Picky, picky, picky. Yes, you can say I am that when we talk about food. It’s not only because I have allergies with certain foods but for me, there are expectations to meet to appreciate food. Presentation means a lot to me which made some people think that I have an expensive taste when it comes food. Some are even hesitant to ask my opinion about where to eat because they think that I always go somewhere fancy and they don’t want to spend too much. Moi, have expensive taste? Not really. I eat in the office cafeteria for chrissakes! Bland. Food. Every. Single. Day. I’m saving up for stuff so it’s cafeteria food almost everyday. Well beggars can’t be choosers, right? Lol. But Ali and I also treat ourselves to a decent meal once in a while.

Dining in a good restaurant gives me ideas on how to improve my home cooked meals. I scrutinize the food presentation, I savour the taste and I enjoy the textures. I can have restaurant quality meals at a fraction of the price because I prepared them myself. I’m a frustrated chef. I experiment a lot with food. Luckily, they turn out edible and even nice to look at.

Let me share with you how you can make home cooked food look more appetizing and have that gourmet-feel. I believe that your eyes should also be delighted as well as your palate.

Play with colors and textures. You can serve a simple grilled chicken or fish fillet and make them look more expensive by adding blanched vegetables on the side. Homemade French fries can also do the trick, add a wedge of lemon and a few sprigs of rosemary for extra color.

Use nice plates and cutlery. A nice set of plates will also help you in achieving the look that you want for your food. A white boat shaped plate can add character to a boring dish. Colored plates with big designs tend to grab attention away from the food.

Frosted glasses are nice for blended drinks. Put your glasses in the refrigerator to chill minutes before you serve your drink. The frost on the glass creates a refreshing look as you pour your drink into it.

Garnish. Add a little crushed red and black peppercorns to the sides of the plate, or even dried herbs. You can also use cut-up fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheese, etc. But don’t overdo it. You should be careful on how your garnish affect the texture and the taste. And you don’t want to lose sight of the original recipe you prepared because you got excited with garnishing.

There are ways to make simple dishes look something like a five-star hotel chef prepared. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You can also follow cookbook instructions or just go with your gut-feel. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way you expected, you’ll still enjoy the food because you had fun preparing it. If you prepared it for someone but he or she didn’t like it, a little twist in the arm should do the trick. Lol.

Photo courtesy of gettyimages.com, The Image Bank collection.

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I have the tendency to be lactose intolerant sometimes but that doesn’t shake my affection for cheese. I’m no cheese connoisseur but I’ve had this love affair with cheese for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I really loved cheese-flavored snacks. From the ones you buy in gourmet shops to the ones in the local supermarket down to the cheapest item in the sari-sari store, I tried almost all of them. Up to now I still eat those stuff. Even though I know some of them are poor imitations of cheese and are tartrazine-laden (tartrazine, otherwise known as E102 or FD&C Yellow 5, is they say an offensive additive that causes allergic reactions or intolerance), they have this some sort of control over me that I buy them whenever I come near them.

I can eat cheese everyday and never grow tired of it. Gorgonzola, Edam, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella and your good ol’ Cheddar cheese can brighten my day. Lol. Ali though not really a cheese fan, gives in whenever I need my cheese fix. Today he bought me French Brie, my favorite! I just love it’s buttery interior and smooth texture. Its flavor is not overpowering, making it perfect for both dessert and savory dishes. Ah, the thought of melted Brie makes me all giddy with delight.

To make plain corn or potato chips a bit more fancy, why not try making a nice cheese sauce? Just make a roux, add some milk and melt all the cheeses you find in your kitchen, add some nutmeg or maybe some paprika voila, a yummy cheese sauce. To add flavor, color and texture you can also add some chopped thyme.

I plan to do more experiments with cheese and I promise to share all my cheesy adventures with you.

Photo courtesy of whatscookingamerica.net

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Stress-buster: Amici’s Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato, a.k.a Ali’s Favorite :)

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This year, I’ve satisfied my sweet tooth more than I used to, which quite explains the fluctuating weight (darnit!). Though sometimes I feel guilty just thinking of eating those desserts, there’s this rather sublime happiness while indulging on that (mostly) bittersweet goodness. It somewhat reminds me how good life is. Ah, it definitely compensates for the guilt. The first 5 desserts that come to mind are:

Sakae Sushi Coffee Jelly. I just love that strong cold coffee and those yummy bits of gelatin. I even love the whipped cream even though dairy’s not really friendly to my stomach. I really enjoy Sakae Sushi’s take on this one.

Amici’s Nocciola gelato. Though sometimes I have allergic reaction to nuts, eating Nocciola or Hazelnut gelato from Amici doesn’t seem to bother me. Its creamy goodness combined with sharp Hazelnut flavor, this gelato quickly became a favorite.

Piece of Cake - Cupcakes by Yumi Castrillo. I just love Yumi’s cupcakes. You will enjoy her cupcakes even without the frosting because of its nice flavors. But I like mine with swirled icing, Baileys butter cream is sooo good. I had cupcakes on my birthday and they came with cute toppers too! You should try it. Yumi even came up with clever names for her pretty and delish cakes. You may download her brochure here.

Pastry Box - Double Chocolate Cookies by Elaine Arevalo - My very good friend Elaine bakes the best cookies. They’re somewhat crunchy on the side and chewy in the middle. We ordered a few boxes and gave them away as Christmas gifts. We all love it! To order, call or send an sms to +63.927.847.5567, she bakes other pastries too.

UCC’s Banana Chocolate Smoothie. I guess this is an all-time favorite so it’s always a part of my list.

I can think of other desserts but these were the ones that registered the quickest. How about you? What’s on your list?

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It’s Ali’s birthday today! Yay!
Happy birthday sweetie. I love you.

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I’m actually contemplating whether I’ll start the Master Cleanse or not. I came across this detox diet in fake Steve’s site and I thought I could use some detoxification myself and even lose weight. The only problem is I’m not sure if I can stick with it. I haven’t actually finished any type of diet in my whole life. I tried the South Beach, Atkins, the Zone, oatmeal diet and lasted for just a few days then I’m back to eating junk. (more…)

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I’ve recently added oatmeal as part of my daily diet. My doctor recommended it to lower my cholesterol levels. I’m not too fond of eating oatmeal since it’s quite bland for my taste. Good thing there’s Quaker Oats flavored oatmeal so at least there’s variety. I’ve heard a lot of oatmeal’s healthful benefits, I also visited http://www.quakeroatmeal.com and here’s what I found out. (more…)

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SM Hypermarket was generous enough to sponsor an event for bloggers last July 3. It was a fun night. I was a bit shy and I wasn’t able to introduce myself to a lot of people but I did get to meet really friendly bloggers there. I also met Aileen Apolo, the organizer of the bloggers’ meet-up. She was really nice, Ali and I signed up for the event through her blog.

Hopefully next time we’ll be able to meet more people. I wasn’t able to post about this event before because I’m really tied up with my current project. Good thing we didn’t forget to attend because it was a good break from work. Ali and I weren’t able to prepare our blogger cards though. Oh, the picture below was from Cliquebooth.

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Last night, I prepared turkey burgers for Ali and Pollux. I don’t have any pics to post because the burgers vanished somewhat instantly after I set them on the table. They’re really nothing fancy, I just got some breaded turkey burgers and double-smoked bacon from a nearby deli and hamburger buns smeared with butter. I also tossed in some cheese, lettuce and caramelized onions. It was quite delicious, very filling and easy to make. I served ‘em deconstructed style. (more…)

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It rained today. Ironically, I have a craving for ice cream. I love FIC’s (Fruits in Ice Cream) Raspberry Rapture and Cold Rock’s Boysenberry and Honeycomb with boysenberries, cookie dough and Violet Crumble Mix ins. Yum!

Since I’m feeling a little under the weather today and I can’t really eat out, I guess I’ll just settle for McDonald’s plain vanilla sundae and some Cherry Coke in the fridge.

How about you? What’s your favorite ice cream?

Photo courtesy of the Cold Rock Ice Creamery.

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