Frannywanny

 I guess this is truly the "new normal" . How things have quickly moved online -- paying bills, processing payments, ordering food, sending out courier items and many more. Since the start of the quarantine, our family has heavily relied on our friends who have took their products online. From breads, to fish, from veggies and fruits and even cooked food. I've lost count of the number of deliveries that have been made and with that, we follow a very strict sanitation protocol to ensure that the dreaded virus stays out and away from our home. As you know, we had a scare just a month ago and it was really stressful and horrible. It was so hard to isolate someone much more to isolate 4 people in the family and to adjust how we do things here. The inconvenience was one thing but more than anything, it was the emotional stress that really took a toll on us. The fear that one may be positive and could have possibly infected the rest was one thing we were so scared of. Thankfull...

I got to admit that one thing that I really missed during the quarantine period is my favorite milk tea. When we first had the lock down, I tried in vain to search for any available milk tea shops that might be open during that period and while there sure were, I never really got around to ordering from them for several reasons. First -- I was scared of their sanitation. I wasn't sure of the measures that they're taking to ensure that my drink will never ever be contaminated. Secondly -- I wasn't sure what's good to order as the ones open were not the ones that I would usually go get milk tea from. So as soon as we went on GCQ, Paul and I took the chance to check if our neighborhood Serenitea shop was open and it was! Yahoo! Not only that, they were even running a Buy One Get One promo to make us even happier. So for a couple of weeks, we happily had random milk tea runs and finally, our milk tea cravings have been fully satisfied. I've been staying home more ...

Allow me to make yet another fearless forecast -- I smell another food trend coming our way and it's in the form of these nice corrugated boxes that's filled with all sorts of ingredients that's packed and carefully sealed. DIY Kits  are here and it means allowing all of us to take our cooking/baking skills to the next level! Since we all have to stay home and to keep ourselves safe from the virus, why not recreate some of your restaurant favorites and enjoy these with the family. I've actually been cooking and baking more since the start of the quarantine and I have to say that I have became more bold and creative in the kitchen. Back then, I'd stick to the usual baked goodies, easy pasta dishes, stir-fries and steamed dishes. For the past weeks, I've learned to make more seafood dishes, cook steak properly, bake a variety of treats and just tonight, I made Galbi Jjim -- a dish that I've been planning to make for months.  A few weeks ago, I rece...

I got to admit that if you make me choose between sweet or savory, I'd choose savory in a heartbeat. I have a very sensitive taste buds that what could be just a hint of sweet, sour, spicy or salty flavor notes for others, is already incredibly heightened for me. This is also probably because I grew up accustomed to having rather clean tasting or mildly flavored dishes here at home. My Mom, as you may know by now, is very conscious with the food that we eat. She ensures that we stay away from anything too salty, too fatty, too oily, too sweet and more due to genetic and medical reasons. How ironic right that I still end up loving food so much. That said, you can really count with your hands the type of dessert that I personally love in my life. I've always been an ice cream person in particular fruit flavored ice cream. We also love fresh fruits and there has never been a day in my life that we do not end our meal with fresh fruits. My sister and Papa are choco lovers and P...

If there's such thing as "by moms for moms", Matt's Waffles would definitely be "by a kid for more kids"  I first heard about this brand of homemade waffles from my cousin-in-law V. She told me that they have been buying from them and even served this as part of the birthday celebration of my niece L. It was easy to find them on social media and I later found out that Matt's is actually a 10 year old boy who happen to be the talented little chef behind these waffles. I have yet to know the full story how little Matt got into making waffles but my guess is probably because it's one of his favorite snack/breakfast/thing to eat. Anyway, one thing that caught my attention is that it's made with the best ingredients. I'm not talking about truffles and Wagyu beef but it's all about choosing good quality ingredient that ensures us that these waffles are safe for kids to eat -- fresh eggs, fresh milk, butter and olive oil. As a mom, I've...

I'm indeed a very very lucky girl. Why, you may ask? It's because I come from a food loving family and I married into one as well. I've probably mentioned this some time before that Paul's family hails from the foodie capital of Luzon called Pampanga where you can find the most delicious yet heart-stopping delicacies and dishes that has ever graced our tables. From the famous pork sisig, the very umami tamales and bringhe, loads of kakanin variants and a lot more. It's not a big surprise then that Paul and his family are such foodies that our annual family Christmas gathering would start at lunch and could last past afternoon snack with food being served non-stop and we would sometimes even have enough to bring back to Manila. So, when I found out that one of my cousins-in-law is selling her special Baked Macaroni, I quickly dropped her a message to place my order. Of course, primarily, I'm also all for supporting family and secondly, I'm curious to try ...