Rolls & Pie

We grabbed these over the weekend. There are only three reasons why I go back to Goldilocks, a popular local bakeshop. One is their polvoron, two, is their egg pie which I still love up to now. And third, the lumpiang sariwa which my husband and my mom loves. I don't really like it. I'd rather go for lumpiang shanghai.

Lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring rolls) is a Filipino staple. Feasts most especially is not complete without it. It is served in egg wrappers and its main ingredients are ubod (heart of palm), turnips, crushed peanuts, garlic, spring onion, pork, salt and pepper to taste. Chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and cornstarch to make it thick make up the sauce.



A slice of this will do for me. :)

Estrel's

I have recounted in my Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies post that there was no more caramel cake when we visited Estrel's a few days ago. I was disappointed but then we planned on ordering the following weekend.

But hubby thought otherwise. He ordered my cake a few days ahead in time for our anniversary last April. That's our anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend by the way. Our anniversary as husband and wife is on January. :) Anyway, I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw it inside the ref. Hubby sure knows how to make my day even better. :D Big thanks, xoxo and that's hugs and kisses...haha.

I love the flowers!

This cake has no preservatives and best eaten on the day it is purchased. The shelf-life is only for two days. We didn't finish it off on the first day as we expected. We gave a quarter of it to my aunt a few houses away from us. What I noticed with the cake on its second day is that it became a little soggy. And the taste is not that distinct as the day hubby bought it. Still it's a good buy because the cake is so soft and the filling really creamy.

I love the flowers in the middle. I remember my aunts and cousins used to preserve flowers from their birthday cakes. They 'plant' the flowers on a lid and enclose them in a bottle. They keep them and they serve as decorations of their headboards. I don't remember how long they were able to preserve the flowers or if they use anything to keep the candy flowers from getting molds. I find them beautiful. :)

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

There was a birthday celebration at the office last week and the catering was just super. As expected, birthday cakes abounded as gifts but everybody raved at the caramel cake from Estrel's.

I craved for it since then. So this afternoon after my trip to the salon, we headed to Scout Tobias, Quezon City with all the intention of buying a cake.

But to my disappointment, there was no cake available anymore at Estrel's. Everything on display were pre-ordered and all their buffer stocks for the day were already sold out. It was only around two in the afternoon mind you.


Hubby and daughter at Estrel's Caramel Cakes bakeshop.

Estrel's Caramel Cakes along Scout Tobias, Quezon City.

My daughter settled for the chocolate chip walnut cookies on the shelf so we bought some. And it was a good thing we did! Delicious. Not overly sweet, not too hard. The taste of the chocolate cookie and the walnut are distinct and they complement each other. This cookie is at par, if not better, than Mrs. Fields.

These cookies saved our afternoon craving for some good snack. :D

For some more weekend snapshots, you may visit here.

Banana Smoothie

My daughter likes watching and listening to Nat and Alex Wolf of The Naked Brothers Band. This band became popular through the tweens channel, Nickelodeon. I have asked and have researched why the band is named such, that story will come in other posts.

One of the brothers' favorite is banana smoothie. Seeing the banana in our kitchen, my daughter had this brilliant idea of making us some banana smoothie last Saturday just after lunch.

Get the chopping board. Take a picture of the banana for posterity.

Slice them using the spatula.

Put them in the blender with one teaspoon of vanilla, 4-oz milk and some ice. Blend for a minute.

Voila...banana smoothie in seven minutes or thereabouts. I have to make a quick check if we are doing the right thing. Just to be sure since this Mommy is not an expert on anything about the kitchen (but tries really hard).

Successful with the banana smoothie according to my dear daughter. :)

Fruity Dinner

We did our grocery in the afternoon and as always, every first week of the month I buy the latest issue of Yummy Magazine. I was browsing the magazine while going around the supermarket. I fancied the Chunky Chicken Salad recipe so I picked up all the ingredients for it. That's how amateur I am. I need a reference even for a simple dish. We had an impromptu chicken salad for dinner.

One thing that made me decide to prepare this already is the salad greens. Though they're packed and has shelf-life, I'm afraid they will get wilted in no time if I keep them in the refrigerator.



Here's the complete recipe lifted from Yummy magazine (I don't know why Yummy Mag has no website. They only have this.):
1/2 kilo chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 piece red apple, cubed
1 piece green apple, cubed
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup roasted walnut
1/4 kilo seedless grapes

For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup all-purpose cream
2 teaspoons all-in-one seasoning granules
salt, sugar, pepper to taste
grated cheddar cheese as garnish

This makes six to eight servings. Very easy to prepare as the ingredients only has to be combined. No sweat. It was really filling.

We had the salad together with papaya and some more apples. I believe we will often have dinners like this.




You may want to see what others has for their weekend snapshots. :)

Mr. Rockefeller

I met with a good friend last Friday and had a light dinner. Light because hubby and daughter will fetch me and I know the two would want to have dinner. That's when I will pour in all my appetite.

They arrived thirty minutes past seven in the evening. A little bye-bye to my friend and off we went around Greenbelt 3 to scout for some fine dining place. Mr. Rockefeller was the final choice. Mr. Rockefeller - Steaks, Ribs and "Spanking Good Oysters".

The interior is uncluttered, simple, almost zen-like. A few oyster decorations here and there on the walls and a few writings on the green board for their menu. Samba music is playing if I am not mistaken, it's a little bit loud when seated at the first half of the dining area.

It took a few minutes before our order was taken. Oh yes, hubby was the one who called on the food attendant for our orders. Maybe like ten minutes from the time we had our table.

I prefer a seat at the dining area with soft light. I wanted a cozier atmosphere. I checked that the interior dining are mostly in big groups or families. And also, the cameras keep on clicking on that side. I would want to be there definitely as people won't stare at me if I take pictures of my family and our food. They're doing the same thing anyway. I won't be disturbing anyone with the flash of the camera.

Rating: Food: Good. Service: For Improvement. Cleanliness: For Improvement.

Anyway, I asked the food attendant if we can transfer to the vacant table inside. I don't know why she has to ask their manager but she politely excused herself and asked the one in charge that night. She came back and apologized since the table is used for their extra plates and glasses for drying. Huh?

Maybe the look on my face showed great interest sitting inside. A few minutes later, the manager asked me if I wanted to transfer. I said yes. He said they'll just clean the table and set it up. And so I waited. In vain.

The manager kept looking at me as I crane my neck if the table is ready. But not a word from him. Until I saw a family leaving a table for four. I got up and reserved the seat myself. Still not a word from the manager. The waiter cleaned the table and set it up. Honestly though, crews of Jollibee and McDonald's know better in sanitizing a table. Crumbs were still on our table. You know the feeling that the table is still dump you don't want to lay your hands on it, it's sticky. Click the first picture to enlarge, you just might spot the crumbs (not intentional to capture them and that's not our table).



Hubby wanted to try oysters as they are his favorite but it's not good to have them when one's really hungry. He opted for boneless bourbon ribs with baked beans and creamed corn (P440). It was good. The barbecue sauce is just about right for my taste - not too tangy, a little sweet even. The corn is a perfect match.


I tried the linguini prawns with feta cheese and brandy (P340). We liked it too. It's very creamy and is actually good for three persons.


My daughter tried the ever safe chicken fingers with fries. The safest, easiest way to a child's taste buds. The price escapes me now, more than P150, less P250 as far as I can remember. The chicken's good, very tender. The fries is just okay.


Our orders were served quite fast than I expected, maybe around ten minutes. Are we going back? Yes because hubby would still want the oysters but I'm hoping the service will be better and cleaning of the tables will be prompt and proper.

At Least I Tried

They were barely out of the oven when the Princess said, "Mom, I thought you're making cupcakes". Oh well, I thought so too. It turned out to be different, at least how it should look. It turned out flat. I am not losing hope with my baking skills. I want to be good at this. Practice makes perfect and using the proper tools, the right temperature setting and not just estimations. It will be a celebration on my part when I get to finally bake a presentable cake.

Check out other different posts at Photo Hunt.