A Day with Chef Heny Sison

This is Chef Heny Sison herself, the instructor for this one-day baking class that I attended yesterday. She was very casual and it was like having this class in your very own kitchen. It's like mommy teaching me her classic "kapampampangan" recipes. I cook but I don't bake. I love desserts. I've been wanting to learn how to bake but I don't have enough days and opportunity to engage on it because my time is mostly devoted to my work and family. My husband is all support this time, told him I want to try this out and maybe start a home based business later on :)

learned 5 basic cake recipes from this class :)

Chocolate Fudge with Fudge Frosting

Butter Cake with Butter Icing

Sponge Cake with Whip Cream Icing

Mocha Chiffon Cake with Mocha Icing

Lemon Chiffon with Boiled Icing

A career that I always wanted but due to the fact that going to a culinary school is very expensive and I have other important financial responsibilities, I have to set this aside for now. Hopefully when my little boy gets older, I can still pursue this career.
It's not bad to dream after all :)

http://www.henysison.com/

What KRISTINE Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

holidays

We didn't plan any out of town trips for the Holy Week. Sigh. Husband works in a company who follows the US holidays so meaning he'll be working until Friday, I work in a travel industry meaning holidays such as holy week is our super peak season so I gotta be working even from home, and chicken pox hit our little boy last friday meaning we really are to stay home for this long weekend.

That's all good though. This could be a good rest & quality for all of us .Probably we can finish cleaning up at home (long overdue from last January) Oh! My brother Mico is spending the long week with us. Hehe! Mind you that's WEEK not WEEKEND.He's been looking after Kyle since last Saturday. Super thanks to him, our little boy is that irritated with all this itchy pox that's coming out from his bod because my brother is there to cheer him up :)

Am excited to do wifey duties this Holy Week.. cooking sumptuous meals fro my family is one thing that makes me feel fulfilled. The look in my husband's "busog" face and Kyle's happy eyes just makes my heart melt.

Overdue books.. 'been wanting to finish these books for months now but sad to say I don't have much time anymore. Hopefully, I can finish 1 or 2 for the long weekend. I'm good if I finish all three hehe!
This is a gift from husband last Feb. wanted this book badly but it's been out of stock most of the time at Powerbooks & Fully Booked. Husband surprised me one day :) He got it from A DIFFERENT BOOKSTORE in Eastwood Citywalk.

A very special wedding gift from our Ninong Joey Santos. We are very touched because aside from the fact that Jp & I both love to read, we felt that our ninong thought of giving us this book bacause he really wanted to bring impact & guide us in our marriage life. Thanks again Ninong Joey!


From Fully Booked last weekend. 'have to finish this because I want to read BRIDA after !:D

Oh I almost forgot that we have an activity in the village on Sunday. I was asked to take part of the events committee in BRB, i'm excited to work with them. Our first project is the Easter Celebration on the 23rd. Met up with Ria & Tita Mona last Friday to plan for the games & prizes. I really hope Kyle will be well na by Sat so he can join the fun on Sunday. He's very excited because he saw me preparing the flyers etc. last week.


I finished watching 27 dresses dvd last night then Kyle watched Water Horse after. I fell asleep watching:P I plan to finish 2 dvds by Friday :)

Backlogs

have late entries to post...

hopefully next few weeks will be smoother easier , work and schedules are getting into me...

I feel sick today :(

Mandarin Weekend

02/23-24

Our Ninang Gaye gave us vouchers for an overnight stay at Mandarin Oriental in Makati. Yahoo! Alone time for me and hubby once again! We were supposed to use it last Valentines but unfortunately rooms weren't available anymore when I called 2 weeks earlier to make a reservation. Too bad, I was too late! Its either that or they didn't want to accommodate freebies at that time huh!?? Being a travel agent, I am very careful in dealing with the people in the travel industry - that would be the hotels, airlines and resorts . For one, I need their good services and appropriate assistance as much as what my clients expect this from me. There were instances that I experience complaints from my clients regarding the inconsistencies of the hotel rules and assistance. And now, we had to experience the same thing when we were checking in last Saturday. You see, I had my vouchers delivered 3days prior our check-in date as advised by the resa who got our reservation. I had everything settled weeks before as I don't want any hassles anymore when we get there. I reserved under Mr & Mrs Pimentel so that would mean we are a "couple" right? And couples sleep together in one bed not twin beds right? Surprisingly, the girl from the front desk said that she could not provide us with one big bed, she was actually giving us twin beds! hahaha! I wanted to laugh out loud and cry at the same time. We were there supposedly there to make use of a honeymoon gift and the hotel was offering us twin beds?!! Naman!!! Uuwi nalang ako :) Good thing husband was very cool that day unlike me who got kinda impatient already. Of course, I did not accept the twin sharing rooms. So they asked us to wait for another 45mins because they had to have the room cleaned up. Ok, so there was an available room with one big bed contrary to what the Front Desk Officer said earlier. Tsk!

We went out to watch Vantage Point at Greenbelt while having our room prepared... and for me to cool down. That was one hassle not so welcomed when you are very excited to spend some alone time with your partner. Hay naku! :D

Breakfast at Mandarin Deli

02/24

Our Mandarin room last weekend didn't go with breakfast so husband and I had to decide whether to grab coffee somewhere else or to have the hotel breakfast buffet. We were too lazy to walk or drive to Starbucks or Pancake House but on the other hand, I didn't want to have buffet for breakfast too. Since it didn't go with our room rate, I figured it would be too costly for us already. Too much expenses for the weekend budget! hehe!:D Oh! I was thinking too hard! I almost forgot that Mandarin Deli is just there! I remembered my mama brought home some of their ensaymada for pasalubong and it was yummy especially when heated. The cheese on top when melted is very good. Perfect with coffee or cocoa hot chocolate!:)



Our Sunday breakfast: 1st row l-r is Mandarin Deli's brewed coffee (quite expensive @ $130/cup seesh!) , & ensaymada. 2nd row photo is what my husband ordered. Its named "fresh from the farm" - 2 eggs, hash brown, sweet ham, roast tomato w Parmesan . This went with about 4pcs of brown bread and 3 kinds of jam (apricot,orange & strawberry). Our damage: Php650 :)

This is me and husband enjoying our Sunday breakfast at Mandarin Deli.

Mandarin Deli
Open Daily (7am-11pm)
+63 (2) 750 8888 Ext. 2415

They have another cafe in QC:
Mandarin Oriental Café & Deli
Upper Ground Floor
Gateway Mall, Araneta Center
Sunday-Thursday (10am-11 pm)
Friday & Saturday (10am-12am)
+63 (2) 913 5505

Late Lunch @ Bellini's

02/16/08

It was actually my third time to go to Bellini's but this is a new experience for me because I went there with really good friends and fellow foodies- not a bf. It was actually an "unplanned" destination and we were supposed to eat at Cibo in Gateway buy my friend Naomi don't feel like eating there at that time so her blogger mind was challenged :)

I so love the "feel" of this Italian restaurant. It was my first time to go on a daytime and I must say that it also does carry a cozy and romantic ambiance even without the dim lights & soft music usually played at night.

(l-r) naomi corpuz & tricia domingo are my highschool friends who I get to spend time every now and then lately :D Am loving every experience with them.. Next to my two boys, these two girls are the ones that I hope to travel and see more places with as we get older and richer!!! hehehe!:)

During our Bellini's experience, we had pizza margherita, risotto, toasted raviolli for our main course. The breadsticks for appetizer & the yummy orange cake for dessert that went with Italian coffee.

BELLINI'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Cubao Shoe Expo (front of the old Rustans)
+63 2 9132550

I am deeply saddened to hear about this sad news early this morning. Paulo Clemente, who hosted and sang for our wedding passed away the other night. I only learned about him on-line when I was doing my supplier-hunting for our wedding but because of his warm and happy attitude, me and my husband easily became comfortable with him the first time we met up. We right away decided to get him for our wedding :) Now, more than a month after our wedding, I can definitely say that I did made a good choice. He hosted our wedding very well and he made the details very personal. He even recorded a song requested by my husband for our First Dance ( I Will Always Love You by Taylor Dayne) which even made everything more perfect.

This photo was grabbed from Pau's blog.

Pau singing our First Dance song

The sampler cd (on the right) is a gift from Paulo and Ces of AWP. for our wedding which became part of our souvenirs. Love his songs! He even included the first dance song that he recorded & sang for me and hubby! :)

To Paulo, thanks again for being part of our new life together. You did a very good job for our wedding! You will always be remembered :)

I am dead tired with work this week. I need some time alone.
Excited for the long weekend.

on v-day

Valentines this year is a lot more special. For people who know me that well, I am a person who takes every occasion seriously. I don't know. I just feel that these are "one-day "events that one must look forward to and more-be treated special. Like birthdays, christmas, new years & anniversaries, I always look forward to celebrating hearts with my boyfriend (now my husband).

Ordered two bouquets of orange roses for valentines. One for my dear mom & one for my mother in law. I still like it when women are given flowers... super loved and special ang feeling!:) I hope our moms felt that way when they got the flowers :D

Initial plan was to celebrate v-day on a weekend since Jp & I are both working on weekdays.Call it lucky but my husband was scheduled for an interview somewhere in Makati and my boss asked me to go with her in a client meeting at Makati Shang that Thursday so... we went for an unplanned v-day date that night!:)

Me and husband ate in one of our favorite resto...
FRIDAYS on a Thursday! :)Superb!!! :)Our menu: strawberry chill, Caesar salad, onion rings and a valentines platter that Fridays offered that day- composed of grilled chops, baby back ribs , shrimps & oh yeah corn :P

Of course we had a little surprise for our little boy when we got home :) I spotted this uber cute stuff toys while waiting for hubby at g4. Got him his favorite: spongebob squarepants & patrick! I'm glad he loved it! Ginawang wrestlers hehehe :D

post v-dinner

Last Saturday (02/16) me and my husband celebrated valentines day with cousins & in-laws. Of course, we tried to make it extra special. Last year, we hired a friend chef to prepare an aphrodisiac dinner for us and it was a very memorable experience. Since Chef Nikki is already in Boston to pursue further studies in Culinary, the wives were tasked to prepare the dinner this year.

My labor of love. Set up in Bam's garden :) I got the breadsticks from Bellini's earlier that day and the charger is from Gourdo's. All the other decors were actually borrowed from our kitchen already.

This is me & my jp enjoying our first valentines together as husband & wife :)I am definitely loving every minute of it!!! :)


Our simple but very yummy dinner :)

The wive's labor of love :) I prepared sundried tomato & basil penne pasta Nina made the famous ceasar salad , his dad's home-made recipe (super sarappp!!!).Ate Ina prepared dory fish in garlic cream sauce.And Ria grilled perfect rib-eye steaks! Yummy too!

And yeah, the husbands helped out too! My husband took charge of the bossa music to complete out intimate dinner, Bambi helped me set up the table before everyone arrived, Ponch brought wines and kuya Jovy drove ate Ina to get our desserts from Banapple ;D

This table napkin is so cute!I bought this from Gourdo's earlier that day. Wala lang, just want to share. This is so perfect for my dear husband and his sweet tooth! :)

The married couples enjoying the night! 2 down! 2more to go!:D

Another memorable experience for all of us. Happy Hearts day again!:)

more photos here.

currently reading

relaxing weekend

I love weekends because I get to spend quality time with my family especially with dear husband and Kyle. I treat each Saturdays & Sundays as if there is an occasion to celebrate. Call it overreacting or exaggeration but that's how I value time... extra special :) Last Saturday me and hubby went back to this very good resto in Hypermart, Fontera Verde that we tried few months ago. Life, Coffee & Tea is not too attractive if you look at the place from the outside but we love their tea fusion drinks is super saaaraaaappp!

We are in the detox and eating healthy mode last Saturday so we were on a no-rice meal for that night. I ordered Asian Chicken Salad & Jp ordered Ceasar Salad plus his favorite calamares. Our meal was perfect with LCT's famous tea au lait. I ordered the Strawberry Tea Au Lait and hubby ordered the peach tea au lait. These are very refreshing drinks. Overall, we were satisfied with what we had for dinner but not the bloated type. Just enough for our massage appointment that night.

We used last year's valentines gift last Saturday. I'm glad hubby enjoyed it as much as I did. I even heard him snore a little hahahaha! :) I know he needs it more than I do. Driving from Manila to Lipa almost everyday and working on a graveyard shift is definitely hard. I appreciate him sacrificing so much for me and more for for Kyle.

Like what I mentioned, Saturdays & Sundays are the best days of our weeks. No work, no stress.. and most of all, quality time is spent together :)

My husband handed me a gift before the night ended... SURPRISE AGAIN!!! Look at what I got??? :D My wishlist was granted really really fast! Very sweet :) Thanks sweetheart... you never fail to make my heart melt ...

al dente friday

Surprise! Surprise! dear husband surprised me last Friday, NO WORK :) yahoo! I am loving every minute spent with him.. and I mean this from the heart..

Last Friday was an unplanned gimik for us. Ate Ina, my cousin in law invited us for dinner/"inuman" at Al Dente in Silvercity. Had some wifey talks with ninang Gaye (of course) while the boys enjoyed the Johnny Walker open bar.

the crazy n lovely wives :)
(l-r) me, ninang gaye, ria and ina-boo

TAJ OF TAGAYTAY

Late Post
01/13

My relatives from Canada came home for vacation just in time for our wedding. Our time was very limited because there were family gatherings & invitations left and right.Apart from my wedding preparations, me and fiance (now my husband) had to entertain visitors from the US who were all home for our special day.
I wanted to make their visit a memorable one but since I don't have that much time to do so, I made the most out of what I can offer them best :) I asked them to spend one night at the Cuna resthouse in Tagaytay. I felt bad I couldn't stay with them at that time because that was actually 2 days prior to my wedding date. It could've been a very great time for us to bond.

My husband & I planned to treat them for an early dinner some place in Tagaytay. While my aunts and uncles went to visit a friend in Lian, Batangas.. we went to try out this very intriguing restaurant situated at the boundary of Tagaytay & Alfonso.

This is TAJ OF TAGAYTAY. If you are coming from Tagaytay proper, you'll see it on your left before reaching Batangas exit. Oh, you'll see banners along the highway so i'm sure you won't miss it :P

The place is so perfect. It's overlooking taal lake.
An ambiance that completed our sunset dinner :) The menu is not so complicated.Price is affordable:)

All of us tried their huge shawarma, refreshing melon shake,
and my favorite .. samosa -average,I still prefer Arya's :D

I so love the interiors of the place! Very cozy!:)


1st row(l-r): karen, jp, mico
2nd row (l-r): ate chris, me,nichole

Taj of Tagaytay
Indian. Mediterranean. Asian Fusion
Tel# +63 916 936 4219, +63 927 711 4247

watched Alvin and the Chipmunks with our little boy last night while waiting for dear husband to be home from work. The movie is really funny. Me & Kyle really enjoyed watching! Yes babe, you read it right, I finished the film in one seating hehe! didn't fell asleep :D