Funnel Cakes

Every year, the L.A. County Fair takes place at the Pomona Fairplex for one month.  This year it's from Sept. 3 to Oct. 2.  While I won't have the chance to go this year to try greasy fair food, I thought of bringing fair food home.  No more excuses, right?

Penne in Almond Sauce

Last week, I was in the company of very dear friends to celebrate my birthday.

Chinese Root Vegetable Soup

In my earlier childhood days, my parents, brother and I lived with my maternal grandmother ("Por Por" as I used to call her). She owned a rather large house and therefore, had plenty of room for us. My parents didn't explain why we moved in with her but I'm assuming it was so that she could help care for my brother because they were both working. My mom was a career-minded woman and owned a small computer business so she kept long hours at the office, as did my dad who held a government position at the time. Because of my mom's hectic schedule, she was unable to cook so that was left to my grandma who happened to love cooking. All the nostalgia involving home cooked meals when I was a kid comes from the dishes that my grandma prepared for us on a daily basis.

Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge)

It's been cool here in Southern California the past few days, and I always go for comfort food when it's cold.

Asian Pot Roast

With the arrival of fall and cooler weather, I find myself craving lots of warm comfort foods such as pot roast. The last time I made pot roast was probably several months ago so when my son came grocery shopping with me last week and saw chuck roast on sale, he asked me to make it for one of our "meat night" dinners. I granted his request but instead of the usual, traditional American version, I gave this one an Asian twist. 

Chicken Curry

When my mom was still alive, she would often brag that even though she taught me how to cook, I have become a better cook than her.  Awww, how sweet of her to say that.  Although I know moms would sometimes say things to encourage their children even if it may not be true.  But thank you anyway mama for your vote of confidence.

Shrimp Scampi

Ok, I'm gonnna make this quick.  It's the season premier of Dancing with the Stars, that's why.  Yeah, truth be known, I'm a fan of DWS.  So, I'm gonna get on with the recipe.  It's also easy to make by the way. -GG-

Kale Salad

The Oprah Show is now gone, and what better show to replace it than the Dr. Oz Show.  Weekdays at 3:00 p.m. on ABC.  Although it's hard for me to have a "3 o'clock habit," I was able to watch the first two episodes last week, and that is where today's recipe comes from.

Cheater Thai Sticky Rice

Every time I go to a Thai restaurant, I've always been tempted to try their sticky rice dessert with mangoes on the side, but never really ordered it.  And the reason is, I cannot accommodate another rice dish into my stomach after just feasting on rice requiring Thai dishes.  So I justify my avoidance by saying it just tastes like our very own "suman" in the Philippines.  Wrong!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

It's September and it's the beginning of the "-ber" months.  We have holidays and celebrations to look forward to in the remainder of the year.  To some people, the "-ber" months are the exciting part of the year, while for some it could mean a lot of running around as we prepare for Holloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, on top of the already busy schedule we have at home, with the kids (for some), and of course work, for most of us.

Crab with Chili and Coconut Milk

I love it when an experiment turns out to be good.  I love coconut milk, and yesterday I was wondering what I can make with it.  My other requirement is that I need to already have the main ingredient in the freezer, as I don't want to step out to go to the grocery.

Vegetable Sesame Noodle Stir Fry

Have you ever seen a person change right before your eyes? I have and I'm still seeing metamorphosis in this person today but not quite as rapidly. It's more of a steady change these days, for the better I would say. The person I'm referring to is Mr. VG. 

Chicken Congee for the Soul

I'm sure most of us had wished at one time or another, that somebody cooked for us, that we did not have to open the fridge, thaw stuff, cut up the veggies, eat, and then clean up.

Slow Cooker Creole Beans and Sausage Stew

We had this stew for dinner yesterday and while it wasn't exactly suitable for yet another sweltering, 100-degree day in the valley, I can't really complain because it was made in the crock pot and required minimal kitchen time on my part.

Another huge reason as to why I made this dish was because one day last week, I opened up my pantry and suddenly noticed that I had a gazillion cans of beans piled up in a corner. There were black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, Cannellini beans, black-eyed peas...well, you get the picture. How I amassed that many varieties of canned beans, I'm not exactly sure but if I had to guess, I bet I saw them on sale at one point or other and thought up a grand plan to cook them up in a stew or soup but of course, never got around to it. Until now.

Lighter Pasta Primavera

I've only had Pasta Primavera once in my lifetime and since then, have never ordered it again as vegetables drenched in a heavy cream-based sauce is just not my cup of tea. But then, I chanced upon Giada de Laurentiis' Pasta Primavera recipe and her version sounded so tempting, I just had to try it. There's no cream in her recipe but what it does have are seasoned, oven-roasted veggies tossed with pasta and finished off with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Where Children Sleep

My cousin recently forwarded me a link to James Mollison's documentary photography piece titled "Where Children Sleep", a gallery of children's portraits alongside a photograph of where they rest their weary heads every night. Ever since viewing it, it has occasionally returned to haunt me and to remind me that there's a much bigger world out there beyond our little cocoon of normacly and everyday life. As a mother of two, a 9 and a 13 year old, it was both fascinating and saddening for me to see some of the living conditions in which some of the children have to endure. Before I go any further, click the image below to view the gallery for yourself. Make sure you view it in full screen mode and read the little captions below the images.

Five-spice Pork Chops

Whew, this has been a week of tight work deadlines for me, all in preparation for an expo that my company puts together in Indonesia every year. This year's show is in two weeks so I'll be working pretty much non-stop up to that point. That coupled with the kids' first week back at school has made for very hectic, short days, so much so that some most household chores have had to be put off. Yes, I'm living in a pigsty at the moment, folks. I've got dusty floors and massive laundry piles. Guess what I'll be doing all of this weekend?