islesgilian

Easy Honey Glazed Chicken

2012-01-31T23:01:00.000+03:00

School break=Ttraffic break

2012-01-24T23:38:00.001+03:00

School break= Traffic break (in the morning!)
School breaks affect the flow of traffic here in Jeddah. Sometimes, you'll even have a hint whether there are classes in the government schools by just looking at the number of cars in the morning.
Just look at that clear, almost car-free street this morning. Don't you just love that sight? Well, it happens once in a while here in Jeddah especially during school breaks and vacations. Like what we have this week. This week, most of the Saudi schools are on a semestral break so the roads are really clear in the morning!
Evening, on the other hand is a different story. Traffic is heavy during school breaks especially from 8pm-1am. That's the time when most families go out.
So if you're in Jeddah during a school break, better to go to the bookstore, shop in your favorite mall, dine out or do outside activities before 7 or 8 pm or you'll stay in the car longer than expected.

Gil

2012-01-16T23:18:00.000+03:00

I've always wondered the meaning of my nickname. I've searched before but never found one. This morning, as I was searching for a baby name I saw Gil and I was happy to see a meaning for it. :)

Khubz/Khobz

2012-01-15T09:17:00.000+03:00

Khubz or Khobz is a traditional Arabic bread that people, even foreigners, eat here. It's baked in a clay oven just like in the the old times. It's best eaten hot or else the crispiness will be gone. It is usually eaten with a dip called fool/ful, which is made from ground red beans.
I think because of Filipinos, there's now a cheese flavored khubz. I'm not really sure about that, but that's how it started in the shops where we buy Khubz. Filipinos would always ask if bakers could put cheese so the bakers tried it and it was an instant hit.
This huge one (well, that's the only size available) costs 4-5 riyals now. When I was in high school this was just 2 or 3 riyals! This one can feed a family of three or four or maybe that's just in our case. :)
My parents bought this last night and more than one fourth was left!

Amwaj Terrace (Movenpick resort)

2012-01-15T08:28:00.003+03:00

Amwaj Terrace restaurant is located just beside or literally below Al-Nawras Movenpick (my last post ).

Just below that snail building is the Amwaj Terrace

I just love the ambiance of this place. It's so relaxing. The Arabian seats are really comfortable and they make me want to stay longer and just relax and appreciate the waves of Red Sea. It's not an open area. There's actually a clear window there, and I like it better than an open area where I can't eat properly because of the wind blowing my hair so hard.Open areas can also make the food cold.

We ordered seafood platter, grilled chicken, humous, neon margarita and pizza margarita. Love them! They also gave khubz (bread) and garlic sauce.

seafood platter, grilled chicken

We stayed there from around 4-7pm. The whole place almost changed because of the lighting. The more that I wanted to stay! =)

Movenpick, Jeddah

2012-01-14T15:29:00.003+03:00

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts Al Nawras Jeddah

Almost everyone here calls this structure the "snail building" or simply "snail". Not everyone though knows that it's Movenpick Resort Al Nawras. It serves as landmark for people who go to Red Sea or Corniche (sea) area. People here are very curious to see what's inside or how the interior actually looks like.

Movenpick Resort Corniche, Jeddah

WINDY!

Well, last Thursday, my husband and I went there to relax and just enjoy the cloudy weather. It was my first time to go there but not for my husband because they usually have their business meetings there. The first image above is actually the restaurant part of the resort and contrary to what I've expected, there's no second or third floor. Haha. I thought the highest part is where you can have a view of Jeddah but sadly, no. So this is what's inside that "snail".

ceiling

center

The rest is surrounded by tables and chairs.

How it looks like in the evening.

There are also tables and chairs set up outside, which is an open area.

When is it going to rain!?!

2012-01-12T15:35:00.000+03:00

6:45 am

This was taken at 6:45 am.yesterday For months now, people here have been expecting rain to pour out. It has been a long time, almost more than a year since Jeddah experienced rain. Even the government is asking the people to pray for rain. I guess this is how we all want to see rain again in this place.

For 3 months now, we have been receiving rumors of heavy rain. Weather forecasts would say it would rain but it won't. It is very important for people here to know whether it's going to rain or not. Students don't go to school anymore at the sight of light rain because it causes flood and traffic. Parents won't be able to easily get them from school in case flood happens. Even most employees don't go to work due to the horrible experience they've had last time it rained where people were stranded for almost a day because of flood(caused by just 3 hours of rain).

For weeks now, mornings have been cloudy, afternoons windy, and evenings cooler/colder than ever. Still, no rain. Some people say that the next rain pours it will be a heavy one (hopefully not). I just can't wait to see rain pouring out over the place again! I just miss it so much.

today

Taco night

2012-01-10T23:16:00.001+03:00

I've had this box of taco shells resting in my cupboard for quite some time now so I decided to bring it to my parents' house since my mom has been craving for tacos since last month.

I sauted strips of chicken with onions then added some salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste. I did this because it's easier and faster. This is more like a shawarma in a taco shell. :)

For the dip, I just combined yogurt, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and scallion/spring onion.

The rest of the garnish is up to the person who is going to eat. For me, I used whatever vegetable in the fridge that was available.

The fun part is stuffing the taco shell. Your choice, your style. If you want more veggies, you may. If you want more meat, then help yourself. If you don't want olives then don't include them. I think I'll put this first on my list of foods to serve to my future visitors at home. I think it will be fun. :)

I should have taken a better photo of this stuffed taco shell below but I was just too excited to eat it! I finished two, my dad three and my mom about two I think. I'll do this tomorrow or Thursday when my husband comes back from his business trip. :) excited. :)

Sent via iPhone4

M&M's

2012-01-08T22:43:00.001+03:00

I was at my parents' house yesterday. I saw this pack of M&M's on one side of the table where all the sweets are.
I grabbed it and started eating the colorful pieces one by one. It took me half day to finish this pack. Yeah, that's me. :)
I think the last time I ate this flavor of M&M's was last year. It's been a while! :)

Chocolate Krinkles

2012-01-08T00:44:00.000+03:00

Add caption

I've successfully baked chocolate krinkles! yey! I'm so happy. My mom brought some to her colleagues and they liked it. They actually asked for more. =)

This is the recipe I followed.

Panlasang Pinoy's recipe:

Recipe: Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 pieces raw eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup confectioners sugar

I forgot to put some salt, but the result was still okay. =)

Easy Homemade Tikoy

2012-01-06T22:47:00.001+03:00

Homemade tikoy

Tikoy is a famous Chinese pudding that's usually sold during Chinese New Year, which falls on January 23 this year. My mom likes tikoy so I searched for the recipe hoping I could do it. It'll be difficult to find it here and it might be expensive in case it's available. Fortunately, there are many kababayans abroad, who, I guess miss our foods in Philippines and post videos of their recipes.

Well, I've just finished my first ever homemade tikoy! It's so easy!!!!!
The main ingredients are:
Glutinous rice flour
Brown sugar
Water

That's it! :)
Mine's darker but that's okay. I'm still happy that I got the correct texture. I also used rice cooker as a steamer because I don't have the normal steamer but the result is the same. =) yey!

I followed Panlasang Pinoy's recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups glutinous rice flour

1 ½ cup warm water

½ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds

½ cup dates, pitted and chopped

Cooking procedure:

1. Combine water and brown sugar then mix well

2. Combine glutinous rice flour with the water and brown sugar mixture then mix thoroughly.

3. Add the pitted chopped dates then mix until every ingredient is well distributed.

4. Grease a round cake pan and transfer the glutinous rice flour mixture then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

5. Steam for 45 minutes. Make sure to cover the top part with cheesecloth to avoid water drippings.

6. Remove the tikoy from the cake pan and transfer to a wax paper or cling wrap then refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

7. Take the tikoy out of the refrigerator. *Cook using your desired method.

* Tikoy can be re-steamed, microwaved, or fried after dipping in beaten egg mixture.

Chopsticks

2012-01-05T13:17:00.000+03:00

My husband and I went to Chopsticks yesterday, so I thought of blogging about it.

Chopsticks is one of my family's new favorite (Chinese) restaurants around. We like everything about it so far. From their simple and affordable food to their cozy and classy ambiance. We give it a 4.5 out 5 rating.

There are two Chopsticks branches in Jeddah. One in LaTerra Mall (Prince Sultan Road) while the newly opened one is the Al-Hamra branch in Falasteen Street. We find the LaTerra Mall branch bigger mainly because of its high ceiling which is not that common here.

Al-Hamra branch

Their service is also fast which we really like. We always get entertained while waiting. They serve different colors of soda (lower left photo), sometimes blue, orange, green and this time yellow which the waiter said was with kiwi juice. Everything on the table takes our attention every time we go there including the cute pitchers for their condiments. Even the Chinese proverbs written on the paper mats gets our attention.

small pitchers, Asian flower bowls, soda, orange juice

For the food, we always order egg or shrimp fried rice and beef fried rice for the males because it's a little spicy. What I do on the other hand is combine the egg and beef fried rice because I like mine to have a little kick to it. My brother really likes the shrimp dumplings (siomai) served in bamboo basket. 4 pcs. per order and he can finish 2-3 orders of it! For soup, my mom and I are satisfied with their won-ton soup. It's just a simple soup armed with the aroma of sesame oil. =) The best food here that we've tasted so far is the Jing Do crispy beef. Its thin cuts of crispy beef goes so well with the sweet chili sauce in it. The usual Chinese foods are there too like beef broccoli, szechuan chicken, and chicken in satay sauce.

My husband enjoying our date =)
Black mushroom with bamboo shoots (top right) Jing Do crispy beef (bottom right)

Oh, I just can't wait for my brother to come back from vacation so we can go there again with the whole family. I can't order the shrimp dumplings alone. My brother has to be there to help me eat it. =)

Dinner with the family, November 2011

Another eye catching thing you can find there is the receipt holder. I find it really unique that they use bamboo as a receipt holder. How cool is that? By the way, they also deliver so if you're in the office or at home and thought of diving in to some Chinese foods then feel free to call them. I haven't tried their delivery service though.

receipt holder made from bamboo

Chopsticks Jeddah-Facebook page

For delivery, Al Hamra: (02) 2612345

For delivery, LaTerra: (02) 6907575

Enjoy!

Sunset Boulevard

2012-01-05T12:55:00.001+03:00

Sunset in Jeddah

Signing in Problem in Blogger

2012-01-05T12:52:00.001+03:00

I had a hard time signing in in Blogger yesterday. At first, I thought there was just a problem in Google Chrome. Images showed broken image icons and gadgets wouldn't appear. I tried opening my blog in Safari. It worked well, I could see the images but I couldn't sign in too. Then I lazily opened the Internet Explorer and the same thing happened. It opened my blog but signing in was just impossible. I was successful when I tried using my phone to open and sign in using a browser, but editing in phone is just so difficult. Fortunately, I could sign in tthis morning but only in Internet Explorer. Well, for a second there I thought Blogger started blocking blogs in Jeddah. Whew!

STRAWBERRY!

2012-01-05T00:18:00.001+03:00

That is one big strawberry!

Gift to myself

2012-01-03T18:28:00.000+03:00

Since I've been into baking lately, I thought of buying these from Ikea before Christmas. I love cool and unique kitchen utensils. They excite me to work in the kitchen. 😊😊😊

You Can Begin Again

2012-01-03T00:52:00.001+03:00

You Can Begin Again

By Daystar Singers

You can begin again

You can believe

You can be healed

You can be free again

For God is here

and He will make a way

You can begin

You can begin again

The best is yet to come for me

The best is yet to come in my life

Standing on your promises

Standing on your in my life

A new beginning starts today

A new beginning starts in my life

I just love the lyrics of this song. I find it full of hope and encouragement. I saw this video while watching Daystar TV last year in Germany, and I've never forgotten the song since then. It was also my first time to hear Daystar Singers and I just came to love most of their songs.

Some of their songs are:

Goldilocks' Polvoron

2012-01-02T15:25:00.000+03:00

In Philippines, I can buy Goldilocks' polvoron for less than a hundred per dozen. Here, Asian stores repackage the contents, and because this is a rare food to find here, my husband bought a pack for the price of 5 riyals. That's around 55 pesos for 3 pieces of polvoron! Yikes.

Gift Wrapper vs. Paper/plastic bags

2012-01-02T09:37:00.000+03:00

It was my first time to personally do the all gift wrappings last December. I used to assist my mom but now that I have my own family, it's a challenge to wrap the gifts by myself. I am not good at it so I needed to find a way to avoid wrapping gifts.

The Burden of Using Gift Wrappers (for me)

Unlike my mom who loves wrapping gifts, I simply feel that wrapping takes most of my time. The process is longer, well that's for me who can't even cut glossy wrappers properly. Cutting the gift wrapper, wrapping, cutting the extra parts, taping then writing the name/ or posting the card on the gift. That's really time consuming for me. Second, I use 1/4 of the wrapper to wrap one small gift, and sometimes even half to wrap a medium one. That's for gifts with regular shapes but for the irregular ones? I don't even know to start wrapping them. =)

In IKEA, there's a section where you can get IKEA wrappers for free but they're thin so sometimes, it's useless to use it as a gift wrapper.

The Joy of Using Paper Bags =)

Put the gift inside, seal with a tape then write the recipient's name. Done! Now, that's way easier than using a gift wrapper! I also find it presentable to use paper bags. When I bought items from Body Shop, I asked the salesman if he could give me paper bags because I'll give the items as gifts to my friends and he gladly gave me around 20-25 bags! =) Most stores give freely if you say the items are gifts.

Marks & Spencers also gave us around 3 big and 20 small plastic bags. I just tied a metallic green ribbon to its handle to make it prettier.

IKEA's big plastic bags are best for family gifts. I put all the gifts for the mom/dad and kids in this bag then again placed a ribbon in its handle.

I find Mothercare's paper bag cute. I didn't use it because I didn't buy anything from there but I might use this in the future in case I'll give a gift to a pregnant woman, new mom or a baby.

My friend used Bath & Body Works' paper bags which I really find cute and simple.

There are more paper bags to choose from some are branded some are not. If you love wrapping gifts, go for it. If you're a busy person and wants to save time preparing gifts, then using paper/plastic bags may just be the answer to your problem.

Baby gifts

2012-01-01T15:38:00.000+03:00

A friend gave me gifts for my baby. :) I can't help but smile every time I see these baby clothes. They're small and cute. :) 10 weeks to go!! :)

My Dream Laptop

2011-12-26T01:23:00.001+03:00

MacBook Pro

or this

MacBook Air

Gil, wake up!

Sans Rival

2011-12-26T00:15:00.000+03:00

I made Sans Rival yesterday wishing to copy Goldilock's delicious version of it.
In this post, I will include the problems I faced and the possible solutions that helped me.
I followed this recipe from The Philippine Country website::

Cashew Sans Rival Meringue:

Ingredients:
7 each egg whites
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 cup cashew, coarsely chopped

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
2. Beat together egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar until stiff but not dry. Fold in nuts.
4. Divide mixture into four 9” x 1/2”-round pans lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour or until golden.
6. Transfer on wire racks. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Invert then carefully remove the parchment paper. Completely cool on wire racks.

Buttercream
Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
½ cup water
9 each egg yolks
¾ cup butter
¾ cup margarine
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups cashew for decoration
Procedure:
1. Boil together sugar and water until threadlike at 220°F.
2. Beat egg yolks at speed 6 until thick and fluffy.
3. Continue cooking the syrup until 240°F. Pour hot syrup into egg yolks in a stream. Beat until cold.
4. In another bowl, beat the butter compound until light. Add egg yolk mixture then vanilla. Beat until creamy.
5. Use this to fill the meringue layers. Decorate top and sides with more buttercream.
6. Sprinkle with cashew nuts all over. Freeze.

I also used this video of Macadamia Sans Rival to have an idea on the procedure.

1.The first problem I encountered was the cream of tartar, which was not available here. I searched for a substitute and most websites said there's no good substitute for it.
Fortunately, there's one post that gave a somehow feasible substitute, at least for me.

According to the post, I can use lemon as a substitute for cream of tartar. That was the only way I could continue doing the recipe so I used lemon, and it worked! I achieved the result I wanted to see.
2. Another problem was I overcooked the meringue a little. That was because I was using a gas oven. Unlike electric ovens where you can see the temperature, it is really hard for gas ovens because you just have to estimate the temperature, unless you have an oven thermometer to help you. To solve this, I had to start with a lower oven temperature to be safe. I also moved the rack up after 15-20 minutes to prevent the bottom from burning because it usually browns faster than its top. Parchment paper is also of great help. I find it one of the best ways to avoid any baked products from sticking on the tray. Wax paper burns faster so go for parchment paper or baking sheet. If it is not available then use a Pyrex baking dish which I find way better than the traditional baking pans.

My Sans Rival! =)

I'm happy with the result because it's close to Goldilock's version. I gave some to my parents because it's my father's favorite. He was satisfied with the taste and that made me even happier. =)

Cream of Tartar and other substitutes
Substitutes for Cream of tartar
Preventing burns in a gas oven
Other sites where you can find Sansrival/Sans rival recipe:
Sans Rival- Allrecipes website
Sans Rival- Big Oven website

God Bless Filipino

2011-12-24T18:10:00.000+03:00

Special number of Industrial BS Group yesterday.

The lyrics made the congregation cry.

GOD BLESS FILIPINO

Left your family and your homeland

For your future and your plans

Migrant workers in a distant land

Working hard for all you loved ones.

You may never have thought

You would come to know the Lord

He changed your heart, He changed your life

Now you want to serve him more.

God bless your soul Filipino

Wherever you are in this world

For He has called you for a cause

Fulfill the mission of the Lord

That the gospel will be preached in all the world

Proclaim his word, Filipino

Nagtrabaho sa malayo para sa kinabukasan

Manggagawa sa ibang bansa hanap mo ay kabuhayan

At di mo sinasadyang kay Hesus makakilala

Ang buahy mo'y binago nya ngayo'y naglilingkod sa kanya.

Mabuhay ka Pilipino saan mang panig ng mundo

Pinagpala ka ni KRISTO tinawag na MISYONERO

Salita nya ay iyong pinahahayag

Mabuhay ka Pilipino

Sa pagmamahal pagtitiis wala kang katulad

With your unfailing faith and love to serve

You'll be used to save the world

God bless your soul Filipino

Wherever you are in this world

For He has called you for a cause

Fulfill the mission of the Lord

That the Gospel will be preach in all the world

Proclaim his word Filipino

Mabuhay ka Pilipino saan mang panig ng mundo

Pinagpala ka ni KRISTO tinawag na MISYONERO

Salita nya ay iyong pinahahayag

Mabuhay ka Pilipino

Coffee Crumble

2011-12-20T15:43:00.001+03:00

This is the closest thing to coffee that I can take. Coffee is to be avoided by pregnant women because of its caffeine content. People say it's not good for a pregnant woman to eat ice cream especially during the last trimester of pregnancy. They say it should be avoided because it makes the baby bigger.
I'm not into desserts/ sweets but there are times when my tongue seems to crave for something sweet. When that happens, I just take 3-5 spoons of ice cream or whatever dessert I'm eating.
Some people may finish this ice cream in one sitting but it might take me a month to see the bottom of this 800ml of coffee crumble.=)

Coffee and Pregnancy
Coffee, tea and pregnancy
Caffeine during pregnancy
Foods to avoid during pregnancy
What NOT to eat during pregnancy
Eating ice-cream when pregnant
Ice cream and pregnancy

Missing Christmas

2011-12-20T01:34:00.001+03:00

Unlike the busy colorful Christmas aura in Philippines, Jeddah, I must say, gives no hint of the fast approaching celebration. Well, that's because Christmas is not celebrated here. It's not even a holiday! That's why I really miss the 'Christmas ambience' in Philippines.
I miss the streets full of colorfully lit lanterns in Philippines. Every December, I'd remember Dasma and the streets going to La Salle. Their lanterns always make me smile.
I especially miss the different delicacies seen during Christmas season like bibingka and puto bumbong. I even searched for bibingka's recipe just so I can make one here. :) I miss lechon, liempo, ham, hamonado and other foods served during this special occasion.
I miss the rush of people buying gifts in malls and other crowded places. I remember walking and window shopping while Christmas carols served as my background music. Now, it's just four days before Christmas and I haven't even bought a single gift and there are no Christmas bazaars here to go to!
I also miss the cold breeze of December touching my cheeks during those long walks in the neighborhood.
-sigh-
I guess these droopy feelings about Christmas is because I was in Philippines last year. That's almost after 5-6 years of spending Christmas here in Jeddah Haha. Well, it's just the atmosphere of Christmas in Philippines that I miss. I know that I'll be happier here knowing that I'll be spending this season with my beloved family.