Snapshots From My Kitchen Pic No. 1

Fried Chicken with Sauteed Vegetables 

Happy Note

I always wanted to write.

Time and again, this is what i tell everyone ..and myself.

I'm a writer..and i'm going to write.

Along the way. though, as life consumed me, in everyday battles and tasks, writing always just takes a backseat.

Remaining a dream and desire, aflame at every heartbeat, I would find precious moments to scribble notes here and there, but it always end up - to be continued...

What's Your Menu For 2014?

Happy new year! This marks a new page on your book. A new hope. Another beginning. 

Looking back, of course, we thank everything that happened the past year – the people we met, the circumstances and the events that we encountered, the ordeals that we went through, the triumphs and the lesson that we gained.

But now is the best time to be excited, to dream again…and look forward to realizing those dreams. I wanted to say that this is also the time to renew and strengthen one’s faith. Put simply, it’s time to believe and to live it.

So, what’s new for this year? What’s on your menu for 2014?

Allow me my menu list. With some extra bits to share with you.

GO-GET. Dreams, ideas and plans will continue, massively and excitedly,  but it will just be a static energy if I don’t take the step to ‘go and get’ it. So I am going to be a gogetter, fiercely and fearless. 

Kindness Intensified.  Kind is about care, sympathy, goodness ,benevolence ,nice, generous, thoughtful, gentle, compassion. I will still be all these to other people, but I will also be all these, to myself. We tend to be less kind to our own selves, so that unconsciously we mistrust our own judgment, lose confidence, see ourselves as victims and lose our grip and control over situations. So, as I will be kind to others, I shall
remember to be the same to myself.

SaveMore. If there’s one thing , even when I was a little child,  I always know how to earn my keep. But if there is also one thing, I have not learned to keep my "keep". But it is not late, as it is never too late for anyone, for that matter. I now realized through life’s lesson, that saving up is as essential as knowing how to earn. For every earnings, big or small, I’ll learn to set aside a portion to hopefully grow a fortune from it.

Be Prosperous. With this mantra, everything else follows. Gratitude in all your blessings. Hard work. Faith, knowing that the Divine meant for all of us to live abundantly.

LifeLearnings. I will try on new things. I will learn how to be a best social media practitioner, write and publish a book, try and learn a new dish a month. Try a new food retail business (applying on my past learnings), do a new hobby, learn a new language, it could go on.

As long as we live, we need to learn a thing or two.

And for a real menu, let me share with you, a new dish that I just learned, and successfully tried…and so will definitely to this savoury dish many times more.

Brocolli-Mushroom-Beef Trio 

Half a kilo of tenderloin tips(pre boil to desired tenderness in water, onions,a dash of  salt & pepper)A medium grab of fresh broccoli(cut up the flowers/ also use part of the stalks)A medium can of mushroom(diced)Butter (the more the merrier! For you cannot have enough of butter, isn’t Julia?)More chopped white or yellow onions (for stir-fry).

• Set aside the tender-ed beef tips for later. Save the stock also for later use.
• In a heated pan or wok, drop a half of butter, 
• As the butter is melting, drop the onions and stir fry til it starts to caramelize
• Stir fry the mushroom, followed shortly with the broccoli
• Veggies should still be crisp and crunchy , then set I aside in a plate
• Using the same pan or wok, put in more onions on the melting other half of the butter
• Stir-fry the beef tips, shortly followed by the rest of the veggies
• Add some oyster sauce( to taste!)
• Add some stock ( you decide on the thickness)

Voila! Plate it after a few whisks.

 "Do not wait until conditions are perfect to begin.

Beginning makes the conditions perfect. - Alan Cohen

Let’s all be excited to begin anew.

** love and light**

An Art Called Cooking | Arroz (Amor) Caldo

I love to cook. 

I also always had this secret desire to be a chef. Or at least be called one. And though I may not be one to be called as such, I am a Proud Mary.  Or better said, I had Proud Mary, the little café/diner past the strip of the more known restaurants and diners along Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

But that was a few years back, and though it is another story to write about, it is a beautiful one. 

A story that will always be a treasured segment of my life.

Coming back to my (present) life , things are way different now. And although it may not be the same as before, I’d like to say that it is still all good. 


After all, Life, for me, is always beautiful. And good. Always. Yet there are still some things that remain constant, amongst several other things about me.

I (still) love to cook.

I learned the art of cooking at a very early age. Being an only child, I am always a tag along company of my mom, so much so, that as early as four or five years old, I became her official kitchen buddy as she prepared every single meal that we ever had, from breakfast to lunch to dinner and everything else in between.

Design Elementals | BLIMS Fine Furniture

Nature soothes, harmonizes and heals. By its’ essence, nature is beautiful, and yet in our very modern world, we sometimes take for granted the beautiful synergy that it provides in our humanity. And yet, even as we are confined in great modern structures that we call our home and work spaces… we can still find ways to simulate nature and its elements into our own personal spaces. So much to say that we can definitely bring nature into our homes.

Take it from Blims Fine Furniture, a trendsetter in definitive lifestyle, with its’ 37 years of providing fine furniture and furnishings, truly a bastion of excellence in the industry.

BLIMS recently launched ‘Design Elementals’, an exhibit showcasing a collection of six vignettes...inspired by the very elements of nature—Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Wood & Metal.

In collaboration with the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID), one of the most prestigious design school in the country. BLIMS brings together six well - noted designers to give life to home and work spaces with designs that are based on the properties of the elements of nature.

At the helm of this collaborative creation is PSID’s JIE PAMBID, one of the country’s influential fixture in the Interior Design circuit. With his own design firm where he handled top companies as clients, for this particular exhibit, JIE carefully put together the best designers there is in town to come up with nature-inspired design ensemble.

Take a peek at the beautiful artistry that was put together for BLIMS in this exhibit "DESIGN ELEMENTALS".

Good Health for Good life with Wheatgrass

For the better-and ultimately the best, in individual manners and terms, is the one absolute thing that we always aim for. 

And since it is just a few more days before we welcome a brand new year, it’s time for a ‘new year’s resolution’. On top of my list is a resolve to be healthy…clearly realizing now that my body should be a wonderland, before I could proceed with the rest of my resolves.

So as I am off to a healthy start, let me share with you a miracle that I recently discovered and was introduced to, about a month back when I attended a Bloggers-to-Business Conference.

Dubbed as a Super Food, I learned of a healing miracle called Wheatgrass.
Let me tell you how and why…

Wheatgrass is the young grass that sprouted from wheat grains, grown to about 7 to 8 days old. Wheat grains, on the other hand, are the seeds of the wheat plant.

Hungry Juan makes a Happy Juan

In every Filipino table {rice aside, if you please}, you will find the all-time favorite chicken, either fried and roasted, or otherwise.

I think you will agree how every ‘Juan’ loves chicken, with its tenderness and delicate flavor that is perfect for any food combination. Or by itself… as the main dish.

But there is one delectable, flavorful and high quality roasted chicken in town.

Tweetback Thursday

Tweetback Thursday with a hint of Ana Says so.

What's the menu for today? Perseverance,Patience, a humble heart & a winning attitude.The net is filled with a catch of bounty.Thank you God
— Ana Alvarado (@Bananitch) September 12, 2011

Loves the worldwideweb.It expands, it connects, it brings people closer, it keeps you company...www.
— Ana Alvarado (@Bananitch) September 26, 2011

really like the classics. playing 'nessun dorma' . pavarotti is still the top for this piece. but ofcourse i still love the boccelli : )
— Ana Alvarado (@Bananitch) September 6, 2011

On a 'travel light' mode now . And it's okay .
— Ana Alvarado (@Bananitch) September 2, 2011

Expressions Of Love

Her name is Aurora, as beautiful a name like the first burst of sunlight at dawn. She is even more so beautiful in person. And luckily for me- - because she happens to be my mother.

It was in December, close to Christmas time…closer to her birthday. As everyone gleefully moves about in the merry mood of the holidays, she now lays in bed longer than usual. Days… Months… I have stopped counting as it breaks my heart to pieces seeing her this way. The woman who joyfully yet selflessly attended to my (and the rest of her family’s) needs, now lays in her sick bed. 

I've always been the jovial kind of person. That’s how she has lovingly molded me to be. To be the sunshine for others, in whatever circumstance in life that may come our way. And so, as I busily run about life- the children, the family, the finances, the work and everything else in between, I always put on a happy front. And so that one day, close to Christmas time and close to her birthday, I sought to surprise her with an early gift. I knew she wanted it, like any other woman, past any age, culture or creed. I knew she never had one given to her… a beautiful bunch of fresh and lovely flowers, just so to thank her and show her that no matter how busy and difficult things may seem for all of us, she is much loved by me, like, maybe I have not shown her.

I could see her tears flow graciously as she held the bunch of the lovely tulips I gave her. I fought hard to keep my tears welling.

Except that I woke up.

Blogapalooza: Business to Bloggers

Blogapalooza is a community. It’s a link between big and small businesses who have something cool to share and the online community of people who love to share.  Blogapalooza screens and pick out the top influencers and also pick out the businesses who will be presenting to the online community. Influential bloggers/social media online influencers and business meet to create infinite possibilities.

Bloggers to Business

Blogapalooza is a bloggers event on crack. You may apply for an invitation at Blogapalooza.WhenInManila.Com to join top bloggers in this awesome event.

Business to Bloggers

Blogapalooza is the best event to present your product / brand/ service/ thingamajig to hundreds of influential bloggers, top Twitter trend setters, Facebook celebrities and the online marketing community.Whether it’s to launch your new product / service / events / thingamajigs or anything, it will surely help your online marketing campaign.

My Favorite Things

A steaming hot cup of coffee.

Freshly brewed, the arabica scent waking up my senses. A notebook. Any size, any kind, any which way done, with its crisp blank paper tied together, eagerly waiting for a word, or two or more.

Twitting birds at sunrise. Raw and sweet melody to my ears.
Sunflowers.
Tulips.
Yellow Bells. Lovely are the flowers, with the yellow blooms particularly, in my sight.

"These are a few of my favorite things..."as the song goes, of the same title - my favorite things in my all-time favorite movie The Sound of Music.

We all have favorites. These are the things that we always favor. And these are the same that we would do, use and keep over and over, again and again, until such time. Because it pleases us and soothes or calms us. Essentially, our favorites are the ones that give us pleasure. And there is nothing wrong to give pleasure to oneself, does it? I strongly adhere to the fact that anything that makes you feel good is always good. Joy and happiness is from the heart so it can never be faked nor falsified. For the heart is the seat of the soul, therefore, divine.

"When the bee stings, when I’m feeling blue...” does it not help that we remember our favorite things? And "then i don't feel so bad ".

Life Lived Full

I love every moment. of my everyday life.

whether i'm awake or asleep.

dreamland stays in both.

which is real, you'll never know for sure.

because both are real.

you wake up when you sleep.

you dream to live.you live to dream.

does it matter?

it is only the moment that counts.

so that, in each moment,

which i call, life..

passionately

fully
i live.

Dream

I dream

of things,

and places

and people

and circumstances.

I dream

of my place under the Tuscan sun

and of sunflowers that bloom

amidst an olive vineyard.

I dream

of a white painted villa

lovely as a postcard picture

and a woman by the trellis

coffee, paper and pen in her hand.

I dream

of blue canopies by the shore

and of flowing waters of the sea

like the hue of the sky so blue

but unlike my heart

it never gets blue...

The Gift

Tears exhausted. It all runs dry.

Though it hurt me while it welled on my face,

It also made me feel better and light.

This is the divine irony of life.

What breaks you makes you, right?

Untitled

Like the coffee that turns dead cold
just because you are busy flipping about life.
The same reason when you slip the marker in your book
just because you have to run elsewhere and live the drama of life.
You carry so many things around you with no reason at all
and then you pause
when nothing seems to make sense anymore.
And then you ask yourself - what’s wrong?
Then you realize - what’s right!

What's Wrong?

What’s wrong...

…with being reckless?

When being 'reckless' means being like the wind flowing naturally and carefree.

...with living like there’s no tomorrow?

When living like ‘it’s your last day’ means being in the moment right here, right now.

…with laughing the loudest and crying the hardest?

When 'laughing and crying' means being happiest and saddest and knowing the

difference of it all.

...with not minding the time?

Wanderlust

I am blessed to have born a child in the midst of summer. By default, her birthday celebrations are summer celebrations. Picture this. The sun and the sand, the wind and the water, the flowers abloom and every living thing seem to be at its finest green. When you live in a tropical country like I do, you enjoy a beautiful tapestry of colors, full and vivid because in the tropics, you have the best of both worlds, a blessing of being in the midst. There is rain when it is time to feed the greens, and there is a generous sun when it is time to harvest the grains; the summer and the rainy seasons. In between, is a friendly wind, to fly your childhood kite or sail your boat in a beautiful regatta.

One summer of her birthday, when she was about thirteen, worn and tired of the usual kiddie birthday mascot-filled treats, my daughter Pia must have felt the same wanderlust as I do. She wanted to have a summer celebration outdoors. And I immediately said yes without reservations. I was half hoping that she meant going out of town. She was also half hoping I understood that she meant to go on an exciting road trip.

What excites you when you go on vacation trips? Mine starts on the moment of conception. My daydreams and my night dreams are all filled with the many questions, more than answers. Is it not heart-beating, blood-pumping when you know not what awaits you? Though the destination is mapped and the reservation is all set, the travail is yet to be experienced, discovered and learned. For me, that sets the measure of enjoyment.

We were set to go the southern stretch past the city, and enjoy the world renowned pristine diving waters of Batangas. To some, my destination may not sound grand, but to me, it is. In my forty years of life in this corner of the world, I have never enjoyed so much out of town travels. I wonder up to this moment why my ultra-urbanite parents are so contented with the hustle and bustle of city life. My childhood memoirs are of house to house parties and of non-stop mall shopping. Their city-centric comfort zone even more triggered my yearnings to go out and see and experience the sun and wind and the water and who knows, there could even be a lot more.