Cashew Tarts ... simply delish

Cashew Tarts

***

Hubby came home late last night and brought me this box of cashew tarts.

There's probably about two dozens or more cashew tarts in the box.

Don't really know what's so special with these tarts.

They are too chewy and a bit too sweet, but I super love them.

I can eat eight pieces in sixty seconds.

***

Ingredients:

1 cup cashew nuts, roughly chopped

2 pcs. eggs

1/2 cup sugar (preferably brown or muscovado)

1/2 cup pancake syrup

1 T butter (melted)

1 t vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

1/3 butter or shortening

2 T cold water

***

  Procedure:

Mix the first six ingredients for the filling. Set aside.

Then, mix the last four ingredients to make the tart shells or crust.

Fill the tart molds with the crust and filling.

Bake at 350 C for 10 minutes or til golden brown.

Remove from molds.

Serve warm or cold.

Happy baking !!!

Double birthday celebration for Angela & Swanee

Double birthday celebration for Angela & Swanee

who both turned double too.

***

Merienda Cena

(Baked Macaroni, Chicken ala King,Embotido & Puto Pao)

***

Desserts

(Creme Brulee Cake from Yayo, Turon from Bubut,

 Buko Pandan & Fruit Salad)

 They were early.

With Aya - the sexiest of all.

... and Bubs, pa sweet Mom of five boys.

Love your dress and legs.

***

"The Dynamic Duo" ... inseparable!

Angela - super cool, buffet lover, who doesn't know the meaning of stress.

Bubut - the other half of the duo, who thrives on stress, super Mom.

***

with Yayo, our prettiest. most pleasing and kind interior designer.

Simply dynamite ladies!

***

The busiest attorney drove all the way from Makati.

 The sweetest too because

all she eats are cakes and chocolates. 

Always finds time and makes time for friends.

***

The "buubs" party joke!

She had too much clothes on. Two layers and too

many buttons!  ... and nothing to show!

Smile :) 

***

The celebrators --- Batman & Joker

Love these ladies !!!

kain. kape. kwento ...at Santiago

kain. kape, kwento

at Santiago

Santiago, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City

It's the latest, newest restaurant here in our part of the Metro.

***

Complimentary Wheat Monay

Kabuti Trio (Mushroom Soup)

Php 135

Inihaw na Liempo 

Php 229

Grilled Hamonado Longganisa 

Php 191

3-Layered Cheesecake (Sapin-Sapin Inspired)

Php 119

***

Santiago opened last week, a couple of days before the stormy weekend.

I have been counting the days and looking forward to its soft opening.

Son and I were finally able to dine here today.

I suppose you are patiently waiting for my assessment,  evaluation,

and unbiased appraisal.  Here goes ....

***

I started with the 3-layered cheesecake. It was very light, too light.

Not sweet. Just this 'teeny weeny' flavor of sapin sapin.

Didn't taste like a cheesecake. I'd say it was more like a mousse

than a cheesecake.  I liked the latik on top though.  Could use a bit more.

***

Son had the Kabuti Trio / mushroom soup since I don't like eating soup.

It needed  a swirl of light cream. The bread that came with the soup

needed a bit more butter and garlic.

***

The Inihaw na Liempo ... is just what it is. Took them quite a long time to

serve this.  It had too much fat and there were no grill marks.

***

The grilled hamonado longganisa is mine.  I always order longganisa or tocino

because I never cook these at home.  My boys do not eat them. 

I only ate a piece and had the three other pieces wrapped.

Anyway, this longganisa tastes like the huge longganisa that Hubby buys for me

on Sundays at Sunny Side in Maginhawa Street which costs a hundred pesos.

I think I have two pictures of that hundred peso longganisa.

The Hundred Peso Longganisa from Sunny Side

***

Shall I go back?  I told Hubby that I will give this place another try.

Maybe I'll taste their pasta dishes and main entrees next time.

Thoughts on PC's latest novel, Adultery

Adultery

 By: Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho’s latest novel is Adultery. That is what it is. A book about infidelity / unfaithfulness / extramarital sex / adultery … defined as voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.  Then why would anyone expect this novel to be mysterious, cryptic, intense, deep, spiritually inspiring, mystifying or enigmatic?  Because ….  It’s written by THE PAULO  COELHO.

As I was reading reviews of the book, (and there were definitely a lot of negative reviews) I came across one blogger who said that the book isn’t just about adultery and sex, but about a woman’s struggle with her mind, probably a mental illness. There was no mention of any mental disease in the book that the lead character may have been suffering from.  She apparently never believed nor trusted any of the three psychiatrists she consulted.

***

Here are some quotes from the novel that may suggest or indicate that the lead character is suffering from mental illness.

 “Every morning, when I open my eyes to the so-called ‘new day’, I feel like closing them again, staying in bed and not getting up.”

“I arouse desire in men and envy in other women.”

“And yet, every morning, when I open my eyes to this ideal life that everyone dreams of having but few achieve, I know the day will be a disaster.”

These first three quotes were taken from just the first page of the novel. Clearly, the woman is unhappy despite living an ideal life that most ordinary women can only dream of. She continues to verbalize how she is adored by men and how other women are envious of her. Such a narcissist! (If you know someone afflicted with this syndrome, stay as far away from this person. Narcissism has no cure.)  Then at the bottom of the first page it is written that the woman predicts and is quite sure that her day will be tragic, awful and in her own words … a disaster.”

***

The following quotes reveal or simply make obvious that the woman is extremely unhappy, lonely, depressed, and definitely mentally ill.  She said so herself!

 “What’s wrong with routine and boredom?”

“Would I be capable of facing the world alone if my husband died?”

“When I got home and entered the enchanted realm of my domestic world. Everything would seem marvelous for a few hours, until everyone went to bed.”

“When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become habits; the feeling that I’m wasting the best years of my life in a pattern that will be repeated over and over until I die; and sheer panic at facing the unknown, however exciting and adventurous that might be.”

“And then suddenly, for no reason, I get into the shower and burst into tears.  I can cry there because no one can hear my sobs or ask me the question I hate most:  Are you all right?”

“Yes, why shouldn’t I be? Is there anything wrong with my life?  No, nothing.  Only the nights that fills me with dread. The days I can’t get excited about. The happy images from the past and the things that could have been but weren’t. The desire for adventure never fulfilled. The terror of not knowing what will happen to my children…. Then my thoughts start to circle negative things, always the same, as if there were a devil watching from one corner of the room, ready to leap out and tell me what I call ‘happiness’ is merely a passing phase, that nothing lasts. Surely I know that.”

“But I know myself.  I know that my only reaction will be to repress my feelings until a cancer starts eating me up inside. Because I do actually believe that many illnesses are the result of repressed emotions?

“The fact is, I’m tired of having such a happy, perfect life. And that can only be a sign of mental illness.

“Apathy. Pretending to be happy, pretending to be sad, pretending to have an orgasm, pretending to be having fun, pretending that you’ve slept well, pretending that you’re alive.  Until there comes a point where you reach an imaginary red line and realize that if you cross it, there will be no turning back. Then you stop complaining, because complaining means that you are at least still battling something.  You accept the vegetative state and try to conceal it from everyone. And that’s hard work.”  P. 19 of Adultery.    

“My food has no taste. My smile, on the other hand, grows even wider so that no one will suspect, and I swallow my desire to cry. The light outside seems gray.” 

 Apathy … means lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern. Indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested, unexcited, unresponsive, uncaring, uninvolved, unimpressed, detached.  She is definitely suffering from a mental illness.  And Paulo Coelho just had to include the phrase “pretending to have an orgasm”. There seems to be no need for that phrase, but since this is a book on illicit sex and extramarital affairs, that phrase clearly introduces, paves the way, and segues the mood, the pervading tone of the novel. I  have read most of Paulo Coehlo’s novels.  I’m a fan. I admire his views, thoughts and insights on life, love, happiness, spirituality. That is why he has 25 million fans in his Facebook page, and about 10 million more in his other social networking sites.  People love him. People love his books. People buy his books.  He doesn’t have to write about sex or include graphic details of forbidden love and sex just to sell more books.  I don’t even think he cares about the financial aspect or sale of his books.

 

Dear Mr. Paulo Coelho ..,. I hope this will be the last time you will write about bad sex, forbidden love or pornography.  Adultery started out looking like a Paulo Coelho novel, but ended up being a poorly written book. 

Dinner Treat for Balikbayan Classmate

Our classmates got together for a balikbayan colleague, Dr. Alex V aka K.O.

Dinner was at Wooden Spoon in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.

It usually takes me seven minutes to get to Katipunan, but this time,

 it took  almost forty minutes.  Horrendous traffic!

***

Here are the photos of the dishes we ordered.

We got two of each.  Excuse the photos.

There isn't anything wrong with my Samsung.

It's just that the dishes are not plated to be "camera-ready".

Wansoy Shrimp Nuggets

Too salty for me. I hope they can make the wansoy

sauce fresh-er.  The herb loses its flavor if it has been

pre-chopped, pre-blended and pre-mixed.

Crab Pancit

Not too pretty.  It's bihon with lots of scrambled eggs

flavored with crab.  I'm not sure if there was real

crab in the mixture. 

Lechon Kawali

Piniritong Baboy.  Anybody can make this at home.

Kare-kare & Bagoong

I love karekare.  I make very good karekare.

So does my sister in law, my dff's mommy, and a travel buddy's cook.

Nothing special with this one!

Tortang Talong

I love tortang talong! This one was good.

Sigarillas at Daing

I also love this dish.  I order this every time.

Fiesta Rice

I didn't taste this.  But the girls liked it very much.

***

This is what we had for dessert.

***

The Chinese ladies paid for our dinner.

It's always nice to see good old friends.

Thanks for dinner!

Light Sweet Endings

Light sweet endings at Wooden Spoon

Mini sagos topped with palm sugar syrup and pinipig.

Coconut custard topped with cream and pinipig.

Pandan crepe filled with fresh mangoes and ice cream,

topped with nuts, pinipig and chocolate syrup.

***

Were the desserts any good?

Good, but I wouldn't miss or crave for them. 

***

We got together for a balikbayan classmate two weeks ago.  

Thanks to our Chinese classmates for footing the bill. 

***

Watermelon Flavored Candy

***

While Son and I were in Rockwell, I noticed this candy shoppe.

Made in Candy, candy chefs and sugar art.

Interesting. And they've been here for two years.

Why did I miss this candy store?

We usually just eat,  (at the basement)

and then go to Power Books at the top floor.

That's probably why. Made in Candy is on the second floor.

I asked the girl if they have watermelon flavored candy

... and they did!

***

Just a little kwento ...

The first time I went to the States was in 5th grade.

Our second stop was San Francisco. 

(First was Honolulu. No direct flights back in the day.)

Our hosts brought us to a mall near Walnut Creek.

... and there, I saw  barrels of candy.

I took notice of the ones shaped like little watermelons.

... and they tasted like real watermelon.

I was extremely fascinated and  totally hooked.

Ever since, I always look for watermelon flavored candy.