My Pepperoni Pasta

I really love pasta and I have done all sorts of experiment try out different ways to make my spaghetti eating a lot more exciting, and one time, I was craving for some spaghetti, but the only "meat" we had was the pepperoni, and because mom and I were about to leave for our 4 days vacation in her hometown, we didn't do any grocery shopping - hence no spaghetti sauce as well.

Using just the pepperoni and chopped up tomatoes and some milk, I came up with this. Sister said it tasted good and she wanted to taste it again. Yesterday, I came up with another pasta sauce with pepperoni slices, but is in a way different from this one. I will share it next week, for now, I think this experimental spaghetti dish will do. How did I cook it? I just sauteed the usual garlic, onions, and chopped tomatoes (I forgot to peel it. Hehehe) , added the pepperoni and the milk and waited until it curdled a bit. I am not good in giving out directions, maybe with the other sauce, I'd do a more elaborate explanation.

*** Jenn ***

Boracay Seafood Boil

It was 28 June 2008, when I went to the Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati to take part of the Yummy Magazine's "Yummy Weekend." Different booths in the weekend market recreates the recipes featured in the magazine, and if you buy the dish, you get to earn a sticker which you can exchange for some Yummy stuffs.

This dish, based on David Pardo de Ayala's "Boracay Seafood Boil" and was featured on Yummy Magazine April 2008 issue got me so interested, but I am not much into seafood and it was a bit expensive - 180 pesos per serving - so I passed on this one. But, even though the presentation wasn't as nice as the one on the magazine cover, the colors on the dish is already enough to make me want to buy a serving. Too bad I am not into seafoods.

I will write the full details of this Yummy Weekend on my Travel Blog later tonight. Thanks for stopping by here!

Sicilian Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite dishes in Italianni's. I love the mix of the salty chicken salad and the sweetness of the mangoes and grapes to the less tasty lettuce. Every bite of this salad tickles my palate in a very pleasurable way! It cost a little expensive for a salad, so I am planning to re-create this one pretty soon. I just don't know how will I do the dressing, my sister said a salad's success lies to the dressing used. I hope I could figure out what kind of dressing would suit this salad because it was just really tasty and great!

Taken last 17 June 2008 at Italianni's Bonifacio High Street branch in Taguig during their "Something Extra" bloggers' event. I am so thankful that I was lucky to be part of that selected bloggers who were able to take part of the event. If not for that, I wouldn't know how posh foods taste like. =)

*** Jenn ***

Pizza Hut (Supreme Pizza)

Brother kept telling he wanted to eat pizza, so I dug up this photo for this week's Photo Friday.

Taken on my birthday, 13 May 2008, this pizza was just one of those food cravings I had to satisfy because it had been quite sometime since we last ate pizza. Brother wasn't home when I celebrated my birthday, so he wasn't able to taste this awesome pizza.

I love Pizza Hut's supreme pizza, but I am not much into it because their pizzas are a bit oily. But then, I just love every bite, and if the bell peppers are crunchy, then it's all good! Taken using Canon Powershot A580 digital camera set to auto macro, no flash.

I wonder when will I get to eat pizza again?

*** Jenn ***

Vigan Empanada

My travel blog just covered my summer vacation for this year, and the last place I went to was the City of Vigan in Ilocos Sur. I believe the last topic I posted about the Vigan trip was their very own empanada. I was browsing through my files and saw this photo, so this is what I shall share for this week.

This picture was taken last March, when me and my siblings went to Vigan after we visited daddy's grave for his 1st death anniversary. Before this trip, I was in Vigan August of 2007 and I met up with my friend Raissa. She served us empanada, which she said was bought from Irene's. I loved this one better than the ones sold in Plaza Burgos, so when we went back, I texted Raissa to ask for directions to Irene's place.

I already forgot how to go there (I mixed up the street names), but along Calle Crisologo, just take a look at the intersecting road to the left and you'll see the signage. Why I love this one? I guess it has to do with the grated young papaya they use as the filling. The ones from Plaza Burgos uses cabbage, and it was like eating ordinary lumpiang gulay (but it's delicious, too).

Taken using brother's Canon Powershot A460 digital camera, set to auto.

*** Jenn ***

Pizza and Pasta

March 17 of this year, I met up with my very good friend Ahdz because it's been many months since we last saw each other, and she was hoping we could meet because she still hasn't given me her Christmas gift. We were supposed to meet before Christmas to have the ring (her gift) tested for fitting, so if it wouldn't fit, she still has some time to have it changed.

However, due to our schedules, we weren't able to meet until that day. She offered to treat me out for a late snack / early dinner, and the only establishment that jived with both our taste was Greenwich pizza pasta restaurant.

These foods weren't our initial orders. She and I hoped to eat spaghetti meatballs, but the restaurant didn't have that anymore. We opted for the cannelloni, but it was sold out as well. In the end, it's the lasagna for us. She just added a regular sized Hawaiian pizza to go with our pasta dish. It may seem so many to eat, but if you haven't been with one of your great friends, time is never enough to pick up where you left off. With so many stories to tell, these foods really came in handy.

Shot using my Sony Ericsson K800i cell phone, set to auto, no flash.

*** Jenn ***

Pineapples

Maiylah, the host of this yummy meme posted a picture of a fruit (cherry to be exact), so I decided to post a fruit picture as well. These pineapples I bought in Pamplona, Cagayan, while on a road trip with my Aunt Julie and her high school classmates. I have rediscovered my liking for Pineapples since mom started buying some from one of our neighbors who has a pineapple plantation in Laguna, and every time I am seeing pineapples, I was always hoping I could eat some.

When we saw some stalls by the higway selling pineapples, I started wondering if people were growing pineapples there, and turns out they do. What's so impressive is that this part of Cagayan is mountainous and you could see some pineapples planted on the mountain!

Being on vacation for a week already, I had been craving for some pineapples, and I was happy they let me buy some. The pineapples cost 25 pesos each, but since the stall owner was just starting to display her pineapples, and me being her first customer, she let me pay only 70 pesos for the three pineapples. Not that much discount, yes, but if you can see the woman selling the pineapples, you would prefer paying in full and not try to haggle anymore. I said no need for a discount (because I know pineapples here in Metro Manila were much expensive), but she still gave me 30 pesos change for my 100.

The pineapples are so delicious! It's sweet and very juicy. Too bad I was only able to eat one and cannot take home the other two. I surely would want mom to taste it, too. But anyway, if ever you pass by the roads of Pamplona, don't hesitate to buy some pineapples. It's really good!

Photo shot using Canon Powershot A580 - auto with flash. Just a simple shot, I wasn't really aiming for a dramatic photography on this one, I just wanted to take a shot of the pineapples when we got home from the road trip because I know someday I would be blogging about it, and that day has arrived. =)

*** Jenn ***

Triple Dessert

Our family don't normally order desserts whenever we eat out. For us, a dessert is not really that important, as is just a "waste of money," for the only thing we can get from desserts would be added sugar. Sometimes, what we do if we wanted to eat desserts is to just buy a coned ice cream from the kiosks in the mall and it would only cost us about 10 pesos. =)

When I celebrated my 28th birthday last May, I asked mom if we could order dessert, for a change. Pizza Hut has this three-in-one dessert called dessert sampler that consist of a chocolate lava cake, mango pannacota and sundae. We decided to order this one instead because if we order this one by one it would cost a lot compared to ordering it as a whole.

I loved the chocolate lava cake and the sundae, but the mango panacotta I didn't like much. I guess I am not much into milky desserts and I am not really into mangoes that's why I didn't like it. On the other hand, my sister loved the panacotta. Hehehehe... one man's set of taste buds certainly is different from that of the other man's.

This picture is shot on macro (no flash) using Canon Powershot A580 digital camera.

*** Jenn ***

Grilled Pork

I found another meme! Yehey! I have a specific meme for Friday, but sometimes I cannot join the meme because there are times that I don't have a specific picture for the week's topic. Maiylah, the one behind Life Snippets, has this food meme every Friday. There are no specific topic, just post a picture of a food and that's it! =) Thanks for coming up with this meme, Maiylah!

Here is my first entry for this meme. Taken last 19 May 2008 -- this grilled pork is just "plan B" for Aunt Julie's birthday celebration. I told before in my previous entries that she always visit the Manaoag Church in Pangasinan, but since there was a typhoon, Aunt made a plan B -- and that is cooking some foods to celebrate her birthday.

Her menu included grilled pork, pancit bihon, grilled fish, and fresh fruits for desserts. Brother prepared the grilled pork -- just a simple dish -- he marinated it in some soy sauce and calamansi juice overnight. If I was the one who did this one, for sure there will be so many things in my marinade. I prefer it to taste like sausauge, so I put in a lot of garlic, some tomato sauce and some herbs. But, brother did a good thing with this, it's just that it was a little tough. Hahahaha.

I miss eating barbecue...

*** Jenn ***