My husband’s colleague who went for a vacation in Cagayan de Oro brought us plenty of Cheding’s Peanuts, the pride of Iligan City. When I went to Mindanao, I remember buying a lot of this particular peanut brand as pasalubong (gift). We love Cheding’s Peanuts for its nice roasted character, strong peanut aroma and mild, creamy taste. We can’t resist munching it over and over. It’s a “sige – sige” experience, once you start you can’t stop. Because we have lots of it, I was enthused to create good chows out of it. From stir-fried egg noodles to snacks and desserts, I was busy sprinkling it onto our dishes. Here’s our Peanut and Raisin cookie with no less than Cheding’s Peanut as main ingredient. Grab a mug of your favourite drink and voila! you have a perfect snack pair. A heart-warming book is all you need to complete a relaxing treat.

1 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup dessicated cocount, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup cheding's peanuts

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Cream together margarine and sugars in a mixer bowl. Add egg and vanilla extract. Gradually add in mixture of dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Using a spoon, stir in dessicated coconut, raisins and peanuts. Drop a spoonful of cookie dough 1 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

It's a healthy, colorful pasta salad this time around. I have made a number of red sauce and cream based pasta dishes but it's very rare that I share a salad recipe for Presto Pasta Night. So, it's Salmon Vegeroni Twisties Salad for this week which, is by the way being hosted by no less than passionate food blogger Ruth Daniel's of Once Upon a Feast.

Kids common repertoire of meals definitely includes poultry and meat. But how would you encourage them to have the other essential members of the food pyramid in particular seafood and vegetables? When you have kids to entice at the dining table, you tend to be creative and adventurous. For this particular dish, colour and shapes are the elements of appeal. For the less favourite items, their flavours were made to be subtle in release. And to encourage a big mouthful, sweet, creamy and juicy are the overall top notes.

Did I say it’s healthy too? Vegeroni Pasta is made from 100% durum wheat, with no artificial colourings nor flavourings and preservatives. It’s also cooked in just a matter of 10 minutes. Salmon on the other hand, is packed with omega-3 fatty acids. It’s the good fat that is hyped to increase the immune system and prevent certain heart-related illnesses and cancer. Although it’s canned, you’re still guaranteed with the same benefits as the fresh one as long as you’re buying the premium, 100% natural. You can also consider the brined one; where no other ingredients were added except salt to flavor it. Plus some servings of vitamins and minerals from the fruits and vegetables, what else can you ask for?

When you were not able to perform your task and did not deliver what were expected from you, what do you normally get as a consequence? Penalty! This is what my colleagues and I got from not being able to meet the deadline for one of our KPMs (key performance measures) at work. That is, for having our report turned in late we have to face the unwanted outcome. Our punishment? We have to prepare snacks for the operations meeting. Can you really consider that as a punishment? Well to feed a bunch of foodies, to some extent for our pockets, it is going to be. But to our daring appetites, it’s a granted desire. So, with a budget at hand, we came up with the following dishes and happily shared hefty bites of these.

Yesterday, a colleague excitedly showed me a copy of YUMMY magazine’s August edition. Little did I know that she’s off to break some good news? “Have you seen this?” she asked me while showing a page of the magazine. Momentarily, I got wide eyed with what was before me; my e-mail to YUMMY last June was published in their latest edition. Truly elated, more than I am! I didn’t expect that my e-mail would land into their picks. What I sent were actually words of delight for the magazine that had influenced me in many ways. I remember making a post about it here when I started buying issues of it. Thank you YUMMY! You keep on bringing genuine foodies with such gastronomic reads!

When it comes to preparing pasta dishes, I adore how Giada de Laurentiis of Food Network does this thing seamlessly. Most of her creations had me salivating to high heavens. As a result, I almost always wanted to carry her recipes into our own platter. Recently in one of her shows, she made her favourite pasta that reminds her of her childhood in Italy. When I saw her plated it scrumptiously and avidly dig into it, I just know that this is one dish I would like to try. From the way it looked through her mouth-watering chews, the dish seemed to be healthy and appetizing. True enough, when I prepared it at home, I was more than delighted with the taste. The dish is so simple to prepare and mildly flavoured. With the subtle blend of flavour notes of garlic, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, the overall taste is so natural to savour. Truly delicioso! Likewise, the pasta complements the whole dish. It does not overpower and the size perfectly suits my kids' little sensory orifice. What with the melted mozzarella cheese smothered onto the entire dish? A small serving is just not enough.

What you need:
1 1/2 cup salad macaroni pasta, 4 medium sized tomatoes (cut in cubes), 1 large bulb of garlic (crushed and chopped), 3 tbsps chopped fresh basil leaves, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (cut in cubes), 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

How to make:
Cook salad macaroni pasta in 4 cups of boiling water with salt and a little oil. Drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté garlic and tomatoes for 2 - 3 minutes. Add pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in mozzarella and basil leaves. Serve immediately.


Because there was still enough mozzarella left from the first dish, I might as well stretch this cheese indulgence to the fullest. Was there another dish made? You bet I did. So here’s my Baked Mozzarella Chicken that left us fully stuffed last weekend.

Yesterday, I took my 3 year old son to a trial class in a nearby learning center here in the south. My initial desire was actually to homeschool him in his toddler years. But because there are a lot of learning centers for pre-schoolers that had mushroomed out, I was intrigued to evaluate and try if there's any that will suit my child's needs. So, after much cajoling from one of the teachers, I finally yielded and we went to try out. The program started with what they call "discovery time". Initially, the kids played freely with all kinds of educational toys available and were encouraged to mingle with their classmates. The teacher coined this as the necessary conditioning process before getting the kids into the real-deal of the class. When it comes to kids these young, things shouldn't be hurried. And I do agree that making them comfortable at first is a must. At the same time, I thought that kids once again rule here! As I watched them play, I can imagine a voice echoing, "only when I'm ready, teach me." This is precisely the case why I want to test the water first. I'd like to see the consistency in my son's desire to go to school. I want to measure his preparedness prior to making the investment. This is no easy thing for him and for us, his parents therefore, it goes without saying that it must be worth it.

After two hours, we found out that my son is advance for that particular program. His vocabulary is above the others that the teacher anticipated a problem to occur later on. She recommended that we try the next level then. In this program however, he'll be the youngest in the lot. Honestly though, I would prefer to bring him in the later choice than the former. But other serious thoughts kept lingering through my mind. As I watched my son experience his first time in class, I can't help but entertain some worries. What if he wants to have potty time, who'll assist him? What if somebody from the class turned out to be a bully, who'll shield him from the danger it might bring? Will he learn the way I expect him to? Will the teachers' skills and patience sustain him to become a wholly educated young? I know that this is a common dilemma any parent would face in this chapter of his child's life. And I am just about to cross that path. Had it not been for a difficult environment we're living, perhaps the degree of my predicament will be lighter. But who knows, our parents would have undergone through the same process too back in the old days. Still, I've yet to deal with the question: attending pre-school, how tough is it going to be? How was it for you?

If there's one traditional noodle dish that's been popularized and made phenomenal in the Philippines, that would be no other than Iloilo's La Paz Batchoy. It's a noodle dish made with round egg noodles or miki , pork meat and organs, crushed pork crackling, egg and vegetables in a meaty soup stock . Ted's La Paz Batchoy claims to have the original taste of this noodle soup. In fact, it brought a significant number of branches in the Metro to carry its mission of giving Filipinos "the opportunity to savor the exotic and exquisite taste of the original La Paz Batchoy". I remember heading to one of its branches sometime ago to sample all the different types of batchoy it offers. Basically, what I found is one type of broth that can be served with different kinds of noodles. Depending on your own preference you can have misua, sotanghon, bihon or miki. Among all these, I liked best the Extra Super Batchoy that uses miki as noodles. The least however, is the Extra Miswa. The miswa absorbs the soup quickly that consuming it is synonymous to a marathon eating. Otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy noodle dish. Also, the strong taste of miswa masks the other flavors that only the umami taste is left lingering through your palate. But to prove that this noodle soup continues to conquer the noodle market, it's consumption has evolved in many forms. Very recently, a leading fast food chain introduced its own take of La Paz Batchoy at an affordable price of Php 25 per serving.

I wonder how many homemakers adhere to their menu plan religiously? As, I, for one, am a usual violator of this task. Have you ever experienced visualizing a meal that’s supposed to welcome you home from work? If you're the one preparing it, you probably have played in your mind the ingredients and the best way to do it as you head home. But the moment you reached your kitchen, you suddenly changed your mind and decided to cook something unplanned. I just had that particular moment. For some reasons, I opted for these dishes which, can actually be included in Robin Miller's repertoire of Quick Fix Meals or Rachel Ray's 30 minutes meal. Hah, I think I made the reason more obvious then. But generally, whichever case it may be, either you go as planned or veer away from it, nothing compares to home-cooked meals.

vegetable oil for frying, wanton wrappers, 1 small can of hot & spicy tuna flakes, 1 small onion (finely chopped), 5 cloves garlic (minced), 1 whole egg, salt and pepper to taste

Mix tuna, onion, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Wrap 1 tsp of mixture in a wanton wrapper. Fold ends of wrapper to form a triangle. Fry tuna triangles in oil until it turns golden brown. Drain in paper towels. Serve with sweet-chili sauce.

Kangkong with Ground Pork
250 g ground pork, 3 bundles of kangkong (trimmed), 1 small onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (chopped), 2 tbsps canola oil, 1/8 cup oyster sauce, 1/4 cup water, pepper to taste

Heat oil in a wok. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add pork and saute until tender. Add kangkong (stalks first then leaves) and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add oyster sauce, water and pepper. Boil and simmer for 2 more minutes.

Eleven Minutes was touted as Paulo Coelho's second international best seller next to The Alchemist. According to the author, it was his boldest story ever made. Must agree, I would. It's a story about a woman who lived a life full of emotional and physical struggles in the pursuit of her dream. It's a plot enriched with love, lust, melancholy, sacrifice and hope. Maria (the protagonist), an innocent girl turned into a prostitute, instinctively took the winding road in realizing her dream. Unfortunately, her journey didn't happen the way she expected it to be. It didn't provide her a smooth run but a tougher and highly pebbled one. It even came to a point of almost losing her true self in exchange of awakening, sexual experiences.

When I bought this book, I didn’t have a slightest idea of what eleven minutes exactly means. My impulse just trusted the name Paulo Coelho in having it. Half way through the pages (more or less), I learned that it’s how Maria coined her work as a prostitute. Perhaps to mollify the guilt that's resting inside her, she made herself believe that she only loses her pride, experiences humiliation and abuse, in eleven minutes. Tolerant that afterall, she submissively performs her work only in a matter of eleven minutes. Then, she can redeem her self again.

This novel is about self-discovery and how human life normally faces the battle between free-will and determinism. In Maria’s case, she was able to endure the battle and came out victorious in the end. She was able to transform her eleven minutes into a lifetime. Whenever we face such life’s conflict we were always left with different choices. One, we allow ourselves to be taken by the flow and let destiny gets its toll on us. The other, we take full control and drive our lives to whichever way we want. But is it always more fruitful to have the later choice? Yes, for some may be not for others. At any rate, the choice is always ours.

My Pasta story for this week started with my wandering in the kitchen. I exactly didn’t know what to prepare. I’m not craving for anything neither did my kids. I rummaged around the kitchen cabinets and drawers and found a can of tuna, Italian spaghetti sauce and vegeroni pasta spirals. Inside the refrigerator, there are carrots, cucumber and red bell pepper. I gathered all these things together on the kitchen table mulled for a while and voila! I’m cooking Tuna Vegeroni Pasta in a pan.

When I plated it, unfortunately, the pasta looked too orange-red for me that the colourful vegeroni pasta spirals were already well too hidden. Lesson learned? Vegeroni Pasta is better prepared with white sauce or practically anything but red sauce. The nice colour combinations of the pasta albeit well hidden, still provided that distinct veggie taste. Thus, I would rave about the taste more than the plating. Taste wise, there’s nothing sophisticated in here, it’s very straightforward. It’s a union of flavour notes of seafood and vegetables rounded by tomato taste with a slight sourish back note. On the whole, this is a healthy pasta dish.

What you need:

1/2 of 375 g pack vegeroni pasta spiral, 1/2 cup of pasta water, 1/2 cup carrots (cut into cubes), 1/2 cup of cucumber (cut into cubes), 1 small red bell pepper (seeds removed and cut into cubes), 1 white onion (chopped), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1 small can tuna chunks or flakes (drained), 250 g italian spaghetti sauce, 2 tbsps olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

How to make:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/2 cup of pasta water. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant. Add tuna and continue sautéing for a minute. Add carrots, cucumber and red bell pepper. Mix well. Add the tomato sauce and pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Boil and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta and blend well before serving.

For other mouthwatering pasta dishes, check out Ruth Daniels round up in Once Upon a Feast. Our pasta queen is hosting this week's event.