Cookies and Cakes for Snack

This is not a collection of cookies, it just so happen that hubby bought these cookies and mini cakes because I won't be able to go out to buy snacks outside since the day I gave birth. I also have stocks of fruits and other foods that I can easily prepare whenever I feel hungry.

Cookies for a cookie monster

It is indeed difficult to move around when your focus is only your baby and you don't have anyone to look after you. This is really the time I appreciate my mom and other siblings to be around me but I am geographically away from them.

Cookies with mini cakes

Going back to those snacks, I really like chocolate chips ever since I was in College. I used to dip it in milk, be it  hot or cold milk. I also like the vanilla, chocolate and butter sponge flavored mini cakes. It tastes the same like the local mamon (chiffon) cake that I used to buy  in the local bakery where I grew up.

Ribbon cake with some cookies

What is good in these types of snacks is that anytime of the day you can eat it and pair it with your favorite beverage or drink such as tea, coffee, juice or soda drinks. By the way most of the cookies I have was with bits and pieces of chocolate chips or somewhat similar with Oreo cookies. I do like to pair it with ice cream too, but for now, I will be skipping on eating cold drinks and desserts.

Season of Custard Apple

Its been more than a month that I have been seeing a plentiful harvest of Atis (tagalog word) or what is commonly known as Custard Apple. Beginning September, it has been around Rs50 plus for a kilo which is only 3 big pieces but it was deliciously sweet and creamy to me.

Atis or Custard Apple

I am not an avid fan of atis or custard apple because I feel so lazy on removing seeds one by one when I eat it. But I surely like how sweet it is plus how creamy and quite grainy it was when I eat it.  It has vitamins A and C which is good for our body plus it helps lower cholesterol. It is also said to be high in magnesium and potassium content good to prevent from any heart problems. It also helps cure constipation and helps treat dysentery. 

Custard Apple, not likely favorable but is sweet and delicious fruit

What I usually don't like when buying atis or custard apple is that there are sometimes white flaky in between the skin of it. Pests are just common in custard apple trees not unless the farmer has taken care of it by spraying pesticides so I am really careful of washing off custard apples before eating it.

Custard apple is just easy to detect if it is already ripe. You can see it from its outer color and it will always be soft. If you buy it unripe, then what you can do is to place it inside a rice dispenser and keep it for some time and it will get ripen.

Diwali Sweets Part II

Yesterday I posted some sweets given to us by a family friend and neighbor. I was waiting for my husband to come home after his work to find out what his company has given them since every year they do have goodies, I mean sweets!

SWEETABLES FOR SWEET TOOTH MONSTERS!

Now, I will post it here since this was my first time to taste some sweets made from wonderful nuts like cashew and almonds included into it. It was in a red box with their company logo printed in front of the box and a Diwali greeting card.

Diwali Greetings

In this box are assorted Bengali Sweets such as Kaju Katli, cham cham, sandesh and Gulab Jamun. I still don't know the rest which is foiled in silver coating but that itself was also eatable. The box was heavy which seems more than a kilo in weight. If I will not be lazy to eat I will be able to finish this box within a week especially if hubby will help me finish it since he is not fond into eating sweets, it will take again a month to be stock inside the fridge not to mention the other sweets that was given to us yesterday.

Most of these sweets are made out of milk and some Indian spices which is good for vegetarians. It does not contain any egg which the Hindus don't consider adding on their sweets even if they bake cakes. Care to help me out eating these sweets? Lols!

Diwali Sweets

Today is India's Diwali celebration. It is also called as Festival of Lights and so it looks like New Year celebration here because of fireworks and a very disturbing fire crackers all around. Most Hindu houses were filled with Christmas lights and decorations on their door posts called Rangolis.

Soan Papdi

Neighbors keep on giving sweets and it was part of their tradition. What we have for sweets last time was a Kaju Katli box from our land owner, now what he gave us was a Soan Papdi, it is a kind of sweet that melts to your mouth with green cardamoms and pistachio.

I am just waiting for hubby to come home and see what their company would give him since last time, what we have was a combination of a lot of sweets from Kaju katli, jalebi and many more. What our neighbor just give me was some famous snacks here in India like shankarpale, besan ladoo, karanji, chakli and some more that I am not familiar with their name.

Some Indian Snacks and sweets

I feel like Christmas and New Year here now, but I am more concerned on my baby who's sensitive and gets jumpy on those fire cracker blasts and sounds, anyway it happens only once a year.

Pear and Sweet Lime

They look very much the same in COLOR! But there are pears that is yellow and crispy to the bite. But this green one is more softer but thicker in skin although the consistency is just the same like the yellow colored pear which is grainy in flesh and looking like a bell.

Fruits not that popular but is beneficial to our health

Pear is rich in vitamins A, C, E and other B complex vitamins. It is said to have anti oxidant which is good for our body. It combats carcinogen, high blood pressure and lowers cholesterol. Pears are said to be good for our colon and has pectin which is a mild laxative to regulate bowel movements.

It is said to be great in relieving fever by drinking a glass of pear juice. When it comes to pregnant women, they may also benefit in eating pears because it has folic acid which may prevent neural tube defects in infants.

Fruits Beneficial to our Health

Sweet lime on the other hand belongs to the citrus family which is also good in the digestive system because of flavonoids. Sweet lime has anti congestive properties good for treating neausea and flushing out uric acid in the body.

I am not suggesting that you need to combine the two in a juice drink. It just so happen that I have these two fruits available as hubby bought it last two days ago and I said why not share some informations about these two great fruits which we often neglect because we will go for other colorful and mouth watering fruits such as apple, grapes, orange and watermelon.

Baby's First Cake

Today was baby's second week. We did buy him some cake on his first week since we missed him a lot when he was admitted in ICU for some treatment because it was a preterm labor. Anyway, hubby and I were so thankful for the blessing that God has given us and Samuel is doing fine now.

A cake for baby

It was a cake made and done by not so famous bakery here, just a local one ordered by hubby. The design was just not that fancy, the taste was even more of a beginners first bake lesson as I may grade it, but I don't mind it at all, it's not the cake that I am much more focus on but to the one whom we are celebrating.

Sharing this cake to all of you!

I wanted to buy another cake for this week, but again as I said, I was not happy to taste that cake ordered by hubby, so I will just prepare some spaghetti pasta for today and pray to God for the protection and guidance He has given me and my family. Baby at least now gained some weight and we will be back for another check-up next week. Hopefully, this week as hubby goes back to work (ending his paternal leave), I will be back in the kitchen to prepare food. Hoping to give my site another update for recipes and other food share. Cake anyone? glad to share this to all! Have a nice week ahead!

Dried Fruits and Nuts

A family friend here in Mumbai suggested my hubby that dried fruits and nuts will be beneficial to eat especially by women who just gave birth. A lot of old wives tale and hearsay but whatever is the truth about food fads and fallacies, I can surely try them or avoid them now because I only wanted to get back the strength that I need.

Dried Fruits like Raisins and Dates

My mom has her own versions of foods not to be taken or eaten especially if you just gave birth. One of those foods she said are foods that will make you itch like shrimps and prawns are to be avoided. She also reminded me to not eat Saluyot because it will lower the uterus or womb, another is not to drink buko because it is cold in the body and will make my baby lose weight because according to her, what I eat is what my baby is going to eat and feel also. So even kamote or sweet potato is not advice for me to be taken.

Some beliefs are not related to food but to practices such as taking a bath which is forbidden until your bleeding is finished. I am just careful about the stitches, even if it was a normal delivery, I need to take care of myself for my baby.

Now, going back to those dried fruits and nuts, hubby bought some almond nuts, raisins and dried dates. The dates were so hard to chew so he used a grinder and put it in the mixer so that I can easily chew the dates into smaller munchies.

Dried Almond Nuts

What I like best is that I include it in my breakfast cereal which is rich in fiber and has fruits and dried nuts to compliment with the dried dates. For now, hubby is my cook and all he can serve me was soups such as dal and chicken. I haven't posted anything for the recipe yet, but hopefully soon since I will still get this week hands-off the kitchen while hubby is still enjoying his off day to take care of me and my baby.

I'm Back from my Slumber

Hi Friends! I just wanted to let you know that I am back again on blogging and I am so thankful for the past week that God has given us our bundle of Joy. I recently give birth (unexpectedly) and now I am ready to face a new challenge of life which I wanted to share with my family, loved ones and friends.

Come and Dine with Me

I do hope to give more inspiring food recipes, food thoughts and more delectable food experience since I really do got my inspiration from my family and to my little one who is my priority as a mother. I will be adding some more exciting flavors to you as well as open my site to online contests so that I will get more interaction from my avid readers.

Glad to be back on the track and please bear with me again as I will be posting more food recipes to share here on Food, Fashion and Fun. As you may notice, I also changed my background theme and hoping by next year or so, I can get a domain if ever I will not be busy with other things. By the way, my other blog "HangoutwithJhing" is hosting its very first online contest which I will give $10.00 for those who can participate in my contest. You can visit my site on this one, JOIN MY $10 CONTEST

and see if you are interested to join and might win $10 via Paypal.

 Have a pleasant day ahead!

Prawn Halabos Recipe

I went out yesterday to buy shrimps and there I find a combination of prawns and shrimps. The vendor told me that it was Rs 150 for a big platter which weighs more than a kilo, so I said just give me half a kilo.

Yummy Fried Prawn Halabos


I bought it for a cheaper price


When she was packing the prawns and shrimp she changed her mind and offered me that she will give it all for only Rs 120 which is also equivalent to $2.60. So I said okay, just give it to me because I still find that deal great and cheaper and these are still fresh. So I passed by another store and buy some Sprite because I was thinking of cooking those prawns and shrimps into Halabos which is one of the most favorite recipes I learned from my mom.

All you have to do is wash thoroughly the shrimps/prawns. I did soak it in veggie wash since this can also remove the unpleasant smell aside from cleaning the shrimps. You don’t need to remove the shells, head and tails of your shrimp because in this recipe, you include the whole part.

Just Finished soaking it in Tiens Veggie Wash


So after washing, you place it in the pan and put Sprite, instead of water. Once the Sprite soft drinks drained or dry up in the pan, that is the time that you put oil into your shrimp or prawn and fry it. Just don’t forget to put ample amount of salt so that your shrimp or prawns would have that perfect taste of sweetness and saltiness.

Hubby and I enjoyed this meal yesterday


Just a word of caution, this recipe is not intended for those people who suffer from hypertension and high blood pressure because Prawn Halabos is rich in cholesterol because of its fat substance that is found in the head of the shrimp or prawns. Just eat in moderation and drink tea afterwards. Obviously if you have sensitivity or allergic reaction to prwns or shrimps, then just skip on this recipe or you can take anti-histamine tablet later.

I don’t often do this recipe since if we do buy shrimps and prawns, I usually clean them off and de-veil them. So I hope you guys enjoy this meal, till my next recipe post again! Ciao!

In Season and Out of Season Fruits

I have made a list of fruits that people usually buy in the groceries and local markets. Here in India where I noticed several types of fruits being sold in the market. From exotic fruits to tropical fruits which come in season and some do come all year round where it is readily available to customers. Fruits are essentially important to human health and that is why it recommended including it in our regular diet.

Soaked in Veggie Wash


Fruits are good to have as juice, jammed or pickled, dried, make a smoothie, ice cream flavor and so much more. Sometimes we do need to wait for other fruits to come into their season to buy. It is truly expensive to buy fruits which are out of season. I used to remember when I was craving for some fruit which are out of season, it is really difficult. But no matter how fruits come be it in their own season or not, it always completes my day.








A healthy lifestyle needs to include fruits daily in their food for a balance diet. Aside from proper body exercise, correct amount of water intake, good night sleep and keeping a life away from vices such as smoking and drinking alcohol, a human may benefit from getting a longer life.
We just need to wash carefully and thoroughly those fruits before consuming because you may not know how farmers put chemicals and pesticides from growing their crops. So without further delay, here are the lists of fruits in season and out of season.




Out of Season Fruits (You can only buy in their Season)
1. Strawberries
2. Cherries
3. Jackfruit
4. Longan
5. Spanish Turnip / Singkamas
6. Star Fruit
7. Lanzones/ Langsat
8. Custard Apple/ Cherimoya
9. Lychees
10. Guava
11. Avocado
12. Chico
13. Rambutan
14. Kiwi
15. Durian
16. Santol
17. Pomelo
18. Star Apple
19. Mangosteen
20. Makopa/Wax Apples/ Wax Jambu
21. Grapes
22. Persimmon
23. Grapefruit
24. Black berries
25. Peach
26. Passion Fruit
27. Kumquat
28. Mangoes






In Season Fruits (Year Round Available)
1. Banana
2. Orange
3. Apple
4. Cucumber
5. Watermelon
6. Melon
7. Pomegranate
8. Papaya
9. Sweet Lime
10. Ponkan/ Mandarin Orange/Tangerine
11. Pineapple
12. Buko / Young Coconut
13. Pear
14. Gooseberry
15. Tomato