LumpiaLife

The first time I set foot in Mexico four years ago, I got hooked. I fell in love with the place! Every year from then on, we don’t miss to visit it. I don’t really drink alcohol other than red wine at home, but when I’m on vacation, I make an exception. Expect for a drinking spree where the sun shines brighter! Now, this excites me more than a little! Although  I never go overboard, and just a little touch of alcohol in every drink, thus, I’ve never been drunk.  This year, we went to Puerto Vallarta, and we brought along with us our daughter. We enjoyed the place, the foods, the excursions, and drinks! There are only a handful of drinks I know and most often than not, I always get my no. 1 favorite drink which is piña colada. This time, I happened to try michelada. Never heard of it before, but it is a Mexican drink. It is said to have several versions, but the one I liked was the one mixed in with clam and tomato juice or “clamato” juice.    On our f...

There was this young lady in my church back home in the Philippines that I was very fond of. She got married early in life and had little kids at such a young age. Her house was just close by our church and so whenever she missed the worship service, I would swing-by her house. She and her family were very poor. They lived in a small, dilapidated shack, and it was evident that she was struggling in life. Every time she saw me, I’d see her beamed with glee. She was always bubbly, so fun to talk with, and had this contagious laughter. There was no hint of miseries or whatsoever  when you see her.      One Sunday, I went to her house at noon right after our church service. She told me she wanted to invite me for lunch, but she was shy because they only had cooked rice…as usual. I knew how hard her life had been, but I couldn’t remember seeing her being sad, in fact, it was the total opposite – she always looked happy! I held her hand and told her, “But you are h...

Dad's a pro at making Chicken and Beef Kelaguen. We first took some chicken thighs and BBQ'd them, then chopped up into tiny pieces. He then added some lemon, soy sauce, salt and pepper and spices. Here's a great recipe if you'd like to try it out! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chopped-grilled-chicken-kelaguen-mannok-2198423 Talafofo, Guam

Didn't want to miss this experience of a lifetime - to witness the Eclipse! Along with the other hundreds of campers, we were fortunate enough to reserve a spot on Nehalem Bay (August 20-23) months before. Please, tag along as we walk you through our experience watching the eclipse!

       When I visited my friend, Cathy, in Virginia for a couple of weeks, she introduced me to a lot of delectable dinner meals that I was eager to cook for my family when I got back home. I wasn’t surprised when those meals have become the favorites in my household. One of those meals was “Jefferson” Virginia Ham Pasta. The title itself speaks what it stands for: it was thought to be created for, or created by the president himself (I forgot the real story but it was something like that), and said to be one of his favorite pasta recipes. The said president was known for his love of foods. In fact, during his presidency, it was noted that anything served at the White House became the talk of the town.      I can’t recall how many times I made this. I used the recipe on myrecipe.com but over the course of time, I can say that I tweaked this in a numerous of times in different ways. I used different kinds of pasta, not just the strozzapreti past...

Tonight's dinnner is Chicken Lombardy, steamed rice, yellow corn on a cob, homemade pickled cucumber with manzanilla olives stuffed with minced pimiento, and pickled carrots (a leftover from a Mexican restaurant). I've been making Chicken Lombardy sparingly for five years now and this has always been a hit in the family. My Fil-Am husband always likes to pair this up with white rice. Here is the recipe for the chicken: Chicken Lombardy Ingredients:  5 pcs. Mushroom (regular size), sliced 2 Tablespoon Salted Butter 4 to 6 pcs. skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts  1/2 Cup All-purpose Flour 1/3 Cup Butter 3/4 Cup Marsala 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth (I actually prefer water + 1/2 cube chicken bouillon) 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 Cup Mozarella Cheese, shredded 1/2 Cup Parmessan Cheese 3 Green Onions, chopped Instructions: 1. Cook mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly...

While searching for fun things to do while visiting Cabo, we came across the combo ATV-Horseback Riding excursion found on http://www.cabosanlucastours.net. It was a 4-hour activity altogether and costs $115 for a shared ATV and 2 horses, if you book through their website. If you book through your hotel, it costs $170. Don't forget to bring your own bandana, or otherwise, you can use the ones that are being used by the previous riders. If not, you can purchase one from them for $3 or $5 (not sure because we brought our own, so this is just a tip). Put tons of sunscreen protection as it is expected to be hot and sunny. The horseback riding was ok, but it was still a good experience. On the other hand, we did enjoy the ATV ride! It was quite intense, but exciting at the same time. We will definitely do it again. Don't forget to tip your guides. We really enjoyed our guide, Chano (very funny and entertaining). He speaks only limited English but we communicated just fine.