Foodie

I have always been a Starbucks fan. That is why when I visit another coffee shop, I find it hard to choose a drink since I have little idea on their menu. Last Sunday, my friends and I decided to change the usual so we went to Coffee Bean. We had coupons with freebies so we tried to enjoy them. I got a coffee based drink and a blueberry cheesecake.

I got a Extreme Mocha ice-blended drink and I really liked it. Of course I ditched the whipped cream since I know for a fact that the drink itself would have a lot of calories. It had the right blend and the it tasted really good. The Blueberry cheesecake was very yummy too. My friend got a Toblerone cheesecake but I enjoyed the Blueberry more. Now I know what to order if i'm feeling safe the next time I hit Coffee Bean. I think i'll have the Chicago cheesecake next time.

There will be days wherein you just want to eat without feeling the guilt. Today was one of those days. Most of my colleagues were out and only my our team was left behind. They were in a very long meeting. Damn. What's taking them so long? We were all lazy enough to work so we decided to go downstairs and roam around.

We decided to go to Dairy Queen for our meeting. It was getting really boring to hold the meetings inside. I decided to get a shake since I never tried DQ shakes before. I usually order the Blizzard or the banana split. I tried the Double Chocolate Shake since I think that's the safest. I took my first sip and I loved it. It was rich, creamy and totally chocolate! I finished it in less than 5 minutes. It was that good! I tried hard not to think about the fat content and the calories in the drink. I only enjoy this every once in a while. Now, I have a new choice when going to DQ. Love it.

I usually do my groceries every two weeks. I buy a lot of fruits and vegetables. Of course there would also be milk, bread and other easy-to-prepare food items. When I opened the fridge, it was a mess. Well, I have disgusting roommate that could not tidy up his own mess. Yes, he's a pig. Literally and figuratively speaking. As expected, most of the clutter are his.

The secret to keeping your fridge uncluttered is by grouping similar foods together. Organize raisins, dried fruits or jellies in one container so you will not have small items scattered all over the fridge. Use transparent containers so you can easily spot the one your are looking for. Place tall jars and containers at the back and the shorter ones up front. In this way, you could easily find that salsa without having to go check behind the big jar of jam.

There are times when you just want to stay at home and chill. It pays to take a break from the club scene every once in a while. But that doesn't mean yo can't enjoy cocktails at home right? There are a lot of easy recipes that you yourself could create at home. The best part is you could invite your friends over to make it a party.

The Bailey's Espresso is really easy to make. All you need are: Bailey's, espresso or any strong coffee and chocolate shavings. Prepare a cup of espresso or any strong cofee. Add a shot of Bailey's and top off with chocolate shavings and serve in your fave mug. Another easy drink would be the Cuervo Iced Tea. The ingredients include Jose Cuervo Tequila, iced tea and ice. Prepare the iced tea in a tall glass. You can either brew your own or use an instant version. Add a shot of Tequila. Stir and add ice and top it with a lemon slice. Easy right?

I love my food , but it's good to have some money to pay the bill too. I've been looking around recently to find somewhere to get an ad or two for Foodie 101 and I found More Digital. They offered to place an ad on my site – the ad would be to a reputable company and I would get paid for it.

At first I was worried that it would be really difficult placing the ad on my blog. It turns out that's moreDigital.com's ad is easy to place even if you only know the basics of HTML. The company I placed the ad for were just like they said: not fly-by-night. They were a corporation that most of us have heard of before in fact.

Some recipe's just need that magic ingredient. I think my more digital ad is an unexpected but tasty addition to Foodie 101. Now I'm going to try another new trick – coriander pesto. I think this will be a very tasty treat indeed.

Sweet potato fritters

Remember the entry on sweet potatoes? Well, I found another recipe to enjoy it. The ingredients include sweet potatoes, brown sugar and cooking oil. First you peel them and cut them into strips or whatever shape you like. Coat the strips with the brown sugar. In a pan, heat the oil and deep fry the sticks. It will be ready once the sugar has caramelized, sticking to the sweet potato.

It is a relatively easy and cheap dish. It is great for snack since it has very rich nutritional value. It is a good substitute to junk food. You can go wild with it by adding vanilla ice cream. The warm fritters would make a great contrast to the ice cream. Bananas could also be enjoyed using this recipe in place of the sweet potatoes. This is a personal favorite. Maybe you go try it too.

I am determined to lose weight. I eat only healthy food, I cut down my carbs intake and I exercise a lot. And it seems to be working. I gave up pork and beef and stuck to tuna and chicken. I could not give up sweets. Yes, I love desserts, chocolates and the like. A colleague of mine was selling different treats. Then I saw the chocolate chip cookies. I knew in that moment that I had to get one.

It was a huge pack, there were three rows with 15 cookies per row. 45 tasty and mouth-watering cookies all to myself. I promise not to eat all of them in a single setting. I'm already thinking of ways to enjoy it. I could eat it as a snack or a late night treat with milk. This just made my day brighter. Haha! I can't wait to go home and try them out. I'm sure they taste good, but what the heck, I guess i'll open the bag now. Wanna have some?

Buttered veggies

When I woke up this morning, I decided to cook buttered vegetables for lunch. I took out green beans, carrots, broccoli, young corn, mushrooms, onion, garlic and capsicum. Cutting the vegetables takes time. The green beans must be cut with a length of around half an inch, the carrots diced, the capsicum julienned and the onions and garlic minced. I heated the pan and a little oil. The garlic is first friend until golden brown then the onion is added. The capsicum next until the mix emits a nice smell. The carrots are then added since they require a longer time to cook. The greens beans are next. I usually, add the young corn and mushrooms together since they only require a short time to cook. I seasoned it with salt, black and cayenne pepper to taste.

When I brought it to lunch. My friends loved my cooking. Its fast and easy to prepare plus it is really healthy.

The best way to experience a place is through its cuisine. During may trip to Singapore, I got the chance to really explore the city in the 11 days that I stayed there. We were staying at a friend's place in Little India. It was very accessible to a lot of shops and restaurants. Since shopping was on top of my list, I went to Bugis Street to check out the shops. It was a huge place filled with stalls that sold a wide variety of merchandise from bags, clothes to adult toys. Haha!

I saw a group of people crowding around a stall. When they left, they were holding small colorful blocks. Being the curious cat that I was, I decided to check it out. It was actually an ice cream store wherein the ice cream was sold in small blocks. It can be enjoyed as a filling to wafers or to colored bread. It was also cheap at 1 SGD per block. There were a lot of flavor to choose from. I chose the red bean flavor and it tasted really good. It was a unique experience to enjoy the ice cream that way.

I always look forward to Fridays since its the start of the weekend. Of course, there is no better way to spend it but with friends. We usually have dinner, hang out or grab a cup of coffee. But it has been out little tradition to spend it drinking. We decided to hit the grocery store and grab things we needed for our little party.

We bought and expensive-looking vodka at a very cheap price. It was a good buy, really. When we brought out or alcohol, we had gin, rum, vodka, beer and Bacardi. Whew. That's a lot. But I'm pretty sure we would not be able to finish them. We mixed the vodka with Sprite. Actually, I had no idea what the other drinks were since they all tasted really good. There were also pizza, pasta and a lot of chips. It was a great night filled with friends, food and loads of alcohol. I was kinda drunk when I got home. Oh well, it was all worth it.