an early spring

An unusually early spring is making up for the unusually long winter we had last year. Hopefully I didn't start my seedlings too late. That's the plastic egg crate in the picture. I am once again ambitious: 4 kinds of tomatoes, Anaheim chilies, white & summer squash, yellow crookneck, zucchini, cucumber, cantaloupe, snow peas, artichoke, romaine, arugula and green onion for the veggies. For the herbs I've got basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, dill and sage. I also planted flowers straight into the flower boxes: zinnias, snapdragons, poppies, sweet peas, alyssum and morning glories. (Btw the plastic egg crate comes from Costco. It's the brown eggs crate and it is perfect for starting seedlings. Perfect size...I use a plastic spoon for the soil and for watering later. You can also see the seeds rooting).

This is also the first year I am using our own compost that I started last year. So thankful my hubby helped me out with this. He put together the Death Star composter that we got from Costco. It is very cool but it's only drawback is that it is hell to open. Which hubby has to do for me every time I need to dump something in it. But it felt good to be composting! I hope it really helps our garden out.

We also started making our own cheese today...the other stuff in the picture! Hubby got me the kit for my birthday and we finally found the time to try it out. I should have started with a soft cheese but we're not big fans so our very first one is the farmhouse cheddar. It has to age for 8 weeks but we even get to dip it in wax and everything! I'm hoping it turns out because I really love cheese. Right now we're snacking on Irish cheddar, crackers and pears while we wait for the curd to set.

the sweetest Valentine

My Sweetheart delivered again this Valentine's Day with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We have a paging system where I work and I only get paged a few times a year. But always on Valentine's Day because my hubby always sends me flowers.

We had a spent a spontaneous weekend out of town and that was our Valentine splurge. So we were more than happy to have dinner at home. Although hubby had a moment of doubt during the day, which he shared with me later. He had been out of town for the day on business but made a point of telling his client that he needed to leave on time so he could have Valentine's dinner with me. Which got him to thinking sushi at our new favorite sushi bar in town. But I had had dinner plans at home for us:-)


I took out our wedding china and a special bottle of red wine. I made chicken teriyaki and beef fried rice. The beef was actually left over NY steak from the weekend. The table looked beautiful. I had gotten special beers as a gift to my hubby. Our evening was sweet and quiet.  What we both wanted and needed.

in defense of white rice

I think white rice is getting a bad rap. I am Asian so undoubtedly biased but billions of people are literally living off white rice! I eat it nearly everyday but in moderation. Filipino dishes cannot be paired with anything else.

I buy white rice by the huge bags. My grandmother lived to be 92 and white rice was a staple for her. I plan on the same. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

another creative leftover

Earlier in the week I had made a huge pot roast. It was the perfect crockpot dish. I prepared it first thing before going to work. Hubby and I were meeting at Costco after work so when we got home, a delicious dinner was ready! I just boiled some cabbage to have some fresher greens to go with it.


We had taken some leftovers for lunch already but there was still a huge chunk of meat left. So I shredded some by hand and sauteed it in some EVOO along with some chopped onions and half a can of green chiles. I added cumin, kosher salt, paprika, chipotle chile powder and ground coriander. I cooked it until some of the meat were slightly crispy. Then I put some on a tortilla with some shredded cheese and cooked it in a panini pan. It ended up being great quesadillas! I served it with dirty rice and salsa. Buddy loved it and was impressed. And that's what matters:-)

today's yummy lunch

Thursday lunch can be quite a treat if it’s leftovers from the night before because that’s when my dear husband cooks:-) And he is very good at cooking just the right amount so it’s often rare that we have leftovers.

On payday we did our usual Costco run and were promptly sold on buying the Guy Fieri apricot & sesame sausage.  We are huge Triple D fans so as soon as we saw Guy’s face on the label, it was just a matter of deciding between apricot & sesame vs. fiesta lime.  The latter didn’t appeal to us.

My hubby cooked some red & regular quinoa with just enough cayenne for some mild kick and broccoli boiled to the right tenderness.  We had the sausage on buns with sauerkraut, spicy mustard, ketchup and our own homemade spicy dill pickles.  It was a great dinner!  I am an even more blessed and happier woman on Wednesday nights – because my sweetheart is a great cook and I get to rest a bit.

For lunch I just had the sausage and quinoa.  And the blessedness continues.  And God bless my dear husband.