Ampy, The Color Purple and the Best Puto Bumbong of My Life

     All of us have our list of favorite things and way up there on my list is puto bumbong. I want to take advantage of having this blog to do a mini tribute to this dish that I know is also loved by many.

     Puto bumbong is a sweet dish eaten either as a snack or a dessert made with purple ground rice. Bamboo tubes are half filled with rice and placed upright on a special steamer. When done the rice cakes are pushed out by pounding one's wrist of the hand that is holding the bamboo tube. 

  

   I have always eaten my puto bumbong with brown sugar and grated coconut but recently I JUST HAD THE BEST PUTO BUMBONG OF MY LIFE!!! 

     My mom had guests at her farm over the weekend. delegates from the Flora Filipina, an international convention organized by the Philippine Orchid Society. The POS hired a caterer from Bae Laguna and a little lady named Ampy and her daughter were serving the puto bumbong. She said she raised nine kids cooking puto bumbong. WOW! More popular as a dish served during Christmas time especially after dawn mass, Ampy for so many years has poised herself outside the church in Bae Laguna with five steamers. Another WOW!

     She said she has no secrets only the right ingredients. She taught me something new that day though. She used fresh shredded coconut meat instead of grated old coconut meat. Talaaaaap! (Yummy!) I don't think I can have it any other way after this. This is besides the fact that her puto is soft and has just enough chewiness, not dry as some tend to be. Gluttony got the better of me and I had three. (Bowing head down in shame.)

     More than anything what struck me more was Ampy's faithfulness to this delicious dish as it has been faithful to her and her family. It just shows that each of us  has a calling and usually by Divine Providence it is one that we will not only love but one that will help us actually live out more than what we at first can only dream of.

      Now, WHO WANTS TO GO TO BAE  WITH ME? PLEEEEEEASE!!!!

I Have A Cupcake Dream

         I have a dream.

     I would love to put up my own cupcake business. I know cupcakes are both the buzz in desserts these days and the cliche as well but nonetheless I love them.

     Problem is aside from having too much on my plate right now, I have not baked a single cupcake in my life. Wait, do not click that mouse to go to another website just yet.... Thanks! I was crazy about baking. WAS because that was one summer of my childhood. I was ten. Success or failure, there was always someone who was willing to eat my creations even people who live a block away. Geez, we  must have had very hungry neighbors. Oh, well...

     Dreams after all may begin from the smallest of loves... much less, from thin air. Haha! I am excited to smell of vanilla and chocolate or cheesecake. I want to see myself icing them into cute little things. I want to serve the best coffee with them....I want to keep a pretty little shop....

     For now though I will simply enjoy, the dreaming part. I love  visiting small cupcake shops here in abroad. I never leave without a box of four. Oh, I love the boxes. Holding them and smelling the sweet delights....Then I let Blue and yellow gobble them all- most of the time. Yes, another problem is I can't even enjoy them in wanton abandon because of my diabetic gene pool.

     Anyhoo, that will go up on the shelf for now and be a good-thing-to-do-someday kind of thing. We all have these, right?

     When we were in downtown San Francisco recently just a few steps from our hotel was Cako.

 

    I like the simple design of the oh, maybe 3 meter by 3 meter store. Really cute and cozy!

     The entire store window is lined with narrow glass shelves. wide enough to sit the cupcakes. Look behind us.

    One pretty cabinet....

    We ordered four (of course) and enjoyed them in our hotel room. I have forgotten which flavors we got but for sure we got a red velvet.=-)Still, like most desserts in the States, too sweet for my taste but a pleasure enough to take small bites of.

     Learn more about Cako here.

     As for my dream cupcake business? 

     SSHHhh...for now.

Union Square
211 O'Farrell Street (at Powell)
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.404.7303
unionsquare@cako.com

Get Busy With A Weekend Project

         For some unfortunate reason, I am missing my collage class today. Boo! It is a cloudy Saturday here in Manila. So I have decided to work on a craft project instead. It will be featured in a future issue of Real Living magazine and due next week. Sorry, I cannot give it away but I can share some prep pics....

     Interesting enough? 

     Stay Tuned!

Quick Fixes: Bedroom Clean-Up

     What is your opinion on clutter?

     Me? I hate it. It paralyzes me. Still 'it' happens. Most of the time it is our fault. Who left last weekend's shopping loot by the bedroom door anyway? Who created the pile of magazines under the night stand?

     Clutter to me has a very close bloodline to life. In fact as I was writing this entry and thinking why does clutter always find its way back in our spaces, the only thing that kept popping in my head was because life happens. It is true, come to think of it because if we go on extended vacations, our homes and offices stay the same. Once we are back though, expect all of it to come growing back. It is because we read, we sleep, we watch, we eat, we pray, we shop, we forget, we neglect, we get tired, we get bored.....This post though is not being written to defend clutter because as I have said I hate it but it is a reality we need to face everyday. It is either you ignore it, you're okay to live it (pack rats - hello!) you avoid it, (OC peeps, way to go), right? I choose to engage in battle but intermittently. C'mon how many of us actually can?

     Recently, our bedroom was starting to feel constricting already to me. We still had several items from our previous travel in bags and a few other things that were just there and screaming 'I am clutter. Get rid of me!' to me.  Yes, this was our bedroom. I have no shame. Since I wanted to move the computer inside our bedroom and I needed a different table for it. It was all too prefect an excuse to get to work....

     This was how it was slowly coming along on Instagram..... the artsy-ish picture of clutter.....tragic!

     Here it is after decluttering.....minus the tower of books and other stuff.....TADA!

      AAaaah, I can sleep so much better now......

     A clean space = a clean mind so I was so happy I brought out our new Ikea sheets and bought a cute throw pillow to go with it.....The cute doggie is actually saying, keep the room this way please.

     One thing I fear about getting old is what if I am too weak to do this? To clean, to purge? Then I would simply say I completely understand my parent and most of my friends' parents who were baby boomers. Do not blame World War II for the all the junk they have hidden/ hoarded in their bodegas (storage rooms). They are just tired and old. 

     Scary thought. So before that happens ....BE VIGILANT, TOSS, DONATE, PURGE...as if you will grow old tomorrow.....AN EVEN SCARIER THOUGHT.....

When I was Going to Saint's Alp......

  ...I met Conti with seven boyfriends. KIDDING!!!!

     Coni was my partner in crime when I began magazine work as contributor for Real Living magazine. I remember those times to be a crazy, whirlwind of laughs, lots of stories and a sisterhood I've realized I have missed and still cherish today. Coni is no longer with Real Living but still does styling and writing work for Summit Media.

     We met up, last Wednesday for what I did not expect to be a much too quick lunch. Mommy duties.(sigh) We had a more than pleasant and fun time anyway. I am happy for her since she is looking really good. =-)

     I suggested we try Saint's Alp at the new Regis Center along Katipunan since I have read about it. The place was not full but I like it that way. =-)I heard they have branches all over including New York. Hmmm...

     I like the straight forward design and industrial look of the place too.

        I ordered the Taiwanese Marinated Minced Pork rice bowl. I am trying to avoid pork but just had to try this since it was their bestseller.....After having this....I SO MISS PORK NOW!!!! It was yummy!

          I had it with a taro milk tea. Yummy as well but I did not finish it for fear of gaining half a pound with the rice and everything. Guilty!!! My bill for the rice bowl and the milk tea P310. Not bad!

          Coni had a breakfast meal which looked good as well but her more exciting stories distracted me from tasting her food. Haha!

          All these made my day and we said we'd do it again which we will for sure...... =-)


     Till next time, Consky! 


     I call her that.

If Heaven Was A Store: Anthropologie

           During my college years, I used to look forward to going to Hong Kong so I can go to Ikea. Up to now there is still no full- blown Ikea store in Manila. Since I did not have a house of my own then I would just allow myself to ooooh and ahhhhh at all the Ikea awesomeness AND get 5 copies of the free catalog. 

     Fast forward to the present, I now have a home I love and after eleven years of living in it with my H and our kids, it is about to burst with stuff and memories or stuff laden with memories; books, old toys. clothes, furniture....Waaaah! We periodically do purge and have garage sales and give stuff away but they just keep on creeping up. My story sort of skipped the part where I was actually buying stuff from Ikea, among other stores (not just oooooh-ing and aaaaah-ing) and arguing with H as to how to bring them home and paying overweight luggage. Today Ikea is practically likened to a supermarket of a home store where I need to buy a can opener to replace the old one or I need a new set of place mats to replace the old faded ones. Even more realistic is sometimes my family and I just go there for a quick store tour but actually we go there for hot dogs, Almondy or the meatballs and 5 copies of the free catalog. Haha!
     Somehewre along the way though, the housekeeping saint that I am (meaning one who consciously and conscientiously shops wisely or does not shop at all for her home anymore) stepped into her new, leveled up version of my Ikea heaven!   

(hallelujah, hallelujah, halle-lujah!)

Welcome to

ANTHRPOLOGIE!

          Do not let the modern facade fool you (This is their branch in Burlingame by the way.) because inside it's all PRETTINESS!!!!

          Okay, can I apply for a job here? Now?

      I had to skip the clothing section this time sine I doubt I will fit in any. (Sigh) Next time!

           I totally love the surround wrap lighting installation. Beautiful!

  I had the entire home section to explore! Just take a look at these pretty pull handles, Yummy!
    

     ...and even more items for the home.....

I absolutely adore this crocheted bed cover.

Another bedroom vignette.....

    There is also something for the kids. Adorable!

more.....

We were on our last leg of our trip and I would not dare challenge H's packing so I settled with a monogrammed coffee mug..... which I had bubble wrapped, wrapped in tissue, placed in a box with a ribbon and a card....Hahahah!

They have design and shelter books too Yep, the ones everybody so loves....Complete your collection here at Anthropologie!

 

The closets thing you can get to an Anthropologie store if you don't have one in your city is their online shop and website here.

Hey, the coffee mug? I am still a saint, right? Wait for me next time. Anthropologie! haha!

Happy browsing and shopping!