Onion Foccacia with Rosemary and Thyme =)

The bickering heat of summer is perfect for one good thing...BREAD MAKING! Rising dough should be no problem at all with this weather of ours. I was feeling herb inspired. I made four yummy herby projects for that day. First up...my Onion Foccacia with Rosemary and Thyme bread.

Foccacia is very easy to make. Unlike the other breads I love to make...this is perhaps one of the easiest.

The dough is soft and sticky....and I incorporated the chopped yellow onions before rising.

use the kitchen aid hook attachment to knead the dough

cover loosely with cling film and allow to rise

this is the most fun part...making dimples on the dough with my fingers =) hahaha (toink*toink*toink* ;P hahaha) and drizzle with more olive oil and spinkle the rosemary and thyme =)

cover and allow to rest once more

I placed the baking stone in the oven as it preheats. A final sprinkling of sea salt before popping in the oven.

TADA!!!! =D I think they are lovely!

They are crusty on top...soft and moist inside and very aromatic and flavorful! (I pat my back! hehehe ;P)

I love making bread!!!!!

Spam-bonara!

My shobe, like me, is always hungry! When we hang out at home our tummies seem to grumble more often than normal hahaha ;p So when there is a clamor for some homey comfort food...I go down to the kitchen and scrimmage stuff from the ref and pantry that I can convert to someting yummy. I found pasta, milks, eggs, cheese, bell peppers and spam...I decided to make SPAM-bonara! hahaha

I cooked it they way I would carbonara...and treating the spam as I would the bacon. Well it turned out pretty good...and was gone in a flash! =)

Elfav...ice cream...food and more =)

There is this nice resto located at Pergola building at BF Homes Paranaque called Elfav ice creamery. They make their own ice cream with flavors raging from conventional chocolate and strawberry to funky aclo-ladened kinds like Tequila Rose, Bailey's and yes...beer and non-convetional ones like wasabi! The place has a cozy feel to it, charmed by mis-matched sets of tables and chairs with an array of board games (i.e. chess, tic-tac-toe, scrabble etc.) customers can play with while hanging out. Latest magazines and free wifi access are also available...talk about maximum entertainment for your dining pleasure hehehe. And so how is the dining experience? It was pleasant and very affordable to boot.

Salad Nicoise (about Php 90-ish...)

The serving size was quite big for the price and very close to being authentic. It has tuna, boiled beans, hard cooked egg slices, greens, tomatoes dressed with an herby vinaigrette and served with a side of biscocho-ish bread toasts.

Eggplant Parmigiana Php 90.00

Homestyle baked layers of eggplants, cheese and tomato sauce. The serving size was quite generous and tastes like something homecooked.

T-Bone Steak (Php 99.00)

Well, it's portion size is par or a tad bit smaller than your average 99 peso steaks. I am amazed how thinly the meat and BONE was sliced! As thin as beef one would use for making beef steak. Served with a salty and starchy gravy. The price keeps expectations grounded so we were ok with it...may I just add the baby potaoes and veggies siding was nice =)

Fish Fillet (Php 90.00)

Again, the price kept our expectations well grounded. The fish was ok, battered like a camaron rebusado, served with honey-mustard sauce, rice and veggies.

Over all we were not so enthusiastic with the last two meals we had...but the upside of each visit was, all meals come with FREE ICE CREAM! Just a tasting protion (about two small dirty ice cream scoop size!) but was good enough to satiate a little cool and sweet craving after a meal. If you find yourself kinda "bitin" with the free ice cream shots...you can always but a scoop or two which will just cost you Php 40-60bucks! =)

Banana-Raisin Muffins with Streusel Topping

Off to a long holyweek break, I made some kid friendly and healthy snack to pack for a few days get away. I decided to whip up Banana-Raisin Muffins with Streusel Topping!

Loaded with fiber and nutrients from bananas, raisins and oats! Yup I mixed in oats in my streusel mix...of butter, brown sugar , flour and cinnamon!

Muffins are great grab-and-go breakfast and snack treats. A wholesome vacation to everyone! =)