Jade's Cook Book -Ravioli a la Pobre

Jade's Cook Book

Jade's Cook book is dedicated to our dog who inspired us for many years and made us happy when times were boring or sad. Jade was named after the four of us.

J - Jewel, A - Alic, D - Dirk, E - Eugene

Ravioli a la Pobre

Ingredients:

Dough - 

•    2 Eggs
•    1 Cup of Flour
•    pinch of Salt

Filling - 

• Sauteed ground beef/pork/chicken
• Grated Cheese

Sauce - 

• Del Monte Filipino Style Spaghetti Sauce

How To:

Mix the Eggs and Flour until it forms a dough. Roll the dough into a ball and set aside for an hour or two.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until its thin enough to cook but not too thin that it will break when you put the stuffing in.

Cut the dough in circles ( i used the bottom of a plastic water cup so the shape is wide enough. Mixed the meat and cheese together and place a teaspoon full of stuffing on one of the circles then place another one on top. To close the ravioli you can use a fork and it should look something like this

Make sure that when you close the ravioli you do not leave any air pockets. Leaving air pockets will cause the ravioli to bloat and pop while boiling. Taking a pot with water and boil the water with a pinch of salt and a table spoon of oil.

Heat the sauce and add any ingredients you prefer. add the cooked ravioli and voila! Enjoy.

Cooking Time : 3-4 minutes

Prep time: 20 mins

Dough: 1 hour and 30mins


Stay tuned for the following post:

Hong Kong Day 3: KidsRus - Hong Kong Disneyland
Madame Tussauds: The Wax Museum (The not so scary version)
Hong Kong Itinerary - Sister Made Stuff

Travel in Curves - Hong Kong

Last year for my birthday I went with Makoi and explored "my beautiful second country" of Thailand. It was an amazing experience. I met a few people (james and kishni), the country was very nice, the locations were very interesting, the food was awesome and I got to meet one of the stars and band member of August Band from Love of Siam. It was my first International trip and I had a blast.

This year, I will be going on another trip but I will be sharing it this time with my sister, Jewel.

On February 26, we are scheduled to fly from Cebu to Hong Kong via Cebu Pacific and we are pretty excited to travel. It'll be her first time Internationally so I want her to enjoy and be hooked to traveling so I can have a travel buddy. :)

Back when we were still kids we were soooo close we practically did everything together, the normal brother-sister stuff. But then High school and peer pressure kinda got in the way and I'm very glad that me, her and my brothers are hanging out again like before. She actually reminded me of the pact we made when we were kids. We promised that one day we will be traveling outside the Philippines and I am super excited that it is finally going to happen, rain or shine (classes or not.. LOL)

us in the yearly siblings photo

I had her do the itinerary so she can be involved and she did an amazing job. Kudos Sis!.. I'll post more updates on this and hopefully capture lots and lots of cool photos. Jewel even suggested that we both make a blog or vlog of everything we do moving forward. hahaha.. I don't think I'm ready to be seen on TV or YouTube yet..

Hong Kong.. I'll see you next WEEK!!!


xoxo -A

Lessons from my Father

Today is my father's birthday and my brothers and sister planned a whole day of activities for both him and my mom. I am taking this moment before my day starts to tell you a bit about my father.

Decoroso "Dick" Balmes

He was born the eldest of their family, hard working, loyal to my mom and very family oriented.

Growing up we were never really close, not as close as a father to a son would be but it was more about me than him. I always hated the times where he would tell me to do the dishes, change the light bulbs, clean the car, give the dogs a bath, and a whole lot of things. I disliked how he took me with him when he visited his side of the family because I hated traveling by land. Selfish right? I wont deny it. At the end of the day the reason why our relationship is that way is still because me and what I am. I'll save that for another day. :)

Despite everything I actually learned a lot and i will always be thankful. Let me tell you how my father shaped me to be the person I am today. I will list down a few things my father taught me both directly and indirectly.

• The kitchen should always be clean. If i can remember it correctly, my cousin Twinkle taught my how to wash dishes but my father taught me that before I go to bed every night I should was the dishes or clean up after my self
• How to change a light bulb. A bonding moment we shared hahaha. I know all it needs is common sense when changing a light bulb but to tell you honestly, a lot of people doesn't know how to change a light bulb 
• Delivering puppies. My dad showed me how to assist a pregnant dog during delivery and I've done it several times now on my own
• Compassion towards animals. My dad is a Veterinarian so it gave me access to animals growing up 
• Respect towards Family
• How not fighting back is the bravest thing you can sometimes do
• Balancing and being equal to both sides of the family is more important than taking sides
• Traditions should always be honored
• Quit Smoking
• How loving something you hate because the people you treasure most loves them is more important that hating them at all
• Letting go of negativity is helpful
• Always following your dreams
• Always support your kids no matter what they choose to be
• Never let go of the "kid" in you

and a whole lot more. I am who I am because they trusted my decision of who i wanted to become. We may not be the typical family who talks about sex openly, or continues to go to church religiously or the type of family that says i love you or sorry all the time but our family dynamics work for us. And it'll mature more in the coming years. I strongly believe that both my father and mother played a strong role in that. 

To my father, who have always been there for me and the family. I  salute, respect and love you, you and mom. Always. I know I will make a great father one day because I have you as role model.

Have a great day today and the coming years. 

My very own Bucket List

Thing I want to do before I turn 40

I found the Slytherin notebook my sister "gave" ( more like she had no choice but ) me and saw an entry I made a few years back. It had everything that i wanted to since 2011, maybe that's why I titled it Bucket List. Let me tell you the two reasons why I'm blogging about it now. First, carrying a notebook everywhere is 50% fun and 50% bulky so I'm keeping my records online (easy update). Second, I wanted to share it because the more people know, the best chance for me to get all the information I need to achieve it. :)

Here's the list in exact order when I wrote it down. Every time I complete an item on the list I will place a picture below it and update this blog so you too would know.

• Go on a date
• Get a new BlackBerry
• Get a Passport

• Apply for a Visa
• Enroll in a Gym
• Enroll in a French Class
• Learn a New Language (Russian, German, Hebrew and more)
• Travel to Places iv'e never been to

Dumaguete, Dipolog, Dapitan and Dakak

• Travel Internationally

Thailand

• Quit
• Quit Smoking

Smoke Free for 8 months now

• Minimize Rice intake
• Lose weight
• Get over GF_ (sooo stupid, I am actually hiding this.. hahaha.. sssshhh)
• Get a Tattoo
• Boycott Fast Food Joints
• Save P10,000 and put it in the bank
• Get New Clothes (preferably when your thin)
• Go to Boracay 1 more time
• Get a Massage
• Boycott Carbonated Drinks
• Spend the night at a Hotel
• Travel Alone
• Give yourself something special for your birthdays

Birthday 2013

• Visit Pat-pat in Ilo-Ilo
• Eat somewhere fancy
• Take family on a fancy vacation
• Apply and get a job outside the Philippines
• Pay off Credit Card
• Finish Loan
• Take singing lessons
• Buy a Laptop
• Travel to Manila
• Practice Wicca More
• become a Hybrid in the Training World
• Sit through a Play

Les Miserable, Facebooked, Sister Act the Musical and a few more local plays

• Learn how to Surf
• Bake a Cake

Mug Cake - It counts teehee

• Wall Climb
• Fly
• Go Fishing and Catch Something
• Host a Dinner Party 

• Host Brunch
• Throw knives like on Hunger Games
• Be in a Play
• Dance like there is no Tomorrow
• Meet McFly (or any of the Band Members)
• Meet the Cast of Harry Potter (or any one from the movie)
• Take a picture from the outside of the Halliwell Manor
• Meet the Cast of Friends ( Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross)
• Learn Martial Arts
• Shoot an arrow from a bow (lotsa times)
• Fire a gun (safely) 

How to make your Mother Happy

 

Birthday Bash 2013 - 58 and loving it...

Edible Birthday Cake ( it was hard eating the "body" part but off with her head... teehee)

So my mom celebrated her birthday yesterday and she had a big surprise. For the last couple of years, we celebrated hers and my dad's birthday here in Cebu at The Port Sea Food Buffet but this year was different. She had that cake above and Lechon and a whole lot of food. The bad part for me was, we (my brothers and i) were not there but she celebrated it with her brother and sisters, my lil sissy and my dad with a few cousins.

Her birthday tarp ( tarps are becoming pretty popular in Calbayog)

Foooood so many fooood.. (love makes the world go round... so does food)

Dad with the Roasted Pig (Lechon) Yummy!!!

Brother and Sister for Life

Mama Isa looking for a seat to eat the treat which was neat. (rhyming - not my forte)

I called them yesterday and they were having Fun. I'm glad they did. Wished i was there with them but me in spirit did the job.. hahaha plus, if i was there? I would've locked my self with the roasted pig and that awesome cake in a room for weeks calling it My Precious... hahahaa..

Off to my next adventure with the Mad Hatter!!

ZEN - Work||Life Balance

If you feel that you're dragging yourself to work then 

you're doing it wrong.. Its not your work. Its you.

www.nearsightedowl.com -

#BalanceTips

1. When you go home, spend time with your family, they are the reason you're working. Don't sleep immediately.

2. Do random small projects that will make you proud of yourself. Although supporting your brother or sister financially is great, self fulfillment doesn't kick in till they graduate. Add small stuff like decorating you room or learning how to not burn fried eggs.t makes sense..

3. Visit places during days off that will not cost you much. Don't be a bum or a couch potato during Rest Days. Try going to Ayala, SM, Cmall, Emall, Park Mall, Mall Mall and all the words that ends with Mall.. They're free and it gives you the chance to meet someone you know randomly.

4. Don't be afraid to admit that life can sometimes be boring. It only stays boring if you want it to.

5. Have some alone time once in a while. You will only feel depressed when you have friends and don't know what to do on your free time. Why not focus on you and get a massage. *wink

6. Never forget to smile even if you have to fake it... It adds to your mood and it'll make your day a bit better.

7. And last but not the least. Never judge a co worker and question why they are in their position when they clearly don't know what they are doing. Why? Because your stressing yourself with something that you have no knowledge about. Cause if you did? You should have applied but didn't. Let them do their job and focus on not screwing up yours.

8. Smile. I said already but it makes sense..

Life's always better when you smile! :)