Little Angel in me

We are so excited when I had my first ultrasound appointment to see how the baby is going. It is a wonderful experience when you see your baby moving his/her hands and touching its face. Every breathe I take makes him/her move as well. He or she is 10 cm long, and with a heartbeat of around 150 bpm. The technician measured his/her stomach, heart, legs, head, etc and everything turned out normal.

big wave

kicking to the goal

Nature is a miraculous thing. I could not believe it! There is really a little baby in me with a replica of all my organs. I am at a loss of words with the experience. I am grateful to experience the happiness of being a mum. God gave us the most amazing blessing of our lives!

Egg Omelette wrap with crispy bacon

I can hardly eat a plain omelette, so I have to find a way to modify the taste a bit. I tried this one Saturday morning and it’s amazing. I was able to make three variations of the humble egg omelette.
a) Egg omelette with crispy bacon
b) Egg omelette with German sausage Kransky
c) Egg omelette with lettuce, bacon and sausage

You can include as much ingredients that you desire, just consider that it may be too heavy to flip over.

Ingredients
4 eggs1 tomato, sliced in cubes
1 pc of capsicum, sliced long and thin
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sliced cheese
2-4pcs bacon, sliced in cubes
Sliced parsley (optional)

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2. Place the bacon, wait until it is crispy.
3. Put the sliced tomatoes and capsicum.
4. In the meantime, beat the eggs and put salt and pepper.
5. After 2 to 5minutes, transfer the mixed bacon to a bowl.
6. Put the egg in the frying pan then top the mixed bacon at the middle.
7. Put the cheese at the top, and then carefully wrap the bacon, cheese and capsicum using the egg.
8. Cook thoroughly by flipping the omelette over.

Italian White Ziti

One of our favourite pasta dishes back in the Philippines is white ziti from Italian restaurant, Sbarro. Unfortunately there is no Sbarro here in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is fortunate that our friend had the recipe. From then on I’m making this pasta from time to time and when we came back to the Philippines for a vacation, we don’t want to eat in Sbarro anymore!

Ingredients
A] Red Sauce
Delmonte Garlic and Herb “Chunky” Tomato Sauce
Salt

B] Garlic Cheese Sauce
100g butter
1 glove of garlic, minced
I box cheddar cheese
1 tsp of ground pepper
2 cans of Nestle Cream
Garlic powder (optional)
Parsley (optional)

C] Pasta
450g of Penne Pasta
Salt and 5L of water

Directions:
1) Pasta
a. Boil water and add salt
b. Place pasta in boiling water. Usually it takes 12 minutes to cook the pasta (or follow the time from the package)
2) Red Sauce
a. Heat the red sauce
b. Add salt if the sauce is too sour
c. Simmer until hot
d. Combine the red sauce with the cooked pasta
3) Garlic Cheese Sauce
a. Melt butter in sauce pan
b. Add garlic
c. When garlic is almost transparent, add nestle creams. Cook for 3 minutes
d. Add 2/3 portion of the grated cheese. Stir to melt the cheese.
e. Sprinkle ground pepper
f. Sprinkle salt (optional)
4) Mix
a. Place the mixed pasta with red sauce in a flat baking cookware.
b. Pour garlic cheese on the top of the pasta
c. Sprinkle garlic powder and ground pepper at the top (optional)
d. Sprinkle parsley (optional)
e. Bake it in microwave oven for 5minutes

That’s it! Serve with garlic bread.

Nilagang Baka

It’s freezing outside when we got home today and I thought it’s perfect to have a piping hot beef stew for tea. This is one of our favourite dishes back in the Philippines; you get to have a taste of home. Since there is no Philippine string bean (sitaw) available in the grocery store I used New Zealand string beans as a substitute. And instead of the Philippine’s favourite citrus, kalamansi, I used lemon.

Ingredients

1 kilo of shin beef, sliced

1 onion, sliced in four pieces

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 lemon

2 teaspoon of patis (fish sauce)

1 beef cube

3 medium-sized potatoes cut into quarters

1-2 whole corn, sliced in quarters (optional)

1 small head of cabbage cut into quarters

2-4 head of Bok Choy or petchay (optional)

3-4 teaspoon of Salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

(Adjust salt and pepper on your own preference)

Directions

1. Boil the beef with onion in a pot, water should be enough to cover the meat.

2. Once boiling, put the cubes, salt, pepper.

3. After 30mins of boiling, add potatoes and corn(optional)

4. Boil for another 10-15 minutes.

5. When potatoes are done, add the cabbage and string beans.

6. Keep boiling for another 2 to 5 minutes.

7. Serve with warm rice.

8. Optional: Usually most Filipinos love to have a dipping sauce made of squeezed lemon and fish sauce. Try the dip with every bite. Yum!

Akaroa

This place has unique charm that motivates us to return again and again.
This can be a romantic getaway for a couple or an incredible place for family and friends.
The sea gulls are so used to people feeding them that they expect it from you. They love all kinds of food but specially bread and chips. Due to the intense winds in Akaroa, the sea gulls would use the wind to glide and seem stationary. This is perfect for feeding and photo opportunities.

What to do?
You can experience dolphin watching and other marine wildlife on daily scenic cruises
Eat the famous fish and chips in town
Visit the cheese factory on the way home

Recommendation
Any time of the year as long as sunny.
Favourite thing to do:
Feeding the sea gulls.

Photo Gallery

Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs is a marvellous place to visit whether for a day, a weekend or even longer. If you want to do something relaxing, do some exciting activities, or check out breathtaking views, then this is one of the best places to visit. I love the thermal spa and pools; the massage is awesome as well. You can bring your favourite food and have some picnic in the park near the entrance or have it inside the resort.

Photo Gallery

These are some of the photos that I have taken during a day trip to this place:

What you can do?
There are plenty of activities for adrenaline junkies like bungee jumping and jet boating nearby. There are also ski fields and great tracks for mountain biking. There are also some fantastic trails for walking, like up Conical Hill.

Recommendation
Any day of the year wether sunny, snowy, or windy, Hanmer Springs is the perfect destination for everybody.

Our garden in close up

Having your own garden could mean more chores like mowing the lawn, uprooting the weeds, trimming the hedges and soil fertilization. In return however, your garden will give you all the different fascinating colours of flowers and leaves. Taking a closer look on the flowers, you can see how vibrant each of the petals and it seems like they are all smiling at you. God made this earth so beautiful and you can see it right in your own backyard.

Puto

I made this puto (also known as white muffin or rice cake for non-Filipinos) last weekend and was pleasantly surprised to make a perfect variety. I think one has to be pregnant and inspired to make the best puto around. Just kidding! Of course, anybody can make puto as long as you are up to it. Here's how:

Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
sliced cheese

Directions
1. Combine all the ingredients except cheese and mix well
2. Fill prepared mixed to a baking cup, 2/3 full.
3. Put the sliced cheese at the top
4. Steam for 40minutes

Optional: spread cheese whiz at the top and heat it in microwave for a minute.

Enjoy!