Vector Drinks, anyone?

My first stab at creating vector food via Photoshop Illustrator. Not perfect, but it's a start.

I LOVE cocktails! And I had so much fun making these, probably going a bit crazy over the colors, haha.

Illustrator is a little trickier than Photoshop, but definitely worth learning.

a toast to a new hobby

Best Thing I Ever Ate: Roasted Pumpkin with Crab Meat Hash

I've only recently started to take a liking to creamy pumpkin soups, but this one from Plaza Ibarra, tasted at a cousins' wedding, has got to be one of the BEST pumpkin soups I ever had. 



photo taken as hurriedly as the soup was ladeled, yours truly being extremely hungry and all :">

Suprsingly, it didn't have that strong pumpkin taste as with most soups; the taste was very mild, somewhat  sweet and enjoyable. I found myself gulping (yes, gulping) spoonful after spoonful without tiring of the taste. It didn't have that usual pulpy texture either and was amazingly thick and smooth and feels oh so good on the tongue.

There were fairly sizeable pieces of crabmeat in it, and it was real crabmeat, not those red, stringy things found in grocery stores, and the helpings of the meat were generous so you don't feel cheated at all.

Unfortunately, the soup was part of Plaza Ibarra's catering service and cannot be ordered nor bought individually, so there are little chances for me to actually have this again.

But hey, if you ever wind up attending a debut or wedding at Plaza Ibarra and see this soup bubbling in a large, black boiler, go grab a bowl-full (and get those accompanying Soft Butter Rolls while you're at it) and it just might make your night :p

The Best Thing I Ever Ate Series

I chanced upon this last week on the Food Network. It looks like a miniseries on some sort, featuring various chefs, from restaurant owners to cooking show hosts to authors, who share some of the best food they have ever tasted.

The Best Thing I Ever Ate 

how can you NOT tune in after this title?

It featured some of my favorite TV chefs like Tyler Florence and Giada Di Laurentis, which was a good enough reason for me to watch.

This has also inspired me to try and root out some of the best things I ever ate - in fact, I already have a couple of food stuff in mind! Granted, you need to have tasted a LOT of different kinds of food to say which one was the best, so I better get started >:D

Watch out, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, my edition, is coming out soon!

My (current) Favorite Desktop Nurse: Campbell's Instant Soups

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I still need that hot something to sip on slow, lethargic days. Chocolate is a little tricky to make (but only because I have VERY specific taste in hot chocolate *cough* casa chocolat *cough*) and I'm too lazy for tea.

On some days I have those cereal drinks for a sweet treat, but most days I go for Campbell's Instant Soups - one of those 'pour contents into a mug and add hot water' varieties. Almost as good as the real thing, and very filling too.

mmmmmmmmm....

 
They taste great on their own but I love mixing them up with some other things:

Hash Brown - eat on the side or crumble it up and toss in the soup for a makeshift creamy chicken/mushroom-potato soup

Crackers or Toasted Bread - classics! Same as the Hash Brown

Sunflower Seeds - just sprinkle on top for an added crunch

They come in two flavors: Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom, with some varieties like Croutons or Twisted Pasta. Though I am hoping they have more flavors, or would branch out eventually - I can only take variations of Chicken and Mushroom for so long XD XD

Spicy Butter Wings with Cabbage Slaw

Technically, these were supposed to be Buffalo Wings, the recipe taken from Yummy Magazine.

Buuuuut...

We didn't have all the spices listed and I chickened out on making it too spicy because my mom might kill me if she wouldn't be able to eat it; we ended up veering slightly away from the original recipe to work with what we have The result was a not-so-red batch of wings and they were more buttery than hot. But  they already have that Buffalo taste and a nice zing, plus the wings were still very crunchy.

Also, the Cabbage Slaw (no particular recipe), was supposed to be good old coleslaw but my dad forgot to buy carrots.

Next time we'll make some really hot, really red, honest-to-goodness Buffalo Wings :D

For now, though, this makes a good family meal (especially if not everyone can handle spicy flavors)

mmmmmm..wings..

Breakfast Icons (sort of)

Some artwork I did a while back (yes, it's about food).

egg in a basket, pancake, marmalade and jam on toast

 I love the clean look of vector art and the soft-painted look of digipaint art, so I tried mixing the two up when creating this, thought admittedly it ended up looking more painted than vector. 

This is the first in what I hope to be series of art, and after the next few batches I may be able to perfect by vector-digipaint hybrid :p

The Concept of Miniatures + Desserts = ♥ ♥ ♥

I was at my cousin's wedding last Saturday, and at the reception at  the MMDLC Foundation, they have, as with most buffet settings, this wonder, wonderful dessert bar. It's got the usual stuff like fresh fruit cuts and salads and a chocolate fountain, but I love how most of the desserts are presented - placed in mini cups, mugs, ramekins and even shot glasses.

Top Left: some, jelly-like dessert, citrus-flavored, very refreshing; Top Right: cream-something with chocolate shavings; Bottom: some kind of custard :p

It made the whole thing cute, and it works for both the catering business and consumers, since it allowed them to limit the amount of food we take at a time, while it allows us to sample a greater variety of sweets without over-indulging ourselves.

And hey, if you end up liking one particular dessert more, you can also go back for seconds..and thirds..

Quick Fix Salsa

My aunt came 15 minutes before our New Year's Eve dinner with a big bag of tortilla chips and said, "Do you have any dip?".

We didn't have anything prepared, and even though it was good enough on its own, the chips need one more thing: SALSA! 

My mom and I used to make homemade salsa before so it shouldn't be problem, unless you weren't expecting to make it so soon and not knowing if you had all the needed ingredients. But hey, I managed to make a quickie version of the salsa in 15 minutes' time with whatever I could find in the fridge, so there XD

Tortilla chips aren't tortilla chips without this

Red Wine Punch

My boyfriend stumbled on this recipe about a year ago when making a special holiday dinner for his parents. 

This simple drink requires just three ingredients but is really yummy and perfect for the holidays, which was why I decided to make it for our Christmas and New Year dinners. It's also perfect for parties because the taste is mild enough even for those who cannot tolerate the full-bodied flavor of red wine, and the additional ingredients can make one bottle go a long way.

Ahhhhhhh...