LMPC Reads: The Forest Feast

Perhaps nothing can be more calming, alluring, and relaxing than finding a pocket of free time, curling up with a good book, and sipping a steaming cup of tea or coffee (well, except for the occasional massage).  For a hobby crafter like me (I still cringe with embarrassment when I come across people who think I'm sort of expert), craft and recipe tomes make up a large part of my literary repertoire.  For as much as reading can be exhilarating on its own especially for an introvert like me, it is also amazingly rewarding to make something as a takeaway from an inspiring book.

I thought it'd be lovely to start a new series on this little virtual bubble of mine where I would share my current and not-so-current reading selections and the craft project or recipe that I made and tried from them.  :)

To kick off this series, enter The Forest Feast.  I purchased the book several months ago.  Admittedly, I have never heard of the blog until I came across pictures of the cookbook that flooded my Instagram feed.  At first, I was attracted to the visual imagery:  beautiful watercolored recipes and typography.  Then I saw snippets of the cookbook recipes and fell in love with the four-to-five-at-most-ingredients recipes.  Not only that, the recipes were vegetarian which was especially convenient since I have recently begun implementing a Meatless Dinner Night once a week in our household.  So the cookbook was literally a treasure trove of ideas for that.

I was meaning to make this Asparagus Tart from the book but the night I was supposed to make it, I realized I did not have asparagus on hand so I used plump tomato slices instead.  The layers of Brie cheese, pesto, and tomatoes made it seem like eating a healthy pizza!

On another night, I made the Accordion Zucchini.  So easy to make and yet it wowed my husband on how fresh and tasty it was.

 Baked but still juicy zucchini with paper-thin garlic slices and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese

The book is filled with 100 simple vegetarian recipes and is divided into categories:  Appetizers, Cocktails, Salads, Vegetable Dishes, and Sweets.  Soon enough, I shall make the Garlic Knots, Strawberry Salsa, Polka Dot Foccacia, Eggplant Tacos, Corn & Caulifower Tacos, and (hopefully) the Challah.  And with the beautiful layout, I don't think I'll ever get tired referring to this cookbook again and again and again.  It is, after, a feast for the eyes as well.

Weekend Tidbits

I always find that my weekends are busier than my weekdays.  In between grocery shopping, house cleaning, other household chores, and social commitments which crop up every now and then, finding pockets of time to do things I like is somewhat akin to finding a pin in a haystack.  Fortunately, there are ways to work around the hustle and bustle of weekend commitments.  Other times when finding ways seems next to impossible, it's a matter of praying for blissful and satisfying moments.

On Saturdays, when our tiny home is still and peaceful and dark, I wake up and sew and sew and sew until dawn greets me.  It took several Saturdays but I finally finished these...

They're felt bread slices!  It's 3D so there's stuffing inside and I scaled it to the size of real slices of bread!  Now I'm onto thinking what will be in between the slices.  Peanut butter and jelly?  BLT?  :)

Last weekend, Hon-some and I mostly stayed in.  And staying in meant cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  We had a leisurely lunch of pizza subs and minestrone.  And while I forgot to take pictures, I also whipped up chili cheese fries and pasta. 

To cap off the weekend, I turned to my unread pile of books.  What can be more luxurious than sitting on a couch, a book in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other?  I just finished the first book and I'm now reading Hollow City.  The book is just oh-kay (but then again, I'm no longer 16) but I do understand why it's been picked up to be made into a movie.  That should be interesting.

The weekend that was.  Uneventful, perhaps, but nonetheless relaxing and quite productive.  After all, aren't weekends meant for unwinding, putting up one's feet to de-stress, and slowing down?  :)

Weekend Tidbits

Had a lovely long weekend.  Aside from doing the usual weekend chores, I was able to do work for school (Bringing home work.  Pathetic, I know.), juice carrots and apples, and continue my knitting.  I don’t know why it’s taking me this long to finish a coffee cozy.  Still, I’m on it. J

The highlight of my weekend was a trip to the theater to watch Wicked with my mom and my brother.  We’re all theater fanatics.  As a matter of fact, I cringe at the exorbitant price of movie tickets nowadays that’s why Hon-some and I do not fancy going to the movies anymore.  But the theater…sigh…I don’t think twice about shelling out thousands for an experience.

And what an experience watching Wicked was.  The set design was jaw-dropping, the dialogue and all the punchlines were spot-on, and the songs were all applause-able (the Glinda effect!  Hahaha!).

After that gratifying theater experience, my family and I had dinner at Project Pie at the newly-opened Blue Bay Walk.  I must say, the pizzas lived up to all that hype.

As everyone knows by now, Project Pie operates on three simple rules about dining there:  Design.  Build.  Eat.  For P285, one gets to pile on as many toppings as he/she wants on a pizza dough:  mozzarella, feta, cheese, gorgonzola, ricotta, parmesan, pepperoni, Italian sausage, crumbled meatballs, bacon, grilled chicken, Canadian bacon, prosciutto, anchovies, red onions, green bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, pineapple, artichokes, fresh chopped basil, black olives, pesto, and barbecue sauce.  Oh my!

Three Golden Rules

I built my own white pizza (no red sauce, the dough was slathered with olive oil) with mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, parmesan, cracked black pepper, garlic, fresh chopped basil, fresh tomatoes, and crumbled meatballs.

And then I ate the whole thing upon the promise of attending my Zumba classes dutifully. J

Weekends are also when I try to catch up on my reading.  I usually read a chapter or two before going to sleep but it’s really on weekends when I can curl up with a book and read relentlessly.  I have noticed that I have already read quite a number of books since the year began.  I’ve just finished David Levithan’s Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List and Every You, Every Me.  I kind of have a hit-and-miss relationship with Levithan’s books, most of which are hits.  I loved Everyday but I was surprisingly enamored by the photographic novel, Every You, Every Me.

I have also started exploring Wendy Mass books.  I’ve read two so far:  Every Soul A Star and A Mango-Shaped Space.  Wendy Mass’s books make for great middle school literacy links to Science and I love how each book focuses immensely on unique topics like eclipses for Every Soul a Star and synethesia for A Mango-Shaped Space.  On a recent trip to a bargain bookstore, I was able to pick up a copy of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life for a song (as in P50).  It’s on my reading pile now.

Furthermore, I have also started a relationship with Rainbow Rowell after reading Fangirl.  I love her humor.  And Levi is my new literary crush (sorry, Gus Waters). J

This book, however, is what I’m currently reading.  I love Cath Kidston’s modern vintage prints and very pleased was I when I chanced upon her book about how the brand started and grew.  The book is so lovely that I’m willing myself to read it slowly in order to savor each page, each sweet print.

And so, the weekend that was.  Here’s to a great week ahead!

The One That's a Bargain!

Just before the year 2011 ended, the company I work at held a warehouse sale for its employees.  These went home with me that day:

 

 

The best part was the everything was just P235 (about $5.50)!  Yes, all 47 items were just P5 each ($ 0.11)! :)

 

Have a great weekend ahead of you, lovelies!

 

 

The Ones Among My Children's Book Idols

This is why I missed last night's company Christmas party...

Award-winning children's book illustrator Hubert Fucio (Si Pagong at si Matsing, Hinlalaki) and multi-awarded children's book author and TV writer Augie Rivera (Alamat ng Ampalaya, Magnificent Benito and His Two Front Teeth, Xilef, Batibot, Art Angel) came by in my MA class to talk about their work and the children's book industry.

I brought my own copies of their books to have them signed.

The first Augie Rivera book I ever read was Xilef and I was blown away by how dyslexia was shown in a children's book.  The most recent books I read that were authored by him were Alamat ng Ampalaya and Lihim ni Lea, an incredibly brave account of incest.  I particularly enjoyed listening to his stories on working in children's TV shows like the original Batibot under the Rene Villanueva.

 Hubert Fucio brought the original illustrations of Si Pagong at Si Matsing and I was struck by his attention to detail.

 

Weee!  Sooo happy! :)