Through No Filter but Mine

Wanted Sexmate Ad Promotes Office Hilarity

2010-07-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

I was crazy mad when I discovered that someone posted my number in OLX. A site where people can exchange stuff, sell stuff and peddle their numbers for a cheap sexual thrill. I may offend some people who are fervent believers of this website. But guess what, I don't care.

Can you read the underlined part in the picture above? The ad has since been taken down after I reported it last night. However, because of that magical phenomenon called caching, part of the content still remains when you would Google my number. And since it has been prostituted already, I don't give a rat's ass about giving it away to my Facebook and blog friends. I mean, what's the worse thing that can happen after "Hi, pwd u mit 4 sex? We cn do z car"?

Of course I have a prime suspect. And she's ugly. That's all I can say about that. I gag at the use of "pue" for "po" and I choke at the ad's coup de grace, the line that pulls 'em all in: "i jst luv s*x sZo much! hehe"

But the hilarity of the situation slowly crept in by morning. Men are so predictable. Nay, men can be so stupid sometimes. It does help to have only one head, if you know what I mean. Having two is like...well, I don't know what it's like. But by the looks of the messages I got from them, and the 163 calls I received so far, it can't be good.

Let me share some (all verbatim):

hi,i'm nhoy from dasmarinas,cavite 5'9 ang height ko and 40 yrs old well experienced gentleman lover

*officemates heckling laughter*

hey...good morning...just got out of the shower...wanna meet up?

(this was at 4:30am. and I was like, huh? connection?)

Mrning. nkkpgsex k b talag? im jhap 30yo

*laugh out fucking loud*

Hi, saw ur ad sa olx. U love sex so much? I also do, n i'm very good at sex. 5'10" gudluking guy here even not that handsome but still very presentable, clean decent guy. Wanna try? I can make u moan 4 sure

(goodlooking but not very handsome. groundbreaking.)

Dont u have a proper manner? U asked me to call u then u r keep on rejecting my call? What is this? Joking?

(guy called me as the ad said and i kept on rejecting the call. i love the "what is this? joking?" part)

Goodness. Men are so funny.

Of course there are the pa-awa guys:

"i jst nid a frnd. mybe u can b a frnd to m"

(yeah you were looking for a friend and chose the one who posted a wanted sexmate ad)

And the memorable calls which go:

Ems: Hello?
Schmuck: Hello? Hello?
Ems: Sino 'to?
Schmuck: hihihihi (giggling like a fucking girl!)
Ems: Asshole. *Hang up*

and

Ems: Hello?
Schmuck 2: Hi, naghahanap ka raw sexmate?
Ems: Ows? Sino nagsabi?
Schmuck 2: Sa OLX
Ems: Close kayo?
Schmuck 2: hehehehe
Ems: Sorry, di ako nagpost nun. May galit lang ata sakin. I'm not interested.
Schmuck 2: so naghahanap ka raw sexmate?
Ems: Are you deaf? DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID THE ENTIRE TIME?
Schmuck 2: hehehehehe
Ems: *roll eyes* *hang up*

It's a little difficult to deal with the situation. I wonder how many websites who aggregate data like phone numbers have already spidered my information away into other sites. How many classifieds websites now list my number? It's easy to change my number, the same way it's easy to just keep on rejecting calls from unknown numbers. But that's not really an option for me. I work part time as a freelance writer and many of my jobs come from people who are not in my phonebook. Also, I've had this number since high school and I am not going to part with it simply because some jejegirl from Paranaque wants to give me hell.

I will wait for these morons to stop calling and die down. Until then, I may even have a couple other posts up. Ciao!

Wind Chimes

2010-05-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

In the Ayala Triangle Park, they set up like a trellis and hung up a bajillion wind chimes. Can you imagine how nice it sounds? How calming? I love passing through this part of the park.

I Own You, Suckka

2010-05-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I took a picture of myself at the gym AFTER I pulled/strained a muscle. I just thought that it may have a better affect if I post a twisted version of before and after. haha

Anyhizzle, I am recovering from a strained shoulder. I really thought that I may have torn a muscle or a ligament or something because my shoulder and neck where really painful last Wednesday. I took the day off and got it checked (I went to Medical City, supeeerb service) and apparently, all I needed was to rest it and give it time to heal. So I've been out of the gym for a few days now. I'm missing it, seriously. It feels like there's something missing. I can't even do yoga. Not even running (technically I could, but it hurts when I swing my arms while running). I slapped on a couple of Kool Fever pads to help with the pain. Kool Fever feels so good. It really does cool you down.

Sad part is, I lost two pounds this week...but I'm concerned that I may be losing MUSCLE mass and gaining fat mass because I haven't been doing my weights routine. Did you know that you can lose weight when technically you are getting fatter? Or maybe the best way to describe it is that you're becoming fattier. I'd rather be 150 pounds but with little body fat instead of 120 pounds of flabbiness. I wish can say confidently that "Hey I lost 10 pounds" but that's not as easy a lot of people think. Did you know that losing 10 pounds means that you are visibly thinner? (I'm trying to pull a Kuya Kim moment here) It is also the equivalent of one dress size, more or less. So I'm not there yet.

Anyway, since I'm in the vicinity of the subject (the heck does that statement mean?? haha) here are some things I learned about dieting and weight management:

1. For women, 1500 calories per day is the way to go if you wanna lose weight. DO NOT go under 1200 calories unless you're in a doctor-supervised diet. Also, going under 1200 calories will make your body step on the brakes of your metabolism and slow you down. Slowing your metabolism is bad and I think you know that.

Actually, 1200-1500 calories is not bad and is filling, if you choose your food well. I usually have rice and fish for breakfast, then a banana and peanut butter or a packet of oatmeal cookies for midmorning, then whole wheat bread and tuna or chicken filling (I love buying a roasted chicken quarter and make a sandwich out of it) then maybe crackers and low fat yogurt in the afternoon. Fruits or veggies for dinner and maybe some tinola. I drink a 1.5L of green C2 or a Coke Zero and a loooooooooot of water. I don't feel unsatisfied at all, to my surprise.

2. Take smaller frequent meals than large meals. It keeps your metabolism humming all throughout the day.

3. Dairy is good. But choose low fat or non fat. I drink soy milk, no butter or cheese as much as possible, no mayo, and low fat yogurt. FIC (Fruits in Ice Cream)has a low fat and sugar free ice cream. We indulge in a pint occasionally. Not as good as normal ice cream, but good enough.

4. Stop treating yourself with food. Get a bag, a pair of shoes, or clothes instead. Allan indulges in girly magazines. Or save the money! If we do go out, we opt to go to "lutong bahay" places or those that are fine dining. The prices are higher (can't over-order) but the taste is better, so we still feel full and satisfied. Actually, we still bond over food, only healthier food.

5. Keep challenging yourself. To me it's an ego thing. Pushing myself. Why do I keep on trying to perfect those darned yoga poses? Because I don't want it to win. I don't want my cravings to get the best of me. It's an "I own you, suckka" kind of thing. If you get what I mean. Besides, why eat a donut when grapes taste sooo much better?

I'm happy to do this. I am so psyched!

Three Musketeers

2010-05-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Along with Cheetos, why did I discover 3 Musketeers only after 22 years? Whipped chocolate covered with chocolate. Simple and decadent and utterly yummy. It's technically candy, but I'm no snob. It's really, really good.

Now that we're dieting and all that, we can afford to eat it once a week, I just had one. I can die happy now. Haha

Jeje-attacked

2010-05-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

I actually remember this guy after he clarified who he is...this is someone I knew from high school. Now while I do not hate him (he's actually kinda nice?) I hate the fact that he is jeje-infected. Nash, you brought this upon yourself. Next time you chat with me, think again. Ooops. Actually, you CAN'T chat with me again.

8:58am Nash
hi..ems..

8:58am Me
who are you?

8:58am Nash
imposible..nmn..di..mkilala..
nash..kabatch..modti..hyskul..

8:59am Me
i don't know anyone with isonfire last name

8:59am Nash
sobra...

9:00am Me
huh?
dude you better tell me who you are before i delete you

9:00am Nash
nash..to..abdulsabur..
exage..ka..man..

9:01am Me
ok
i remember
what's up

9:01am Nash
atik..to..
musta??

9:02am Me
ok lang
and i'm not kidding
i most of the time just add the people who add me

9:03am Nash
cno..ngsbi..ngbibiro..ka..

9:03am Me
but if you change your name and i don't recognize your name anymore, i delete you

9:03am Nash
work..ka..na??

9:03am Me
nash
sira ba spacebar mo?? [FINALLY I REALIZE IT!!!]

9:03am Nash
alam..mo..exage..ka..nga..
uo..HEHEHE!!
cncya..periods..gngmit..ko..
hehehe

9:04am Me
sensya
di ko maintindihan sinasabi mo
i only talk to people who know how to use a keyboard properly

9:05am Nash
taas..nman..
nagmukha..ba..naman..akong..bobo..
sensya..ha..

9:07am Me
actually oo
and sayang dahil alam ko same teacher lang tayo sa english nung high school
and alam ko tamang english tinuro nya sa atin

9:12am Nash

so..what's..the..point..for..insulting..me??parang..may..kasalanan..ako..saiyo..ata..nangumusta..lang..naman..ata....ako..sensya..ha..matalino..ka..ata.. masyado..i dont belong to your level..

anyway..good day..

9:12am Me

buti alam mo
this sooo going on my blog

9:14am
what..ever..ems..
i..said..good..day

[aba, sya pa may guts!]

Anyway, I appreciate the fact that he actually chatted up with me. But it's useless starting a convo with someone that way. A chat, while informal, is still a form of discourse. When I read his messages it's like "work (stop stop stop) ka (stop stop stop) na (stop stop stop). I can't help it. My eyes/brain are programmed to perceive those punctuation marks that way. I cannot just ignore them and say "Ah, ganun kasi sya magtype." I can't do it.

Not that he SHOULD type that way.

Maybe I would even tolerate (for old times' sake) the use of sticky caps. But not the text typing and the periods-for-space thing. Again, I just can't do it.

Tears for Fears Concert, May 2, 2010

2010-05-07T06:09:00.001-07:00

So we went to the Tears for Fears concert. What can I say. I love them, I loved the concert and until now, I can still imagine when all the lights went out on Curt's cue after he sang the first verse and refrain of Mad World. I can still remember Roland's little speech "We have been to the Americas, to the desserts and Scandinavia, but Lord why haven't we thought of Manila." I remember how the people sang along and screamed after every song and how Roland had to cup his ears because he couldn't hear himself anymore.

I hate myself for procrastinating. I should have gotten the lower box seats when I had the chance. All that was left were the General Admission tickets (this was a week before the show) and I was forced to take them. Heck, I should have gotten tickets for the mosh pit.

But I really loved the concert. Or did I say that already. Some vids are on youtube and you can see the people having a grand ole time. Two things that were less than expected though: we front acts (Sandwich and Pupil) were godawfully dull. And we were seated next to a couple who seemed like they knew nothing about the band or the songs. We were all standing up singing along to Head Over Heels and Shout and they were seated eating popcorn like it was a damned movie.

Hoping Tears for Fears will be back soon!

Two Salads and Sushi

2010-05-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

So we are cutting the carbs and loading up on the freshies. Right here is iceberg lettuce, carrots, corn, cucumber and tuna with a simple dressing of oil and lemon juice with some basil.

I really don't like iceberg, but in a pinch it'll do. I prefer romaine or arugula because they have more bite and hold up better to strong dressings which I love with all my stony heart. There's this brand of packaged greens that we always get...it's good for four side servings or two main course servings for only around Php55. It has arugula, romaine, lolo rosso, butter lettuce and something else. Anyway, the dressing here is white wine vinegar, some sugar, some basil, salt and pepper.

OK so this is the salad where we used the veggie mix that I was juuuuust telling you about. This time it had celery, tomatoes, cucumber with a tangy sweet mango-yogurt dressing. All you have to do is to portion out the veggies, whisk mango puree or mash the pulp of one mango, add the yogurt, squeeze some lemon juice or vinegar if you like, then salt and pepper to taste. It was good!

And finally sushi. I bought a container of this from a Manang who comes to the office. They were, to my utmost surprise, very delicious! The fish was sooo fresh and the rice sticky and vinegary and the best I have tried so far. Not much to look at, but they were good and at 65 pesos for eight pieces, it was a steal!

Today's Purchases

2010-05-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

Never let it be said that I do not know how to shop.

Today I had a very painful back and my arms were plenty sore. So I was seriously thinking (though I did bring gym gear) to skip gym tonight. Instead, I burned off extra calories by walking and shopping. I was looking for shoes for myself because the ones I have and wear to the gym is pretty old and I wanted another pair so I can color coordinate. Haha

I got these:

Comfy and hot pink. When I'm wearing them they feel like the right size, but maybe because of the pointy toe, it looks like it's longer. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

So while I was looking around some more thinking that maybe I should buy more socks (and a gym bag...and gym shorts...and maybe a dry fit top?) this cap caught my eye:

I knew Allan would love this. An authentic 2009 Yankees World Series Championship cap. Ate Bombette already gave him the official one, but this is waaaay too cool to pass up, and I know he'll be super happy. And I'm right. Look at his face! I think it was a steal for an authentic item that is pretty rarely sold here in the Philippines. He's a big Yankee fan (I am, too, but compared to him, I am a mere novice) and we're totally ecstatic that they won the World Series last year. Just saying. :)

This buy is bordering on impulse, but sometimes impulses are right, you know? I certainly don't regret buying it. I would wear it myself if Allan didn't like it. It was really cool.

So anyway, tomorrow we are going to be up and early for the gym. There's a yoga class tomorrow. Also (and more importantly) the Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway is up and the gym has cable. Heehee.

Working Out

2010-04-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

Now if you know me at all, I am a person who is very comfortable in her own skin. I don't really mind if I am overweight, nor do I mind if people think that "sayang naman, maganda ka, pero mataba." For me, dress size and weight does not equate beauty. I do not envy those skinny models at all. I sort of even pity them, being so thin. I admire rounder and shapelier women. Who gets turned on by looking at a bag of bones? For me beauty is how you carry yourself, how you dress and how you talk and your intelligence. If I were a guy, I would rather go for someone I can actually talk to, rather than a jejemon who is thin but won't be able to carry on a conversation that does not have "po" or "you naman."

So I never did see why people think that a person is ugly because they're fat. I never see why a person is a "waste" because they're overweight. I do understand, however, if people are concerned about someone else's health.

Maybe a month ago, I finally got myself a gym membership. I think the biggest hurdle is actually walking through the door and saying, "so, how do I sign up?" The second biggest hurdle is going into the workout area and not knowing anyone and...anything.

But things have changed. I now know a few people. The nice receptionist still gets my name wrong, but you know, whatever. At least she DOES recognize me as part of the gang. The name I am sure she will remember after asking a few more times.

I promised myself to go to the gym at least 5 times a week, at least for the first three months, unless something more important comes up. I've been good so far. Going on the treadmill or lifting those goddamned dumbells has become relaxing for me. I can totally get my mind off work and just concentrate on the counting and breathing (which, trust me, does not come so very easy after running a couple of miles). I am also changing the dynamics of my diet. So far I have lost a pound and a half, which is a healthy start.

In any case, this is not an entry about my losing weight. It is an entry that celebrates different kinds of women, and the struggle to make others understand that there is always a story behind every woman who seemed to have "let go." Most people see a fat woman and right away they would say "man, that one is letting herself go." I, for one, gained weight after working nights at a call center, everyday hating my job but I still went for it because at that time I had no other choice. At that time I was also primarily taking care of our finances and also sending some home. At that time, I was a 20-year-old girl who had the genetic tendency to gain weight and a lot of stress. So I turned to the bad guys: soda, pizza, junk food. Food felt good. In hindsight, I realize how gross it was to have eaten all those things (imagine 1 gallon ice cream AND pizza AND cake) with no single thought of my health. It was easy to put on some extra pounds that way, but is it REALLY fair for you to say that I let myself go? Wouldn't you if you were in my shoes?

A young mother I met recently at my other job told me that she has gained so much weight (from 137 lbs to 175 lbs, 5'1", in one year) after her baby was diagnosed with cancer. She was working two full time jobs, one at an office and the other one home-based, so she can provide for her baby's treatment. She carried her laptop with her and worked in hospital hallways as doctors would operate on her sick child. She made a lot of money working twice as hard, and she would "reward" herself with all the treats she can eat. Like me, food was her drug, and the only thing that kept her going, quite literally. She's definitely not a slob, only someone who is trying everything to get going.

Can we also blame those whose parents have spoiled so much? Those whose families bonded over food and parties? Is THAT considered "letting go"? How about those with metabolic problems?

My whole point is for people not to be so quick to judge. There is always a story behind that fat girl scarfing down that bag of cheetos. I am not saying it's healthy. All I am saying is that you're not helping any, so shut your face.

Which reminds me to add this little footnote. I am not going to the gym for anybody but myself. I am the one with weight problems, I am the one with a family history of heart disease and hypertension. I am doing this for myself. I love Allan, but I am not doing this even for him, although I am quite happy that he is going with me. I am not doing this for fashion, or to fit into a size 0 or look sexy in lingerie. Those are only fringe benefits. Gone are the days when women want to look good FOR men. Most empowered women today want to look good because they want to look good and I feel the same way. I am terribly annoyed at people who even make this ignorant assumption. I am doing this for HEALTH, nothing more and nothing less.

Orange and Lemon

2010-04-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

I’m tempted to publish what I know are “photoshopped” pictures of Manny Villar with “Money Villarroyo” tattooed on his behind so I can challenge him to prove the photos are fake by dropping his trousers on prime-time news. I’m sure he’ll say, “Why would you ask me to do that when you know the pictures are fake?”

But that’s exactly what he wants Noynoy Aquino to do with the bogus psychiatric report that sources from the Nacionalista Party leaked to ABS-CBN News. He knows the report is bogus but he still insists that Aquino address its fake contents.

Villar’s foray into black propaganda is so crude, pathetic and desperate it reminded me of Mike Tyson biting off the ear of Evander Holyfield. 

— Manuel Buencamino, “Pseudologia fantastica,” Dispatches from the Enchanted Kingdom, April 14, 2010.

MLQ3 posted this in his Tumblr account recently and I have to say he has a point. It's also the same thing as saying:

One: "Why do you not believe in God?"
Two: "Because I can't see him."
One: "Can you see the wind?"
Two: "No."
One: "So does the wind not exist?"

-OR-

One: "Why do you not believe in God?"
Two: "Because I can't see him."
One: "Can you see your brain?"
Two: "No."
One: "So does your brain not exist?"

Or some other shit like that.

Two things: First, having writing on Villar's butt is not the same as having mental problems. Whatever Villar has tattooed on his butt will not matter, but the psychological state of the next president definitely will. Villar pulling down his pants will cause him unnecessary embarrassment while a psych exam for Aquino will clean up his name, and clarify the issue once and for all. What's he to hide anyway? Almost all presidential candidates are willing. Why not him? Why is he hiding behind the patient-doctor bullshit instead of trying to convince people that HE IS FIT? Gibo is willing. Villar is willing. And well, whether or not the others are willing is pretty useless anyway. What's up Noy?

Point 1.A: The test results do NOT have to be released as is. What the psychiatric investigating team needs to release is a clean bill of mental health, or a 'rejected' stamp. No need for details. Does that violate patient-doctor confidentiality? Not at all.

Second point: Is it so unreasonable for presidential candidates to take a psychological assessment? Is it so mundane and corny? I think not. It is necessary for the candidates and it is necessary for people to know who they are going to vote for. Every voter, in their heads, will have to weigh the risks. Mental stability is one of the risks that people have to consider.

The Aquino party said that they do not want to "go with the script" that the Villar team is baiting them into. How lame. This is not an issue between Aquino and Villar. This is something they owe to the Filipino. This is something between the candidates and the people. They should do it because they need to assure the people that they are worthy.

Leadership is not like believing in God. It has to be proven. And no sarcastic analogy will ever beat that fact. Nine failed bills in the 10+ years in the congress and senate. Nine bills seems skimpy already. But even so they all FAILED. Nine failed bills, guys. Nine.

Neighing Through the Competition

2010-04-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

This one will be short...I was kinda wiped out by that Villar entry. Researching is not fun on a slow connection.

Anyshoes, you know that thing about that contestant in Pilipinas Got Talent? The transvestite who sang Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo? Watch it here.

There have been many posts about this guy, and frankly, it's because they don't understand the song. I think the horse sounds are pretty spot on. For starters, Banal na Aso (Holy Dog) and Santong Kabayo (Saintly Horse) are terms in Filipino that denote religious plastic-ness. It is a story of a man who met two people, a woman praying a rosary in a bus who cursed the driver when he missed her stop and a man who's praying in church but refused to give a street child spare change. I'll translate it line per line.

Kaharap ko sa dyip ang isang ale
(In front of me in the jeep [a mini-bus in the Philippines] is a woman)
Nagrorosaryo mata niya'y nakapikit
(Praying, her eyes closed)
Pumara sa may kumbento
(Her stop is a convent)
Sa babaan lang po sabi ng tsuper kase me naghuhuli
(You can only get off at the bus stop, the driver said, or we'll get caught)
Mura pa rin nang mura ang ale
(the woman won't stop cussing)

Refrain:
Banal na aso, santong kabayo
(Holy Dog, Saintly Horse)
Natatawa ako hihihihi
(You make me laugh, hahahahaha)

*Note that the Pilipinas Got Talent inserted the horse sounds in place of "hahahahaha." It was pretty funny, and as I said, appropriate. It was mocking and funny. Drives home the concept of religious plastic-ness (I know there is no such word, get over it.)

Nangangaral sa kalye ang isang lalake
(A man is preaching in the streets)
Hiningan ng pera ng batang pulubi
(A street kid asked for some spare change)
Pasensya na para daw sa templo
(He said sorry but the money the passersby gave is for the church)
Pangkain lang po sabi ng paslit
(Please? I'm really hungry, said the street kid)
Talagang di ba pupwede?
(Can't you really give me any?)
Lumipat ng pwesto ang lalake
(The man moved to a different area)

Anuman ang iyong ginagawa sa iyong kapatid
(Whatever you do to the least of your brothers)
Ay siya ring ginagawa mo sa akin
(You do to me)

Refrain

So you see, aside from the notes that performer was hitting, he was singing this far better than the original band. Yeah, I the clothes are funny, and the face is...horse-ish and bony, but the performance was quirky, different, amusing and amazing. Can you make a horse sound in perfect C#?

I sort of resent that some people are PM-ing me that I should see the video and that it's weird and laughable. This isn't even about Filipino pride. The performance was good. Yeah, not Susan Boyle, but the Got Talent franchise is not about Susan Boyle-type talents.

I personally dedicate this to you, B. And your sometimes elitist views. Being American, you obviously didn't understand the song. I'm not saying this is how we should sing, or that he's the best, but you got it all wrong. He wasn't just doing the neighing because he felt like it. It was a well thought-of performance, I think.

And by the way, I know for a fact that you're tone deaf.

So Am I Proletariat? Because 8 of 10 are.

2010-04-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write this post. But I have been swamped with work and other stuff that I didn't have time. I wanted this post to be fair and me writing at the end of my day, tired, pissed and ready to explode, will not produce a fair entry. But today the cosmos conspired. The day is pleasant, it's a Friday and a holiday, I have a little money in my account and the cheesecakes are free at Starbucks. It all said, go get a double brownie fudge cheesecake and some tea, then sit your ass and write. So here I am, writing.

I am for Villar. If you have visited my page anytime in the month, I am sure you'll see that's pretty obvious. Why? Why will I vote for someone who used his influence to apparently change the C5 plans so it will pass through his properties? Why should I vote for someone who lied about his brother dying and him being poor?

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not paid by Villar, nor do I want him to. I am in no way related to him, though that will be cool. I am Facebook friends with Maryrose Villar, through the Tropang Zamboanga page. My cheesecake was courtesy of Starbucks, and I paid for the tea myself.)

I will begin by saying that when I go to the supermarket and buy tomato sauce, there is a reason why I pick up a can of Prego, or Del Monte and not Goody's Tom-A-To sauce. Because Prego and Del Monte have always worked for me. I'm a track record girl. For a spaghetti dinner I will cook for my mother-in-law, I put out the best I have. This is not the time for me to experiment with new brands. I will buy those brands because I know it's done well before.

If we were electing someone for say, Barangay Captain, it's fine to not give so much weight to track record, because that is the entry level. However, when you are voting for President, the highest position in the country, there is no room for experimentation. He better have a damned good track record, because if he messes up, it's going to affect a nice chunk of the decade.

Aquino simply does not have that track record. Okay, well he's gone through the motions of congress then senate, the same way we go through grade school and high school. But then again, did he ever make an impression while he was there? When did you last see him on television, rallying against a law he did not like? Corollary to that, when was the last time you saw him on television rallying for something he's FIGHTING for? I can tell you when. Never. In fact, he's never been in the limelight. He's not the smartest apple in the tree that is the senate. He was never interviewed to get his views on something, because well, he's never really had anything to say. And that's odd for a legislator. It's a red flag. A very bad sign. The only time we saw him again was when his mother died. And when he said he'll run. I hate to say it, but it really looks like he used his mother's death as a springboard.

Now Aquino is all "Ituloy natin ang laban..." but was he making "tuloy ang laban" four, five years ago? What laws or actions resulted from this effort? What laws did he pass to ensure that the freedom and democracy that his parents fought and died for is taken cared of? If he was really fighting the good fight his parents fought, why are we hearing this "ituloy ang laban" thing just now?

Villar has the background necessary for the job. He has a platform that is suited to for the presidency. He has passed laws (good job on the no smoking in public areas!) that have helped the average consumer (usage of recyclable materials in packaging, go green!), educational institutions (freedom of speech associations for students in higher education, digital education partnerships, creation of an institute for science and math) as well as small businesses and medical practice, among others. Now I know Aquino said the Philippines has too many laws that are not followed anyway and he doesn't want to add them? But heck, what kind of reason is that? There is a reason why you are a legislator...you MAKE legislation. Gah. Villar, he read the job description.

I'm tempted to discuss Aquino's medical record, but I realize it is in bad taste. So I will veer away from that if you promise me to be impartial about Villar's apparent lying about his poverty and about his brother's death until some documents are presented. I think it's a fair deal. After all, where are the documents, death certificate, ownership papers that will will verify these claims? The claims against Aquino are backed up by an actual document. So we'll wait for the anti-Villar documents to surface before I say anything further on this topic.

As for the C5 issue, it is carefully explained in his website www.mannyvillar.com.ph read it with an air of fairness and it actually makes damned good sense. On the matter of Luisita, however, how did Aquino respond? He didn't. This is a big issue for me. If you can't take of things in your backyard, you have no right to "take care" of other things, especially an already severely problematic country like ours.

I also do not agree with Aquino's plan to add years to basic education prior to college. He's going to add two to three years to basic education. I see that he is doing this to sort of pattern it to the educational system of western countries. First, western countries have junior high and middle school because they're only in school for a 7-8 months a year, not counting holidays and Christmas break, compared to the Philippines' 10 months. If you count it, the number of years or months that a western student is in school is almost the same as a student here. It's not about the number of years a student is in school. What we have now is good...it's the quality that's bad. Quality over quantity. Always. But we go back to the previous issue...did Aquino pass any laws to improve the quality of education? Will families have enough money to send their kids to three more years of school? They don't even have money to send their kids to first grade. We need more computers, more good teachers, more facilities for gifted students, cheaper private schools and better public schools. Better academic measurement standards. We need to give incentives to people taking up education, not frickin' nursing. I need to pay teachers better and on time. We don't need to put kids in middle school and junior high as a requirement.

Finally, we go to corruption. I'd like to say that Villar will not grow richer during his term, but that's not true. He has properties, businesses and other sources of income and if those are managed well, he will become richer. It's weird for us to expect him to become poor during his term. Duh. Following the same thought, Aquino will also become richer in office, because he is a shareholder of many properties. But will Villar become corrupt? Maybe. But I think that I'd rather vote for someone who has an ego big enough not to be pushed around and be pressured by other people in the palace. I'd rather vote for someone who has a big enough ego to not tolerate being told what to do. For me, that's Villar. He's a commander. You don't create large, successful companies by being a wimp. In my head, Villar has the presence, command and swagger to point his finger and say: "Get that bastard Ampatuan to jail now, finish that case in eight months." He's more the father figure, yes? Big, burly guy with a firm decision making skills. Aquino, more the bestfriend, sidekick material. But hey, I'm just saying.

We also cannot say Aquino will not be corrupt. So what is his parents are not corrupt? They're not him. He has never had power like that...unlike Villar who already has experience having absolute power in his companies. Thing is, we really don't know what Aquino is capable of. That's the problem. And I don't want to experiment.

Bottom line, Aquino was ill-prepared to take on a campaign for president. He's ill equipped to do the job. He is not his mother, he is not his father. If you're voting for Aquino, I don't want to know. Villar has many faults, sure, but Aquino has so many more lacks. Kulang. Hilaw. I'd vote Roxas over Aquino. Heck, I'd probably vote Jamby more than Aquino. Call me masa, because the truth is, earning less than 30k a month, I AM part of the masses. Except that I don't watch telenovelas.

Let's look at facts here. Let's not think with our emotions. I know people view Aquino as the pure-hearted innocent. But it's 2010, not 1986. We need more. I don't want to come to work in the morning and not be able to come home because there's a coup attempt in Ayala Avenue or wherever. If you cannot stomach Villar, vote for someone else, but please, not Aquino. If Aquino will win, I will seriously consider migrating to another country.

2010-04-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Don't you feel that people these days are becoming more and more homogeneous? You go into a lot of offices and unless it's a bank or a sales office, you will see men wearing slacks, worn leather shoes and a striped shirt most often not inserted into their pants. Women will be wearing slacks, flats (very rarely heels these days) or some comfortable but horrible looking platforms (think fitflops). And they were these things EVERYDAY. You wear a dress or a skirt? You're the frou-frou employee or the girly-girl. You wear heels and you're the hooker.

Some days I look at the rushing throng of people in my part of Makati and see them like the picture up top. Very few wear a blazer or some sort of jacket that doesn't have Adidas or some other sport label on them. You know, that business-like jacket or blazer that emphasizes a woman's form. They all just form a big, ugly blob of similar looking people. On Fridays, they wear a polo shirt (both men and women) jeans and flats or sneakers. Predictable. Excruciating. What's more is that sometimes, I allow myself into that blob. I know, it's kinda tiring to dress differently ALL the time.

And it doesn't take much to separate yourself from the blob. Wear a dressy skirt or a nice flattering day dress to work. Wear color combinations that do not include black. For example, white-purple-gray or light green and khaki. Pink and gray. Rose and sand. Ahhh endless! The black slacks and whatever collared shirt is so goddamned tiring already. Oh and tuck your clothes into your skirt or slacks. You look two notches professional if you do.

When it comes to clothes, I am totally against over-wearing. Meaning, the clothes you wear should be able to breathe and the fibers relax. If you launder them, say, weekly, they'll be fit for trash in a few months. So invest in clothing and allow at least two weeks before you wash and wear a piece of clothing. That means for work, having two or three blouses, button-down shirts, tank tops and matching blazers/jackets. Meaning around 10-12 pieces that you can wear interchangeably without wearing one twice in two weeks. Same goes for pants. I find it easier to have at least 4 pairs of slacks and same number for skirts. Or you can have a lesser number but with a thicker fabric so you can wear them twice and not have to wash them as often. The key here is not just fashion, it's longevity of your clothes.

Trust me, if you over-wear your clothes, I can probably make a graph and in a couple of weeks I can give a good estimate of what you will wear tomorrow. So you're going to be the girl who wears the blue striped button down shirt on Monday, the flowery peach one on Tuesday...The horror.

Oh but it's so expensive! Nope. Instead of buying your office clothes at Landmark or SM where it's Php350 a pop, go to ukay-ukay or online where you can get cheaper clothes. Your Php350 for a cheap mediocre shirt will be enough for two or three pieces with good fabric and style at thrift shops. You don't necessarily need brand new, only good quality clothes. AND sometimes, spend a little of that wad of cash you receive every fifteen days and buy yourself something decent from a good store. You owe it to yourself. Stop saving so much on that wedding that may or may not come. Leave the future in the future. It'll come, but not today. Today you've got yourself to take care of.

Have We Forgotten?

2010-04-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

With all the brouhaha that is the upcoming elections, how can we forget Maguindanao? Until today, wives, sisters, mothers, fathers, brothers and children still grieve in vain for the loved ones they lost. They are six feet under and pushing up daisies, silenced and missed forever. I wonder that now with people all hot and bothered by Villar, Aquino and all their madness, the dead and their families may feel all the more bitter about their lives unceremoniously snuffed by men that are still not convicted.

I know there are processes. I know we have law. But those processes are slow. And not merely enough to satisfy the anger that I'm sure is still boiling inside the families of the departed. So many people were outraged by the massacre and I was seriously hoping that that fire will burn until the criminals have already been sentenced. But look at the dailies, the blogosphere, and television and radio. We very rarely ever hear of the massacre anymore. We barely hear of the biggest massacre of journalists during peacetime. A little bit over four months and it seems that it was SOOO yesterday. We buried the issue in our memory just like the Ampatuans tried to do with the bodies.

Four months. I know of women who cry, blog, and lament over an ex for longer than that. Lots of them, actually.

So. Where are the hecklers who drilled the Ampatuans? Where are Twitter updates? Where are the blog entries. Where are the specials about the families of the killed journalists. Where are the coverages of the court proceedings. I'm looking for something, any damned thing, that will remind people that 'Hey, there was a body attached to that dirt and blood stained hand. And that body was murdered and covered with a banana leaf. And that place where they were murdered will forever have the stench of death and crime all over it.'

So. Where?

I am voting for someone who will hopefully put this issue in the top folder of his to-do list. I want him to promise that he will bring justice to this horrendous crime by end-of-year. And I want him to do this and wipe that stupid, confident grin off that monster's face and lock him up forever.

I am angry that I have forgotten about this, myself. And today, as we reflect on the suffering of Christ, may we all remember the suffering of those 57 people who got killed. I'm not even looking at them as 57 journalists, but 57 human beings whose lives are lost forever, like candles snuffed by a spoiled, belligerent child. Let's all remember their families and how lucky we are we still have ours. Let's all remember the fire and anger we had when we first knew about the massacre and let's keep that going. We owe them that, at least.

Sushi

2010-03-27T11:12:00.001-07:00

Do you like sushi?

Sushi is only one of things I like about Japanese culture. So okay I don't get the anime and all that other stuff, but the food, tradition, culture and discipline that the Japanese have is wonderful to me. That's the reason why I am so enamored to take up Japanese lessons...but I don't know. Maybe not.

Back to sushi, I have never tasted sushi that was made in true Japanese fashion and I am dying to do so. I love the taste of the sweet, raw fish and the bit of wasabi, the sticky, warm rice and vinegar mixture.

What are good sushi places in Manila?

TGI Fridays

2010-03-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

We went to TGI Friday's when we went to watch Alice in Wonderland (it's really sad some of you guys didn't like it because I really like the way Burton twisted the whole story) anyhoo, I just wanna say that I really, really, really loved the ribs. The pasta was pretty good, too. But compared to the ribs, man, it was nothing.

This is the Jack Daniels ribs. It's glazed with a sauce spiked with Jack Daniels that is all at once tangy, salty and sweet. The ribs were really marinated and each bite was tender and melted in your mouth. Super yum. The fries was a nice interlude but the star really are the ribs. I think this was around Php600? I can be off the mark, but it was around that range. The next time we eat here, we'll get the full slab, with more fries, slaw and maybe some rice.

I got fettuccine with grilled chicken, brocolli, sundried and fresh tomatoes and garlic. It was good, but probably not worth the ~Php450 I spent on it, especially compared to the ribs.

It's not normal price here at TGI Fridays but the servings are unabashedly huge. The pasta was good for two, at least. The service is also pretty good considering that there were a lot of people. A bit before we were served our food, some wserver rang a bell and music started to play and all the staff (except those who had serving trays during the time of the bell) started to dance. I shall upload when I get to convert it to some other format. The servers were real polite and accommodating.

One note, we would have wanted the ribs to be really hot...like right off the flames. The one we were served was already a bit on the "too well rested" side.

Drinking What?

2010-03-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

Volvic is probably the best water I have tried. Evian falling only second to it. Yeah, I know, Evian is more expensive (and this is definitely a scenario where the cheaper one is better) but Volvic is definitely better-tasting. It tastes like what water is described in books---pure, clean and refreshing.

It is not to say that Volvic is cheap. Actually, a 500mL bottle will go for around Php45 (local mineral water is around Php20 and Evian is around Php50) so it is not cheap. But I always keep my eyes peeled for sales because the price can drop pretty low, say around Php60 for a liter.

You can google Volvic and see how it is produced but true to it's name, it is filtered in the ground with layers upon layers of volcanic rock and it is bottled at the source. It has a perfect pH of 7, the pH water pure water SHOULD have, if I remember my chemistry lessons well. Evian is somewhere in the 7.2 in the pH scale I think.

I read in Marketmanila that Saveur rated Volvic as the best bottled still water in the world and I can easily why. It is markedly better than any other I have tried. Evian may be more popular, but I'd go for Volvic whenever I can. Go grab a bottle and taste it yourself. :)

Anyshoes, I also would like to make a note on Yingyang cooling tea. It's good. It tastes pretty much like gulaman without the jelly. And it is effective in cooling the body down. It's main ingredient I think (reading the label) is chrysanthemum tea, which I have featured before. It has really been used by the Chinese to treat fever because of it's cooling effect. Although I would recommend just drinking chrysanthemum tea alone (cheaper too), this may be an easier way to introduce yourself to something new-tasting.

At Work

2010-03-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

At work, I stare back at two monitors, which I truly believe improves my productivity. All the "work" stuff is on the left (work email, data management, sources) and to the left are "non-work" stuff (news websites, music, some other research stuff) that help the left monitor along.

I also have this thing for arranging my desktop icons. Work to the left, fun to the right (and I'm right-handed, just sayin').

I also want to say that I am NOT OC.

Or at least my being OC is very limited to my computer. Look at my closet and it is a hodgepodge of shirts and blouses, work and non-work (except for the dark colored ones which I kept in a maleta under the bed because who wears dark stuff during summer anyway? Figured it's a waste of closet space). My planner is everywhere and books, notes and pens are scattered about my drawer. What gives?

Hearty Meals Mean Meat and Carbs

2010-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

A quick trip to the grocery a week ago yielded this: ice cream, pasta, and makings of a meat sauce. That means ground beef and pork, garlic sausage and mushrooms. The meal won't be anything BUT light.

I want heavy meals. I resent light, wimpy meals because they make me end up eating more junk. Once I am full and satisfied, I won't crave for anything else. Well, except ice cream, of course.

My mom is the true origin of this sauce. However, she does not use the herbs and adds cheese or milk to the sauce to make it creamy. I cut that from the recipe and used herbs instead. I used fettuccine for this dish, but feel free to use any other pasta. Spaghetti will work, and I think penne will be perfect for it's saucy goodness.

So first, the ingredients:

500g fettuccine, cooked al dente
250g ground beef (or ground beef/pork mixture. some places allow that)
4 garlic sausage links, diced
small pack tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes (I like to use this for texture)
1 small can mushrooms, sliced
garlic
basil
italian seasoning
salt/pepper
bay leaf

Cook, cook, cook!

First, render the fat from the diced sausage. You know how longganisa because all yummy and flavorful once it gets a little burnt? That's what we're looking for. If the oil it renders is too little, feel free to add a bit of olive oil to help it along. After that, sautee the garlic and mushrooms in together with the sausage. If some of the sausage sticks to the bottom of the pan, that's ok. The stuck bits help the flavor!

Put the mushrooms/sausage mix to the side of the pan (like the picture) and cook the ground beef in the free space beside it. Allow the beef to caramelize, too. Once it's done, you can mix up together again.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Let it bubble a bit. Add the diced tomatoes and the bay leaf. Add the basil and italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper. (or alternatively, you can season the meats before adding the tomato components). Let simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir the sauce occasionally. You make add some pasta water or red wine if you feel that it's too dry or if dries up while cooking. This sauce is particularly forgiving so if it dries up too much, just add more liquid.

Once the oil separates from the sauce, then it's ready. Serve it with the noodles. Sure hit! Chewy noodles, flavorful and meaty sauce all make for a wonderful dinner. You can make this ahead and it stores very, very well. If you refrigerate it, it'll last maybe 2-3 days. If you'll keep it longer, stuff it in the freezer.

One tip, make sure that the sauce is COMPLETELY cooled down before refrigerating or freezing!

East Avenue Medical Center and How Pain Makes You Dumb

2010-03-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

Look at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC). This is the location of my next blog entry. Read on.

A couple of months ago, I was plagued by really bad abdominal pains. It was like gas...only worse. I couldn't sleep. After maybe three nights of suffering, I went to The Medical City for a checkup. The rather snooty doctor told me that it's probably just dyspepsia and prescribed Omepron. A couple of days of that and I was right as rain.

Fast forward to today, I arrived home from work at around 1:30am and I could barely stand straight because the pain was back. Back with a vengeance I should say. I tried liniments and hot tea to no avail. Threw up a couple of times to no avail. I joked about it and it joked back. I'm tellin' ya, when your stomach jokes with you, the jokes are often bad ones.

So Allan wakes up at 3 am to find me hunched over. Fearing that it's appendicitis or something worse than just gas or indigestion, we decided to go to the hospital. And not just any hospital, the EAST AVENUE MEDICAL CENTER.

I knew that this was gonna be a bad idea, us going to that particular hospital. Not that I am such a big believer in private hospitals or anything, but I have often heard on television that people who get into vehicular accidents or stabbings or violent holdups end up in EAMC. I was worried that I might not get medical attention right away. And I NEEDED medical attention RIGHT AWAY. The pain was soooo terrible that I thought, quite literally, that I must be dying.

We arrive (me in ugly shorts and a tshirt with Gumby in the front) and the attending nurse asks me right away what's up. Allan fills out a form and one of the nurses woke up a doctor (which I later gather is only an intern, I say only because they do nothing really). So I thought, "Ah good, it's fast."

Then I waited for 30 minutes. WTF???

The intern poked and prodded at my stomach and asked where the pain is concentrated. Then she asks me to lay down on a stretcher (with a thin foam covered with brown faux leather and no bedsheet). I became squeamish. But what the heck, I was in pain, maybe they needed me to be submissive and I don't really give a shit if the stretcher is dirty. Beside me was a man on another stretcher with a stab wound on his thigh (almost nicked his femoral artery) and in front of me was a motorcyclist who exfoliated half his body on the rough roads of EDSA. TOCINO. As in. They looked at me as the nurse rolled my stretcher to place. I resisted the urge to smile and say "Howdy neighbor." Pain makes me dumb.

It seems that the specialist that was skilled to check my condition is in surgery. So I was asked to wait. The intern's only job was to report to that specialist that some woman was there waiting for him. Me.

Then the nurse rearranged the stretchers after 15 minutes and I was now neighbors with a youngish man who needed surgery. His mother and father was beside him and his mom was the one who was pumping the ambu-bag (you know that oxygen mask with a bag of air attached to it). The man was writhing in pain or convulsion. I can't look. I just needed the frickin' expert to come along and make me well. Can you imagine being in this depressing place, with bad stomach and the urge to throw up? For thirty minutes? Why did I even go to this place? My medical card covered the faster hospitals like St. Luke's or Capitol Med, which are all pretty near our place as well.

I was really pissed by now. Two interns have already come to me only to poke and prod me some more. Isn't it clear where the pain is concentrated? Didn't I tell you yet? Should you keep poking my stomach more?

Then I heard the most disgusting thing I have heard from anyone working in the healthcare profession:

Mother with Ambu-bag and begging voice (the one with the child needing surgery, writhing in pain): Nurse, wala pa po bang doctor? Tingnan nyo naman yung anak ko...kanina pa kame dito...baka may magawa kayo. Wala naman kayong ginagawa dyan eh.

(This is all true. The nurses and interns where sleeping on their tables in plain sight. Other nurses weren't doing anything but walking here and there. And they arrived well before we did)

Nurse (snoooooooty as hell): Ma'am, wag nyo kame sabihan ng ganyan. Hindi nyo naiintindihan yung trabaho namin, kaya. Nagtratrabaho rin kame dito. Kanina ko pa sinabi sa inyo na wala pang space sa OR, kelangan ko bang ulit-ulitin? Umintindi naman kayo. Hindi kame doctor, nakikita nyo ba? Nurse lang kame. DOCTOR kelangan ng anak nyo.

Considering that the nurse really wasn't doing anything, considering that they were so lazy that they wouldn't even assist the mother with the ambu-bag, considering that they have waited there for an hour and considering that interns and nurses were sleeping in plain sight, how can that stupid nurse say that? How can she not just apologize, explain properly and assure the mother? Isn't THAT part of her job, too?

I couldn't take it. I told Allan that I wanted to go somewhere else. When he went back to the nurses/interns' station, he came back with a wheelchair and instructions that I should be taken to the ambulatory care department which was on the other side of the building. So we went and we found a doctor, an empty lobby and a silent department. They were sleeping, but THERE WERE AVAILABLE DOCTORS FOR MY CONDITION! He was just there. Yes, that specialist was in surgery, but there was someone else! Why did they make me wait?! I WAS IN FRICKIN' PAIN! The doctor poked at my abdomen one last time, and wrote out a presciption for buscopan and omeprazole. Not even 10 minutes and I was given a resolution.

As Allan headed to the pharmacy, the doctor gave me a shot of buscopan and told me that when the meds arrived, that I should take one each, and that I could lie down on the benches if I felt like it. It was so simple, so quick.

Thirty minutes after I drank the meds, the pain subsided. I was told to get an ultrasound and a blood test to rule out gallstones or any other factors. And we were gone.

I'll never go back to EAMC ever again? And I hope that snooty nurse is the last of her breed.

Never the "Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink" Kind of Bag Girl

2010-03-19T05:24:00.000-07:00

I have been reading more and more blogs that have at least one entry where
they describe the contents of their bags (some even do that everyday). There
are bags that are filled with mommy essentials---towel, extra tshirt, baby
powder and wipes---while others are a little bit more complicated (mascara,
contact lens solution, makeup kit, charger). Bag contents range from the
mundane to the ridiculous, like a can opener, and are, I think, true
reflections of what the person is like. It's just like a diary or an email
inbox.

So of course my attention is piqued. I have never really done an inventory
of the contents of my bag. I am sure though that the contents are skinnier
than most, as I usually bring only a small bag---practically a purse---so
it'll be easy to protect from snatchers. What I did find inside my bag
depressed me. Compared to other women, I seem to have such a spartan life
(and yes, I kinda resent that association).

Here we go:

Wallet. I have recently given up my red canvas Kate Spade wallet (shipped
off to momma, I think she deserves it more than I do) and got myself a
sleeker and less bulky Kenneth Cole. It's mostly just for the bills and
IDs...the coins go to the coin compartment of my bag, to be disposed of
asap.

Cellphone. Dawn (Broce) now has my P990i, and I now have a Samsung Star
S5233W. Look at how cheap my cellphone pouch is. I cringe at the
realization.

My kikay kit. That's a misnomer, really, because now that I think of it,
there's nothing kikay about my kikay kit except the powder. Inside we have:

Beach Hut SPF 36. I will never thank Nea (Ismi) enough for letting me into
the sunblock/sunscreen secret. It really is the key to younger looking and
happy looking skin. With this heat and with my new shift where I get out of
the house at noon, no less, sunblock is so essential. Just a week or so after I started using sunscreen, there is a noticeably healthier glow to my skin. Not FAIRER, but healthier. It's smoother and softer...not like it's a piece of tapa. My pores are also smaller. Yes, sun damage causes huge pores.

I bought a bigger bottle that Allan and I share but I carry this smaller bottle for touch ups. Beach Hut is a sunscreen technically (meaning it contains ingredients like salicylates and cinnamates, as opposed to sunblock's zinc and/or titanium
oxide) so just like similar products, it's oily rather than sort of pastey and leaves a white residue (which is the zinc/titanium oxide in sunblocks). It also disintegrates faster than sunblocks, so I reapply after I get off the MRT in Ayala. And because it's oily, it was NECESSARY for me to buy...

Powder. It's just Nichido translucent powder, which is good for my in-between complexion. It takes the shine out, without having to whiten/darken my skin, which I like. And that's the only reason why I have this.

Hand Sanitizer (aka alcohol). Some of Allan's OC-ness rubbing off on me. I
mean, this is pretty basic.

Wet Wipes. Watson's sells the cheaper wet wipes that are not THAT wet, which I like. They're also not soapy which some wet wipes tend to be. They're pretty useful...from wiping my desk to toilet seats to fresh stains.

Lip Balm. Same thing. The sun's drying out my lips and it chaps and hurts. So there!

Comb/mirror.

Planner/Pen.

That's it. No lipstick, no lotion, not even perfume. Can you believe that?
Even Allan brings a vial of perfume with him when he goes out. And he's a
GUY. I cheek tint at home sometimes, whenever I think I look a little pale,
but mostly I don't. Am I so blah? Well, I also have some of my meds (allergy
meds and sometimes biogesic) and my prescriptions (never know if when you'll
encounter a snooty pharmacist who won't sell you Claricort or Virlix when
you have hives all over your face unless you have a prescription).

No eyeshadow, no mascara and definitely no can openers. How boring. What's in your bag?

From Quezon Avenue to Cubao

2010-03-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Everyday I take a the train from Quezon Avenue to Ayala. As you can see in the photo, the trains are usually packed with bodies trying to squirm around for a better place to stand on until they reach their stop. That day I was lucky to have been able to find an empty seat on the bench. I sat beside this old-ish woman, maybe in her 50s, wearing shorts that one can classify as "pambahay" and a blouse with big prints on it. She was wearing bright yellow rubber slippers, her nails chipped and her feet a little cakey. Gray hair pulled into a ponytail with a decolores rubber band. She was a sight that is pretty common in the MRT. What got my attention was her hands, darkened by the sun and her nails yellow (too much detergent?), but she was wearing too plain wedding bands, one obviously too big for her that she bent it a bit.

The train stalled in one of the stations and as we waited for it to resume operating, she asked me if I can tell her what time it was. When I did, she sighed and looked worried. She told me that she was going to her daughter's because she's getting married in a few days and she will give the wedding rings she and her husband wore during their marriage. She does, however, needs to get the bigger one reshaped in Cubao.

"At least gold yung magiging singsing nila ba. Kahit papano may K naman," she said. She said that she volunteered to provide the rings, though at that time she had no idea where to get the money. But she knew that she needed to do it. She needed to present her daughter in the best light possible. Now that she hasn't come up with the money, she was left with no choice but to give up her and her husband's rings.

I can't answer with anything but a sad smile. What was there to say to this mother, who is like all other mothers I know who are poor? It's such a sacrifice to give up something that has been part of your life for the longest time. It must be hard to give up on a memory of a man you shared your life with. But such is the case for families like hers. Sacrifice is not sacrifice, it is but daily life.

I remember my own mother, who in her youth experienced being burdened by an infant. I remember all the mommy stories I heard from friends and the media. I remember all the stories that my grandmother told me about her mother who hid them underneath their house, covered with coconuts and banana leaves so they will not be discovered by the Japanese. I remember my grandmother telling me that when her mother died, she went to rural areas to offer haircutting services and mani-pedi so she can help her dad make ends meet. I remember her telling me that with her waif-like frame, she would haul bunches and bunches of bananas that were used to pay her so she can sell them in town. I remember these stories and cannot fathom just how much motherhood changes a woman. What strength she develops and what bond clings her to her child seconds after she holds that tiny being in her arms. No words are said, no handshakes are exchanged, no contracts signed. It's just there.

True, that maybe this is an experience I can get only when I become a mother myself, whenever that may be (not soon, for sure). The woman in the MRT got off Cubao. I didn't even get her name, or her daughter's name. I didn't even realize to greet her goodbye or take care or best wishes for her daughter. One second she was there, another she was shuffling off to the door, shouldering her way through rude MRT passengers, and she was gone in the throng of people that is Cubao. She was a tiny woman, maybe not even five feet. But she was a giant of a mother for making that sacrifice.

So I raise my glass to all mothers and/or wives out there. May you be a great one! Heck, I raise my glass to all ballsy women. Women who take control of their lives and not get stuck in the middle of irritating undecidedness. I raise my glass to women to take risks and rise above the rest whether or not she succeeded in her endeavor. I send out good online vibes for women who go out of their comfort zones rather than staying in comfort and sneering at those who made a leap. I'm hoping for a new breed of independent, liberated women to populate the earth. We've no time for silliness from the past. We act on our desires. We are FIERCE!

Finally, I raise my glass to all the men. It would be so boring without guys around.

Alice in Wonderland in Digital 3D

2010-03-11T10:04:00.002-08:00

So we watched. I had to convince Allan with dinner at TGI Friday's (super best ever ever ribs!) to go watch Alice in Wonderland. We just couldn't miss it. I don't care if he thought it was sissy or childish at first. I was far more interested in watching Tim Burton interpret Alice than Cameron showing blue people talking weird.

I secured a seat at sureseats.com (heaven sent!) and I made sure that no clients, overtime work or papers would interfere with my date with Alice, Mad Hatter and the Red Queen. When all was said and done, our bellies full, we grabbed a bucket of popcorn and two lemonades, 3D shades or whatever heck you call them and watched.

But before anything else, look at Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter.

And Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. The hair, the eyebags and weird eyeshadow, the pale face. I mean, Mad Hatter 2010 is just Beetlejuice with a college degree and a better stylist! How can you NOT be interested when you see something like that? I was hooked the very moment the movie posters were released.

(And if you didn't watch Beetlejuice, man, you should. Shame on you.)

So when the movie started, with Alice having recurring dreams, and his father assuring her, I knew I was in for a treat. No, this wasn't gonna be just Alice in Wonderland. When the next few scenes came on, I knew Burton was going to mix up Through the Looking Glass with Alice in Wonderland. I actually thought it was a good idea. The plot was simple: the rabbit returns to the "real" world to lure the now 19-year-old Alice back to Wonderland (in the movie, the place was actually called Underland. They made it show that Alice, because of her youth and innocence the first time she was there, just called it Wonderland.) She is to be the White Queen's "champion" who will kill the Jabberwocky and free Underland from the Red Queen and restore its beauty.

I have to tell you that this will destroy Alice in Wonderland as you know it. This is totally a different version of AIW and TTLG. The poems and songs that Lewis Caroll wrote fell prey to Burton's twisted mind. If you haven't watched the movie, Alice kills the Jabberwocky. Woops. Sorry. This was an interpretation of the actual poem, when the Jabberwocky is slain by the "son". I know, strange.

Alice killing the Jabberwocky is not part of AIW nor TTLG (as far as I can recall). In AIW, the Jabberwocky wasn't even mentioned. In TTLG, Alice's challenge was to get to eight rank to be crowned queen. Not to kill the Jabberwocky. It's completely twisted. My popcorn fell cold. I just couldn't eat anymore. This was TOO much.

So there were twists and an elaborate braid of AIW and TTLG components. I couldn't enjoy the movie if I really kept tabs on which is which. Suffice to say that the weave was so friggin' tight, it was a different story altogether.

The Mad Hatter will assist Alice in her quest to get the Vorpal sword (the only thing that can kill JW, Jabberwocky). The tweedles, will, well, be their own tweedling selves. The Cheshire cat will do nothing but, well, grin. The cat wasn't as important or emphasized here, at all.

One endearing character, whom I think is new, is Bayard, a bloodhound who is forced by the Red Queen's knight to track Alice down in exchange for his and his family's freedom. He was absolutely adorable. When he was finally set free and he was reunited with his family, I almost cried.

The themes were varied but were introduced so smoothly. Reality vs fantasy, crazy vs believable, good vs evil, acceptance vs rebellion. Signs of Burton everywhere...the arid land, the dry grass...the dark, misty background. All him. He really managed to make Alice in Wonderland such a dark, dreary story.

I liked what the White Queen said when Alice was deciding whether she can fight the Jabberwocky or not: "The choice must be yours because when your step out to face that creature... you will be alone" Meaning, don't do things to please anybody, for in the end, people will expect you to do things, but you can really only save yourself.

With all that said, Burton's Alice is great. I missed a lot of acting though. It so easy to make a computer generated thing act. But I miss the old-school acting, the same way Johnny Depp does it: the eyes twitching, the muscles in his face changing ever so slightly. But it was a great movie. Great movie.

On the Filtration Process Horizon

2010-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

A plate of linguine alla matriciana. Simple yet satisfying. Totally just 20 minutes to make (maybe less if you don't Facebook while waiting for the bacon to crisp).

What's you're favorite pasta dish? Where did you have it? For all it's faults in bastardizing Italian fare, I still believe that my mother's Pinoy Spaghetti with the sweet sauce and hotdogs is the best. My homemade Spaghetti Pomodoro is pretty close. To Allan, he said the spaghetti up top. Yeah!

I'm planning to make REAL carbonara, meaning one with guanciale, egg and cheese only. Did you know that carbonara is not traditionally made with milk/cream? Nope. It's just spaghetti tossed in a pan of crispy bacon, then you add a mixture of beaten eggs, parmesan/pecorino cheese and pepper and allow the egg to cook from the heat of the spaghetti alone. That's what makes it creamy.

I'm gonna try that out. Then I'm also planning to try some rice cooker bread which sounds easy, too. I also want to try making Momofuku style pickles. They sound easy and I love pickles, so I think it'll work out. The recipe is for fridge method pickles with just sugar, salt, vinegar and spices.

What recipes have you been meaning to try?

Salad, Salad, Salad

2010-03-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Going with our trying to eat healthy theme, we are eating more soups and salads and less meat and carbs. I don't really avoid rice since rice, boiled or steamed, is far better than, say, having bread (rice has no fat and is very filling), but we're still trying to cut back.

Making a salad is simple. Seriously. Anyone with enough brains to pick their noses can make a salad, hopefully with clean hands. First,you start off with fresh vegetables. If I were to make one just for myself, I would use more variety. I love frisee, arugula and spinach, but since Allan doesn't, we usually go for romaine.

So we start off with a seemingly benign looking bowl of romaine lettuce.

Don't use a steel/metal knife to cut lettuce. It becomes brown and will taste funky. If you have those fancy porcelain knives, you can use them, but your hands are the best tools, or a plastic knife (yes, like the ones you get at fast food places). Tear the leaves according to the size you like. I like leaving the inner leaves whole.

Now, one thing about lettuce, don't buy them pre-cut. A whole romaine will only cost you something like Php60 (and it's good for two), so just buy that and slice it yourself. The pre-cut and pre-washed ones are usually up to php85-115. I mean, come on. You only buy pre-cut and prewashed if you don't have a knife and water at home. Lettuce can get a little slimy, so make sure you run water through each leaf.

So, now you've prepped your lettuce...Oh wait, there's one more thing. DRYING. Once you get lettuce wet, it is hard to dry off because the corrugated leaves catch too much water and patting them dry might cause them to get smushed. I have no salad spinner *cough cough* but I'm Filipino so I do what we people do best: improvise. You know those net bags that fruit like kiat-kiat or ponkans sometimes come in?

Like this? Or something similar to this? Well, I put my leaves there, go out where the splatter won't annoy anyone and begin to swirl it around...like a lasso. It's fun! And it works!

So okay, now that you've really prepped your lettuce, let's go to dressing. If you lie vinaigrette, make something like that. But any dressing follows the same formula: acid, oil and flavoring. Say for example, olive oil, lemon and dill. Here this dressing is caesar (gasp! store bought!). Yeah, I know, but it was on sale! We used a couple of dollops of that plus some yogurt and drizzled it on. Then I crisp-fried (to take a lot of the fat out) a couple strips of bacon and added that to the salad. Then I grated a good amount of parmesan over it.

You're probably missing the croutons, but we didn't bother. It's pretty good. Now, I know you're probably shaking your heads. Healthy? Bacon? Cheese? Dressing? Well, I agree, but we ate this salad as a meal, without any carbs. Besides, the dressing is only 45 calories per tablespoon and we used only two. The aim is to cut back without deprivation. On normal days, we'd go get sinigang na baboy, ice cream for dessert and some chips for movie time.

And it looks good.

If I were to redo this though, I'd add tomatoes, cucumbers and maybe some fennel, with a light vinaigrette. Oh well.

Burp.

In case you're wondering, yes, that IS an ice cream container. We promise to use any plastic containers at least ten times before throwing it out.

from
www.filtrationprocess.blogspot.com

Zuppa di Pomodoro e Zucchine

2010-03-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

Tomato and Zucchini Soup. I just wanted to make it sound authentic!

Tomato soup is one of the best things in the world, especially when you need something to cheer you up. I love tomatoes and I am quite surprised that I never ventured into the tomato soup department any sooner.

The variations are endless. Fresh tomatoes, canned, crushed, diced and whole. You can go pure tomato or tomato and something else. You can roast them first, you can have a chunky soup or a smooth one. I'm thinking that some corn will go well with this dish, or maybe some chickpeas. Of course you can use a seemingly endless variety of beans. You can add diced carrots, celery and macaroni and you have a minestrone. I added zucchini because recently, Allan the Picky Eater realized that this vegetable doesn't taste so bad after all. I'm trying to incorporate any of the vegetables he eats into our food...maybe next time I'll do a zucchini and escarole soup and we'll see how that pans out. Maybe even ratatouille!

Anyhoo, the key really in a good tomato soup is the base. Once you get that right, everything should follow smoothly. It's not difficult and takes only around 20 minutes to make. I'm sure it's also cheaper than the ones you can get a restaurants.

For two hearty servings, you'll need:

1 can tomatoes Php55
-I used Hunts again, whole tomatoes. I diced them to make sure the soup is chunky. But you can go for tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes if you want it smoother.

1 stick margarine Php12
-You can use olive oil, but we had a two-week old stick of Buttercup in the fridge that we haven't even unwrapped yet, so I used that. It actually tastes the same if not better. But that's me.

1 large white/yellow onion, chopped Php8
-We like the taste of slow cooked onions so we used a large one. You don't really taste the onion in this dish even if it seems to be a lot. The cooking sweetens it and makes the dish taste well rounded. Feel free to use less. Make sure you mince the onions well so it won't look awkward later on.

Garlic, minced Php5
-I don't remember how much we used. I think it was about 2 tablespoons? Use the amount of garlic you're comfortable with.

Zucchini, diced Php20
-Cut the vegetable lengthwise and take out the center. It's not as easy as, say, ampalaya, because it's hard to distinguish the seedy pulp and the flesh, but just wing it.

Cheese, grated Php15
-I used Eden, because we had half a block drying out in the fridge. I also used some parmesan. I think this will be ok even with just the Eden, say, one baon pack.

Spices
-I used oregano, basil and Italian seasoning. I also used freshly cracked pepper and chili flakes.

First, melt the margarine on low-medium heat. It should not quickly disintegrate in the heat, rather it should melt slowly. That's the heat you want. Add the garlic while you still have around half the margarine to melt to start infusing it. Do not allow the garlic to saute. I prefer if it boils/braises in the butter because it softens the garlic taste. Sauteing can sometimes intensify the garlic and the soup'll taste like garlic, not tomatoes.

Next, add the onions and let that braise, too. Let it stay there until the onions turn translucent...around 5 minutes or so. After that, add the zucchini. Let the vegetable soften, around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After that, add the tomatoes, and allow everything to marry. You can turn the heat up the notch, but it should not go above medium. Boil once and simmer, stirring occasionally.

You may want to add some water to make it look like soup? I did...around 3/4 cup. Season with your spices. I'm kinda liberal with the basil and Italian seasoning and a bit conservative on the pepper and chili flakes. Add cheese. Salt to taste. Start with a small amount of salt since the cheese is already salty. You may wanna add some sugar, but we like it this way. For some reason, this soup will thicken even without flour or cornstarch, so when you've reached the consistency you like, you take turn off the fire.

You can top this with sour cream or yogurt, but since there's cheese in it already, we didn't bother.

So, I was thinking, we're having soup, so we need some bread, right? I like slightly stale bread for this one, I don't know why. I bought this baguette for like Php35 (two feet long) during the closing time sale of French Baker (50% off?). That night we ate half of it and I had to lock the other half in my underwear cabinet to keep it from Allan the Notorious Bread Midnight Snacker. I'm kidding. :D I purposely kept half of it so we can eat it for dinner the next day with the soup.

Okay, Allan asked me why not cube the bread and put it in the soup while it cooks. Actually, I think the original recipe calls for that. But I don't like it. The bread becomes too soggy and the soup ends up tasting like, well, soggy stale bread. So I cut the baguette up and served it on the side. We're compulsive sawsawan-ers, so we like dunking the bread into the soup.

There's the little dunk.

And the Big Boy Dunk. Yeah!

If you noticed, we shared the big bowl. Yeah, we're disgusting that way. I mean, we'll probably eat from the pot itself if our decency will allow that. But we aim for lesser dishes to wash, so we share.

This soup is pretty close to the one we loved at Napoli, but this recipe yielded twice as much as the one we had there. If you counted how much the total cost was, it was only Php115 without the bread. Even cheaper than Napoli's plus it had zucchini!

We're gonna make soup more often. We're trying to cut out heavy dinners, so having soup seems like a nice idea. We felt that it was filling and satisfying. And it didn't take so much time to make.

Souper!

The Drivers of My Life

2010-03-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

I hate commuting. If I were to choose one, and only one, thing that I choose to hate about this place, it would be commuting. Zamboanga spoiled me. In the old city I would take a jeepney or a tricycle to wherever and I'll be there in 20 minutes. I can walk from Ateneo to my house in under an hour. WALK! That means that I have to pass through two different barangays. Yes, all under an hour.

Here it takes me 2 hours to get to Makati from Quezon City on normal days. If there were some stupid drunk who had an accident on EDSA, my travel time can easily move up to three hours. I hate it. There's no other word for what I feel about commuting.

Drivers are important players of my day. My ride to work can be pleasant and reasonably quicker with good drivers. I probably experienced hundreds of different driving styles, but I have categorized them into three: the good driver, the driver with daddy issues and the fucked-up driver.

1. The Good Driver. Now we may have varying opinions about what a good driver should be. Some of y'all may not like fast drivers, but I do. This category is broad and forgiving. The Good Driver knows how to work the brakes. He knows when to set turn right and which lane to follow. He is confident and grasps the wheel firmly . He knows how to use the signal lights. Some good drivers may be fast and scary, but they always seem in control. Their driving gives the message: "I'm cool, doll. I'll take care of ya."

The Good Driver is hardly perfect. Throughout his life he his scrape his car or crash a fender. But he's good. He's cool. Riding with a good driver is like riding on a cloud.

2. The Driver with Daddy Issues (DWDI). Often, these drivers are newbies. They try sooo hard to be like Daddy, the way he drives him to school when he was young. But he tenses up, hits on the gas and hits a tree or a parking pole. He is a driver who will drive you nuts, a driver whose driving will cause you to wear your seatbelt a little tighter than usual and make sure that your airbags work. Your nerves are on the edge, and you're still in the driveway.

I have a theory that DWDI's are those who drink to calm their nerves and end up dead. But hey, that's just me.

3. The Fucked Up Driver (FUD). FUDs are people who simply don't care. They hit the horn and turn a sharp right and hit on the breaks when someone will get off the next stop. FUDs are reckless, and they care little about the passengers who are probably puking their guts out.

Whenever I encounter a FUD, I feel like my brain is being shaken like a mojito. I feel like telling them to go straight to hell.

Tomorrow, I will go out and pray to the Driver God for a good driver.

A Throw-It-All-In Version of Alla Matriciana

2010-02-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

My mother always told me that a woman, a married woman, especially, should know how to cook. No, no, it's not one of those "A Man's Heart (and your mother-in-law's) is Through the Stomach" lectures. It was more of a lecture on how to keep your man (it's strange, I know, but...whatever).

She told me that women who do not know how to cook are merely "Mujeres Por La Cama" which means, "women for bed." A woman must know how to entertain a man in and out of bed, in the kitchen included. She must know how to entertain his friends, stand her ground, work for her own funds and generally run a tight ship at home.

Frankly, I've no time to cook and recently, Allan's schedule and mine doesn't really allow us to sit down and have a normal meal. We would usually just buy food on our way home and eat that together. So I thought: "I'm being such a loser of a partner these days...I'll cook Alla Matriciana this Saturday!"

The text part is becoming long, so let's get us some pictures!

Bacon. A little background, Alla Matriciana is actually uses Guanciale. It's an Italian smoked bacon made from the pig's cheeks. What's so good about it is the yummy gelatinous goodness, malinamnam-ness of it. You really can't substitute just plain bacon and get the same taste, but it'll work. I tried scouring four different groceries and found no guanciale. I think I have to go to Galileo Enoteca or Santis to get some of that. And the trip is not something I wanna make. Besides, I wanted this to be a quick, whatever's-in-the-fridge meal. But if you can get guanciale, go get. The bacon here is just Purefoods, the smallest pack.

Canned WHOLE Tomatoes with the juice from the can.I used just one can. In the picture I already diced the tomatoes, but be sure to get whole ones. Italian tomatoes (San Marzano brand) is better, but it's expensive. I used Hunt's whole tomatoes and it's great. I guess you're asking why get whole tomatoes then dice them, when there's canned diced tomatoes and simply just tomato sauce? Whole tomatoes are better because they still have shape. You buy diced tomatoes and the contents of the can would look like a chunky puree. You will want to actually SEE that there's tomato in your dish (adds to the appeal) and not some red stuff, hence no tomato sauce. Besides, canned whole tomatoes have a fresher and lighter taste than tomato sauce. But either will work. I wouldn't get stewed tomatoes though, that's tasty but since it usually has celery and peppers in it, it won't be good for this recipe.

Pasta, of course. You can use your favorite brand and type for this recipe. However, you'll need to adjust the soupiness of the sauce when using tube pastas. I used San Remo, but that's because it's on sale and Momma told me never to pass up on sales of basic necessities. I cook mine for around seven minutes only, al dente, meaning the pasta still has to be THIN and not engorged. Salt the water, but no oil.

Spices. I used Italian seasoning (marjoram, sage, thyme, rosemary and something else I can't remember), basil and a little bit of weed. Kidding, that's dried oregano. I would have used fresh basil, but the stash in the fridge is black already, and the oregano in the garden was feasted on by our dog. But fresh is best! A friend gave me a whole army of McCormick spices during Christmas, so why not? Since this is just for two people, I put in a small palmful of basil and oregano and one and a half small palmful of Italian seasoning.

Of course, there's garlic and a bit of chili flakes. But no onion please! The original recipe does NOT have onions, so since I've bastardized this recipe with the bacon, I prefer not to add salt to the injury.

LEZGETCOOKING!

First, brown the bacon. Some will want their bacon crispy, but we like ours a little chewy, so it's up to you. If you crisp it up, though, drain some of the oil before adding olive oil. After that, add your garlic.

Once the garlic is cooked and aromatic, add the tomatoes. I would add some wine, to deglaze the pan, but we've no red wine in the house (larder is practically empty during the weekend). In any case, the tomatoes will deglaze the pan anyway.

Once it starts to bubble, add the spices. You can also add some pepper at this point. A note on pepper, freshly ground pepper tastes much better than the already powdered ones you buy in stores. However, I don't have a pepper mill myself *cough birthday August 14 cough* so I just buy whole peppercorns and grind them myself with a good ol' wine bottle everytime I cook.

Let the whole thing cook and simmer. You'll know it's done when the oil starts to separate from the sauce. It doesn't have to be dry, but it shouldn't be too soupy, too.

So, what else should we do at this point? Toss the pasta!

Traditionally, you top it with pecorino romano. But a lot of restaurants use parmesan, so that will work as well.

A tip on buying hard cheeses, some groceries sell cheese by the gram, or by wedges. Get those than those shake-'em things in plastic containers. Nothing very bad about those, but say, 250g of cheese will yield a lot of grated cheese, much more than what's in those plastic container, so they're better value.

Allan said that it's the best pasta he's had (maybe he doesn't want to do the dishes) but he finished up a lot of it. It's really good, seriously. You can't go wrong with bacon and tomato.

Droste Holland Pastilles

2010-02-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

It's Valentines, and even though we're not really that kind of couple, I do still get that craving for chocolate. So while in the grocery the other day, Allan picked out his beloved M&M's (he hates toblerone but loves M&M's) I picked Droste Holland Pastilles (in the check-out counter display, talk about impulse!). I got the Extra Dark, 75% chocolate. I was thinking it's 75% cocoa, for only Php80, so maybe it's gona be crap tasting, but what the hell?

Turns out, it doesn't taste like crap at all. In fact, it's pretty good. Much better value for money than the Php88 per piece of some "Fine" Venezuelan chocolate truffle I bought in Cacao in SM North Annex. Php88 per piece for chocolate the size of my thumb. I was somehow tricked to buy that.

Anyway, back to Droste. It is definitely not the high end stuff but there is that snap that characterizes good chocolate from bad ones. It's appropriately bitter for 75% and melts just like any good chocolate. For one, it does have a sort of metallic or astringent aftertaste, but it's very faint. For the money you pay for one tube, it's a deal.

The packaging is convenient, too. The tube is easy to pack. I love the fact that it comes in tablets, because it's really too much for one sitting. I ate I think 5-6 pieces, and Allan ate I think 3. There's more left over. One tube I think has 12-5 pieces. I didn't count though, so this may be off the mark.

This may not replace the place of Valrhona or even Lindt in my heart, but this is definitely chocolate that I will buy more often.

Today, Kenny Rogers

2010-02-07T03:44:00.000-08:00

We went back to SM North to get our router replaced. It was a real freaking bummer because I didn't want to leave the house today. But the router we got just the day before was not working so we have no choice.

We finally get the store to give us a replacement. It was past noon (actually closer to 4pm) and without lunch, we are definitely needing a big meal. We settled for Kenny Rogers.

I have to tell you that Kenny Rogers is pretty much an old reliable. When we're at a mall and we're not feeling anything fancy, but want real food (meaning not Jollibee or Mcdo) we go to Kenny Rogers. Not very cheap, but good and hearty.

Allan went for the ribs, as he usually does.

A funny exchange went:

Me: Are you sure you want mashed potatoes AND rice? (We are sort of trying to eat healhier)

Allan (walks over to the sides selection): Oo nga noh...sige Cheesy potatoes na lang.

Me: (one eyebrow raised)

Allan: O yung steamed veggies na lang.

We got both Solo Plate B's. His was ribs with corn and carrots and steamed veggies. Mine was chicken with slaw and fresh fruit salad.

Pretend that I posted a really crisp picture, coz I took none else.

I like Kenny's. It's clean and reliable. It's pretty affordable. It's also very fast, convenient and undeniably good. We left satisfied.

Vanilla Ice Cream, Two Ways

2010-02-07T03:29:00.000-08:00

Vanilla ice cream is the most bought and therefore the most favored ice cream flavor all over the world. Me , I like the simple decadence of vanilla. The clean, creamy flavor of it and it's flexibility. It can be eaten plain, or with different kinds of syrup. I love it in ice cream, or like in the photo, as vanilla ice cream sandwich.

I used the grilled bread from Cibo and it really worked. The bread was chewy and a little salty. It perfectly foils and enhances the flavor of the vanilla. It looks good, too.

It's real pretty...I would add some strawberry preserves if I had any.

Then there's the float. I love float and really, soft serve ice cream does not cut it. I prefer orange coke float, Allan prefers the more traditional root beer.

Don't bother putting ice into the softdrink. The vanilla ice cream will definitely float, because well, it's ice after all. Make sure not to scoop too much ice cream because it can bubble over. Yummy treat for the entire family. I also love making milkshakes. Just blend together the soda and the ice cream and you have soda milkshake. If you have fresh fruit, then that will work, too.

Not saying that this is healthy, but once in a while, we all need some indulgent stuff.

Cibo @ Trinoma

2010-02-07T02:46:00.000-08:00

Frankly, I was feeling a little apprehensive trying out Cibo. We don't eat out cheap, Allan and I, but we were deathly scared of eating food that is served for chi-chi looks rather than substance. I was scared to pay Php250++ for a plate of ten strands of pasta, or Php400++ for pizza that tastes only a notch higher from Greenwich. We would rather pay a little bit more as long as we are going to stuff ourselves silly.

Before I move forward, let me tell you that Cibo did not disappoint in the size department. They mean it when they say La Famiglia. We went in and the interiors were really sleek and modern, the waiters pretty damned good looking. Right away the asked for the size of our party and gave us a nice corner couch.

We set the spending limit to Php1000. And we agreed to skip the mains first and go to what we feel is essential Italian fare---pizza and pasta. We started with tomato soup. Point towards Cibo: the waiters were pretty knowledgeable about the menu. They offered to split the single order of soup into two (yes, please) and right away served water (cold, with ice, glasses so clear and clean). Soon after, the soup was served. It wasn't even 10 minutes I think.

This was good, but not great. I like my soup chunky, but this was a little bit too much so. And the bowl was too hot. I don't like that. The bowl should be warm, but seriously, I couldn't touch this one. I still say that Napoli is still by favorite place for tomato soup. For Php175, it's ok. Just ok.

Next up was the pasta. The whole meal was served completely in about 15 minutes. Well, that is good...but I'd prefer for them to serve the next orders when they see we're already about to finish the last one. But then again, they serve when it's cooked and hot, so that's fine.

We got La Foresta (you can correct me here). Pasta with olive oil, slab bacon and black olives and tomato. Another photo at the very top of this entry. Gaita Fores really taught her staff well. The pasta was al dente. Just perfect. Nothing more than al dente. We loved this pasta and finished the entire La Famiglia order pretty quickly. It was a little bit salty, but then again I like salty, so I didn't mind. Could have used more tomatoes. We didn't eat the complimentary heart shaped bread because we didn't load up too much. We took the three pieces home. I've never been to Cibo before so I'm not sure if they really do the heart-shaped bread thing or maybe it's just for valentines.

Another note on service, although different servers attended to our table, they were not annoying and simply refilled the water glasses pretty efficiently. We never even had to ask for a refill. They just magically appeared with a pitcher.

Finally, we got salami pizza.

It's served with arugula leaves on top. A nice touch. I do like some vegetables in my pizza. The arugula was a great way to offset the fattiness of the pizza. I have to say that the crust of this pizza is great. It's chewy and crispy all at the same time. It's also thin, but not paper thin. It was good. I still think that the pasta was the star, but this is a pretty good runner up.

Another note on service: I was looking for chili flakes/oil for my pizza and sort of looked over the condiments area to see if I can get any there. The waiter saw me looking and automatically brought over chili oil and chili flakes to our table.

Over all? Around 7/10 for the food and value for money. It was good, but it is still a little expensive. But then again, this is a nicer restaurant. We might go back, say, on a good payday and try out more of their food. Service and ambiance is definitely a 9.5. You do not see such efficient staff everyday.

The Beautiful Tomatoes

2010-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

These wonderful specimens are, I'm proud to say are only Php50/lb. Grape tomatoes can be pretty expensive if you buy them at groceries and those don't really taste that good and sometimes even bitter because they've been refrigerated. Tomatoes don't like the cold and turn mealy when they're stored in a cold area. As much as possible, I don't buy tomatoes from the grocery, and if I have no choice, I make sure to get those that are in the carts or non refrigerated veggie stations. They generally taste better.

I love tomatoes, and I have said that many times in this blog. These tomatoes were good as is and all I had to do with them was to wash, cut the larger ones and throw them in with a little salt and some salted eggs. They were sweet and juicy. Nothing can beat that sensation you get when you bite into a really fresh tomato and the flesh breaks to release the juice. Yum.

This will also be great in other salads. I would prefer to keep the dressing light though, to maintain the goodness of the tomato.

I'm a Free Bitch, Baby

2010-02-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

I know I have been quoting Lady Gaga several times now, and honestly, I don't know why. Maybe I'm listening to her music too much, or maybe her songs are playing on the radio too often. Whatever the reason is, several lines in her songs relate to me and the title of this entry is one of them.

Yeah, baby. I'm a free bitch.

I don't know if you look at me and see a sexually hyperactive, liberated person because some of your comments on my Facebook wall seem to suggest that you think that. I hope not. Because I'm not. Wanting to step away from life provincial does not mean that I want nothing else than to fuck my brains out(sorry Mom).

The reason why I am here is simple. If I hadn't left, I would be a broke, unemployed, overweight out-of-school youth who will always envy her friends who have the good fortune of getting their diplomas. I wouldn't have the money to go out with you and I would not have the enough confidence to even look you in the eye. In short, even if I stayed, I will just end up isolating myself from you because I'm different. I am now part of the statistic, and not in a good way. I will be part of the demographic that Manny Villar wants to uplift, rather than a functioning member of society. Leaving Zamboanga was the option I took not because of the promise of bright lights and fancy nightclubs and bars. I left Zamboanga because that was my only chance of redemption. And truthfully, I'm better off. I am able to take care of myself and my family more. I'm proud of that.

But those are decisions I made. I know they're not for everyone and frankly, if you don't NEED to make decisions like mine, don't. I am not the type of person who compares battle scars with other people because while my own scars made me who I am right now, I certainly have no right to tell you you're a lesser person because you took the easier path. Life deals out different cards. This was how my cards were dealt and this was how I played it. If you're proud of the way you played yours, then I'm proud to be your friend.

Bottom line, I don't need you to be like me just so you can be my friend. I don't need your admiration, just your friendship and ultimately your acceptance and respect. Keep the patronizing for yourself. I'm not god. I don't need adoration before you say your intentions.

I like the way things are now. I really am a free bitch. I'm so lucky that I have that freedom. I look at things differently now because I have graduated from that phase of idealistic, I-will-change-the-world frame of mind (sad as that event may be). I have accepted that maybe I can't change the world, after all, but I still can change myself. I still can have FUN. I can do the things I want, stand up for whatever I want and go home to blog about it. But that's ME. That's how I wish to live my life.

Finally, Henry and I have talked about this. Since we have just started to live lives a little bit more complicated and now care more about where to get the rent, the next meal or how to fit that F&H or Zara sale into the budget, we learned to let things be. Let it be, Jollibee. I'm hoping that you'll (you know who you are) do the same thing. And maybe, if the friendship overgrowth is not too great, then we might again sit down and talk over tea and cake, be it here in Manila or in the old city.

www.filtrationprocess.blogspot.com

Bread Pizza

2010-01-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, invariably, you get a lot of leftover bread. Bread pizza is a great way to use them up. Up top is leftover spam, pineapples, cheese and tomato paste.

I got the idea from Fli's site, and I'll link it to here in a bit.

Take any bread you have there, and drizzle some olive oil on it. Or spread some garlic margarine on it. Or butter. The idea is to create a sort of barrier to prevent the tomato paste from seeping into the bread. It also prevents it from drying out.

Next, add tomato paste, a bit of warm water and a touch of sugar in a small container. Mix it up and spread this mixture generously over the bread.

Top with whatever meat you want, tuna, or just vegetables. If I had any, I'd put broccoli, peppers and spinach. Yum

Top with cheese and with even just a small toaster oven, toast the bread for around 10 minutes (depending on heat) until the bread is crunchy and the cheese melted. Very good for merienda!

www.filtrationprocess.blogspot.com

The Dip That CAN

2010-01-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

I have told you about Allan the Picky Eater. For me it is always a challenge to make him eat more of the things I like and more of the things that are HEALTHY for the both of us. Honestly, no one is getting younger and more than just the desire to fit into a size 4, I personally want to live a longer and healthier life. I wish I can make more time for exercise, but for now, I can't. So we're trying to eat healthier.

Up top is a veggie plate that I prepared for movie time the other night. There were more asparagus, cauliflower and zucchini available, but for presentation, we made it prettier. Haha

You can imagine that as I was slicing the veggies Allan was clearly not happy.

"Ano na naman yan?" (what is that this time?)

"Veggie platter. For the DVD marathon."

"Ikaw lang naman kumakain nyan" (You're the only one who eats that)

HAH.

The key: DIP. Now you can buy any ol' dip from your grocery. I sometimes do. I usually get caesar and ranch but they can get tiring sometimes, and making your own dip is just more satisfying. Tastes fresher, too. I'll give you three dip recipes that even picky eaters will approve of! I think a good rule of thumb is that dips, when served for picky eaters, have to be thick enough to black out the taste of the vegetable, hence the use of mayonnaise. As they begin to open up to the idea of eating vegetables, you can try using less flavor-masking dips.

Anchovy-Mustard

3-4 fillets of anchovy
about a cup of mayonnaise
-I used low fat mayo...with the other ingredients packing so much flavor, you really won't notice that the mayo is a bit less rich than the usual. You can also use Greek style yogurt, plain yogurt or sour cream.
1-2 cloves garlic, grated or one pack garlic powder
-personally, I liike garlic powder (no salt added) because sometimes raw garlic can become a bit too pungent. Allan loves fresh though, so I just use less.
Dijon mustard
-Prepared mustard or yellow mustard will do well enough. But I just like Dijon because it gives it that extra oomph and makes it taste more resto-ey
lemon juice, eyeball it (meaning, tantya)
white pepper (black is fine, but I like to not discolor it and make the dip look gray)

Mash the anchovies and add into the mayo. Mix well. Add Dijon, mix well. Add garlic and some lemon juice. I like the consistency to be a bit on the watery side (aka like plain yogurt) and not like tomato paste, so I use a bit more lemon juice. But feel free to experiment. Add the pepper and you're good to go.

I found Dijonnaise in the supermarket, might work, too.

Steaksauce Dip

This one we tried at NYFD (New York Fries Department?). Allan loved it and when I tasted it I crossly told him (imagine buying that extra dip for an unreasonable amount of money!) "Bilib ka na dyan, eh fajita seasoning lang kaya yan. I put the same stuff on rice, minsan." To which he said: "Ah. Kaya pala familiar. Mas masarap sya sa patatas." Hmf.

So I guess the secret ingredient here is out!

Mayo (or whatever mayo substitute you want)
Fajita seasoning, recipe here.

Just mix 'em together for a few Mississippis and you're good to go. If you want, you can add spring onions or parsley.

Chili-Garlic

I love this best on the sweeter vegetables like carrots. The flavor contrast is wonderful!

Mayo (or whatever substitute you want)
Lemon juice
Chili powder/flakes
1-2 cloves garlic or a pack of garlic powder (no, I didn't copy-paste this from the first recipe. haha)

Mix all the ingredients together. You may need to add a bit of salt to bring it all together.

A little tip on the veggies: first, some vegetables are actually tastier raw (at least for me) like celery, zucchini (skin on, makes it taste nuttier) and cucumber (skin OFF, unless it's really thin). Broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus, while can be eaten raw, are better received when steamed for 3-5 minutes (broccoli and cauliflower). Asparagus takes under a minute for thin stems and 2-3 minutes for the real thick ones. Carrots take around 3-5 minutes, too, depending on the thickness of the cut.

You can retain much of the nutrients in the veggies when you microwave them. 2 minutes on high for broccoli and cauliflower, 1 minute for carrots, 30seconds to 1 minute for asparagus, depending on thickness. After cooking, in either method, plunge in cold water to keep them fresh and happy looking.

www.filtrationprocess.blogspot.com

Avoid Drinking. But Who Am I Kidding?

2010-01-23T06:59:00.001-08:00

I love to drink. Most of the time I love to drink because that means that I am with friends and that I've no work the next day. Personally, I have a five-drink rule, which I will explain later, and that always works. I truly think that having your own rules and knowing yourself when you've had a few will really help you from becoming THAT guy/girl who ruined the mood for everyone.

But just like anything else, a night out with friends is not all happiness and fun. Usually the big blow comes the next day when you wake up listening to those 5 shots of Stoli Elit pound a nice steady rhythm into your ears, your eyes and your stomach. If you're like me who's living with someone, trust me, the sight of you all effed up is not nice. And seeing the other person looking at you that way will only make you feel shittier.

So let's go back to my five-drink rule. Quite literally, it means that you should limit yourself to five drinks. But it also means that you should also do five things before, while and after drinking.

Spam and rice, then Martini and heels.

Rule 1. Eat. Now I don't want to hear about dieting and that stuff because you have to eat. The reason why the next day or even just later that night you feel like throwing up is because the alcohol is irritating your empty stomach. So eat heartily, and if possible, eat something fatty or milky. The fat lines your stomach and delays the effects of alcohol. Now that is NOT reason to drink more. But it will make sure that you get to spend more time with your friends before you feel sick. It will save you a lot on over marked up bar food, if for nothing else.

Rule 2. This is totally just my observation, but staying with clear, distilled and "purer" alcohol leads to less or NO hangover. I've read that what causes hangovers, other than drinking like you haven't had any liquid for the last 4 years, is the impurities in the alcohol. So sticking with Vodka, gin, white rum or sake will help you the next morning. Oh and by the way, to even narrow that down, stick to a certain "family" of drinks. So if you prefer Vodka tonight, go for Vodka-something. Don't mix Vodka cocktails with other non-vodka based cocktails and MOST definitely NOT red wine. Non-vodka based cocktails can have more alcohol content and therefore make you even more drunk. Mixing spirits with wine, though will probably not affect how drunk you are (wine often has less alcohol than any spirit) will most probably bloat you up.

Rule 3. Keep eating in the bar. Little stuff like pretzels or nuts or a veggie plate with dip will help keep the tummy rumbles at bay. It will also keep you busy so you won't finish off your drink too fast. For my five-drink rule, I usually order a new drink every hour or so. In between, water will be fine. Water is great, even, because it keeps you hydrated and that will lessen the effect of the alcohol.

Rule 4. So...you're still alive! The cab driver did not turn out to be a serial rapist, after all. If you can, pass by a convenience store and get a gatorade. It, again, hydrates you and gives back the minerals and electrolytes you've lost after drinking and dancing. It also helps maintain your blood sugar and that's important if you wanna avoid a hangover. Hypoglycemia is one of the symptoms of a hangover and it causes dizziness and nausea (think sugar lows).

When you're home, kicking off those heels, taking make up off and getting ready for some beauty rest, pop a 500mg pill of vitamin B complex (StressTabs will do, too). Hangovers are also characterized by a B complex deficiency, so taking a supplement will greatly help you kill a hangover.

Rule 5. The next day, most likely your hangovers aren't as nightmarish (if you have it at all) but you still need to remember to maintain hydration and to eat. Some people I know use a laxative tea to make sure everything gets flushed out, but I'm yet to try that. Formally, rule number 5 is the "don'ts" rule.

DO NOT: drink aspirin. True, it will help relieve the headache (if any) but it will also cause liver damage and after the drinking, you don't need that. Besides, the nausea and the dizziness is a symptom of a bigger problem, usually, as said above, hypoglycemia.

DO NOT: drink more! Of course it will work at first. Alcohol has a sedating effect. But it will only delay THEN worsen the scenario.

So before you go out and drink, make sure you know what to do when you do get drunk. Hangovers are no fun.

www.filtrationprocess.blogspot.com

Clingy Women

2010-01-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

What is a clingy woman? There are many relationships that ended up broken simply because of women being too clingy. Too needy. Too...ugh. Personally, I find that the term "needy" and "clingy" are the most insulting things a guy can tell a girl. It even surpasses "you're fat" in the Ems Insult Scale. Being called needy or clingy is both embarrassing and offensive, yet there are times that we girls end up being just like that. And it's ugly.

I define clingy and needy girls as those whose lives revolve all around their men. Don't get me wrong, there are many women I know who are both wife and mother yet while they are the all-around domestic diva, they still have that independence that helps them make their own decisions and their own choices, without needing their men to be with them all the time. A clingy or a needy woman is the total opposite of one who's in control of her life, her family and her relationships.

A woman who's not clingy can command her life, be that at work, at home or in her social circle, without asking for her man's approval, simply because she knows that she's right and that she knows what she's doing. She does not go, "Hon, I'll go take a bath na ha" or "Dear, do you want me to call a cab na?" or "Papa, I want to cut my hair like this, okay lang?" A woman who is not clingy is empowered and, well, put simply, HAS A LIFE.

On the other hand, the clingy woman is the one who pooh-poohs over each and everything that comes out of her man's mouth, as if hidden inside those words is the map to the Holy Grail, in whatever version you believe it to be, or the Fountain of Youth. She insists to share a single seat couch just so she can sit on his lap. She insists to feed him, share just a single set of eating utensils and a single plate with him. She acts on her desire for motherhood not by being a mother, but by mother-ing her man.

She floods his Facebook page with this or that "I love you" application, writes notes and tags him each and every time. It's even sadder when you see that he rarely replies back. When he's away, she uses her unlimited broadband access to smithereens over Skype just so they can still "be together."

A clingy woman insists that she goes with him to a boy's night out, saying that she will "not make a sound" and be "one of the boys, honest!" Ignores the weird looks from the barkada and proceeds to cuddle to her man like a koala. Gross. Just gross.

There is more to a relationship than constantly being in the presence of your man as if you were joined at the hip. In the long run, he'll just end up being allergic to you. Chill!

Midshift

2010-01-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I'll be on midshift for two weeks. Meaning, I'll be at work from 3-12mn. Originally, this isn't something I signed up for because we all thought we'll be doing the dayshifts for the entirety of our contract. But I understand the need for us to overlap our working hours with our NY-based client, so I accept changes like these as a reality of life.

God knows that I have gone home later than midnight, from locations less noble and safe than Ayala, Makati. Besides it's just two weeks. Then back to day, then again midshift. I'm not sure how in the world I'll get home, if there are buses to my house or if I need to take a cab, but I'll get home. I just know I will, because, well, I was always able to get home.

I finally get a chance to dodge that goddamned traffic! And how about sleeping late? Yes, yes, yes! It's like getting the good stuff of being on a later shift (you can go to the bank, get licenses and shit like that in the morning, sleep late) but in a couple of weeks, you can get back to normal.

In general, though, I'm not a complaining, whining bitch. Although I am a lot of different bad things, I am not that. It's just a reality I have to accept. Besides, once I said yes, I mean it. I don't say I'm okay with something to please you to your face, then attack you and complain when you're not looking. I do not belong to that category.

I'm Suicidal

2010-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

I'm kidding! But it does seem like I am trying to kill myself whenever I eat something like this. It's my very own version of killer taters. It's fried (or boiled) potatoes covered with my own homemade chili and lots of cheese. And I mean, LOTS.

I guess you can serve this is a salad. Neutralize the fattiness. LOL

Oh, Nothing.

2010-01-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

Kate Torralba, tights. Kickers, sneakers. Skirt, I made myself. Penshoppe, purple plaid shirt.

The Best Cup Noodles are Fresh

2010-01-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

I don't usually go for cup noodles. They're just atrocious and the sodium in them is enough to kill you. Well, yeah, exaggeration, but you get what I mean.

As a youngster, my mother never got me into the noodles habit, even if we were poor. We eat Maggi with egg and dilis only when we feel like it, and that's like, every three months. But that doesn't mean that we don't eat mami-style noodles at all. A lot of times, my mom would buy ten pesos worth of those fresh egg noodles (remember those wrapped in plastic, oily and tied with a rubber band?), a small cabbage and carrots and cook that with broth, or saute it with soy sauce. It's also just as cheap, but far more hearty and delicious.

With that taste formed, I always believe in the power of fresh noodles. Imagine that! The Power of Fresh Noodles! One of these days, I'll share some of my recipes with you. I haven't made any noodle dishes as of late so I have no pictures, but soon, my friends, soon...Naks.

Anyway, the point of this entry is two-pronged: noodles are best when fresh and I found Korean cup noodles named "Fresh Noodles" that have, literally, fresh noodles. Koreans are so blunt about their labelling, yes? "Fresh Noodles" for fresh noodles and "Bowl Noodles" for noodles in a bowl. How creative, right?

Here's what the noodles look like...they were wrapped in plastic inside the bowl.

Close up:

Thin noodles. But fresh!

The broth seasoning is seafood flavored. It tastes like crab and fish, nori and all the good umami stuff. Plus the dried veggies. For some reason, once I put hot water into it, the veggies rehydrated and tasted pretty fresh.

And it looks like this with hot water in it. In hindsight, I should have added hotter water.

It's pricey (Php120) in the Korean grocery nearby. But it's good!

The Elvis Sandwich

2010-01-16T18:17:00.001-08:00

Peanut butter, banana and bacon is the favorite sandwich of Elvis. Or so they say. But whether that's true or not, this is easily one of my favorite sandwiches. It's terribly fattening and calorific, but what the hell? Taste over calories, I say!

This is a simple concoction: just toast your favorite bread, slather on some of your favorite peanut butter and add sliced bananas. Crisp up (or in this case, microwave) some bacon strips or cubes and voila! Elvis Sandwich!

There's something really nice about the salty bacon mediating the sweet and creamy peanut butter and the fruity banana. It's also very filling. YUM-O!

Segue to my Elvis Sandwich eating attire for that day:

Eyelet dress from Kamiseta, tights, Kate Torralba and shoes, Nine West.

Wine Cooler: Arbor Mist

2010-01-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

This one doesn't really fall under "wine" but it's perfect when you want to sort of break in your wine tastebuds or you just aren't into the stuff. When people start to drink wine, they usually go for the sweeter versions. Personally, I prefer an off-dry or semi-sweet wine because I don't like the bitter, alcoholic aftertaste.

So when we tried Arbor Mist (Orchard Fruits Chardonnay) it was a great hit. It's a wine cooler, meaning it has wine and different flavorings, sugar and water. It's pretty watered down but you still get that wine taste. It's great with ice or well chilled. Very refreshing. And it has a pretty low alcohol volume (only 7% I think) so I can drink the whole thing and not get drunk or get a hangover the next day.

It kinda tastes like Cali (remember that drink?) only it contains real alcohol in it and more wine-y taste.

There are different varieties of Arbor Mist available in the Philippines and the Chardonnay is probably the easiest to drink. The red wine (Merlot and Pinot Noir) are pretty heavy, but much lighter and drinkable than pure wines. The White Zinfandel, which comes in strawberry and exotic fruits, are, I think, the in-between in terms of lightness and flavor. All are best serve cold or over ice. I served it with ice since we're using standard glasses, but I think if you serve this in wineglasses you're better off chilling the bottle instead.

The price is reasonable, too. It sells for Php200/bottle in SM. Good chill-out drink.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

2010-01-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

I read that in the Italian-American communities, they call their basic pomodoro sauce "gravy" because just like gravy, they use the sauce to flavor different kinds of food for Sunday dinner. They use it for bread, pastas, risotto or meat dishes.

There are so many gravy recipes online, but I find that the easiest and the simplest recipe is the best tasting and the secret really is the cooking. Slow cooking is the best as it really brings out the goodness of the wine, tomatoes and spices.

So gather up the ingredients for the basic tomato sauce!

5-7 super red tomatoes, diced
-Again if you can find Roma or San Marzano tomatoes, use them. They're most probably pricier, but it's worth it!
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced/grated
1 small pack tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
2 Italian sausage links
-I didn't use it for this batch though, but I would next time
10 green olives, sliced
Oregano
-Fresh oregano is good, but dried is okay
Chili powder
5 Basil leaves, torn by hand
Grated cheese, any hard cheese is good like parmigiano reggiano or grana padano
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Start with sauteing the sausage in olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant but not brown. Remove garlic from pan. Saute onions until translucent then add the tomatoes. Saute that and pound on it a bit. Add the olives and stir until everything looks good. Add the red wine and a bit of water.

Add the tomato paste, oregano, chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Always remember to add a little at a time. Salt is hard to take out.

Here you start to stew it. Put the heat on low and just allow it to gurgle away for 2-3 hours. If the sauce thickens too much, water it down with a some red wine or water.

During the last hour of cooking time, add the grated cheese and continue cooking. If you have an immersion blender, you can use that to make the sauce smoother.

Cook pasta to al dente and serve! Top with more cheese. We paired this nice meal with glasses of red wine and it worked great!

Why Stop at Boiling Rice?

2010-01-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

My rice cooker is one of the appliances I cannot imagine living without. I can practically do anything with it, from just rice to soups and sauces and steamed food. But basically, a rice cooker's main purpose is just that, to cook rice. But why stop at just boiling your rice? Why cook rice in the rice cooker, scoop it out then toss it into a pan to make fried or flavored rice?

I hate making fried rice that way, so instead of doing it the traditional way, I did it in a rice cooker! It's pretty basic and there light be some ingredients in fried rice that you may substitute or change, but it pretty much works. For garlic rice, boil the rice as you normally would and when it's done, loosen the rice in the pot with a spoon, add a bit of oil and sprinkle with bottled garlic bits or garlic powder and salt. Turn the rice cooker back on and toss it. You can also just sprinkle the garlic powder, salt and pepper into the uncooked rice (when it's already in the pot with measured water) and you get the same garlicky flavor but without the oil.

This photo here and the one up top are of barbecue/java rice. I used paprika, a bit of curry powder, a pinch of cumin and red and black pepper. Oh and also a little bit of garlic and onion powder. Or you can use some pre-made barbecue powder in the spice section of your grocery, that will work too. Just add a couple of tablespoons into uncooked rice (measurement is for three rice cooker cups of rice) and a little bit of oil and mix it up then hit on 'Cook'.

We made this packed lunched we took to the park. We cooked Spam to go with it (don't worry, we had more than one piece of Spam each!). Good choice.

With it we made Pineapple sangria, which is basically just red wine, soda water, honey and a bit of pineapple juice, shaken with ice. This is a darker version for me, since I like it with more red wine and below is a lighter version (more pineapple juice) for Allan.

We had a great time! For just Php50 (php40 for QC residents like us) per person, you can enjoy the park and the picnic grounds. If you want to try the pool, and we will next time, the fee is just Php80. If we bring packed lunches like these, a water jug for juice or soda, a few shakers of wine and maybe some fruit or cupcakes from the bakery, the cost will definitely be no more than Php400-500, fare included. It's a steal!

For me this is even better than going to the beach because the travel time from our place to the beach is around 3 hours and I'm exhausted even before I hit the sand (what more going home). Ecopark is just around 15-20 minutes away!

What are you doing now?

2009-12-31T05:20:00.000-08:00

Aahhh. So the dinner is ready, and a nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon is uncorked and is being allowed to breathe. Outside, the streets are getting a bit foggy because of the fireworks and in here at home, there is nothing to do but sit and wait for midnight to come.

Ours is not a loud and crazed celebration. Friends are off celebrating with their own families and it's really just Allan and I. It's been quite a year for us. It's been quite a year for me.

I look back and I realize that this year I got, lost and got a new job. I've handled several clients and actually like working for myself and surprisingly, I am thinking of doing it more in the future. But most importantly, I'm feeling a stability that I have not felt in the first year I was here. I feel like I'm generally getting some traction and I like it.

I gave trust and got tired of trusting some friends, but what the hell. Isn't that what life is all about? Lessons learned, life experiences gathered and I can proudly say that I am not just some girl who goes to work 8-5, Monday to Friday and be lazy and spend all my time on Skype and Facebook over the weekends. I feel like my world is becoming bigger, rather than smaller because I desire so badly to try new things so I can participate in life more, so I have lots of things to talk about and share, so I don't just wrap my world in some guy I may or may not end up marrying. Life experiences, that's what I want to have. In the end I don't want to be the most decorated employee, or the dowdiest housewife or the smartest apple on the tree. At the end of the day I don't want to be accomplished, I want to be experienced.

At lunches with new people I want to be able to make new friends and carry the conversation along and not just be pa-cute and talk to the people I ALREADY know. I want to make the most of myself. And although relationship is very special to me, I don't want to define myself as just "Allan's girlfriend" or someone's wife. I don't want to appendage -Evangelista to my name unless I really am in possession of a marriage license. Not because I don't want to be associated with him or marriage, but because I don't want to be clingy and dependent on marriage or the promise of forever for happiness. There's more to life and love than that.

This was 2009 for me. It was filled with annoying realizations that say "Ay, hindi nga pala talaga ganun ang buhay." Yet I feel happy and challenged for 2010. Two of the better people I know are coming (and two of the dumber people are ALSO coming) so I know the start of my year won't be anything less than interesting.

So I raise my glass to you for making it! And since this is a pseudo food blog, I will also share a couple of cocktails that you can make out of the leftover bubbly and red wine you might have at home. Salud!

picture from about.com

Pinoy Mimosa

1 part calamansi syrup
-one part sugar, one part calamansi juice
2 parts orange juice
2-3 parts champange, depending on how strong you want the liquor taste to be

First, begin with chilled or super cold ingredients. Take a shaker, or a jar (with all the nata de coco and kaong jars you inevitably have after the holidays, you'll find one stashed somewhere) and pour all in the ingredients in. Shake until well blended. Serve in champagne flutes, or if it's just you and some friends or family, you can serve it tall breakfast glasses.

Some variations include shaking the mixture with ice (for who really has the time to chill everything down?) or serving it with ice. It depends on your taste preferences. Mimosas are typically served with brunch, when it's already a bit acceptable to have something alcoholic (midmorning) but not really that cool to have something hard yet.

Firecrackin' Sangria

2 parts ginger syrup
-one part water, one part sugar, one part grated fresh ginger
2 parts lemonade/lemon juice
-lemonade if you want a sweeter drink with just a hint of citrus, lemon juice if you want a tarter drink. Lemonade powder may work in a super cinch but fresh is best!
4 parts dry red wine
Sliced fruits of your preference
-or you may just want to skip the fruits altogether

Chill the ingrdients. Mix in ginger syrup and lemonade/lemon juice and shake in a shaker or jar. Doing this will make sure that the thick syrup will incorporate nicely into the drink. Add the dry red wine into the mix and shake. Pour in a pitcher with sliced fruits. Serve in big fat glasses so the sliced fruit will fit.

Again shaking it with ice or serving it with ice in the pitcher are variations. You can also add 1 part of sparkling/soda water. Or if you really don't like the taste of fresh lemonade/lemon juice and you don't have lemonade powder handy, go grab a Sprite and use that instead of the lemonade. The main objective of wine cocktails is to water it down a bit to make it a bit more pleasant for those who aren't into wine.

Rice Pudding

2009-12-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

I love porridge of all persuasions. One of the best I've had is rice pudding, which is really just lugaw with cinnamon, cream and brown sugar. I think the trick is the brown sugar and cinnamon combination. It always works.

I've never had rice pudding when I was a kid, so I don't have those warm childhood memories associated to it. But what the hell? This is not about childhood memories, is it? I mean, I never even actually saw what a real cinnamon bark looks like until high school. But if you think that's sad, well, I know someone who didn't even KNOW that cinnamon came from bark. I dunno, maybe she thought that it came from heaven or something. Kidding. Or maybe not.

So I made rice pudding today, and I hope you will soon too!

For rice pudding, you will need:

1 can of heavy cream
a few pieces of cinnamon bark
-You can use cinnamon powder, but just like pepper, it tastes a world better if you grate it fresh.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
-egg is optional, it will make the pudding bind a bit better. But if you're using malagkit, there really is no need
1/2 vanilla bean or a few drops vanilla extract
-vanilla pods are available in upscale supermarkets like Rustan's or Rockwell and they taste so much better than that lame liquid flavoring. But it's expensive (the pods I mean) and buying it for rice pudding is weird. I only have leftover vanilla pods because I made leche flan and panna cotta for Christmas eve dinner, so I used them.
1 cup malagkit rice

Procedure

1. Wash the rice and add around two cups of water to it. Add half the can of cream and mix it even before putting it on the stove. Once it's all mixed, put it on the stove and heat it up, stirring every now and then to make sure that non of the grains stick.

2. Once the mixture becomes sticky and the rice begins to cook, grate maybe a teaspoon of cinnamon into the pot and stir.

3. Add the remaining cream after simmering for around 10 minutes. Stir to make sure it does not curdle.

4. Add the sugar. Add more cinnamon if you like.

5. Stir until you get the consistency you like. I like mine real thick, like biko.

6. Stir in the vanilla while it's still a bit soupy and allow the rice to cook completely and set.

You can serve this hot or cold but it's gorgeous hot with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Get the good stuff, spending a bit on Haagen Dazs once in a while won't hurt.

Spaghetti Puttanesca: Pasta Bitching

2009-12-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

A lot of stories make up for what is supposed to be Puttanesca's origin. But why do you think it's called PUTTAnesca?

The spicier, and I think more exciting reason behind Puttanesca is that it is the pasta most associated with women of easy virtue. But I call a spade a spade and 'women of easy virtue' are whores, and thus Spaghetti Puttanesca can loosely be translated as "whore's spaghetti." This is from the root word puttana, which primarily means prostitute but can sometimes be interpreted as "trash" or "garbage" but you get what I mean. That's probably a run-in sentence, but that's what I'm feeling now, a bit run in.

Why not? Naples, the area where this dish came from is said to have quite a lively flesh trade and the ingredients of the dish is nothing opulent or expensive. It is also quick and easy to make but is absolutely filling.

However, you can choose to believe the other stories (people came into a restaurant, famished, and just ordered the chef to serve anything he had. Chef had nothing but tomatoes, preserved olives and anchovies, so he just cooked it up) but it sounds a lot like the way Cesar's Salad was created, so it didn't appeal so much to me.

Anyway, here's my recipe for my absolutely bitchin' pasta dish.

5 medium tomatoes, diced
-Tomatoes here in the Philippines is generally a lot more tart than the imported ones, so try to get the reddest and softest tomatoes you can find, without choosing the spoiled ones, of course. If you can get imported tomatoes in your area, go get them, the extra expense is worth it!
1 medium white onion, minced
6 big cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 anchovy fillets
-If you like anchovies, like me, this is indispensable. But if you don't like the saltiness of it, you can substitute it with bottled Spanish sardines. It also works, and I often use it if Allan will join me for dinner.
1 small pack tomato sauce
-You can also use canned whole tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes, just mash it before adding
1 small pack tomato paste
about 10 pieces olives, chopped roughly
-You can use green or black olives, as long as they're not stuffed.
about 3 tablespoons capers, chopped roughly
chili flakes/powder, to taste
oregano
-You can use fresh or dried, to taste
pepper and salt (although I skip the salt whenever I make this because the fish is salty enough)
olive oil
parsley
around 300g spaghetti, cooked

Heat up your pan, and let's do it!

1. Heat olive oil and add garlic, onion, anchovies/sardines and fresh tomatoes. Don't wait until your oil is too hot. Just pile it on. Simmer and pound on the tomatoes a bit.

2. Mix up the spices in a small bowl and sort of spoon it around to agitate the oils.

3. Add the spice mixture into the simmer, add the capers and olives and yes, simmer some more, maybe another five minutes.

4. Add the tomato paste and sauce. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes. I just like to really cook the tomatoes because it just tastes better that way.

5. Add the pasta and toss. Garnish with parsley either chopped or not. Serve!

Remember, a good puttanesca must taste like tomato and fish (in a good way) and not at all salty. The salt should be there to cut the sourness, not exactly to salt the dish. If you can, simmer the sauce maybe an hour or so. Tomatoes really taste better when cooked for a long time!

Two Homey Recipes

2009-12-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Gata Sitaw and Okra with Dried Seafood

I love gata. I love adding it into different recipes and it always makes it taste a little bit more special. This is just sitaw (yardlong bean) and Okra braised in gata. I grilled some dried squid and dried fish and added it into the stew for added smokiness and flavor. With lots of white rice, this is sure to be a winner!

250g sitaw, cut into 1-inch lengths
200g okra, tender parts only, cut stem end
250mL gata (coconut milk)
onion
ginger
grilled dried squid
grilled dried fish
salt (only if fish and squid will not be salty enough for you)

Boil coconut milk with ginger and onion. Add grilled seafood. Allow flavors to meld. Add vegetables and cook until crisp-tender. Serve hot.

Kilawin na puso ng saging

I'm not very sure why we call this "kilawin" when we actually cook both the banana heart and the resulting salad...maybe because it's primarily flavored with vinegar. But anyway, it's a great side dish for salty things like dried fish.

1 large banana heart, quartered (take away all the red layers, leaving only the pale yellow colored core. Quarter the core)
2 cups vinegar (I use tuba vinegar, but my mom used to use Datu Puti, so whatever vinegar you use)
salt/vetsin
garlic
onion

Boil banana heart until tender. The color should change to a somewhat gray color. After that's done, douse with cold water and take away the central ridge (the core that hold the "leaves" and blossoms together. All you should have left should be the blossoms and the "leaves" of the banana heart. Using your hands, mash them all up and squeeze out the sap. Repeat this step twice to make sure all sap is gone.

Season the squeezed out banana heart with the vinegar and salt and vetsin. Heat up a pan and sautee the garlic and onions. Add the banana heart mixture and stir until it absorbs the oil. Taste the mixture. If it's too sour, add some salt. Serve with dried or fried or grilled fish.

Sandwich Days

2009-12-25T19:31:00.001-08:00

I am a rice eating person. Even if I feel like I'm being robbed for it. But I also like making sandwiches and sometimes I get weird with my creations. Up top is leftover tuna cabbage wraps in a pan de sal with some grated cheese. It was quite a yummy discovery. But then again, tomato sauce is good with anything.

Then I also made this sandwich out of sliced ham, tomato, mayo and cheese. Good for lunchboxes. We had this for dinner though.

Then there's spicy Spanish sardines with vinegar marinated white onions and hot mustard. Or corned beef with mustard and coleslaw. Basil with tomato and cheese. Grilled cheese. Tuna melt.

What's your favorite sandwich?

The Twin Rice Holders

2009-12-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

We usually consume one kilo of rice per week. That's not a lot because we only cook rice once a day, and only for two people. So whenever we buy rice, usually around payday (every two weeks) we buy two kilos.

We're also long grain, white rice lovers. We tried doing a brown rice stint once, but decided that it's not enough to float our boat. We usually get the best rice variety the supermarket has (since we buy two kilos lang naman, not very pricey even if the per kilo price is higher than normal). So sometimes we get Premium Jasponica rice or sometimes Premium Jasmine. Most common is Organic Ifugao rice since we most commonly get our groceries from a neighborhood Ever Gotesco.

A couple of weeks ago, we cooked more rice than the usual and ended up with just half the container with around a week to go til the next big grocery day. I went to buy one kilo of what is labelled "Premium Jasmine" in Trinoma's Palabigasan. It was I think around Php60. When I went home, I noticed that the leftover Organic Ifugao (at Php50/kilo) was exactly the same as the Premium Jasmine I bought. I felt robbed.

We should have a grading system. We should have clear boundaries as to what is Jasmine, Premium Jasmine, etc. We should NOT have overlapping names for rice and Trinoma Palabigasan, YOU SHOULD NOT OVERCHARGE!

I have a WHAT?

2009-12-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Gross photo alert. You have been warned.

About a month ago, I woke up with a really stabbing, bloating pain in the upper right area of my stomach. Because I was stupid, groggy and utterly in pain, I took Mefenamic acid. The next day, I had red spots all over my arms and fingers and a couple on my lips. They were itchy and burning and I thought, "what the hell did I eat this time?" I thought it was a food allergy and even if I cannot really recall eating Shiitake mushrooms (my only food allergy) the itching was so pronounced that I thought it's the same thing.

Enter Virlix. Virlix is my antihistamine of choice. Always works. By noon the spots where mellowed and as if fate was really trying to piss my off, my tooth started to hurt. Now this was the same tooth that's giving me trouble for a long time now. Dentists want to save it, but everytime they try to close it up, it begins to hurt. Like that day. So I took mefenamic acid and amoxicillin for around four days. After the very first dose, the faint red marks where my supposedly food allergies, became darker. As in dark red. I thought they were drying up. On day four, they were purple enough to scare me. I sought professional help:

The spots on my lips grew from two to four. The worse one, the one on the right side of my lower lip (even gross-er) got blistered and peeled off. Every time I smiled, laughed or even chewed, it hurt. Every time it effing stretched, it hurt. The ones on the upper lip where also starting to blister until I went to the doctor.

The doc, a dermatologist, had the most perfect skin. Sitting there with a fat, mahapdi lip and purple stains all over my arms, I felt as small as that bubble mascot in the Surf commercial after he plunged into the ground in between the men with dirty white shirts. (segue why do construction workers wear white shirts in soap commercials?)

And then she said it: "My dear, hala...that's not food allergy. Drug eruption yan." AKA Drug allergy. Allergic to mefenamic acid and/or amoxicillin. It was odd, I told her, because I took these meds before and I ended up fine. Two reasons, she said: Either the brand of meds I took (generic) had substances in them that caused me to become oversensitized or my body chemistry at the time I took those meds were configured in a such a way that the meds reacted (pretty violently) against it.

Either way, she said, I had to stop the meds. She prescribed Claricort for antihistamines and Triamcinolone ointment for the spots. The ointment is anti-inflammatory and is so goddamned effective. After the first time I used it, the mahapdi lip really mellowed and the spots lightened up. After three days, the swelling was completely gone. I can eat again! I'm still using the ointment til now though, because even though the swelling is gone the marks don't fade so quickly so I still apply it twice a day.

I went to Dr. Rizaela Nicolas. Find her in Medical City Trinoma and Medical City SM Fairview. Call them for her skeds. I have it in her prescription somewhere in my messy desk, but...

She also has other services on offer...Skin whitening and stretch marks treatments and stuff like that.

Napoli's Pizzeria

2009-12-25T18:29:00.001-08:00

Uh, that's Allan. If you thought that was me, then you're probably more drunk than you think you are.

And if you ARE drunk, what best thing to have but tomato soup? We have been raving about Napoli's Pizzeria for the longest time but it's only now that I remember to post a couple of pictures from the joint. The best thing about Napoli is value for money. Large servings usually good for 2-3 for the usual price of one. For example, this tomato soup (which large-ish shrimps, buttered bread and sour cream) set us back Php125, but it was large enough for four small bowls or two large servings. And it's thick, creamy, warm and freshly made. None of that thin, watery nonesense other places serve. Imagine! Php125!!

And the tomato soup is really good. It's very comforting and malinamnam. It's also quite filling. I have to constantly resist the urge to douse all the other orders with the soup. Aglio Olio with tomato soup, pizza with tomato soup, coke with tomato soup. Kidding. I don't usually give this title to restaurant food, but this definitely falls under the I-can-eat-this-stuff-everyday category.

There's pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salads. But we usually just order soup and something else, because that's all we can finish, really. This is a "small" all-meat pizza. Good for the two of us. Actually, we had to get someone to bag the last 2-3 pieces because we can't eat any of it anymore. Other favorites are Aglio Olio, Puttanesca, Chef's salad and the uber yummy artichoke dip. If you want to really taste a lot of the food, come in large groups or maybe 5-6. That way you can order more and finish what you ordered!

Just as a blurb, this marching band of Nutcracker mascots were making rounds in SM North. SM North has this rather new strip of hangout places called, I think, Sky Dome? The usual display of SM's architectural taste...or lack thereof. But it's a place where you can find a spot to drink or hangout with friends.

Other than SM the Block (SM North) You can find Napoli Pizzeria in equally unappealing SM Fairview. The main branch is in Tomas Morato.

Afritada..Or is it Caldereta?

2009-12-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

Can someone tell me what Afritada is? How different is it from Caldereta? Some meat stew made with tomato sauce, but Caldereta seems to be more associated with beef or chevon (goat meat) while Afritada is more chicken and pork. Is that the only difference?

Anyway, I love anything in tomato sauce, with tomato sauce or just tomato sauce or plain tomato. I love tomato soup (I'll feature the best tomato soup I've had so far in the next post) and tomato salads. I love it sliced for pizza topping or for braising meats. It's very versatile, and what more, it's very cheap.

And who can resist tomato with salted egg? With or without the tinapa, this combo has saved me from many nights of starvation, especially if I'm only cooking for one (Allan on the nightshift).

But let's go back to Afritada. Or Caldereta. This for me is something made only during fiestas or special occasions. I find that weird because chicken is pretty cheap and so are the other ingredients, but I guess the special-ness of the entire thing is reserved for special times only. So whenever I prepare this dish, I go all out, not only in the prep (whole block of cheese, carrot flowers) but with time. I use a slow cooker for this and cook it for 2-3 hours on low, just to allow the chicken to soften and release it's juices. By the time I serve it, the potatoes and the chicken will be tender, and the sauce thick and delicious. Never had complaints so far.

Afritada/Caldereta

Now remember, I always cook only for one or two, so this recipe will only serve that many people. Maybe even three, if you keep the portions smaller. But you can easily double the recipe.

500g chicken (I usually use the thigh/leg part with the bone in, breast is blah tasting)
~300mL tomato sauce
1 block of cheese, grated (Some use cheez whiz, I find that gross. Just sayin')
200g baby potatoes (You can cut them in half if they're bigger than bite size. Or you can cube regular sized potatoes)
1 carrot, cut into florets (you can cube them, haha)
1-2 cups peas (As much as possible, buy them fresh and shuck them yourself. Tastes MUCH better than frozen or, dear me, canned)
the garlic-onion sautee combo
2 bay leaves
cooking oil
salt/pepper

Let's do it!

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sear on high heat for two minutes. This part gives the chicken a nice caramelized crust and also preserves the juices within.
2. In the same pan, sautee garlic and onion, add the baby potatoes and carrots. Add the tomato sauce.
3. Put chicken back in and stir until chicken is covered in tomato sauce. Add bay leaves.
4. Transfer to slow cooker, cook on low for 2-3 hours. Alternatively, you can choose not to transfer to a slow cooker and just simmer it in the pan for about 45 minutes. After half the time (1.5 hours on slow cooker, around 20 minutes in stove top) add ALL the grated cheese. The sauce will lighten in color.
5. Season to taste. You may not need to add any more salt, but that's up to you. Leave to simmer for the remaining time.

While the chicken is cooking, let's sit down and let me tell you about my slow cooker. I bought it in a Japanese surplus shop for, like, Php500 and it can cook enough for ten people. It's really a great addition to my kitchen arsenal. I love those little surplus shops. Next I'm eyeing a nice electric griddle/pan/teppanyaki plate where I can grill stuff. Only around php400 I think. And it's teflon!

So, enjoy your chicken dinner. Don't forget the rice.

Strawberries Three Ways

2009-12-23T23:52:00.000-08:00

Who can resist strawberries? They're luscious, juicy, sweet and tart all at the same time. It lends itself perfectly to chocolate and caramel and even bacon. Haha And what about that rich, red color? Only the best from Mother Nature.

I found some strawberries in the market the other day, for just php35 per container. They were not as huge as the php600/kilo ones flown in from California found in Rustan's, but the flavor is quite powerful. I bought a couple of these and hulled them, rinsed them and took a picture. Visually appealing, if you ask me.

But flash back to three years ago, this is the only way I get my strawberry fix. I know, lame.

Bottled jam and buttered toast. Tasty, but the jam does not do the fruit justice.

I think it's best if you enjoy these things au naturel or with the best raw honey you can find. It's not expensive to buy raw honey, it only takes some patience in finding vendors.

Rich, sensual but utterly healthy!

Pasta with Spanish Sardines

2009-12-23T23:43:00.000-08:00

There are pasta days. Days when I do not want to think of what to cook for ulam. I boil some water, add some salt and plunge my pasta in. The dressing or sauce need not be fancy. I can just sautee garlic in great olive oil, add pepper flakes and parsley, maybe some bacon and I have pasta dressing in less than 10 minutes.

This recipe is pretty simple. Just cook some pasta to al dente, and set aside. Slice some olives and a tablespoon of capers, squeeze half a lemon over it and mix it with some high grade tuna or in this case, Spanish sardines. Toss with pasta while it's still hot. Drizzle with the best olive oil you can afford. With some table wine or even just lemonade, this is a great dinner when cooking for one. Or two.

Mac and Cheese

2009-12-23T22:46:00.000-08:00

I was stuck with a pound of Fusilli without knowing it. I was going to get some good old Swiss Miss from the pantry to fix a coupe cups of cocoa when I found the bag crammed in one of the corners of our rather overweight pantry. After cursing at myself for forgetting this colorful salad pasta for almost a year, I then decided to use it tonight for Noche Buena. I wasn't "feeling" a pasta salad, so I made mac and cheese! Or more appropriately, fusilli and cheese. Haha

Our mac and cheese adventure is quite colorful as well...just like the pasta. Actually, Allan is not a big fan of homemade mac and cheese because those blasted things in the box just taste a lot better. So one time, I told myself I'll make a mac and cheese that will rival that wretched nuclear orange variety found in the box. When I finalized my recipe, Allan said that "it's super! Not like wannabe carbonara anymore. More like cheesy doritos mac and cheese." HA! The final recipe is:

Ingredients:

1 block of cheddar cheese, grated
1 block mozzarella cheese, grated (patience with grating. but you can slice if you want)
250 grams grana padano, grated
1 cup milk, grated (kidding)
1 tetrapack cream
250 grams bacon, cubed
Water, depends on how gooey you want the cheese sauce to be. Can use pasta water
Pepper (no salt, since the bacon and cheese are salty. But if you're a salt fiend, pile away!)
1 teaspoon secret ingredient (more on this later)
500g pasta, cooked

First, render the fat from the bacon. I like mine crispy, so I let it cook longer than the usual. Once it's rendered to your liking, lower the heat and add the milk. This will also deglaze the pan. After deglazing it, add the cheddar cheese and grana padano (adding the mozzarella now will only make this messy to handle) and stir until it partially melts. Add the cream to thin out the mix. Add the pepper and secret ingredient. Add mozarella and stir, stir, stir. Like polenta or any old porridge-like glob of liquid, it can pop and cause minor burns, so make sure you're properly clad.

You'll end up with something like this:

Good for nachos! But...

Cook your pasta and when you drain it, leave some of the water in. Add the cheese mixture and toss until the pasta is covered. Allan and I love it this way, but you can also go further and top this is EVEN MORE cheese and bake or if you're snazzy, torch the top. You're kids will love this, swear!

Ready for the secret ingredient? Drum rolls...

FAJITA SEASONING! It's a healthy mix of spices like cumin and red pepper and really livens the dish. It makes a rather flat tasting cheese dish into a yummy and malinamnam treat. McCormick has a fajita seasoning and that's quite great, but you can make your own fajita seasoning. Here's my recipe:

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 red pepper/chili (not flakes)
1/4 black pepper
1/8 garlic powder (Aji-sho is ok)
1/8 onion powder (Aji-sho, again, is ok)

You can tweak it around to your liking, but this combo is the BOMB! You can sprinkle it over fried rice for an added flavor dimension, or as marinade for steaks or fish. You can add it to mayo for a veggie dip or as seasoning for vegetables your kids don't like eating. Cheers!

Pepsi Twist

2009-12-12T04:14:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to Pepsi Twist? I love adding lemon to my soda!

What I really wanted to share is a recipe for lemonade. It still is quite better to have it freshly made from real lemons that just to get it powdered. It's really simple too. Just squeeze 4-5 lemons (yield is around 2 liters) and make a simple syrup of 4 cups sugar and 4 cups water. Mix, add water and ice. Yum!

Ginataan Mais

2009-12-12T03:57:00.000-08:00

One thing that differentiates my tastes to Allan's? Love for gata. I love gata. I love to add it to a plain veggie sautee or in Champorado and in this case, Ginataan Mais. This is not a big hit for Allan. But well, that only means more for me. Haha

In Zamboanga, I would make this with native white corn. It contains more starch and will definitely give a thicker soup later on. However, I cannot seem to find white corn here, so instead of using yellow corn which has lesser corn milk (which has starch) I tried creamed corn.

My recipe for Ginataan Mais: 1/2-1 cup malagkit rice, 2 cups water, 1 can creamed corn, 2 cups coconut milk and sugar. First, cook the rice with the water to make a really thick porridge. When that's done, add the coconut milk and the creamed corn. Cook this over low heat until the corn becomes really well incorporated into the rice porridge. Add sugar to taste. You wouldn't need much because the coconut milk is already sweet and so is the corn. Serve hot.

Tip: If you do find white corn, use 2-3 cups of that and you may omit the rice because it will be starchy enough. But if you want to add rice as an extender perhaps, it'll work just as well.

Persimmon

2009-12-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

I fell in love after second bite. With a persimmon. I have been seeing this fruit in groceries and I've always been curious about how it tastes. I'm always in the hunt for new stuff to eat, so persimmons easily became a new target.

I came across these fruits in our recent trip to Binondo. They were all around. I think the Chinese love them because just like ponkans, they are round and orange, signifying prosperity.

A kilo of persimmons weren't very expensive, only around ~150 or so but I wasn't very sure about how they taste like so I picked out only a couple of them. I chose Fuyu and a Hachiya. The picture up top is a Fuyu. Fuyus are squat and look like small pumpkins and Hachiyas are elongated. They look like very orange chicos. I thought that they just tasted the same thing and can be eaten the same way, however, that isn't the case.

The chinese dude who was selling the persimmons raised an eyebrow at my meager buy and asked if I would like to get more. I told him that I will if I like it and he cut up a Fuyu and offered me a segment. It was sweet and very, very slightly tart. The flesh was like an apple and you could eat the skin if you like. It's also as crunchy as an apple when it's still hard, although he said that it will taste much sweeter and custardy if I eat it soft after a few days. I sort of hinted that I wanted to taste a Hachiya as well, but he said in that distinct hyperactive Chinese way: "No, no, no. Hachiya eat very very very soft only. Fuyu can eat when hard or soft, but Hachiya only good soft."

So yeah, okay. I bought half a kilo of Fuyus and another of Hachiyas. I decided to put the still hard (and therefore unripe) Hachiyas in a paper bag and stored them in a cupboard, like the man said. But I enjoyed the Fuyus right away. There were a couple left and they got softer after two-three days. Indeed the flesh tasted sweeter, creamier and much richer. It's like a very fruity and very light pumpkin. When the Fuyus were hard, I ate even the skin but I prefer the Fuyus peeled when they were already soft.

A word of advice, wait for the Hachiyas to soften. Remember, very, very, VERY soft. Case in point, I tried a Hachiya when it was as soft as a ponkan (still not soft enough) and upon biting into it, I felt like I drank 20 cups of uber strong Lipton tea without sugar. If you end up being impatient like me, your persimmon experience will not be memorable in the way it should be. So WAIT. The other Hachiyas that ripened (as in cottony soft) and, voila! Persimmon heaven.

To eat, you can just cut them up, or you can take the top stem off and eat the insides. You'll love it.

Even Cacti have Feelings

2009-11-29T01:37:00.000-08:00

This still is a blog, and a blog about the things that are happening in my life right now. I am trying to do some stretching in the cooking department. The women in my life, mother, aunts and grandmother are all great cooks and we sort of pride ourselves of being such great people in the kitchen. We, of course, really means just THEM, for I am not only a rather boring person in the kitchen, I also do not have a FULL kitchen to work in. I am that person who watches all the cooking shows in the world, but never really had the chops to get out that mixing bowl and whip up some muffins.

But lately things are starting to change and I am learning to do things my own way, much dependent on the kitchen memories I have had with my mother and grandmother. I have not yet quite mastered what seems to be a no-brainer dish called adobo. I shudder at the fact that the ones sold in jollijeeps taste better than the ones I have stressed over. But there are other things I am pretty good at, and I am proud of that, some of which are chronicled here in my blog, just so I can remember them. If you ever get the feeling of wanting to try any of my dishes, try at your own risk. :)

Everything, however, is not as simple as it all looks. For one, it's really hard to live (and therefore eat) with someone so different. There are days when he'd just jab me with what feels like a knife when he'll say:"Why can't we just buy food outside instead" while I am sauteing what is the beginnings of a wonderful caldereta, my recipe for which calls for a half block of cheese. It hurts maybe because my answer for it will be because I am trying to be a good partner, here, dude, instead of a dingy roommate who wouldn't care if you ate ramen until your hair turns into noodles. Essentially, it hurts because I am not appreciated. It's kinda hard for me to balance home AND work while trying to be a superstar in both, so when I do try (even if I may be trying too hard) a little smile, a thank you or even silence (!) will do my self esteem some good. Don't you think?

I feel weird just about now.

Ayala Triangle Park Light Show

2009-11-27T16:05:00.001-08:00

Ayala made this wonderful park in the Ayala Triangle. It's clean, fresh and simply beautiful. That's one thing I love about the Ayalas - they care about the environment and are not always about the money. The park barely makes income, and eats up a rather huge chunk of change because Ayalas have music piping there almost the whole day, aside from the fact that this land area can be enough for another profit-gaining building/establishment. There is definitely more to be gained in building another structure there instead a park, but they wanted a little pocket of green to beautify the area even more. I love it.

For the Christmas season, they wrapped the trees with thousands on LED lights and they have light shows every night, from Monday to Friday, every 30 minutes from 6:30pm to 7:30 pm. Here's what Allan took from the very first light show. I have a much better video (hehe) but I cannot seem to convert it. So anyway, this will give you an idea of how fab the light shows are.

Libreng Sakay

2009-11-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Makati is the first city to have electronic jeeps (ejeeps). And I am very happy with the effort that the city is making in terms of being more eco-friendly. These ejeeps are 100% emission free and are pleasant to ride on. They make this cute iiiiiiiiiiing sound of a small engine that I find terribly funny. The best part is, as of right now, rides on these ejeeps, whenever you can catch them, is absolutely free. There aren't many of them, and you may have to wait a little longer before one comes along, but if you're not rushing, it's a great option. They're open for franchise so I'm assuming that franchised ejeeps will charge passengerss fare.

One more thing I like about ejeeps? They are driven my Makati police. Therefore, you don't have to worry about safety. For the two times that I have been on one of these ejeeps, the service is courteous and the driving easy. If you ever get the chance to ride on one of these, go do it!

Chocolate

2009-11-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

I once watched this documentary on chocolate--how it's made and what makes one variety different from the rest. Now, I do not want to say that I am a cocoa connoisseur but if there's one thing I learned from that documentary, is that no one can say your mouth is wrong. Even the finest chocolate will not taste good to you and that does not mean that you are cheap. It's like telling a red-green colorblind person that something is orange and not yellow (which is what he most probably can see, since he can't distinguish red).

So for me, I like my chocolate dark. Uber-dark, for that matter. So when Allan presented me with this bar, I knew that I would love it (aside from the fact that he rarely ever buys me anything, the mere effort of getting something for me is mind-boggling). It's Ecuador chocolate that contains 70% cocoa. It's dark, sensual and bittersweet. When you bite into it, it does not have a metallic taste or a too sweet note. It tastes like pure chocolate, decadent yet simple.

I didn't bother sharing this bar with Allan, except when he yanks a piece right out of my hand. I don't know if this bar is expensive, but if it is, it was truly worth it.

Bacon Wrapped Things

2009-11-27T05:02:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love bacon? I wrap bacon with anything and so far I have not been disappointed. I wrapped bacon with asparagus and hotdog for a nice, calorific dinner the other night and it worked so well. I fried these dogs, but if you have an oven, even just a small toaster oven, you can pop these in for about 10 minutes. The fat from the bacon will render better and the hotdog is cooked better, too.

Buying a bacon wrapped hotdog from a hotdog stand will cost around Php50-60. This is much more cost effective because buying 500g of jumbo hotdog is around Php125 and 200g bacon is about Php100 and that yields eight hotdogs and some bacon leftover for wrapping veggies. That costs HALF than the ones sold in hotdog booths in malls.

Beef with Asparagus and Mushrooms

2009-11-27T04:44:00.000-08:00

Many mothers complain about picky eaters, and even if I do not have kids, I've had my share of stuff-it-down-the-throat moments that mainly feature vegetables. My picky eater is my partner, Allan.

So I try to avoid stress as much as I can. Instead of forcing him to eat more vegetables, I feed him more of the vegetables that he DOES eat. Since he likes asparagus and mushrooms, I try to add it as much as possible in our food. This dish is so simple, but is packed with flavor..."ta hila gat kanun" would be my mother's term for it.

First, cut the tender tips of the asparagus and slice the mushrooms. Sautee garlic and onions until fragrant, then add ground beef or beef strips in a little olive oil until the pink is gone. Add the vegetables and season with oyster sauce and pepper. Add salt only if you think that it's not salty enought. Stir around and simmer til the asparagus softens. Serve hot with rice. Yum!

Embuelto/Tuna Cabbage Wraps

2009-11-27T03:08:00.000-08:00

Embuelto for me is grandmother food. It's something my grandmother would slave over and it looks really good and also tastes fantastic. She only makes this for special occasions and she's pretty OC about taking the hard parts of the cabbage, positioning the wraps just so it'll absorb the most tomato sauce as possible. Today I made embuelto for dinner, only I made it with tuna. I got inspired after seeing this version in a local cooking show. Allan also requested for this, so...

First,(and the most excruciating part for me) you have to prepare the cabbage. Cut the cabbage from the core so you get the entire leaf intact. Get only the biggest leaves and for the inner ones, take off the entire rib and make it the second layer of the cabbage wrap. Make sure that for the big leaves, you have to peel and thin out the heavy ribs, like peeling the hard part of a broccoli. Tedious work. next you dice a carrot and a couple of potatoes. Soak those in water.

Drain a couple of cans of tuna. For one medium head of cabbage, two cans is enough. If you're using more than a pound of cabbage, maybe you can use one can more.

Next step is to blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling water and wilt them. Just wilt the leaves and DO NOT make it mushy. After a few seconds in the boiling water, take the leaves out and plunge in ice water to stop the cooking process. After that, sautee the carrots and potatoes then add the tuna. Season with salt and pepper.

After that, take the mix out of the pan and start stuffing the cabbage. One or one and a half tablespoons would be enough per wrap. Seal with a toothpick, or if you're old-school, use twine. Set aside.

After making the wraps, the next step is to make the sauce. Sautee garlic and onions and if you have any leftover stuffing, add that with some tomato sauce, bay leaves and salt and pepper.

Then, after boiling it once, take about a half cup of sauce and set it aside. You'll need it to cover the wraps in a little bit.

Put the wraps back in and cover with the sauce. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve! It'll work with rice and even better, with some good al dente pasta. This recipe will serve 3-4.

Haleya

2009-11-22T04:43:00.000-08:00

Haleya is very homey for me. It's something I associate to lazy sundays. So I made a small jar of it. It's the easiest thing to do. Just put coconut milk, cream and brown sugar together and stir until it thickens. That's it!

It pairs exceptionally well with boiled unripe saba bananas or with suman ibus. There is something wrong with this batch though. I used canned coconut milk and cream and the end result, while completely edible, is not very smooth and sort of jelly-like in consistency. My theory is that the gum and agar stabilizers used as preservatives to maintain the body of the coconut milk/cream is to blame. Next time, I should use freshly squeezed milk.

Sbarro

2009-11-22T04:26:00.000-08:00

D'I tell you Allan loves pizza? Absolutely adores it. Dreams about it. Next is bacon, but that's a whole different enchilada altogether. Thursday and Friday last week I cooked eight kinsgsized TJ hotdogs wrapped with bacon. Pigs in a blanket. That's eight per night, five for him and three for me, for two nights straight. I swear I can still taste the dogs everytime I burp. He loves TJ hotdogs that much and with bacon, it's like cholesterol and sodium heaven. Just saying, but I also have a recipe for bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers and it was the absolute BOMB. I have no pics right now, but when I feel that it's safe once again for me to eat bacon, I will give you pics and recipes.

So back to pizzas, we like Sbarro. We have dinner there, maybe once or twice a month, to consistent results. Allan likes the deep dish, but I prefer the simple pizzas with just tomato and cheese. Sometimes I like spinach calzone, too. Paired with a salad, it's great eating.

We rarely eat in the actual restaurant though. This pic is quite a landmark.

Halloween Eyeballs

2009-11-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

I call it Nata de Coco Surprise. Surprise!

This is our Halloween dessert. Looks like eyeballs with ooze, but the combo tasted pretty good. It's simply lychees with nata stuffed into it with condensed milk on top. We just goofing around and came up with this crazy dessert.It even looks more disgusting in a bowl. hahaha

A Dinner and an On-the-Spot Gift

2009-11-22T04:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I forget anniversaries. Unlike other females who primp themselves up and plan ahead for anniversaries, I am simply not hardwired to remember dates for things like that. I do, however remember birthdays. And on Allan's birthday, I treated him to a nice dinner and a sorta kinda expensive bottle of red wine plus conversation that does not revolve around online media, work and my not so favorite people.

Allan is pretty easy to please, but I am particularly happy with his reaction with my ultimate gift, which he saw at home. Don't get ideas...just don't.

We finally retired his uber old TV and replaced it with this new flat, sleek and glossy one. It's just a Samsung...and nothing near the price tag of a Bravia or more, but Allan's been too cheap to buy a new one until his old TV finally died in exhaustion, so I did him a favor. We're having a better TV experience now. Yes!

Pizza Stuff Yourself Silly

2009-11-22T04:01:00.001-08:00

We tried the Greenwich Pizza All You Can and we hated it. Just hated it. That's it. It tasted like Speedy Pizza. Or 3M. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

I'm Feeling a Little Violent Today

2009-11-22T03:44:00.000-08:00

I wish that I bit someone else's head off.

With a little creativity, the lovely gingerbread snowman ended up on my bloody plate instead.

I just hate stupid people. I just hate people who cannot do their jobs well. I am a totally non-OC kind of girl. Yeah, sure take 15 minutes more on your lunch break. Okay, we can do that instead. My desk is aclutter with different things, and I swear that I hear strange noises emanating from it in the middle of the night. My desk is alive, I swear. I really am not OC. But hell, that does not mean that you can just push me over because you think that "Ems will just be cool with it."

I really need to do something more in the being-a-leader department. You see, I never worked very well in organizations with strict leader-follower setups. I believe that there should be a sort of point person in a group, but that does not mean that he/she is the only person who should do the job. I prefer a group to think that I am only an administrative figure, someone to answer to the boss, not god.

I find that strict leader-follower setups will lead to an output that will be largely the idea of the leader. I hate that. I have been in the position where I was a mere member of a group whose ideas were never listened to, only for the leader's idea to fall short in the end. I'm trying to let people in my group know that this is OUR work. Entirely OUR work.

So what the hell is this little gnat bitch doing not making sure that her assigned chapter is covered? I don't get it. I want to bit her head off and serve her body in a beautiful white Starbucks porcelain plate. AGH.

Live!

2009-11-20T23:09:00.005-08:00

It's been a while since my last update and right now I just feel that it is right for me to tell you that I am still alive and blog-active! Blogging to you via my phone in Burger King. Wi-Fi is free!

I just came from my Annual Physical Exam and despite my growing weight, the doc gave me a clean bill of health, in addition to a prescription to allergy meds. I have a fat lip. I got that from eating Shiitake mushrooms tactfully hidden in a burger. For the first couple of hours I looked like I had a very bad lip job.

Bubble: everyone seems to want Angelina lips, no?

Anyway, so I went to Mercury Drug to buy my meds and told the nasty, nasty pharmacist that the lip was because my boyfriend hit me. Allan, who was beside me was not very amused. I find it terribly funny though. The lip is much better now, but I have to take more meds over the next couple of days.

I am proud to report that I took that needle (for CBC) like a man. The last time, I almost bit the tech's head off after getting it wrong the THIRD time.

I should be able to blog more tonight. Two folders worth of pics backlogged.

What's Up?

2009-11-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

People have been asking me if I'm turning into a food blogger. The answer really is no, I am not. My posts recently only echo the things that keep me busy these past few weeks. Of course I love food, but I think that these posts are too mundane to qualify for the food blog category.

So what have I been really up to? Not much. I'm trying to balance my time between work, home life and a never ending stream of papers that I need to submit. Aside from the fact that I am working as SEO specialist/writer on the sidelines, to earn a little extra for maybe a couple of movies, or a fancy dinner once in a while. I am quite financially independent, and I like it that way. I was reared to never be dependent on my spouse for money, and to always have something extra for myself. I think that I will teach my children the same thing.

But whenever I think about it, I realize that it's pretty hard to do all these things without failing in at least one of them. I am struggling with all of my 'chores' and I am only keeping at it because I have a big ego and even a bigger ambition. Haha

I wake up every morning at four, be in the office at seven and end at by around four in the afternoon. Then I go home and finish paperwork so I can get a degree. Then I cook (thank God Allan cleans up) and then I do the things my extra job requires. It's tough, but I reckon that other people have a harder life, so who am I to complain?

Pechay Squid

2009-11-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

This is an impromptu meal that I cooked up because we didn't fancy any of the other vegetables in the supermarket. This is just sauteed pechay with dried squid, that turned out pretty well. I should soak the squid next time before cooking so that it won't be so salty. But the dish was good enough for a cinch meal.

Clam Soup

2009-11-01T23:09:00.000-08:00

These past few days the weather's been really cold, and it's nice to end the day with a nice, light and warm soup that's easy on the budget and calories. I don't want to eat heavy stuff on the evenings because I feel sluggish the next morning. So last week I made a soup that, for me, is an acquired taste. When I was younger, I really dislike clam soup. I didn't like the bitter/too salty taste of the soup, so with closed eyes, I would force myself to eat because, well, it's either that or starve. But later on I kinda started to look for that distinct taste of clam soup.

This is my very first attempt in making clam soup. I just bought a half kilo of clams and cleaned it really, really, REALLY well. After that, I poured water and added onions and ginger into the pot. After boiling it a bit and the clams start to open up, I seasoned the dish and added malunggay or moringa leaves into it. I'm pretty anal when it comes to malunggay. I want the leaves to be fine and individually plucked from the stem. I don't want any stem in the dish. It's weird, I know.

I loved the dish, and I love it more because I didn't need a lot of rice to feel full because the broth did all the work. Next time, I should use mussels though...they're bigger and have more bite.

Lumpiang Hubad

2009-11-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

I do not understand the concept of Lumpiang Hubad. How can it be lumpia, if it's not wrapped? How can it be lumpia if you don't dip it into anything?

To me, this dish is ginisang togue. To Allan this is Lumpiang Hubad. To him this is merienda while to me, this is ulam.

Anyway, to make, all you have to do is (again) dump the bean sprouts into a pot. I use my rice cooker, so it's absurdly easy. After putting the bean sprouts, I put about a half cup of water and set it to cook. When it's simmering, I added a packet of Mama Sita ginisa mix and some shredded carrots. After the first boil, I added a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and seasoned the dish. Literally less than ten minutes, and I'm ready to serve.

It tasted pretty great! But next time, I might add some diced tofu to add a protein component to it.

Vegetable Soup

2009-11-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I made a version of my mother's pot of veggies, and instead of adding the fish paste or ginamus into the pot, I served it on the side as a dip. This is very simple and quick. I just dumped okra and kamote tops into a pot of water and added a few sprigs of lemongrass or tanglad for flavor and aroma. After boiling once, it's ready.

This is kinda hard to feed to non-veggie eaters, including Allan. Actually, he ate something else for dinner that night. But I was in veggie heaven. YUM!

Over the Weekend

2009-11-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

So I knew that I would be at home over the weekend, with no plans of going out, except to pay our respects to Allan's late father, who is in a columbary (?) just five minutes away. So it was the perfect time to finish reading my books.

I am quite a little book hoarder, although I usually only buy from second hand bookstores. I am beginning to cramp our already very cramped room with piles of books.

For this batch (I have a tendency to do things in batches, just like my blog entries) I have Kissing the Virgin's Mouth, 'Tis, and I know why a Caged Bird Sings. I am in the final few pages of 'Tis.

Of course, it is only fitting for me to have a huge mug of thick hot chocolate, made from artisan tableas and sweet rolls.

Sunday Lunch

2009-10-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is my new bestfriend. For me, nothing spells Sunday than gata something. Today, I cooked gata with string beans, okra and dried fish and squid. Mainly because langka apprently is not Allan's best vegetable, and because these vegetables are easier to find than sliced langka (which I have to go to SM for).

First, I dumped the string beans into my rice cooker with a little water to cook it. When it started to boil, I poured in two packs of Mama Sita ginisa mix and added the gata. Then, I added the dried fish and squid (soaked for 30 minutes). It is my mother's rule that when you cook with dried, salted food, put it before you season because they will contribute to the saltiness, and season the dish itself. When the sitaw is already half cooked, I added the okra and after simmering the okra for a few minutes, I seasoned it. It needed only a tiny pinch of salt. I allowed it to boil for 3-5 minutes and it's done!

And yes, that is an ice cream container. We eat ice cream at least once a week (and when you see us it shows) so we often have these containers. For me it's super sayang to throw it away, with the garbage problem and all. So we recycle the containers. We also use newspapers as place mats. After eating it's a matter of throwing the paper and the table is clean.

Have a happy Sunday lunch!

Baked Oysters

2009-10-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

Let's think happy thoughts. To not dwell on drunk drivers, I bought a set of oysters from the groceries. These were steamed gently while my rice was cooking, topped with a pat of butter and some garlic.

It was great but if I were to remake this dish, I would certainly add some vegetables..maybe spinach and some cheese, to make it really special.

Tanga

2009-10-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

DUI. I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate people who drink and drive. It's irresponsible. It kills, and good if it only kills the driver. More often than not, other people get hurt as well.

This was in front of St. Peter's cathedral in Commonwealth Avenue, QC. Right smack where commuters wait for the bus. Notice how the car actually straddled the cement island.

The car had PNP license plates, good jobs our good cops are doing.

Death Meal

2009-10-23T08:04:00.001-07:00

I sort of blitzed through all my backlogged pictures and I actually have a few more pictures that will merit a couple more posts, but it's getting late and I'm planning to be up and early tomorrow to register to vote, so I'll end tonight with a more or less apropos post. Considering it's almost Halloween and all.

^ is a photo of my paternal grandfather's death meal. He suffered a fatal heart attack after a dinner of fried dilis and eggplant with toyo-vinegar dip and rice. I was very young then, and I can remember that they, meaning the grown-ups, were sort of waiting for me to say something heartbreaking like "When will Papang wake up?" We were very close, you see, and I guess they expected me to miss him. Not that I didn't, but at the early age of six or seven, I was already aware that people die, and when they do, they never come back, so pray for their souls and get over it. Is that...odd?

In the years that followed, this food combo became the stuff jokes and family legends were made of. Dilis or pescao seco with fried eggplant has always been a cherished family meal (maternal side of the family I mean...paternal side was partial to fried chicken...easy game of analyze-the-difference, huh?). To me fried eggplant with fried dried fish taste really, really good. I swear that I'd take that over any fancy French Php2500-per-head-dinner. The rich sweetness of eggplant and the evil deliciousness of daing with the tart/umami-ness of the toyo-vinegar? Come on! Who can pass that up, right?

Just a quick note, whenever my grandmother, Mamang, would eat the daing-eggplant combo, she would always say, as if talking to Papang, "Pang, numa anay comigo saca para man uban contigo kay si Dimple (me) bata pa." (Pang, don't take me to accompany you yet, because Dimple is still so young.) And my titos would joke, "Pang, ta mira yu el ulam, sigurao yo yan dala ya tu come conese nu?" (Pang, can you see what's for dinner? I bet you already learned your lesson eating this stuff, huh?)

Sheesh. Remembering the jokes make me feel a touch eerie just about now.

Anyway, I still regularly eat this combo. In the office, I would just buy tuyo or dilis from the Jollijeep (and ask for toyo-vinegar) and a raw eggplant from a nearby mini-mart. We have an electric oven in the office so I butter or oil up the oven pan, place the sliced eggplants there and bake until brown, turning over once.

I haven't made up my mind yet what I want my death meal to be, if in case I can plan it. But if I end up like Papang, heck, what a good way to die.

What's your death or last meal?

Happy Halloween guys!

Gta.

2009-10-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of anything to do with the dried fish anymore for I asked the Google of daing (aka my mom) for some ideas. Her reply?

"Gta."

I was trying to decipher the elusive three lettered answer to my dilemma when she replied again:

"Dbong o lngka."

Lightbulb moment. Ahhh. GATA.

She is so right! I heart gata but I was clueless where to get grated coconut. Then, the cosmos led me to it, though in a different form. I was buying the week's rice supply when I saw canned coconut milk! Perfect. I got one 400mL of coconut milk and a tetrapack (250mL) of coconut cream. Then, as an added push by fate, SM also offers pre-sliced unripe langka. How perfect is that?!

Again, with my handy dandy rice cooker, I boiled the langka for 10-15 minutes until they're tender. By the way, if you're going to use pre-sliced langka, it's bound to smell sour/acidic since it's been sitting there all day. That's perfectly fine, and to take the smell away, wash it well and boil it with a couple of bay leaves.

Set the boiled langka aside and start the gata by boiling the coconut MILK with ginger and onions. When the flavors have infused, add the langka and a finger chili and the daing (soaked in water to take out the saltiness) and boil for 5-10 minutes. After that, add salt and again, if you use it, some vetsin. Finally, add the coconut CREAM. The richest part is always added last, to maintain its richness. Season again if you like.

Allan is not a big gata fan, but I managed to shove this down his throat after threatening him with dagger looks. I think by the end of the meal, he was convinced.

Sarciadong Daing/Sweet and Sour Dried Fish

2009-10-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

My mother recently sent me a package of dried stuff---squid and blue marlin. Gloriousness! While Allan cannot care less for the daing blue marlin and went for the squid instead, I was thinking of the different dishes that I can use the fish with. First I just sauteed it with some sitaw, but I next I tried to replicate my mom's sweet and sour daing which I think she got from her mother who wanted to make things a bit more upscale than the simple fry-grill-broth that my grandfather (you remember him?) preferred.

So start with soaking the fish in a lot of water and change it, oh, maybe a couple of times, to get the salt out. To make it uber simple, I dumped lots of chopped ginger and sliced onions into my rice cooker and poured some oil into it, popped the cook button and covered it up. After five minutes, the aromatics were well, aromatic. After tossing it around a few times, I put julienned bell peppers into the pot and dumped twelve small, roughly chopped, tomatoes (they were nice and ripe and cheap) and tossed it around some more until the tomatoes became tender and the pulp mushed into a thick sauce. Add 1/2 cup of water to thin it out, add vinegar, salt and if you use it, vetsin. Don't add the usual amount of salt, it has to be a little on the sour side because the daing is VERY salty. Add sugar and stir. Add the soaked daing and allow it to boil/simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with a LOT of rice and pandan iced tea.

Pandan Iced Tea

2009-10-23T07:05:00.001-07:00

One of my recent successes in the food and beverage department is Pandan Iced Tea. I admit, that I never thought that I would have to buy Pandan leaves since it's practically a weed in Zamboanga. When we were still living in Lustre, we had our own pandan bush and when we moved to Tugbungan, there was a whole colony of pandan by the river, free for all. In Manila, people don't know what exactly a pandan looks like in the wild and I have to shell out some cash to get a decent bundle.

So like the picture up there ^ wash the leaves and tie them into a little chignon. Then boil it up, until the water changes color...it should be greenish-brown. Maybe 3-5 minutes after the water starts to boil furiously will be sufficient to get the flavor out.

Next, allow a couple of teabags to steep. It is, after all, essentially iced tea. I used Lipton and left it in the pot for around 3 minutes. Lipton is pretty astringent, so it can easily overpower the pandan essence. After steeping the tea, add sugar, preferably brown or muscovado, because it tastes better and has more character than white sugar. But anything is ok, basta dulce.

Add ice and enjoy!

Traditional Champorado

2009-10-23T06:45:00.001-07:00

Champorado is something that I consider as comfort food. I remember my mother, even in our sort of cash-short state, buying even 1/4 kilo of sticky rice or malagkit to turn into champorado for a nice Sunday breakfast, or just whenever she feels that I need some boost, like before an exam or competition.

Anyway, she would often make the chocolate from scratch, from cacao seeds from the fruits of the Madre de Cacao in our backyard after I've sucked them pulpless. Haha. She would wash the seeds and dry them for a couple of days (or more, I forget this part of the process) and when it's completely dry, she would toast it over a wood stove on a common kitchen frying pan. Then the roasted seeds would be sent to a guy in the market who grinds coffee beans. The guy would also press them into tablea. Voila! Tablea for hot choco or champorado. The tablea would taste a little, well...homemade. None of the richness of commercial ones, but it was nice and bittersweet and tasted of, shall I say it...love.

So last weekend, I made champorado, but I used store bought tablea instead. Boil around 1/4-1/2 cup of malagkit and to maybe five cups of water, until the rice is nice and soft and the remaining water sticky. Take the tablea and crumble it and add some of the hot boiling water from the pot and form into some sort of paste. It has to be the consistency of gravy before you pour the chocolate into the pot. Chocolate tastes better when it cooks a little more so stir it a bit before taking it off the fire. Add sugar and milk if you like it creamier. But I prefer it this way, rich and bittersweet.

Banoffee Pie

2009-10-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

I love Banoffee Pie. It's bananas and caramel and Nutella and whipped cream and cookies. Ahhhh. Love it.

This one is just from Starbucks. I'm hoping to make my own Banoffee Pie soon. Just can't get around to it.

This pie is only Php105 and I was really satisfied after. Fro-yo is Php120. I'd rather get Banoffee Pie next time.

Why is Healthy Expensive?

2009-10-09T21:58:00.001-07:00

I feel bad for eating Fro-Yo because this small cup with the toppings made me Php120 poorer. But I feel better, I guess, because we ate so much meat and so much fatty stuff earlier.

This is my favorite Fro-Yo brand though. I think it's called Frogurt. It's creamy and not Yakult-tasting like California Berry. It's also nice because it tastes of vanilla, instead of just...yogurt.

Meat and Bread

2009-10-09T21:44:00.001-07:00

Allan and I LOVE burgers. Although I really am a rice person, I can maybe trade one meal for a burger and I'll be fine. So yesterday we went out to Shangrila Mall and ate at Wham! simple because we're craving or burger.

This is the Wham! burger. No cheese, but the meat is juicy and medium rare, just like I want it. You can ask for well done too. There's no cheese or mayo, only a little mustard and ketchup, tomato and lettuce. But the meat really is what takes it. It's smoky and flavorful and it's huge! for Php98 bucks, you get 1/3 pound of meat that's about 5-6 inches in diameter.

We had onion rings, too. And they weren't the type where the onions was chopped, battered and fried. Instead, they were diced very fine and battered so that when you bite into it, it's really very crunchy and onion-y, but none of the strong smell or taste.

We also got Sabrett hotdogs. Apparently, "the original Manhattan hotdog." Syempre, I don't know if it really tastes like the real thing, but it was good. With the spicy and juicy dog, we had pickles, mustard, ketchup, mayo and the special Sabrett caramelized onions. Soooooo good!

We had Fro-Yo after, just to make ourselves feel better since we ate so much meat and preservatives. Up next.

Chili!

2009-10-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

I made chili the other day, using a recipe I got from a friend (actually he used to work in The Soup Kitchen) and it was THE BOMB! I added a few of my own spices, but is was hot, hot, hot!

So we ate some of it for dinner, with some nachos. The leftovers I brought to work and it only tasted better the next day, since the flavors already seeped into the soup even more.

Recipe

1/2 kilo ground beef
chili powder
cumin
pepper
coriander seeds
rosemary
thyme
2 cups beans (white or red kidney or pinto)
1 large can crushed tomato
1 large can tomato sauce
2 medium yellow and green bell peppers, diced
2 medium onions,diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
oil
salt

cheese and nachos for garnish and side
or
rice/bread

Procedure
1.Pour oil, saute onions, garlic and add beef. Cook till the beef is not pink.
2. Pour crushed tomato and tomato sauce.
3. Season at this point, add the spices. Add a little water, maybe a cup, depending on how runny you want it to be.
4. Simmer and add the peppers after around 20-30 minutes.
5. Add beans and allow to cook. Once the beans are soft, it's ready!

Now, chili is really a flexible thing. You can add more spices or lessen it. You can use beans or no beans. You can add potatoes and peas. It's really up to you. But this is how I like it!

Traffic and Lines

2009-10-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Let's take a break from my usual food stuff and let me tell you some things I hate about living here. One is the long line in the MRT. I prefer to take the MRT, not only because it's fast and efficient, but because it's much cheaper compared to taking a cab or a bus. Apparently a lot of people think the same way.

Second, the traffic. In this picture, you can see that it's a little bit loose, but actually, I was in that street for like 30 minutes already. It doesn't seem to matter whether or not I leave early or late. It's always traffic. Always too many people. Always annoying.

Organic Apples

2009-10-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

You must understand that I am not a food snob. I do not have to buy the expensive organic "healthy" stuff just to feel full and satisfied. But these apples were so nice and soooo crisp, that I'm rethinking about my earlier food philosophy.

They were also quite small, and very sweet. They were priced only at Php100 for ten pieces in the weekend market in Salcedo Village. What do you think of organic food?

Cubao,Cubao

2009-09-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

You can say that practically all you need to find in the world is in Cubao,I think. From foreign husbands to tiger prawns from Cambodia, you can get it all from there.

One of the best things I like about Cubao are the countless ukay-ukays. Just like Cubao itself,the thrift stores there carry anything from clothes and shoes to TV's and chopping boards. Even Tag Hauer watches,genuine ones,too.

Today, we're going to Cubao. What awaits our visit, I am yet to know.

Cooker Cooking

2009-09-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

You're prolly sick of hearing about my cooking exploits.So just one more before I go back to normal,somewhat.Haha

I am kinda unable to post pictures because I am yet to find an app that allows me to upload my pics from my phone directly to the blog while I'm online.

Anyhoo,last night I cooked giniling with potatoes and cabbage.Because I'm lazy and because I'm not very patient with a knife,I decided to use baby potatoes so they go straight from the sink to the pot.Don't you just love baby vegetables? The result,if I have to say so myself, is glorious.All done in a rice cooker,or else we won't be in bed by 10.

Tonight I'm thinking of corn soup,since there is quite an abundance of corn in the market.

Ok,this is quite long for a phone entry already,my thumb is complaining.Pictures soon!

Schnow Cone

2009-09-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

I love snow cones. As a child, I would save up my money so I can buy scramble. That icy mix of shaved ice, milk, peanuts, sago and pink food coloring. Later versions would have chocolate syrup. Allan remembers a different version here in Manila, one sans the peanuts. Whatever version it is we remember, sweet shaved ice will always be a favorite cooler.

The picture up top was taken in SM, and that thing is a snow cone. Grape flavor. It's ginormous! Good enough for two. It's just shaved ice with grape syrup and condensed milk on top. I suppose it's a little bit expensive at P30, but hell, why not? It was muggy out.

These Children

2009-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

As if I'm old. Haha

Anyway, a pet peeve of mine is whenever I see lewd pictures of Miley Cyrus and other non-celebrity teenagers in odd positions. Or that tongue in the middle of V'd fingers. Oh, I'm sure you've seen those pictures. It's scary, and a testament of how unthinking the youth is becoming these days. These pictures could easily be copied and distributed everywhere so even if you delete it, it might just come back in a few years to bite you in your backside.

Of course there's the issue of smarter employers. Today, it is not enough to have a stunning resume or a good interview. Employers (trust me, I know) are now looking into the Twitter profiles, Facebook pages and blogs of applicants. Pictures of an applicant in weird poses or tweets about sexual or vulgar stuff can easily ruin his or her image.

Forgetting all these things I said about smarter employers, those pictures will be embedded in Google's memory until their kids are old enough to find it themselves. Not good.

I sound like an old woman now.

Modern Girl's Guide to Life

2009-09-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm being very nice here, maybe because dinner was a success. I'm embedding a copy of Modern Girl's Guide to Life into my blog so that you can read it, too, Modern Girl! Really helped me a lot, especially with keeping my place neat and tidy. It has some tips about how to get out and make the most of some circumstances we find ourselves in, from a nasty stain on a sweater, to that sprig of rosemary added on a rotisserie chicken for a dinner party to make it look like you cooked it yourself. Teaches you little cheats that you can do when 1. you're in a crunch for time or 2. you're not really familiar with what you're doing.

I bought this online, then I uploaded it into Scribd...now YOU don't have to!

The Modern Girl's Guide to Life