Wednesday 30 July 2008

Mi casa es su casa

Prettifying a home is a never ending process. That is what I have learned when we moved in to our own home last year. We would set small projects every now and then to further make our home more comfortable, cozy and of course charming. One of the first projects that Honey ever conceived when we moved in was to replace the wooden shafts in the roof terrace with new ones but since we moved in during autumn going to winter months, the weather was not conducive to start the project.

Finally after months of planning and dreaming, Honey, with the help of a very good friend, is almost done with the project after working over a couple of weekends. They even took a step further and built a proper fence that avails us more privacy and a trellis of some sort where I plan to let some rose bushes climb up to (who knows how long my next project would materialize but there you go).

We are expecting some visitors in the next weeks to come, my sister is coming in two weeks time with her hubby and baby Alex and they will spend a week with us and a very good friend from Dubai will come several days after that and finally another good friend from London will be joining us several weeks after that so our home will be packed. Yey!!! To prepare for that, we shopped for a bed over the weekend and lo and behold, we saw this swing. The moment I saw this magnificent piece of furniture, I knew exactly where it will go in our home. The roof terrace! I already imagine myself lounging in the terrace lying lazily on this comfortable swing as I take in the view of my growing rose bushes. We just have to have it! Finally honey caved in and we went back home with a big box in tow. He was able to fix the swing last Sunday afternoon and it was just perfect. I tried it out and almost fell asleep as I lay there while the soft wind was blowing on my cheeks.


Hopefully, we will still experience more good weather over the next weeks before autumn rain kicks in and we can still enjoy the swing and the roof terrace with some barbeque and drinks overlooking our nice neighborhood and we could share all of these with our family and friends. Good times ahead!!!

Tuesday 29 July 2008

Moral of the Story

It has become a part of our weekends to meet up with our friends from CFC and last week it was our turn to host the dinner for them. The moment I woke up, I thought it was the perfect day to have friends over since we had a great weather. Thinking that I had all the time in the world and not wanting to miss the warm sun, Honey and I spent most of the day shopping and strolling. When we finally went back home, it was already 3pm and we realized we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. So we feasted on a salad with fried chicken strips dressed with balsamic vinegar. It was a refreshing meal for a hot day.

Immediately after lunch, I made my way into the kitchen and started preparing the ingredients for the simple meal I was planning to whip up. I still felt that it was too early so I took my own sweet time. I was quite excited to make the dessert coz I recently bought muffin moulds which were on sale so I started by baking the blueberry muffins and blueberry streusels cake. Initially, I only planned on making muffins but Honey requested for the cake so I obliged. Since I was planning a very simple dinner of chop suey and fried pork slices, after I have thrown the desserts in the oven I took my time in organizing my kitchen first clearing up all the ingredients that I have used, rearranged my plate cabinet and admired the desserts cooking in the oven and since I already seasoned the meat earlier that day, I started boiling some quail eggs, I peeled off some tiger prawns and I started to cut, dice and slice the vegetables and fried them up a bit while frying the pork slices on the side. In the middle of cutting and dicing and slicing, the doorbell rang. I stop midway of throwing another batch of vegetables in the wok to look at the time. OMG! It was already 6:45pm and our friends have started to arrive. I still needed to fry the rest of the meat slices, fry up some veggies, slice the prawns, shell the quail eggs and make the sauce. I started to panic so I paused and inhaled a deep breath. I thought to myself “don’t worry, the guests will not eat immediately, they will chat first and would want some drinks and by that time you’re done cooking.” So I welcomed our guests to our home and Honey entertained them while I try to speedily cook the rest of our meal.

In the end, everything turned out fine, I managed to cook the entire meal right after our guests have finished with their aperitif. It actually turned out perfectly coz the vegetable dish was served straight out of the stove top, it was warm, crisp and cooked just right and the meat dish was also fresh out of the frying pan. All of us enjoyed the meal, our friends particularly liked the dessert.


Moral of the story, learn to look at your watch once in while especially if your hosting dinner.

Monday 28 July 2008

Sunny-Side Up

We had a glorious weather here in Amsterdam over the weekend, 27 degrees on Saturday and 30 degrees on Sunday, can you believe that. In the past, especially when I was still living in Dubai, I wouldn’t get psyched up about good weather but having lived here in the Netherlands for almost 2 years now, I know that they’re quite rare. So what else do we do on such a wonderful day, we started it off with a very Filipino breakfast to fuel up for the day ahead, dried fishes and fried eggs… yummy!!!

I was so excited to cook the eggs coz I got myself a new toy in the kitchen. I was able to buy this egg form moulds last week and they looked so cute so as early as Friday night, I knew Saturday breakfast would definitely have eggs.

It was one very satisfying breakfast indeed with the eggs and dried fish paired with fried rice and a cup of steaming coffee, although, my moulds didn’t work out as properly as I wanted them to. I think next time I used them I would use a different pan. When I tried to fry the eggs inside the mold, it leaked in some places and the egg didn’t exactly take the form of the mould. Hhhmmmp. Well nevertheless, the eggs were delicious. It was the glue that bound the crispy saltiness of the dried fishes to the aromatic flavor of the fried rice, simple yet satisfying indeed. Just what we needed to start off a perfect day.

Tuesday 22 July 2008

Family Day



There is nothing harder than to leave your family behind and live in a far off country miles and oceans apart from them. That was one of the biggest difficulties Junfer and I faced when we moved here in Amsterdam. Initially, both of us were so excited. Who wouldn’t be? A newly wedded couple living in a totally new country with a new culture and atmosphere to boot, what more could we ask for? But still, there are a lot of times when homesickness would be creeping on our nerves that is why we couldn’t be more thankful when someone invited us to join the Couples’ for Christ Community. Not only did we gain friends and acquaintances but we also found people who we now consider short of being siblings.

True to being one big happy community, CFC-Amsterdam Chapter had their barbeque party in celebration of its annual Family Day last Saturday. It was one fun event sans the awful Amsterdam weather that persisted the entire day. Through the help of the big tents that were erected, the barbeque party was a big hit. There were games for the kids as well as for the adults that gave an extra kick to the event. It also helped that everyone participated and not a single person declined when asked to join a game. For me, the highlight of the entire event was the volleyball match that took place late afternoon when the rain decided to stop and the sun finally decided to join in on the fun even just for an hour or two. The organizers even conducted a videoke contest where the portable Magic Sing Microphone would be the judge. Guess what, out of all the contestants, the winner was the only Dutch who joined in. HAHA.


It was a cozy afternoon, people chattering the entire afternoon, feasting on good food, catching up with old friends that they haven’t seen in a while. It was a simple affair and yet everyone had fun. This was one party that was worth the effort of making 80 pieces of pandesal for. Honey and I will definitely look forward to next year’s Family Day

Monday 21 July 2008

Hot Pandesal

We Filipinos love, love, love to eat. I even read one article written by a foreign observer that Filipinos love to eat so much that you cannot walk for 5 minutes on the streets of Manila without seeing another place that sells food (and this encompasses all types of food places from classy restaurants to fish ball vendors). We even have five or six meals in a day, breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack and dinner (for some, even a midnight snack). Needless to say, we Filipinos have had a lingering and sweet love affair with food. Having said all this, it’s a no brainer that one of the things mostly missed by Filipinos who live outside the country is the FOOD, Filipino style. I am in no way a food guru or a trained chef, but from practical experience, I have to say that Filipino food is one of the best and diverse food that I have tried. It is a fusion of foreign and regional influences coupled with very innovative ingredients.

Junfer and I, like most Filipinos, would want to have our daily dose of Filipino food. However, when circumstances doesn’t permit that, we settle in on a once a week all Filipino feast. That is why, when I started to learn how to bake, one of the first things that I really tried to learn how to make was pandesal, you can’t get anymore Filipino than that! Through the months that I have been making pandesal, I kinda got the hung of doing it and my pandesal has improved immensely from the jaw-breaking, tooth-cracking, rock-like bread that I first made. So one week when the CFC Amsterdam had a Filipino mass/General Assembly, one of our friends suggested that I bring some pandesal for the mirienda that we normally have after the mass. I obliged and brought in like 50 pieces of bread. I was actually astonished at how quick the pandesal was gone from the table. I think all the bread was finished in a blink of an eye. While we were on our way out, some of our friends requested that I bring in more pandesal on our Family day that was to be held the following week. What was I to do?

I gave in to our friends’ request. So last Saturday morning, a couple of hours before the Family Day, I labored my way inside the kitchen, kneading and mixing and shaping and molding and proofing the little fluffy flour mixture, turning them into this moist, crisp-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside, melt in your mouth pandesal. Boy, was my arm and back aching after I finished making them breads.




In total I brought in over 80 pieces of warm bread in the park where the event was taking place. I was again amazed by the speed all those breads were consumed. Quite a few people were actually asking if there were more, unfortunately, at the moment that was the maximum capacity my arms and back could produce at the moment. Haha. Maybe with more practice, next time I’ll be able to make more.

Thursday 17 July 2008

Pretty little things



One of the very first things I have noticed when we moved here in Holland is the very beautiful, ginormous blooms that abound everywhere. Flowers here are hands down one of the most beautiful I have seen EVER! I’m not just talking about flower shops (although there are flower shops in every corner), a lot of houses here have very pretty flowers blossoming in their gardens, tulips, roses of all colors and sizes, orchids and so much more. I have never tried growing my own flowers that is why I envy those houses with flowers to boot.

If I like flowers, Junfer can’t get enough of them. I am contented at looking at them in the shops or in our neighbors’ garden but Junfer was never satisfied with that. There was a time when each afternoon that I come home, I would find a new orchid plant or a flower pot that he recently bought from the store. The problem was, he never knew how to care for them, poor little pots of pretty blooms. After a couple of days or weeks (depending on the type of flower he bought) the potted plants start to wither and die. I even had to tell Junfer to stop buying the plants since it’s a waste of such beautiful flowers. So Junfer refrained from buying so much flower plants and we contented ourselves with more sturdy leafy plants that needed less attention and care.

The next time we encountered potted blooms was when we had our house blessing, several of our friends gifted us with pots and pots of beautiful and colorful orchids, one was even similar to the one Junfer recently bought (and managed to kill… haha). That was when I decided that I have to take matters into my own hands, I told Junfer that from then on I would take care of the orchids. Since I know nothing about caring for such delicate flora, I did a bit of research on the net and asked some of our friends who have orchids in their own homes for tips on how to keep the plants healthy. I was so certain that these plants are difficult to keep alive because I remember my sister bought a purple-colored orchid from one of her trips from Mindanao and in spite of all the watering and fertilizing that she did, the orchid only made it through a few weeks, it shriveled and died. With the little knowledge that I acquired, I did my best to keep the fragile blossoms alive.

We held our house blessing in February, so it’s been five months ago and guess what…..



My beautiful orchids are still fresh, alive and vibrant with colors. I never knew I had it in me. Now I am embolden to explore the extent of my green thumb by planting other types of flowers in our garden or maybe even try planting berries or other fruit crops. Hmmm, I think that would make our garden and roof terrace more colorful and useful.

Wednesday 16 July 2008

The next best thing


I have enjoyed watching tennis matches for as long as I could remember, back then my favorite player was Marat Safin, he ranked 2nd and boy was he on top of his game. Most often than not, I would try to follow all the major leagues (Wimbledon, French Open and US Open) during the year. Nowadays, however, I would often go for Roger Federer. Too bad he lost to Rafa Nadal on the recently concluded Wimbledon Championship, but it was a game very well played and one of the best, if not the best, championship match I have ever seen.

My sheer enjoyment of watching tennis is what made me bug Junfer for so long to teach me how to play tennis. I really want to learn how to play, it looks so challenging and intense, coupled with my (hidden) longing to try and wear that cutsie little women’s tennis outfit. Junfer got as far as buying a set of cutsie tennis outfit that is slowly decomposing in our closet but never got to teach me how to play. There are just too few tennis courts here in the Netherlands and usage of the court means you have to be a member of a club. Too steep for something that I don’t even know I would wanna do for a long time.

when I was about to give up my ambitions of playing tennis, Junfer was invited by some of his colleagues to play squash. Squash?!? I never knew anyone who plays squash. Well being the all around athlete that he is, Junfer cave and went with his colleagues and gave squash a try. Turns out, it was really fun and if I may say so belongs in the same family as tennis, hehe, or to be overly simplistic, both are racquet games. We found out that there is also a squash court close to our place and so when Junfer and his colleague decided to play in that court, I joined them. Right after we played squash, I immediately asked Junfer to inquire about the membership in the sports center and we decided to join the club (that way our games would come out cheaper than just renting the court by the hour). We also marched right on to the sports house and bought racquets, balls and a bag to carry all the stuff in, basic stuff really for beginners like us.


It’s been a couple of months since we started playing. Finally, I am starting to learn how to hit the ball right after it bounces back from the wall behind me. I find squash as one of the “Honey and me” time where we bond and laugh and try to be healthy, albeit all the sweets and calorific stuff we gobble up. I realize now, more than ever, that its vital for a couple to have a hobby that both of them truly enjoys. Squash is something that we really look forward to at the end of a busy and hectic day. I do hope that we’ll be able to continue playing this game coz for me it’s the next best thing to tennis.

(Wimbledon photo from popsugar)

Thursday 10 July 2008

My Hero!

“For the honor of Grayskull… I am She-ra.”



I can’t help but grin as I recall these more famous lines from one of my all time favorite superheroes, She-ra. I am even having flashbacks of the game I used to play with my sister where we would wield out fake swords and battle some of our friends, pretending that both of us were She-ra. Ohh, I could only remember the vases and figurines we broke as we made our living room a mock-battlefield, those were good times!

Who wouldn’t adore She-ra, a typical young princess who can merely sit all day in the splendor and comfort of her castle but instead volunteered to protect her beloved Etheria. Even at a very young age, I appreciated how she didn’t allow herself to be overshadowed by the image of her superhero twin brother and became an equal, if not even more. She was also the epitome of a great woman. She can be as soft spoken and feminine in every way but can transform into a strong and ingenious protector without loosing her femininity. The plot of the series also leaves very less to be desired. In the midst of all the action, Princess Adora still gets to have a love life and has an admirer in Bow and a love interest in Sea Hawk. There is also the transformation of an ordinary horse, Spirit, into a fascinating unicorn, Swift Wind, who becomes She-ra’s faithful ally. And of course, what superhero story is complete without a nemesis, Hordak, the leader of the evil Horde.

It was a disappointment though that throughout the years, a lot of superhero-movies were created out of animated series but She-ra’s adventures never made it to the silver screen. Superhero flicks have sprung from left and right, some have become classics while others are more easily forgotten. I have grown up and watched a lot of these superhero movies and if I were to choose among all of them most probably I would have to go with the Christopher Reeve-starrer, Superman. Since this was the first superhero movie that I have ever seen, I can’t help but be awed by the plot and the struggles that Superman went through and although he was perfect in every way, he still has weaknesses. Consequently, if I were to choose a superhero movie that I liked the least, I would have to go for Daredevil, although I love Ben Afleck, that movie just didn’t gel well with me for some reason and maybe that would make him my least favorite superhero.



The coolest thing about being a superhero is having abilities to do things that a normal human being cannot, may it be because of super powers or technological advancement. Whatever the reason maybe, I think that one of the main reasons why we so love to watch and admire these super humans is because of their powers. Having to think of it, if there is one super power that I would so like to have, that would be the power to fly. Imagine how much I can save from all the airline tickets if I could fly and transport myself and my honey to a place that we would want to go to. Sorry, I know that is for personal gain (selfish, selfish selfish!!!) but I would also volunteer to transport relief goods to far off areas to make up for it!!! Haha.

This is an entry to EmDy’s Superhero Contest

Monday 7 July 2008

Star

Junfer and I love, love, love amusement parks and carnivals. We get this surge of excitement every time we see the lights, the stalls and the little games. Over the years, we have collected tons and tons of humongous stuffed animals from different carnivals that Junfer and I have been to. I even remember, the very first night that Junfer and I arrived in Amsterdam (October 26, 2006), there was a fair in the middle of Damrak Square and we immediately joined in the festivities. We saw Junfer’s favorite game and he immediately gave it a shot. Guess what he won a huge stuffed dog on his first try. Over our one week stay at the hotel close to this fair, we went back one more time and Junfer got another huge stuffed toy. We also had a couple of fluffy toys from Dubai while we were still living there. We normally name these stuffed toys after the places where we got them from so the two huge stuffed tigers we got from Dubai were named Safa and Park (from Safa Park, in Dubai). Each time we go to a fair, carnival or kermis, I would almost always assume that I will be going home with at least one big stuffed toy, that is if we are in any amusement park or fair outside the Philippines.

Philippine-amusement parks are in a different ball game altogether. Folks facilitating mini games mean serious business. It seems like if you want to give their stall a try, you really have to prove that you want the prize. I’m not kidding, trying to get a prize from the Philippine counterpart of these mini games is like passing through the eye of a sewing needle. Junfer have tried hundreds, even thousands of times in the past, but he was unsuccessful. He managed hundreds of little (minute if I may say) stuffed toys, a couple of medium sized ones but never, never, never the big prize, until our last visit in Star City.

It was my niece’s son’s birthday (I think that would make him my grandson OMG!!!) and after the turmoil that we have been through the past couple of days before that, an invitation to go to Star City was more than welcome to take our minds of it all. When I was younger, Star City and other carnivals are normally open only during the Christmas season (except for Fiesta Carnival in Cubao which was opened all year round). Although, if I remember it correctly, when Enchanted Kingdom opened, Star City followed suit and opened the complex for a longer period within the year.

Junfer is not very fond of rides so we just tried a couple of the amusement park rides and we focused on the mini games that abound the entire complex. We spent hundreds of pesos buying the tokens that were to be paid to the mini games but all we manage to get were small and mini toys. And just when we were about to give up, pack up our stuff and leave with our heads bowed down low in defeat, Junfer spotted this stall. The challenge was to shoot a small basket ball into an equally tiny hoop at approximately free throw line-distance. You only get a chance per token and if you manage to shoot a ball once, you will get the small price, twice then you will receive the medium sized toy, third and you will be bringing home a large toy and finally, if you manage to make the fourth consecutive shot you are given a jumbo toy. As exciting as it looked, Junfer caved in and gave it a try, he managed to make the first shot, to which I was not at all worried about, Junfer is a very good ball player after all. He also managed to make the second and then again the third shot, that was when I got a tad bit nervous because he was so close to the price and everyone knows the crucial shot in every game is the most difficult to make. I didn’t even make any sound and just continued watching him as he attempted to make the final shot. I leapt off my feet and started jumping up and down the moment he managed to sink in the final shot. Hey, this is Manila after all and winning the Jumbo toy is an achievement in itself, regardless of the fact that we might have bought an even bigger stuffed toy from all the tokens that we have spent. Hehe. After grabbing the prize, another employee from Star City took Junfer’s details and when we asked why, he said Junfer is not allowed to play and win another jumbo stuffed toy in this game again for an entire month so they have to keep his records. How strange is that rule.


So there he is, Star (of course named after Star City), our very first jumbo stuffed toy from a Philippine-amusement park. All my nieces and nephews (and grandkids) wanted the toy but I realized that I cannot give it to anyone of them else all hell will break loose so I decided to keep Star for myself. We did have a lot of fun in Star City, maybe next time we will win another jumbo toy.

Sunday 6 July 2008

Ref Door Project – Magnets, magnets and more magnets


Ever since I was a small kid, I have always fancied having a side-by-side fridge with portable water and ice dispenser which would be great for the hot and humid summer days in the Philippines, apart from the fact that I really thought it looked fancy. That is why, needless to say, one of my most favorite appliances in our kitchen is our LG double-door refrigerator. Honey and I bought the fridge last August 2007 when we moved in to our very own home. We both hesitated to buy such a big ref coz it’s just the two of us and the grocery is literally a stone throw away from our home (about 1 to 2-minute walk) so we wouldn’t need to store a lot of supplies. However, the employee’s discount that Honey would be getting from their company got the better of us and we thought that buying the bigger ref would mean more savings for us. We caved in and finally decided on buying the humongous refrigerator which almost didn’t fit through our doors.

All is well that ends well, we love our fridge. Its spacious, everything fits in it and we always have room to store more. I am not sure how it begun but when we started to travel more often, we got the hang of buying fridge door magnets from each of the places that we visited. So when we noticed that we already had a couple of them magnets, Honey, being the compulsive collector that he is, decided that from then on, we would try to find ref door magnets wherever we go and put it on the fridge so that we could keep track of the places that we have been to. However, when we went on holidays in Manila, Honey’s aunt gave him a ref door magnet from Davao and we have never been to there. So the rule of Honey’s magnet collection changed, he said that all those magnets that were given to us as presents bought from places that we’ve never been to, those magnets would go on the freezer’s side and the magnets from places we’ve already been to would go to the other side. Fancy rule huh. (hehe). Well here it is the picture of our fridge at its current state featuring all the magnets we’ve collected over the months. The magnets are from Amsterdam (of course!), Belgium, France, Spain, Turkey, Hong Kong, Boracay, Palawan and Davao.




This is my contribution to Wifely Steps' Blog Carnival: The Ref Door Project..

Friday 4 July 2008

The World has met San Miguel Beer


I feel really strange to be writing this. For starters, I am not fond of drinking alcohol, more so beers, I just find them too bitter for my sweet tooth. However, during lunch with several of my colleagues B, R and D (all of us were of different nationalities), they started discussing one of their favorite topics, alcohol. B who is Bulgarian asked R if they have a national beer, similar to the ones Bulgaria has, Kemenitza. R said that they do have a national beer of their own (the name has totally evaded me). And of course we all know the leading beer here in Amsterdam, Heineken. So I thought I might as well mention the most famous beer in our country. I told them that the last time we went to Barcelona, I was actually surprised that they were serving San Miguel Beer which is the number one beer in the Philippines. R, who I know to be a liberal drinker (to the brink of being an alcoholic – KIDDING!!!), said that he likes San Mig a lot and always thought that it’s a Spanish beer. He also said that he drinks San Mig occasionally here in Amsterdam as well. When I told R that San Mig is in fact from Manila, he couldn’t believe it, he even told me that he will check the label the next time he has a bottle of San Miguel.

After hearing that from R, two things came to mind. 1st, I never realized that San Miguel beer was that popular, I always thought that it is readily available in Southeast Asia and USA but not in several countries here in Europe. 2nd, San Miguel beer with its name sounding as Spanish as a name can get, is becoming popular for being a Spanish beer.

I just can’t wait to give R the “I told you so look” once he realizes that San Mig is indeed from Manila. Although I personally couldn’t attest due to my aversion for alcohols, but from what I have observed, San Miguel is one of the many fine products the Philippines has produced. I really do think that San Miguel has a lot of potential and can grab bigger success with the proper global marketing.

As for me, I may have tried San Miguel beer once or twice in my entire life and found that like any other alcohol drink, it doesn’t suit my taste, this still doesn’t make me any less proud that the San Miguel I have known my entire life is known and loved by the world.

Thursday 3 July 2008

Plurking

I was blog hopping the other day when I chanced upon this entry about Plurk.What on earth is Plurk? Well it is A really snazzy site that allows you to showcase the events that make up your life, and follow the events of the people that matter to you, in deliciously digestible short messages called plurks.” With a name like that, who will not be intrigued? I gave in, satisfied my curiosity and created my very own Plurk account. Look how cute that message board is.

It’s quite a cool concept where members can send out messages on timelines, earn karma which will enable one to have access to more perks available in the site while getting connected to families and friends. Me thinks, Plurk and me will go a really long way. Plurk away guys! Click hereand be my Plurk friend.

Wednesday 2 July 2008

Delightful Strawberries

Whenever asked what my favorite fruits are, I would normally say blueberries, cherries and grapes. Sometimes I would include lanzones or mangosteen depending on the season but I never recall mentioning strawberries as one of the fruits that I favor. The main reason why I have never included strawberries in my list of preferred fruits is because when one buys strawberries in Manila, more often than not, it will be too tart for my liking and somewhat tasteless. I even remember a couple of years ago, my sister in law chanced upon these luscious looking, mouth watering-strawberries in SM North Edsa for Pph750 per 500grams (and that was like a gazillion years ago). Upon trying one of the fruits, we found that they were indeed very juicy and flavorful however, still not enough to make me want to gobble loads of them. All of this changed last Saturday.

After a rather late breakfast, Junfer and I strolled along the shopping street that was adjacent to our house when I told him we should go to the fruits and vegetables shop at the far end of the road because I was in the mood for some vegetables for lunch. Upon entering the store, we got some eggplants, a couple of tomatoes and were off to the counter when Junfer saw tubs and tubs of strawberries for sale and knowing Junfer as the fruit addict, he immediately grabbed 3 tubs of strawberries (500grams each). A couple of hours later, while I was preparing for our late lunch, Junfer couldn’t resist and washed the strawberries and immediately offered me a bite of the fruit. I declined and so he ate the fruit that he was offering me. I was watching him and was intrigued by his reaction, after eating the piece of fruit he offered me, he took another one and another one and another one and had this curious expression on his face. So I asked him “Is there anything wrong with the strawberries?” then he told me, “No, I was just trying to see whether I tasted the fruit properly. You have got to try this.” So I tried another fruit that he offered and I was completely hooked. The entire tub was filled with uber sweet, juicy, heavenly-fruits that were no where near the strawberries I have tried in my entire 27 years of existence, seriously. I never thought that strawberries could taste that good. Each and every strawberry in the tub possessed this natural sweetness (and not the cough syrup-like sweetness found in flavored snacks or beverages) and a tartness that was so perfect to the tongue, it was also very smooth and melts in your mouth. Just heavenly. Junfer was laughing when I started gobbling strawberries with him while saying “These have got to be the best strawberries I’ve had in my entire life.” Haha.

What was left for us to do after having consumed so much strawberry? What else, pick up our coats and head back to the vegetables and fruits’ shop and buy more of them.

Tuesday 1 July 2008

My very first chocklit chip cookies!

When I was still reviewing for the CPA board exams, my friends and I would normally munch on our favorite snacks, usually Jack n’ Jill’s Tostillas (courtesy of my honey) or Chips Delight (chocolate chip cookies), as we bury ourselves deep into solving a management accounting or financial accounting problem. During those days, I have very little time to do anything else but study and attend classes and study some more (ohhh tough times) and so every instance that we were to open a bag of chocolate chip cookies, I would tell my friends, “One day, after we pass this freakin’ board exams, I will find time and learn how to make my own chocolate chip cookies or any cookie for that matter.”

Seven years later, my friends and I passed the board exams, got ourselves a job, I married my one true love, settled in on a new continent, and finally I have tried making my own chocolate chip cookies last Sunday. I can’t really say that it’s my first time to bake anything and the recipe that I have found from one of the blogs I frequented seemed to be fool proof but there you go my cookies were finally made after seven years in the drawing board. Good thing I was able to buy 2 full bags of chocolate chips on our last vacation in Manila, otherwise, the chocolate chip cookies might have taken another year or two to make since I don’t know where to get the stuff here in Amsterdam.

And the verdict, my honey says they’re really good, I also thought they were really nice especially fresh out of the oven. Lekker!!