GARDENING- Unconventional way to de stress

My last post is exactly a year ago October 4, 2011. I have missed doing a lot of things for myself and now  I have some of my  list of things to do after my 48yrs of existence for myself - since I am getting bigger/heavier I will spend more time taking care of my health,so, I started running again around Vmall/shopsville area every morning and to write again for my blog to exercise my mind.

                                                           eggplant, tomato, alugbati, sili,                                                 

Third  to cooking and reading, for me GARDENING is one of the many unconventional ways to de stress and release tension. It has many benefits -  offers fresh air, sunshine, mental therapy, and nutritious fresh vegetables.

Since I am staying on weekdays at our place in Greenhills it is only during weekends that I can attend to my vegies and plants in Meycauayan, Next project - a small garden haven in our  place here in Greenhills.



 

FAMILY BONDING THRU FOOD

Our family love Japanese cuisine. Once a month we see to it that we try to escaped from our busy schedule at home, business and school. WE always look for a new destination. Whether it is a long drive or short drive, my husband and I always find time for it. It is the time were we truly bond with each other, no computer, no PSP, no phone just us with our four lovely kids.

2 TAKES ADOBO (my own version)

ADOBONG IGAT(eel) partner with ADOBONG KANGKONG SA GATA

ADOBO is a filipino staple food, simple meal/special occasion ADOBO is always present and in my family's dining table as well. This time for our dinner i prepared ADOBONG IGAT with adobong kangkong sa gata. My kids and my husband enjoyed it tremendously.

MY PARTNER IN THE KITCHEN

It is not easy to create a menu/meal having a husband and four kids who LOVES TO EAT - FOOD MAGAZINE is always a big help to me. YUMMY, FOOD, COOK, FLAVOUR, etc......... having them as my kitchen partner makes my cooking easy.

SIMPLE FOOD/SIMPLE PRESENTATION -Part 2

 Daing na GALUNGGONG, ensaladang talong at inihaw na okra

For a small budget anybody could prepare a decent and delicious meal to their family. Whenever I am run out of time, and budget I make sure that whatever food I prepare, I make sure that  my family will truly enjoy it. PRESENTATION is very important is serving food and it is one important factor I never miss is serving meal to my family.  Whenever their is a "PROMOTIONAL SALE" on a mall/store I always check on it, not on clothes but on kitchen wares, plates, etc....... The SERVING PLATE I used in serving my DAING NA GALUNGGONG, talong at okra were from "PLAY & DISPLAY" at Edsa Ortigas beside Kamayan (30% to 50% off on all their item). For a price of P/500 below you could invest on some beautiful dinnerware. In our home we do not KEEP NICE PLATES in the cabinet and show it off once theirs a special occasion. I wanted my family to enjoy it as much as my friends/guests, so, in my HOME their is no PLATES for SPECIAL OCCASION we used it regularly on our daily meals.

SIMPLE FOOD/SIMPLE PRESENTATION

FRIED TILAPIA with Teriyaki sauce and stir fry veggies

I came home late last night and i need to prepare an instant dinner for the famiily.  Fried tilapia, stir fry mushroom, asparagus and botchoy with lots of garlic using olive oil and a little butter. 30 minutes food preparation and cooking and we have a simple dish which I serve with a good presentation

And with that,  simple food was made beautiful and turned into something special.

EASY COOKING

Most of the time likes any working mom; house mom is always on the go. This is a typical day for me; it’s my regular visit in our condo in Greenhills where my two kids are staying/living on their own (Isabella, 4th year high school OB MONTESSORI and Benjo, 1st year h.s. La Salle Greenhills). The kitchen here is very small so I have to maximize everything and do some EASY COOKING.

For easy cooking, it means few ingredients, and a little time to cook for a complete meal.

Beef with buttered vegetable and mash potato

I marinated the beef for one hour with calamansi juice, oyster sauce and seasoned it with salt and cayenne pepper*. Tossed the vegetable for a few minutes in hot oil with butter, set aside then fry bottom mushroom in can, next is the beef tenderloin. For the sauce of the beef, I always have available A1 steak sauce if there is a limited time to cook for a sauce.

*CAYENNE PEPPER

Cayenne pepper powder comes from red hot chilli peppers that are not only good to eat but are great for your health. Where does cayenne come from? The fruit or body of the peppers are dried then ground down, pulped and baked into cakes, which are then sifted to make the spice known as cayenne pepper. In case you may be slightly confused, red hot chilli peppers are sometimes referred to as "cayenne peppers" as well.