Silk Organic Chocolate Soy Milk

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

I haven't been fond of drinking cow's milk and I think I passed that on to Trixie. From breastmilk, Trix switched to soya for her milk needs. Then my mom gave us Silk Organic Chocolate Soya Milk to try and we just love it. It is made of organic soy beans and the chocolate taste is reminiscent of Magnolia Chocolait. We buy Silk at S&R (a bit pricey though, around P120 a liter, but for me it's worth it) and there are two other flavors- Vanilla and Unsweetened, but Chocolate is the favorite hands-down. With the milk catastrophe in China and certain studies showing the disadvantages of cow's milk, Silk Soya gives Trixie something to smile about each day (haha, with a chocolatey smile).

Baked Pork BBQ and Garlic Java Rice

I discovered a very nice marinade for barbeque- Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade (I heard that this product came from the family who opened Aristocrat's), and so I thought of making pork bbq at home.  But instead of going through the hassle of grilling (but I'm sure Brandon wouldn't mind doing it if I asked him to), I decided to bake them using a Turbo Broiler.  The result?  Really nice and flavorful barbeque.  Not oily at all and no burnt bits.  Here's the very easy recipe:

Baked Pork Barbeque



Ingredients:
Fresh Pork Kasim, fat portion removed and cut into small cubes
Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade

Procedure:
Marinate the pork cubes in Mama Sita's Barbeque Marinade overnight.  Place meat through skewers or barbeque sticks.  Bake in preheated turbo broiler at 375F for 10-15 minutes (or until done), turning each stick halfway and brushing the tops with remaining marinade.



Just before dinnertime, I decided to whip up a very easy java rice as the perfect accompaniment to any barbeque dish.

Garlic Java Rice 

Ingredients:
Cooked plain rice
Cooking oil
Star Margarine
Lots of minced garlic
Minced onions
Tomato Sauce (I used Hunt's)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure:
Place oil and Star Margarine in a pan (both oil and margarine were used to prevent margarine from burning).  When hot and ready, saute the onions and garlic until very fragrant.  Don't let the garlic turn brown and bitter.  Add the cooked rice.  Combine thoroughly.  Add the tomato sauce little by little (too much tomato sauce will make the rice sour), then toss well until rice turns into a nice light orange color.  Season with salt and pepper.  If desired, add more margarine as a finishing touch to make rice glossy.  Serve with pork barbeque.  (I wish we had atsara and java sauce!) 


Note:  I'm sorry that these recipes don't contain exact measurements, but that's how I usually cook.  Just trust your tastebuds :)    

Trix BBQ

We had Baked Pork Barbeque and Garlic Java Rice for dinner (check out the very easy recipe in my blog). I'm so glad Trixie liked it (she had seconds!) coz that's what I'm planning to serve at Trixie's mini birthday party in school next month. Notice also Trixie's new haircut. She really is no longer a baby...

Trixie's New Shoes

My little girl is a shoe person.  (I think she got that from my mom.)  So when her favorite pink shoes (the one I wrote about in this site) and rubber shoes got tight, she happily and excitedly went on shoe shopping with us yesterday.  Much to our delight, most of the shoes at Mothercare Trinoma were on big sale, and I mean huge.  Check out these two pairs of shoes.  Brandon got her these dainty, pink suede shoes for only P480 and the cute trainers for only P240!!!  Trixie was so happy trying on lots of shoes- no complaints at all.  She would walk and even jump all over the store, telling us which ones were comfortable and not-- oh she's our little shopgirl.  Thank God for big discounts!     

Vinamit Jackfruit Chips

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

I'm typically not a langka lover, but when a Singaporean associate gave us Vinamit Jackfruit Chips as pasalubong (it was really for Trixie, hehe), we just loved it. It is really crunchy and flavorful, and it's one of very few snack chips that we can willingly give to Trixie. There are no added flavorings or seasonings; just crunchy jackfruit packed by an ISO certified Vietnamese company (so the packaging says that). We now buy our Vinamit in some supermarkets and food stores, with price at around P65.00 for the small pack, but there's a bigger pack at around P100. It's relatively more expensive than other popular chips, but it's healthier and it's for the whole family. Do try this one out- for something healthy and pleasantly good. (Another thought -- I'm not afraid to consume it or give it to Trixie because it's not from China!)

Santis Delicatessen

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	International
Location:	Timog

Clarification first: Santis is not really a restaurant but a delicatessen. I go to Santis to buy premium meats and fish, but yesterday, I got to taste their blueberry muffins and it's really good. Priced at P61.00 a piece, I was hesitant to buy one because I find it quite expensive for something I can make at home, but it was really good. It was moist and tender, and the crumb melts in the mouth. Real blueberries were also used so that's a plus (I hate muffins made with artificial preserved fruits). Well, aside from this nice discovery, I have tried their sandwich too and it's really satisfying. This is really filling so it makes a quick lunch or a heavy merienda. Priced at about P100 a big sandwich, they put in generous layers of cold cuts plus a bounty of fresh vegetables between their soft, brown bread- even Trixie likes their sandwich. :)

It's Chocolate Cake once more.

I'm obviously obsessed with baking chocolate cakes this week (three times in a row to be exact) and I blame it on the rainy weather hehe. This time, I made it into a two-layer cake and I frosted it with Cote d'Or Belgian Dark Chocolate which I got as a "pasalubong" from Gatch (I'm blessed with generous friends, really). This version, I must say, is the best among the three. It really pays to use top quality ingredients; it's so worth it. This is my official chocolate cake from now on. Side comment: I decided to put Trixie's photo in the end because she helped me bake the cake and she happily waited for Brandon to finish taking the photos so we could sing a birthday song and blow an imaginary candle. :)

Ghirardelli Chocolate Cake

Thanks to my kumare Maybelle who gave me a big can of Ghirardelli cocoa (best gift ever!), I am happy to present this chocolate cake for everybody's visual enjoyment. This is just a simple but moist chocolate cake that I topped with satiny, bittersweet chocolate glaze, dark chocolate chips and chopped pistachio nuts-- really satisfying! Photos by Brandon who was rewarded with a slice after the shoot :)