Piquant Spaghetti (Spaghetti Piccanti)

In the Philippines, I grew up eating food flavored with Anchovies and Shrimp paste so my taste buds love dishes that have bold flavors or piquant as they describe it - having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavor! Whether it is green Mango, Pinakbet or Fried Pork Belly when it is flavored with Bagoong (our local name for Anchovy and/or Shrimp paste), ordinary food becomes extraordinary!

Chicken Afritada

Much like the other Filipino classic dishes namely Adobo, Pansit, and Menudo - the Afritada is also quite popular and is often served at birthdays, weddings and other gatherings. Much like Menudo, Mechado and Kaldereta, Afritada is highly influenced by the "estofado" or Spanish stew.

Berry Medley Bombe

For those who want to make ice cream but fear that they cannot make it because they don't have an ice cream maker, have no more fear the Bombe is here! The Bombe Glacée, or simply a bombe in English, is an ice cream dessert frozen in a spherical mold so as to resemble a cannonball, hence the name.

Travel Feature: Brussels, Belgium

Since today and until tomorrow we are continuing our Foodie Party on our Facebook page, I thought it is the best time to write another travel piece lest you be bogged down with too many recipes. Although in the food blogging world, there is no such thing as too many recipes....once in a while we do travel features and since I never got the chance to share any photos of Brussels when we were there in June, here's the chance to share a few of them. Hopefully, they will become useful someday when perhaps you decide you wish to visit Belgium. This can be a mini-guide. :-)

Penne with Italian Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce

We have been so fortunate to have a great traditional Butcher shop so near our house. I can actually walk from our house to their store. How convenient is that! Sadly, they will soon be moving to another town and we will miss them terribly. Thankfully though, we often visit this town and so we can continue to get our favorite meat combos from their shop and still enjoy cooking with them. We just need to buy in bulk and have our cooler ready for the long haul. :-)