oodles of goodles

strasbourg cathedral door, france

Something exciting is about to happen here in Oodles of Goodles! Remember my post about the three things to expect in the coming months last September? One of them was to expect a minor revamp on this site and it turns out, it’s not going to be a teeny weeny change but a major overhaul! Now that’s what happens when you throw two Broadway stars wannabe (that’s my sister Mai and I) together in the same room. Twice the kakulitan, twice the fun!

In the meantime, enjoy the archived posts here or be a snooperstar at my sister’s food blog, maidapaypay. Oh, and don’t forget to follow our tweets too at http://twitter.com/oodlesofgoodles for trivia and interesting links. Please be a little patient with us as we try to bring you a better-looking blog with oodles of cool posts. We promise you the wait is going to be worth it.

Kitakits soon!

When my sister asked me to make wedding invites for her friend She, I couldn’t have been happier. It had been a long time since I made anything craft-related and here was my chance to gear up those crafting wheels again.

My sister’s friend She was so much fun and easy to work with since she had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted her wedding invite to look like and granted us artistic license to work on the design. Our mission: to produce wedding invites that would look elegant, floral (preferably calla lily) & a bit Victorian.

Here was the result:

golden calla lilies we print gocco’d on the envelopes. a little more dramatic than your usual plain wedding envelopes.

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All quotes below from Putting America’s Diet On A Diet, The New York Times.

A timeout here for self-anointed Health Nazis. Oliver cooks and eats all kinds of meat and feels free to use butter, cream and cheese, in sane amounts. He is not a diet cop; he’s about scratch cooking, which to him means avoiding processed and fast food, learning pride of ownership, encouraging sparks of creativity and finding a reason to gather family and friends in one place. If you can make pancakes or an omelet, a pot of chili or spaghetti sauce and know how to perk up some vegetables, you can spend less and eat a more healthful meal that’s delicious.

Jamie O. is the epitome of what my sister wants to be as a chef. While I profess I first became a fan because I found him kind of freshly-scrubbed cute (a boyish-looking chef, never mind what he cooks!), my sister idolized him at the early part of his career because of the fact that there are no pretenses to his cooking (“Oliver became famous at 23 for his television series “The Naked Chef,” which was broadcast from 1999 to 2001, first in Britain, then here, on the Food Network. The title referred not to his lack of clothing but to his belief in stripping pretense and mystery from the kitchen — the idea that anyone can cook and everyone should. He was loose and playful, measuring olive oil not in spoonfuls but in “glugs,” making a mess and having a ball.”), that he advocates using fresh, locally grown, chemical & pesticide-free produce and that he helps out-of-school youth & troubled teens realize their culinary dreams.

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Speaking of food (nothing healthy-healthy in this post so you can all breathe easy now), there’s one dessert piece I recently tried to follow that does not only put a twist to the traditional banana bread recipes but is also not too much of a hassle to make. I made a mental note to share it as I thought you’d all appreciate following recipes that are easy to whip up but don’t appear so. Let’s make it our little secret, shall we?

Here’s the recipe for a heavenly-smelling banana-cream cheese roll (guaranteed to make your eyes roll heavenward hohoho) I snatched from my mom:

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I know of people who pay good money to detoxify for the weekend in detox centers or hotels. My sister and I take our bi-annual trek to our very own favorite detox place to purge ourselves of toxins accumulated from years of eating unhealthily as well as to take a break from a fast-paced metropolitan lifestyle. We go home to our mom’s house in Iloilo.

Where our bread is freshly baked at home and made from the choicest ingredients.

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I’m back! So, have you gotten your Google Wave invite yet?

I heard only 100,000 invites were given during the initial release. Bee was one of the few lucky ones to have received a Wave preview from Google. It pays to be ultra geeky haha. He had 8 invites to spare and invited me in return but so far, Google hasn’t deemed me techno-cool enough to be in the loop. Hey you guys from Google, I’m a social media dork and I practically raised my son through Google so where is my invite!

What’s all the fuss over Google Wave? Bee’s initial impression of it.

My heartfelt thanks to all those who joined the 2nd series of Moleskine Giveaways 2009 sponsored by Avalon.ph!

I am supposed to have announced the winner earlier but we’re currently in my Mom’s house in Iloilo which means not only am I on a slow internet connection, I’m also blogging on a borrowed Mac (my husband’s). Sorry if I kept everyone in suspense since October 1. I know you’ve all been busy preparing for Typhoon Pepeng anyway and announcing a winner wouldn’t have been timely. This will be short and sweet.

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The Question: From The Manila Floods: Why Wasn’t The City Prepared? by Ishaan Tharoor for Time:

The Spanish seized Manila from its Muslim rulers in the 16th century and set it up as their colonial seat in Asia. The city was a flourishing, elegant entrepôt for centuries, but in recent times civic planning has been more haphazard as the population has boomed. Lambert Ramirez, executive director of the National Institute for Policy Studies, a Manila-based think tank, says much of the blame for poor urban management ought to be leveled at the government. “There’s no coordinated policy for cleaning up garbage. There’s no political will to get even simple things done,” he says. Ramirez spoke to TIME while salvaging appliances and valuables from his own flooded home.

The Answer: From Three by Conrado de Quiros for Philippine Daily Inquirer:

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Two more storms are coming, I hear. I’ve stopped watching the news lately because I get teary-eyed every time I see families on rooftops waiting to be rescued or people getting carried away by waves of flood.

To be more pro-active, here are some of the things we can do in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy:

1. First of all, be thankful that you are reading this blog - it means you are safe and dry, you have electricity and access to the internet.

2. If you’ve waded in or come into contact with flood water, take your leptospirosis prophylaxis ASAP: (note: this is an unconfirmed medical advisory) 2 capsules doxycycline, 100mg. Single dose. Just once. Take with food and avoid taking with dairy products. DO NOT GIVE to children or pregnant women, or those who are allergic. As always, it’s best to consult your doctors when in doubt.

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{Thank you for the comments/entries on the Moleskine Giveaway! Keep them coming for a chance to win one Pocket Ruled Moleskine Notebook + P500 GC from Avalon.ph!}

san pellegrino sparkling water

Our recent obsession with sparkling water (also known as carbonated water, frizzante, water with gas) has led me to try a few drink recipes to match those pasta and pizza dishes with. For some reason, Bee and I find that sparkling water doesn’t go well with our Filipino rice dishes even though we drink carbonated soda with lechon, tuyo, sinangag, sinigang, balut and other truly Pinoy what-have-you’s. Ah well, maybe it’s just us. Water is water, after all, gas or no gas.

Drinking sparkling water is supposedly good for digestion, contains silica - a vital trace mineral in the formation of tough bones, and has heart-friendly properties. It’s a great drink for those who just want a little kick in their water or for those who may just want to b-u-r-p. Kids will also love getting their own “spritzy drink” with their favorite fruit juices added during those bubblies-and-wines parties with the grown-ups.

Anyway, here are two non-alcoholic sparkling water drink recipes I’ve personally tried and found to be great pick-me-uppers:

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