Ukoy na Alamang at Kalabasa

Ukoy na Alamang at Kalabasa. During my visits at the Vigan public market, the fresh alamang or aramang in Ilocano caught my attention.  They were several vendors that were selling fresh alamang, the alamang were definitely very fresh judging from their color. My concern was, would it be possible to bring it back to Manila and maintain the freshness with just storing the alamang in a cooler

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Turon na Saging

Turon na Saging. I had some plantain banana or Saba that came from our farm in Laguna. I have already cooked some of as Nilagang Saging the other day some was was cooked as Minatamis na Saging with Kalamansi Zest. I was surprised, the bananas were extraordinarily sweet, probably because the fruits were harvested when they are about to ripen.                     I thought the remaining

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Chicken Feet Arroz Caldo

Chicken Feet Arroz Caldo. What is the difference of Lugaw, Arroz Caldo and Goto? This is my own opinion you may have another description but this is how I find the difference of the three rice soup dishes. Let’s go back a couple of decade ago where food fusions were not as prevalent as today. And cooking was simpler during those times to understand what are the difference of the three.

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How to make a Felt Christmas Stocking Advent Calendar

I'm really looking forward to my baby's first Christmas and thinking of all sorts of ways I can make it special. I wanted to have a handmade keepsake of some sort that would hopefully be in our family for years, and I hit upon the idea of an advent calendar - consisting of little stockings, each numbered 1 to 24, that I can fill with all sorts of things year after year.

Given that I haven't done any sewing in years and can't think of any time I've ever sewed for fun, I found this surprisingly easy to make. It was a little time consuming but only because I don't get a lot of free time as I have an eight month old baby, and would sew a couple of bits in the evening here and there, over the course of several weeks. If you have a sewing machine that would speed up the process as well.

The design is my own - I know there are plenty of advent calendars like this out there but I didn't copy any of them and just thought about how I wanted it to look:

• I drew a stocking shape on cardboard to cut out and use as a template
• I drew and cut out the numbers freehand though made a template for the number 1 once I got into the teens
• I decided to alternate red and green felt for the stockings; I bought the
• Dovecraft Christmas felt bundle in shades of Reds & Greens, 16 Sheets, A4 sizedwhich had a set of red and a set of green but in different shades so I alternated the darker shades with the lighter ones
• After I cut out the stocking shapes I used the remaining felt to cut out the numbers
• I used white 'ric rac' trim similar to this along the top of each stocking
• 6mm Celebrate Ric Rac Braid Trimming White - per 4 metre roll
• I used these Papermania 36-Piece Mini Pegs, Red/Greento attach each stocking onto a length of jute string which I then tied on to my stair bannisters.

To make them is very easy:
Cut out the stocking shapes from felt - you will need 48
Draw and cut out the numbers from 1 to 24
Sew the numbers onto what will be the front facing stockings first
Then sew on the ric rac edging onto the front facing stocking
Sew both parts of the stocking together along the edges
Attach the stockings  to some string with the pegs; you could also sew loops into the stockings instead if you want.

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out even though the stitching and numbers are slightly different on each; my husband says that just adds to the homemade effect and he thinks they will make a lovely Christmas keepsake.

My daughter will be nearly ten months old at Christmas so won't understand advent calendars and I had considered just filling it with chocolates for us this year, but I saw a set of finger puppets on a site called Once Upon a Time that are designed for a baby's advent calendar, at a very reasonable price, so I ordered them back in September. They were supposed to be with me by early November but with only a few days to go until the start of December they still haven't arrived and the site owner hasn't responded to my messages, so I'm hoping they will still come in time - she has a few days yet!

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Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 48

My husband is at home this week so I need to be a bit more creative with lunch ideas as I often just see what I can find in the fridge or cupboard when it's just me! On the plus side I should have a bit more time to make something for dinner or do some cooking for baby S with him to help look after her.

Monday
Breakfast for baby S porridge with fruit
Lunch or dinner for baby S tinned tuna mixed with avocado and pitta
Lunch for us full English breakfast as a treat as it's my husband's first day at home of what will be at least a few weeks
Dinner for us salmon en croute and veg for me, chicken pie for him I was going to do last week but didn't.


Tuesday
Breakfast for baby S cheerios
Lunch or dinner for baby S pitta with tuna and avocado followed by fruity rice pudding
Lunch for us jacket potato
Dinner for us fish in lemon sauce and hassleback potatoes for me from this recipe for me, chicken chargrills for him


Wednesday
Breakfast for baby S homemade breakfast muffin
Lunch or dinner for baby S cottage cheese and pea mash
Lunch for us  fishcake and poached egg for me, cheese omelette for him
Dinner for us  homemade schnitzel - pork for me, chicken for him


Thursday
Breakfast for baby S yogurt with fruit
Lunch or dinner for baby S cheese on toast
Lunch for us cheese on toast
Dinner for us Orange glazed salmon and mini roast potatoes for me, chicken for him


Friday
Breakfast for baby S toast
Lunch or dinner for baby S salmon, potatoes and veg from yesterday
Lunch for us sandwiches (can pick up fresh bread when we are out in the morning)
Dinner for us  burger and chips


Saturday
Breakfast for baby S porridge with fruit
Lunch or dinner for baby S sweetcorn and cheese multigrain packet meal followed by fruit or rice pudding
Lunch for us  soup and bread
Dinner for us pulled pork rolls with BBQ sauce and potato wedges


Sunday
Breakfast for baby S cheerios
Lunch or dinner for baby S banana pancake
Lunch for us pancake with ham and cheese
Dinner for us roast beef

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Minatamis na Saging with Kalamansi Zest

Minatamis na Saging with Kalamansi Zest. I wanted to add a little zest to the traditional Minatamis na Saging. Minatamis na saging is very easy to cook, and definitely simply delicious, I mean simple to cook. By tweaking the recipe, by adding a rind of a kalamansi make a lot of difference to the already yummy Pinoy merienda. The addition of zest to the Minatamis na Saging makes it refreshing.

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Pansit Bihon with Vigan Bagnet

Pansit Bihon with Vigan Bagnet. Some of our regular readers may already know that I am from Vigan, I grew up in Vigan. And I strongly telling everyone, one of the must foods you must have while visiting Vigan is the Vigan Bagnet. Bagnet is the Ilocano version of lechon kawali in the simplest description. Large chunks of pork leimpo, belly or pork sides, deep fried for at least two times until

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