TOPAZ HORIZON

Had a really really lovely brunch last week at Momo at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. To whoever said magazine editors starve themselves to death, well, you haven't met the editors I work with. We love to eat! It's almost embarrassing how we gobble up food. Diet is an alien word!

From left: me, Good Housekeeping EIC Tisha Alvarez Angluben, Smart Parenting EIC Mia Fausto Cruz and Women's Health EIC Lara Parpan

We had truffled eggs, scrambled eggs, sausages, tapa, waffles, pancakes, fruit, jellies and jams, all washed down with Illy coffee and guava tea. Burp!

We also talked about scary ghost stories (this was the fault of Karotitay's blog post). Mia Fausto Cruz had the scariest ghost stories ever! Like our hair was super standing on end. It's a good thing we were bathed in sunlight because if our meal happened to have been dinner, I think we'd be screaming our heads off!

Here I am with Cosmopolitan EIC Zo Aguila and Tisha. Beige and tan, yup, the colors of the day! I'm wearing a Paper Dolls dress, Nine West sandals, Charles & Keith shades, and that's my super duper loved Fino doctor's bag.

Speaking of screaming his head off, this little boy just recently discovered the joys of being very very loud. He loves waking up and announcing to the world he's awake by shrieking happily... into his parents' sleepy ears! And when he's unhappy and upset, well, same thing! What a loudmouth! Just like his mama!

1. My nail polish! It's Glitzerland from O.P.I. It's a very fine crushed gold that looks great against my skin and with my topaz ring!

2. The funny Garnier video for the roll-on eye brightener and de-puffer. Only because I suffer from terrible dark circles so this actually is something I can very well relate to! (Crickette, I finally sent you this! Tell me how it goes!)

Goodies and Sweets Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce

3. Spot.ph's Top 10 chocolate cakes. I just had that cake in the photo actually. It is love! Guys, if the girl you're trying to win is sick of getting fancy chocolates from you, try giving her cake instead! It's casual, almost friendly, and yet it's still chocolate. And if she still doesn't give you her sweet yes, then take comfort in the fact that this luscious cake is fattening! For more unusual chocolate gifts, go check out Sharri's Berries Facebook page for ideas.

4. The Mogu Mogu introduction. It's so... strange! It's almost profound! "Fruit Juice. Gotta Chew!!" What does it mean?!?

5. The Sony VAIO S. Because it's pink! Period. For more substantial reasons, check out what the Third World Nerd had to say about the new VAIOs. Seriously makes me want to buy this instead of a Mac! (Bad hair day, I know. But just lookit my smile!)

6. Rustan's Makati's red carpeted entrance. I love Power Plant but no mall makes me feel like a VIP quite like Rustan's Makati does!

7. Vito trying to remove his Thudguard helmet while eating carrots I steamed, mashed, sieved myself. But I love him every minute!

I promised this post on my Market Day! entry so here it is--simple dishes with just a few ingredients.

Tortang Talong
Grill eggplants until soft and skin is peeling off. Peel skin then mash the eggplant. Whisk some eggs and dip eggplant into eggs. Fry. Serve with ketchup. I like the spicy one of Del Monte.

Steamed Veggies
Looking for a diet pill that works? Try this instead! Slice up carrots, sayote and beans. Or broccoli or asparagus. Steam for about 5 minutes--more if you like your veggies soft. Serve with fish or any meat dish. Personally, I prefer roasted veggies. They're more flavorful!

Beef and Beans Stir Fry
This is beyond simple! Stir fry beef strips and green beans in a wok. Add oyster sauce to taste. Serve!

Omelette
This is what Vince and I eat for breakfast twice a week. Saute chopped onions and tomatoes. Beat eggs then pour into pan. Fold when edges start to bubble. Serve with toast or fried rice.

Upo't Miswa
My Lola Auring taught me this--it can feed a crowd because an upo is so big! Slice up a big upo. Saute garlic, onions and ground meat (beef or pork). Pour in a few cups of water. Once it boils, put miswa noodles. Simmer till noodles are soft. Serve.

Gourmet Fries
Here's a tasty snack! Slice potatoes into long strips. Deep fry or bake. Drain onto a paper towel. Smother with parmesan cheese and ground pepper.

Adobong Kangkong
Saute lotsa garlic. Add kangkong leaves and stalks (cut 1-inch). Add half a cup of vinegar and soy sauce. Serve! You can also just stir fry kankong with bagoong. So easy and delicious!

Tuna Pasta
Always have pasta in your pantry and when guests arrive, here's the perfect easy dish to whip up! In olive oil, saute garlic, onions, quartered tomatoes and tuna flakes. If you like olives, add those. Mix with cooked pasta. You can add basil leaves, too.

Mac and Cheese
The kids will love to cook and eat this. Cook macaroni. Drain. Add butter and cheese and stir gently until cheese melts. Yum!

Potato and Egg Salad
Boil potatoes (you can keep the peel, just scrub a dub dub!). Cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Boil eggs. Quarter eggs. Toss very gently with mayonnaise. Chill in fridge. You can add bacon bits, chopped raw onion and celery, too, of you want more flavor.

There you have it! There's a lot more you can cook and I didn't even include roasting, grilling and baking. Believe me, cooking is the easiest and healthiest thing you can do! For more easy tips, check out my friend Mariel's post on eating well.

When I was growing up, I used to go with my grandmother to the wet market and watch her haggle away for the freshest meat, fish, veggies and fruits. Up until I moved out of my parents' house in 2001, I bought our family's food from the palengke. Every morning, Mama gave me P100 and I had to buy enough food to feed Papa, Mama, myself, my younger brother and sister, my older brother, his girlfriend (eventually wife) and their then two kids.

Count that. A hundred pesos for nine people. And that's for lunch and dinner! So while there are millions of people spending millions on diet pills because they eat too much, I had to make do with very little to feed a lot! Of course this was when a kilo of chicken cost P35 (yes, I am that old).

Believe me, I made that hundred pesos feed a large family easily. Here are a few tips:

• Cook vegetable soups. If you must have meat, veggies with just 1/4 kilo of pork or beef (although pork is cheaper) can go a long way!
• Ask for the pork fat. The butchers usually trim these and throw them away so you can get them for free. Put the fat in the skillet and - tada! - instant cooking oil and chicharon!
• Tofu is an excellent meat extender. 
• Make everything extra spicy or salty. I know, I know - so unhealthy. But when food is heavily seasoned, you eat more rice and less ulam! Don't follow this salty tip, ha. It's a solution poor people resort to kasi. Kaya siguro Pinoys have kidney problems kasi mahilig tayo sa asin dahil maraming Pinoy ang mahirap.
• If all else fails, make lugaw. Just throw rice in a large cauldron of water, together with garlic, onions, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper and you have a satisfying meal.

Yesterday, I brought Vito to the palengke for the first time. He was very... quiet. I guess all the colors and smells and noise overwhelmed the little guy. But I want him to get used to the wet market because I want him to know how to cook food. When you know how to cook, you'll never go hungry.

This guy sells fish so fresh, he made salmon sashimi. Yum!

That's yellowfin tuna.

The chicken is so fresh. Yes, freshly killed. See guy at right.

I watch those documentaries of poor people lamenting over the fact that they earn just P100 a day then they buy instant noodles, which costs about P20 and can feed just 3-5 people. I get really upset. I yell at the TV, "Buy kangkong! A bundle costs just P7! Buy 3 bundles, cook it adobo style and you have ulam for the whole day. Healthy pa!"

A kilo is just P50. Throw into a pot with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and ginger. A few minutes later, a delicious and nutritious mussel dish!

I don't believe that poverty equals poor food and nutrition. My grandmother lived through the terrible war and she taught me a lot of tricks on how to eat well even if you have just three ingredients. So I may have grown up poor but I was never hungry. And I ate so well!

I think I may have found a new advocacy. Wouldn't it be great if we can teach families in poor neighborhoods really inexpensive but healthy and delicious recipes? If you know any group that does this, please tell me. I would love to help!

Last week, Rustan's Anna Go invited me and Nikki (and several other editors) to a lovely ladies' lunch at East Cafe. We were one of the lucky few to sample the new menu that features even more exquisite dishes inspired by the many flavors Asia has to offer. And you know how huge Asia is! So we just had to drop by and eat! These are just some of the dishes we tasted:


My favorite actually was dessert. I forget the name, though! Although it's called a maki-something, this dessert I love is very Pinoy--it's sticky rice rolled around a stick of rich chocolate and smothered in dulce de leche ice cream. It is to die for! I'm actually going to go back and order it again just before I give birth. I literally do dream about it! 

Anyway, do try out East's new offerings. I've always loved Asian fare--so rich and flavorful and every dish appeals to all our senses--sight, smell, touch, taste, emotion... So yummy! East is at the second floor of Rustan's Makati, that'll be the ladies' clothes and accessories floor. For reservations, call 812-0233. 

Thanks, Anna! I had such a lovely time with you and everyone else!

Vince cooked his super special spaghetti with tomato meat sauce last weekend. Yes, if you've been following this blog, you know my husband can cook! Anyway, whenever he prepares that, he asks only that I make garlic bread, and I'm going to share with you my super duper easy way of doing it!


YUM! Now this is such an easy way to make garlic bread! This recipe sure beats my Papa's way of making garlic bread. When I was a kid, he'd make me chop up tons of garlic and then mix the smelly mess into a tub of margarine, which I'd have to spread very quickly on hot bread. The garlic almost always falls off and then I'd get scolded for not chopping the garlic finely enough!

Enjoy making and eating this!

Okay, the real official name is "football" but in these parts, if you say football, Filipinos think you mean American football so for the benefit of those who don't know any better (ehehe), we will use the term "soccer."

Vince and I spent the long Independence Day weekend at Hotel Sofitel with the Sales family to watch World Cup. That's Vince pretending he's being chased by a giant soccer ball! Cute, cute, cute.

Well, at least that was the plan. But when we sank into the famous Sofitel MyBed, soccer was the last thing on our minds. This king-sized bed is just so huge and soft and comfy, you just fall asleep! It's like the best bed I've ever slept in. Ever! In fact, Vince just slept and slept and slept. And we found out that you can actually buy the special lining of that bed but that it was out of stock but as soon as it's available, we are definitely getting one!

This is me in the spacious bathroom and I caught a Peeping Vince! Naughty Vince!

We love the bathroom--towels were fluffy, shower was huge, and there were luxe bath products from L'Occitane for our use. Love it!

We also love that each room has its own balcony and that the views of the bay and the city skyline were cool. Too bad it was raining that weekend so we didn't get to see the famous Manila Bay sunset. 

That didn't stop the kids from enjoying the pool, though! Doesn't that look so inviting? I didn't take a dip; people might think I'm a whale! When I told this reason to Vince's niece, she looked at me and with all her 9-year-old wisdom gently said, "Auntie Frances, you're not fat; you're pregnant."

Sweet girl! Well, if we ate at Spiral's amazing buffet every day, we'd need some apidexin coupons to lose weight! I didn't take a lot of photos (hungry! hungry! hungry!) but we started with...
... all sorts of sushi and ended with a bevy of yummy desserts.

If you had eaten at Spiral, you'd know those two photos above do it great injustice. There were sooo many food stations--Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean food. The grill station was groaning with sizzling meat. The seafood station was piled high with huge mussels, prawns, oysters. And here's Vince again at the dessert buffet with chocolate soccer mascot sculptures behind him!

Oh, what a lovely weekend! We're definitely doing that again. If only it wasn't so expensive! We can't stop thanking Mom and Dad for the Sofitel treat. Now we have to start saving for another weekend there!

Outfit details: I'm wearing a silk jersey Diane Von Furstenberg ladybug dress, Vince, a Threadless.com t-shirt.

Outfit details: gray Gingersnaps dress, Liz Claiborne rose quartz necklace, Wristaker watch, Victoria Marin ring

Belatedly discovered this very popular hole-in-the-wall place recently...


So he got this yummy bacon-covered thingamobob...

I shouldn't be overindulging because...

Yet that didn't stop me from ordering...

With this disappointment...

And we were there because...

Have a happy rainy day!

Last night, OK! managing editor Lana Chan and I attended the Sex and The City 2 premiere at Power Plant Mall. It was thrown by Solar Entertainment and I had a lovely time seeing old friends.

You see, unless my job requires me to go out (for example, to an advertiser's event), I haven't really been socializing since I got pregnant. Three reasons: I'm terribly sleepy, I had really bad acne in the first trimester, and I'm more susceptible to infections and diseases. When I got pneumonia, for example, that happened a week after I attended an advertiser's event. So I'm pretty much cloistered lately.

So last night was fun. There was a plethora of style--I had fun checking out dresses, bags, jewelry, heels, boots, hairstyles. Really, I think I've been cooped up too long! Thank goodness for Facebook (and this blog!), people I haven't seen in months (some, years) were not shocked to see me pregnant. We were all pretty much up to date with each other's lives!

I didn't go in the theater to watch the movie, however. I always seem to get sick when I'm in a crowded enclosed space! So I bid my friends buh-bye and went off to Sango to buy my yummy husband his dinner. 
Vince and I have always loved Sango's burgers, but after two pregnancy-induced nausea fits, we haven't had any. Thankfully, last night, my nose was cooperative! When I got home, Vince just also arrived from work (and he was soooo happy to see me! So cute!) and we had a grand time munching away happily.

So that was my night! How was yours?