flea market finds: ghosts and green monsters

the days have been getting more beautiful each day here in Gibraltar.  clear blue skies and cool, breezy days.  perfect for a carboot sale!  of course i wouldn't want to let this opportunity pass.  remember, they are so few and far between here in Gib! 

people have caught on! over the years  i've observed that there are more and more people checking out the goods!

so before i and the mister took off for a little getaway, we just had to stop by and shoot a few pics and browse a few stalls :) 

against the backdrop of the imposing Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim mosque in Europa Point, the only mosque here in Gibraltar which also contains a school, a library and a lecture hall and was a gift by the King of Saudi Arabia in 1995

i only bought a few items as i think i enjoy the rush of seeing different and unique things more than my impulse buying (although, i recently sold one of my flea market finds for a good sum!).

here are my finds!

(1) two chinese jade-colored candle with a weird mama creature snuggling with two of her weird babies (i am guessing this is part of a chinese zodiac candle collection)

 (2) i was intrigued more of the title than what it really is.  after doing a little research, i found out that the author had been a commentator and a staunch critic of the Marcoses during the late 70's.  definitely now in my to-read list :)

so yeah those two are just what i bought but i had fun browsing and taking pictures of the things i wanna take home with me :)

from left to right: Gibraltar crystal hand-blown vase, lime green Moroccan sandals, a handmade doorstop (more for a finca i think!), a glittery top (boogie nights!) and the most delicate cups and saucers i ever did see!

from left to right: a cute smiling voodoo doll(?) or maybe a charred gingerbread man?  he's dapper though!, a wooden bowl, a repurposed crane, an old camera and a couple of jazz aficionados

ahhh, one sweet day! 

i end this post with a pic of this elderly lady, with prams and suitcases brimming with goods, as she waits for the bus heading home happy and contented.  she probably can't wait to show off her finds too! 

the total package

got another package from my sister!  and when i opened it... ooohhhlala!

beautifully illustrated Filipino notepads

a beautiful navy satchel from Charles and Keith for all my paperworks

my favorite prawn rolls and soft pork floss from Bee Cheng Hiang

i am crazy about handmade, one-of-a-kind soaps at the moment so she also sent me some Lush

happy!

geometry is cool!

i didnt think so when i was in high school :P 

but now i am fascinated by angles and sides and symmetry and balance… in everything i do.  in my photography, in my writing, at home and even at work.

i think geometric shapes are great decorations!  especially if you are geeky like me :) here are a few that i’ve made using the tutorials from mini-eco. do check out her page, it's absolutely full of cute tutorials!

a stellated dodecahedron, on top of my multi-colored 'banig'* placemat, a present from one of my best friends

from the top: a pink icosahedron, an orange cube, a yellow polyhedron , a purple dodecahedron and a blue octahedron

*banig - is a handwoven mat traditionally made in the Philippines and are used for sleeping and sitting. made from either palm or grass leaves, they are dyed to create colorful and unique designs.... often geometric!

the return of the defiant

i am back my dearies, how are ya’ll?  i know i have been sooooo absent and lacking in my posts since i came back but please do hear me out…

start of the year and already we had a multitude of challenges. 

first, we came home from our month-long vacation in the Philippines to an even moldier, more mildewed house :( we live on the ground floor and whatever leakage problem the higher floors have will automatically form a catchment in our bathroom.  our landlord arranged for workers to come to our house for a week and do repairs.  naturally, the house was in shambles!  and it took another week to put the house back in order again!

second, our car had a clutch problem and therefore had to be serviced for a week.  and it cost us an arm and a leg plus an ear to get it back!

third, i was in the middle of an important job interview and because of the chaos all over our house with four big eastern-european blokes rushing to and fro, i forgot to read through the job descriptions and therefore, came across as a bit uninformed and unprepared during the interview. 

fourth, the mister’s phone died a natural death. (another costly expenditure)

fifth, our remote control suddenly died out on us! (this is an important thing in our house especially since we were in the middle of winter)

sixth, my beloved reliable Canon Ixus 80 also died on me :( i am still in mourning and haven't found a suitable replacement yet.

seventh, i got the job!  woohoo!  but it meant training for the whole month of February so i was a bit busy and pre-occupied with that.  it didn’t leave me any time to do some writing :(

so there you are, my challenges for the first two months of 2013.  nothing that can’t be handled with a little bit of patience, ingenuity and a prayer though.  i did manage to drop by my favorite shops a couple of times just to get out of the stress zone.  will tell you about my finds in my next posts.  also, of my visit to family and friends back in the pearl of the orient seas. in the meantime, spring is coming :)

de-stressing in Tarifa with a bottle of limoncello

its more fun!

hi y’all!  i will be on and off in the next few weeks because i am off today to spend a month long holiday with my family back in the Philippines.  

wweeehhhh! 

i will see you when i see you! have a wonderful christmas, stay warm and think of this:

empanada mama

lately i have been cooking up a storm not because of a special occasion but just because.  i used to think cooking was so tedious and labor-intensive but i guess since i am forced to cook the foods i love here, i have began to love it and the tasks involved in making a dish offers me much-needed therapy.

today my post is all about empanadas.  the word "empanada" comes from the Spanish verb "empanar" which means to wrap or cover with dough. when i was younger i used to buy empanadas from a little neighborhood store after school and i remember it being so savory and sweet at the same time.  the pastry was crumbly and crunchy too.

ingredients for chicken empanada: 

one chicken breast, cut into small cubes 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized red onion, minced
1 carrot, cubed
1 medium potato, cubed
1/4 c. green peas (frozen or fresh)
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 piece chicken cube
1/2 c. water
4 eggs, hard-boiled and cut in quarters
1 egg, beaten (to be used as egg wash over the pastry)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pack shortcrust pastry (you can make your own or you can buy the ready-made ones at the supermarket)

for a vegetarian alternative, you can also replace chicken with tofu cubes and the chicken cube with a vegetable cube.

procedure: making the filing

(1) saute garlic and onions in oil in a heated pan or wok (i use wok in almost all of my cooking)
(2) add the chicken and cook until light brown
(3) add the carrots and potatoes and stir for a minute or two then add the water and the chicken cube.  let simmer until the vegetables are about to get done
(4) add the peas, sugar and raisins and cook for a further 5 minutes.
(5) season to taste.  turn off the heat and let cool. drain off excess liquid.

roll out the shortcrust pastry until about 1/8 cm thick.  cut out circular shapes (i used a cereal bowl for this) and let it rest for about 20mins. after that, put about a little more than a spoonful of the filling and one piece of the quartered hard-boiled egg into the dough.  fold the dough over the filling so you have a half-moon shape and make sure to brush just a little bit of water on the outer edges to seal it.  press the edges with a blunt instrument (i used the handle of a knife) and then with a fork, press it again to create a sort of design.

brush the egg wash over your empanadas and place them in a foil-lined baking sheet or pan and cook in a 200deg oven until golden brown (about 30mins).

and there you have it!  empanadas con pollo :) high-fives to Sarah of Homeology Modern Vintage for being psychic and cooking these yummy goodness a few days ago!  check out her blog because she has uber-excellent taste in everything especially the home :)

asian fusion explosion

Merriam Webster dictionary describes fusion cuisine as "food prepared by using the techniques and ingredients of two or more ethnic or regional cuisines".

i love fusion cuisine especially asian-fusion and going by that definition, just about everything i cook or eat at home is fusion!  (except one or two. maybe.)  and it never occured to me when i was growing up in the Philippines that i was practically raised on fusion food!

Filipino food is a flavorful combination of Chinese, Malay, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian and a little bit of American cuisine.  its an amalgamation of the different cultures that sat down at our tables and contributed to a diverse and vibrant palate. 

as a nod to my north, i made scallops and prawns in tarragon and lime with spaghetti topped with spring onions (quite a mouthful, literally!) the other day and it was an explosion of flavors!  we wanted something light and this fits the bill.  perfect if you're staying in for a hot and humid summer night :)

here's how you make them (easy, i promise!);

ingredients:

cook spaghetti pasta for two in salted boiling water and set aside

a handful of prawns, peeled and cleaned

6-8 scallops

a tablespoon of butter

a tablespoon of tarragon

juice of one lime

salt and pepper

a sprig of spring onions (to serve)

procedure:

(1) heat butter in a wok (or pan) over moderate heat.

(2) season prawns and scallops (make sure they are dry) with salt and pepper

(3) saute scallops and prawns (about 3-4 minutes). stir in lime juice and tarragon.

(4) toss pasta in and season (according to your taste).

(5) serve while hot and garnish with chopped spring onions on top.

remember:  feel free to add in or subtract from the ingredients featured here.  for my vegetarian friends, you can substitute prawns and scallops with shiitake mushrooms (always a yummy alternative).  after all, it is FUSION cuisine :) experiment and enjoy!

treasured possessions: watercolor bag

talking about happy colors, i love everything yellow!  and one of the things thats so dear to me and always bring along with me wherever i go is this vintage yellow bucket bag from Christian Dior that i bought from a flea market in the Philippines ten years ago!!!!!

it sort of has an orange-y watercolor design mixed with ostrich handles and the softest buttery leather ever.

i use this very rarely now but i used to always bring this on overnight trips or picnics or shopping... because there is a lot of room in this ol' gal.

not only is this uber cool vintage and designer.... one reason i love it is because i bought it only for a dollar!  yes, i swear!

letters from my best friends

there is something about letters that turn me into a hopeless, old-fashioned, excited little puppy.  seeing mine and the senders name, the stamps, the smell, the weight of it... beats any happy pill any day :)

there is also something about best friends that make me long for the familiar and be melodramatic about it :)  

one arrived from the Little Red Dot.  filled with beauty and love and understanding and patience.

i was teary-eyed by the scribblings of a little boy whom i love dearly.  he wrote a lot of "i-love-you's" on the edges of his mothers's letter and enclosed three paper cranes that he made just for me.  An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane.

as i write this post, i am enjoying a cup of tea using my new silicon strawberry tea diffuser :)  what a way to start the day :)

my other care package came from the Land of the Rising Sun.  i am amused at the number of stamps she had to stick to the envelope!

inside there can only be orange goodness!  and a letter of friendship through many, many years and of remembrance of things past, and of hope and encouragement, victories and defeats, love for God and how He endures forever :)  

these little things bring a smile to my lips and happiness to my heart :)

handmade table runner, place mats and coasters in magenta all made by loving hands by a group of women in one of the beautiful islands from home.

i miss my best friends a LOT and i can't wait for the day i will see them again :)  i am thankful to have such great people in my life :)


tell me about your best friends :)

treasured possessions: infamous earrings

we all know her as the controversial and self-delusional "steel butterfly" of a conjugal dictatorship that spanned 20 years in the Philippines, a.k.a "the world's top shoe-a-holic" who went down in the annals of Merriam-Webster when she coined the word "imeldific" herself to mean "ostentatious and extravagance".  

a beauty queen at 18, a lonely singer, a patroness of arts and culture, a flea-market enthusiast, a fashion-forward first lady who was constantly looked down upon and hated by the Manila elite because of her beauty and influence, this is the Imelda Marcos that we didn't know.

my sister bought me this pair of Philippine pop-culture as a birthday gift right after uni and a few years after Imelda became a "pauper" after the trials.

i was 16 when the Marcoses fell from grace.  after which marked the era of real freedom for my tired and pillaged country.  

despite what the world says about her, 26 years later, i still love her grace and ingenuity.  she is an icon.  to me, this is a piece of her.  this is a piece of my history.  

today also marks the 114th Philippine Independence Day, commemorating our independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.  Mabuhay Pilipinas!