Saturday is Smoothie Day

We went to the supermarket today and I saw that strawberry's were on sale at 2 punnets for $5. I grabbed a few, some mandarines, celery, carrots and apple for Agie's weekly celery juice (good for lowering cholesterol). And being pregnant, I bought a tub of yoghurt for my calcium needs (I don't like milk so I need to look for other sources of calcium!).

As soon as we got home, I noticed the big book of juices on our table. I skimmed through it and found a very refreshing recipe for a smoothie. Basically, it just list ingredients and you put in in your blender, after a few seconds (or couple of minutes), your smoothie is ready!

So for today, the Celery juice took a back seat as I made my Strawberry smoothie (finally, I can use my blender which has been gathering dust in the cupboard).



before 

and after

The result? really yummy and filling! I can't wait to try the other combinations in the book!!!

Now, off to do the celery juice. =)

Food trip!!!

i was craving for pasta aglio olio so I whipped a single serve while trying to study my cpa materials. yum yum but kulang sa parsley. =)

steamed tilapia (from Costi's Blacktown) with fried garlic and light soy sauce. good food for lent and healthy too.

Banana bread ala Agie. Taste soooo goood!

(not so) successful cheescake

So I made my Cadbury cheesecake last night, but because i made so much adjustment to the recipe, it didn't quiet turn out the way I wanted it to be.

First, I couldn't find crushed graham crackers, so instead I bought Arnotts and pulverized it using my blender.

from this

to this

Then, I wanted it to be less fattening, so I used light cream cheese instead of the regular one.

Then, thinking that the cake is too thick, i halved the cream cheese mixture to fill two pans.

cheesecake cooling inside the oven



yummy cheesecake but its not nice looking, hahahaha

Verdict:

Taste - Very good

Presentation - needs improvement!

Biscuit base - needs to be freezed overnight (not one hour!!!)

I will make another one in a few days, and this time, I will follow the recipe to the letter. Then, I will make my adjustments when I am satisfied with the finish product.

Hot peppermint tea

is my current obsession. I don't drink coffee nor tea when I was still in the Phils, well except for the occasional starbucks frap. On the few times that we eat at Hap Chang or any Chinese restos, friends would normally order house tea and i'll drink a few tea cups full.

Lately though, everytime I go out for dinner, I would always order hot peppermint tea for drinks. I read somewhere that the reason why chinese (korean and japanese) women are so thin is because they drink tea all the time. My Chinese officemate also told me to stop drinking cold water while eating because the fat in my food solidifies inside my body. That was a scary thought but I just can't eat without drinking water!

Last December in the US, I saw their vast collection of tea bags ---- from Peppermint to Rosehip to Chai, Green, Decaf and Herbal and many more. Too bad I only got a box of Decaf Green Tea from Walgreens (I forgot about it until the last minute).

This year, I started drinking hot tea regularly. At first, it was only during our weekend breakfast but now its becoming a daily habit and I love it!

While writing this, I'm on my second mug of peppermint hot tea --- no milk, no honey, no sugar. I should try a different flavour next time, maybe Japanese rice tea. Daisy, bring me some authentic japanese tea from Osaka please???

Cooking 101: Salmon and Black Beans

I was walking leisurely to the train station one Wednesday afternoon mulling what to cook for my baon. While doing a fridge inventory in my mind, I realized I bought salmon a few days ago --- should I bake or grill it for a healthy lunch? But I want to try something different. I remembered Shawie cooking salmon with black beans ages ago which was really yummy. A short phonecall later, I got the recipe and from memory its:

• salmon
• a bit of vinegar
• a splash of olive oil
• a bit of water
• black beans
• onions
• one (or two) teaspoon of the black bean sauce.

Put all the ingredients in a pan, simmer for a couple of minutes (make sure not to overcook the salmon and don't over reduce the sauce) and voila, you'll have your salmon dish!

I tried the recipe at home with all the ingredients done in 'tantya'. Never a fan of taste testing a dish while cooking so I only had a bite after I turned off the cook top.

Taste: sweet (fresh salmon sweetness) and a bit on the salty side due to the black beans but still taste yum!!!

I took a photo of my creation and the photo did not do justice to the actual food. I really need to improve my presentation and photography skills! =)