fall.

i'm so mad at myself for being so lazy to go to the park with sophie. and now it's freezing. i gotta say fall is almost my favorite season. it's so new york. i want to take pix so badly before all the leaves are gone. it's amazing how easy it is to forget how summer feels at least for me. but i love wearing boots and scarves. and wearing pjs and big sweaters. sock skating, yeah i gotta teach sophie to wear socks.

guess what i am making.

yes! hummus. so freaking easy to make. who knew? i am always going to make it! sooo delish. i didn't even get to take the after pic. we inhaled it. hungry much? it's my new favorite snack to make. and so healthy too. i got the original recipe from this website but modified it. here's the ingredients i used insead and obviously i skipped the tahini. i couldn't find it and i am def still on the hunt for it.
1 can of chick peas
1/2 cup of liquid from can of chick peas
2 tbsp lemon juice
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp salt4
4 tbsp olive oil

halloween.

ayazine breaking news.

1. i am 29 years old. i still remember when i wished to be 30 already. and here i am in the future! that makes me a time traveler because we are all traveling through time. if you really really really think about it. happy birthday to me. thanks ma.

2. if the world ends and everything is wiped out whether by water or earth. new living creatures will evolve into something human level - that's of course after billions or years maybe trillions of years. and then they will discover something mysterious and amazing (like how we discovered the pyramids, stone henge) from our time and they will think that we had help from the aliens too.

3. so i wrote an email to genevieve gorder about a "standing crib" - basically a narrow crib-like designed for toddler to stand on esp when you have a very "helpful" toddler who love baking and cooking with mommy. if it exist, we want one.

4. sophie's frist trick or treating was a success!

5. i discovered that i have excellent skills in negotiating. like as in buying a new car. i faced 3 sharks at the dealership and succeeded! i miss being on the the other side. i miss rm.

6. i have great memory. i remember things from even when i was 2 years old. of course no one believes me. my ate doesn't have my back on that one.

7. my ate has my back on everything else.

8. i am ready for another chapter (more like a volume) in my life. i am ready to be a new mom again.

9. good thing: i don't care much about what other people think of me. bad thing: i care so much what the people i love think of me.

10. i need to visit a gift shop soon.

11. birthday goodies: boots from hubby, rc for my nikon from ate, fringe bag from rb, night out in the city on holoween, limo ride, new ride, sophie singing happy birthday mama.

good report to be continued...

so funny.

jersey shore rpg.

Let's go yankees.

So today's highlights at the yankees stadium:
- so from our view up top, the fans look like a giant blue, white and red corn
- "I didn't wear my hoodie coz I din't know we will be climbing an ice cap"
- hotdogs, m&ms, buffalo wings sliders, crinkle fries and $10 dollar beers
- my new favorite chant: hep! hep! jorge!
- the situation wannabe, nyu students talking loud about shawshank redemption and movie reviews
- seeing j's kid-in-a-candy-store face and reminding him to relax
- funny thoughts like a hitter swinging at a pick off
- 6-1 score let's go yankees
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

bread pudding.

from this:
to this:so yesterday was our anniversary - one of our anniversaries actually. the day we met 5 years ago!!! it's really not a biggie, in fact i am the only one who celebrates it. so? why not?! i baked j's favorite buffet dessert: bread pudding. o.m.g. so. good. and surprisingly the easiest.

and the pursuit of happiness.

came a cross this blog and had to share it to share it -------> and the pursuit of happiness. great poet, love the illustrations, love love everything.

artist's block.

i didn't even know it exsisted until now - when i googled artist's block. i don't think i'm suffering from it, in fact the opposite, i've so much ideas. wait am i even an artist "artist"? if i see life and everything we do to live as art, does that count? am i an artist? (note to self: add that to my profile) whatevs. i just want to keep making things! i am so frustrated. like if my head explodes right now, this room would have multicolored paint splash.

freak storm.

one of the few houses in our neighborhood after the tornado. cray.zie.

boco bags.

yey! i've been wanting to blog about these bags that my sis. but noone wants to take my pic! i love love love it! i esp love that sophie and i match. i have been everywhere with this bag. few things that i love about them:
1. hand made over store bought will always be my first choice
2. recycle, recycle. her room mate works at boconcept (hence, "boco" bags) and these were made from discontinued upholstery swatches
3. simplicity is the ultimate sophistication (ldv). perfect length, fits what i need, no pockets, no closure
4. colors are perfect for fall
5. the contrast of the green stitching she used

roasted lemon herb chicken with baked potatoes and spanish rice baby.

roasted lemon herb chicke with baked potatoes and spanish rice

ingredients:
whole chicken thighs
as much herb spice you can find - i literally went to my sis-in-law's spice rack and grabbed all the spice that i've heard of which are: parsley, oregano, dill, rosemary, chive, thyme
lemon
garlic powder
salt and pepper
potatoes, sliced into wedges
rice, cooked
onion, diced
tomato, diced
sazon con azafran (i used goya brand)
olive oil
frozen diced carrots and peas

directions:
1. to marinate chicken: mix all the spice with garlic powder and rub it unto the chicken. squeeze lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil. add salt and pepper. let it stand in the refridgerator for at least 30 mins.
2. preheat oven to 375 degrees. place chicken thighs (skin side up) unto cookie sheet. pour excess marinade over chicken. bake.
3. baked potatoes: sautee potatoes with excess chicken marinade and add olive oil, salt and pepper. (about 3 mins) place potatoes in a single layer unto cookie sheet. bake.
4. bake chicken for at least 1 and 1/2 hour or until cooked. bake potatoes for 1 hr or until soft and cooked.
5. spanish rice: sautee onion and tomato in olive oil until juicy. add carrots and peas. add sazon (half of the packet). add rice and mix until the color is even. add salt and pepper.

napoleon baby.

yey! just discovered puff pastry. this is start of something good.

simple napoleon

ingredients:
instant puff pastry, thawed (i used athens phyllo brand)
instant vanilla or chocolate pudding
1 tbsp. confectioner sugar (i like it sweet so i did 2 tbsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 small carton of heavy cream

directions:
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. unfold pastry dough unto greased cookie sheet, prick all over with fork, cut into thirds.
3. bake pastry until it's puffed and golden. ( i would say 15 mins)
4. let it cool completely. (very important so that fillings don't melt)
5. make the instant pudding by following box instruction.
6. to make whipped cream: mix confectioner sugar, heavy cream and vanilla, high speed beat until "whipped creamy".
7. to assemble cake: place one section of pastry unto the "final place", top with a layer of pudding, then top with second section of pastry, press down gently, top second layer with more pudding, then top with third section of pastry, press down gently, tpo final layer of pastry with whipped cream!
8. to garnish cake: sprinkle with crushed pastry crumbs and confectioner sugar.

cordon bleu baby.

as per ate tinggaythinks: chicken thighs. cheese, ham, spinach. roll. breadcrumbs. fry.

fish gone wrong.

so yesterday i decided to cook cod since my dad and sophie are the only ones in our house who likes fish. i found this really simple recipe (without the shrimp) online. so simple right? i don't know exactly what happened but i over cooked the garlic and under cooked the tomatoes. i ended up putting too much salt. so as a remedy, don't ask me why, i decided to add a little sinigang mix (tamarind based seasoning). a little - yeah right, a little too much is more like it. and then i added water, once again too much. at this point i coudn't taste the fish anymore, and the bitterness of the brown garlic and the tomatoes. so i removed some of the liquid. man i was so frustrated! i wanted to throw everything out. my dad was probably wondering why i was talking and laughing by myself with all the smoke in the kitchen and the exhaust on high. wierdo. so anyway i followed the last step which is to wait until all the juice evaporates. and believe it or not, i still served it. oh yeah i forgot to mention that fish tends to shrink when cooked. esp when overcooked. so anyway it looked really wierd. hands up to my brave dad for trying it anyway. note to self: just fry the damn thing next time!