Home-cooking | Quick and Healthy does Exist

Here's a couple of meals for aspiring Chefs but always on-the-go types of people (aren't we all?;)).

Chik n' Beans. My dad concoted this one. Throw on some French beans and onions over roast chicken leftovers and ... poof! A healthy, refreshing, instant meal for this fast-paced city.

Easy Peasy Pasta. This is a no-brainer, really. We've all heard it before, pasta is one of the easiest things to prepare. As a kid all I did was put cheese on these swirlies and that was a treat! This version is slightly more elaborate: fresh basil, chopped green olives and chunky tomato sauce (or real tomatoes) makes it feel oh-so-Italian. It was so yummy (and fragrant!) we didn't notice we forgot to pile-on some Parmesan! 

Got some fast, simple recipes up your own fabulous tabletops? Share them, too!

A Taste of Artsyness | BenCab Museum

A day out with my sister at the BenCab Museum in Asin Road, Tuba Benguet. This post is not a review of any sort, just me sharing yet another fun experience (waaay back in March!) on the outskirts of Baguio City.

Let's get this rollin! Day #9: Melinda and I @ Bencab Museum.

Foolin' around in the galleries:

Outdoorsy Girls. It's a whole mountainside of garden but only a portion of it is currently accesible to visitors.

Lunch Time! Cafe Sabel is the in-house cafe serving all-filipino snacks, pasta dishes and all-day breakfast meals. By the time we had sat down to eat, my sister spotted BenCab, the artist himself, dining at one of the inside tables...and we got the surprise of our lives when we learned that we accidentally pictured him earlier. Go find him, he even seems to look at the cam! :)

So much fun until the last shot!
Whut now?

 

Cafe by the Ruins || Hitting two birds here

Day # 9: Mom and King at Cafe by the Ruins

Going along with the family theme, I decided to put this up even though this happened nearly 10 months ago. This isn't cheating since I made no rules! Haha. Besides, here is a chance to make this into a proper food blog. :)

The menu is going along with the artsy, indigenous theme.

Back in May of last year, I just came home (to Baguio) from a mission trip in a nearby indigenous community in Bokod, Benguet. It was my mom's birthday and I had a bit of time off before I had to travel back to Manila so I thought of treating her out. We brought my cousin, Kuya King, along whose birthday was incidentally some days before then.

I have been wanting to try out Cafe by the Ruins as it has quite the reputation but I have never been there when I lived in the city because 1) it is expensive and 2) it's a touristy place. (which is futile reasoning since the whole city is a touristy place, except maybe our house.)

My mom and I striking a pose while deciding what to order

Aunt and nephew having a chat by the Dap-ay.

Some history: the Cafe isn't actually by any observable ruins at present, to the disappointment of some. Rather it was built on the site of the ruins of the old Benguet Governor's house which was destroyed in World War II. 

Ruins or no, this place does have the visual appeal common in the City which many (tourists and residents alike) find to be Baguio's unique 'look'. Natural and crude building materials, works of art in a backdrop of trees, with Cordillera indigenous accents thrown in. It is a lovely refuge which you wouldn't have guessed looking from outside. 

We got there at a little past lunch hour and my, oh my, was it a busy time. So we placed our orders and took time looking around. A looong time but worth the wait. We were seated in one of the al fresco tables near the Dap-ay which is the Cordillera version of a conference table. Only there's no table but there's usually a fire pit in the middle of a ring of low stone chairs. It's where villages held meetings and other gatherings. I'm not sure if this was the original one from when the governor would hold meetings in his house in ages gone by or just a representation. 

And now onto the food!

The Bread

The homemade bacon Carbonara.

Lemon grass tea, honey and the Teapot.

We all ordered pasta. Please forgive me for forgetting my mom's order of almost a year ago but I remembered it was something exciting and unusual and it tasted really good. Hope that helps. haha. I got carbonara since I heard that they make their own bacon and you know how sometimes I get crazy for bacon and want to try out different kinds. My cousin followed suit and ordered the same. There was bread with the pasta with some herb on it which I think was rosemary. It was good and filling, too. As for the Carbonara, the homemade bacon can be seen in the photo. It's of a darker sort with a different texture,too but i liked it nonetheless. The servings were plenty too, kuya King wasn't even able to finish his Carbonara.

Of course we had to get some tea. Hot since I was in Baguio, even if that was during the summer. So we got a pot of lemon grass tea (which my mom said she could make at home and of course I very well know that :)) with their famous honey. And of course, I did like this as well, but then have I ever drank a cup of tea I didn't like? Well, yes, but that's a different story. Anyway, the teapot was so charming I couldn't stop taking pictures of it that my camera died out (which turned out to be a good thing since I couldn't find the pictures i took from there. The pics here are from Kuya King's phone.)

The Oven

Lastly, before we went, I took a quick snap of the old cooking stove/oven at the entrance. Did you notice that it's the one illustrated on their menu? Too, cute!

The Moonleaf Chronicles Continue

...or is that supposed to be "continues"?? Oh, anyhow

Day #8: Melinda at Moonleaf Tea Shop

Who is Melinda says you? Why, she's my dearie sister!

Ten years ago (or is that 10 months ago?) we didn't get along as well as this day. But, hey, we're both all grown up and walking towards one *ultimate* purpose and that's one thing I'm absolutely greatful to God about.

A  tidbit of info which she probably doesn't know: She's my favorite shopping buddy. I can drag her just about anywhere (if she's in the mood) and I wouldn't feel judged for my tastes or lack thereof. She's got more energy than me, anyways (she ;oves window shopping, I don't really). And, in case she remarks something I do not like, I could easily overrule her. Haha. 

 Onto this little trip of ours, this was actually a sun-date. And oh, hoho, this was some ten days ago! I have read on twitter that Moonleaf Tea has got a new product. No I don't go berserk everytime some tea place releases a new product (that goes for simple line though) but I was really interested in this Earl Grey Milk Tea of theirs. So I had to try it. And I had to ask my sister to come along.

I actually have nothing to say about the drink, wonderful food blogger that I am. It was a normal milk tea, I suppose and my sister did like it, too. That probably should be a good sign for most people. As for me, who prefer stronger tea flavors, it was fine, but not remarkable. 

But I missed the experience of going into a Moonleaf store  and I was shamelessly taking photos as if it were my first time to walk into the St. Thomas branch. But you've got to agree, that promo poster on an easel was lovely, nay?