Spooktastic Snacks :D

Brainstorming for your Hallow's Eve party snacks at the last minute? Here are three easy, yummy, and awesome ideas (tried, tested, and highly recommended by me and my friends) adapted from an ivillage.com article for the perfect spooktastic snacks that might just rock your party!

 Spider Web Tortilla-Pizza 

We decided to add a twist to the all-time party favourite pizza by replacing the usual crust with flour tortilla. For the tomato base, we used a pre-made sauce (widely sold in supermarkets), and with thinly-sliced strips of mozzarella cheese, we formed the spider web. 

The tomato sauce and cheese are tasty enough, but we wanted some toppings, so we added some bits of seasoned beef (in cumin and other spices) and some grated cheddar cheese. 

Pop the "pizza" into the microwave or oven toaster to melt the cheese and toast the tortilla for a distinct crisp.

 Freaky Fingers 

Let's redefine "finger food", shall we? 

Fry some slices of hot dogs or franks or wieners (or whatever you call them!) and wrap them in strips of tortilla, as though they were strips of gauze. Use a toothpick to hold the "bandage" in place. Dab some ketchup or any red sauce of your choice around the toothpick to make an impression of blood seeping through the bandage. For the fingernails, adhere peanut halves on the hot dog slices with ketchup. 

Serve with seasoned tomato sauce.

 Carved Orange Dessert Bowls 

Forget the boring (and un-eco-friendly) plastic dessert bowls and opt for this cute idea instead!

Cut the top of an orange open, and empty it by spooning the pulp out (*tip: make some orange juice after!). With a small knife, carve some fun jack-o'-lantern-like  faces on the orange. 

Fill the "bowls" with Jell-O or cubed pieces of fresh fruit. If you're worried that you dessert contains liquid that might ooze through the craved areas, you can place a piece of cling film inside the bowl before filling it.

***Food, photos, and backdrop by Jica Abello, Ranberg Abu, PL Atriginio, Joan Dino, Andy Flores, and Kath Vicho

♥Andz

19

And so, I turn 19 today.

Last leg of my teenage life - in the numeral sense, at least.

I've got a handful of greetings from family, friends, and people I never expected to greet me altogether. And, I've pretty much spent the whole day getting back to each and every one of them, thanking them in English, Filipino, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, and whatnot, depending on where they came from or how they greeted me, so I'm getting the hang of it :D

If you're wondering how I celebrated my day, well, I could tell you right now that it would appear to be boring to most of you. I'm not really the kind of girl who likes celebrations and parties, so as much as possible, I try to make my birthdays seem like a typical day. I don't even expect nor ask for gifts for God's sake! 

Aside from thanking people for their greetings, I slept. Yes. Best birthday treat ever. Sleeping.

♥Andz

Halloween Comicfest 2013

I had a great Saturday. 

The original plan was to simply grab a free comic book from the Halloween Comicfest being held at a nearby bookshop in the morning, but my cousin and I decided to make the best of our sem-break weekend, before my classes start again next week.

I got a copy (well, an excerpt) of the graphic novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, written by Ransom Riggs and illustrated by Cassandra Jean. 

The novel intrigued me for so long, but I don't know why I haven't got myself one yet. So, finding out that the comic book version of it will be given out on Free Comic Book Day, I took the chance to finally start reading the story, and I liked it. Perhaps, I could continue it after reading Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane or after reading Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides (which I've been dying to read - no pun intended).

After getting our free comic books (and buying some more, of course - we're occasional nerds), we decided to watch the film remake of Carrie based on the 70's Stephen King novel of the same title, starring Chloë Grace Moretz. 

Although the movie got mixed reviews, I would say that it's really good. I've read the book, watched the musical (which was recently staged in Manila), and the movie also stands out in its own way. 

We also tried some of Mochiko's latest products, like their milkshake and latte. I really wanted to taste their milkshake, but since my cough wasn't getting any better, I opted for a hot black sesame latte instead, which (for me) surprisingly tasted good, given the fact that its got tea in it and is served with mini green tea mochis - AGAIN, I hate tea (or leaf juice, as Zuko and I like to call it). 

In case you don't know what a mochi is, it's a Japanese rice cake that's been modified through the years. It's originally balls of glutinous rice, but are now served with ice cream or other fillings.

Timely enough, high school friends of mine, Felis and Angel were meeting at the same place, so I caught up with them for a while before leaving. My pasalubong for Felis from Prague was almost decomposing at home, so I'm glad I was finally able to give them to her. Too bad, I already ate the Milkas I was supposed to give her :D

Choosing titles at Comic Odyssey, Alabang Town Center's Fully Booked branch

They didn't just give free comic books but free doughnuts
as well, courtesy of Go Nuts Donuts

My cuz enjoying his spider web doughnut :D

Prices of graphic novels and comic books were slashed as well for the
Halloween Comicfest.

Mochiko's Black sesame latte with mini mochis

With Felis and Angel :)

♥Andz

Toasted Baguette Slices Topped with Brie Cheese and Sprinkled with Thyme

Breakfast is the most important (and my favourite) meal of the day, so treat yourself with a yummy one! Here's a quick and super-easy breakfast idea for you: Toasted Baguette Slices Topped with Brie Cheese and Sprinkled with Thyme.

Simply slice the baguette (or whatever bread you have) and pop it into the oven toaster for 2-3 minutes. Spread the brie cheese on top, and dash some dried thyme for extra flavour and aroma.

Good morning! :)


♥Andz

Kuřecí Křidélka v Pivní Marinádě

I said I would be cooking this sem-break, and so I did. The first dish I cooked is "Kuřecí Křidélka v Pivní Marinádě", which isn't entirely a traditional Czech dish, but it would be safe to say that it's Czech-inspired. Like what a friend of mine said, beer (pivo!) is used for everything in the Czech Republic :) 

The taste is difficult to explain, and if you'd run through the ingredients, you would probably think twice before trying it out yourself. I, too, was sceptical about cooking it at first, but it's really, really good, with all the flavours playing together perfectly. I would say, it's worth the shot.

Kuřecí Křidélka v Pivní Marinádě is usually served with mashed potatoes and onions. But since I wanted to add a Pinoy twist into it, I served it with sinangag or garlic rice topped with garlic chips fried in butter.

Kuřecí Křidélka V Pivní Marinádě

(Chicken Wings in Beer Marinade)

Chicken parts of your choice (I used chicken wings)

Beer (the original recipe makes use of black beer)

Semi-ground dijon mustard (but you can also use the smooth kind)

3 cloves of garlic

Salt

Pepper (ground or whole, it doesn't matter - I used both)

Extra virgin olive oil

Bay leaves

*Note: I didn't use any measurements for this dish. I just mixed everything together, added what seems to be missing, and all that.

**********

Dobrou chuť!

♥Andz

Thank God It's Sem-Break!

SEM-BREAK.

If there’s one thing every Filipino college student looks forward to every year, it would be the “sem-break”.

After all the gruelling school work that we had to deal with over the past semester (however you took on them), we all deserve some time to rest, spend time with the family, catch up with old friends, eat, drink, breathe, and do whatever we wish.

The previous semester was a roller coaster of all sorts for me. It was good. It was bad. It was awesome. It was torture. It also cost me a lot of things.

The amount of work I had to finish took its toll on my health, deprived me from sleep, cost me the three kilograms I was so proud to have gained in the spring/summer, and it just cost me my life in general.

Flipping through my journal entries, there wasn’t a week that went by that I didn’t complain about homework, projects, tests, and whatnot. But you know what? Those ideas of the devil that are eternally stored in our professors’ heads actually help us appreciate the break more – make us feel that we’re really worthy to have it.

I don’t really have big plans this sem-break. As much as I’d love to travel again (even if it’s just within the Philippines), I don’t think I would be able to for a few good reasons, and choosing to buy a DSLR camera (which can be very costly) for my photojournalism course next semester instead of jet-setting again is one of them.

Sometimes, even if it’s such a pain in the ass, you just have to weigh your needs and wants, and of course, prioritise your needs.

So… What am I going to do this sem-break? Well, I’ve decided to … wait for it … SLEEP. I really miss sleeping. Seriously. They say that  more than three hours of sleep is a luxury for journalists, so I better sleep all those hours I’m going to miss for the rest of my life now.

I also want to COOK. Yes, cook. I came from a family of really good cooks (and I’m not afraid to be super proud of that), and I want to be a part of the new generation those really good cooks. The “greatness” can’t stop with my mum and aunt – I won’t let that happen. I already have a mental list of recipes I want to try, and I can’t wait to get cooking!

And of course, I’d love to HANG OUT with my high school friends. I haven’t seen them in what seems like years, and I miss them so much! They have been bugging me for a meeting too, and besides, who can say no to my Stargirls and my boys? Haha!

So yeah, let the sem-break begin!

♥Andz

Pick Your Poison: Pinoy Street Food

Fishballs - the classic street food favourite

I have a food confession to make: I have never eaten Pinoy street food. Ever. 

Until today.

Growing up with an over-protective (hypochondriac) mother, who would endlessly dictate to me what to eat and what not to eat, what's dirty and what's clean, and just about anything to make sure that her only daughter's stomach would be as clean as when she was born, I have always been deprived of eating the oddly-shaped colourful street food picks sold in tiny rickety stalls that lined the streets of every city and town in the country.

The things closest to street food that I tasted (just because they're sold in the streets too) are small spools of pink and blue fairy floss, tiny bags of cheesy popcorn, "dirty" ice cream that's not so dirty at all, and some balut too, which my dad would take home occasionally.

However, eating "real" street food like fishballs, kikiam, kwek-kwek, isaw, and what not, has always been a different story. I wasn't just afraid of my mum scolding me, but I was scared that I might get sick if I ever dared. And I don't want to get sick. So I've always had that mindset - "No street food for you, Andy."

I have always been curious, though. Curious how those fish and squid balls in the streets differed from the ones my mum and aunt prepare at home. Curious how my friends who ate street food never really got sick because of it. Curious how I would find them, given the chance I try them.

With some free time to spare before heading to a meeting and Spanish class later in the afternoon, I accompanied Kai, Charry, and Mau, some friends of mine who went to have some “tusok-tusok” (a Filipino slang used to refer to kinds of Filipino street food that are picked and eaten with thin bamboo skewers: “tusok” = to prick) at Dapitan Street.

Thinking that it was my chance to finally taste authentic Pinoy street food, I had some fishballs (.50php per piece) glazed with “matamis” (sweet) sauce and a cheese stick Kai gave me. We then walked to some carinderia to get a large-sized mango shake (I wasn’t allowed to have street-sold drinks either) to cool off a bit.

It was quite an experience, really. I felt like a kid at a sweet shop at the time, struggling to contain my excitement. If you’re a Filipino reading this right now, call me “mababaw” all you want, but this day is a milestone for me.

I went home tonight with an interesting story to tell my mum for a change (I have been complaining about school and stress a lot lately), and all she said to me was: “Siguraduhin mong hindi sasakit tiyan mo.”

Cheese stick vendors

Cheese sticks: cheddar cheese wrapped in flour sheets and deep-fried in oil

A "tusok-tusok" vendor keeping his trays filled

Kwek-kweks, Kikiams, and Chopped Sausages

Another "tusok-tusok" vendor filling a plastic cup with his
customer's "order"

Deep-fried fishballs

Who's the happy girl?
:D

Fishballs with sweet sauce + Large mango shake

Say hi to Mau, Charry, and Kai
:)

♥Andz