Pasta puttanescaOriginally uploaded by annalyn. As everyone probably knows, this pasta has a colorful history. Its name was derived from the Italian word "puttana" which means lady of the evening. One folklore has it that fishermen in the southern coastal towns of Italy traded their freshly-caught anchovies for the pleasure of a woman's company when they couldn't afford to pay the money up front. With all those anchovies, members of the world's oldest profession then found a way to make it into the zesty, piquant puttanesca sauce.From reading, I found out that there ... Continue Reading...

For this jaded office worker, lunches can be the best part of the day. It doesn't matter whether I am eating my lunch at my desk or discovering some place new, the sight of food (preferably steaming hot) is enough to divert me from my jarred thoughts or the pressure of deadlines.Market Cafe's Chinese Kitchen, originally uploaded by ajay1.At the Market Cafe, originally uploaded by ajay1.The Market Cafe in the new Hyatt Hotel & Casino (right beside our corporate offices) is undoubtedly my favorite restaurant at the moment. Unfortunately, I could only eat here once in a ... Continue Reading...

Choco chip oatmeal cookiesOriginally uploaded by annalyn. When I want to satiate myself, I surf the great food sites on the web including Sassy's pioneering blog on Filipino cooking and Shiokadelicious' tips on great eats in Singapore. I discovered Domestic Goddess recently and her call for a cookie swap among bloggers got me thinking "why not?"A point of clarification: this lazy cook bakes once in a blue moon. But I do remember last Christmas when I gave my home-made cookies as gifts to friends. My son Paolo, who has a sweet tooth, is my no. 1 fan when it comes to my ... Continue Reading...

Adobo is one of my all-time favorite Filipino dishes. I guess you could say it's my comfort food. Through the years, I've been blessed with nannies who cooked adobo well - you know, the version where you have pork and/or chicken simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and other flavorings. I am saying this because there are many varieties of adobo in this tropical country where adobo is king. The sad truth is am not so proud of my classic adobo although I cook the other versions quite well, such as adobong manok sa gata (chicken in coconut milk) and adobong pusit ... Continue Reading...