My Name is Memory

"Love demands everything, they say, but my love demands only this: that no matter what happens or how long it takes, you`ll keep faith in me, you`ll remember who we are, and you`ll never feel despair."

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares~ Totally Captivating!

The Summary

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together - and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short. 

Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.

The Verdict:

If you're into time-tested romance, unending love affairs and star crossed lovers then this book is suitable for you. 'My Name is Memory' shows a different, more surreal side of love and compassion. Daniel's search for Sophia is like an adventure quest. In every life time, he tries to find her and protect her from his own brother's threat.

As for me, it is a wonderful book that shows how time strengthens and changes love. The story is unique on its own, I'm not really a fan of soul reincarnation but 'My Name is Memory' makes my imagination run wild and think about those 'what if' questions. Now, I'm silly enough to think about soul- mate connection possibilities. You'll surely can't get enough of Daniel's attempts to find Sophia, and he did find her... in the form of Lucy.

What's in the Lunchbox?

DIMSUM ala Jenni Epperson!

I am an avid reader of Ms. Jenni Epperson's blog  and a long time fan of her recipes. 

I got so tempted to prepare her dimsum dish so this morning, I woke up extra early to prepare my own lunch which is none other than...DIMSUM! My first attempt in making Dimsum is okay but I undercooked the Dimsum wrapper but the taste is great! We loved it! J

Thank you Ms. Jenni for sharing this recipe.

I also want to do an Open-Face Dimsum but it won’t fit in my lunchbag. 

Too bad L 

What’s inside? Corned tuna + spinach + spices

     THE VERDICT:

    MARIMAR’S VERDICT

Hmmm, Bea masarap! But undercook iyong wrapper

grade: 8/10

MA’AM ROSE’ VERDICT

Her dimsum really captured the taste of an authentic dimsum

Grade: 8/10

 To see the recipe and steps to make this dimsum, click here. 

50 Peso Challenge

To satisfy our sweet cravings, Tantei and I decided to create a fun challenge and a silly adventure. The rules are simple, we should budget our pocket money (50 pesos) to buy a fulfilling dessert for both of us.

Here's Tantei, proudly showing our 50 peso budget. :D

Here's Tantei, proudly showing our 50 peso budget. :D

Too bad, most shops offer delicious treats but it won't fit on our budget. After some time of strolling and fantasizing about those yummy sweet desserts, we've finally found our key piece to our little challenge.

Miguelitos~ off we go! xD

Miguelitos~ off we go! xD

Amethyst: *smiles* you're the only one shown in the pictures. xD

Tantei: I hate you *pouts*

We chose Brownie Ala Mode! It only costs 25 pesos, perfect for budget!

We chose Brownie Ala Mode! It only costs 25 pesos, perfect for budget!

Those little marshmallows are yummy toppings! And the cherry just makes the dessert more appetizing. :D

Those little marshmallows are yummy toppings! And the cherry just makes the dessert more appetizing. :D

Those little marshmallows are yummy toppings! And the cherry just makes the dessert more appetizing. :D

Those little marshmallows are yummy toppings! And the cherry just makes the dessert more appetizing. :D

Tantei ♥ Amethyst~ we wish to have an ice cream as big as this!

The Verdict

We won our own self challenge! Congratulations to both of us! Sometimes, challenges are needed to spice up life, it doesn't matter if it's a serious challenge or just a silly game but as long as you're willing to make it through the end you'll surely gain something. As for Tantei and I, this challenge we made was used to 'sweeten' our lives a little bit... LOL but after this a diet plan should be made! xD

What we've learned:

Challenges aren't successful if you don't learn something from them, in fact they are made to make people realize something and help them change for their own benefit. In this simple challenge we've learned to:

1. Value money: We shouldn't spend more than our budget.

2. Be patient: Surely, all the other 'expensive' desserts are tempting but we became patient enough to finish the challenge.

3. Have fun: That bonding moment with Tantei was priceless!

4. Never give up: If there's a will, there's a way!

5. Be Adventurous: Nothing beats a good, fun-filled adventure!

hihihi, a little surprise for amethyst. It;s payback time! >:))

Eggplant Lasagna - Tantei Style

I do not know what crossed my mind last Saturday but I really want to eat Eggplant Lasagna. So I decided that we will be having eggplant lasagna the next day. Problem is I don't know how to make eggplant lasagna, hahaha! 

So with the permission of my brothers, I decided to make my own version, inspired by Lola Ma’s original lasagna recipe. 

*forgive me for the lame photos, it's more than an hour past our lunch time and we are hungry! LOL

Tantei-san’s Eggplant Lasagna

TIP: I suggest that you bake it in an oven for around 10 minutes or until the cheese melts, it looks more professional! Too bad, we only have an oven toaster here in Manila, J. 

Ingredients:

For the Eggplants which will be used as substitute for  pasta:

Eggplant (I used 3 large eggplants, sliced into strips)

2 eggs

Cornstarch

Bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Beefy Sauce

Around ½ kilo ground beef

Basil

Onion (diced)

Garlic (minced)

Tomato Sauce (I used 115 g of Del Monte’s Tomato and Cheese and 115 g of Hunt’s tomato Sauce)

Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the white sauce:

(I, again, don’t know the exact measurement since I am fond of just estimating and adjusting the taste according to our preference J. I would measure next time )

All Purpose Cream

Cheese

Garlic Powder

Sugar

Skim Milk

butter

flour (thickening agent)

Instructions

For the eggplant

1. Just fry it like what you would usually do in frying a chicken. Dip it in the egg, then coat with flour. Dip in the egg again then coat with bread crumbs. 

2. Deep Fry 

* you can also season the flour with salt and pepper if you like

It should look like this

For the Beefy Sauce

1. Sauté the onion and the garlic. Add the beef.

2. If the beef is brownish already or cooked, add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.

3. Add the basil, salt and pepper to taste.

For the White Sauce

1. In a saucepan, mix the ingredients in this order: butter, milk, cream, cheese, garlic powder, sugar and flour.

2. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly.

Arranging the Lasagna

Step 1: Arrange the fried eggplant in your container

Step 2: Put the Beefy Sauce

Step 3: Then the White Sauce

THE VERDICT

   GELINE'S VERDICT

fried eggplant + beef sauce + white sauce = good new recipe

NOTE: She loves the white sauce the most if I remember correctly ♥

grade: 8/10

    KUYA ITIAN'S VERDICT

I love the crunch of the fried eggplant and the flavors blend well (I just love you Kuya Christian)

grade: 9.5/10

     ATE LINDA'S VERDICT

masarap siya Bei! Hindi kita niloloko. 

grade: perfect ♥ 

Oh, and Happy Birthday to our Dear Helper who never got tired of fixing our things! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATE LINDA!


AND, thank you to GELINE BENOZA fpr helping me prepare this dish :)

Homemade Ice Cream 'Cake'

I was  thinking on what dessert to make for our Easter brunch when I came across this blog (Canelle et Vanille). It has the best recipes, pictures and stories too. 

I saw her ice cream recipe and instantly fell in love with it. Too bad we don't have the  time or ingredients to do it so I improvised a little and with the help of my brothers and a Nestle recipe, we came up with this cookies n' cream cake. 

This dessert reminds us of our days in the hospital where we took turns taking care of my eldest brother since he got sick and has to be confined for about a week or so. I decided to make something to make him feel better and saw a cookies and cream recipe in the back of a Nestle Cream box. 

Today's desert is from two inspirations: the one from the Nestle carton and the one from the lovely blog

Cookies n' Cream Ice Cream Cake

      

To make Cookies n’ Cream Ice Cream Cake, you need:

For the crust:

(Note: All measurements are mere estimations only since I don’t have any measuring device here in Manila. I also used a 9-in round pan for this)

Around 3 or 4 cups crushed cookies (we used Cream-O since we like it better than Oreo)

2 tbsp melted butter

For the filling:

(Note: measurements here are already precise)

Nestle All Purpose Cream (750 ml)

Alaska Condensed Milk (250 ml)

Non-fat Milk (250 ml)

5 egg yolks
around 10 cookies, semi crushed

Optional: Sugar (if you have a really sweet tooth)

*  my friend Geline finds it a little bit too creamy but my brothers love creamy stuffs so it depends on your taste. You can adjust the ratio and make it 2:1.5:1.5

Instructions:

For the crust:

1. Combine the crushed cookies and the melted butter

2. Press in the pan and chill until firm

For the filling:

Disclaimer: I basically copied the instructions from Canelle et Vanille blog

1. In a saucepan, combine cream, milk and condensed milk and then bring to a boil.

2. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and add in the egg yolks (if you will use additional sugar, I suggest that you whisk the sugar and the egg yolks first).

3. Put the mixture back and cook stirring constantly until it boils.

4. Let cool, add in the semi crushed cookies and pour into chilled crust.

5. Freeze for several hours and serve J

    GELINE'S VERDICT:

kind of creamy, but 3 thumbs up! it made my day! 

grade : 9/10

     KUYA ITIAN's VERDICT:

okay! thanks, gawa ka uli! *sleeps again*

grade: 11/10 (don't know if he's joking, HAHA)

Introducing : Friday Book Review ♥

Tantei♥Amethyst will be adding a new feature in their blog called ‘Friday Book Review’.

Each Friday, Tantei or Amethyst will give a review on a book that they have read before (hence the title ‘Friday Book Review’. LOL)

So for our first book review, we will be having...

L.A Candy by Lauren Conrad 

It is the first of the three book series.

Credits to Mariel for being kind enough to lend me her book J

The Summary 

L.A Candy is mainly about Jane Roberts who moves to Hollywood with her best friend Scarlett to work as an intern at Fiona Chen’s event company. Everything is going smoothly until a producer wants them to be part of his new series, a reality version of sex and the city.

 It is exciting at first but when Jane is already involved in a love triangle with Braden who is an aspiring actor and with Jesse who is known for being the flirt in Hollywood, her relationship with BFF Scarlett is going down hill and a socialite named Madison who wants nothing but to be more famous than Jane joins in– everything just became confusing (as well as exhausting) for sweet little Jane. And reality T.V is not exactly the reality.

The ending is also a complete cliffhanger - backstabber Madison running away with clueless Jane to escape a scandal (teaser: it's about Jane and Braden) and Scarlett, well Scarlett, found out that Madison was the one who started it all.

The Verdict:

L.A Candy is a light and funny book. 

What is nice in this book is that the author (Lauren Conrad) was also part of a reality series before (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange Country) so she really knows how things work in T.V

I also love how she makes each chapter exciting and it also shows that what you see in reality T.V is not exactly the real thing. The love triangle is also worth reading for (I am not exactly sure if I am Team Jesse or Team Braden).Jane's relationship with BFF Scarlett is also something because the two are exact opposites of each other, Scarlett being fierce ang Jane being sweet. 

Lastly, there are lots of lessons on trust, friendship and hollywood. 

La Mesa Eco Fun

If you are planning to go on a picnic/outing this summer but don’t have any idea where, I suggest that you try and visit La Mesa Eco Park. The place is big, ‘green-y’ and offers a wide range of activities-perfect for a total outdoor experience! 

My friends and I went there last week and we had lots of fun! It’s very different from what we usually do (well honestly, we usually don’t do anything)

We arrived in La Mesa feeling very hungry...

Good thing we brought food (Bangus belly, cordon bleau, chicken bbq, 

porkchop, sylvannas, okra, and eggplant)!
I was suggesting that we have Italian food but they 
prefer Filipino because it matches the venue, and I say...good choice! :)

There are tables and chairs in the Lopez Picnic grounds but we prefer 

to have a ‘real’ picnic instead in the orchidarium!

La Mesa is also a place for many firsts.
First time ziplining...

And first time wall climbing...

Jhoann (not shown) and Geline reached the top while we didn’t.

 Sige sila na! LOL

There is also a part in the park wherein you can rent out bikes. J

 And as for souvenirs, you can either paint your
own...

...or just buy in their shop

And three more reasons to go to La Mesa?

1. Friendly crew

La Mesa also has its own shuttle service inside the 

park for easier “park-hopping”

Here is Kuya saying hi! J

2. Lovely view 

Beds of flowers, pond (where you can also go fishing) and wide landscape.

We were not able to take photos of the boating lagoon because

it is under construction when we went there

3. And lastly, perfect place for group PHOTOS! ♥

Picture, picture, PICTURE!

At the end of the day we were both tired and happy. :)

VERDICT:

Would we go back? ABSOLUTELY! ♥