Belated Anniversary Post

On the same day hubby left for Dublin, we celebrated our 8th year wedding anniversary. It was bittersweet because I knew that he would be leaving the same day and won't be spending the week with me (turned out to be two weeks). I had a fever that day but wanted to go out and spend time with him.

I remember it to be a very busy day, a holiday, but busy nonetheless. We had to buy some winter clothing for hubby, run a few errands before his trip and decided to have lunch at Cyma in Town Center. I had the usual stuff of grilled swordfish and saganaki. Hubby tried something new, I forgot the name, it was some seafood soup with rice already in the soup. This is the first time that Cyma disappointed. The soup was bland and tasteless as you can probably tell from the photo. Too much soup, eh?



Anyway, after that less than stellar lunch, hubby and I proceeded to Chocolate Fire in Makati. Chocolate fire originally started in Melbourne. Feeling reminiscent, hubby and I headed there. Hubby and I spent our 7th wedding anniversary last year in Melbourne, Australia and we miss it so much and thought going to Chocolate Fire may be the next best thing. Hubby ordered different types of chocolate bars/barks. His favorite I think was the peppermint.





My favorite is the Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries. I will certainly go back there for more :-)



We also tried other things on the menu.





There's even gelato, which was unusually sour.



Funny, when I was strolling the streets of Melbourne last year, I didn't see Chocolate Fire.

I have to say this though, Chocolate Fire uses Belgian Chocolates per their Facebook page. I personally prefer Australian Chocolates because they are less bitter and more "homey", if that makes any sense. I can't forget the taste of the chocolate in San Churro, St. Kilda in Melbourne. Oh man, that was the best ever.......

Leadership is Action by Dick Gordon

People ask me, why am I voting for Dick Gordon, when he's sure to lose this coming election. My answer is simple... because among the forerunners for the presidential bid, he is the most qualified, track record wise.

Hubby's home!

Hubby's finally home. He arrived just before midnight last night.

I am so happy that he arrived safely.

His first request was Goto and Tokwa and some leche flan that I made earlier :-)

Aaargh!!!!!

Hubby's flight has been cancelled yet again. How long will this volcano keep on spewing ash grounding most flights in and out of Europe?

These are not clouds but ash covering most of Europe that were deemed dangerous for planes to fly though.



I want my hubby safe and sound. I'll wait a few more days, if I don't get crazy by then!



Photo courtesy of: NEODAAS/University of Dundee/AP

I am seriously disturbed

A friend of mine posted a five-minute birthing video on Facebook today. My curiosity got the better of me and I watched it. Ok, now the graphic details are forever engraved in my brain. Why oh why did I watch it?!

This is what happens when I am childless, bored and no one to care for.

Hubby, come home already!

Damn, Icelandic volcano. Flights in and out of Europe are still grounded.

My Handsome Hubby in Dublin

Mr. Pogi :-)

I miss you hubby!

Hubby's in Dublin

Hubby sent me this picture earlier. Very European background. This was taken near his hotel in Dublin.



Miss him so much, he'll be gone for a week. I miss him more now that I am sick.

Hubby's Off

Hubby's off to Dublin for a business trip for one week and I'm very sick. It will be a very interesting weekend.

Can I just sleep off the next 48 hours?

Penne Pasta with Five Cheeses

It's Easter Sunday, hubby and I are alone at home. Our families are doing their own thing and would not be having lunch together. I was going to bake a few more stuff but there will be no one to eat them. I'll reserve those some other day when our bagets (my nephew JJ and niece Ashley) are here to wipe them out.

I came upon the Barefoot Contessa's Five Cheese Penne Pasta recipe a while back and I have been meaning to make it for the longest time. I made it today but changed the recipe a bit based on the cheeses that I have at home. I did buy some fontina and gorgonzola last week before the long weekend for such purpose.

This dish is a cinch to make! It would make a great addition to your buffet table during a party. Granted, it'll cost you a small fortune to make :-) But hey, it's delicious!

Penne Pasta with Five Cheeses



1/4 Kilo Penne pasta
1 Cup all purpose cream
1/4 Cup crushed tomatoes
100 g Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
100 g Fontina cheese
100 g Edam cheese (Queso de Bola), freshly grated
Grated Mozzarella Cheese
3 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
Basil Leaves, chiffonade
1/4 Butter, cubed

1. Cook pasta for four minutes, you will continue to cook this in the oven with the cheeses. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients except butter. Add the penne pasta. Mix well.
3. Pour the mixture in a glass baking dish. Dot with butter, cover with foil and bake in the oven until bubbly. About 15 minutes or so. You can remove the foil during the last few minutes of cooking if you want the top to brown.

Barefoot Contessa's recipe used romano cheese instead of edam, ricotta instead of cream cheese and fresh mozzarella instead of pasteurized mozzarella. Regardless of the substitutions that I made, the pasta dish turned out great. Surprisingly, the penne dish is not very rich (just a teeeny tiny bit). However, hubby suggested to put crumbled bacon on top. I completely agree with him. I think that it would provide another dimension of flavor and crunch to the dish.

Cholesterol be damned!

Seriously, eat sparingly :-)

Cornbread

I was rummaging through my pantry this morning and deciding whether to make pancakes or chocolate chip muffins. I came across some cornmeal that I had bought previously for a cornmeal pancake recipe. There's a recipe on the packaging for cornbread. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry so I made that. What a big fat flop! He he he.

The cornbread smells like chicken feed and the bread was dry.



Suffice to say, I won't be making this again :-)

One more thing to cross out my list...cornbread.

Come to think of it, I don't like cornmeal at all. I don't know what possessed me to buy that pack in the first place.

One Balmy Evening with Hubby - Mini Novela

It's the middle of summer here in the Philippines. Yesterday was particularly hot and I was relieved that come evening, the weather turned balmy and was the perfect weather for an evening walk after dinner.

I told hubby that it's much cooler outside and I would like to go for a walk, get some fresh air that's not from the aircon and invited him to join me. It took some persuasion but he agreed reluctantly. When we were in front of the gate, he wanted to take the car and go for a drive instead!

Hubby: "It's cool outside, do we have to take a walk? We can just take the car, open the windows and go for a drive"
Me: "That defeats the purpose of enjoying the cool breeze and burning off our dinner"
Hubby: "But but but I don't want to walk"
Me: " Ok, you stay here or go back inside the house, I will take a walk and listen to my iPod"
Hubby: " Ok, you take walk in our street only, back and fourth"
Me: "Whaaaat? People will think I'm crazy walking back and fourth!" (Our street is about 50 meters long only). I want to go to the park.
Hubby: "What if something happens to you?"
Me: "I've been talking walks since we moved here, silly!"
Hubby: "But it's nice to just sit here outside"
Me: "I'm talking a walk, you stay here"
Hubby: "but but but ehh" (grunts and whines like a little baby)
Me: "You're the one who has to lose the 20-lb gut!"

Hubby reluctantly goes with me and dragged his feet all the way to the park. We walked excruciatingly slow. It's like walking an injured kitten in a road of broken glass. He he he.

Hubby: "Ok, we reached the park, let's go back"
Me: "We've only been walking four blocks! I want to go to the other park as well"
Grunts, complains and dragged his feet even slower (it that was possible). I could hear his flip flops scratching the pavement :-)

To appease him,
Me: "We used to this this together after dinner when we were just dating, remember?"
Hubby: "I have no recollection"
Me" "What do you mean you don't remember? We used to go to the park near my mom's house after we had dinner"
Hubby: "No, we didn't."
Me: "Yup, we did"

So it went on and on.

Hubby: "I don't remember!"
Me: "I'm pretty sure it was you that I went on walks with!"

Okay by this time, memories of my college days with another boy that I had met in my senior year from an exclusive boys' college (before I met hubby) came flooding back. So, fine, I had walks with him too. That boy was my first love, that didn't pan out and is ancient history.

Back to the present.

Me: "We went on walks. Period."

After this short verbal friendly banter, we walked back home (after walking for a total of 8 minutes). I left him at the front porch and told him that I will continue my walk.

Hubby "(Whines), we already took a walk!"
Me" "I'll be back soon"
Hubby: " ohhhhhkaaaaaaay, I'll wait for you"

After half an hour of walking enjoying the cool wind, some upbeat music on my iPod, I went back home. I saw hubby still waiting for me at the front porch.

Me" "hey hubbs, you waited!"
Hubby "Of course".

He flashed me fishy lips and made kissy sounds.

My husband is a comedian.

The end

Minty Chocolate Chip Cookies and Other Corny Stuff

Hubby is such a chocomint addict and I have been meaning to bake some chocomint cookies for him. I finally fond the time to bake a small batch yesterday afternoon. When I told hubby that I'll be baking some minty chocolate chip cookies, he was excited we exchanged this dialogue worthy of a cheesy movie:

Me: "I'm baking Minty Chocolate Chip Cookies"
Hubby: "Awww, you're after my heart"
Me: "I already have your heart"

He he he :-)

Anyway, here's the recipe from Sugar Cooking



Recipe: Adapted from Lovin' From the Oven
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract (I used food grade peppermint oil)
1 cup of chopped dark chocolate (I used Special Dark Chocolate Chips by Hershey's)

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and peppermint extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chopped dark chocolate by hand. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and roll them into balls. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10-12 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Hubby's verdict?

"This is the best cookie so far". He's biased.



He ate four even before I finished baking!