Home-made Meat Loaf

Finally had the courage to try making this in our own kitchen. I've always wanted to for the longest time. But the fact that we don't have a food processor at home, which is quite a shame, always seems to discourage me and I can't be bothered chopping with my bare hands. No way. 

Just so you know, we haven't bought a new food processor yet.  Let's just say, I was in the mood for some hard work.  It shouldn't be too hard, I hope.

It took me ages before I could finish chopping the ingredients.  The hardest part was doing the onion.  I almost wanted to cry.  It was fun, though.  Especially for someone like me who's trying it for the first time. 

Embutido

When steaming was done, I was so excited to slice one log just to see if I did it right.  Surprisingly, it looked so much like the real thing and the taste was also very good.  I might have to make one again soon.  

Hopefully, I've got a food processor by then.

30th Family Day (August 28)

Another rainy Sunday. We had no other choice but to stay indoor. We don't really mind spending the whole time inside the venue because we can still do most stuff without having to go somewhere else. I guess the only limitation is the fact that we have nothing except a white backdrop (laughs). But that doesn't limit our creativity, neither does it lessen our level of fun and enjoyment.

We love what we do. Though some people would describe it as repetitive because of the usual stuff that we carry out over and over again, it doesn't bother us at all. For as long as we don't do any harm or offend others, there's absolutely nothing wrong in finding some form of happiness without much effort.

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29th Family Day ( August 21 )

It has been a while since the last time we went out to enjoy a lovely day. If my memory serves me right, we stopped the location shoot sometime between March and April, when the weather started getting wintery. From then on we've been stuck spending the afternoon indoor.

To break the monotony, we decided to go out to see some sights that we haven't been able to see.

First Location: Cull Park, Miramar

The whole town of Albany is generously surrounded by parks and gardens that are accessible anytime of the day. This one at Miramar is relatively small compared to the others. The man-made bridge and small pond set facing the road is an added attraction.

Second Location: Emu Point

I've never been over to the site before and was just so delighted to be there for the first time. It reminded me of Hillarys Boat Harbour where we went to the Aquarium of Western Australia and Breakwater two years ago. It was getting darker by the minute so we wasted no single moment to explore the place. 

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Project: Bible Cake

A religious person deserves a religious cake.  For a priest's/friend's birthday, I couldn't think of any other design that would symbolize his noble vocation than a bible or a cross design.  As I browsed for images, I've seen samples of bible cakes that looked easy to make and thought to myself, "I can make one myself".  

And this was what I came up with.

my version of bible cake

Bottom cake: Moist chocolate cake

Bible cake: Chocolate marble cake 

I decided not to make another cake for the bible since only a small piece of it would be needed.  Instead, I just bought a slab of chocolate marble cake from Coles; trimmed off the sides to create the perfect dimension of the book then covered it with fondant.  Voila!  My bible cake was all set to go. 

Inay Juling visits places around Albany

Date: August 19, 2011
Location: Middleton Beach and Eyre Gardens

Second "Gala Day" with Inay Juling, this time around Kumare Jeraldine was with us.

Immediately after work, I met with them at the car park. Didn't even get a chance to get changed so I ended up wearing my work clothes in the photos, which I don't normally do. Anyway, it didn't make the experience any less exciting. Our concern was mainly for Inay Juling to enjoy and explore beautiful sights that Albany has to offer.

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Asawa Ko's Birthday Dinner (August 7)

We've had three birthday celebrations within that span of one week. First was my birthday exactly seven days back, second was Doc's the following day after mine and then Hubby's.

Once again, the 7th fell perfectly on a Sunday. Just like our usual Sunday affair, each family group shared a plate of their offering. It was amazing how instantly the dining table looked so festive, with all the delectable foods. Hubby was very much overwhelmed. He didn't get as much exposure as he could though because of his eyes still infected with conjunctivitis. I could tell how he wanted so much to cherish that moment.

The guys were taking their time, one song after another over the karaoke, while for us ladies, only one thing could make us gather in one spot - the camera. Apparently, it was like our event, with the celebrant behind the lens to take photos of us. That only proved how much we ladies have become very passionate about the art.

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Inay Juling visits places Part I

This album is dedicated to Inay Juling's first visit to Albany. We are so delighted to share in her excitement and new experience as she goes to see some of the most favored tourist attractions of the town.

Date: August 12, 2011
Location: Mt. Melville Lookout and Albany Wind Farm

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28th Family Day (August 14)

The first two consecutive Sundays since coming back in Albany had been intended for birthdays, which meant that we are officially back to continue what we had started. And that is our "Every-Sunday-is-Family Day-affair".

If I am not mistaken, the last Family Day that we had before leaving for holiday was the 25th. We missed out five Sundays of pure bonding and laughter with the gang. But the fun continues now that we're all back again and ready for more memorable experiences.

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Pasta with prawns and chicken

Once again we've got left-over prawns and roasted chicken from yesterday. Instead of putting them into the bin like what we normally do with our day-old food, I used my imagination to come up with a dish where they can be used.

Thanks to Google for providing the procedure though I had to substitute some of the ingredients.  The taste was so good.  Who would even say that it's been recycled from a previously cooked dish?  Sometimes we have to be innovative and creative when it comes to food preparation.  That way we get the right nutrients the body needs, at the same time, we get value for our money.

Wanton noodle soup

29th Family Day.

A soup to complement the tofu sticks that we made (previous post), at the same time, to make us feel warm.  

wanton noodle soup

Every time the week comes to a Saturday, Hubby and I have made it a part of our routine to do food shopping.  That's the only time we get to buy bottled water, other food stuff to feed us for the week ahead as well as the ingredients we will need for our Family Day dish.  Most of the time, what's keeping us long is deciding what to cook.  I know we should have thought about it prior coming to the supermarket, but we always end up in the same scenario every single time.  Anyway, we're working on it gradually.



For last Sunday, we picked an easy dish to make.  We wanted to create a wanton noodle soup with various add-ons to choose from - dumplings, hard-boiled eggs, flaked chicken.  It was pretty interesting doing it for the first time.  In no more than an hour, we were able to finish making two meals simultaneously.  The soup looked so inviting while it was still hot and steaming. 

The photo above shows that I forgot to put some chicken and eggs, out of so much excitement to capture the oozing vapor coming from the soup.

We really didn't expect it would taste so good when we tasted it.  The vegetable dumplings we used were also a hit and they couldn't believe it only cost us $1.84 for a box of 12.  Instead of making our own siomai/dumpling, this would make a perfect substitute.