I have been archiving my photos and found this one…. I was on my way to meet up a friend for cafe au lait when I passed this dog waiting outside the boucherie just next to Marche Provencal in Antibes, France.
This dog is certainly a gourmand.

Photo taken from Nokia N70 (oh am not advertising for it…I have just taken so many good photos with that cell phone either when I forget to grab a camera with me or when my camera battery is dead)

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Its been a week since we came back from the Bahamas and ever since then, there was only a day that it did not rain. The storm season has arrived.

On a fine Sunday morning last week, I woke up early in spite the fact it was a day off when I noticed the emergency light went off. I dashed outside to re start the shore power when I saw the storm approaching us. All the crew came out to the deck after we heaved and felt the powerful wind that slashed at almost 42 knots. I have just to get used to this rain storm that is so part of the life here in Florida.

And to add a bit of cheer on such grey day, I bought some lilies and a pot of orchids to brighten up the day.

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This is one table arrangement we did, when we were in Marsh Harbour, the Abacos…
Will soon post… am back here in Palm Beach and will be heading to Ft Lauderdale soon.

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flying over the Atlantic and see this little tyke…
and soon to the Bahamas again….

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“Your eating habit is not Filipino anymore!!”… Thats what my Filipina (rather Cebuana) crew mate had said after over a month of working and living together.
Marica and I met in Antibes, France last year. I was walking near the port, when she tapped my shoulder and asked if I was from the Philippines. I said yes, from Cebu. She turned out to be Cebuana too.

We barely got to know each other, her yacht left for Greece and Turkey and we went to Italy and Croatia. I saw her few more times in Antibes towards the end of the season last year as she was getting off in Spain before heading back to the Philippines.

Little did I know then I would be in Florida in the next few weeks.The very day we arrived from the Bahamas and entered the yard at West Palm Beach, there she was waving at me…. screaming at the top of her voice…”Shalimarrrrrrrrrrrr”

Pinch , pinch was I day dreaming? We just did 25 hours passage from Exumas and so exhausted after 5 weeks trip. Is that really Marica? Oh boy, it was her and she actually had seen me in Nassau.

To make the story short, I flew out to UK for a short break, when I came back, she and my Captain has just started going out. Thats how she has become of our crew and been feeding me Filipino food ever since then.
Perhaps even help me gain few kilos with our day to day kitchen escapades.

So on one dreary wet afternoon while we were in West Palm, I asked her what she was going to do with the plantain she bought. I made ” lambing” to her if she could make me SAGING PINAYPAY.
Lambing in our language literally translates to show affection and tenderness.

She laughed and gave me a hug…. saging pinaypay… is one of the easiest Filipino food to do. She laughed the way I asked to do for me and yes with lots of affection, she sweetly made me some

Saging (banana) pinaypay (to fan out.. paypay is fan). You slice the bananas thinly, spread it out to form a fan, dip in a batter and fry. Just before serving, sprinkle it with sugar.

I was almost teary eyed… when Rob our engineer came in and asked what’s that?

Dreamily, I replied:

A childhood favourite…….

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Oh well after this site got hack and a wordpress bug stopped me from posting delectable photos for the readers to drool, time to catch up with blogging, isn’t it. I certainly have no more reasons not too, oh yes when we use the Marina’s wifi I could not do ANY BLOG AT ALL!!!

So , where I’ve been?

Unlike last year where every day I found myself at different places every day or at least every other day or so along the coastline of France, Italy and Croatia, this year has been a little of a drag.
Oh no am not complaining its a good break from my usual routine…

After 5 weeks trip in the Bahamas we found ourselves going up down the coastline of Florida, Ft Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Miami and back.

After the trip from the Abacos ( I did not want to come back that soon,the photo alone of the inn just make you want to stay) we just sat in Ft Lauderdale for a very long time. At this very moment of writing I am back here in Palm Beach.

We have no more trips the boat am working on is up for sale. Yes I had chances, so many offers to go back to the Mediterranean but I have declined them all. Sometimes I find myself having wishful thinking that.. perhaps I should have gone back but Florida keeps holding me to stay.

Since we have been put up in the market and have no trips, our crew been down sized too. I have taken the role of the chef. Most times its just me and my deck hand A, few days a week our Captain is around.

A joined us the week I was in London for a short break last January. I met him when the crew came to pick me at the station at West Palm. And oh I never had worked with a deck hand closer to my age, A is a year younger than I. Most of the deck crew I have worked with are in the early 20s.

On A birthday last May, I wanted to do Stel’s chocolate malted layer chocolate cake , but the day before I was due to bake I did not have the malted milk. So opted for another cake recipe which I found on Trish Deseine’s “I want CHOCOLATE” cookbook.

Many moons ago, I googled cake chocolate recipe and linked me to the well known Parisian blogger Chocolate and Zucchini’s . She wrote about baking Melt in your mouth chocolate cake that sent me to click amazon dot com (oh the joys of internet!).

Light and Airy Cake

1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder combined with
¼ cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Grease and flour two shallow cake pans (8 inches)
2. Place all the ingredients in a large baking mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer to form a smooth dough.
3. Transfer the mixture to the baking pans and bake for 25 mins.
4. The top of the cake should be soft to the touch.
5. Remove from the oven allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Butter Cream

Can fill and top about 9 inches cake

1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, preferably softened.
2 tablespoons cocoa powder dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water.

With the electric mixer beat all the ingredients together in a bowl until the mixture is light and smooth.

I did everything on the recipe except I did not find the cake so chocolatey. Between the layers I added some fresh raspberries and I decorated the top with raspberries too. I do want to bake this cake again and see by adding melted dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder can make a difference.

A week later my sister in London asked me an easy recipe for Mamonaku’s first birthday. I told her to try this one. My nephew by the way has EGG ALLERGY.

My sister baked him brownies with out egg and substituted it with soya milk but she wanted to bake another cake for my nephew’s friends.

Thanks again to our virtual connection, I guided my sister with her cake through a web cam. My sister in North London and me in Ft Lauderdale virtually connected discussing my nephew birthday cake.

Few days later I turned another year older.

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