Tuesday 27 June 2023

A WONDERFUL BREAKFAST WITH FRIENDS

​We had a sumptuous and joyous breakfast yesterday! Thanks to our gracious and generous  host,  Carol who prepared this delicious breakfast. 




Thank you as well for this elegant table setting. 


Welcome back Cheska and Claire! We are happy that almost all the Sweet Magmolias are home now except Tess who is pressntly touring Vienna with her better half. 




Claire, from the photos you shared, your Jacoboys indeed had a blast in Singapore and Legoland in Malaysia. 






Likewise, Cheska’s family had a great time bonding with the elders and cousins in India. 


Her teenage son even celebrated his birthday there. Look how tall he is and still growing taller. 


              

                  Back to our breskfast


As usual, Carol’s breakfast fare was over-the-top. At first I didn’t know where to begin but Carol handed me this delicious buko still in its husk, the juice is sweet and fresh. 


There were fruits galore! Mango, apple, pear, dragon fruit, papaya, orange wedges, sweet sampaloc and banana. 




This ceviche in my bowl eaten with crispy papadams from India was amazingly fresh and crunchy.  


Here’s where you can have a refill. 


          And on to the main course

What to choose?  What to eat first? Shall I eat them with rice or bread?  I enjoyed them more with rice, like the majority did. 



            

             But wait,  there’s more!

I could’t pass up on my favorite, the suman sa lihya with a yummy white sauce. 


And there’s that soft and fleshy macapuno in very light syrup. Yummmm! 


Of course we always finish off with the most delicious cooffee that all of us serve in our own homes. Great coffee is a must, i guess we all expect it.  At Carol’s there’s monk fruit powder with stevia but I only put cream in my coffee, nothing else. 

Wait, i need to include this. Jim and I went out to see Carol’s dipping pool and jacuzzi at the back. We had our photo taken 



We thank Claire for these chocolates from Singspore. 


Thank you Carol for this wonderful breakfast. You really outdid yourself again with your over-flowing spread, beats some hoteks in town. 

We had a lot of fun ! 

Wednesday 14 June 2023

WISHING CLAIRE AND FAMILY GREAT ADVENTURES IN SINGAPORE

​When one of us Sweet Magnolias embarks on a trip abroad, we are happy for her as she sets out to see new places and gain new experiences. 


With Claire, it could be bittersweet since she is the youngest bubbly one who always make everything light and happy. 


Today we wish Claire the best of adventures and enjoyable moments as she makes happy memories with her family. 




This is just the right time to bring her Jacoboys along; Caleb is 5 and Karl is 7. At this age, they will surely appreciate and remember every adventure that they will cherish forever. 

Here are Caleb and Karl: 



Singapore is a tourist-friendly country, very safe with many places to see for the young and the young at heart.  Since they are bringing the Jacoboys, they planned to visit the Universal Studious, and other interesting adventures in Sentosa. Then they will cross the border to Kuala Lumpur to Legoland Malaysia Resort. 


Today, Mel hosted the sendoff breakfast. 






This box of cookies is a souvenir from King Charles’ coronation in May brought by Carol for our host. 



The husbands had their breakfast in the veranda. 


Thanks a lot for the sumptuous breakfast Mel. For starters we had fruit compote and the charcuterie board of cheeses, grapes and nuts. 


Followed by Muesli of oats, nuts and dried fruits with yogurt dressing. There’s this yummy lychee juice along with it. 


This was followed by grilled cheese sandwich, sunny side up and chips. 


As if that wasn’t enough, there’s macaroni salad which I failed to take a photo. Of course we finished off with coffee, lots of laughter and interesting stories. 

Our get together always culminate with a group photo. 


We are missing Cheska who will be back soon from India. I’m sure she is having a great time with her family. 



And Tess is still in Rotterdam, busy now training for another 10-km run early next month.  We are proud of her for having finished a marathon earlier. 




Claire, we are sending you well wishes for happy times with your family. We hope you will carry them in your mental backpack and make the most of your vacation. 

May your flight be smooth, your journey be safe, your experience be rich and your memories be great. 


Send us lots of photos and come back safe. 

Tuesday 6 June 2023

SOMETIMES WE JUST WANT TO PARTY

​Tonight was another “blockbuster” dinner in our own little way.  Indeed, it was hearty and satisfying; like any dinner of the Sweet Magnolias who are always ready and willing to get together on the spur of the moment. 


This dinner was conceived during an impromptu breakfast the day before. Dolly, who gave the breakfast; mentioned that Vener,(her significant other)  planned to cook pork blood stew (dinuguan).   Claire, our bubbly and enthusiastic youngest in the group picked up on that and suggested dinner. I guess she felt like partying. 


“Let’s have dinner then; we already have pork blood stew”, she messaged us all. “I asked Dolly and she confirmed that all of us are welcome. You can bring a dish if you like but no pressure. Let’s invite our partners. Please give me a headcount so I can order crabs and lapu lapu. 


Who can resist such enthusiasm? 


Thanks for this nice table setting, Dolly. 


So we had dinner. 




Upon learning about the dinner; Tess who is enjoying family time in Rotterdam and Cheska visiting her in laws in India said that they are in serious FOMO. “FOMO IS REAL, they both messaged in our group chat. 

“There will definitely be a repeat of this”, Dolly assured. 


As usual there were so much food. 


Salad for stater and the pinakbet beside it



There’s the pork blood stew 


And the kilawen; grilled pork liempo and pork liver, thinly sliced and dressed with calamansi, onions, salt and pepper


Then the star of the dinner.,,,the crabs sautéd in oyster sauce and leeks. 


There’s sweet and sour lapu lapu 


Steamed shrimps



Daing na bangus topped with tomatoes and onions. 

There’s puto 


and it’s female counterpart, the kutsinta


For dessert there’s leche flan


And lychees with nata de coco 


Fruits: Bangkok santol, dragon fruit and siniguelas. Sorry I failed to take photos of those. 


Since we are walking at 5 AM tomorrow, Dolly gave us the most delicious coffee as our nightcap.

These guys lingered for more bonding while the seniors went home. 


Once again, Vener and Dolly, thanks a lot for a wonderful dinner.