Ensaimada & Brownies

We bought these goodies at Silver Crown Restaurant in Caloocan when we attended a dedication a few weeks ago, I asked the waitress and she told me that the bakery where this was made is a sister company of the restaurant, it's from Liberty Food Mart, by the way.

We bought an ensaimada special, an ube ensaimada and a bar of brownies, the taste is just so-so, just like that of the usual street bakeries, I guess, these are just higher in price because they are sold in mainstream market.

Ratings:
2.5 out of 5

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Kalamay (Rice Cake)

I really don't know what's the actual name of this rice cake, I simply know it as kalamay and you can, usually, find it at makeshift stalls during fiesta celebrations, sellers are usually from Antipolo and Rizal area. It was sold at 3 pieces for a hundred but as I used my power of haggling, I got one piece free, woot for me. Oh yeah, I even got to eat suman and other stuff for free, uso free taste sa street market kapag fiesta, I love!

In the olden days (hahaha, pang fairy tale ang intro), these treats only comes in brown, just like the ones in the pic, but now, they have white and green ones, I was, actually, stunned. I am naive like that *grins*. I, also, bought 2 pieces of the white one and a piece of green but I still prefer the brown one, the latik is just perfect.

Ratings:
5 out of 5
(I love kalamay w/latik!)

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Life's Short Notice

I know that this is a food blog, but for a moment let me discuss one of my woes as a mom - we, both hubby and I, were fortunate to be born in a middle-class family, giving us the freedom to eat, buy, spend and have stuff that we need and sometimes, even things that are consider as luxury. We don't have a parade of cars and servants or mansions and palaces as our home but we lived a fairly decent and rich life, and as a mom, that is one of my dream for my kid. Those who have been following this blog know that I am a stay-at-home mom with nothing on my sleeves but random blogging, my husband is the sole breadwinner in our family and though he earns a good amount of money, with the debt we incurred when we chose to build our dream house plus the monthly amortization for our car and credit cards, together with the ever-ballooning amount in our utility bills, sometimes, just sometimes, his salary doesn't seem to be enough. That's why I am thinking of having a short term insurance as a precautionary measure, we can still make it work now, but I'm not really sure about the future. I may be thinking too much, but I guess, being a parent teach us to be like that.

As much as we want to control all the experiences and happenings in our life, it is inevitable that we face something out of the ordinary and something that we are not betting on, so being ahead is always a good choice, don't you think?

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Waffle Time

One of the most popular brands of local waffles here in the country. A box of six would cost you a little more than a hundred bucks, depending on the variety of waffles that you pick. The cheapest, I think, is the American hotdog or something like that, hahaha. It's great as afternoon snack or baon for school, their kiosk is a-plenty and you can find it in every nook and corner of malls nationwide so their availability is never in question. And, I think, for its price, you're getting your money's worth :)

Ratings:
4 out of 5

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Lights and Blinds

For a woman who's just starting to love the art and science of cooking, a nice and efficient kitchen is necessary, going for a perfect one spells trouble, so like always, I only go for the minimal ones. My kitchen is not that big but it is spacious enough to move and work around; it is not as modern as I want it to be but I have worthy and useful appliances and gadgets; it is not as pretty as I would want it to be but it has its own charm, it's basically a kitchen that works for me.

One of the basics of a befitting kitchen in my book is one that has clear and adequate lighting as it makes cooking and other food preps easy on my semi-working eyes. Though electricity-induced lighting is okay, I still believe that lights emitted by the sun is the best thus my craving for a bigger window in our kitchen. I would love to have a glass-slide window that can light up my whole kitchen in the morning, enabling me to save on electricity and giving me that vibrant feel. I would then, put on some Cheap Roman Blinds to counter its brightness during its peak on afternoons and to silhouette the place at night. Ain't that bad for a dream, right?

If only we can snap our fingers and all our wishes can come true...

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Goldilocks Polvoron

I hoarded these babies when Goldilocks had their 10peso-polvoron sale a few months back, all came in packs of two, both the flavored and classic ones. I've always been a polvoron addict so when the chance to have it in cheaper price came, I grabbed it and rushed to the nearest Goldilocks branch in our area, if I remember correctly, I spend 300php just in polvoron alone, hahaha. The photo below was taken when we went home, so most of the polvoron were already gone, when I got those in my hand, I can't stop myself from eating :)

Ratings:
5 out of 5

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This Blogger's Dream

I just recently got back into blogging, I have been away, hiding under a huge boulder for a number of months but, I guess, blogging is already a part of my system because try as I might to stay away, the lure is just too great to decline *grins*. Before I had my hiatus and went into hiding, I was already toying with the idea of having my own domain name, imagine a kutsara at tinidor dot com, wouldn't that be great? But, as I decided to be a lazy bum, all ideas and dreams were put into a halt *sad face*. But as dreams are recurring hopes, here I am again, dreaming of windows web hosting, having one for this blog will be so cool, you can put me into cryo anytime you want *lol*.

If only I had done it when I had the money to do so, I earned a little through some online gigs and when I got the chance, I should have invested it to my domain and hosting but as I am the queen of procrastination and a shopaholic at heart, I shelved the idea and spent the money on something unnecessary, am I a lost case or what? Anyway, as I am back, this time with a little bit more of self-control and willpower, I plan to make my dream a reality. I'll work hard to earn and save some money to buy myself a dot com to my name, my target time is the first month of 2011, giving me ample time to save and do research. Fighting!

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Lucky Me Baked Mac and Mac & Cheez

I tried this a few months ago, bago pa sila noon, hahaha... and I never had one again, it was so hyped up by the commercials with kids loving it and all but the product per se is not worth the money, sorry for being a bit rude but I'm just voicing my honest opinion here :)

I forgot how much was the SRP and the actual market price already but I remember that I was stressing about the littlest amount of pasta noodles, it is so not practical to buy it. The taste is not that great, either, so there really was no saving grace for this one, sorry but that's what I think. Maybe it has improve or develop into something better the past months that I'm AWOL, so I suggest you try it on your own and not dwell so much on my opinion *grins*.

Ratings:
2.5 out of 5
(50/50, I'm giving it a chance to survive, hahaha)

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Foodie Address Book

One of the perks of being a food blogger is that you have a sort of license to eat out as much as you can, of course time, health and money are all put into consideration, too *grins*. But as a blogger, I kinda have the power to decide on where and what to eat whenever we go out, it's true that I don't hold as much power as my son but at least I'm second in command and these past few months, my son's appetite and taste has been expanding, he's now in a stage where he tends to try out stuff including new and used-to-be-taboo food on his list, so, yeah, life's easy these days.

As a food blogger, I tried to be as adventurous and as up-to-date in terms of new places to dine in and new dishes and offerings on various restaurants' menus, but sometimes, though I make it a point to sample something different each time I go out or order take outs with my family, there are just days that I crave for food that I already had or recently tasted. Its during those times that I really wish for restaurant business cards on dining establishments, simple but oh-so-worthy pieces of paper that can come in handy whenever I or any member of my family crave for something to munch on or gobble up. Imagine having a stack of restaurant business cards and making an address book out of it, I bet it would be a foodie's delight.

Do all foodies think alike?

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Milo

Wala lang! I just find this cute that's why I'm posting it *grins*.

We usually buy powdered drinks like Milo in one-kilo packages as canisters are a-plenty in our house but seeing this one months ago made me grab it. It cost more than our usual buy but as you can see, it says 'limited edition' so that's a plus factor for me, not that it can be use as anything else than a canister. But... okay, okay, it's called justification of one's random act *grins*.

Ratings:
5 out of 5
(I have been a Milo drinker since childhood so a 5 is but necessary :))

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Greenwich Brazo de Mercedes

Once upon a time, Brazo de Mercedes by Greenwich was new and undiscovered yet, but that was ages ago, I was so late in blogging about it, I guess now, it's just part of the normal Greenwich menu, downside of being old and lazy *grins*.





We bought this in a nearby mall months ago, we were on our way home when I spotted this delight in the branch's chiller display and as I am sucker for cakes and new products, I bought a piece for take home, we already had dinner in another fast food so dining in was out of the question. It cost 99php, it tasted good, it's even better than that of Goldilocks *grins*, but I don't think buying one as a dessert in a regular sched is practical, one can already have a full meal with that amount someplace else, right?

But if you're a sweet junkie and money is not a problem, I suggest you try one if you haven't already, as I've said, this pic has been in my possession months ago, so the possibility of people not knowing it is little to none.

Ratings:
4 out of 5
(I'm holding out 1 point for the price)

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Little Shepherd's Lengua de Gato

I'm trying to make up for the lost time, or something to that effect *grins*, that's why I'm posting at least once a day, I could try doubling it, but then I'll loose all my stock materials in a jiffy, and it's not a good thing in my book *lol*.

The lengua de gato (picture below) was given by my sister-in-law when they went for a three-day vacation in the summer capital three months ago, aside from that, we also got some strawberry jam, honey, fresh veggies and an assortment of knitted stuff (read: bonnets, cardigans, etc.). Unfortunately, I didn't like the taste of this particular brand, I love lengua de gato in general but this brand just didn't fit in my taste. But beggars can't be choosers, `ayt?

Lengua de Gato

label and packaging


Ratings:
3 out of 5

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