#FrannyCooks : Crunchy Fried Kesong Puti

Wow 2019 is zooming by so so so fast, don't you agree? Look at this, we're half way in February and before we know it, we're halfway through the year and 2020 will start making its way through. Don't you wish that time would slow down a lil bit allowing us to breath, relax and have a bit more fun? As I was going through my blog archive, I realized that I haven't shared any recipes with you guys for the past 2 months. A lot of things have happened in 60 days that sometimes I feel like I just can't keep up!

Anyway, let me have a good start to this exciting week by sharing one of my favorite easy-peasy recipes with you. This one can be done in less than 30 minutes and one that I love to do when I'm literally in a rush. That said, I apologize in advance for the awful photo qualities that you'll see below. No glamorized shots, no proper lighting, no stylized plating. I was seriously rushing to make dinner as I got stuck in traffic and came home with less than an hour to dinner time when Mom and I found out that our helper hasn't prepared anything. Talaga nga naman. *sigh*

Anyway, luckily I have a pack of fresh Pinkie's Farm kesong puti (white cheese) which I love buying from Titallennials as well as a pack of panko breadcrumbs (my pantry staple!) and a carton of eggs. That instantly gave me an idea on what to prepare for dinner that evening. Before I begin, let me tell you about this delicious Pinkies Farm Kesong Puti, I've long been subscribed in this super active Viber group hosted by the ladies behind Titallennials. Day in and out my phone would get non-stop notification of people sending in their orders, the owners updating us about the latest products and so on. One day, I was so intrigued as a lot of mommies started ordering products from Pinkies Farm which is being distributed at Titallennials. I checked the price list out and while I can't take in heavy full cream milk, my eyes zoomed in to the bottom of the list -- Kesong Puti. I love cheese and I love kesong puti as it's like our local version of the Italian's Buffalo Mozzarella...or I'd like to think it is.

I placed an order and as soon as I got my first pack, I gave it a try. It was simple, I sliced it into bite-sized portions, added it inside a piece of warm pan de sal, add a scoop of pesto sauce and ...oooh lala! I was in heaven.  I promise you this is not even an exaggeration as it was just so good. The saltiness of the cheese, the creamy texture, the coarseness of the pesto and that warm pan de sal. It was indeed an amazing combination. So good that I ended up consuming most of the kesong puti. I knew I had to order more and so I did the following week and weeks after that.

So here's one of my easy recipes which you can try using the Pinkie's Farm Kesong Puti:

Say it with Pizza by Greenwich Pizza Hawaiian Overload

"Dear xxx, You'll always have the biggest PIZZA my heart."

"To my one and only, I PEPPERON-ly have eyes on you."

"My love, you had me at PIZZA."

Sounds cheesy? Well, you are allowed to be as cheesy as you want this Valentines Day (all the way up to this weekend) and surprise your special someone with a box of pizza too! That's what I did as Paul and I opted to stay home with our twins on this special day. 

Franny Mommy : My Grand Baby Fair 2019 Experience

Two weeks ago, I literally spent the entire weekend shopping at Baby Company's Grand Baby Fair. If there's one baby fair that all moms should be present in, then this would definitely be it. It happens twice a year but the biggest one happens every January. Most of you may know by now that I'm definitely not the shopping fanatic kind, so in order for me to brave the crowd just to score a number of great deals, that equates to a lot of energy and thus I ended up feeling super exhausted but very satisfied as most twin mom will definitely agree with me that with more kids.. every peso counts.

Spot me and my little J!

This year's fair was definitely much better in terms of logistics and variety as compared to the last. I was so happy with this thus making all the effort to go all the way to SM Megamall so worth it. We went both on the first and second day. The first day was spent shopping for all of our babies' necessities and the second day.. well I went there for work (more about this next time) and I was so proud of myself that I resisted the temptation of buying more things.

Super Daddy Paul trying Vpharma's newest product -- Bifina R

As with all other baby fairs, Paul went with me as he actually looks forward to events like this. He's really very hands-on with our kids that he actually takes charge in searching for the best deals for their diapers, wet wipes and more. Ask him which brand is the cheapest in whatever size and believe me, he'll have an answer ready. I'm thankful that he's such an awesome dad which is also why our twins just love their Daddy so much.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 8 Auspicious Eats for the Chinese New Year

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to the Year of the Earth Dog and welcome the arrival of the Earth Pig. I managed to take a quick peek at my horoscope and things seems to look positive and rosy for those born in my year (ha! I'm not disclosing which year haha sneaky sneaky huh?). I'm sure there'll be lots of Chinese New Year prediction going around tomorrow so better keep a look out for yours and I do wish that your 2019 will be filled with happiness and prosperity too.

Anyway, despite receiving a good forecast, I still like to play my cards right. It doesn't hurt to take extra steps to bring in more luck, after all. On the foodie front, here are 8 dishes that should be part of your Chinese New Year spread tomorrow night:

1) Dumplings
This is probably one of the most popular dishes every Chinese New Year. This tiny yummy bags of pork/minced veggies/seafood symbolizes wealth. Shaped like ingots which are the olden day representation of money, thus it's believed that having this on your Chinese New Year table will help you bring in an abundant amount of money/wealth.

Order this delicious 8 Treasure Chicken from Pepita's Lechon

2) Chicken
This symbolizes unity and good marriage thus having one whole chicken (normally even with the head intact) is included in the menu line-up as the New Year is all about wishing for good relationships too.

Have a Festive Chinese New Year with China Mommy

February has officially rolled in and the festivities haven't ended yet! After we have celebrated Christmas and New Year, it's now time to bring out all of our red outfits (mental note: look for Chinese costumes for my twins) and adorn our table with all things round, red and lucky as the Year of the Pig is just around the corner. Which, by the way, will happen in a few days time!

Our family has been extra busy lately as my sister recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy and so prior to that, we've been helping her prepare for the grand arrival of the newest addition of our growing family. Anyway, with all that frenzy as well as with our jam-packed schedules, I feel like we wouldn't have time to spend half a day, more so, the entire day in the kitchen. However, I will never allow that the Chinese New Year will just go by quietly so a celebration is definitely in order.

Luckily, I have my go-to home delivery service -- China Mommy! Remember how they have filled our bellies with the yummiest dishes as we celebrate various milestone of my twins' first year of life? This time, we got to enjoy some of China Mommy's specialty dishes as we celebrated my Mommy's birthday.

Franny Mommy Favorites : Beginnings Baby -- Start your baby right

I have to admit that I was pretty OC prior to having my babies. I love it when things are organized and clean and I would stop at nothing to achieve this every single day. All my life, I am aware of my OC-ness and Paul never failed to complain verbalize this whenever he can. Perhaps from a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most OC, I'd probably be a 9. That's pretty high, don't you think? However, what I wasn't ready for was how this OC-ness would reach its peak from the moment my twins were born.

I guess, it comes with the fact that they were NICU babies. They were smaller and more fragile than other full term babies thus I made sure that not a single dust would fall on them as I just wanted to protect them in the best way I can.

Don't worry, I didn't turn into some crazy OC Mommy but I was just extra extra cautious as I just wanted to ensure that I've covered all bases when it comes to making their environment as clean as possible at least for the first 6 months of their lives. Nowadays, I'm more lenient as I don't want them to be so used to being super duper clean which might later hinder them from building up the antibodies against germs, dust and pollution someday. Agree?

Anyway, one thing that I made sure of was to dress them up in white clothes when they were newborn. From their side-tie-shirts to their comfy pajamas to even the wash clothes used to wipe their spit ups and what not. I also requested their yayas (nannies) to not wear black especially when they have to carry my babies simply because wearing dark colored shirts won't let you see if there's any insect or any dirt which might get in contact with the babies. I was so happy that they understood my point and happily complied.

Speaking of white outfits, one local brand that I loved was Beginnings Baby. Let's face it, when you shop at the department store, you get to see a wide array for brands. I never shopped this much in my life but since I have two babies to dress up, I have been frequenting my favorite department store more often than usual that I am so familiar with the designs and styles of each local brand. One reason why I love Beginnings Baby is because of the soft texture of its fabric. We all know how sensitive a baby's skin is and among all the side-tie-shirts and wash clothes that we have purchased, this one is the softest one. It's so silky to touch and cool when it touches the skin. I can just imagine how comfortably my twins must have felt while wearing this.

Ceviche -- A Peruvian Gastropub along Sto. Domingo, Quezon City

Trivia: Did you know that Philippine passport holders can travel to Peru without the need of any visa provided you stay for only 183 days or roughly around 6 months. That's long enough for any average tourist and that means multiple visits to see the Machu Picchu and countless ceviches and more. 

Anyway, I recently discovered how yummy Peruvian dishes are and since then, I've been on a hunt for the freshest ceviches and the tastiest, most tender lomo saltados available in town. For instance, a month ago, I got together with some of my favorite foodie friends as we checked out Ceviche. It's a cozy-looking gastropub located within a quiet residential area in Quezon City. I grew up in this neighborhood as Kongkong and Ama used to live here and back then, we would have to drive out to either Banawe or to Quezon Avenue in order to have a good restaurant meal. Today, you'd find interesting hole in a wall food spots in this area and it indeed is a good sign of the great, yummy things to come.

The folks who opened Ceviche used to also operate a Peruvian restaurant called Don Andres along Pioneer street. They have closed that restaurant since and have called Quezon City their new home. A quick chat with one of the owners and fellow twin dad T, he told us of the close link of the Peruvian cuisine to that of the Japanese. In fact, their famous appetizer called ceviche makes use of raw, fresh slice of fish similar to the Japanese sashimi.