I have been craving for cakes the past days again but I am not giving in. I promised myself Death by Tablea from Chocolat will be one of my rewards to myself once I accomplish one of two things, whichever comes first. Yes, I am that easy to please. Cakes can make me happy. What are those two goals which I should achieve this month? Let me just keep them to myself and to my God for now. :)
I am practicing delaying gratification again. This works for me. I get motivated looking forward to my victories but let me clear the challenging areas first. And when I say challenges, I am not just talking about delaying eating chocolate cakes here, haha.
Life...just as I am in my cake abstinence, organizing my blog pictures, I saw these desserts which we had months ago when my friends and I trooped to Tagaytay, had lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's and dessert at Bag of Beans. Life has a way of teasing us and see how far we can go. Haha. But I can't be teased easily. See, I'm even publishing them here. It just might be that familiarity breeds contempt and I might not crave for cakes anymore. *grin*
I am not into blueberry cheesecake but this one got me. It's so creamy! I love it!
I love apples but I am not into any apple permutations. I skipped this apple pie ala mode.
Chocolate Mousse is just okay but it's nice to look at, right?
I think the blueberry cheesecake got me that this panacotta did not give me any impression except that I like its presentation.
That's my daughter. This was taken during the concert of Justin Bieber in Manila, Philippines. As the picture can tell you, she is one big fan of Justin. She has all his CDs. She had been a fan since JB's youtube days.
Get pensive.....
As what I often tell here in my blog, we almost always drop by the bookstore when we go to the mall as both my daughter and I love books. This is the usual scenario when we go to a restaurant and wait for our food. She cannot wait to read her latest find.
Get all patient...
Patience is a virtue. After all you are the only customer there. Haha. You will get what you want. She can't wait to get a hold of her ice cream. Why not if it's as creamy and delicious as this...
Sebastian's Cookies n Cream picture is from their Facebook page.
This is my entry for this week's PhotoHunt, "Waiting".
As part of my hobbies I was supposed to share getting fit, going to the gym and browsing/preparing for more healthy foods for our menu. But I don't think they fit into a hobby. Hobby, as defined by dictionary.com, is "an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation". Health and wellness are my main preoccupation for almost three years now - a way of life.
So to make it simpler, let me share with you one of my passions which I have not outgrown - reading books. One thing that makes reading pleasurable for me is because I can have time for it even in an activity-packed day. It serves as my relaxation. I usually read at night until I fall asleep.
I have several favorite books which I read back, at least my favorite parts. Randomly, these are the books on top of my mind when I am asked what my favorites are:
I also have a lot of inspirational books both spiritual and about leadership. I used to buy a lot of books which delves into esoteric, astrology, meditation, about the earth and space.
When I was about 13 years old, I bought my first book on space - about the black hole. This I clearly remember. I bought a book about meditation, maybe when I was about 10 years old, and when I handed it to the sales lady, she was dumbfounded. Like, "huh, you read this? You should be reading Archie" (which I do read by the way).
My favorite writer is Mr. Haruki Murakami. His writing is quite convoluted - in a good way - it keeps you enthralled and makes you ask yourself what is next, how come, where to. You need to have a lot of imagination...and patience...but you will be surprised you will be wanting more of his words page after page after page. His writing was described as humorous and surreal. I love the way he composes his words like they just flow and you get caught up with the way he creates his characters, wistful.
I used to cover my books with plastic cover but I don't do that now. A little more trivia with my books... *I highlight every passage or quote I love. *I keep the price tag. I am amazed at how books gets so expensive through the years.
There are some books I did not buy but read them online, thanks to scribd.com. I read all the Twilight series through a link provided by Mo Twister in his blog years ago. I also read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol thanks to the zipped file sent to me by my good friend, Julie. I have searched for Eat, Pray, Love and The Art of War in scribd. But these two I will buy. Yes, I have not read EPL yet. Haha.
Happy weekend. It's a rainy Saturday morning - great for a coffee and a good book.
Much as I'd want to, I don't cook quite often...more like I can't. I know, if there's a will, I should make time. For starters I picked this one which I find a bit easy to prepare plus the fact that it's a healthy dish. I found this recipe from the June 2011 issue of Yummy Magazine (this link is the digital version).
I love the smell! Let me share with you the recipe from Yummy.
For the marinade: 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (but I just used our iodized salt) 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley dash of dried thyme dash of pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon or calamansi juice
8 skinless chicken breast fillets 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the brown rice pilaf: 2 cups brown rice (or as you please) 4 cups water or chicken stock 1 medim onion, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter (I used Magnolia's Lite Butter) 1/4 teaspoon pepper juice from 1 lemon 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons olive oil
Procedure: 1. Prepare the marinade by combining all the ingredients. Add chicken and marinate for at least 6 hours.
2. Heat oil in a grill pan (use 1/2 tablespoon per fillet). Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked but not dry.
3. Make the brown rice pilaf: Put all the ingredients in a sauce pot or rice cooker. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft and fluffy.
I love rice pilaf even then and now it's our usual partner for our dish for lunch and dinner. Happy weekend, foodies!
I came to know this through my friend Cess' link in Facebook. I like doing these kinds of survey...sharing is a better word. It helps me give a quick review of how it is/was with me depending on the questions. Here goes.....
1. Where you named after someone? Yes, my mother named me after the 1963 Miss Philippines winner and Miss Universe 3rd runner up, Lalaine Bennett. Our surname is a bit long already so she shortened Lalaine to Lynn. :) For the first time I thought of checking her on Google. So, this is how she looks.
2. How did you name your blog? My first blog is http://avocado-express.blogspot.com, blog title, Everything and then Some. My husband and I were having some avocado with milk for dessert and it occurred to me I love avocado so why not name my blog after it. The image I see is talking about anything which interests me while eating avocado.
3. Where did you meet your husband? At school. We were classmates in Zoology.
4. How long were you guys dating before you got married? 11 years and 9 months. :)) That long.
5. How did you bond? Music and movies. We both love new wave. :)
6. If there is one song to describe your life right now what would it be? I really love this song by David Isaacs, It's a Beautiful Life. I'm not saying life is perfect but it is beautiful. It is also the theme for Discovery's Travel & Living Channel. This song energizes me so much. Listening to this makes me feel the world is mine for the taking. It's very simple and very straightforward. "These days I'm lost in the beauty of life." This song describes my attitude the past days. Yes, I intend to have this attitude onward.
Now I am going to embed this in my side bar. :)
7. What did you first notice about your partner when you first met? His naturally brown-blonde hair. Haha. His love for music which is the same as mine. I heard him singing Thompson Twins' Doctor, Doctor.
8. If you could have any superpower what would it be? Either I can go invisible or I can read minds.
9. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people? Yes, during countless school programs in grade school. :)
10. As a child, what did you want to grow up to be? I thought of being a teacher. I also fancied being a secretary because I love having so many papers to write with. Haha.
11. Do you remember where you first spent your paycheck? My first job is a part time cashier at Jollibee but I can't remember now what I did with my very first paycheck. But my first paycheck from my first job after college graduation I remember I bought my mother a chocolate roll from Joni's Bakeshop in San Juan which is not around anymore. Buti pa ang Merced, there's still one branch along EDSA.
12. Favorite Social Network? Twitter first, second Facebook. I get to be updated easily with the latest news through Twitter and it also serves as my microblog.
13. Favorite place in Manila? Movie house, dining places, nearby hotels, gym, department stores, bookstores.
14. What are your favorite TV Shows (local and foreign)? Lots but randomly: Glee, The Glee Project, GG, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, The Office, Outsourced, CSI: New York, Anything with Anderson Cooper, Rachel Zoe Project, TLC, History, etc, etc.
15. What’s your silliest pet peeve? When people walk so slowly not minding that they are blocking other people's way. Also when my name is spelled with only a single "N". Mine's double. Ang ikli na nga ng pangalan ko, papaiklin mo pa.
16. What’s your favorite quote? From Bob Dylan, "A man is successful if he wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between loves what he does."
17. What’s your favorite smell? My daughter's hair.
18. Say a random thing about yourself: I talk to myself, sometimes out loud.
19. If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be? Michael Jackson and Michelle Obama.
20. If you could drop everything now and do something what would it be? Travel the world with my family.
Now it’s your turn: in the comment box, answer one question AND if you want to ask me another question go ahead and do that as well and I’ll answer it!
Please give me the link of your post if you will answer and continue this chain in your blog. I'd love to get to know your answers.
