Mainz Fastnacht

It's been a busy 2 months whenever the new year rolled in as we were constantly having get together, going out for salsa nights or doing small trips with our friends who will be leaving in a few months to head to their next assignment. This is life in the military, it's always hard to say goodbye to the friends you were with for years only to go separate ways when new assignment comes up. 

Anyway, one of the trips we went to 2 weeks ago was Rosenmontag Carnivale Parade in Mainz Germany. They call it fastnacht or "fast night" referring to the night before fasting begins on Ash wednesday. It is a very colorful celebration where everyone is dressed up and children have their bags ready for candies being thrown from every float. The parade starts at 11:11 am and lasts for 5 hours as everybody shouts "Helau!", a traditional Mainz carnival greeting which fills the air.

We had so much fun shouting and dancing as float after float comes on the street. No shouting of Helau, no candy haha! We left halfway through the parade as it was getting colder and we still have to hit Frankfurt for some shopping :)

Color of Germany's flag

Superman in the crowd :)

Until next time. Cheers!

Oatmeal Champorado

It was a cold Sunday morning and I was craving for something warm for breakfast. I remembered how my sister used to make me champorado (chocolate rice porridge) when I was on vacation without using glutinous rice and I always devour it, actually me and my niece. Hubby decided he wanted his cereal so I made one just for me.

This is very quick, easy and delicious recipe. Try it, I know you want to. :)

To make: 

Heat a pan or pot. Put 8 tablespoons of regular oatmeal, rolled oats can also be used. Toast the oatmeal in the pan until you start smelling the aroma of it getting toasty. Pour a cup of water and simmer for few minutes until oatmeal softens, add condensed milk and  dark chocolate. You can use any kind of dark chocolate. Adjust the sweetness according to your preferred taste. This serving is good for 1 person.

Here's my warm and filling breakfast!

Until next time. Cheers!

Winter Wonderland!

I'm back! Been out of the country for a long time (that's how I felt from a six week trip) and preparing for a very cold winter because last year we didn't get any snow and it was awesome!  Hubby had to shovel the driveway at 5:30 in the morning so he can leave early and not be caught in the morning traffic while I get his breakfast and lunch ready.

It was a little brighter at 8:00 and the snow accumulated more. I opened the bedroom window and this is what I saw:

Bedroom window view

My backyard, who wants to build a snowman? :)

I absolutely love this kind of scenery but I'm not a fan of shoveling the snow haha! Anyway, I'm off to making something soupy for my lunch.




Until next time. Cheers!

Loading New Job and Loaded Nachos

Hello, friends! How are you all doin'?  We found out we'll be staying a little longer here. Hooray! I can finally plan to go back in the work force  after my longggg vacation which is coming up soon :) Then hubs got selected to be an Academy instructor for the Air Force and things got hectic for the last 3 months preparing for his new job and being in school for 6 weeks. I, on the other hand, was busy doing Zumba with friends, giving encouragements when hubby get stressed in school, or cheering him on when he get good grades in his tests/speeches, and pretty much just doing my wifely duties.

Anyway, hubby requested something he hasn't had in a while for dinner, I made loaded nachos. I haven't made this since last year so it was time to have this again.

To make:

Start by dicing 1 whole yellow onion. Throw half of it in the skillet with some olive oil cooking for few minutes. Put 1 lb of ground beef (I used 93% lean) with the onions breaking it up until the meat is browned.  Drain the fat if there's any. I used half packet of taco seasoning so I only added 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper to the meat. If not using taco seasoning, make it 1/2 teaspoon each ingredient. Add also 1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Stir to mix in the spices. Pour about 1/4 cup of water to make it saucy. Reduce heat and simmer until cooked.

While the meat simmers, prepare the pico de gallo topping. Mix diced tomatoes (I used 3), half of the onion, sliced jalapeno peppers (I used 2), chopped cilantro, lime juice and salt. Adjust the taste to your liking. 

For the melted cheese, heat a small pot. Cube half of 8oz velveeta cheese, throw in the pot and pour some milk until cheese is melted. 

I heat my chips in the oven for few minutes before serving so it's crunchier. Arrange the chips in the plate followed by the meat and lather melted cheese. Repeat for the second layer then top with pico de gallo. 



We missed this so much we devoured it like eating it for the first time haha!



Until next time. Cheers!

Sunday Dinner Express

While hubby was taking a nap after being called at 0640 this morning to report for work which turned out to be hours of monitoring Airmen to do mass drug test, I started getting dinner ready. I already cooked quinoa ahead of time so I only had to slice the ingredients for my Mediterranean Quinoa salad. After making the salad I prepared the marinade for korean BBQ ribs (Filipino style marinade) and while it was marinating I went ahead and took a long nice shower. When he woke up I asked him to get the grill ready while I made the dessert - mango and sticky rice with pandan extract.

15 minutes later, we were ready to eat! What I love about quinoa rice is it's so light and it's good with anything. Between couscous and quinoa, I like the latter better. It took me two weeks to get this rice because our commissary was always out and when they have it there's not much left but few boxes. I actually need to get my supply as I'm almost out. 

Easy and delicious dinner in no time!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Korean BBQ ribs and sticky rice with mango

To make:

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Cook the rice according to package instruction. Let cool when done and set aside. Meanwhile, dice 1 peeled cucumber,  1 pack cherry tomatoes, 1 red onion and slice olives (I used kalamata but you can use any olives you like). Transfer the rice to a bowl and pour the salad ingredients. Squeeze half of a lemon, drizzle with olive oil, dash of salt and pepper then top with feta cheese. Adjust seasoning if needed and you're done! Easy right? :)

Mango and sticky rice

In a pot, put 1 cup of glutinous rice and pour a cup of water. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes. Turn the stove on and pour 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 coconut milk. Stir and let it boil. Once boiling, turn the stove on low and let the rice cook until all the liquid is absorbed about 15 minutes. I put few drops of pandan extract at this point, this is optional. Slice the mango however you like it. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 a cup of coconut milk, 1/2 a cup of white sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt. When the rice is done, pour half of the coconut sauce into the pot of rice and stir then pour the rest, give it another stir until fully incorporated. If you want the coconut sauce on the side, don't pour it over the rice. Arrange the mango and rice in a plate, sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds and serve.

Until next time. Cheers!

Spring Break: Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina

I am finally able to post about our recent travel last spring break. Hubs and I were both sick after we got back, blaming it on  Germany's crazy weather! :) Anyway, we spent 6D/5N in Dubrovnik and stayed at Hotel Bellevue about 10 min walk to the city wall. I love, love, love this place! It was a perfect location away from everyone ha!

Dubrovnik the beautiful.


Day 1 - We arrived in Dubrovnik around 1pm from a hour and 50 min flight from Frankfurt. Our hired driver was already waiting for us with hubby's name. It was hilarious seeing his name with a Ms. in it. Just so you know, I laughed at his name too the very first time we met as it is of a lady's and it never fails that people think he's a she. 

The scenery from the airport to the hotel was spectacular! I didn't even think of taking pics as I was too excited at the thought of just being there. After checking in and getting settled in our room, I opened the door to the balcony and this is what greeted us :)

I can already tell that our vacation is going to be amazing! We decided to just hang out at the hotel for the rest of the day since the rest of the week will be busy. Come dinner time we tried the restaurant a couple mins from our hotel, Magellan. Hubby ordered lamb chops and I had grilled squid then chocolate souffle for our dessert. Yum!

Day 2 - We woke up early to get ready for our trip to Montenegro. After eating a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, which by the way was very good, our tour guide picked us up and we started the journey until we passed the border and went thru passport check.  Our first stop was in Perast, an old town in Montenegro rich in Venice-like architecture. We took a small boat and went to  Our Lady of the Rocks, the only artificial island in the Adriatic sea. Story has it that in 1452 two sailors were jutting small rocks after a long day at sea and discovered a picture of Virgin Mary perched on the stone, the chapel was built in 1630.

Our Lady of the Rocks island

Monastery of St. George

Little cafe by the bay

We continued our trip to Kotor located on the beautiful coast of Montenegro. We then went and walked inside the city wall declared as UNESCO World Heritage then climbed on top of the hill to see Kotor bay.  While driving around towns, the ruins of the war were visible and some places are still rebuilding homes but the town was not as lively as it look probably because it wasn't summer yet. Then we had a quick stop over to see the islet of Sveti Stefan  where the rich and famous stay for vacation. After seeing the attractions we sat down and had late lunch at Restaurant Jadran  in Budva. Hubby had grilled squid and I had mussels in white wine.  After we ate we walked around some more but at this point I was feeling tired and I wasn't in the mood to take pictures anymore haha! Then we head back to Dubrovnik 11 hours later. It was a good trip with Olga our tour guide and Ivan our race car driver :))

View of Kotor Bay on top of the hill 

Sveti Stefan islet

Lunch by the sea side

Day 3 - Another full day of traveling as we were headed to Bosnia & Herzegovina. We had the same driver Ivan but a different tour guide this time, Sonja. We traveled on the other side of Dubrovnik and saw another view of Croatian islands. We feasted our eyes on the view and next thing we know it was time to get our first passport check. We had to go thru 3 borders, Bosnia-Croatia-Bosnia and nobody was allowed to take pictures while at the border. Our first stop was at Medugorje, a town located in Herzegovina where an apparition took place. In 1981, The Virgin Mary appeared to 6 kids and received apparitions and still receiving them up until these days. 

After walking around we had some gelatos to quench our thirst while waiting for our driver and tour guide. In front of the church were stores full of Catholic souvenirs and the back was an open auditorium where they held masses. There was also a statue of Jesus Christ and people were lining up to wipe handkerchiefs,  there were also group of people singing in another statue, it was something I don't see all the time as I'm not a Catholic. 

Then we were headed to Mostar, the highlight of our trip. The Mostar bridge erected today was the replica of the original as it was destroyed during the war back in the 90's. Mostar was known for it's old Turkish houses and Old bridge, Stari Most after which it was named. For 20 euro a diver can jump on the bridge and there was also old stories according to our local tour guide that if a foreigner wanted to marry a local girl, he must prove his love by jumping on the bridge as well. Tsk! After taking pictures, we ate lunch and enjoyed the rest of the trip walking around looking for souvenirs. Ivan our driver and our tour guides will be missed as it was the end of our trips outside Dubrovnik.

Mostar bridge 

Cevapi, traditional Bosnian food

Yet another grilled squid :))

Day 4 - The day we decided to explore Dubrovnik was when the rain poured. We didn't get to see much of the city as it rained all day and was cold. We still went to the old city and had brunch at Restaurant Proto with 2 cappuccinos, bottle of water and man was it expensive! We didn't know about the setting charge or bread with olive oil/balsamic that we would normally get for free but they charge for it apparently. Good thing the food was delicious otherwise I was ready to do hunger strike! Haha!

Our $110 meal

We walked around the city wall after lunch familiarizing the place for the next day's exploration. Then we headed back to the hotel, scheduled a massage for me, gotta release the stress from expensive eating haha and hubby went to the hotel bar for happy hour. Decided to go back to the city and had some oysters and sushi at Bota. The place was very small and we got lucky there was 2 seats available. If you're OC on how your food is prepared then this place is not for you. I was cringing the whole time the guy was preparing our sushi as he wasn't wearing any gloves and he was touching things aside from food nor does he use silverwares for scooping ginger and wasabi. Good thing I had oysters that made me feel better :)) Sushi was good and I didn't get sick ha!

Day 5 - This was an exciting day! The weather was perfect and we couldn't wait to check the ancient city wall and walk inside. Normal walking hours without taking pictures usually lasts about 2 hours but with picture taking and people in front and behind you takes another hour. We're huge fan of Game of Thrones and we were pretty stoked that they filmed in the old wall and we got to see some of the locations. 

Pile Gate

Game of Thrones filming location

End part of the wall

Game of Thrones filming location 

Fort of St. Lawrence (Lovrijenac)

Lokrum island where they filmed scenes that took place in Qarth

Game of Thrones filming location

Game of Thrones filming location

Game of Thrones filming location

Game of Thrones filming location

Game of Thrones King's Landing 

Inside the wall 

Game of Thrones filming location

Game of Thrones filming location

Tried squeezing a cable car ride with our itinerary, unfortunately they stopped the rides due to strong winds so with our tired feet from walking all day, we hung out at Buza Bar and had some drinks.

Buza Bar looking down from the wall

 We ended our amazing day and last night in Dubrovnik with a dinner at Restaurant Posat just outside the Pile gate. As usual, I had my seafood pasta and hubby had filet mignon. Their food was really good and cheaper than Porto.

A little something from the chef :)

My delicious pasta in golden sauce

Day 6 - Our last day and I was feeling sad. We went to Panorama restaurant on top via cable car. The view will blow you away! I was doing good with my 'seafood diet' on this vacation but I don't know why I decided at the last minute I wanted cheese burger and fries knowing I hardly eat burgers. I should've had sandwich with anchovies which I wanted in the first place. Couldn't even finish half of the half of my burger :(

View from the top

We headed back to the hotel while we waited for our driver to drop us off at the airport. I will surely miss the crashing waves that brought tranquility at the end of a long day, nice and friendly people at the hotel, housekeeping lady that knocks our door everyday to give us chocolate, our tour guides and Ivan but one thing I won't miss are the cats littering everywhere. This was my favorite vacation so far and I'm glad hubby enjoyed it just the same.

Until next time. Cheers!