Frannywanny

"I'm so DONE with all my yaya dramas!" This is one line that I've been telling my family since Yaya D left us . I realized that no matter how nice or kind you are, you are never assured of their loyalty to you. I can't believe that my twins are barely a year old and we've gone through 3 nannies already. My friends actually told me that I have a pretty normal yaya count as some went as far as 10 nannies in the span of a year. Unbelievable. Indeed, good, loyal and honest helpers are hard to find. That said, I made a resolution to train my kids to be self-reliant as they get older. Doing small household chores until they graduate to doing bigger things. Personally, I grew up without a nanny and I think I turned out okay. In fact, I find it even better as our small family of 4 became really close with the absence of a nanny. My parents have been very hands-on since Day 1 and helping out in the house never felt like a chore but rather something that Pan and I i...

There's nothing that excites me more than a challenge... a foodie challenge, that is. When the folks over at Doña Elena asked me if I'm game to prepare a special pasta dish using their products, this got me so excited that I said yes. Luckily, the package came ahead of my twins' grand debut so I still have time to work in the kitchen before I start dealing with milk and dirty diapers. I'm quite familiar with Doña Elena's product line-up as I used to buy their Spanish sardines, pasta noodles and olive oil among many others. I didn't know that they actually have their own pesto sauce and whole tomatoes too. Looking at my Doña Elena's loot, I was inspired to take the tomato-based route and prepare my version of Shrimp Fettuccine Puttanesca .

Here's the sad reality -- good help is hard to find here in Manila. Unlike probably 10 years ago when most of us would have the privilege to have long-staying helpers who would take our worries about running the household away. Today, I've been hearing friends and family constantly asking around for recommendations for helpers and more often than not, we're always faced with the dilemma of helpers staying for a few months and leaving right away. Given that, most smaller families would resort to not having helpers anymore. So how do we deal with preparing for our meals on a daily basis? Since I got back from the Lion City, my parents (who are down to just one helper), have been ordering food on a daily basis. We call it "tiap tsai"  in Hokkien which, if I'm not mistaken, means food subscription in English. Apparently, there's a growing number of companies and individuals running this tiap tsai  business and What's for Dinner  is one of those. The dr...

I know it has been a while since my last #FrannyCooks recipe and I'm really sorry about that! To say that this year has been busy and crazy is indeed an understatement. Actually our schedules just got so hectic starting the 2nd quarter of this year and it's just starting to ease off this month. There were just so many things happening all at the same time that at some point, both Paul and I felt like headless chickens running around as we're trying to get a lot of things done. The funny thing is, no matter how alike we can be, we apparently deal with stress very differently. He would resort to playing billiards or watching his favorite YouTube videos while I head to the kitchen to cook or I blog. Either way, we realized that we crave for some me-time to de-stress and we happily would give each other that much-needed space when needed. That, kids, is one of the secrets to a happy marriage. ;) During my recent visit home, I was so lucky to receive some bottles of Mega...

I know my birthday isn't for another 25 days but as you know, I celebrate it wayyyyy in advance and even for weeks after. So, during my recent visit to Manila, I decided to celebrate my birthday with both my side and Paul's side since we won't be home on the actual day.We stayed for a very short time only so I had a joint celebration with my dear niece, Julia . :) I just love my in-laws and I'm so glad that we were all complete that night. We didn't had a lot of time to prepare not even to go out and to buy food so thankfully, I met the cool guys behind Seven Comfort Cuisine  who took care of our dinner line-up. All I had to do was to email them to inform how many we will be and to share some of our diet restrictions too. They are so quick to respond and they willingly suggested the dishes based on our specifications. So, that night, we had: Savory Chicken Mushroom Pasta  (Php. 600 / Php. 1,000), Caramelized Peppered Pork  (Php. 750 / Php. 1,250) and Cheezy Sa...

Singapore celebrated Deepavali / Diwali last Wednesday so we had a full day off from work! Since the non-working holiday was right in the middle of the week and I badly needed to catch up on sleep as we came from a quick weekend trip, Paul and I agreed to just spend the entire day at home with our friend O. The night before that, I told the boys that I'll cook pasta for lunch. It has been a while since I've cooked this dish and I'm glad that finally, I found the time to do so. Cooking can really be so therapeutic. Some of you may have remembered that I've prepared a similar pasta dish 5 years ago . This time though, I made use of wholemeal fusilli noodles and made use of a different type of pesto sauce too. What I noticed is that wholemeal noodles have a more dry texture and it has a rather grainy bite. It's not too bad though but it sure needs some getting used to. Well, I'm really so careful now with the carbs that I eat every since I vow to go with a low ...

The word solace according to the English dictionary means "to give comfort to in grief or misfortune." In other words, solace can also be seen as that ever-famous "light at the end of the tunnel." It gives one that glimmer of hope that there will be better days ahead. I mentioned in a few entries back that I've been experiencing gloomy days lately due to my hectic routine. Feeling more exhausted than revitalized nowadays, all I want to do is to stay in bed all day and to do nothing... absolutely nothing. I know that plan would probably come after the holidays. Therefore, I am currently finding other ways to get that short moments of relaxation and one of those include going out on dinner dates with Paul. Last Monday, we visited a new restaurant that has just opened along Arnaiz street in Makati. It was my Mom who told me about it and we arrived excited to have a good meal and to unwind. I got to admit, it took me a while to remember the name but after chatti...

When I got married two years ago, I thought I'd be able to hone my cooking skills further as I'll start cooking for my husband. While other may take this with fright, I welcomed this thought with open arms as I love to cook. I love experimenting and I look forward to making Paul happy with my cooking. It has been two years since and sadly I hardly get to cook. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining it's simply because we were blessed to have manang from his side and my mom and talented Maricel who would prepare our meals everyday from my side. Simply put, the need to roll up my sleeves and get busy in the kitchen wasn't there...yet. Still, I try to grab any opportunity to cook. Be it a simple breakfast plate or snacks for us to enjoy during mid-day, I really do not mind getting my hands dirty, oily and smelly..that's how much I love to cook. When I was sent a huge package of King Sue (pronounced as: king-sway) products I saw this as my opportunity ...

This week, a nasty virus has struck our family. It hit me first..and it did hit it really hard making me unable to report to work for a day and leaving me coughing and sneezing for the entire week. My voice became unrecognizable and I always have to bring a pack of tissue and a bottle of water wherever I go. I really hate getting sick. :( Sadly, the virus may have left my body but this time it transferred to Paul and to my sister Pan. Poor thing, they're both down -- also missed work for a day and are still under medication leaving them groggy and sleepy most of the time. Needless to say, we avoided eating out most days of this week. Loading up on vitamin C and all things nutritious to keep our immune system up. Being sick doesn't mean though that I have lost my love for food. In fact, I spent most of my waking hours in the kitchen. True, my sense of smell may have temporarily became unreliable and so goes my sense of taste too. However it was just great timing that the ni...

San Juan is truly an amazing place to be. When we first moved here, my sister and I would call it the donut hole simply because it's located at the middle of Metro Manila where it makes it practically accessible to head north, south, east and west. Another reason was due to a long blackout during the Milenyo typhoon and it seemed like the entire Metro Manila had power back already except for our city. San Juan is one of the smallest cities in Metro Manila yet its currently growing with a lot of food finds and amazing gastronomic delights which makes it a great place for food lovers like me. Just recently, Paul and I had our afternoon snack at Segovia's Cakes and Recipe s, a new resto-cafe located just a few steps away from our home. I heard that Segovia's is owned by Carmen Segovia of the famous Cake Studio who used to cater for my high school. While my memory can be pretty hazy now, all I remember is that her pasta is really one of the best that I've ever had...

Last month, I made an exciting announcement that Yummy Magazine is running our first-ever Blogger's contest ! The contest has officially ended and the Editorial Team has finally chosen a WINNER ! Congratulations to Jennifer Valmonte of http://taraletseat.blogspot.com/ A special shout-out to all those who joined the contest too! We are sharing your links with our readers over at Yummy.ph!

While searching for recipes to try in the web, I happen to stumble upon the Del Monte Kitchenomics website and I had a great time browsing through its interesting and helpful features. I really was looking for something new to try but what really sets me back from cooking lately is the time needed to prepare, cook and to serve. I have a very hectic schedule that I even have to make time to relax and unwind. However, I miss our kitchen and being able to cook up a storm for my family to enjoy. While browsing through the website, I found a couple of recipes that are time-friendly. Cool! They also have a section featuring recipes that won't go beyond P80! This, my mom would surely love as she will be able to whip up a dish that's very affordable and seems to be very delicious too! Among all the web features, I love the Budget Tools tab that has a Price Watch and a Seasonal Produce list! No more second guessing when my favorite fruits will be in season. Want to be update...

I woke up earlier than usual today to watch an entire movie on DVD. Now, for people who are close to me, they all know that this definitely qualifies as a rare occasion. First of all, I make it a point to make up for lost sleep during the weekend (not unless we have an errand to make that would require me to wake up early to get a good head start to a busy schedule). Secondly, I can hardly sit through an entire movie without falling asleep or having my mind wander off to never never land...what more having the power of just clicking the pause/stop button while watching it on DVD. With that, I must say, this particular movie that made me do the impossible must really be a special one... It was during a conversation with colleagues when we began talking about the movie Julie & Julia . My sister bought the book and told me to read it as, according to her, I would definitely be able to relate with the lead character named Julie . After going through the first few chapters of the book, ...

Let me share with you my latest discovery! While shopping at the Rockwell Moonlit Bazaar last month, I chanced upon a booth selling packs of grains and dried herbs. Looking at it closely, the package says Mushroom Risotto . Hmm.. interesting. I turned the package and read the step-by-step procedure, looks pretty easy to do. I couldn't resist and bought myself a pack to try. Finally, a couple of weeks after Christmas, I decided to try this interesting instant Mushroom Risotto and see if it can definitely satisfy one's sudden gourmet Italian craving. Cooking this is simple -- I simply just boiled 5 cups of water and added everything into the pot. After the liquid has been reduced to half, I turned down the heat a bit and continued stirring until I got the right consistency. Within minutes, I can smell the mushroom and herbs! Mmmm To make it extra yummy, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese before serving. The verdict: It surely was a hit with my family particularly with my sister! ...