The One About the Paper Bag Turkey

Since it is Thanksgiving Day, I decided to do something nice for my students. I couldn't prepare a big Thanksgiving feast so I went for something cute and amusing.

I found this idea for a paper bag turkey from One Charming Party.

I tucked the edges in and sealed them with clear tape. You can also use hot glue.

For the drumsticks, I used smaller brown paper bags. Place your fist inside a bag and gather the sides around your fist.

Then I got a strip of white paper and cut fringes.

Then I wrapped it around the drumstick.

I used double-sided tape to attach the drumsticks to the big paper bag turkey. Again, you may use hot glue. I placed the turkey on a tray and plucked leaves from the garden to garnish as "herbs."

Hot off the oven!

My students were all smiles when I served the turkey.

I found this printable from Paper Glitter and the kids listed down all the things they were thankful for.

They were so thankful for the turkey and so during free time, they made cards and drew pictures for me instead of playing as a way of thanking me!

They were also thankful for other things. :)

I hope you have given yourself some time to think about what you're thankful for before you dive into your own turkey! Happy crafting!

The One About Burger Project

Okay, I know I said in my last post that my next foodie adventure would be at Sofitel Hotel. However, I got sidetracked by this little burger place along the burgeoning Maginhawa Street in QC.

Teddy Bird and I have been reading about raves about The Burger Project, most notably on Our Awesome Planet, and we decided to try it out one Sunday night.

It is a cozy little place that serves, by far, the best burger in our opinion. Its unique concept is that you create your own burger by choosing the patty (Angus beef, beef, chicken, or tofu), the bun (poppyseed bun, potato bun, or oatmeal bun), the cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, or bleu cheese), the toppings (onion rings, caramelized onions, sauteed mixed mushrooms, bacon, pepperoni, pineapple, sundried tomatoes - oh, there are just too many!), and sauce (marinara, BBQ sauce, garlic sauce, etc.). Choosing among 50,000 possible combinations is just half the fun. The other half is in the eating!

I chose beef burger on poppyseed bun, bleu cheese, and caramelized onions. Not only was it yummy, it was super filling because it was huuuuge!

Teddy Bird chose beef burger on poppyseed bun along with caramelized onion, sauteed mixed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and BBQ sauce.

As Lily (from How I Met your Mother) put it, "I just had a burg-asm..."

We had onion rings to go with our burgers and were they good! :)

On our second visit, I had the beef burger on poppyseed bun again but this time with sauteed mixed mushrooms, onion rings, mozzarella cheese, and garlic sauce! We also tried the fried mozzarella cheese and loved those big fat cheese sticks to bits!

I don't think I'll ever get tired of eating here. If burgers are always this good, then - dang it - super size me! Those burg-asms are worth every extra pound. :)

The One About the Buffet and My Buffet Bestie

Teddy Bird is my buffet bestie. We click because we both love to eat, among other things. We especially like eating at hole-in-the-wall places that are pocket-friendly. We especially like buffets and so on one Sunday morning, we had the breakfast buffet at Chef's Bistro in the Scout Area in QC.

It was not a buffet of grand proportions but it had the good stuff: beef tapa, pork tocino, fish, steamed pork with egg, danggit, eggs, champorado, pancakes, and sweet baked pumpkin. I took this picture of my danggit serving because it reminded me of breakfast in Cebu. I miss Cebu...but that's another story.

We had more than enough servings to stuff ourselves with to the delight of our tummies. Come lunch time, we were still feeling stuffed so we decided to go for something "sinfully light..."

Hmm...rum cake or triple decker cheesecake?

I'll have both if you don't mind! Hahaha! :)

That night, we had dinner at my cousins'. Once again, we stuffed ourselves to the brim. No more pictures, though, lest I disgust you even further with our incredible appetite!


Next stop: the Spiral buffet at Sofitel. We don't normally go for expensive dining being the el cheapos that we are but we couldn't resist it when we're getting it at - wait for it - 50% off! Until then!

The One About the Marinated Herbed Cheese

On certain days, a "kitchen impulse" gives my body a good jolt. Today is one of those days. I was supposed to have lunch with a friend of mine but she came down with something and so, not wanting to waste a perfectly good day just watching DVDs and stuffing myself with junk food, I delightfully welcomed the kitchen impulse that jolted in me in the same way that Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat Pray Love) heartily welcomed the idea of "Donde far niente" as she lovingly prepared herself an Italian meal.

Unlike Gilbert, though, I prepared this dish to be shared with Teddy Bird and his family tomorrow as his niece and nephews go trick-or-treating around the village. I got this recipe of Marinated Kesong Puti from a co-teacher who served this dish along with some crusty bread, roasted garlic, and fresh tomato salsa.

First, I roasted some garlic in the oven. Once, they were soft, I peeled the skin off and got a few cloves for the kesong puti. The rest, I placed in a jar and poured olive oil over them.

In a separate container, I put in some Italian seasoning as my co-teacher instructed. However, I had a lot of dried herbs so I also threw in some dried sage, marjoram, basil, and tarragon. I sliced the kesong puti and coated the pieces with dried herbs mixture. I placed a few cloves of the roasted garlic as well as a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Then I poured olive oil over the cheese. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Ideally, this should be made a week before serving but I don't do kitchen impulses that way. :)

Here's to kitchen impulses and the delectable treasures that result from them!

The One About the All-Occasion Cupcake Toppers

Played around with some photo editing software and came up with these...

All-occasion cupcake topppers

You can click here to download a copy of the cupcake toppers. Happy crafting! :)

The One About the Grilled Rosemary Chicken

A lot of times, everyday meals are cooked to the tune of "same old, same old." About a week or two ago, I tried adding "oomph" to our chicken meal and it was just convenient that we had fresh rosemary in our fridge.

Grilled rosemary chicken with mint jelly.

Here's how to do it:

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. If you're like me, I don't put salt in my food as much as possible - a habit I developed when I was living in Cebu (Living on my own, I was too kuripot to buy a pack of salt for myself so I reasoned a low-salt diet is actually healthier. I was never prouder of myself for being kuripot. Now, I love being creative at finding ways to make my meals flavorful without using salt.)

2. In a bowl, mix olive oil and fresh rosemary. Add more rosemary than usual if you're not using salt. Rub the mixture all over the chicken.

3. Get the grill piping hot. Grill the chicken for a few minutes on each side only to keep the chicken moist and tender.

4. Serve with mint jelly. I know mint jelly is perfect with roasted lamb but it works beautifully with any grilled meat in my opinion.

This meal can be made in a jiffy. It's the perfect weeknight meal. As Rachael Ray used to say, "A great meal is never more than thirty minutes away."

The One About the Purple Library Kit

To Dindean Abalahin on her birthday: It has been "Daughn." :)

Notice the book on which the library kit was placed? That is a secondhand copy of a first edition printing of the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. So vintage-y. I so love.

Happy crafting! :)