I alluded yesterday to the existence of more desert photos from the recent Las Vegas bachelor party. I am happy to bring “some” of those pictures to you today. I got permission from the groom to share my absolute favorite photo from the trip so why don’t we start with that one first!
Las Vegas Naked Bachelor Hitch-Hiking
The most decent picture of myself I could share. It was blurry but I did my best to sharpen it up so the groom wasn’t the only one baring all on my site. I like to follow that saying “Never ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself”.
The entire gang! Aren’t those mountains in the back amazing!
The only boat in the desert and we found it!
Thank the Bachelor being such a good sport! Comment to tell him how much you liked being an insider at his party 
One of my FAVORITE dishes I ate almost daily in the Philippines last summer was Kare Kare Gulay. It is a peanut butter vegetable dish that is very tasty and exotic. When I returned to Canada I vowed that I would try to replicate it as close as possible to Dencio’s (A chain restaurant in Manila).
I have now been successful in this feat twice. However I warn you that I substitute many of the vegetables for readily available Canadian ones but the taste is the same.
| Original Filipino way |
EatingLifeUp Canadian way |
| Oxtail broth |
Veggie Bouillon cube broth |
| Eggplant |
Zucchini |
| Long Green Beans |
Long sliced green peppers |
| Bok choy leaves |
Snow/Snap Peas whole |
| Shrimp Paste |
Nothing |
| White Rice |
Brown rice |
| Crushed Peanuts |
Mama Sita’s Kare-Kare sauce mix |
The rest of the items I keep pretty much the same. The onion, garlic, banana hearts, and peanut butter.
So here is how to make it my way.
- Get your 1 1/2 cups of water boiling to make your veggie broth.
- Put about 2 tsps of canola oil in a deep dish non-stick frying pan.
- Dice 1 full medium yellow onion.
- Chop into fine pieces 4 cloves of garlic. (I love garlic)
- Saute the onion and garlic in the pan until they start to change color and then add the veggie broth.
- Stir in the entire package of Mama Sita’s Kare-Kare sauce mix. (I buy mine from a Filipino grocery store in Millwoods)
- While that simmers slice 1 full medium zucchini down the middle and then cut into 1/2″ inch moon shaped pieces. Also talk 1/2 a large green pepper and cut into strips.
- Add the zucchini, snap peas (whole), and green pepper into the frying pan with the sauce.
- Plop in 3 big plops of Chunky peanut butter. (About 6 tbsp.) Then stir aggressively until mixed in.
- Let everything bubble together covered for about 3 mins. Stir occasionally right to the bottom.
- Then add 1 full can of drained Banana Hearts aka Banana Blossoms (Shown above with Sauce mix also from Filipino grocery and on sale this week for $0.99!) LOL
- Simmer while stirring occasionally for an additional 2 mins or until the zucchini is the tenderness you like. (I like mine firmer of course)
Then plate and serve on a bed of rice. I made 2 cups of brown instant rice. I also divide into 3 generous portions so I have supper, lunch and supper. However this could easily feed more people!
NOTE: This can be a tricky recipe and while the traditional Filipino way takes a lot of time the Canadian way goes quite quick. Save yourself some stress and chop up everything before you start cooking. At least for your first attempt.
The Kare-Kare Gulay is 1,179 calories undivided or 393 per serving when divided by 3.
The Brown rice I use is 600 calories undivided or 200 per serving when divided by 3.
While driving back from Primm, Nevada (in the middle of the desert on the Nevada / California boarder) we stopped in a few places to take some pictures. I am working on which pictures I am allowed to share with you but for now I thought I would share a mini series that I took for regular profile shots.
I thought it would be a great idea to take some pictures on the lava rock with the desert sky and tumbleweeds.
It was a good idea until I sat down and flipped over backwards…
but then I got this shot out of it…
And finally decided that maybe one standing on firm ground would be best…
I love the desert and how it makes me feel. It’s so calm, warm, endless, with vast open skies.
We have talked about the drinks in Vegas and the French Toast and Mexican food… Now we are moving onto the ROLLER COASTERS!
Being 6′4″ tall I usually stay away from most amusement park rides that I might not fit comfortably in but that didn’t stop me from tagging along with the bachelor party and giving “DESPERADO” in Primm, Nevada a try!
Boy am I glad I did! So far that is the best roller coaster I have been on in my entire life. We loved it so much we came back again on Sunday and this time purchased wrist bands that let us ride as much as we wanted. We rode in the front, the back, and the middle. In our minds the middle is the best because of the sensation the car give you going over the humps when the car leaves the track. We also tried with our eyes closed… GREAT idea for the 254 foot drop at the start but BAD idea for the rest. You can’t prep your body for the turns so you get flung about like a rag doll. My neck was sore my sides were bruised but hey… we had to try!
We also went on the New York New York coaster right in Vegas on the strip. That was very cool too but we still preferred Primm. There is one section of New York that will surprise you so I would say you should still do it!
Thanks to Sue, a blog reader that commented on my last post mentioning Theo Tams, I was tipped off to his newest video. The song is “Wait For You” and the first time I heard the song was when I saw him live last November. I watched the video this morning and his voice and the passion in his facial features still blows me away.
Sue wrote:
Thought you might like to check out Theo’s new vid, “Wait For You”. He decided to record it live rather than go with the CD version.
The video is a masterpiece and it made me purchase the song on iTunes this morning. Here’s the video, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did!
