Ginataang Gulay

This is the vegetable dish that I always let my mom cook at our farm during my younger days, because for me this is so yummy, the coconut milk makes the taste so creamy and yummy. I learned this from her.

Ingredients for 10 servings
250 grams any fish of your choice ( cleaned and fried)
500 grams squash
250 grams eggplant 
250 grams string beans
1 bunch talbos ng camote
6 okra pods
1 bunch of malunggay ( cleaned)
3 cups thin coconut milk
1 cup thick coconut milk
onion
ginger
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a pot put the ginger, fried fish  and 3 cups coconut milk then bring to a boil.
2. Add the squash then simmer until almost half cooked then add the string beans, eggplant and okra then simmer and add the green leafy vegetables, simmer until almost done.
3. Add the  thick coconut milk, salt to taste then simmer until cooked.
4. Serve it hot.

More about → Ginataang Gulay

Quinoa Salad

A salad that is loaded with vitamins and minerals, I served this to some friends in the neighborhood.Try and enjoy it.

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa (cooked and set aside to cool)
12 pieces hard boiled quail eggs
2 medium size carrots ( sliced)
1 head broccoli (cleaned and separated)
olive oil
salt

Procedure:
1. Boil the carrots and broccoli until cooked ( Do not over-cooked)
2. Combine all the ingredients until fully mixed and flavor is well blended.
3. Serve and enjoy.

Below is a chart for some of its nutrients.

                     http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice

More about → Quinoa Salad

15 Quick Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine

So, school has pretty much started back everywhere at this point! 

Which means... mornings. And waking up early during mornings. 

And even worse, being expected to show up to places on time during those mornings. 

I'm pretty sure that getting the day started has always and will always be a difficult thing for people to deal with. 

First of all, 48% of Americans say they don't get enough sleep. 

And second of all (and my personal problem with waking up), this is winter.

And it's cold outside.



But I do have to say that the worst ever at waking up in the morning is my dear, sweet husband. Here is our interaction in the morning: I bring him coffee in bed and stay out of his way. 

All those typical morning words like "cranky" and "grumpy" and "moody" don't even begin to describe his level of disdain for waking up in the morning. But since I have to be up anyway, I did some research on how to create the best ever morning routine!

There are actually tons of articles (and opinions) out there about how to start your day off the best way possible. But you know, that's something that each person really has to decide for themselves. SO I gathered all of my 15 absolute faves and listed them below! 

Just scroll through the list and choose a few that would work well for you! Oh, and one thing that was pretty consistent throughout every article: 

NO PHONE for the first hour of your day! (you know why)

2 minutes of meditation. By now, we all know that meditation is beyond-beneficial for us. But we still picture it taking place in a dark and silent room... which probably seems a little unattainable for most of us! Just do your best to clear your mind for a couple of minutes each morning.

Clean 1 thing you don't want to. For me, it's the dishes in the sink that have to be washed by hand for some reason or another. BUT I've found that if I go ahead and knock that thing out before I even have time to dread it, the rest of my day seems to be just a little more productive. It's kind of like saying, "Hey, Procrastination! Don't mess with me today."

Drink green tea/juice/water. 8 hours is a long time to go without drinking anything... plus morning is a super easy time to remind yourself to drink more since you're probably already in the kitchen!

Eat breakfast. Of course, when we picture breakfast we picture all those sugar-filled and indulgent brunch foods (Belgian waffles? Yes, please!) but the best way to start the day is with something hydrating like fruit or something high in protein such as greek yogurt. Save the good sweet stuff for weekend brunch!

Listen to music. I am a huge, huge fan of starting mornings this way! And for mornings, I really love instrumental genre stations rather than anything with lyrics. It's just easier to keep a clear mind that way! This post from last year may have just the perfect station go get your morning started!

List 10 things you're thankful for. This is one thing that I definitely do pretty much every morning. I also do it if I get in a bad mood throughout the day. Aaaand I also make encourage people around me do it when they're stressed, too. It really is the easiest way to boost your happiness right away!

Make the bed. This is an easy option. It's quick. It's not time-consuming. And it makes a huge impact on your space immediately! Plus, it acts as a barrier to keep you from getting back into bed! 

Read. Now, I have to admit that (for me) writing "read" on my morning routine list would be straight-up dangerous because 98% of my reading is done on electronics. Electronics = internet connection. And internet connection = access to social media (as you know, it's always downhill from there). BUT if you are the kind of person who reads books the old-fashioned way, then this may be a good idea for you! Just try to make sure it's something encouraging and inspiring so that positivity can flow over into the rest of your day!

Repeat a personal mantra. I actually created one of these and said it to myself every morning last summer. Something about how I was the most productive person in the world and I moved quickly from task to task accomplishing things with confidence. Also, you could go the Blair Waldorf route: I am Grace Kelley; Grace Kelley is me. Either way, it's totally effective!

Review your goals for the day. One of the habits I'm trying to get back into (after Christmas break totally demolished ALL of my good habits) is planning each day the night before... what to do, what to wear, etc. That way, each morning all I have to do is review the goals I've already set for the day and get started!

Smile for 1 minute. Yes, like a crazy person. I do this all the time when I get stressed while driving. Smiling relaxes you and basically forces you into happiness. And hey, forced happiness is still happiness, right?

Turn on all of the lights. I can feel my husband cringing as he reads that. He (and all men, apparently) are allergic to "wasting" energy. But science says that lights = productivity... so turn 'em on!

Visualize your day. There are so many ways to do this, but one thing I've started doing is choosing 3 ways that I can simplify the tasks ahead of me. For example, "I will simplify my drive to work by leaving 30 minutes early", "I will simplify dinnertime by deciding now what I will make", and "I will simplify my lesson planning by organizing my classroom materials ahead of time". By the way, my husband would call this "doing less"... and he would wonder why anyone would have to remind themselves to do that.

Write in a journal. Nothing long or poetic or brilliant. 1 page. Or even just 1 sentence. Write about something that annoyed you yesterday and let it go. Or write about the awesome day ahead of you! Or all of the things you're grateful for. Or about the crazy dream you had. Literally, anything is on limits!

Yoga. This = my favorite thing of all time ever (mimosas and Target excluded). I have recently started doing 6:40 AM yoga and it's been a great way to start the day. For me, yoga is just so much easier in the morning before I check my e-mail or get stuck in traffic or do any of the other 34,000 things that try really hard to stress us out and ruin our days. Plus, when those things DO happen, I probably handle it a little better than I would have otherwise!

How we spend our morning is probably a good indication of how we'll spend our day... 

so let's make sure to start it out right! :) 

What are some of your favorite ways to greet the day? Do you have any additional tips for a better/ healthier/ more-centered morning routine? 

More about → 15 Quick Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine

Easy Tortang Talong

Cooking the tortang talong without flour makes your torta soft and juicy. I love it like this.

Ingredients:
1 kilo eggplant  ( boiled or grilled then clean fully)
6 pieces eggs ( beaten)
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Flatten the eggplants and set aside
2. Put salt and pepper in the beaten eggs then mix well. Dip the eggplant  in the beaten eggs then fry both sides until fully cooked.
3. Serve and enjoy.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

More about → Easy Tortang Talong

Weekly Menu

Hope you had a great weekend... and maybe it is an extended one if you have MLK Day off tomorrow!  Ours was rather chill (ugh, literally) which seems like every weekend in the winter is.  But we were excited to start playing with our new coffee gadgets we ordered earlier this week.  After loving the espressos, cafe lattes, and cafe cremes in Italy and France we have been wanting to make our own.  So our little espresso pot and milk frothing wand came in the mail on Friday and we made mochas and lattes all weekend.  Good thing we stocked up on Snowville milk this week!

 

We also ventured out with some friends to Hofbrauhaus finally!  My husband and I both have a lot of German roots and we like German beer (I mean, bier), so I don't know how it took us this long to get our butts over there.  It's definitely a lot of fun with the open haus setting, long tables, and live polka/folk music.  People were standing on their chairs singing and dancing along with giant liter beir steins.  We'll definitely be back soon!  :)

Alright, here is my plan for this week!  What are you planning on making?

fish and shrimp stew (or baked potato soup)
chicken fajitas with homemade chips and guac
broccoli stuffed chicken with buttered carrots
seared scallops with salad
pizza night

More about → Weekly Menu

Chicken A La Barbecue

Just experimenting this but it turned out delicious so I am sharing this to all of you, happy cooking.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken ( chop into serving pieces)
1 head garlic ( toasted and set aside)
1 onion (minced)
1/4 cup calamansi or lime juice
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup tomato sauce
 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup Sprite
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Marinate the chicken with lime juice, salt and pepper for an hour then fry until half cooked, set aside.
2. Saute the onion then add the soy sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup and Sprite then allow to simmer, once it is simmering add the chicken, cover the pan and simmer it for 5 minutes over low fire. After 5 minutes stir well, add salt and pepper according to your taste, then simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.
3.When done topped it with toasted garlic and serve, make sure to have an extra rice and reserve your big smile after the last bite :-).

More about → Chicken A La Barbecue

Quail Egg Salad

This is a simple salad that I designed for a friend who visited me, I made a bed of vegetables to look like a nest for my quail egg salad. I served this with rice and grilled chicken. Excellent! My friend said.

Ingredients:
6 pieces quail eggs ( hardboiled and de-shelled) 
1/2 cup olives seedless
1/2 cup cubed white cheese ( any white cheese ) 
1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice
pinch of oregano flakes 
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil ( Extra virgin olive oil is the best)

Quail eggs

Procedure:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until fully mixed.
2. Serve and enjoy.

More about → Quail Egg Salad