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!