Hello!! I have missed you so terribly much. You stalwart souls who remain readers of this little blog. You who have just now dropped in (nice to meet you!). You who leave comments on every post. You who have never commented at all. This space where I feel so at home. I miss you, and it, all when I am (figuratively) away.Life has been, to say the least, hectic and, well, trying, these days. I won’t get into the gritty details here but suffice to say that it has been coming from more than one front – which is always tough to navigate and harder still to defend your inner fort. Thanks to my wonderful family, and awesome husband, I remain, however, resolutely and bravely afloat. I look around me and I see so much I am so fully grateful for. And grateful that I still remain grateful. If that make sense to you then we are of like minds :)
All of this is also to say that I haven’t got a recipe for you (though I am fine tuning my chicken tinola and hopefully will get this to you one day). What I do have is a list, a giveaway and, of course, some breakfast.
Many bloggers regularly put together lists of favorites, and really, I think we all do – whether or not we share them. I bookmark all sorts of things that inspire me, whether it be a recipe for a luscious looking chocolate cake, a party idea for little C, or a stop-them-in-their-tracks dress. Since the world, I believe, is made better by sharing, I’ve decided to share my own lists here of things that make me smile. And if you enjoy them, I will certainly share with more regularity.
** I love chancing upon talented Filipino food bloggers (and this includes Filipino *and* foreign food bloggers in the Philippines, as well as Filipino food bloggers abroad – the Pinoy connection gets me every time!). Some of my latest favorites: Pepper.ph, Tartine and Apron Strings, and Mr. Delicious.
** It’s June, and where I am, that means the end of summer and the start of the rainy season (we only have three seasons here – summer, rainy, and Christmas). I am looking forward to more soups and stews and blustery weather food like these.
** I made these brownies. Now I want this book.
** I am so trying this for my fledgling balcony vegetable patch!
** What I plan to do one day to get my photos a bit spiffier…soon, I hope.
** Little C’s first chocolate!! Yes, she loved it :)
** Now, this breakfast isn’t exactly a recipe. It is one of my very favorite ways to have yogurt. So I have added it to my list. Oranges are my absolute first place winning partner for yogurt, and this is my absolute best way to have that combination: Greek yogurt + oranges + nuts + honey + cinnamon. Try it!
And lastly…I promised a giveaway. A while back, the nice people over at FrugalBook contacted me about contributing a recipe to their cookbook, Frugally Delicious. No stranger to looking for ways to cut cost but not flavor I said “count me in”! Now the book is published and I am tickled pink to have a recipe of mine in print!! I am even more tickled to be in the company of a wonderful bunch of contributors. There are some lovely recipes to be had here folks, many of which I have already marked to try (Plum Tart by Sprouted Kitchen, Coriander Magic by A Food Lover's Journey, Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce by 6 Bittersweets, and Mexican Bibimbap by Bon Appetempt). If you’d like to purchase a copy you can do so here. Or you can leave a comment on this post and, possibly, get one for free! I will give a copy of Frugally Delicious to one commenter who I will pick randomly. This giveaway is open to everyone who leaves a comment, no matter from where they hail.
I breathe a little sigh of relief that the weekend is here. I’m looking forward hunkering down with my big and little C’s. Meanwhile, I hope you like the list, the breakfast, and the giveaway. I wish you a fantastic weekend!