Sabrina's Kitchen Series # 1 : Sabrina Artadi's Humble Abode

I think I have met the Philippine's own Nigela Lawson. Sabrina Artadi is a single mom of two children, former Bb. Pilipinas, a consultant, a food and entertaining enthusiast (a damn good one!), all in one. She is one of those moms that one looks up to and wonder "How the hell did she do it?". In that one fortunate day that I met her, I can officially say I'm a big fan!

Sabrina's Kitchen is a 30 minute cooking show starring Sabrina Artadi and her scrumptious recipes. And what's unique about it is that there are no complicated techniques and ingredients needed. It's home-style cooking that every home cook (and non-cooks too) can watch and say "I think I can do that!". Experience home-cooked Bohemian dishes with no professional cooking or plating skills required. It's perfect for a stay-at-home-mom like me who only has the "cooking skills of a hot day" (like Rachel Green of Friends). Her show is very laid back. Not at all stiff. Now you see why I refer to her as the Philippine's Nigela Lawson hehehe.
As a firm believer of creating family time, Sabrina explains that cooking is one of the best forms of family bonding. It gives the family an exciting activity they can do together at home. It's a great opportunity to take your kids' attention away from their gadgets. After all, who doesn't love food? It's everyone's common denominator! She got me thinking of slowly starting to introduce Rain to the world of food preparation. Maybe something simple like putting cherries on top of an ice cream (if she doesn't squish the cherries first hehe). The point is doing it together as a family.
Anyway some blogger friends and I were very very fortunate to have been invited to have an intimate lunch cooked by Sabrina herself at the comfort of her beautiful home!

I fell in love with her house the moment we stepped inside. It had a Mediterranean + Arabic + Middle Eastern feel to the whole place. All of where she has spent years developing her taste for these three cuisines as well.

My favorite part of her house was the lanai. I fell in love! I particularly loved how she used folding glass doors instead of walls or screen doors. It's really a relaxing area where you can curl up to read your favorite book, or chat with family/friends, and not to mention take a long peaceful nap! Hehehe. The breeze never stopped!

She served us this really refreshing welcome drink which is a mix of rosemary iced tea (using boiled McCormick rosemary), kalamansi, honey and rhum (for a teeny little bit of kick!). Perfect for a hot day! It really hits the spot! Blue glasses are from Divisoria!;) I like!;-)

I loved her intricate main door! She got it on sale from the street outside her village. Can you believe that?! So lucky!

It's like a stairway to the sunset!

(Again, painting by Sabrina Artadi herself)

Her powder room with the Tuko light. It's like stepping inside a nice little jungle complete with pebble stones. I love how the space is maximized well! You still have room to do the cha cha (not that you would hahaha)

And of course, the much awaited Sabrina's kitchen! If my kitchen was this nice (and if I had a dish washer) I wouldn't mind cooking all the live long day! This is where she actually shoots her cooking show. She doesn't like shooting in production studios because it would look so artificial. In her kitchen, what you see is what you get! Simple as that.
If she has an "Ooops!" moment as she calls it (forgetting to add an ingredient or doing a step, what have yous), she doesn't like to edit it out. She just proceeds and shows you how to remedy it. Because in real life we all have a lot of "Ooops" moments. "It's not the end of the world", Sabrina says.
So you're probably thinking "Where's the food?!?" Well, I will be posting a series of blog entries to showcase all the glorious food she prepared for us in her kitchen! And yes, recipes included! Yaaay! So stay tuned! :-)

Sabrina's Kitchen will start airing on the Asian Food Channel, 19th of April.
It's every Friday at 8pm with replays on Saturday at 1:30pm and Sundays at 8:30 am.

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