RenaiXance

Ever since I had that relaxing experience at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney nearly a year ago, I want to go to galleries (which are more accessible to me than museums) when time and opportunity permits. For me, its the cheapest way to relax, especially if entrance is free.

And the opportunity came when I went to Megamall for a Jobfair and saw the gallery featuring the  RenaiXance art exhibit. I recall, Jim Paredes (1/3 of the APO Hiking Society) mention his work will be featured in this exhibit so I was intrigued and wanted to see them. So I planned to drop by after my spying duties at the job fair :-)

The RenaiXance Exhibit is on going until June 29, 2013 at Megamall 4th Level. So do drop by when you are in the area.

 

I was greeted by a huge sculpture of a sitting child, where there are chalks on the side, which implies you can write on it. And so I did wrote my twitter handle.

@mumshens was here

Scrap is art when you are creative enough to re-create something out of it... Like the airplane that I thought my 7year old son would love to have like a chandelier inside his room.

The photographs by singer Jim Paredes were displayed at the left corner of the gallery which I felt very personal and was captured beautifully. That little girl is her grand daughter.

Photographs by Jim Paredes

Below are other photos from the exhibit that  caught my interest too. I don't think i have the talent for making art... but i sure do have the talent to appreciate them.

This art is brought to you by Letters A-Z and Numbers 0-9. Look closely and you know why. 

This is used to be a part of a door. now its art. and who would have thought it could be one? only a true artist can.

The full view of the child sculpture. Can you see the chalks around it? Its was my opportunity to vandalize an art so i did what everybody did :) it was fun!

 

 So Relax.... Don't watch a movie but instead go and appreciate ART!

XOXO,
S

My Ladurée Experience

My curiosity about macarons, specifically the Ladurée brand started with that bathtub scene with Blair Waldorf where she was munching a green macaron. It was the one thing that can keep her mind off Chuck and her heavenly satisfying "no-care-in-the-world"  look that made me want to try what she was having (or maybe Leighton Meester is really a good actor).  The search was on! I blogged that back in 2010.

Fast Forward to 2012... While on a 9-day visit to Sydney, I passed by the Ladurée shop at Westfield... And boy i was too tempted to buy but I'm on a budget and a $3.20AUD per macaron (PhP134.40 each)  was just not part of the plan. So i settled with $1.20 worth of Bon Bon Truffles (which was good btw).

Feeling Blair Waldorf, noticed my headband?

But this year, when Hubby was called to go back to Sydney for the third time, I've only have one thing in mind... the Ladurée Macarons...Unfortunately, they only have 12 flavors available... No Lime & Basil and Rose Petals...however, The Strawberry poppy tastes and smells floral enough to  pass as Rose. The black macaron Liquorice was scary to eat because it was the fear of what will a black macaron will taste like.. But it was delicious! just the right amount of sweetness. The Raspberry was like eating the fruit itself.. a mix of sweet and sour. The Salted Caramel is sweet and gooey.. as its should be. Any caramel lover would love it. The Chocolate macaron has a classic taste of cocoa, that rich cacao taste that when it leaves your taste buds, you end up wanting for more. The Almond Marshmallows didn't leave that much of an impression on me except that its nutty. I've never been a fan of Vanilla but the  Ladurée macaron was as classic as it is. you will never go wrong with Vanilla if you want to play safe. The Coconut was just like as the name it implies the filling is coconut so it was like a "sosyal na macaroons" (with the double O that we Pinoys are familiar to). Coffee was just too plain for me it was like a cookie with a mocha filling.The Blackcurrant Violet, aside from its my favorite color, its berry taste is natural and just like the raspberry, its like eating the real fruit, but with chewy, gooey texture. Strawberry marshmallows like the other berries tasted the sweetsour flavor of the berry but the marshmallows kept the sweetness intact. It was subtly sweet. And a unanimous winner (feeling foodie expert) is the truest purest flavor of Pistacio we have ever tasted in a macaron. Now I know why this is Blair's favorite... its Love at first taste.

Overall, what i love about Ladurée macarons is the filling. So many shops might have replicate the crust and might even have perfected them too to taste the same as Ladurée but the one thing that sets Ladurée apart is the filling. They stay true to the flavor (especially pistachio and the fruit flavors) and it does not harden even if you put it in the refrigerator... it stays chewy and gooey. 

perfectly boxed up

Ladurée box of 15

Ladurée Macarons & Tea Party

eat only with tea

Bucket list checked for Keevee

Shenski's Top Laduree Favorites (in no particular order):

1. Liquorise

2. Pistachio

3. Chocolate

4. Fruit Flavors (you'll never go wrong with these)

And don't forget to have your favorite hot tea with your Laduree Macarons.

xoxo,

Shenski

Lemons: Who knew!

FREEZING LEMONS - WHO KNEW

Amazing frozen lemons. All it is.....is a frozen lemon.

Many professionals in restaurants and eateries are using or consuming
the entire lemon and nothing is wasted. How can you use the whole
lemon without waste?

Simple.. place the washed lemon in the freezer section of your
refrigerator. Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater, and shred the whole lemon (no need to peel it) and sprinkle it on top of your foods.

Sprinkle it to your vegetable salad, ice cream, soup, cereals, noodles, spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish dishes, whisky.... the list is endless.

All of the foods will unexpectedly have a wonderful taste, something that you may have never tasted before. Most likely, you only think of lemon juice and vitamin C. Not anymore.

Now that you've learned this lemon secret, you can use lemon even in instant cup noodles.

What's the major advantage of using the whole lemon other than preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes?

Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself. And yes, that's what you've been wasting.

But from now on, by following this simple procedure of freezing the whole lemon, then grating it on top of your dishes, you can consume all of those nutrients and get even healthier. It's also good that lemon peels are health rejuvenators in eradicating toxic elements in the body.

So place your washed lemon in your freezer, and then grate it on your meal every day. It is a key to make your foods tastier and you get to live healthier and longer! That's the lemon secret! Better late than
never, right? The surprising benefits of lemon! Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Why do we not know about that? Because there are laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge profits.

You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy.

How many people will die while this closely guarded secret is kept, so as not to jeopardize the beneficial multimillionaires large corporations?

As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes.

You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc. It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors.

This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. Some say it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is considered also as an anti microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous disorders. The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of
the largest drug manufacturers in the world, says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that It destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate,
lung and pancreas. The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than the product Adriamycin, a drug normally used chemotherapeutic in the world, slowing the growth of cancer cells.

And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect healthy cells.

So, give those lemons a good wash, freeze them and grate them. Your whole body will love you for it!!!!!

Jing-Si Aphorism

Weekly words of wisdom from our CEO. Thought I'd share it with you.

-From my Email

XOXO

S

Small Portions

Now that I'm (trying) to go back to getting my groove back a.k.a. post preggy bod (yes, my target is 120 lbs), I'm trying to get into this so called small portions only for every meal.. and since weekend is the only time I get to be the Boss in my kitchen, today, I made our favorite ( I + hubby) taco salad and garlic baby potatoes and mushrooms... It was a big hit in our dining table :)

For the Taco Salad:

Bag of Mexican Yellow Corn Chips
Shredded Cabbage
Diced Ripe Tomatoes
Diced Onions
Grated Cheddar Cheese

For the Meat:
Saute the chopped onion is 2 tablespoon of olive oil. add 1/2 Kilo Ground Lean Beef and cook for 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup of red wine and let it simmer until the beef absorbs the wine. add 2 table spoon of tomato paste. add salt and pepper to taste. mix then add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Mix and serve hot.

Lay corn chips on plate, topped with meat and veggies and finish with grated cheese.  Ole!

For Garlic Baby Potatoes and Mushroom

Clean and boil Baby Potatoes in water with iodized salt.

Saute 1 clove chopped garlic in 2 tablespoon Olive Oil (do not burn it!) remove from the pan once its golden brown. Using the same pan, saute mushroom (canned or fresh) and add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt with parsley (i used Lawry's). add the boiled Baby Potatoes and drizzle with 1/4 cup butter. dash with Thyme before serving.

My mother-in-law gave me this Lawry's garlic salt,
McCormick has the same seasoning available in our local supermarkets

Bon Appetit!

xoxo,
S