Disney Pixar’s CARS The Movie is Andre’s favorite. He has seen it hundred times and I made a copy on DVD several times. He almost memorized the lines and movie scenes. Most of his things have images of the movie characters, including his favorite Lightning Macqueen. He has so many diecast characters of the movie. Some are bought by us and some are given by his lolo and lolas.

Last Friday As part of the Daycare’s activities, his teacher ask them to bring clay. He learned how to form shapes from clays. Yesterday, I helped him to create Lightning Macqueen, Chick Hicks, and The King from clay. Look what we had:

He was so happy with the results. He told me that the cars we made have no eyes, so he helped me out to create the cars’ eyes.

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That’s it for now. For the meantime, I have to check Frontline’s pet meds for my friend’s dogs.

The first thing that came into my mind for this week’s Lasang Pinoy Sundays Theme – “Swirls n Twirls” – is a pasta dish using pasta twirls. But, as I browse my computer, I saw these photos:

These are photos of my Ginataang Kuhol that I cooked on Maundy Thursday. I decided to cook this dish when I passed by a vendor in our market selling kuhol (a.k.a escargot or brown snails). Kuhol is an edible snail and best cooked with coconut milk. Ginataang kuhol is a popular dish in the Philippines and served as appetizers in Filipino Restaurants like Cabalen and Kamayan.

I remember myself joining my childhood friends to get kuhol in the nearby rice fields in our hometown. My parents are not aware of that..hehehe…Tumatakas lang ako It was one of my memorable childhood adventures.

Back to the ginataang kuhol. My parents and youngest sister spent their Holy Week in our house and this is one of the dishes I prepared during the Holy Week. My family likes ginataang kuhol and was excited learning that I am going to prepare the dish for lunch because they haven’t eaten this dish for years.

I bought two types of kuhol the the ‘golden’ kuhol and the twisted, which is perfect for this week’s LaPis Theme. According to hubby, the twisted kuhol is more common here in Bulacan, which I haven’t tasted yet. So, I decided to give it a try and combined it with the kuhol I knew.

To prepare the kuhol, you need to soak it in water for several hours and change the water frequently. Tap the tip of the each shell with the side of a knife. Wash several times and drain. Set aside.

Here are the ingredients:

1 gal kuhol

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, julienned

1 head of garlic, crushed and chopped coarsely

1 onion, sliced thinly

1-3 hot chili peppers

2 tbsp shrimp paste

Cream from 2 coconuts

1 tbsp. of cooking oil

a bunch of pechay

salt and pepper

spring onions for garnish

Procedure:

In a wok, heat the cooking oil and sauté the garlic and ginger. Add the sliced onion and chili pepper. Cook until transparent. Add the shrimp paste and drained kuhol and cook over high heat. Cook for several minutes until almost dry. Pour in the coconut cream. Add the pechay and season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until almost dry.

Serve with steamed rice.

Hay, this is one of the many dishes I love, which is best eaten with lots of rice. Eating this will probably require me to take diet supplements. Hehehe.

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We enrolled Andre in a public daycare in our place, which started last Monday. But, Andre started attending on Wednesday na because we were not aware that Monday is the first day of school and I have to report to work last Tuesday. Syempre I also want to personally bring him to the Daycare to see how he mingles with new friends. Abeth also dropped by at the daycare before going to the office to check Andre.

It is a 1-hour class that starts with a prayer, exercise, and activities like writing and coloring. They are divided into two groups, one for ages 3-4 and the other for ages 5 and up. I think he enjoys going to school even it starts at 8am and needs to wake up at 7am. His normal waking hour is 9am and this is a good start for him to wake up early and to prepare him for the next school year.

On the first day of school, we were late because we fetched pa her lola because she also wanted to see Andre. He was shy at first and asked me to join him on their first activity. After bringing him to the front, I left him na and did not ask me to join him again. He just looked at me, trying to tell me na “hey mom, I’m with new friends”.

Yesterday, I wasn’t able to bring him to school because I have to report to work. Abeth was the one who brought him and left him with my mother-in-law to look after him while we’re away. Yesterday’s activity was playing with clays. Abeth asked me that he can’t understand Andre’s kwento because he can’t talk straight yet. When I got home, I asked him what he did in school and made kwento that he played as the cat and CJ (one of his classmates) as the mouse, and chased each other. I saw his work of art, a dog made of clay.

Here are some of the photos:

He’s a big boy now and we’re enjoying every moment of it. He will be turning 3 next month and haven’t decided yet on what to do on his birthday.

I will tell you about his birthday plans in another post. In the meantime, I have to read some liporexall reviews.

Ciao!

I went to my OB-GYNE yesterday to have my check up because I experienced ‘spotting’ and to ask her the possible reason why my menstruation was delayed for two weeks. I though I was pregnant but sorry to say, I’m not. According to my OB-GYNE, the reason for my delayed period is that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). It is a hormonal problem that causes women to have various symptoms, such as irregular or no menstrual periods, weight gain, dandruff, and infertility. Women who have PCOS do not regularly ovulate – the reason why they do not have regular periods. I realized that this is also the reason why I am not still pregnant despite our efforts to have our second baby. My OB advised me to take progesterone next week to help normalize my period. She also told me that I really have to lose weight and suggested to take the diet pill Reductil. I think it is also time for me to start changing my eating habits. Though, I already started jogging two weeks ago.

Ako at ang aking kabiyak ay nawiwili sa pagkuha ng litrato ng mga kulisap gamit and aming digicam. Kay ganda pala nilang tingnan ng malapitan. Marami talagang magagandang bagay na nilikha ng Maykapay  na lubhang maliliit lamang ngunit may angking kagandahan. Ilan sa mga ito ay aking natagpuan sa hardin ng Balay Indang.Tingnan nyo…

Siguro mas magiging maganda ang kuha ng mga uti kung ang aking gagamitin ay isang DSLR…

Ito ay aking lahok para sa

I cooked this pasta dish few weeks ago to apply what I learned from the training-seminar I attended at Nego-Skwela. On the last day of our three-day training, we cooked various menus for lunch. We cooked Korean Beef Stew, Spicy Clams, Fish Fillet in White Sauce, Bean Sprouts Salad, Yang-Chao Fried Rice, Pasta in Alfredo Sauce, and Mango Sago for dessert. Boy, it was a feast! We all enjoyed it, except for one of my classmates, who is a Mrs. Philippines-Earth candidate. She did not enjoy the lunch because she’s been taking appetite suppressants for her to be able to maintain her weight in preparation to the pageant.

Here’s my version of the Pasta in Alfredo Sauce. I baked it to melt the cheese.

You will need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 100 g sweet ham, cubed
• 100 g frozen peas
• 100 g carrots, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, cubed
• 1 green bell pepper, cubed
• 1 cup all purpose cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 chicken cube
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cup quickmelt cheese, divide into two
• 500 g pasta

Procedure:

Cook pasta according to packaging directions. I suggest to undercook it because it will be baked later on. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a cooking pan. Add the chopped ham and cook until lightly browned. Add the carrots, bell peppers, and peas. Pour in the cream and let it simmer, then add milk and half of the cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper Stir well.

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss well. Put in a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle chopped parsley for the added color. Bake at 350C for 15 minutes at a preheated oven.

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-MELTed Bliss