Buhay Bahay-Bahayan

Let me delay some more my post about Singapore because, uhm, well, I have yet to upload the photos, plus I have yet to write about it. :beurk:

Anyway, my wife and I were watching the Asian Food Channel last week, and it was our first time to see this show called Chuck’s Day Off. And Chuck made this fried tomatoes with sour cream and prosciutto dish that was so easy and looks so scrumptious that I want to try cooking myself and share it with all of you.

My wife and I were at the grocery yesterday but we didn’t find any good red tomatoes. So instead of having this, my wife made bruschetta and we paired it with spaghetti for our dinner. We have yet to try this out (maybe later this week), but do try it yourself and give us some feedback.

You will need the following:

• 1/2 cup white flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs (the sweet kind)
• 3 firm ripe tomatoes (Try to find the big juicy ones. They are sweet and succulent.)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• butter
• salt and pepper
• sour cream
• slices prosciutto (or we plan to use bacon), fried till crisp
• chives, finely chopped

→ Cut tomatoes into ½ inch slices.

→ Sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

→ Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls.

→ Heat oil with a dollop of butter in a medium skillet on medium heat.

→ Dip tomato slices in flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs.

→ In the pan, fry half the coated slices at a time for about 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

→ Bread and cook remaining tomatoes.

→ Remove to a serving tray. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled crisp prosciutto (or bacon!), and a sprinkle of minced fresh chives.

→ Enjoy!

Photo and recipe from Chuck’s Day Off.

Is there such a thing? Aren’t cookies made from butter and eggs?

My wife makes one mean cookie. And I always see the amount of butter that goes in it. I also notice how greasy the cookie sheets are. But they just taste so good don’t they? Particularly when they’re hot and fresh from the oven. One little piece of heaven, especially when it has  lots of chocolate chunks and raisins.

But we found these cookies from Quaker Oats at the supermarket (SM Hypermart) a few weeks back. We saw three varities, but I was only able to photograph these two: Raisins and Honey Nuts. I think the other one is Apple Cinnamon (?). Each pack costs 9 pesos (so cheap!) and has three cookies inside that are actually quite tasty, and considering that they’re almost fat free makes them a great alternative when craving for sweets! We’re going to buy them in boxes in our next shopping trip!

(Photo Source)

Last Sunday, Mother’s Day, red roses were given to all the mothers at the church entrance. The ushers were so generous that they even gave my wife one.   Since Yuan’s parents had work (both nurses), it was just me and my wife and my in-laws who went to church. The rest of my wife’s family were in Lagro Highlands (for over a week now). After the service, my MIL picked Racks to have our lunch. It wasn’t our first time in Racks. In fact, just two weeks ago, we were also there for Sunday lunch with the rest of the family (around 8 of us), which was when we had so much blessing pouring in (which I wrote about here and here) that we decided to treat our family to lunch and handed the house help a little bonus. So you see, it has become a family favorite: our go-to place for little celebrations.

(Photo Source)

As expected, the place was packed when we arrived there at around 12:30 PM. Thank goodness we were able to secure a table because it was the last table. The waiters were putting people on the waiting list, and some even settled to eating al fresco (despite it being a very hot day). We ordered a full slab of baby back ribs and half a rack of classic pork ribs, both of which had a side dish of corn bread (which was okay) and baked beans (which I wasn’t a fan of) plus two more side dishes of our choice: we choose potato salad and buttered vegetables (which is actually corn and carrots). As always, the flavorful and tender meat easily glided off the bones, and it was very well complemented by the Barbeque sauce. I was wondering what treat Racks has in store for its patrons that special day, maybe some kind of dessert perhaps, but when we paid the bill, they handed out two roses for the two ladies. While the entire meal itself was satisfying, I think the baby back ribs at Hawaiian BBQ, The Boutique, Tagaytay, was much better (tastier even). But here in the city, it’s still one of the best ribs place.

(Photo Source)

And as a small Mother’s Day present, I ordered two Life Amulets that arrived a few days earlier from Glenda of Oodles of Goodles. Joy for my wife, and Relaxation for my MIL, which was perfect since my MIL has asthma and is very discriminating (picky) when it comes to fragrances. Both perfumes smelled great in our opinion, and my wife would often spray it in the car or in our bed (and pillows) before going to sleep. It’s also great to spray a little spritz on the towel and linen closet to give the linens and towels that extra nice smell.

To my mom and to all the mothers out there, I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day.