New pets…and more cute bunny pics!

When the kids went home after our beach trip to Bolinao, Pangasinan they also brought home with them some new pets which they intend to take care and even sell – hermit crabs! One time we saw these tiny things being sold at a stall in SM – for 150 each! The only difference was that those sold at SM had Sponge bob or Spiderman characters painted on the hermit crab’s shells… so, how’s that for over-pricing huh! Kaye and Denise were able to take home so many big hermits and even numerous small ones…their only problem is that they wouldn’t know if the seaweed they brought home would be enough to feed the hermits and if it runs out…what more could they use to feed them???











Meanwhile, here are more pics of the baby bunnies at 16 days…they are definitely getting much cuter now since they have more hair and are truly quite playful! But we’re still afraid to touch them still although we did take out one of them and took it inside the house to play with.

Kaye’s recognition day

I went on leave today to attend a very important occasion – my daughter’s recognition day at Village Montessori school. I am happy because every year, her rank keeps getting higher. Last year she was ranked ninth so she was Sixth honorable mention. This year, however, she not only ranked eighth and got a Fifth honorable mention medal, she also got a best in Math award for topping their Math Quiz Bee!!! I am so proud of you baby! Keep it up and I hope you do even better next year!

First summer salvo @ Bolinao, Pangasinan

Today, we embarked on our first summer outing of the year – courtesy of Ate Ne and her sisters who wanted to take their Inang for a birthday treat to the beach. Finally, after so many tries, we would finally be able to go to Bolinao – what some consider also a good beach in Pangasinan…well, the beach was good but totally over-rated like Pagudpud and not at all what I expected it to be!

We started the day early at 2:30 a.m. because I had to heat water for Kaye’s bath and cook breakfast of hotdogs and sinangag for them. But Kaye and I didn’t have time to eat na, only Jun and Kit ate while we took our bath. They took their bath na kasi already last night so they just washed up a bit this morning before dressing up to leave. Before 4 am we were at Inang’s house to wait for Ate Ne before we could proceed to Tigbe for her Ate’s house. After that, off we went na to NLEX though we made a short side trip muna to Baliuag to drop off Inang’s lona via a meet-up at the Shell Station along the highway.

We traveled six hours non-stop with only a toilet break at Camiling, Tarlac and then got waylaid by traffic at Alaminos, Pangasinan due to their fiesta. Then we got lost a bit pa because Jun made the wrong turn and ended up at Hundred Islands. After a bit more of searching, we finally reached the rest house that April found online (via Sulit) and had our first glimpse of the beaches of Bolinao.





It was already 11 am by then, and so we first had lunch / breakfast then rested a bit before setting off to explore the rest of Bolinao first because it was still too hot to hit the beach. We first visited the Bolinao lighthouse to have some picture-taking and enjoy the view / panorama of Bolinao. Afterwards, we visited ‘Enchanted’, an underground cave where they say some scenes of Marian Rivera’s fantaserye ‘Dyesebel’ were shot. Just too bad that we weren’t able to bring any swim wear because the cave we descended into was quite cool and after the hot weather upstairs, it was very enticing indeed to take a dip in its natural pools. So that was why the lady/caretaker upstairs doubted our statements that we would just look at the caves and not swim…for true enough the kids couldn’t help themselves and even sans swimwear went ahead took a dip. So we had to pay an additional PhP 20 per person who emerged wet from the cave since the day entrance was only Php 30 while swimming entailed a fee of PhP 50. Nice gimmick huh!




After the kids had their fill of swimming ala Dyesebel, we all returned to the resort. Expectedly, the kids headed straight to the beach and so despite the heat (it was still around 3pm by then) I just let them be. Meanwhile, Jun and I took a nap for a while after I saw that even Ate Ne and April were sleeping. An hour later, we were on our way to Bolinao market to buy some fish to cook for our dinner. After buying both fresh and dried fish and some fresh fruits for our dessert, we returned to the resort and were just in time to catch the sunset.








We took a short dip in the sea (because it was already quite cold after the sun has set) then took our baths while Jun, April and Arnold grilled the fish, pork and hotdogs…only problem was the hotdogs seemed to be flying and disappearing all at once so they were unable to even fill a plate! (hehehe) After our hearty dinner, we retired to our room and I was planning to just close my eyes a bit and then go out to join them in the bonfire but I ended up sleeping through the night already…



The next morning we awoke bright and early and found that the oldies already went off to church and to market to buy again some fish and shrimps to take home. So after eating breakfast, we once again swam in the cool waters of Bolinao. The water was very calm and inviting just like a large wading pool that’s perfect for kids but not so much for big kids and real swimmers like Keith and Jun. What’s more, the first few yards were filled with so much corals so you have to go a bit further to catch some wave near the breakwater. The kids though had their fun even swimming near the shore and they also spent some time catching hermit crabs both big and small which they intend to take home as pets.



By 11, we all took our baths and got ready to leave. We ate our lunch at Mang Inasal at Hacienda Luisita, passing by Tigbe to drop off Ate Ne’s sister with their families before going home to San Jose…in all truly a great way to start off our summer vacation!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 23: Corn Maja

Today, I cooked another of my kids’ fave desserts – one that’s so easy to make too – corn maja! But mind you I was not able to make this dessert so easily at first! I went through so many trials trying to find out which recipe would work best and after so many tries – wherein my family suffered through a ‘soft’ maja, a watery maja and worse maja that tasted slightly of luya (because I used powdered gata and little did I know that the packet I chose had ‘ginger’ flavor to be used in gata gulay recipes) hehehe! And so after so many hits and misses here’s one recipe that truly worked for me…my only complaint was that the recipe used too small quantities so I ended up with only a half-inch high of corn maja on my 9x5 rectangular container. So next time, I will just double the ingredients so they’ll have more maja to eat! Here’s the recipe although I already forgot where I got it from.

2/3 c cornstarch
2/3 c sugar
1 can sweet corn
2 c coconut milk (powdered or fresh)
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

You just mix everything together (except the butter) and let it boil in a saucepan. Continue stirring until the mixture starts to thicken and then you turn off the fire. Transfer the mixture in a rectangular container whose sides and bottom have been buttered. Cool and chill until it sets.

MORE BABY BUNNY PICS

Today, I cleaned out again the rabbits cages and since I had no other place left to put them in, I just left them inside their cages while I cleaned one and then the other. What I did take out were the baby bunnies because I was afraid to get them wet and so I placed them on the floor of our garage while I cleaned out the cages. Anyway, there is no danger yet that they may wander about and get out since at seven days they still cannot open their eyes yet and move about as much as they want. So instead, my daughter looked over them (though she was still quite afraid to touch them!) and took pictures of them still sleeping in their box/nest...here are the pics she took.

KIDNEY STONE SCREENING

This morning the office scheduled a kidney stone seminar and screening for its employees and knowing that I once had trouble with my kidneys, I gladly attended the seminar to learn more about it and how to prevent it. The lecturer, a doctor, gave a good briefing – he enumerated very well the food that people with kidney problems must avoid and he gave us tips on how to prevent the occurrence of kidney stones. One statement of his, however, alarmed me – he said that once a stoner always a stoner so there is danger that my stones would keep on recurring if I don’t watch out and true enough after the seminar and it was time for the tests – the results proved positive for me, I had a stone - .04 cm in size on my right kidney. So I guess the treatment I had before did not really flush out everything. But what’s worse is that Jun had it too…the same size and the same right kidney. So I guess that now we really need to watch our food intake together! Otherwise, we’d both end up having difficulty peeing or worse, having our kidneys taken out with an ultra-expensive operation!!! Anyway, the doctor did not altogether ban any kind of food, what he emphasized was to eat certain foods in moderation since they do have a tendency to form stones faster (like calcium rich and uric rich foods) AND THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME --- DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! The size of our stones is not really much reason for us to be alarmed…I guess it just gives us a wake-up call to every once in a while watch carefully what we eat.

BABY BUNNIES!

Last night, as we were eating (my birthday) dinner Kaye suddenly came in the house asking about the presence of cotton balls inside Whitey’s cage!?! I immediately stood up, went outside and saw her pulling hair from her tummy and knew--- she’s in labor! After our dinner, I set about fixing her nesting box, Jun already made the wooden box about a month ago, but I procrastinated with buying/looking for hay or straw for the nest itself. Instead, Kaye and I shredded newspapers and placed the box inside her cage and waited. She kept on digging and digging her way under the box and I knew she was agitated – maybe its because she felt a bit of pain… all night I waited with her but she showed no sign at all of giving birth. She just kept digging inside the box and pulling hair from her shoulders and her chest which she would add to the newspapers already inside the nest. I decided to sleep at 12 and set my alarm at 2 am then when I came down – lo and behold! I saw four cute bunnies in the nest while one lay forlorn beside Whitey outside her cage! So I immediately carried the tiny one and laid him/her inside the nest alongside the others. I was so excited but I very well couldn’t wake anybody else because they were all sleeping and so I just decided to take pics of the newly-born rabbits and hoped they would all survive and grow up to be cute little bunnies!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 22: ORANGE GLAZED PORKCHOPS

This next meal was again based on Connie Veneracion/Sassy’s Orange and Honey Glazed Porkchops (check out her blog for the recipe)Again this was another hit meal for the kiddos! My only problem with the dish I made is that the porkchops were still not tender enough (maybe it’s the kind of meat that I bought) or it could be that my decision not to let all the liquid dry up since my kids want to have a bit of sauce to spoon over their rice did not help matters any. Furthermore, next time I would follow Connie and use real oranges next time and not the ponkan variety so that the sauce would have that natural orange tang instead of being sweet…oh well, it still tasted good but I would do better the next time.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 21: CHICKEN A LA KING

This could very well be my most favorite comfort food in the world – chicken a la king. I used to cook this often for my family when I was still living with my parents in our family home and I still recall that even back then my family loved it – who would go wrong with anything that has milk/cream and of course, lots of cheese!!!This is why I am glad that my kids and the hubby loved this too! I do not remember anymore where I got this recipe but the one I browsed from Connie Veneracion’s food blog is similar to it I guess the only difference is that I used regular chicken cuts and not chicken fillet. I also added lots of garlic and cheese. So for those who would want more details on the recipe, just check out her blog (at Home Cooking Rocks sorry but I don’t know how to link…)

The good thing about this recipe is that I can pre-boil the chicken the night before so that the next day, I can have less time to spend on cooking and food preparation. Thus, in the morning I just sautéed the chicken in some butter with lots of garlic, pimientos, carrots and mushrooms. Then I melted some butter, slowly added the flour and the chicken broth (reserved from boiling the chicken last night) then the sautéed chicken mixture, milk/cream then finally the cheese! Stir a little and wait for the cheese to melt and the sauce to thicken a bit and voila! Some of it was served for breakfast; the rest went into my elder son’s baon (since he rarely eats breakfast nowadays)

NEW SCOOTER FOR KAYE!

Today is the People Power Anniversary holiday but since P-Noy did not see it fit to declare it a holiday, we had work today …only the kids have a holiday and so my daughter went with us to the office just to hang out and use the internet in my PC. After work, we decided to drop by SM Department store to buy a gift for Inang, we decided to buy her a dish drainer like the one we recently bought for our kitchen but just a bigger version. Then, we added some matching plates, serving bowls, saucers, glasses and cutlery since every time we come over for a visit we end up always searching for these things whenever it’s time to eat…so what better gift to give her than a complete set huh!?! Then, just as we were already paying at the counter, my daughter suddenly glanced upon the rows and rows of bikes and guess what else she saw?...a pink Barbie scooter! She didn’t have to say anything much…I bet she just batted her long pleading look at her tatay and he had no choice but to give in to her wishes… anyway, she is entitled to a gift naman since she is running for honors this year and she is sure to receive a medal for being Best in Math so we both gave in… I just hope that she does well in her exams and that she would indeed finish within her Class Top Ten this school year! I also hope that she would be careful and not get into any accident using the scooter…keep safe baby!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 20: Fried chicken curry

For their breakfast and baon today, I cooked the same old fried chicken – but with a twist! I got this from a recipe of another fave food blooger – Dennis (of Lutong Bahay blog). I marinated the chicken in some salt, pepper, and a generous amount of curry powder the night before. Then, this morning when I awoke I just heated up some cooking oil – just enough to submerge the chicken pieces, then I dredged each piece in a bit of flour before dropping in the steaming hot oil and voila – delicious fried chicken which even my daughter liked! Thanks a lot Dennis for another good recipe!

2nd PYROMUSICAL COMPETITION

At 4 pm yesterday, we checked in at Rm. 945-947 of Sofitel for the 2nd International Pyro-musical competition. Since we had much time to kill, the kids wanted to take a dip in the pool and so I relented and went down to watch over them. Alex (a half-cousin) had already been in the pool an hour earlier and so Kaye and Kit joined her in playing with the other kids. By 5, when the sun was almost setting na, the kids felt a bit cold and wanted to leave the pool na. We went up to the room where they continued bathing in the warm water of the bath tub. Soon after, some of our relatives arrived and we made small talk while waiting for the fireworks to start.





By 7 pm, we decided to eat dinner na. My sister arrived a few minutes before 8 (coz she got stuck in traffic!) and just in time too coz a few minutes later we saw that the fireworks competition had already started… we didn’t have a schedule on hand but we surmised (because of the proliferation of red and green lights) that the first country to perform was Portugal (because their flag was red and green). It was great and we all were wowed with what we saw… after about thirty minutes, the show ended and so we resumed our dinner and watching TV while waiting for the next country to perform. U.K. started its performance at around nine and for me it was better than the first one – well, after all they were the defending champions and so they had much to prove and show the world they deserve to be called the best diba?



After the show and eating some dessert, the others left for their homes while we stayed behind to sleep in the main suite’s receiving room (because Rachel and family had taken the adjoining suite) It was OK naman because they placed beds inside the sala (one for myself, the hubby and Kit) while Kaye slept in a cushion in Rachel’s room beside Alex. Anna was supposed to sleep with us but changed her mind coz she was planning to meet a friend. It was a bit late when she left (around 12:30 am na) and it was only then that I turned the TV off, covered myself in sheets and snuggled in to sleep.



I was awakened by the extreme cold at around 5:30 am and so I decided to stay outside in the verandah to wait for the sunrise…too bad though that my particular vantage point does not have an actual view of the sunrise (sunset lang talaga!). Instead, I took pics of the moon setting na lang… when the others slowly awakened, we got ready to eat breakfast at Spiral for their breakfast buffet – and as always, Spiral did not disappoint. Just check out the following pics of their breakfast spread… truly its goodbye diet muna!









We returned to our rooms feeling so satisfied and thinking we may eat lunch today a bit later than usual… The kids frolicked a bit in the pool and the elders watched the Donayre-Montiel fight. By 2pm, we checked out of Sofitel, and said goodbye to what could be considered our third home here in Manila… and truly my favorite hotel in the country, but of course I may just be biased!

THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW

Today, I finally finished Book 1 of C.S. Lewis books – The Chronicles of Narnia entitled – “The Magician’s Nephew”. This particular e-book has long been with me but I never got around to reading it until I decided to put it in my cellphone and so now I am able to read it via the phone’sPDF reader during lull moments when I am waiting for a ride or when I am in between meetings…

My interest was sparked to read the book when I saw the two films already created – ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ and ‘Prince Caspian’ but I was quite surprised to learn that these weren’t the first two books at all but there was another one – a sort of prequel that was published sixth but actually came first because it narrated the origins of Narnia and how the story’s two protagonists – Digory and Polly began an adventure that would take them from their wicked uncle’s dinghy study in London to a world totally different from their own thru some magic rings. In one of the worlds that they explore, they meet the wicked queen Jadis and unknowingly transport her back to their own world in London.

They attempt to return Jadis to her own world but in the process bring with them a horse, its cabby and even their magician uncle. They mistakenly enter Narnia and got to witness its creation with Aslan singing and because of their mistake of bringing Jadis into Narnia, Diggory and Polly had to fulfill a mission for Aslan – to get an apple of immortality from a secret garden and plant it in Narnia as protection against Jadis. When they succeed, Diggory, Polly and the magician uncle are bid to return to London but before they go Aslan gives Diggory an apple for his ailing mother. The cab driver, Frank and his wife stay on in Narnia to rule as its first king and queen. In London, Diggory’s mother is miraculously healed and so he plants the apple core in his backyard where it grows into a big and sturdy tree. Years later, when the tree fell due to a storm, an older Diggory has the tree trunk made into a wardrobe --- yes the same wardrobe that Lucy will discover in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – that will provide the link between both worlds…

It really was just a short story although it provided a relevant history to the creation of Narnia. I hope to start reading the next book in the series… by then, I would be able to compare the film against the book so stay tuned…

FAREWELL TO A BRAVE SOLDIER

Today is a day for mourning for the AFP, for today they are putting to rest someone some would consider a hero while others condemn him as a coward for doing what he did – I am talking about General Angelo Reyes – former Chief of Staff of the AFP, former DND Chief, former DOE Secretary, former DENR Secretary and more recently, the subject of a Senate investigation for ‘alleged’ anomalies like ‘pabaon’ and other perks that he, as well as other former AFP COS, received during their incumbency.

I do not know Angie Reyes from Adam…I have no idea if he ever was a good man, a good husband, a good boss, a good father, a good son… all I know about him is that he was my uncle’s ‘mistah’ at the PMA – they both belong to PMA Class 66 and they were together during the EDSA Dos that ousted PJEE and installed PGMA as President. What I know about him only comes from what I read in the tri-media…which is why I refuse to judge him – and why I hate those who condemn him to high heavens for choosing the easy way out instead of facing the music, so to speak…but what do they know really what went on inside his head during those final moments before he finally pulled the trigger???

Do I believe he was guilty of all the things that he has been accused of? Honestly, I am not sure – maybe he is… some writers believe it so because they say his suicide says it all! But me, I would prefer to believe that he just inherited an already ‘corrupt system’ in the AFP and the one thing he did wrong is to go with the flow and just DO NOTHING! I could sense it with his statements during the Senate hearing and his final interview granted to PCIJ.

I guess, too, he felt singled out for what he did during EDSA II and was now powerless to do anything about it, since the ones he turned his back on are now back in power with a vengeance. Some perceive him as a coward for choosing suicide, but it can also be viewed as an act of bravery – for not everyone can do what he did – shoot oneself in the heart!

Instead of condemning him, I guess the people should do well to learn lessons from his passing… especially those in the AFP and in government, in general. It’s high time for our soldiers to do what they truly were trained to do – to defend and protect the citizens of this country and look out for the welfare of each and every soldier within their command…they are not in the AFP to enrich themselves and line their nest eggs with gold in preparation for their retirement…the country do not owe them that! They entered the service on their own free will and if they live each day with one foot in the grave – it was their choice! No one forced them to be a soldier…thus, they have no right to believe that they can just dip their fingers in the country’s coffers because they had a right to that…of course not!!! I just hope everyone who has chosen to SERVE would come to such realization otherwise, Angie’s death would just be in vain…

PIC WITH P-NOY

Had the chance to pose for a pic with President Noynoy Aquino today at an office event which the President graced - an inauguration gig. We waited for like an hour before he came out of a meeting with some cabinet bigwigs also in attendance at the same event. I am just glad that when he came out, he gamely posed for photos with the staff. I am not really a P-Noy fan, if I could vote during the last elections I would’ve voted for Gibo or Gordon. As of now, I still haven’t seen if the rest of the nation did right in voting for him. He is barely a year in office, and yet, oh well, I guess I’ll give him more leeway being a newbie in the executive position, maybe there’s still hope for him yet!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES SERIES 19: FRIED CHICKEN ALA MAX

I have noticed that the time I am prone to experimenting in the kitchen is when the hubby is away – maybe because I do not like to be ridiculed if the recipe goes wrong or if I may have miscalculated some of the ingredients. Well, he doesn’t really react very negatively like shout at me or throw his dinner, no nothing like that but still I hesitate because I hate for him to see me prepare something so unpalatable. So instead, I try to test out some of the recipes that I see on my kids – anyway, they are so easy to please! So today for our lunch (even if Max's is also my hubby’s fave!) I tested the recipe I saw from another food blogger – Dennis (of Lutong Bahay blog) The one thing different from this recipe is the addition of tanglad when you pre-boil the chicken and frying the chicken twice to achieve the crispiness that Max is famous for. So did I achieve the same effect? Well, not quite! I guess I went easy on the salt so the chicken itself came out a bit bland but the tanglad truly did wonders although I still cannot say if that truly is Max’s secret ingredient --- I will keep on experimenting and searching though! And I’ll share it with you as soon as I have truly found it.

IN THE HOPE OF CLEANING AND CURING THE RABBITS

Yesterday, my daughter and I embarked on a very important project. You see it has been our problem for a few months already concerning the rabbits but we never really got around to fixing the problem, well, until now. I cannot remember anymore when it was that we started noticing some crusts forming on the noses of our cutesy rabbits and then it spread to their ears. After some research and browsing at pictures I have come to realize and diagnose that our rabbits had mites (small garapata like insects) and they are infected with ear mange. I tried to find some remedies for it but all the resources I found on the internet recommended giving them some ivermectin injections from a vet. But since there is no nearby vet available to see them, I tried to find some other solution – I finally found some home remedies this week and so during the weekend, my daughter and I decided to try them out.



First, we cleaned and disinfected their cages. This was a bit difficult for me since the cage was so large so I had my daughter go inside the cages to scrub it clean with detergent and bleach. This we shall be doing for about two months – to ensure that the mites (in case they would be cured will not be coming back!) Then afterwards, a solution of borax and hydrogen peroxide was wiped on the rabbits’ affected areas. I earlier bought borax from the hardware (it’s a natural cleaning agent so there’s not much danger to them in case of ingestion, or so I’ve read) but putting it on them is a different story altogether coz they didn’t like it much when I touch or much less place anything on their ears. I learned the trick though to wipe the ‘solution’ on them while they’re inside the small cage – so they’ll have less room to run away from me. I also petted them on the head to soothe their frayed nerves so that I was able to successfully apply the borax-peroxide solution on their ears and a bit on their noses. Hopefully, they will be cured of the mites (hopefully before the babies come so they won’t get infected too!)

PROM NIGHT

Tonight, I witnessed yet another grim reminder that I am indeed getting old… because it’s my little boy’s prom night – well, he’s not quite so little anymore, in fact, he’s a lot bigger than me! Funny how time flies so fast and you never really realize how fast until it suddenly stares you in the face… in a few more years he’ll be going to college and depending on whatever college he may eventually chose to enter – be it the PMA or MAAP or whatever college he ends up with – it would turn out the same – I would cease to see him everyday…harassing him to take out his baunan from his school bag and pick up his clothes which he is perennially leaving on the floor and all over his already messy bedroom. Truth to tell, despite his hardheadedness --- I am honestly going to miss him! So I guess I really do need to savor moments like this while he’s still with us…and maybe create more bonding moments to spend together...

GOYA MINT CHOCO

I saw this as I was searching for a quick dessert to eat after lunch… would’ve been happy if I found my favorite chocnut…but now I’m so much happier because I found my two favorite things in just one package - chocolate and mint! My super duper ever favorite chocolate in the world is Andes chocolates…but I only get to buy these things at the airport duty free stores or whenever I visit Clark or Subic. But now I think I have found the next best thing – and at a much cheaper price pa because it is made by Goya! (I think only PhP30 for a pack of nine chocolates)

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 18: BAKED CREAMY CHICKEN AND POTATOES

This is one recipe that I got from my favorite food blogger Connie Veneracion at Home Cooking Rocks. It is actually already an old recipe of hers (posted way back in 2006) but the moment I saw this recipe, I knew I just had to try and cook it…well, now I finally did and it was truly delicious and a definite hit with the hubby and the kids! Here’s the recipe – lifted in full from Connie’s blog – I did no tweaking whatsoever – since none was needed!

Start with 8 large chicken thighs (use skinless breasts for less fat), 4-5 potatoes, an onion, a cup of cream, chopped parsley (fresh or dried), salt, pepper, 1/4 c. of butter and about a cup of grated quickmelt cheese. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and let rest in a bowl while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Peel the potatoes and cut into wedges. Peel the onion, cut into halves and slice thinly.

Melt the butter in a non-stick saute pan. When hot, brown the chicken thighs, turning them for even browning. Lift with kitchen tongs as they brown and arrange on a baking pan. Note that the chicken thighs need not be cooked through at this point. Just brown the outside then transfer them to the baking pan. Brown the potato wedges in the remaining butter and add to the chicken. Saute the sliced onion and sprinkle on top of the chicken and potatoes

Take a cup of cream (substitute yogurt if you’re watching your fat and cholesterol intake) and pour over the chicken, potatoes and sliced onion. You may sprinkle more salt and pepper at this point since the potatoes will absorb most of the salt from the chicken that will get mixed into the liquid as the dish cooks. Sprinkle chopped parsley all over after pouring in the cream. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, piercing it with a fork in a few places to create steam vents. Bake in a preheated 180oC oven for 20 to 30 minutes (I used a turbo broiler, though). Take the baking pan out of the oven and peel off the foil. Do this carefully since the steam that will escape can burn your fingers. Spread the grated cheese over the cooked chicken and potatoes. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes longer or until the cheese melts.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 18: BREAKFAST FRITATAS

For quite some time, I have been seeing recipes of omelets, tortas, and frittatas (from different foodsites I normally browse)…. I really do not know the difference of one from the other but I guess they may be the same since they have more or less the same ingredients although the manner of cooking varies – some are cooked in a non-stick pan, others baked like a pizza. And since, I have been getting a bit bored cooking ham and eggs separately, or bacon and eggs, or tuna and eggs – making an omelet with both or all of the ingredients present is truly a time-saver!

So today, I tried doing my own breakfast frittata/omelet with ham, potatoes, eggs and lotsa lotsa cheese! (my daughter’s favorite ingredient!) And thankfully she enjoyed it! I have also tried using other ingredients like ground pork with potatoes and tuna with carrots…and the verdict is still the same – the kids loved it! And it’s so easy and less time-consuming to prepare pa! My daughter likes to call it a pizza…and I guess in a way it could be --- I guess I’ll just try to do more variations for this truly very basic frittata/omelet/torta recipe.

HACHIKO

We started watching this movie on DVD during our get-together at Lopez farms in Cavite in November of last year. But we were unable to finish the movie because at the time, we were just killing time before going home to keep away from the heavy traffic along Coastal Road. We forgot to continue watching the movie until last week when HBO began advertising Hachiko as one of its featured movies this coming February and so rather than wait for its screening, my kids and I decided to look for the DVD and watch the movie ourselves one lazy Sunday afternoon…

Hachiko is a very heart-warming but TRUE story about a dog who shows undying loyalty to his master. It narrates how Richard Gere, a professor, finds a lost dog at a train station. The next day, his wife compels him to search for its owners since they don’t want to take care of the puppy (but it’s such a cute pup!) So he tries to locate the owners but to no avail so they eventually end up keeping the dog. The succeeding scenes showed how dog and master developed a strong bond with each other with Hachiko going daily with Gere to the train station and returning each afternoon to the station to greet his master returning from work.

The pair continued on with this daily routine until one day when Richard Gere suffered a heart attack and didn’t come home…Hachiko waited at the train station until Gere’s son-in-law came to collect him. The next scene showed a funeral service being given for Gere and yet the dog continues with his routine going daily to the station and being cared for by numerous friends he has made along the way (the meat vendor at the street corner, the hotdog seller outside the station, even the ticket seller looks out for his welfare) The family eventually sold the house and Hachi is sent to live with Gere’s daughter. But when they left the gate open one time, Hachi escapes and goes back to the train station where he continues to wait for his master to come home. Gere's daughter and son-in-law soon arrive to take him home once again. One day, however, seeing how restless Hachi seems inside their garden, she decides to set Hachi free and he dutifully returns to the station to wait. He does the same routine for nine more years gaining the attention of the locals who usually see him there waiting at his usual spot. His story even caught the attention of media and the people around the vicinity of the station were interviewed about him.

Ten years later, Gere’s wife is shown with Ken (Gere’s Japanese friend) visiting his gravesite. At the station, she is astonished to find Hachi old, weak…but still waiting patiently for his master to return – to me this is the most tear jerking part of the movie! She talks to the dog and waits with him for the next train to arrive. A few more scenes later, Hachi is shown going to his usual spot and sleeping for one last time at the station… there he is met by the spirit of his master and they are reunited once again to be together – for eternity!

This is truly a must-see movie for the entire family – for it teaches values on faith, devotion, and undying love… definitely not just for dog-lovers!

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

COOKING POPCORN IN A MICROWAVE

My daughter just adores popcorn…in fact, she can eat it everyday and not grow tired of it! Most nights after we had our dinner and we settle in for the night on our sofa to watch our daily dose of telenovelas, she asks her father to cook her some popcorn…most of the time he relents and cooks for her but during moments when he comes home tired, he doesn’t have the energy to cook anymore in the evening and so my daughter gets upset and a silent word war ensues between father-and-daughter which lasts even up to bedtime and before they go to sleep…and so since I could not help them out by cooking her the popcorn myself…(well, most of the time the popcorn I cook ends up getting burnt!) I thought of doing for her the next best thing – teach her to cook popcorn herself! With microwaveable popcorn, of course! Expectedly, it costs double than the regular popcorn that we use but still the aroma it leaves the house when it gets cooked after just 2 minutes in the microwave is just so delicious…it’s like we're in a real moviehouse!

SHOPPING FOR THE KITCHEN

We needed some new items for our kitchen like a new dish drainer because our previous one was bought about ten years ago…when we moved here to Bulacan and so expectedly the plastic cover had become quite brittle and broken in a few places and hence provides no protection at all to the dishes inside. I would’ve wanted my dishes to be organized inside built-in kitchen cabinets (something like the San Jose Kitchen cabinet system)… but alas I don’t think I have that kinda money to buy such cabinets just yet and so I had to settle for the next best thing…

We found the dish drainer from Orocan at the SM Homeworld, they were on sale so the price was something like P999.00 from a previous price of PhP1200, I think…We also bought a new rice dispenser with a 25 kilos capacity because our old dispenser could only hold 10 or 15 kilos and so most of the time the rice left in the sack would be infested by rats. Finally, the hubby decided, too, to replace our old thermos since the one we had been using couldn’t keep the water hot for an entire day so we had to heat water again if we wanted to have another round of coffee in the afternoon. We bought a few other knick-knacks like some black bowls and some water jugs so our total bill amounted to about PhP4,000.++ The clothing allowance we were expecting since early January is yet to be given to us so I used my credit card for the meantime – thank God for plastic!

NEW LANGKA FROM OUR TREE

Finally, after almost three months of waiting our langka is finally ripe for picking…the first pic was taken on October 3 last year when I saw that this



particular langka fruit has already gotten a bit bigger than my hand and is in no danger of falling off (like the others before it)… this is the second time already that our langka tree has borne fruit and this is the first langka from this batch that became ripe. We all hoped that it would be ripe in time for Christmas for our espasol but alas it did not… so now we have an almost 20-kilo langka and we don’t know what to do with it?!? Halo-halo season is still two or three months away – so I guess we’d be able to give some to our neighbors and friends, make langka preserves, langka shakes, langka maja, maybe even pastillas, or whatever dessert we may think of …anyway, this is just the first fruit that became ripe…we still have five more fruits to wait for … yum..yum!

RED

I started watching this movie on DVD (pirated, of course) and it was truly a very engaging action-comedy film with a powerhouse cast of characters led by Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren among others. One review I read compared it to another recent movie, The Expendables since both films had a cast of actors of very high caliber (although a bit aging…so to speak) but the reviewer gave the film Red a better review because of a better plot. Well, I haven’t really watched The Expendables yet so I truly can’t compare…but I do agree that the movie has a riveting story since it tells of the lives of RETIRED but EXTREMELY DANGEROUS (hence, the title R.E.D.) CIA agents already living sedate and lonely lives who suddenly found themselves marked for liquidation.

So the group of retirees had no choice but to reassemble themselves once again (with the help of an old enemy – a KGB agent who happened to be an ex-lover of Helen Mirren’s character, Victoria) to find out who is trying to kill them. The film has many funny moments with John Malkovich’s crazy character providing most of the gags while Morgan Freeman keeps them all in check with his wise words and actions. I was already right smack in the middle of the engrossing film when the film suddenly faltered and just stopped altogether! You can just imagine my consternation! I felt so bitin!!! (serves me right for wathcing pirated huh!) So I had no choice but to try to find a video streaming site and thankfully, it was available in tubeplus although downloading was a bit slow. But at least, I was able to finish the movie and found that though the storyline became a bit thin through the end (since it turned out that an ex-CIA agent was behind everything and the earlier nemesis they fought – the guy running for Vice president was just a mere pawn) …it was still quite entertaining! Even the romantic angle brought by Willis and his phone pal was just enough to keep the movie balanced – definitely one of the few good films I have seen for quite some time!

(photo grabbed from IMDB)

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES 17: COOKING WITH A TURBO BROILER

After Christmas, we bought a new turbo broiler because we planned to cook crispy pata for media noche...and since we were all quite apprehensive with frying the pata in lots of oil (due to health issues and the possibility of scalding from oil splatters), we decided to use a turbo broiler instead. Sad to say, the crispy pata did not come out as crisp as we expected it to be. Although it was still quite delicious and tasty!



This time however, I decided to try cooking lechon kawali since I figured if the heat of the turbo couldn't make the large chunk of pata crispy maybe it would be able to do so with the much smaller slices of liempo...and thankfully it did! I started boiling the liempo the day before in salt, pepper, garlic and tanglad; refrigerated the meat overnight and placed the liempo in the turbo broiler at around 7 pm, last night. After 30 minutes and with much time to spare to prepare some waldorf salad - my liempo was done!

MISSING DITSE...

Since mid-October of last year our regular companion in the house (my husband's sister,whom we fondly call Ditse) who takes care of the kids and cooks our dinner left us (temporarily, I hope!) to join her son, a vendor in Divisoria. She does this every year, during this time of the year because this is when sales at Divisoria's streets are brisk with numerous shoppers swarming the place looking for bargains during the Christmas season.

It is also during this time of the year that we are left to fend for ourselves every night and sometimes end up buying cooked food that either tastes too bland, or may be too expensive. There are times when despite being tired from a long day's work, we had to buy food from the market and cook dinner ourselves upon arrival home ... and so I am missing her terribly! I miss her cooking...and her chitchat about the life and loves of our neighbors...I miss the times that I could just put my feet up to rest upon arrival home and simply wait for hot dinner to be served...

What's worse is that even if she left her daughter here with us to look after my sons and daughter - she's not much of an authority figure because she's only eighteen. And when my pesky daughter insists on not eating anything for lunch - she just lets her have her way - so my daughter is looking so undernourished now more than ever...I guess she needs Ditse here more than I do so she'll be well-fed once again...well, it will only be a few days from now and she promised to come back here(after the Santo Nino fiesta)... I just wish she'd come home soon!

MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011

Started the year by looking back at my previous year's resolutions and realized something really really bad --- I HAVE NOT ACCOMPLISHED EVEN HALF OF THEM! Oh dear, so I guess my very first resolution for the year 2011 will be - TO STOP MAKING NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ALTOGETHER SINCE I NEVER GET TO KEEP THEM ANYWAY!!!

SO there...I guess I'll just take each day as it comes...enjoy every moment...and live life to the fullest...after all I am turning forty this year (ugh!) so I might as well start living my life the way I want - no daily schedules... nothing at all to hold me back from enjoying each moment as if it were my last... nope I'm not waxing nostalgic here because I feel my life is about to end (hope not!) But rather I just want to set my mind free to wander and explore the numerous experiences out there that I still have not tried--- so here's hoping that the new year would bring me more exciting places to visit; more exotic restaurants/food to taste; more people to meet and bond with (both old and new friends)and a whole lot of new experiences to savor!!!