Sta Cruz Boardwalk

 I finally had a taste of the Californian summer! This week has been pretty warm throughout the day and in the late afternoon. It was said to be the hottest weather for the rest of the month, so we had a spontaneous road trip to Sta Cruz boardwalk.

 The place was packed and looking for a parking was like a needle in a haystack. Traffic was really bad. It took us 4 hours each way. Pretty much disappointed because it was just crazy full of people and I think everyone else in Northern California decided to go there too. Even queuing for the rest room will take you like thirty minutes.

Not my idea of a beach intended for swimming. The waves were strong and I think it's actually dangerous to swim on it. If this is the closest you got to having a summer vacation on the beach might as well just enjoy it. I skipped skinny dipping though.

I couldn't say it was well worth the trip 'cause I got really sick on our way back. I was nauseous the entire drive home. We should check out this place sometime late summer when everyone else got tired of it already. Maybe then I'd appreciate it more.

Kare-Kare (Braised Beef in Peanut Sauce)

This is my husband's favorite comfort food. Every time he feels stressed out at work, he asks me to make it for him. Since I am too lazy to cook it from scratch, I used the store-bought sauce mix (I know it's such a shame). I also used lean beef to cut away fat since we're going to add peanut butter.

For those of you who are expats like us, Mama Sita's always come in handy in the kitchen. Thank God for our local Asian market who stock-up on this. At least we're not missing out so much of our favorite local recipe.

                       

Ingredients:

• 1 Package Mama Sita's Kare-Kare (Peanut sauce mix)
• 1 Pound Lean Beef, any cut of your choice (the authentic version uses beef tripe)
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic, minced
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• Mixed Veggies: 1 Cup of each at least or more if desired
• String Beans, cut in 2-inch thick
• Eggplant, sliced diagonally in 1/4 inch thick
• Bok Choy leaves
• 1 Medium Banana Blossom cut in half (optional)
• 1/2 Cup peanut butter (Creamy and unsalted version)
• 5 Cups of Beef Stock
• Shrimp paste to serve/condiment
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions:

1. Boil the beef the night before until soft. Place in the fridge overnight along with the stock. This will allow all the fat to curdle and solidify and easier to remove when ready to cook. I usually do this technique to remove any kind of unhealthy fat.
2. Blanche the vegetables in salted boiling water for 3 minutes. Just enough to cook them while still crisp and green. We want it to be a little crunchy when eaten. We don't like overcooked vegetables, hence blanching it. Rinse with cold water immediately after removing from pan then drain on paper towels or colander. Do this in batches. Last one to go is the banana blossom. Arrange in serving platter or bowl.
3. To make the sauce: Saute garlic and onion in a cooking pan with a little bit of olive oil until translucent and fragrant. Add in the beef. Fry all sides in oil until brown.
4. Meanwhile, dissolve the Mama Sita's kare-kare mix in 1 cup of warmed beef stock. Stir in the diluted sauce mix with half a cup of peanut butter and the remaining beef stock (about 3-4 cups and remember to discard the curdled fat). Stir for 5 minutes or until creamy. 
5. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Keep in mind to not make it salty as the shrimp paste will add flavor to the dish when eaten. Turn off heat.
6. Remove the beef from the sauce and arrange in the serving bowl along with the rest of the blanched vegetables. Pour sauce on top. Serve with shrimp paste on the side and hot steaming white rice. Enjoy!

Blueberry Scones with Biscoff Cookie Butter Swirl

 Cookie butter is all the rage these days. Despite it not being too healthy in my opinion, (because it is made of cookies and different kinds of vegetable oils) still goes out of stock in most of the stores. My husband loves this creamy spread and maybe once in awhile, we can indulge in little sins to ward off cravings.

 I have a very small kitchen and I find it too much of a hassle baking from scratch with the lack of tools. I use boxed mixes for muffins and cupcakes every time I wanted to bake something. I came across this all-natural blueberry scones from Sticky Fingers at World Market over the weekend and decided to give it a try.

The instructions indicated to simply add water and mix, but I got a little bit adventurous and used almond milk instead of water. Put in a cup of blueberries and folded in 1/4 cup of cookie butter.

Baked the scones for 10 minutes instead of 15 as stated in the box. I think my oven was too hot and made the baking process a bit faster. I set the heat same as the instructions that it came with. Good thing I peeped in the oven after 10 minutes and saw that they were already fluffy and brown on the sides. Punched one of the scones with a toothpick and it came out clean so I turned off the heat immediately. Voila! They came out soft and moist.

 Perfect when paired with English tea. Oh, yes. Like the way Europeans do it.

Baticolon Halang-Halang (Spicy Chicken Gizzard)

Yes, you read that right. Gizzard. Yup, that's the part most people throw away and maybe considered an exotic food in other countries. I don't want to elaborate on what part of the chicken that is and might as well just say that it is completely safe to eat and they are sold clean. The title of this post is of a Visayan (one of the many local dialects we have in the Philippines) origin. I miss my older brother's cooking so I decided to make them last night for dinner.

Here's what I make of it:

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Chicken gizzard, (if you feel hesitant to use gizzard use regular chicken meat, cut in small serving pieces)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oi
• 4 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Medium-sized onion, diced
• 2 Thumb-sized pieces of ginger, sliced thinly
• 1 Stalk green onions, minced
• 2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 Teaspoons rice vinegar
• 2-3 Cups water or chicken broth
• 2 Pieces Jalapeno peppers, diced (seeds removed)
• 1/4 Teaspoon coarse grind black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in pan then add in onion and garlic. Saute until onion becomes translucent and fragrant.
2. Add in ginger and green oniona. Saute for 1 minute or until fragrant (leave some for garnish).
3. Add the chicken gizzard/meat and saute for 5 minutes. Pour in the soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper. Cover for 10 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. The gizzard takes a bit while to cook than regular chicken meat parts. Stir in water about 2 cups and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the meat is tender.
4. Lastly, add the jalapeno peppers. Simmer for five minutes more. Turn off heat. Garnish with jalapeno and green onions before serving. Enjoy!

Outfit Post: Raspberry and Neutrals

  I am not sure what color I'm wearing but when I googled raspberry, it showed me the same palette. So I guess it's called raspberry. This was the dress I fell in love with at Marshalls yesterday. Yup, tossed it in the laundry last night and wore it today. Haha! I liked how it played well with the basic neutrals and the bag added balance to the color-blocked theme of the dress.

The dress is super soft jersey and very comfortable. Perfect for summer. I always layer a warm jacket because you'll never know when it gets cold here in California. 

Sundays are a trip to the Joe's. Went home with three bags full of the good stuff.

{What I'm wearing: Dress- Design History, Belt- old, Plains and Prints, Jacket- American Rag, Sandals- DV by Dolce Vita, Bag- H&M)

Let me know your thoughts about my outfit pairings above. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

Target and Marshalls Haul

It's crazy how we always have this sporadic shopping on weekends with my husband. I am a bit scared that it has become a habit now. Lol. We didn't have anything else to do anyway so he asked me if I wanted to go to Target and so I said yes! Who wouldn't? I super love Target and it's always a treat going there. 

{I'm wearing: Marc by Marc Jacobs Tee, Gap shorts, Kenneth Cole flipflops, Chanel sunnies and MK tote}

 The weather was warm and nice and was glad I can wear shorts and flip-flops. We initially agreed on looking for a vacuum cleaner for the apartment but ended up getting a cab home because I think we got a lot more stuff than expected. Haha! 

Here's my mini-haul from Target.

 Here's what I picked up from Marshalls. Spent a bit much but I think the Free People dress on the left is too hard to pass up. The rest are well under 20 dollars and I was a happy camper and even allowed the husband to play his favorite Xbox game for the rest of the afternoon. Remember: a happy wife is a happy life.

We had lunch at Texas Armadillos and ordered mushroom burger for lunch. It was good and I liked it. Bridgepoint is a strip of shops so it's a decent place to eat and chill out after a long day of shopping.

I did try this hot sauce and I personally think that caption was overly stated. I'm not saying I have high tolerance for spicy food but for me it tasted just like Tabasco or Cholula.

Here's a picture of the mushroom burger. 

My weekend keeps getting better each time. I hope you all are having a good one too!

XoXo

Quinoa Risotto with Portobello Mushrooms

Quinoa is a great alternative to carbs and it's super healthy. I've read that it is very high in fiber and and low in sugar. For those of you who are diabetic, I think this is a good alternative to rice. Just research about it and you'll learn more of the health benefits as I will not elaborate on that. I am surprised that this dish turned out really good and this will be another weekly staple on my menu instead of our usual pasta night. Risotto is an Italian favorite and what they call the food made with love. You have to keep stirring from beginning to the end. So it'll do a lot of workout for your arms in the process.

I served my risotto with Italian chicken sausage for dinner last night. I didn't fuss so much on taking the nicest picture as we were both hungry. Lol.

Adapted this recipe from Trader Joe's with minor tweaking.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsps. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

2 Cups Portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 Cup Quinoa, soaked for 1 hour or more then rinsed

5 Cups or more Vegetable broth if you want it vegan or low sodium chicken broth (please don't use the granulated ones--it's really bad)

1/3 Cup Sweet Rice Wine (Mirin - Japanese cooking wine)

1 Onion, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese (Make sure it's the real thing, not the granulated or grated ones that comes from the can)

1/4 Cup Creme Fraiche (optional)

Italian Parsley for garnish

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, cook the Portobello mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat. Saute until brown and soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In the same skillet, saute onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Add the quinoa and saute until it is coated with oil.
3. Pour the rice wine and saute until all the liquid is absorbed. Slowly add half a cup of warmed broth into the pan and keep stirring. Simmer until is absorbed. Keep stirring and adding the broth half cup at a time ensuring that the pan should almost dry out between additions. Keep stirring. Remember this is a labor of love for your family. Keep smiling when doing this. 
4. Keep stirring still until the quinoa has burst and consistency is creamy but al dente (I had been stirring for about 30 minutes). Test for doneness.
5. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the last addition of broth. When the liquid is almost absorbed but not dry, add in the Parmesan cheese. Turn off heat and cover pan for two minutes before serving.
6. Stir in the mushrooms and creme fraiche (completely optional..I skipped this part to make it healthier). Garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan and parsley on top. Enjoy!

Note: When cleaning the mushrooms, just wipe it off with kitchen towel and do not attempt to rinse it with water or your mushrooms will become soggy and watery when cooked. 

Creme Fraiche Recipe:Adapted from Food Network

1 Cup Heavy Cream

2 Tbsps Buttermilk

In a bowl combine cream and milk. Cover with a washcloth and let it stand for 12-16 hours on room temperature. Stir before putting in the fridge and ready to use the next day.

Weekly Favorites

I might have found a beauty blender dupe! 

It's all the rage from youtube make-up vloggers and gurus. 

I've heard about this beauty blender for quite awhile now and I was hesitant to try it out myself because I think it's too expensive of a sponge and I couldn't quite justify the price. So last week, I bit the bullet but not that hard. In fact it was an easy purchase. Whew! Five bucks of a beauty blender dupe I found at Marshalls. I grabbed the last piece at the rack without thinking. So the picture below is a result of me using mostly drugstore products and my trusty Revlon foundation with the Revive beauty sponge. It looks nice I believe and better coverage than using my regular foundation brush. I might take another shot next time. The picture (iPhone pics) wasn't really showing how good the application was using the sponge.

The next time you're headed to Marshalls, you know what to look for.

Here are my favorites from Trader Joe's this week:

The Pugliese bread, which you can finish baking at home and turns out really good. It's crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. Perfect for breakfast or a sandwich. The white organic Quinoa. I am excited to make my first Quinoa dish this week; so watch out for it. The yellow nectarines are in season and they are so sweet and juicy. The German Bavarian bratwurst. My husband is a big fan of bratwurst so this is actually his favorite and I liked it too!

Rhianna's Summer Collection for MAC

I spent most of my time here today. How ridiculous and agonizing it is to get hold of this collection. I am close to giving up and throwing my my iPad out the window (ooops! just in my head but I'm never going to do that) lols. That's how stressing it is to get to the order confirmation screen. Ugh!

{Disclaimer: Picture not mine. Grabbed from Google}

The collection doesn't look very outstanding to me but it gives out a very Rhianna-ish kind of attitude if you wear the bold lipsticks. I am particularly interested in the Ririwoo as I have been eyeing out on a good red for a while now. I've been a pink and nude lippie kind of girl for like forever. So I need a bit of color in my make-up stash.

Yup! Multi-tasking and this is after an hour and I'm still not getting anywhere. I wonder how many women around the world are keeping watch and wasting their day away for Rhianna and MAC Cosmetics. I seriously think MAC needs to update their website. It is freaking slow. Are we on the same boat? I hope this is all worth it.

Let me know what you end up getting ladies! I will update you with mine soon.

XoXo

Outfit Post: Sunday Green Day

{What I'm Wearing: Jeans- JBrand, Shirt- Zara, Blazer- Gap, Shoes- Sam Edelman, Belt- Plains and Prints, Bag- Michael Kors jetset tote}

 I miss our Sundays back home with our families and it's a bit difficult to come around that when it's just the two of us here. We came up with a typical Sunday routine after more than two months in San Mateo, California. We usually have lunch at Hillsdale mall after the twelve noon mass at St. Gregory's church. We tried going vegan yesterday and had this all-veggie pizza (I think it was artichoke and spinach on thin crust pizza) and salad (asparagus and arugula) at CPK, our new favorite pizza place. 

We try to have healthier options when we eat out. It's not like we're a total health freak. I mean eating out isn't bad at all. Just know and learn the kind of ingredients and the calories that you get on the food you're ordering. Less meat, less oily and gluten-free or whatever.

{Butter cake with Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream}

With that said, it doesn't hurt to order dessert if you still have room for it. Give it a try. They're not kidding when they say it's good. 

Ombre Jeans and Movie Date

{What I'm Wearing: Jersey Tee - Max Studio, Ombre jeans - Levi's, Leather flipflops - Kenneth Cole, Handbag - Michael Kors jetset tote, Scarf - H&M, Jersey Cardigan- thrifted, Sunglasses- Chanel, Watch- Tommy Hilfiger}

When you live in a place where you don't have a lot of friends or relatives, most of the time you are out of the house to watch a movie, eat out or go shopping to ward off homesickness. My husband and I try to make sure we make the most of our weekends together, his time out from work and my time out from all the house chores and cooking.

 

 We had dinner at this Korean restaurant called Gangnam chicken at downtown San Mateo. We liked the gangnam style chicken (popular dish in the menu) which we ate immediately without taking pictures of it. I guess we're too hungry and they had an assortment of refillable side dishes. The price is cheap and the food is good. So I'd give it a 5-star rating.

We watched Man of Steel and apart from the fact that Henry Cavil was something to ogle about the entire movie, it was okay. I wasn't very impressed with how the story rolled and the cinematography can be done better in my opinion. I'd give the movie 4 stars.

 My favorite part of the day was having this huge popcorn and my Care Bears gummy bears. How cute is that?

Vampire Diaries and Just Being Lazy

My apologies as I have been sloppy again for not making any recipe post recently. I've been cooking but just didn't bother to take pictures of it. I have had a lazy week perhaps because I've been so busy at keeping up with missed episodes of Vampire Diaries. I am currently watching season four and I am starting to hate how Elena is behaving. Well, can't blame her because of the "sire" bond thing she got going with Damon. But still..can't she even control it? I just hate her right now. Well, anyway, I promise to share with you a new recipe next week so stay tuned. For now, I'd like to ogle on Ian Somerhalder a.k.a Damon Salvatore. Damn, he's hot!

Disclaimer: These images are not mine.