Griffinsol Drawing

This is something I came up with for work. We needed to enter something with wings that represent our organization (Financial Solutions or Finsol for short). It was presented a few days ago, so now, I'm free to share it - no need to keep it a secret anymore!

"Griffins are usually heroic symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like an eagle, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, griffins represent heat and summer. In Assyria, both the griffin and the dragon were symbols of wisdom. In Roman art, griffins are often pulling the chariot of Nemesis (goddess of justice and revenge)." http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1932-greek-mythology-griffin

For the drawing, I got the inspiration from this site: http://www.elfwood.com/~tnhawke/Griffin-Sketch.3291400.html

I drew it first on paper and then scanned it. After that, I used Paint.NET to add the colors. For the cloud background, that's actually from a photo I took before.

Canvas Printing Services in Manila Philippines

I've been looking for a service that can print my Instagram Photos into something that I can frame for a limited budget in Manila.

Before now, I've only known about Instacanvas, which is US-based, and they sell the 12x12 inch canvas for 39.95 USD + 9 USD for shipping fees. It's too steep for me and I don't think I'm their target market since I earn in Philippine standards. [Plus, I joined Instacanvas with the seller-mindset rather than a buyer-mindset...]

I've recently tried out Pop Print Photos (http://www.facebook.com/popprintphotos). I ordered their 12x12 Xintra Print as a gift. I got this one for PhP 900 (inclusive of VAT & Shipping).

After a week of settling the order details and the payment details, it arrived! I was happy with the quality and that the photo didn't come out pixelated, considering I took and edited the photo in my iphone using Snapseed and Instagram.

My niece and her canvas

My niece hung her picture on the doorknob, thought it would be funny

Italian Cooking Spree: We made Chunky Tomato Soup

As part of the Italian Cooking Spree, we made Chunky Tomato Soup. Now, I've been making the tomato cream soup for a long time, and I should probably try something else. RJ says that I need to branch out because I keep going back to Tomato Soup. :P

However, for now, I'm writing about it again, because I really liked this version better with the chunky bits! We thought we had a blender already, but turns out we don't. In the end, it turned out better than expected because the chunkiness made it rich.

The inspiration for this particular recipe comes from Laura Vitale. You can find her recipe and video in the link here: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/all/episode.php?episodenumber=454

What you'll find below is our version... developed because we adapted to what's available (in Cherie's house and in the supermarket we went to).

The chunky tomato soup up close, with the addition of fresh spring onions from the garden the day after

Again, credits to Tine for the photos of the cooking process. :) Thank God for your camera!


Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 lbs of Ripe Tomatoes
• 1 32 oz Can of Canned Tomatoes (whether whole or diced, it's fine)
• 1 1/4 cups of Chicken Stock (we used 2 cups of water plus 1 chicken bouillon cube)
• 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/4 cup of Fresh Basil Leaves (we didn't have it that day, but I added it on the leftovers)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Some dried herbs and chilli flakes for seasoning in small quantities

How-to:

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Chop the onions. Do all the needed prep work.

Adrin, here, is good at chopping the garlic and onions

2) Slice the tomatoes in half and put them on the baking sheet or pan. Pour the olive oil, salt, and pepper all over them and toss it all together so each one gets coated with the fair share. Make sure they arrange in one layer so they roast evenly (Lesson Learned). Roast them for about 25 minutes. (Laura Vitale added the balsamic vinegar here, but we didn't know we had it until later.)

3) In the large pot, sautee the chopped onions in the olive oil until they get a golden brown color, add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

4) We added the bouillon cubes and the water and put the heat at medium-high. Allow the mixture to come to a boil to make sure the cube is fully dissolved. Add the canned tomatoes and simmer at medium heat.

5) We took out the tomatoes and chopped them into smaller bits and dunked it in the soup. (At this point, we realized we didn't have a blender! Oh no...) So this is where the tomato-crushing efforts came in. See the photo below on how we did it. This is where I also added the balsamic vinegar.

We sifted off a lot of the chunks and forced it through the strainer. For the remainder, we continued to crush it and chop it up some more (pinanggigilan-chopping). and then forced it through the strainer again.

6) After finishing with the tomato-crushing efforts, let the soup simmer for around 15 minutes. We added a small handful of dried rosemary (feedback was not to add because it's hard to chew and swallow) and some dried chilli flakes. In the end before serving it, add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream and mix it together. Unfortunately, ours didn't dissolve all that well without the blender (i heard you had to "temper" it)... but it still tasted great!

So here's what we ended up with... Chunky tomatoey goodness! :)

Yum :)

Italian Cooking Spree: We Made Easy Tiramisu

Yesterday, I got together with other people from work (there were 7 of us) to sharpen our cooking skills. The theme for this Saturday was Italian where we made Carbonara, Tomato Soup, and Easy Tiramisu. This particular entry will be dedicated to the Tiramisu.

Some few words about this: There was too much coffee liquid such that there was a lot of liquid left behind in the tray. This dessert was named "Tiramisoup" :) It didnt affect the taste of the texture, but the excess liquid was just weird to look at. I guess the only way to avoid this would be to really quickly dip the ladyfingers in the coffee so they don't absorb too much liquid. [Lesson Learned]

Up close on a slice of our Easy Tiramisu :P

Since it's our first time making this, we needed to find something easy. This particular recipe, called "Easy Tiramisu", we based it from this site: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/23143/recipeeasy-tiramisu

Since we weren't able to get the mascarpone cheese in the average supermarket here in Manila, we had to go for a substitute. It ended up quite good so no regrets on using a mascarpone substitute! For the mascarpone cheese substitute, we got it from this site:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mascarpone-substitute/

The photos of the creation process are all thanks to Tine!

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (we forgot this one)
• At least 24 ladyfingers (also known as Broas here in the Philippines, produced by FMC)
• 1 crushed ladyfinger for topping
• Cocoa for sprinkling (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee for dipping

How-to (or What Happened):

1) Tine and Adrin started mixing together the 8 oz. softened cream cheese, with the 1/4 cup of whipped cream (we used Anchor) and the 2 tbsp of softened butter. They mixed it together using the electric mixer. We now have our mascarpone cheese substitute!

2) Afterwards, they mixed 1/4 cup sugar (we used brown because we were out of white, no regrets in using brown) with 3 egg yolks -- don't forget to make sure there's no egg shells. I bit into one in some part, but it was a really small piece. After that, it went into the cream cheese mixture. We forgot to add the 2 tsp vanilla extract, my bad. :( After everything is mixed up, leave it aside.

3) Now, it's Cherie, Fran, and Jester's turn. Fran and Jester brought the coffee where the ladyfingers needed to be dipped in. In a bowl, they poured in the 1 1/2 cup brewed coffee. Each lady finger was dipped briefly in the coffee (be quick about it, because they break easily; use a big spoon just like in the photo below). After dipping, it was arranged in our 8x8 pan.

4) When the 8x8 pan is covered in soaked ladyfingers, we added a layer using half of the cream cheese mixture. We added another layer of the soaked ladyfingers on top of the cream cheese. When it's all filled up, we poured in the remaining cream cheese.

5) Using what was left of the ladyfingers, we crushed some bits as toppings over the cream cheese mixture. When it was done, we popped it in the fridge to chill for an hour!

So to summarize steps 3-5, here it is:

Dip, Arrange, Layer (2x), then top off with crushed ladyfingers

So here's the gang that worked on the Tiramisu (along with the Tomato Soup and the Carbonara). I'll be writing next about the Tomato Soup and the Carbonara.

L-R: Jester, Cherie, me, Fran, Tine, RJ (Adrin was behind the camera)

Photo: City Lights of Mandaluyong and Makati

Photo: The Fountain of Lights

The office building rarely turns on the fountain and the fancy lights, so I'm lucky to have gotten a shot.

My New Purple Bag

I bought this bag 2 weeks ago and I started using it last Saturday. It's nice, comfortable, and sturdy. You'd think i paid a lot higher, but it's actually just roughly 500 PhP! I got it in a tiangge somewhere.

In the Philippine malls these days, you cant get a nice bag anymore for around 500 and below! :( Almost all the nice bags I've seen are 1000+! (What's happening to the world?!)

I wish there were more places to buy cute inexpensive good quality bags like this one. I see too many people walking around with their branded bags.

 

Update  [Nov 18]: I spoke too soon. One of the gold buckles fell off because one of the screws got loose. :( I'd probably have to use superglue to get it back together. Oh well. It still looks alright.

Photo: Stray Dog in Black & White

While we were at the Kanto Freestyle Breakfast, there was this stray dog waiting for food scraps from us. He's got those sad eyes.

Vacation Planning for 2013

My college friends have decided that 6 of us are going to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (in Bataan) sometime in the early 2013. No particular month locked in yet. We got saw this deal in Deal Grocer.

I'm pretty much looking forward to it! The place looks great. :) Hope we're not going to be disappointed.

Kanto Freestyle Breakfast in Mandaluyong

I had dinner today in a new place! Kanto Freestyle Breakfast in Mandaluyong :) I was with my new teammates. :D Meet JP's new friend as well, Barbie the dog. My tuyo meal was Php 90 btw. :P

I hope you dont mind my short writing, but i'm too lazy now... But i had a good time here and I wanted to share so here goes!

Didi and I, Tuyo & Kesong Puti, Barbie the Dog, Leo and JP

My meal: Tuyo, Kesong Puti, Scrambled Eggs, Pesto Tomato, and Garlic Rice for PhP 90

3 pieces of Bacon as additional viand, Php 60. Sorry, takaw.

Didi's coffee which smelled very cinnamon-y for PhP 25. I wish I got one too.

Menu Page 1

Menu Page 2

I took a screenshot of my phone for documentation. I'll be back! This is the Boni Ave side where there's Tapa King.

Update: Apparently, they're already famous and they've got their own Facebook fan page. :) http://www.facebook.com/kantofreestylebreakfast 

Next time I go, i'll try to pancakes.

The New La Creperie in San Juan

I had lunch today in the new La Creperie in San Juan with my brother. I'm a fan of their branch in Eastwood, so I jumped to get 3 coupons in Deal Grocer when they released it for their new branch 3 weeks ago. :)

Since my brother hasn't tried La Creperie yet, I dragged him for lunch to get him to try my favorites. Overall, I think he was impressed with the food.

Inside La Creperie in the ground floor. That's my brother.

Here's what we ordered:

• Pesto Cream Carbonara - My brother and I split this one. I love this pasta!
• Le J.J. (Savory Crepe) - Ham, Emmental and Gruyere cheese, tomato, garlic, chilli flakes.
• Complète (Savory Crepe) - Ham, mushrooms, Emmental and Gruyere cheese, mustard, and poached egg to top it off.
• Creme Caramel Tea (TWG) - It came in a tea pot and they brought 2 cups for me and my brother.

Clockwise: Le JJ, Pesto Carbonara, Complete, and Creme Caramel Tea

The range of the food we ordered were 250-300 per dish. The tea came in a small teapot with one refill.

Just like their branch in Eastwood, the food was GREAT. :D There's really something special about the crepes here... maybe it's the mix of cheese... maybe it's their mushroom or their ham. :D~ *drool*

For the Creme Caramel Tea, it really had that caramel aroma. However, I probably will not order this next time. Try it at least once for an interesting experience. It's like holding up caramel to your nose while sipping on hot water. (Sorry, I'm no tea expert so don't take me seriously here)

TWG Creme Caramel Tea in the Tea Pot

The place is bigger than their Eastwood branch with 2 floors. I love the "feel" of the place with the white-and-yellow theme plus with the French happy-feel music that I don't understand. Totally chill on a Saturday afternoon. :D

There are only a few restaurants that make me crave for their food specifically. La Creperie is one of them. I'll definitely be back soon!

This place is so CUTE!

The new La Creperie in San Juan is in the Wilson Area. Coming from Wilson, turn right at Gloria Maris and Alex III. When you see Piandre (the salon), turn right. La Creperie is located between Tori Box and Eat My GF (both of which I heard were also great, so i'll be trying them out one of these days).

Photo: Buildings and Trees under the Blue Sky

By yours truly... :)