Abbey-Road-Trip

St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts sits on 2,300 acres of farm and rustic woodland. It is a small (below 80) community of Trappist Monks who detach themselves from worldly pleasures and instead live a contemplative life of meditation, prayer and work...

Despite not being one's usual travel destination, day visitors like us enjoyed the breathtaking yet serene environment of the Abbey Church and refectory which has maintained its architectural structure and old-charm...

Kiddo posing with his beloved Guamy, my MIL,
who navigated us to this great find

The Abbey is popularly known for its production and marketing of Trappist Preserves, a line of jams and jellies which partially support its operations. The tradition of excellence is maintained by Monks who have devoted their quality-time in standardizing (refining even) production process and techniques, ensuring that every batch gives "holy" justice to its long history of over 50 years and counting...

Items could be purchased in the Abbey Gift Shop which also houses the most number of religious books, artifacts, and other related items I've ever seen in my entire existence!

St. Joseph's Abbey offers multitudes more to the spiritual traveler seeking a serene destination. So lucky to have the rare privilege of being able to drive-by this place during the last leg of our New England road trip! "Abbey-Road" visited...! ✜

167 North Spencer Road, Spencer MA
508-885-8700

Farskyes.com website

We're proud to announce the launch of our website, www.farskyes.com. Find time to visit this site for the latest recipes and product updates. Best of all, this humble blog (farskyes.blogspot.com) is linked to it. Happy viewing!

Studio SnR's Coffee, Tea By ME!!! Workshop

Caffeinated and Creamy Passion was the mood that special friday afternoon of September 30, 2011... As envisioned by its organizer STUDIO SnR, the first-ever Coffee, Tea By ME!!! Workshop (led by yours truly) was a smashing hit...

Sydney Go, Marketing Director of Studio SnR welcoming guests...

Yours truly narrating my odyssey in the beverage biz...

participants awaiting instructions for the start of
their hands-on workshop

Small class size (below 20 participants) is always the limit set by STUDIO SnR, as they believe it is perfectly conducive for teaching and learning... And true to its billing as a "HANDS-ON" workshop, all 18 participants (ranging from beginner to moderate to advanced as far as drinks mixology is concerned) were thrilled "toying" with their assigned SAECO Espresso Machine...

the workshop in progress...

mesmerized in-between shots and sips of BOYD COFFEE Premium espressos...

Caffein fueled by Boyd Coffee Midnight Blend...
Thank you Robert Francisco!

and dazzled while exploring the countless possibilites and combinations using Far Skyes Enterprise's Vanilla Frappe Powder, STASERO Flavored Syrups and Sauces!!!

What's your flaovor???

The fun does not end here... The workshop was further escalated when the participants were divided into groups for the "Craft A Java & Smoothie" contest, where the winning drink (1 caffeinated drink and 1 smoothie drink) per group per category received valuable prizes courtesy of Boyd Coffee and Evergood Unlimited Corporation (distributors of Saeco, Cuisinart and Imarflex)... Cool, right?!

Pam & Ben Gregory crafting the winning espresso based drink

the epitome of a hands-on workshop... messy! :)

finished drinks waiting to be judged by the
organizers and major sponsors

In conclusion, Studio SnR's work area became a shared space of fun, laughter, sharing and learning... the true mark of sucess!♥

From L-R: Liz Tan of Evergood Unlimited, Avid Foodies
Marose Rodriguez and Maebelle Batac, and Yours Truly

From L-R: Peaches Go-Tiu and Yours Truly of Far Skyes Enterprise;
Liz Tan of Evergood Unlimited; Sydney Go of Studio SnR,
and Becky Kho Editor-In-Chief of Yummy Magazine

Standing L-R: Franklin Tiu, World-Class Videographer Dom Velasco,
Ben Gregory, and Peaches Go-Tiu
Seated: Liz Tan and Pam Gregory

Standing L-R: Photo Wiz Patrick Martirez, Liz Tan of Evergood,
Franklin & Peaches Tiu of Far Skyes Enterprise,
Seated L-R: Becky Kho of Ymmy Magazine and
Wendy Lei of Animetric's World

Sydney Go with Appetite Magazine's Monique Buensalido
and Migs Borja-Yambao

Watch out for the next run... check out studiosnr.wordpress.com 

Caffeinated and Creamy Cheers to all!!!

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop in San Francisco, CA pride themselves with small-batch, artisanal ice creams, sorbets, and confections...

Their dairy delights are "lovingly handcrafted" in small recipe proportions, and they use no-less than organic ingredients that are locally sourced (as much as possible).

What makes this enterprise stand out and draw never-ending lines of patrons is their unique, yummy flavors such as: Salted Caramel, Balsamic Strawberry, Honey Lavender, Cinnamon Snickerdoodles (Ricanelas), Roasted Banana, Brown Sugar w/ Ginger Caramel Swirl, and multitudes more...

So much ice cream masterpieces to choose from, so little time as we were heading back to the Philippines the next morning... Ice cream is my comfort food and it never fails to bring back fond childhood memories! ♥

We opted for the Malted Vanilla w/ Peanut Brittle & Milk Chocolate AND the highly-rated Salted Caramel proudly made with five (5) basic ingredients: organic milk, cream, organic sugar, salt, and organic eggs. All sourced from the Strauss Family Creamery located 45 miles away... Our Kiddo, whose not an adventurous flavor sampler went for the safe Chocolate.

Toppings and condiments galore! The end product is a sweet, creamy and satisfying scoop of dairy delight!

Unmistakably an apt warm-day hangout...  it certainly takes away the sticky-sweaty-summer blues of Sunny California!

If you happen to be in this part of San Francisco, check it out:

Bi-Rite Creamery, 3692 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
www.biritecreamery.com

Lego Discovery Center, Dallas TX

A US$12M, 35 square-foot indoor attraction, the Lego Discovery Center (a scaled down Legoland) is located at the Grapevine Mills mall in Grapevine, TX. To those unfamiliar with the area, Grapevine is a suburb in between Fort Worth and Dallas. From a mere unknown, it has evolved into a major tourism center, now housing a 30 screen movie theater, an indoor skating rink, a Game Works arcade, and lots of others...

We found out about this attraction only by sheer luck, when we chanced upon a Dallas "things-to-do" catalogue...

Thus we wasted no time in planning an afternoon trip courtesy of our Dallas hosts, Tito Rommel and Tita Yolly...

THE perfect place to bond with family and friends....!

Without a doubt, as well-publicized, the whole 3-hour experience was highly interactive, fun and educational; cheers to Lego for always inspiring kids and kids-at-hearts to keep imagining and building dreams...

How's this for an instant gimmick?!

Our family had a blast.... Till our next visit!

Strawberries & Cream Frappe

Photo via Google Photobucket

Have to say this is  my most-loved non-espresso "icecapade" of all time... it is a simple yet satisfying fusion of Vanilla and Strawberry Ice cream, milk and fresh strawberries, topped by a hunky portion of whipped cream!

Once I dabbled into the food business though and hearing so many horror stories about calorie-count (not to mention health issues on my end), I'm sharing with you a tummy-friendly, easy, "tweaked" version. Proudly, this is a guilt-free variation that saves you time, money and unnecessary calories! ❤

Ingredients (16-oz finished drink):

3 tablespoons Stasero Vanilla Frappe Powder
50ml fresh milk or low fat milk (soy milk for the lactose-intolerant folks)
15ml Stasero Strawberry Syrup
1/3 cup Fresh Strawberries (around 5 pieces)

Procedure...

Step 1: In a blender mix the Vanilla Frappe Powder with the Fresh or low-fat milk and Stasero 
Strawberry Syrup... (about 5-10 seconds)

Step 2: Add the fresh strawberries and blend for another 5-10 seconds

Step 3: Fill a 16-oz glass with ice (cube, tube or crushed) and pour into blender. Mix for another 15-30 seconds or until ice is fully blended and crushed...

* garnish with whipped cream (not necessary) or simply decorate using fresh strawberries...

Serve and enjoy! A "BERRY-GOOD" drink, yes???!

Equator Coffee, Bouchon Blend

Three's a crowd? Not these caffeinated bad-boys! ... ☕

Too much of a good thing is bad, according to the wise-old ones... Ergo, consuming my favorite local coffee blend on a daily basis (thrice-a-day even) stales my palette from time-to-time. This is when I seek out to try something new (a coffee "fling" perhaps?), usually an imported brand. Our San Francisco-based mole Les G never fails to amaze us with her good-foodie-finds... and this time she inclined it a notch higher by shipping it to us in a "balik-bayan" box, among other lovable loots!

Photo Courtesy of Bouchon Bakery

This is the same satisfyingly-rich, dark roast coffee served in Thomas Keller's famous Bouchon Bakery in Napa Valley, CA. Custom blended from four of the world's key coffee growing regions; it is masterfully prepared to Chef Keller's exacting specs and artisan roasted by hand, thus ensuring that each and every small batch is performed with tender-loving care!

Potently-rich flavor, excellent Crema too...
Extracted uing a Saeco Odeo Giro Machine

My initial sip of this Rich-Dark Viennese-style roast reveals a robust mouthfeel, with slight acidity and an impeccably smooth finish. Just the way I like it!!! ♥ Surely brings back fond memories of our recent US trip...

Enticed??? For only $15.45 for a 16-oz pack (480grams), it's definitely worth the coffee lust!

Check out www.equatorcoffees.com. Signing out, I'm off to fiish this bag and resume regular palette programming...

Futbol Funatics Soccer Camp!

Founded in 2003 by the enigmatic pair of Avery del Rosario and Candice Grey, Futbol Funatics has come a long way and is arguably the leading football camp in the country... My 6-year old Kiddo has been hooked to the sport since his first camp day in May 2011, and there's no turning back from here. He may not be athletically gifted (like many others) to qualify for his school's soccer varsity team, but what I am pleased with is the camp's strong emphasis for teamwork, fair play, work ethic, sportsmanship, and overall skills development that will enable him to be the best he can be!

Futbol Funatics offers dynamic and fun-filled football camps for boys and girls ranging from 3 to 17 years old. Camp venues are located in Alabang, Paranaque, Las Pinas, Cavite, Taguig, Makati, Pasig and Quezon City. The soccer camp aims to develop the child's healthy passion for the sport, by exposing them to a positive learning atmosphere... touching on all the fine points necessary in mastering the growingly-popular sport of soccer.

My Kiddo and his foxy sponsor Teacher Angi.
Two thumbs up!!!

For more info contact:

Wireless Landline 467-6463
Cellphone 0916-7067715
www.futbolfunatics.com