At Home With MrsC

Quality Education?

December 15, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 14 Comments

Earlier today, I was reviewing my little boy for his final exams. As I was going over some of his quizzes from the term, I spotted a grammatical error in one of the questions. It bothered me so much that I took a photo of the test paper and posted it on Instagram.

You might think that I’m making a big deal over this, but honestly, I would probably be able to let it go if this error was not committed by an English teacher. Then again, as a parent who is paying a significant amount of money for the promise of premium, quality education, I think that I have every right to be bothered. At the same time, I chose my son’s school because I graduated from there myself, and so did MrC and all of my siblings. I believe in its educational system and the level of excellence that it promises to deliver. I take pride in being an alumna of this school, and quite frankly, it’s pretty embarrassing to know that a teacher from this school is unable to write a proper sentence in past tense.

Sure, this may just be an error, and maybe she really is qualified to be teaching English. I am more than willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, of course. But I will be watching.

A Wedding at Villa Escudero

December 7, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 4 Comments

I think the groom said it best when he described their Villa Escudero wedding as magical. I wish that I could make photos do most of the talking just to prove this point, but unfortunately I don’t have that many pictures because I was (eep!) hosting the reception that evening. Yes, I had to set my stage fright aside so that I could give in to my sister-in-law’s request. I’m glad I did because I actually enjoyed hosting! I don’t think that I’ll be doing it again anytime soon, though.

Villa Escudero is right at the border of Tiaong, Quezon and San Pablo Laguna. It’s one of the most popular options for an out of town Filipiniana-themed wedding within driving distance from Manila. Making arrangements with them is relatively easy even if you didn’t hire a wedding coordinator, like my sister-in-law, because they have their own team of coordinators and highly trained staff. Basically, they are so used to having weddings there that they just know what to do already.

We arrived at Villa Escudero the night before the wedding so we were able to get a full night’s rest. I’ll tell you about our stay in a separate post. In the meantime, you can read about one of our pre-wedding visits here.

C+B1 — Before the wedding. The photo on the upper right belongs to my cousin-in-law, Mykel.

In the photo above, you’ll see three generations of Cuyugan boys, all decked out in their gorgeous Julius Tarog barongs. Julius did the gowns and barongs of the bride and groom, their parents, and the entire entourage. I have to say that he is just amazing when it comes to menswear, and the detail that he put into the bridal gown and veil are simply gorgeous. [Read more…] about A Wedding at Villa Escudero

Recipe: Chicken Adobo by MrsC

December 3, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 3 Comments

One of the things that MrC and I did in preparation for his family’s arrival from the US last October was stock the refrigerator in their condo unit with healthy, home cooked meals. I love to cook, and so I had a great time preparing some of our favorites for them. I was extra excited about being able to feed my dad-in-law with food from my kitchen because he was the one who took the time to teach me how to cook, back when they were still living in Manila.

My whole kitchen experience became even more fun when this bag of goodies from Maggi arrived at my doorstep, literally days before I was to start preparing my cook and freeze meals. Maggi is actually one of those brands that I remember from TV time in my childhood, along with Wok With Yan and Cooking With The Daza’s. Yup, I have loved watching cooking shows for as long as I remember. The noodle soup commercial with Tita Maggi is one of the ads that I remember seeing a lot during those days. Coincidentally, Tita Maggi became Tita Menchu to me, when her daughter became a friend in high school, but that’s another story altogether.

Back to my story. One of the dishes I prepared for the family was a skinless chicken adobo. Now, I will be honest, I love pork adobo more than chicken adobo because I’ve always found it to be tastier. But, now, I think I’ve found a chicken adobo recipe that I really, really like, which is actually a tweaked version of an Adobong Puti recipe from the Maggi website (you can see the orignal recipe here) plus this Kris Aquino recipe and my mom’s good old ever-reliable adobo.

Chicken Adobo

2014-06-12 16:28:18

Serves 6

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Ingredients

1/2 kg chicken leg quarters, separate the thighs from the drumstick and remove all of the skin
1/2 kg chicken breast, cut into 4pcs each and remove all of the skin
2 heads garlic, peeled and smashed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup sukang sasa
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
A handful of whole peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp brown sugar
Half of the contents of one 50g pack of Maggi Magic Sarap
2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients, EXCEPT the oil, in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for about an hour, or until chicken is tender. Remove the chicken pieces from the sauce once done.
Continue to boil the sauce until it is reduced by half.
Fry the chicken pieces in a little bit of oil until golden brown.
Return the fried chicken pieces into the reduced sauce and bring to a boil.

Notes

This dish is best served with steamed white rice and a ripe banana or a slice of ripe mango.
I keep the peppercorn and the garlic whole because I love biting into them after they've stewed in the adobo sauce. Super, super yummy!
You can also opt to fry the garlic after the initial boiling period so that it becomes nice and crispy. You should probably chop it up, though, if you plan to do this.

By MrsC

At Home With MrsC https://blissbysam.com/

For more delicious recipes, visit the Maggi Facebook Page and website!

How do you prepare your adobo? 🙂

Halloween, A Homecoming, and A Recipe for Sinigang

November 26, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 5 Comments

Two weeks ago, I excitedly announced my return to my online world with a post about Blogapalooza. Guess what? I ended up missing that event, and going another couple of weeks without being able to post anything here. Yep, I’ve been a very busy bee. The good news is that since I’ve been busy living my life, I now have a whole collection of stories to write!

October ended on a super high note for me with two fab workshops, quality time with family, and a much-awaited homecoming. One of the highlights was a Tunisian Crochet for Beginners session that I attended. I love when I get to be a workshop participant instead of an organizer, for a change. The week after, our Manila Workshops team pulled off a successful, first-ever WAHMderful Weekend, which, for me, was the day that I became a certified WAHM.

The last day of the month was extra special for our family. During the day, the boys and I did our usual rounds of the village for Halloween. Here’s a photo of our little Ben10 going around for candy, plus a few other interesting costumes we saw that afternoon.

Hey Blogger Friends, See You At Blogapalooza!

November 11, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

After a 3-week unplanned blog hiatus, I’m officially back. Wheeee!!!

I’m starting things off by sharing how excited I am to be joining this year’s Blogapalooza happening on Saturday, November 16, 11am-9pm at Function Room 1, SMX Aura, BGC. Just so you know, Blogapalooza is a big Business to Blogger (B2B) networking event where businesses can interact with bloggers who, in turn, can help promote their companies, brands, products and services.

Blogapalooza Manila Business to Blogger Networking Event Philippines WhenInManila (9) — Blogapalooza 2013

In the latest event announcement, there are already 400 blogs on the list of attendees, and I can’t wait to meet everyone. I know a lot of my mom blogger friends will be there, so that’s something to look forward to. If you are a blogger, and would like to join Blogapalooza, you can still do so by signing up here: http://Blogapalooza.WhenInManila.com. There are only a few slots left, so make sure that you sign up now.

See you there!

Halloween Events in the South!

October 21, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

As with most Filipinos, I get really excited when the -ber months come along because I just love the holidays! For me though, the season doesn’t officially start until Halloween. Yup, our family is really big on Halloween! When we were younger, we would even have open-house parties at home, where everyone would be in costume. My siblings actually continue to dress up and go out to Halloween parties up until now. As for me, I’m happy to have an excuse to go trick or treating again now that my little boy is old enough to enjoy it too.

Of course, with me being the south person that I am, my go-to October 31 events are all within the south area. Apart from trick or treating in our village though, I’m not yet sure which other events the boys and I will be heading to this year. If you happen to find yourself around here on Halloween, you may want to check out these great parties and celebrations.

Acacia Hotel , which celebrates is 2nd year this October, is having two parties this Halloween – one for the little kids and another for the big kids. The afternoon session for kids will take place at the Grand Acacia Ballroom, and will have loads of entertainment, games and fun activities, loot bags, trick or treat, raffle prizes and a yummy snack buffet. Tickets are at Php 995 nett per person, and children 2 years of age and below are free of charge. You may call 720 2000 to purchase your tickets.

Acacia 1 — A Grimms Tale at Acacia Hotel