view from the living room (above); dining area (below right)
It was a very nice and relaxing weekend. The weather was pleasant, not too hot and with some occasional rain showers. My sister and her clan of five were with us as well. I love being with them at the beach because we get to spend a lot of quality time together. One of my favorite things in the world is lying beside them when they wake up in the mornings or after a nap. I think this is when they are their sweetest and cuddliest!We left late Friday night and arrived way past midnight. After helping unload and unpack, I prepared the Cookies n Cream dessert for the next day, giving it time to set in the fridge overnight. All it is is chocolate chip cookies quickly dipped in some sherry, then dunked in a cream and sugar mixture, and arranged on a pyrex topped with the remaining cream. It's as good as it is easy to make.
On Saturday, we took the kids down to the main beach to expel some energy in the water and on the beach. They caught some hermit crabs and puffer fish (pictures above) which they set free soon after. When we got home, we prepared merienda (afternoon snack) for the kids, and cocktails for the adults. I made some Nut-glazed Brie which went really well with wine.
Clockwise from top left: One of our lunch spreads which consisted of adobo, ratatouille, beef tapa, mango salsa and creamy mushroom sauce for pasta; the nut-glazed brie,
cookies and cream dessert, the yummy ratatouille up close.
It was the most lazy weekend. We did most of the usual stuff but this time skipped all the rigorous activities. There were no volleyball games, no snorkling, no boating, no racing around in the golf cart, no kayaking, not even pingpong competitions. Just pure R & R. We did some reading, eating, chatting, watching dvd, and a whole lot of nothing. It was great!
We continued to do a whole lot of nothing on Sunday morning too before we left to have lunch in Bag of Beans in Tagaytay. Anton of Our Awesome Planet recently did a pretty thorough review of this restaurant here. This is a really nice place to bring your family. The kids enjoyed running around the garden, searching for tadpoles, watching the birds and butterflies, and of course we all enjoyed our food. I had the omelette which was huge.
7 comments:
i wish we could go away any weekend as well... my B works until saturday. your niece is just adorable.
Thanks Ana, she is! :) There's a long weekend coming up in October, maybe then you could plan a trip somewhere together.
Wow! Nice place! It seems they own a little piece of Paradise.
Sounds like a fun & relaxing weekend.
Hey, you got to try Bag of Beans already! How great that you got to go so soon after learning about it. So you liked it? :-) I really like hanging out in their garden with a book and some coffee (I think it's even refillable!). The one downside is the mosquitoes.
Yum...nut-glazed brie! LOVE that! Clarification on the Cookies & Cream dessert: is that just a single layer of cookies, then cream on top? Or alternating layers of cookies and cream, like an icebox cake? And did you bake the cookies yourself, or will store-bought do?
Hi Sidney, yes it is a little piece of paradie. The house is beautiful, exactly my type of design with lots of wood and big windows. And as you can see, great views too. :)
Katrina, it was really a coincidence. My cousins really had BoB in mind because it was a big enough place for all the kids. Apparently, they stop here all the time on their way home. I usually stop at Breakfast at Antonio's.
All this time I would pass BoB, I always thought it was just a tiny cafe with maybe 3 tables where you can havea bite to eat with your coffee, and buy coffee beans. I never knew until Anton posted, that there was this big al fresco dining area downstairs! I love it! I can see how nice it would be to sit there with a cup and a book.
About the cookies and cream: the cookies are dipped quickly in Sherry, and then dunked in the fluffed up cream before they arranged (usually standing up) on the pyrex. So the cookies are already covered in cream as you put them in. When all cookies are in the pyrex, you pour the remaining cream on top before you keep the pyrex in the fridge overnight. It's so simple and easy. I've only used store-bought cookies for these, because I usually only make this dessert when I'm looking for something quick and simple. But I can imagine how wonderful it would be using home-baked cookies!
Oh, I see: the cookies are standing up! That's what confused me; a single layer of flat cookies wouldn't have the same effect. What an utterly simple dessert! I imagine dunking them in liqueurs would be good too, like Kahlua, amaretto, or Frangelico; and different kinds of cookies would be fun to experiment with as well. And best of all...no baking required! THANKS for this, Christine! :-)
Yes! That's what my brother in law said actually. He first suggested Bailey's, then we both said Frangelico of Nocello will be great too. I can practically taste it! Kahlua and Amaretto, so many possibilities. :)
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