This sugary guilty pleasure comes once a year for me at Halloween. I pay no attention to all the other candy that floods the shelves at supermarkets. I only have eyes for Brach’s Autumn Mix! It only comes out during this season and, frankly, I think I’m one of a handful of people who actually likes this. It tastes like compressed plastic sugar, to be honest! When I picked a small bag of the treats from the drugstore shelf today, one of my friends said, “HOW can you EAT that stuff?” I guess it’s more a tradition for me—eating this means it’s definitely Halloween, and we’ll soon be on our way to Christmas. I don’t eat candy corn any other time of the year, for the same reason.

I remember how Halloween was such an alien concept to me growing up in the Philippines. Our “Halloween” traditions fell on All Saint’s Day (November 1) and All Soul’s Day (November 2). This meant gathering as a family in cemeteries, cleaning the family plots, picnicking among the tombstones and several rounds of mah-jong and poker well into the night. The cemetery would be full of people; I remember bumping into friends from school throughout the day as my cousins and I played all over the graveyard (kind of morbidly awesome, now that I think about it). There were food vendors who hawked their wares, selling everything from freshly made sugar-coated peanuts to sticky-sweet cotton candy that melted in the wind and on your tongue.

I guess all traditions, be they old or new, are always sweet.

Hope you have a happy Halloween!

Hello!

I am back. I took a blog break, and I kind of think that was a birthday gift in itself—being able to decide to lay off the online writing for a bit. It was good to enjoy my birthday with friends and family, catch up on crafts and spend time with people I love without being preoccupied about the next blog post.

During the short hiatus, I got to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time—go apple picking! Fall signals the start of apple season, and E.’s parents took me to see the orchards in Oak Glen, Calif., as soon as they opened to the public. I had so much fun!

We pressed our own cider from apples (and some yummy pears mixed in!)…

…made friends with a pig named Blossom…

…picked some Fuji and Gravenstein apples right off the tree…

…tried to ignore the slabs of fudge in a local candy store…

…tried even harder to ignore the mouthwatering baked treats from a bakery called Apple Annie’s…

…and finally caved by taking with one of these “Five-Pound Apple Pies” home.

All in all, it was a good birthday blog break. I’m looking forward to all the crafting and cooking in the months ahead as my favorite time of year begins. A curly  ”Hello, again!” to you and a warm “Welcome, back!” to me.

* If you’re local to Los Angles, Oak Glen is an awesome place to visit with kids and the young at heart. Many things to see, do and eat! For more information on all things apple, go HERE.

A little sewing

A little beading

A little Julia

I hope yours was lovely!

Whoa! Aaaahhhh! Whaaaatttt?!? No!!! Yesssss!!!!

So yeah, those were all the things that went through my head when my friend S. handed this box to me this morning. She’s just gotten back from Paris, and with her thoughtfulness brought me a box of the ultimate French treat. I was speechless. Especially because she put the box in my hands with the words, “These came from the bakery that made the pastries for that film Marie Antoinette.” *gasp!*

I took these photos in my office with my phone. I know posting all of them is a bit excessive, but I kind of felt like those geeks, you know? Those Apple fanpeople who love their Macs so much they post “unboxing” pictures? This is me being a food geek unboxing MY macs! (Heehee.)

Ladurée was established in 1862. It was the Parisian institution that brought the “salon de thé,” or tea salons, to life. These were places where women could gather freely as they grew more confident in roles in society.

I shared these morsels with friends, though I have to admit I ate three all by myself! I had a coconut one, a strawberry one and a vanilla one to cap off my trio of treats. Not all one after the other, though! I stretched those tastings over several hours, their intense sweetness lingering on my tongue long after the last delicious bite.

S. said the line at the Ladurée shop on Champs-Elysées was out the door, and the pastry chefs had to keep bringing in trays and trays of macarons to keep up with the demand. I want to be in that line someday!

And apparently, a Ladurée shop is where Carrie Bradshaw spent some time during her stay in the City of Lights during the last few episodes of SATC.

Aside from these legendary little cookies, they also make the prettiest pastries! *sigh.*

And they come in the loveliest boxes.

Someday, SOMEDAY, I will eat my way through Paris and have dessert at Ladurée. In the meantime, I will keep this box forever. I even asked for the crumpled-up shopping bag from S. Haha. Such a dork, I know.

Délicieux! May you dream in macaron sweetness tonight!

It was a weekend of firsts!

I tasted a Hostess Snoball for the first time in my life. (Cream-filled chocolate cake, covered with marshmallow and rolled in coconut. I liked it. A lot. Don’t judge me.)

Took a lovely drive along Pacific Coast Highway with friends to Malibu Seafood. We ate on a patio right across the shoreline, and it was a beautiful day. It was first time there, and my calamari and fries were so yummy I’m still dreaming about them.

Also, I tried working with circular knitting needles for the first time.

Which promptly became a knitting FAIL.

Haha. I need more practice! Maybe next weekend?

Hope yours was lovely!

What you see above is Chicken-Pork Adobo, stewing away in its fragrant marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, fresh-milled black pepper, garlic cloves and bay leaves. As I write this, I can smell its familiar peppery-garlic-tanginess wafting from the kitchen. It fights for my nose’s affection alongside the comforting fragrance of jasmine white rice steaming in a pot. All I can say is that it smells like heaven in here right now. Or, even better, it smells like home.

This is tonight’s dinner. I’ve been sick for the past week and a half, and whenever I’m tired and not feeling well, my body craves for classic Filipino comfort food like this. And not just any adobo—but my Lola’s adobo. I know that there are a million and one ways to prepare this dish, but the way my grandma made it is the one that fits my food memories like a glove. She was a purist about her adobo. Nothing was fancy about it, but its simple preparation and flavors always made the dish sing. I can’t wait to eat!

The thing I realized about Lola’s adobo was that it doesn’t ask for much. It’s the kind of dish that takes care of itself. You literally dump everything in a pot and trust that the chemistry between the ingredients works. And it does, every time. I think, in this way, my Lola’s adobo is “comfort food” in every sense: nonsense kitchen prep that frees you to sit back, relax and even write a blog post, and flavors that wrap you in a warm cloud of your childhood. Every mouthful is a kiss and a hug from Lola.

I hope this post finds you warm and comfy and loved.

I found these beautiful print-and-cut Valentine’ Day cards entirely by accident over at the Poets.org. (I love wasting online time on [legit] poetry sites.) I love these cards. I seriously want to do something with them, like tags for V Day treats or something. Aren’t they pretty? E. E. Cummings kills me.

Would you wipe your hands on this poetic Mr. Darcy proposal dishtowel? (I couldn’t. Maybe I’ll repurpose it into a pillow so I can stare at it longingly and lovingly hug it to sleep. If you’re creeped out by that visual, you OBVIOUSLY don’t know Mr. Darcy like I do. Kthanksbye.)

And wow, look! A heart-shaped cocotte from Staub. I love the black one even more! Le Creuset, I’m breaking up with you.

We are celebrating this weekend at this:

Granted, I realize stuffing my face in front of someone isn’t the most attractive/romantic thing to do, but LA’s most popular food  trucks are going to all be there. Even a GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK, c’mon now!

How are you celebrating Happy Hearts Day?