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  1. Dinner: Grilled Salmon with Fettuccine in Agli Olio

    November 6, 2011 by mella

    Last week, I finally bought my dream cooking tool—a grill pan! I’ve always wanted to buy one but kept on stopping myself because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to use it that often. But finally I gave in.  I my want food to have grill marks on em for a change. I know, silly hehehe.

    Before going to the cashier and paying for it, I quickly googled ‘grill pan worth it?’ just to really really make sure that the thing is worth my money. This site came first in the search results. According to the users, although the pan doesn’t give that smoky flavor it still gives the food a grilled texture. So there, JUSTIFIED :)

    Excited with my new toy, I made ‘grilled salmon topped with mango salsa and fettuccine with Agli Olio (garlic and oil)’ for dinner .

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    Here’s how I did it:

    First make the Mango Salsa. In a bowl, mix diced mango, tomato and red onion. Add 1 tbsps. each of lemon juice and lime juice. Season it with  salt then refrigerate, covered for an hour.

    To make Agli Olio, fry minced garlic and red pepper flakes in extra virgin olive oil  (don’t burn the garlic please).  When the garlic starts to turn brown, quickly remove the pan from heat. Set aside. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.

      
    Rudel loves garlic so much and I love the heat, that’s why….

    Meanwhile, brush the salmon with olive oil then season it with salt and pepper. Set the grill pan over medium-high heat. Place the salmon, skin-side up on the grill and cook for 5 to 7 minutes each side.

    And finally, pour Agli Olio over pasta. Mix well until the pasta is well coated with the oil. Season with pepper and top it with lots of freshly (it must be fresh!) grated parmesan cheese. Serve it with the grilled salmon and mango salsa.

    Trust me, these threesome go so well together.

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  2. Relief….

    November 3, 2011 by mella

    Just received this in my Inbox and I’ll all I can say is THANK GOODNESS! You see, we booked a flight with Qantas for our trip this December so when we heard the news about their fleets being grounded that really got us worried. No flight would only mean cancelled trip. We had already booked and fully paid all hotels we will be staying in and we’re not even sure whether the payment is refundable or whether they allow rebooking. But I guess we should leave all our worries behind now since it ‘seems’ that the airline is already in control of the situation.

    Here’s the full text of Qantas’ letter to its frequent flyers…

    Hello

    Now that Qantas has resumed normal operations I would like to update you on what the recent decision by Fair Work Australia means for you.
    I apologise sincerely for any inconvenience that you or your family experienced during the grounding of the Qantas fleet between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon.
    The decision to lock out some of our employees was an immensely difficult one and one that I did not want to have to make. But it was a decision that we were driven to by the industrial action of three unions, together representing less than 20 percent of Qantas employees.
    As of last Friday, industrial action by those unions had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, disrupted 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas $68 million. Two union leaders had warned that industrial action could continue into next year.
    This would have had a devastating effect on our customers, on all Qantas employees and on the businesses which depend on Qantas services.
    On Saturday, I came to the conclusion that this crisis had to end. I made the decision to proceed with a lock-out, the only form of protected industrial action available to Qantas under the Fair Work Act, so that agreement could be reached quickly.
    Unfortunately, it was necessary as a precautionary measure to ground the fleet immediately after the announcement that a lock-out would take place. While I deeply regret the short-term impact of the fleet being grounded, following the Fair Work Australia decision we now have absolute certainty for our customers. No further industrial action can take place. No more aircraft will be grounded and no services cancelled as a result of industrial action.
    You can now book Qantas flights with complete confidence. This is an immeasurably better situation than last Friday, when Qantas faced the prospect of ongoing disruptions, perhaps for another 12 months.
    We have now moved into 21 days of negotiations with each of the unions with the assistance of Fair Work Australia. All parties will be treated equally in order to reach reasonable agreements. If this cannot happen, binding arbitration will take place to secure an outcome. We will respect whatever decisions are reached.
    Regardless of how and when the agreements are reached, the period of uncertainty and instability for Qantas is over. We are moving forward and putting this dispute behind us.
    Our focus now is on our customers. We want to restore your faith by returning our on-time performance to its normal high levels, continuing to invest in new aircraft and lounges and ensuring the best possible in-flight experience.
    The end of industrial action means we can concentrate on what matters – getting you to your destination on time and in comfort, offering the best network and frequency of any Australian airline and rewarding your loyalty as a Qantas Frequent Flyer.
    Thank you for your patience and for your continued support of Qantas.

    Alan Joyce
    CEO Qantas Airways

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  3. Photography: Project Girl Power

    October 30, 2011 by mella

    Last Wednesday, I had this sudden urge of doing a photo shoot. I don’t know what came to me but it was really what I wanted to do this weekend, something more productive than just hanging out home, watching TV and pigging out (hehehe). And so, I invited my girlfriends to do this project. Not much preparation was done. I basically just asked them to come to my house, bring their kits and do our thing.

    Model: Alecks Domingo
    Photography: Mella
    Makeup: Creative Beauty by Allets Malabag
    Stylists: Mella, Stella, Shiela and Alecks (This truly is a Girl Power project!)
    Hair: Alecks and Stella
    Location: Our living room

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    I am so happy to say that I love love love how this turned out. I bought my DSLR 3 years ago and unfortunately (for me) I haven’t really made an effort to hone my photography skills. I still use AV mode and always capture photos in natural light. I understand what aperture, shutter speed and ISO means but I don’t know how to make them work together (read: I don’t know how to use a DSLR in manual mode). Anyway, enough with my photography confessions. I’ll probably figure it out someday. What’s important is that I am happy with the END RESULT of this shoot. Hope like it too!

    For more photos, please visit my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mellatan/

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  4. Last Night’s Dinner: Linguine with Alfredo Sauce

    October 22, 2011 by mella

    My first experience of making a white sauce to go with my pasta didn’t quite turn out well ( a lot of bitterness in there hehehe). After that kitchen disaster, I somewhat vowed never to make a pasta dish with white sauce EVER AGAIN. But last night, I realized that I shouldn’t given up that easily. I should have tried and tried and tried again until I make it right—which I finally did last night!

    I sautéed about 1 tbsps. of chopped garlic in butter until it starts to brown. Quickly turned off the heat to avoid burning the garlic. I then added a bottle of cream (better than canned cream I tell you), stirred it then turn the heat on again and set to low fire. I then added freshly grated (avoid ready-grated cheese at all costs!) parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

    and…voila!

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    it’s the garlic that brings that oomph! to the sauce

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  5. Taste of North Indian Food

    October 22, 2011 by mella

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    All I know is that this is a kind of appetizer. I don’t know what its called though. We didn’t like the greenish and redish dip but the salsa was good.

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    Chicken Kebab. The chicken was so juicy and tender and it really went well with the salsa salad.

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    Chicken Tikka Masala served with Garlic Naan. We usually eat Naan with Buttered Chicken but tried Chicken Tikka for a change. The verdict? We should have been more loyal.

     

    Mumtaz Mahal (Pasir Ris)
    1 Pasir Ris Close, #01-39 Downtown East, Singapore

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  6. Wedding Flowers: Bouquets, Corsages and Boutonnieres

    August 27, 2011 by mella

    So, who was our florist?

    I had a number of shortlisted Tagaytay florist supplier but I only met up with one. From all the Tagaytay florists I’ve found during my research, Ate Cora of RCJC had the most number of good feedbacks. However, no supplier’s perfect right? So of course they had a fare share of not so good reviews. But after meeting Ate Cora,  I had a strong feeling that I could trust her. I booked RCJC right away after she presented me with the package offer.

    Ate Cora was very easy to deal with. All I needed to do was show her pictures of different flower arrangements  and color themes I liked, informed her of our budget, informed her of our reception venue and church, number of guests, number of entourage, and voila! She drafted the package offer right in front of us right then and there! hehehe…I told her from the very start that that we’re not planning to spend too much on flowers so she made sure that the flowers that they’re going to use are in season and inexpensive. I know nothing about flowers, even their names (basta maganda sa picture yun na un! hahaha).  So it was all in Ate Cora’s hands the moment we signed the contract.

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    My bridal bouquet-–white flowers with shades of pink and green.

     

    WD.RR.03042011.P1.2570mini bouquets for my ‘maids’ of honor—yes, I only needed two! hehehe. I chose not to have bridesmaids anymore to save money. wrist corsages for female secondary sponsors—bouquet’s are much more expensive so I chose this as suggested by Ate Cora

     groom2Groom and male entourage boutonnieres—shades of white and green. again in contrast with the pink dresses. my not so little brothers were our bible and coin bearers. male secondary sponsors were hubbies cousins and one of my brother as well. We had ‘one’ flower girl which was my hubby’s niece and our ring bearer was my one and only nephew. Corsages for ninongs and ninangs and for our moms too. As I said bouquets are much more expensive. Besides, they already have purses as their accessory :)

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  7. Wedding Flowers: Reception and Church

    August 24, 2011 by mella

    When we were planning our wedding, we knew from the start that we won’t spend a lot of money on flowers. I think spending hundreds of thousands on flowers alone are impractical and a waste of money. The celebration should be more about the couples and not so much on the wedding embellishments.

    Before I met with my florist, I spent time thinking of ways to save money on flowers without making the church and reception area look dull. I found very good tips and advices from a lot of practical brides (believe me they’re out there!) in the internet. I adopted those that I think will work with my plan. A week before our meeting with the florist, I collected many photos of different flower arrangements that I would like my florist to use as an inspiration.

    ceremony5ivory and green hydrangeas and roses in square glass vases
    Here are my inspirations for the church flowers and reception table center pieces.

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    Here’s my florist’s interpretation.


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    My motif was watermelon pink and apple green. Since my bridesmaids dresses were already in pink, I wanted the color of the flowers to be in total contrast ‘para hindi nakakaumay’. I wanted scattered petals along the aisle but SADP didn’t allow it so my florist suggested to use cloths instead as an added decoration.

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    I ‘used’ the same flower pots from the church as table center pieces for the reception to save money. Gladly, my florist was kind enough to transfer all the flower pots from the church to the reception free of charge. The green table napkins are from Ikea which I bought for S$ 1.99 /50 a pack. Not bad…not bad at all :)

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  8. Weekend in Mt. Bromo Part 2

    August 23, 2011 by mella

    The second leg of our trip was the actual ‘hike’ to the volcano.

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    The locals calls this Sea of Sand.

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    Horses are for rent if you don’t feel like walking….

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    …but only up to the foot of the mountain. after that you’re on your own.
     

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    it’s a long way up!

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    and this is how close we got to the crater. It’s quite dangerous, now we realized.

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