Vigan Miki Soup, plus Red Soup

Vigan Miki Soup, plus Red Soup. The Vigan Miki similar to other pasta and noodles, are best serve immediately. Otherwise the broth will be absorbed by the pasta or noodles, if serve at a later time. This is very true if the pasta or noodles used are dried type. The rehydration process does not stop when cooking is finished, it will continue absorbing the broth until all of the liquid is

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Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 51

I didn't do a meal plan last week, as I was really busy in the run-up to Christmas and also had some unexpected bad news to deal with. I realised just how much I rely on my meal plans - they do take a little bit of time but it's just once a week then for the rest of the week I just check back at what I was supposed to be making. Without a plan I really struggled and wasted time looking through the freezer trying to find something to cook. So this time I've managed to find time to do some planning!

In previous years I've done a lot of festive baking at this time of year and it's a shame I haven't really got time to do any this year. I would have thought that being on maternity leave I'd have more time than when I was at work, but my gorgeous nine month old is pretty all-consuming and when I'm not feeding, changing or playing with her, I'm trying to keep on top of housework and life chores. Maybe next year she will want to join in and bake something with me!

So here's this week's plan:

Monday
Breakfast for baby S: crumpet
Lunch for us: beans on toast as I have to go out to a playgroup at 1.15
Lunch for baby S: chicken and veg
Dinner for us: chicken goujons/ scampi and chips
Dinner for baby S: pouch of organic baby food that needs using by January, followed by baked apple

Tuesday
Breakfast for baby S: porridge with fruit
Lunch for us: bacon sandwich
Lunch for baby S:  tuna and avocado on pitta bread
Dinner for us: orange glazed chicken for him and salmon for me with roast potatoes if time
Dinner for baby S: baby pasta with tomato and chicken

Wednesday
Breakfast for baby S: toast
Lunch for us: hot dogs
Lunch for baby S: salmon from dinner yesterday followed by tangerine
Dinner for us: bbq pork loin steaks for me (using up freezer stash) and chicken for him, with croquette potatoes
Dinner for baby S: cod and sweetcorn chowder with apple crumble for dessert

Thursday
Breakfast for baby S: porridge with fruit
Lunch for us: pasta carbonara using packet sauce
Lunch for baby S:  pasta carbonara
Dinner for us: burger and French fries
Dinner for baby S: rest of cod and sweetcorn chowder

Friday
Breakfast for baby S: breakfast muffin
Lunch for us sandwiches
Lunch for baby S:  pitta bread, cucumber sticks, chicken pieces, followed by petit filous
Dinner for us: gammon steak and chips
Dinner for baby S: pouch of organic baby food that needs using by January

Saturday
Breakfast for baby S: fruity porridge
Lunch for us: mini pizza
Lunch for baby S:  mini pizza
Dinner for us: homemade fish pie for me (in the freezer), toad in the hole for him
Dinner for baby S: gammon, veg, mini potato waffle

Sunday
Breakfast for baby S: fruity porridge
Lunch for us: cheese on toast/ French toast combo
Lunch for baby S: cheese on toast/ French toast combo
Dinner for us: steak and chips
Dinner for baby S: pouch of baby food

And then tomorrow is Christmas eve! What are you doing for Christmas?

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Meal Planning Monday 2018 Week 49

I've not managed to get my daughter into any sort of proper routine at the moment which means that sometimes we miss a solid meal I'd planned as she is asleep and then she just has milk afterwards - I'm also finding she wakes up too late for a solid breakfast if I'm giving her lunch as well at the moment. So from now on I'm going to plan three meals a day, and hope that she eats at least two of them! I'm also going to start giving her a cooked meal like fish pie or risotto at lunch and finger food at dinner as when she goes to nursery she will have her main meal at lunchtime.

Monday
Breakfast for baby porridge with fruit
Lunch for baby  roast beef from Sunday
Lunch for us beans/ macaroni cheese on toast
Dinner for baby homemade risotto from the freezer. For dessert - baked apple
Dinner for us cottage cheese stuffed chicken based on this recipe

Tuesday
Breakfast for baby  yogurt with fruit
Lunch for baby baby pasta with some chicken from our dinner yesterday
Lunch for us bacon sandwich
Dinner for baby not sure if we will be back in time (see below) so maybe some finger food
Dinner for us probably back late as baby S has an appointment at the allergy clinic so something easy from the freezer

Wednesday
Breakfast for baby  homemade breakfast muffins
Lunch for baby cheese on toast we didn't have last week
Lunch for us cheese on toast
Dinner for baby  something ready made to make it easy for my husband as I won't be home
Dinner for us I'm going into work this afternoon so something quick and easy for when I get back - pasta ready meal for me, something from the freezer for him

Thursday
Breakfast for baby  porridge or yogurt with fruit
Lunch for baby pitta bread pizza
Lunch for us pitta bread pizza
Dinner for baby cottage pie and green beans with petit filous for dessert
Dinner for us  Orange glazed salmon and mini roast potatoes for me that I didn't do last week, chicken for him

Friday
Breakfast for baby  homemade breakfast muffin
Lunch for baby salmon and potatoes from yesterday
Lunch for us sandwich with fresh bread
Dinner for baby spaghetti Bolognese using mince with baby food from a jar with poached pear for dessert
Dinner for us tuna pasta bake for me, chicken chargrills for him

Saturday
Breakfast for baby toast
Lunch for baby tuna pasta bake
Lunch for us  bacon sandwich again at my husband's request; I will have the rest of my pasta bake
Dinner for baby cod and sweetcorn chowder with apple crumble for dessert
Dinner for us beef and lamb chargrills with mashed potato or roast potato

Sunday
Breakfast for baby  toast or porridge
Lunch for baby  houmous and pitta with cheese and cucumber
Lunch for us breakfast burritos
Dinner for baby  cottage pie with petit filous for dessert
Dinner for us salmon en croute for me, chicken pie for him

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Ukoy na Alamang at Kalabasa

Ukoy na Alamang at Kalabasa. During my visits at the Vigan public market, the fresh alamang or aramang in Ilocano caught my attention.  They were several vendors that were selling fresh alamang, the alamang were definitely very fresh judging from their color. My concern was, would it be possible to bring it back to Manila and maintain the freshness with just storing the alamang in a cooler

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Turon na Saging

Turon na Saging. I had some plantain banana or Saba that came from our farm in Laguna. I have already cooked some of as Nilagang Saging the other day some was was cooked as Minatamis na Saging with Kalamansi Zest. I was surprised, the bananas were extraordinarily sweet, probably because the fruits were harvested when they are about to ripen.                     I thought the remaining

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Chicken Feet Arroz Caldo

Chicken Feet Arroz Caldo. What is the difference of Lugaw, Arroz Caldo and Goto? This is my own opinion you may have another description but this is how I find the difference of the three rice soup dishes. Let’s go back a couple of decade ago where food fusions were not as prevalent as today. And cooking was simpler during those times to understand what are the difference of the three.

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How to make a Felt Christmas Stocking Advent Calendar

I'm really looking forward to my baby's first Christmas and thinking of all sorts of ways I can make it special. I wanted to have a handmade keepsake of some sort that would hopefully be in our family for years, and I hit upon the idea of an advent calendar - consisting of little stockings, each numbered 1 to 24, that I can fill with all sorts of things year after year.

Given that I haven't done any sewing in years and can't think of any time I've ever sewed for fun, I found this surprisingly easy to make. It was a little time consuming but only because I don't get a lot of free time as I have an eight month old baby, and would sew a couple of bits in the evening here and there, over the course of several weeks. If you have a sewing machine that would speed up the process as well.

The design is my own - I know there are plenty of advent calendars like this out there but I didn't copy any of them and just thought about how I wanted it to look:

• I drew a stocking shape on cardboard to cut out and use as a template
• I drew and cut out the numbers freehand though made a template for the number 1 once I got into the teens
• I decided to alternate red and green felt for the stockings; I bought the
• Dovecraft Christmas felt bundle in shades of Reds & Greens, 16 Sheets, A4 sizedwhich had a set of red and a set of green but in different shades so I alternated the darker shades with the lighter ones
• After I cut out the stocking shapes I used the remaining felt to cut out the numbers
• I used white 'ric rac' trim similar to this along the top of each stocking
• 6mm Celebrate Ric Rac Braid Trimming White - per 4 metre roll
• I used these Papermania 36-Piece Mini Pegs, Red/Greento attach each stocking onto a length of jute string which I then tied on to my stair bannisters.

To make them is very easy:
Cut out the stocking shapes from felt - you will need 48
Draw and cut out the numbers from 1 to 24
Sew the numbers onto what will be the front facing stockings first
Then sew on the ric rac edging onto the front facing stocking
Sew both parts of the stocking together along the edges
Attach the stockings  to some string with the pegs; you could also sew loops into the stockings instead if you want.

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out even though the stitching and numbers are slightly different on each; my husband says that just adds to the homemade effect and he thinks they will make a lovely Christmas keepsake.

My daughter will be nearly ten months old at Christmas so won't understand advent calendars and I had considered just filling it with chocolates for us this year, but I saw a set of finger puppets on a site called Once Upon a Time that are designed for a baby's advent calendar, at a very reasonable price, so I ordered them back in September. They were supposed to be with me by early November but with only a few days to go until the start of December they still haven't arrived and the site owner hasn't responded to my messages, so I'm hoping they will still come in time - she has a few days yet!

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