No Cross-Contamination with THESE

What am I talking about??? I am talking about Joseph Joseph Index Plus Chopping System.



For $64.45 thru Amazon, you get to cook worry free of cross contaminating your food. Knife and chopping board are color coded depending on the the type of food you'll be working with. I love it and the packaging is soooo cool.

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i want to dance naked in the moonlight

i want to dance naked in the moonlight

There are three things wrong with that title:
(1) It's broad daylight as I'm writing this.
(2) I'm too fat right now to prance around naked.
(3) I don't dance.

But all I want is to lose myself in the sensation, to savor the freedom of dancing naked, to bask in the anonymity afforded by the darkness, and to embrace the sensuality of it all. To be with myself again, to get to know my soul once more, unencumbered by the cares and worries of daylight.

To dance naked in the moonlight...

- above blog post by weiwitch at http://weiwitch.blogspot.com/, reblogged with permission

You might ask why am I reblogging a friend's entry. Simple. As I have mentioned on her comments page and on twitter, this blog post has been like my pandora's box.

Dancing naked in the moonlight for me means:

• It's ME time. And I haven't had ME time in a very long time.
• Looking back at my life, my journey, my trials, my daughter's hardships and triumphs and my son's having to settle as 2nd to his sister.
• Having to come to grips to the kind of childhood I had or the lack thereof. The sense of abandonement that's still ever present despite time. Time does not heal wounds. It didn't heal mine.

I would like to end this with gratitude because there are a lot of things that has happened and that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for...

• my kids and their good health
• my sister/BFF
• old/new friends including the author of the above blog post
• my health

Style Your Sole at Nordstrom’s The Grove

note: This post originally appeared yesterday, July 3rd 2010, at Culinary Adventure on the Streets of Los Angeles by mistake...

Earlier today was THE day if you wanted your TOMS shoes customized. From 1-4pm there were 3 artist who will customize your TOMS in whatever design your heart desires.

Elizabeth (black top on above picture) designed B’s shoes… which turned out to be extremely cute…

I wanted one of the stars on the Philippine flag but Blake (guy wearing beanie in the first pic above) had a hard time making the yellow stand out against the gray canvas.

Lastly, I wanted something artsy fartsy with purple and green so the other artist(so sorry I completely forgot his name) made these…

It was a good shoe-shopping day. Bought 3 super comfy shoes for us and 3 to be donated by TOMS.

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my "dance heart" belongs to Alex Wong

yes... Alex Wong deserves a post.
why? because he's great. so great that I watched his hiphop number with twitch like 10 million times at 12:25am

If you don't know who I'm talking about, let me introduce you to Alex Wong...

(image source)

He was the principal soloist in the Miami City Ballet prior to being one of the top 11 this season's So You Think You Can Dance. He auditioned a couple of seasons back but wasn't able to be a part of the show because Miami City Ballet didn't or couldn't (I really have no idea which) let him go.

He dance from this...

to this...

and SYTYCD judges thought this performance was THE BEST in history...

and that's why I love Alex Wong :)

Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade

Our family had our first taste of the Solstice Parade last year. It was fun and unpretentious. So this year we made the trip again to become part of the Solstice Parade. We were baking under the midday sun for 4 hours or so but I had fun ... take a look...

Click here to view this photo book larger

we got GLEEK-ed

The whole family was having dinner at Katsuya in Americana at Brand and boy was it a good one...

Creamy Rock Shrimp

$15

Miso Marinated Black Cod

$24

We were finishing up with these yummy desserts...

Green Tea Ice Cream $6

Chocolate Lava Cake w/ Vanilla Ice Cream $10

And what do you know... Josh Sussman a.k.a. Jacob Ben Israel in Glee is in the house

follow Josh on twitter

Such a nice person... very down to earth.

COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET

I have a confession to make...

(image source)

I <3 Kris Aquino. And I've loved her forever. Since 1985 to be exact. Insert all unsolicited comments here (judgemental or not). I figured, in commemoration of soon to be Pres. Noynoy's inauguration, this is the best time to, sort of, come out of the closet. Some people know that I'm a big fan of Kris but it's not something I would divulge at all. Depending on the company I'm keeping. Sometimes I wouldn't even say anything to a fellow Kris fan.

I've liked her for as long as I can remember and I grew up with her "around" (meaning, in TV). My earliest memory relating to her is we used to live in West Triangle and Times St is just a 3 minute walk away and I used to walk over to then Pres. Cory Aquino's house hoping I'll get a glimpse of her. Which, btw, I never did...EVER :)

Recent events brought a lot of hateful comments everywhere and reading those hateful comments "hurts" me. Specifically, comments about her arms when she wore sleeveless during the proclamation. Who cares about her "brazo de mercedes"? I mean really??? No wonder palubog na buong bansa (the entire country is going under). If you have mentality like that the country has nowhere to go but down. What's the bigger picture here... she's giving up a lot, giving away a lot and she's keeping quiet. Her brother's elected by the majority so live with it and make the most out of it. Moving forward is not Pres. Noynoy's sole responsibility, it is the responsibility every single Filipino living locally and abroad.

I ask you, in talking smack about somebody, have you given out a single ounce of good vibe? did talking smack help someone smile? No? So stop!

This does not grow old.... If you've got nothing good to say, STFU...

Thank you for letting me vent...

FOOD BUDDHA on TLC

The DVR was set to record Chef Rodelio Aglibot's show, Food Buddha, on TLC. I was able to watch both episodes and I think (remember it is MY opinion) that the premise of the show has promise.

I believe that the main idea is that Chef Aglibot travels to different cities and dines at 3 of the city's notable restaurants and orders OOE. Now we have a new abbreviation to add to EVOO (made popular I believe by Rachel Ray). OOE stands for one of each. I think he does this to get the story of the chef or maybe what the restaurant represents. Either way, the menu tells the story and by ordering OOE you get the whole story from the cover page to the glossary. It's kind of like an expanded version of Top Chef Masters' final challenge wherein the remaining 3 masters are asked to tell the story of their life as a career in 3 plates.
And from all these tastings, he gets to go home to Chicago and create a new dish inspired by one of the dishes that he sampled.

I think it's an excellent premise for a show and I would watch it. What was unappealing at first was the thought that here's a chef who looked like a buddha would order OOE and eat all of it. What? I myself am NOT a "skinny marie" I am in fact overweight (okay, hold your horses, that in itself is a story and I'm not going to go there) but I'm not a glutton. What I realized soon enough is that they (Chef Aglibot and whoever may be accompanying him) are consuming everything that they ordered. It would seem like it but you'll see that they are sharing food amongst other diners. Now that's more like it. Whew! How exhausting trying to explain that!

So, am I fan? Yes! I am now inspired to look at the menu in a whole different light. I may not go for the OOE option but I will definitely take time in looking at the menu and try to guess what the story is. And what do you know, there goes another challenge on eating out. Dining out made more fun/educational?!? I'll take it!

Americana at Brand's StreetFeast

I wasn't planning on coming to this event as my experience with the last STREETFEAST was not so good. Translate, we went home "luhaan"(in tears) and "gutom"(hungry).

Earlier I got an email from Caruso Affiliated to its Loyalty Rewards members. The first 50 to RSVP gets the VIP Access. I called and I GOT IN. So it's going to be me and the daughter. I broke the news to her and like mommy, she got all excited.

What's making this event really special for me is the chance to sample The Manila Machine's menu offering. Finally!


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Jeepney Asian Grill

After watching "Noy" at the Cerritos Town Center, my SIL and I decided to drop by Jeepney Asian Grill for a late lunch. The shopping complex was easy to find and housed other Filipino establishments like Red Ribbon Bakeshop and Pinoy Pinay. First impression as I opened the double doors was that it was bright and airy. It's almost clinical. Made homier with big panoramics of a jeepney and fruits.

I was greeted by their gelato display freezer and I immediately knew I have to leave room for dessert. Even @carolineadobo reminded me.

I am now irritated at myself for not taking a lot of pictures. I would've love to post their choice of lighting fixture as it was very chic and modern. For seating, they did not stick to the typical Filipino choice of plastic chairs instead opted for dark stained cushioned seat. The overall feel is that of clean yet comfortable. It is not your typical "turo-turo" type of establishment.

I saw ADOBO FLAKES on their breakfast menu and I knew what I wanted to order.



It came with garlic rice, 2 eggs and the adobo flakes encased in deep fried molded lumpia wrapper and 2 slices of honeydew. Presentation was very cool for a Filipino resto. Not even Max's plate like that.

Now time for the much raved about gelato. Our server Julian (at least that's what I think his name is based on the name on the check) suggested 3 scoop sundaes and we chose the one with Sans Rival and Mango.



Should I mention how GOOOOOOD that SANS RIVAL gelato was? Nope. I'll keep that a secret.

Hahaha...NOT! I loved it so much I ordered 3 pints to go (1 for the BIL #2). Julian was very good in packing the gelato, wrapping the containers individually in foil then plastic bag and then placed inside another plastic bag with ice.



And a few hours later, ice cream's intact and ice still frozen. Good job packing the gelato Julian!

Oh and before I forget, we had the calamari to start and it was good. Very crispy.




Jeepney Asian Grill
11900 South St., Suite 101
Cerritos,CA 90703

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