, I’m always covered with flour and sugar grits. I’m sure my oven would even say…
Valentine’s day is around the corner, right? So my friend asked me what my Valentine post is. I said I don’t have anything special for Valentine’s day…. but my next post is Mongo Bean Soup. She said “Mongo what?” So this is not a Valentine feature.I just served…