Pasta Lover!

Our family is a certified Pasta lover!  My son Matt can live with Spaghetti everyday! Given the choice between pasta and rice/viand, he will still choose pasta even if he's eating it for the nth time.  My daughter Belle eats pasta noodles without the sauce, sometimes with cheese only! Their Dad has a big appetite for pasta too!  Me? I love to eat and cook pasta and it's always a pleasure to make them satisfied!

We love holding get together with family and close friends in our house to celebrate special occasions. I love serving pasta dishes 80% of the time. Even if I feel tired already I still prefer to cook rather than order somewhere. I always gives me a sense of fulfillment whenever I am able to come up with a satisfying pasta dish which may be an old recipe or a new one.  

Of course, Spaghetti with tomato sauce is always popular to everyone.  My usual recipe has ground beef/pork with mushroom or hotdogs.  It's also good with diced chicken fillet with carrots, Corned beef with corn, or just plain whole tomatoes with basil.  My personal favorite is my beef lasagna (recipe shared by a good friend from my previous work), it may be very tedious to prepare but it's always well received.  

Unfortunately, I only started taking pictures lately so there's only few pictures to share.

Baked Macaroni

Seafood Marinara

Baked Penne

I remembered I was in a grocery store long time ago and they were promoting Nestle All-Purpose cream. I think I tried 2 or 3 small cups of the newly cooked Carbonara.  It really tasted so good!  From then on I am very loyal with the recipe I got from that promo.

Carbonara with Bacon and Mushroom

I'm happy that my kids appreciate the "green" pasta even though it's usually not appealing to most children. I usually serve Seafood Pesto with shrimps, squid, mussels and sometimes with scallops especially when we have guests who are vegetarian.  Pesto also tastes good with chicken fillet.  Recently, a  friend recommended that I should try Pesto with bacon and mushrooms. It's a tasty combination too!
  

Chicken Pesto Pasta

A mommy-friend told me that I should try Kung Pao Pasta. Good thing is that Clara Ole has a ready made Kung Pao pasta sauce available in 250g pouch (P29@)

According to the package instructions, you can just simmer the sauce and it can be poured readily to cooked pasta. But my friend highly recommends that I cook it with chicken fillet, roasted peanuts and spring onions. We had visitors last night for our regular Bible study so I had the chance to try it out.  The recipe can be found at the back of the pouch.  It has a sweet and spicy (mild only) taste plus it's really very easy to cook. A must-try!

Chicken Kung Pao Pasta

Thank God for good friends who share and exchange recipes with me!  Food really tastes better when shared with special people.

There are still so many recipes to try in the future. Hopefully I will have plenty of time to experiment. I'll be sharing some recipes soon :) Happy eating!

From my Kitchen: Chewy Chocolate Meringues

I've always been planning to make meringue but didn't have a chance. There are egg whites left in the fridge when I made my leche flan (one of my specialties.) It would be a shame if they spoil.  So I started surfing the net for an easy recipe.  I saw a very tempting picture of chocolate meringues and it only needs 4 ingredients.  I know the kids (and Daddy) will love it!  

The complete recipe can be found at the end of this post.  Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures step by step. Next time, I'll make sure to document my baking adventures.

Mixture of egg whites, sugar, cocoa powder, Hershey's milk chocolate (chopped)

I used an ice cream scoop to drop even amounts on the baking sheet

Meringue after less than 20 minutes

Ready to eat! Soft and chewy inside with bits of chopped chocolates

I'm glad I tried this recipe. Quoting from the website "No need to try and make anything look perfect. These are already perfectly imperfect."  It's so chocolatey yummy. 


Chewy Chocolate Meringues (adapted from Home Baked Comfort)
1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) large egg whites – about 7
2 cups (1 lb / 500 g) sugar
5 tbsp (1 oz / 30 g) natural cocoa powder
4 oz (125 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 oz (125 g) cocoa nibs*

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a clean, dry heatproof bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Set over, but not touching, simmering water in a saucepan.
• Whisk constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat. (there should be no sugar granules)
• Beat the eggs on high using your mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until stiff and glossy.
• Sift cocoa over the meringue. Sprinkle chopped chocolate (and cocoa nibs if you’re using) on top.
• Then, fold together gently with a spatula until combined.
• Use a scoop to drop even amounts of batter onto prepared baking sheets about two inches apart.
• Bake for about 8-9 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake for another 8-9 minutes until the cookies are fluffy and full of cracks.
• Transfer the cookies, leaving them on the parchment paper, to wire racks to cool.

The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate but I only have Hershey's Milk chocolate. * I also don't have cocoa nibs but the cookies still tasted so good! 

Do not worry

It was a hot and lazy afternoon. I have already picked up the kids from school. I usually give Matt an hour to recharge before we start doing his homework. I was about to take a short rest when I saw this envious sight from our window.

This cat is not ours.  He's a stray cat that kept on coming back to our house.  More than once did we put him in a plastic bag, leave him somewhere far within the village but he still managed to find his way back to our place!  I learned that our maid gave him food once and since then he did not bother to find another place to stay. I hate cats because they scatter their litter anywhere but this cat knows how to handle himself properly.  Until now, he's still with us waiting patiently for our excess food. It's better than throwing them away.

I get more envious of his next position. I smiled to myself. I would love to sleep like that for many many hours!  No worries, no problems!

I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in the Bible...

 Matthew 6:25-34     

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

      ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

The pictures of the birds and flowers above were taken during our recent trip in the US. They are God's wonderful creations. Indeed He has clothed the flowers splendidly!

I must admit I am a worrier.  I really can't help it especially when it concerns my children.  My son is a special child.  I can't totally erase my fears that when we're gone who will be taking care of him. If only I could be there for him all the time.  But I have a God who is greater than everything and I am sure that He is the One protecting my son today and forevermore.

Times are harder now. We are faced with so many trials and challenges in life. I find encouragement in my husband's strength and positive outlook in life.  He's a very patient man and very cool in handling things. We hold on to God's promises that He will always provide for our needs. He is our Father in heaven who very rich and very generous to His children.

Thank you Lord for blessing us everyday. Increase our faith and teach us to trust in You completely. Amen.

Dandelions

During our trip in the US last May, Belle enjoyed the sights of beautiful flowers that came in different sizes, colors and varieties.  I would never forget a particular flower that caught her attention. Scattered along the road are small yellow flowers about 1 to 2 " long. Beside them are white flowers that look like cotton balls.  Our friends from Normal, Illinois said they are called Dandelions. They usually grow during spring time.

The dandelion is a perennial, herbaceous plant with long, lance-shaped leaves. They're so deeply toothed, they gave the plant its name in Old French: Dent-de-lion means lion's tooth in Old French. The leaves are 3 to 12" long, and 1/2 to 2-1/2" wide, always growing in a basal rosette.

Dandelion Leaves 

Dandelions are especially well-adapted to a modern world of "disturbed habitats," such as lawns and sunny, open places. They were even introduced into the Midwest from Europe to provide food for the imported honeybees in early spring. They now grow virtually worldwide. Dandelions spread further, are more difficult to exterminate, and grow under more adverse circumstances than most competitors. Most gardeners detest them, but the more you try to weed them up, the faster they grow. 

The flowers grow individually on hollow flower stalks 2 to 18" tall. Each flower head consists of hundreds of tiny ray flowers.

Dandelion Composite Flower 

 

The flower head can change into the familiar, white, globular seed head overnight. Each seed has a tiny parachute, to spread far and wide in the wind.

Dandelion Seed Head 

* Italicized words and the first 3 pictures were borrowed from www.wildmanstevebrill.com.

 

It's so amazing how God created lovely flowers such as the dandelions.  They grow, they bloom, turn into seed heads, then they die. It's their life cycle.  They're just scattered everywhere for others to step on and ignore. Others (like Belle and I) will pick, play and appreciate the beauty of this flower.

Here are some memorable photos taken from my I-Phone. I hope we can also grow dandelions here in the Philippines. I think we have other varieties here but I can not remember where and when I saw them a long time ago.

Belle picked one or two flowers at a time then blew the seed head. She did this again and again until we reached our hosts' house.

Notice the design of my blog... Dandelion flowers blown gently by the winds.  Why? Because I can't forget the happiness in my little girl's eyes when she was holding and enjoying them while we were walking for several blocks. It was already 6pm that time but the sun was still shining brightly and the cold breeze was just too perfect for our long walk. I'm glad I was able to capture it on video.

I can still see Belle's face lights up whenever she watches it. Her giggles are so infectious. Little things can bring a big smile in one's face! True happiness is really cheap :)

Teacher-Mom's Day

Teacher's Day, October 5, 2011. My son came home from school and gave me a personalized card. A Teacher's day card for Mommy!   Instead of making cards for his teachers in school, he insisted that he wanted to make one for me because I'm his number one teacher. What a sweet boy!

Yes, I am his teacher-mom at home ever since he entered Preschool.  I exactly know how to deal with him. Click na click kami :) There are times we fight but most of the time he's very obedient. He finishes all his home works even if he's already tired. He's indeed a good example to his sister.

To show appreciation for Matt's teachers, I baked some cupcakes for them.  They had a post teacher's day celebration last October 7.

Chocolate-vanilla cupcakes with butter cream frosting

I am really very grateful for Matt's wonderful teachers. They are all very patient and understanding with my son and all the other special kids in school. They also had their first quarter recognition that day. Matt got Mr. Speller award.

Everyday, I bring him lunch. I get to bond with everyone in school. I get updated with Matt's progress, it's like a short daily PTC. I also get to know the other kids. Each of them special in their own way. But I was not able to come that day because I was still baking the cupcakes for the teachers. I had a nice surprise when I picked him up later. I also have an award - World's Best Mother!  (World's Best Father was also given to another dad.)  The certificate says "For the unconditional effort in bringing out the best in Matt."

Teacher Lanie (principal) holding my World's Best Mother Award.

Once in a while, we need to be appreciated. Yes, it really feels great to be appreciated! It is very challenging to be a parent of a special child but I believe that my greatest reward can not be seen or touched.  They are felt in my heart... much much more than I can expect.