Best Superfood Salad - nap-timecreations.com

Today's Food Friday feature is Best Superfood Salad by Emily of Nap Time Creations. I love salads! They're usually served before mains, but I love how they're actually a complete meal on their own. I also have this fasciation for superfood and all its health benefits, so salads and superfood in one dish is something that I'd really be happy digging into! :D

Creamy Deviled Egg Layered Pasta Salad - www.adishofdailylife.com

Today's Food Friday feature is Creamy Deviled Egg Layered Pasta Salad by Michelle of A Dish of Daily Life. Eggs, pasta, and salad all in one dish...aaahh! Sounds like a lot of fun!

Vegetable Manchow Soup - www.curryandvanilla.com

Today's Food Friday feature is Vegetable Manchow Soup (Indo-Chinense Manchow Soup) by Vanitha of Curry and Vanilla. I love Chinese food and I have come to love Indian dishes, so this recipe piqued my curiosity.

Easy and Light Chicken Salad  - www.mysuburbankitchen.com

Today's Food Friday feature is Easy and Light Chicken Salad by Shannah of My Suburban Kitchen. Chicken salads are versatile. It's a complete meal on its own, with protein and veggies in one dish. It can be eaten as is but it also makes for a perfect sandwich filling. Oh, reminds me of my dad. He loves chicken (salad) sandwiches! :D

thenotsocreativecook.wordpress.com

Carrot Apple Oat Cookies - cuddlesandcrumbs.com

Strawberry Chia Pudding with Almonds and Banana

by Sweet Nothings | kriskamarie.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: No-cook

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 120g Yoplait lowfat strawberry yogurt
• 1/4 cup low-fat strawberry milk
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 2 tablespoons almonds, chopped

Instructions

1. In a mason jar or covered glass container, pour in the yogurt and milk and mix well.

2. Add in the chia seeds and stir until well incorporated.

3. Keep in the refrigerator overnight.

4. Transfer chia pudding on a clean bowl and top with almonds and bananas.

5. Server and enjoy!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a blast on NYE and I wish you have a blessed and prosperous year ahead! To kick-off this year, I decided to host our very first Food Friday link up party!

Well, it's actually not a new thing for me as I've been joining the Food Friday link ups before, which was originally hosted by Maiylah and was eventually taken over by Nicholas.

During times when my mind's creative juices are at their lowest and I can't formulate just even a single sentence, instead of forcing myself to write, what I do is I hop on blogs or brainstorm ideas with some low cost SEO services providers. I enjoy reading other blogs as much as I enjoy drooling over their yummy food photos. I'd just usually search for food blogs on Google, until Food Friday came in handy.

Nope, I wasn't on a blogging hiatus. I was just busy (the happy kind of busy) with something for the past weeks. I will share the details on my next posts so watch out for it. :D

I have quite a number of posts about our family feasts here in this blog and more often than not, Ginataang Alimango is always included in the menu. I've been receiving messages and emails requesting me to post the recipe, but since it's my dad who always cooks, I don't really get to take pictures for the recipe.


Luckily, a couple of weekends back, I was able to finally cook Ginataang Alimango for the first time, of course using the recipe that I learned from no less than my dad. :)

Had a very fun and enjoyable time with my family last Sunday as we experienced an afternoon of culinary feast at the recently concluded Flavorful Fete at Eton Centris Walk.


Before the program started, we got to roam around and check the booths surrounding the area. There were a lot of exciting booths which were specially-prepared for moms and families. There's the Faber Castel booth were kids got to enjoy some coloring books and coloring pens for free.

I really love to cook! By now you may have noticed that I've started to post recipes of the dishes that I myself got to cook. My love for cooking doesn't just end at the kitchen. I also enjoy watching cooking shows on food channels.


So when I got an email of an invitation for a Culinary Open House at The Academy for International Culinary Arts (A.I.C.A.), I really got excited and immediately marked my calendar! :p

I'm just so happy I have to post this haha! I cooked Beef Caldereta for lunch yesterday and it was a hit! Yay!

It was actually my first time to cook this dish and I'm glad my family loved it. Even my baby brother, Jaoey, who's a picky eater, enjoyed it! :D I posted this photo on my Instagram and Facebook accounts and it got a lot of 'likes'.


Quoting my sister Gia's comment: "Hit! Anghang! Sarap!" ("Hit! Spicy! Delicious!"), I can now say that my first time was successful. All their satisfied smiles, compliments, and burps were priceless! :)

I intentionally didn't take photos of the ingredients and cooking procedures, since it's just my first time to cook this, but I will definitely cook this again and will post the recipe soon! :D

Update:
January 27, 2014 - Please click HERE for the Beef Caldereta recipe. :D

kriskamarie   sweetnothings.kriskamarie
kriskamarie   kriskamarie

We had a dinner feast at home last Sunday, May 12. And just like last year, we again had a double celebration -- celebration of Mother's Day and an advanced celebration of Jaoey's 11th birthday. :)


Most of the dishes on our feast were the birthday boy's requests. He specifically pointed out that he wanted to have beef caldereta, lechon kawali, fried chicken, and spaghetti.

Almost a week after our family fun at Altaroca, our family once again enjoyed some summer fun last Wednesday, April 17, but this time without my dad. My dad wasn't able to join us because of work. It was just actually my mom's aerobics group's summer outing, and families were allowed to be tagged along. :)

Mom's aero group's summer outing was cancelled a day before, but since we were all set, with Mark and Jeff already at our house because they were also coming along, and with Jaoey very much excited for it, we still pushed through.


After having breakfast at home, we headed to Cristina Villas. There were already a number of cars parked at the resort, and since we're not fans of crowded places, we were hesitant at first. My mom, together with Jaoey, Chino, and Mark checked the place out and got back with a go signal for us to unload our things.

After having some summer fun with my family, Mark and I went out on a date with his mom and cousin the day after, last Tuesday, April 9. Aside from it being a holiday in the Philippines (Day of Valor), this day is very special for Mark since it's his mom's birthday. :) 

The Birthday Girl and the Mama's Boy :p

We had a lunch feast at Mark's house and then we headed to Robinsons Magnolia in the afternoon as per Tita Juliet's request. We had some snacks and then we watched a movie. After the movie, we roamed around to search for a restaurant for dinner. There were a lot of food choices and after a few minutes of rummaging, Mr. Choi Kitchen was what caught the heart of the birthday girl. :p

Had some family fun over at Altaroca Mountain Resort here in Antipolo last Monday, August 8. Daddy was on leave from work so it was a perfect time for some summer fun. Her sisters were also free that time so we invited them over. My cousin, Aya, and Mark were also tagged along. :)


The resort is just a few minute drive away from our house. We had our breakfast at home and got to the resort around 9am. Since the owner of the resort is my daddy's friend, checking in was a breeze. The resort was big enough, with 3 pools (a kiddie pool, a lap pool, and a pool lounge), a few huts, some tree house, a cafe and bar, and a hotel with function rooms and a grand ballroom.

Just like what I said before, I always make sure that I get to cook Mark's favorites whenever he comes over at my house for a visit. Aside from his all-time-favorite Kare-Kare, I also learned that he has come to love my version of Pork Steak. :D Thanks to my mom for teaching me the recipe. :)

Pork steak is actually a twist on the Filipino dish, Bistek Tagalog (Beef Steak), as it has the same ingredients and just differs with the main ingredient which is the meat. Paired with steamed rice plus Ensaladang Kamote (Camote Tops Salad), I'm sure this dish will be a family hit, just like how it has always been for our family. :)

Pork Steak

Last week, Mark asked me out on a "Fridate" at Movie Stars Cafe in SM Mall of Asia. I love receiving invites from Mark but I actually wasn't excited when I knew that we were going to SM MOA. I'm from Antipolo while Mark is from Caloocan, so meeting halfway at Quezon City has always been our practice for our weekend dates. Okay I'll admit, I just hate having to drive around busy streets, stroll around crowded malls, and most especially having to ride a public transportation while braving the traffic and the crowd! :p

Mark has been raving about how cool the place seems when he saw it online. When I checked it, I also got excited and so I just tried to let go of the brat in me and gave in to his invite! :D It is very rare that Mark and I go out on dates outside Quezon City, but whenever we do, Mark makes sure that we go to places that are worth our effort and time. Plus, Mark and I both seemed to have built a penchant for themed restaurants and hotels, like Pan De Amerikana and Segara Villas and Suites, and Movie Stars Cafe is a great addition to the list. :p

We were half an hour early for the cafe's opening so we both agreed to just have our lunch at SM MOA, go watch some movie, and just get back to the cafe afterwards. After watching OZ The Great and Powerful, we headed to the Movie Stars Cafe along Seaside Boulevard, which is a few walks away from the mall.


Mark and I were already delighted, like little kids, right when we saw the logo of the restaurant from afar.

It was actually my baby brother, Jaoey, who first saw this idea on the internet moths back. He was delighted when he showed it to me and made me promise that we'll make some at home. And so one Saturday afternoon, I obliged. :)

I'm not actually sure with the name of this dish, but this is basically just the ordinary spaghetti that most of us grew up with, preparation- and taste-wise, but with an added fun and excitement to it. :D

The spaghetti noodles are stuck into the hotdog chunks, making it look like the noodles are oozing out from the hotdogs. :D

Hotdog Spaghetti

Mark and I spent the day together on his birthday last February 7. We met past lunch time and had a light lunch over at Hap Chan in Alimall, and then watched a movie at Gateway Cineplex after lunch.

We then headed to Lola Cafe+Bar in Scout Lozano in Tomas Morato for our dinner. We got to the restaurant around 8pm.  I've read in reviews how the restaurant is always filled with people, but I wasn't worried that we won't have any tables since I have already reserved a table for two while we were still at Gateway. :)

Parking Area

Lola Cafe+Bar has a nice laid back and homey feel with its cozy vibe and minimalistic design. The restaurant was comfy and spacious and has three dining areas.