Para kanino ka bumabangon?

Sabi yan sa isang madamdaming TV commercial. Madamdamin din ang mga sagot. Pero sa totoo, dahil di naman nakakabusog ang pag-ibig, ligaya, prinsipyo, pangarap at kung anu-ano pang di nahahawakan ng kamay, ang mga obrerong gaya natin ay bumabangon para rito. Para ibigay sa mga higanteng negosyante. Araw araw silang bumabangon para sa atin,
guysh. Para kumubra. Sweet lang. Syet.

Ang ilang taong pinaghirapan, ganito lang ang itsura kapag sinalansan.

Binubusising maigi ng teller sa bangko. 
Baka kasi kulang. At saka kailangan pahirin 
ang pawis, luha at dugong kumapit sa papel.

Aling Zeny's Eggs Recipe

Hiningi ko ang recipe na ito sa mommy ni N, si Aling Zeny. Bongga sa sarap yung gawa niya na natikman namin sa office last August2011. Isang taon nang nasa akin ang recipe na sinulat ni Aling Zeny sa papel at nagawa ko rin sa wakas last month. Isang taon, worth the wait. Presenting... Aling Zeny's Eggs!

Ingredients:

• Eggs - 15 pcs
• Pork Giniling - 1/2 Kilo
• Carrots - 2pcs
• Patatas - 2pcs
• Onion - 1pcs
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Kinchay - 1 tali
• Paminta
• Asin
• Isang oras

Paano gagawin:

1. Ilaga ang itlog for 15 minutes.
2. Balatan, hatiin sa gitna at sungkitin ang dilaw. Itabi for the fun lamasan later.
3. Gumamit ng cheese grater (or kung anong hightech equipment na meron kayo) para sa bawang, sibuyas, patatas at carrots. Tatawagin natin silang drug addict ingredients (sila ay durog).
4. Ipunin ang galit sa dibdib, hugutin at pagkatapos ay tadtarin ang kinchay. Tingnan natin kung di mapino ang hiwa ng kinchay...
5. Ihalo ang drug addict ingredients, pinagdiskitahang kinchay, giniling, dilaw ng itlog,  asin at paminta. Ang dami ng asin at paminta ay dapat na ayon sa panlasa ng kakain.
6. Lamasan na!
7. Ilagay ang isa-dalawang kutsara ng mga Olivia (Lamasan) sa mga bahay-sisiw na pinakuluan mo kanina.
8. Iprito ang mga almost-finished product. Kung may matira, pwede ring gawin silang meatballs.

Ma-share ko lang. Matanda na si N (haha!) at ang kanyang mga kapatid pero si Aling Zeny ay matiyaga pa ring nagluluto araw-araw para sa bahay at para sa baon nilang magkakapatid. Nakakabilib. Sana ako rin,  kahit matandang matanda na ako, hindi ako magsawang magluto. Nakapila pa ako sa ilang recipe ni Aling Zeny. Excited akong subukan lutuin ang mga baon ni N na natikman ko na!

Dream Come True

(May17) For one of our evening team building activities, our boss took us to this place. We participated in some sort of Iron Chef competition (our teams split in two groups)... after my Cucumber Soup tasks, I made these garnishing pieces...Our team won, but that didn't matter. I had so much fun.

Our class facilitator, Ms. Gloria Smiley, asked if I've been in any
classes before because she loved the things I made...
I just said I love cooking and that I do it  everyday.  Teehee!

Recipe: Pritong Talong and Winding Road

Forever Disclaimer: Note that I'm no expert. Matakaw lang ako. I'm from the tantiya-tantiya-nakukuha-sa-tikim-ang-tamang-lasa school of cooking. Walang sukat-sukat dito friends.

Aminin nating lahat, masarap ang talong. Here's a very simple recipe na kasing popular ng pagprito ng itlog. Prito lang. For the kinky minds, para sa inyo talaga ito.

Sangkap:

• Talong
• Salt
• Pepper 
• Mantika
• (Sawsawan) Bawang at Suka

Paano Lutuin:


1. Hugasang mabuti ang talong. Kahit anong sitwasyon, kahit anong nasyon, kahit anong kultura, kahit gutom na gutom ka na, siguraduhing hugas ang talong bago kainin.

2. Dahil Pilipino tayo, gusto natin na ang talong ay may hiwa ("cut"). Walang batas sa kung ano ang dapat na hiwa - kanya kanyang trip yan. Ngayon, kung medyo afam ang hanap mong talong, fine, huwag mo hiwain. Un-cut kung un-cut. Desisyon mo yan.

3. Tuyuin  ng bimpo (o kahit anong mahagilap na pamunas) ang mga talong pagkatapos hugasan para hindi sila mapasma. Ilatag ang mga talong at budburan ng asin at paminta. Itaktak mo 'teh! Go! Chance na rin ang step na ito para mag-experiment. Paprika? Asukal? Harina? Kung ano ang nasa puso mo, sundin mo. Basta hindi puwede ang lotion.

4. Isipin mong ikaw ang talong. Hinugasan kang maigi. Binimpuhan. Nilamas sa asin at paminta. Siyempre, galit na galit ka na diba? Dahil diyan, masasabi nating handang handa na ang mga talong. Init na init na sila. Ibigay ang hilig, iprito na!

5. Magiging makatas ang finished product kaya maghanda ng dry towel para patuluin ang mga basang talong. Mangunguluntoy sila pagkatapos ng lahat. Ganun talaga ang buhay. Ang talong, minsan matigas, minsan malambot. Ako gusto ko ang tustado (see below).

Simple sawsawan, no sweat. Suka, bawang at konting asin para labasan ng lasa ang dalawang sangkap.

I'm supposed to post one entry per day, just because... This is a make-up post for 01/20/12. All photos were taken last 01/05/12, 4PM.

Recipe: Toge-der Again With Tofu

Feeling ko lang, this is an original recipe. My personal adaptation of ginisang toge from your suking tagaluto and/or karinderya.

Disclaimer: Note that I'm no expert. Matakaw lang ako. I'm from the tantiya-tantiya-nakukuha-sa-tikim-ang-tamang-lasa school of cooking. Walang sukat-sukat dito friends.


Sangkap:
Bawang
Sibuyas
Kamatis
Toge
Tofu


Paano Lutuin:

1. Igisa ang bawang at sibuyas hanggang maluto of course.
2. Ilagay ang toge (at kung ano pang gustong isama, gaya rito may mga buto ng manok galing sa manok na pina-fillet ko sa palengke)
3. Medium fire - pakuluan ng mga 10 minutes
4. Maglagay ng toyo (bahala ka na kung gaano karami)
5. Ilagay ang tofu
6. Budburan ng asin at paminta (tantyahin mo na lang ulit)
7. Haluin at maghintay na maluto ang tofu
8. Hayaang magpahinga ang mga nahilong sangkap sa low fire. Tantanan mo sila for 3 minutes.

Pairings (sosyal!):

Masarap itong kapareha ng pritong isda, especially tilapya.

For Whom The Fish Thaws

Random thoughts while thawing the fish.

Image is from here

~ Dalagang bukid, in english, is Yellow Tail Fusilier. This fish brings back happy childhood memories. Fried dalagang bukid means dinner with everyone. If I remember correctly, it happened three times.

~ Frying fish is not cooking. It's meditation.

~ Damn, I'm really fat. Four-year old kid looks at my tummy and asks "may baby dyan?"

~ Someone I recently met is a bombshell. Beautiful, talented, mom trapped in a porn star's body. Just found out that she used to be F A T. Then the husband had an affair... She did everything possible to be get rid of the fats. She started dressing up. She started wearing make up. Things are much better between her and hubby now. The saddest, but most effective, motivator for losing weight - losing your husband.

~ My mind cannot accept that "losing" is pronounced "loo-sing." My Filipino brain wants to spell the word the way it's pronounced.

~ While frying fish, I checked out the DVDs in our book shelf and found Carmen. I remembered how close I got to being hot in 2007/2008. Through diet, swimming and her divine intervention during weekdays, I lost almost 20 pounds. Only to get pregnant... which was kewl!

~ I like what Yuri said about being slim - a lot of us have gone to the promise land of beautiful bodies only to be banished after a while... good thing is, you can always go back.

I'm Back

Stopped blogging but never stopped cooking. This rainy Sunday is all about good food, good OPM (Original Pinoy Music) and stable internet connection.

This is lunch!

Tinolang Tahong (Mussell Soup) with Pritong Galunggong (Fried Mackarel Scad).

Finally got to Google the English translation for Galunggong. Love it! http://wiki.answers.com/Q/English_of_galunggong

Badly need this

in the interest of:

1. Time
2. LPG consumption
3. Higher levels of satisfaction (think: Kare-Kareng tuwalya, Callos, Pata Tim, Bulalo, etc.)

Yes, I am.

With the gift that is the Nanny, we have been living like a "real family" for the past couple of weeks. It's like playing house with real chores and bills. :D

With additional responsibilities come additional joys. I get to cook everyday. Hubby and I can no longer live in Clutter-Ville - that means cleaner house. Of course, all of these are only second to living with TLO (The Little One).

The transition from being a weekend mom to working mom has paved the way for interesting discoveries. At work, colleagues poke at my insatiable need for organized ways of doing things, drafting and documenting processes and timelines. I just realized, given that we have TLO and Nanny now, that I am a stickler for organization even at home.

This is how the freezer looks like (5 days worth of food). Leftovers are in food containers and they are neatly stacked in the fridge too.



I have a special notebook for weekly menu.

I have devised a process for planning the market and grocery list (interdependent on the weekly menu).

I have so many other plans inside my head. The next few months will see them come to life.

I don't know if this is still healthy. I bet it is though, because it makes me very happy.

HD First Timer

Ooohhlalaaa. It's beyond words.

This afternoon, Hubby and I went out (of the bedroom) for a little afternoon delight. While TLO (The Little One) was taking her afternoon nap, we headed to the couch in the living room, set-up the laptop to watch Big Bang Theory (BBT) and we reached dark chocolate heaven in no time.

TLO was up after we consumed 4 pints of delight and three episodes of BBT. At around the same time, the nanny returned after her first day-off. Back to reality. Which is more delicious than HD (of course!).

Thank you Hubby for the beautiful afternoon. Short and sweet.

For Burning Indeed

From http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marco-Pierre-White-Hells-Kitchen/dp/0091923166

"What are fingers for?"

"FINGERS ARE FOR BURNING."

For Marco Pierre White, you are not trying hard enough if you've never burned your finger/s.

I have hot oil burns (from frying, etc.) in my fingers, hands, arms, neck, leg, toes and cleavage.

I have an "ice cut" in my index finger. Who would've thought? Was getting ice cubes for juice when my finger had "an encounter" with the sharp edge of a cute ice cube.

While turning a block of ice into cute pieces that will fit in a pretty glass, I hit my left palm with the sharp pointed end of a knife. Gave myself a stab wound.

I have at least three wounds from doing the laundry.

So, am I trying hard enough? Or am I too lousy to be in the kitchen?

Nah. I like it there. Who cares if I fry my thumb next time.

Oh how I wish

I can make food like these...

But no matter how hard I try,

her ingredients cannot be found in

(the palengke of)

our baranggay.

Bow.

Image is from here

YLSNE: Black Pepper's Trip From the Farm to Your Kitchen

Before anything else. I am claiming the rightful ownership of this cool acronym. The Hubby thought of this. It's ours. I don't care if some internet person discovers it and makes a brand, website, money, whatever, out of it. YLSNE. You Learng Something New Everyday.

While cooking dinner last Sunday, Hubby saw me sprinkle ground pepper in the dish. He didn't see the bottle so he got curious and asked what I just added. Pepper. Then I got curious. I asked if he's ever seen a pepper plant. I know that "munggo" (Mung Bean) comes from a pod. Our class took care of them in 5th grade gardening. But pepper plant?

We agreed that it's time to Google the origin of black pepper.

Here's the Wiki entry for Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum).

Black pepper comes from a flowering vine.


Image is from here

These are the seeds.


Image is from here

The seeds are harvested (entire stem) and are left to dry under the sun. The stems are removed after the seeds turn black.


Image is from here


Image is from here

Here's another image of the pepper drying process from Vietnam. I have no issues with feet. I just don't like it when they are involved in processing anything that will somehow find its way in my food.



May we all be blessed with black pepper, ground or otherwise, from pretty bottles. And may they bring, in their purest essence, the umph in good food. That means without the flavor of dirty feet.