Alonzo's Barista Costume -- again!

How can it be October in a few days? 

October is set to be a busy month at work and I am seriously dreading a major task that will be keeping me away during the weekends until early next year. 

But while I am so not looking forward to next month's agonizing work load I am still super excited about Halloween. 

Gotta admit though that I am setting myself up for a stressful situation. I have yet to conceptualize Alonzo's Halloween costume and we also still don't know where to go trick or treating this year. Good luck about that. Hahaha!

  

Anyway, while browsing through, Rookie moms, one of my favorite mom sites, I was especially surprised to know that the barista costume that Alonzo wore last year and the year before that made it to the hall of fame of DIY costumes!

 

 

 

This costume also landed among the 10 1st Halloween costume ideas from Parent Map! 

 

Bote to Candle Holder

Here's a craft project that I'm really excited to show you

(it's my Dad's favorite).I was actually trying to re-create an antique wall lamp found at hubby's family's ancentral home in the province. I used empty bottles and jars and this is how it turned out.  

 

 

Its not exactly a lamp but maybe if I could ask hubby to find a way to drill holes through the glass and insert wires and a bulb mechanism thingy (don't ask me what those electrical stuff are called) it could be a lamp. You could actually use it as a candle holder. Simply insert your candle at the top. Anyway, for a step by step instruction check this out.

 

Honey mustard chicken wings

Busy..busy..busy...that's how things have been these past few days. You may have noticed that most of my posts of late have mostly been about recipes...that's  because my projects have been temporarily put on hold thanks to my busy schedule. I have some finished projects that I can't wait to show you but the articles are still awaiting publication from Yahoo! She. I won't be able to share them until then. Anyway, although my projects have been reluctantly put on hold I still have managed to engage in some cooking (we all gotta eat, right?). I am happy to share this Rachel Ray recipe. The cookbook has been lying around my parent's house since around the time I was planning my wedding (it's been a while)and I believe I have gone through each of the pages but surprisingly none of the recipes appealed to me. I guess, its mainly because most of the ingredients are not that readily available and also partly because the book didn't show photos of majority of the dishes. It was only a few days ago when I "discovered" this recipe. The ingredients, the kind that you would ordinarily find in any pinoy's fridge and pantry, appealed to me. Best of all, it said that the recipe is a great alternative to buffalo wings. Although I have to admit, I'm not so sure about that but this recipe will definitely be part of our regular dishes. 

Ingredients:

Chicken wings

Canola oil

1/3 cup mustard

½ orange juice               

Ginger

Hot sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

Pepper flakes

3 tbsp honey

Cilantro or parsley,

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F

Season chicken with salt and pepper

Add oil to a hot pan. Lay wings in a single layer and brown on each side

To make the sauce combine mustard, orange juice, ginger, hot sauce, soy sauce, pepper flakes and honey

Allow to simmer. Remove ginger

Pour over the browned wings. Place in a skillet/ oven proof pan and roast for 20-30 minutes. Turn wings once they are halfway through cooking time

Remove from oven. Sprinkle chopped cilantro or parsley before serving

                                                                                                                                                              

Leftover Makeover: Soft Tacos

You might find it odd (or even funny) that whenever Mama or my youngest sister comes home from the states they always bring along with them 4-5 pieces of Costco chicken. No kidding. When Hubby and I stayed in San Francisco for a few months this used to be what we considered "survival food", meaning our "we-are-too-lazy-to-cook" dish. We cannot consume an entire chicken so we always ended up with leftovers which I use for arroz caldo, macaroni soup, salad, chicken spread, etc.. Here's another dish that I make out of our leftover roasted chicken -- tacos! To make, simply assemble shredded leftover chicken with salsa, sour cream, cheese and fresh cilantro over tortilla flour. How easy is that? How about you...what do you do with leftover chicken?

Sundried tomatoes, tuyo paste and cheese bread spread

I was on my way home from work and dropped by the grocery feeling tired thinking of just purchasing something for dinner. I wasn't looking forward to cooking after a long day at work and I also suspected hubby wasn't in the mood either.  My mind was deliberating between Spanish sardines and instant noodles. A small bread stall caught my attention and I instantly remembered a small, unopened jar of sundried tomatoes at the fridge. "Bread nalang tayo 4 dinner ha" read a text message sent to hubby and his "K" reply sealed the deal, so to speak. 

And so here is what we had for dinner that night....

I just got to tell you how yummy this recipe is that I could hardly stop myself from eating for this

photo. Its so easy, too. Simply spread sundried tomato over crusty bread, top with cheese and pop it in the oven toaster until the cheese gets all melted and goo-ey. We also happened to have a little leftover tuyo paste so I added that to the spread and a drizzle of garlic and chili oil (a pasalubong from Mama) wasn't a bad idea either. 

Y-U-M-M-Y!

My Little Drummer

Sometime between June and July this year our little guy had developed an interest in playing drums.

At first he would get plastic and wooden bowls, turn them upside down and use whatever stick he could find and drum or bang away. And although his Mima brought home for him a toy drum set as pasalubong from San Fransisco he still would play with his old "drums".  

He even requested Mima to make for him extra cymbals out of empty tin cans (see far right of photo). Also, when I accidentally handed Alonzo his old toothbrush/ gum massager he instantly exclained "Cymbals!" and asked me to attach it on to his drum set. 

What can I say? Our little guy is hooked.