Sleepy Sunday

Just some photos of my funny kitties sleeping

Perfect 10!  Kumo as the "1" and Nugget as the "0" :D

Kumo loves sleeping with his head resting on the elevated part of the floor.

Happy Sunday, folks!

Spinach and healthy substitutes

Piyaya?  Haha, no!  These are the spinach tortillas I made the other day.  They look uneven and lumpy in some areas because I didn't use a rolling pin :D  But it doesn't matter because I was pretty pleased at how these turned out.  They were yummy and went perfectly with the lentil soup that I made.  I followed the recipe at Tammy's blog but made some changes.  Instead of using just flour, I added a cup of ground oats for more fiber.

Scrambled eggs?

Speaking of changes, I attended this really cool cooking seminar at The Maya Kitchen this afternoon.  They taught us how to make a healthier version of "scrambled eggs" and "mayonnaise" using tofu!  I'm definitely taking healthy eating for weight loss seriously!

Soyanaise!

I'll be sharing those recipes in my next post :)

We love Fancy Feast

My cats LOVE wet food.  They love their kibble too but I notice that there is a different reaction when they find out that they are having wet food for lunch/dinner :)  As soon as they see me holding a can they both run to their food bowls and start meowing wildly.  It's the cutest!

Nugget must be thinking: "Fancy Feast for lunch?!  Yay!!!"

I think it's really cool that we found out about Fancy Feast's contest on their Facebook page.  All you have to do is send in a review of the featured flavor for the week.  I had to look for the Beef Feast in Gravy because the variants we had at home were not the ones included for this week.  Haha!  But I'm sure Nugget is happy because that means extra noms for him :)

I smell Fancy Feast!!!

 Nugget jumped on the chair as soon as I placed the open can on the table!

Beefy goodness!

Just look at that hungry face!

Kumo wanted some too!  I had to feed them after this pic because the boys were so wild :D  And as expected, the food was gone in just a matter of minutes!  Bitin!  But not to worry because tonight they will each have a can for dinner.

Nugget: "Can I please eat now?"

We'll send in our entry in a while.  Paws crossed that we win :)  Btw, just in case you may need it you can get led pool lights at poolsupplyunlimited.com

Mushroom veggie wrap

We had this simple but filling veggie wrap for lunch today.  Do you like mushrooms?  If you do then this is the perfect wrap for you!

I chopped a handful of baby Portabello mushrooms.

Marinated them for about 15 minutes using a blend of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and garlic bits.  I didn't really measure the ingredients but I tasted the sauce first and it was pretty good.  I got the idea to use balsamic vinegar from this recipe.  After marinating I tossed the mushrooms in a grill pan and cooked them for a few minutes.

Assembly time!  Cooked mushrooms on top of lettuce, chopped carrots and whole wheat tortilla.

and drizzled my own version of tzajiki before rolling.  Yum :) 

Homemade Banana Ice Cream

I still can't believe that something so simple and easy to make can turn out to be so yummy!

Frozen bananas

Put some bananas in the freezer and leave overnight (or until banana is frozen solid).  Chop them up and load into the food processor.  If you don't have a food processor I think a blender will work fine :)

It is better to cut up the bananas into smaller pieces for easier mixing and so that you do not overwork the food processor.  The bananas here were a bit too big for my tiny machine so I had to cut them up again :D

 

Blend until creamy!

Turn the food processor on and blend for about 5 minutes.  Stop occasionally to mix in the solid parts on the side.  I added a tablespoon of powdered cocoa to my mix.  Next time I think I'll add some chopped nuts too!

Yum :)  Perfect snack on a hot day and definitely a healthier alternative to regular ice cream :D

Things that make me happy

Just another list of random things that make me happy :)

Home cooked Pad Thai!  This is probably my favorite Thai dish so I try to cook it as much as possible.  I also like Tom Yum.  I'll try to make that next time.

My funny kitties :)  This morning I woke up hearing strange rustling noises.  I was surprised to see my cats playing in a pile of dried grass.

 Hide and seek?

I see you, Kumo!

Making an artwork without using a computer.  I just enrolled in a printmaking class and so far it has been fun.  I feel as if I am back in college :)

Can you guess which one is mine? :D

Busy Nugget and the house of Katsu

Another week has passed!  I can't believe that January is almost over.  I don't think Nuggie noticed because he has been busy all week.  His days are so packed that I think he needs a personal assistant (Oh wait, that's me!).  In a day he has almost 16 hours of sleep, grooming, 2 meals, snacks and naps in between.  So busy! :D

i can reach it!

It was also a busy day for us.  My brother and I had run errands in SM.  We looked at several things but ended up emptyhanded.  I think we will be looking online for stuff like my craft materials, avid mbox 3 mini at musician's friend and cat toys.  Since we were already in Megamall we decided to have lunch at Yabu: The house of Katsu.  As expected the place was packed.  Yabu is quite popular lately since all food bloggers have been raving about the yummy food.  We waited for a few minutes before being ushered inside.

My brother got the 120g Rosu (pork loin with fat) Tonkatsu Meal (p320 + 12% Vat and Service charge).  

I ordered the Chicken curry meal (p290 + 12% Vat and Service charge).  I asked them to serve the curry on a separate bowl.  I got very intrigued with their homemade curry because it said on the menu that it is made with 45 ingredients! 

curry soup :P

Both meals were served with rice, miso soup, sliced fruits, pickled veggies and unlimited shredded cabbage.

It's good that the cabbage is unlimited because there are 2 dressings to choose from - creamy sesame and vinaigrette.

grind it!

We were also given a small bowl of sesame seeds with a wooden pestle for grinding.  The waiter told us to mix the ground seeds with the tonkatsu sauce and use this for dipping.  Yummy!  Overall we enjoyed our meal at Yabu.  The servings are huge and can be shared by 2 but with extra rice :D

Yabu: The House of Katsu

http://www.yabuhouseofkatsu.com 

2/F Mega Atrium, SM Megamall,

Mandaluyong City, Philippines

Mailbox sightings

Do you like sending mail via post?  I love it :)  I also like to look out for vintage mailboxes.  Here is a mini photo collection of the mailboxes that I have seen so far.  Please let me know if you've spotted one and where it is so I can add it to my collection.

Painted blue and white at the Banaue Hotel in the Cordillera region

 Philippine Mail printed on the side

All yellow in Colon street, Cebu

A bigger version in Las Casas Azucar, Bataan

On display at the Manila Post Office museum where they had not just one

but two boxes!

At my sister's school in Pasig

 

And guess what... we have one at home too :D

Amazing coincidences

 I always see this red orange colored bug in our kitchen.  The funny thing is that this bug matches the color of our kitchen wall!

 See!  How amazing is that? :D

 

I had another cool bug sighting in Batanes.  This time it was a group of green bugs matching the green windowsill.

Color blending doesn't just apply to bugs.  Just look at this camouflage kitty!

 My funny kitties choosing the box that match their colors.  Nugget in the brown and Kumo in the white :D

 And orange Nuggie matching the scratching post

 Spotting a "Kate" boat in a remote beach in Siargao

Seeing red and green while looking down from my old office!

and probably the most amazing coincidence for me so far - having not one but two rainbows on our wedding day :)  Happy Monday folks! 

Crunchy baked garbanzo beans

Looking for a healthy snack?  I chanced upon this recipe and decided to try it.  It's very simple to make too!  All you need are garbanzo beans, olive oil, salt and spices (this is up to you).

First step: wash and drain the beans.  I let the beans air dry a bit and also used a kitchen towel to get rid of the excess water.

Remove the skin if you like.  Some sources mentioned that leaving them on might cause the beans to burn but I deliberately left some to test it.  The beans with the skin on turned out fine :D

Put the dry beans with a small amount (I used a teaspoon) of olive oil in a plastic container.  DO NOT put the spices yet like I did.  I had some beans with burnt chili powder.  The spices should be added when the beans are cooked :P 

Cover the plastic container and shake the beans to distribute the oil.  Each bean should be lightly coated with olive oil.  Again, there should be no spices yet in this stage :D  Transfer the beans on a metal pan and bake for 30-40 mins at 300-350 degrees.  Make sure that you check the oven once in a while to avoid burning.  You'll know that they're done when the beans make a lot of noise when you shake the pan.  The beans will also be slightly smaller by this time.

finished product!

Let the beans cool a bit then season with your chosen spices.  For this batch I used Cayenne pepper, celery salt and chili powder.   I can't remember when I bought these spices but glad to finally use them :D  I would like to try Nori flakes and wasabi powder for next time.  Enjoy! :D