Cheese Hopia Anyone?

It was a great Saturday to spend with friends to one of the quaint and relaxing B&B places in Tagaytay. The food was refreshingly fresh (straight from their gardens) and the ambiance felt like a home away from home in Sonia's Garden. The staff and owner was so welcoming and hospitable that it felt that we were one of their long lost family.

Before heading home we headed to their bakery to buy freshly baked goodies back to the city. They suggested the cheese hopia. We all went along with all our curiosity killing us since no one of us had a cheese hopia before. So i bought 2 bags and their Spanish bread.

So the next day, I heated one of each for breakfast. It was really good. The hopia had a good balance of sweetness and saltiness. The dough was not hard as it looks mind you. Everyone from home enjoyed it too. Maybe when you get the chance to be in the area, you can try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

The 2010 Road

I hope your year brought about a change in you... A road to self discovery... A hunt to find the treasures that hide within yourself... May you have a bountiful amd meaningful year ahead.

The Road of Life
by Joyce Rupp

Another year has come to an end.
I can feel her tug at my calendar;
I can sense her insistent movement.
I can hear her call to cross over.

Outside my window the trees are empty
and the air has ripeness of snowfall.
I cast an inward glance to the past
and feel a deep desire to catch its glow.

Something in me wants to hold on,
to gather all the good things close to me.
A part of me that yearns for security
keeps encouraging me to grasp it all.

Then a tiny thinble-full of light
moves its way through my insecurity;
it weaves a thread of courage,
sending sparks into the dark.
Up and up ut raises through my spirit
until it meets my controlling grip.

The firefly flickers of God's grace
are enough to embrace the unknown.
A surge of powerful surrender
takes over all my looking back,
and ever so gently and hopefully
I risk the road of another new year.

Potato Crab Salad

500g potatoes, boiled and diced
1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1" sticks and blanched
1 cup canned button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup canned young corn, cut into 1/2 pcs.
300g crab sticks, quartered

Honey Mustard Dressing:
1 pk all purpose cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar
3 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. mustard
salt and pepper

Place vegetables and crab in a bowl. Toss in dressing and chill before servinng.

To make dressing: Mix all purpose cream, juice, honey and mustard in a bowl or blender until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.