Home Matters by Anne Soriano

Brideshead Revisited: The Non-Antispetic Contemporary Catholic Family

2012-02-25T16:38:00.017-08:00

Charles Ryder (a family friend of the Marchmains, narrator of the story), Julia and Sebastian (siblings) and their devout Catholic mother, Lady Marchmain.

The Chapel in their Brideshead Mansion. Greatly used by the matriarch but not the children.

I just read "Brideshead Revisited" a novel written by Evelyn Waugh (actually a "he", Arthur Evelyn Waugh, published in 1945, and became book of the Year in 1946), and I cannot help but write about it because many Catholic families can relate to it. It has no signs of being a religious book, but after reading the whole novel, the reader cannot but feel redeemed and believe that piety and Catholic upbringing indeed wins out in the end.

What do I consider contemporary in the family in this story which greatly resembles many of our families?

1- Sebastian- He studied in Cambridge and lives a hedonistic life with a group of happy go lucky friends, among them Charles Ryder, who "falls in love with his unique family". Being the adventurous type, he signs up as a soldier in the middle east but gets honorably dismissed with his bohemian lifestyle with a "special boyfriend". Towards the end, he found himself a porter of some sort in a religious community, after being rejected as a brother or one of the monks.

2- Julia- Younger sister of Sebastian, a female version of him. Pretty and headstrong just like her brother. Marries an influential man in society only to be unhappy in the end. Her husband could not compromise to convert to Catholicism as planned, since he was divorced from a first wife. He and Julia marry in the church of England. In middle age, she carries an illicit relationship with Charles Ryder (already married with with children, but also unhappy) by making Brideshead their abode (of sin) since their mother had already died.

3- Lady Marchmain- The Marchmain Matriarch. A devout Catholic mother. She brought up her children in the Catholic faith, but none of them except one seemed to embrace the faith in adulthood.

4- Bridey- Eldest child. Marries late in life a very Catholic woman who is not accepted by his unscrupulous father (Lord Marchmain) after his mother dies. The presence of his Catholic wife, prompts Julia and Charles to regularize their relationship but only up to a certain extent.

5-Lord Marchmain- He left Lady Marchmain as the matriarch of Brideshead due to infidelity and to live in France with his mistress. When Lady Marchmain died, he decides to go back to Brideshead while his relationship with his mistress already severed. His conversion back to the faith happens in his deathbed when his 2 daughters decided to bring a priest to him to absolve his sins and give him the last sacraments. Charles Ryder didn't agree to have any priestly intervention that could worsen his dying state, but Julia insists. In the end, Lord Marchmain manifested his contrition by making the sign of the cross as a sign of penance. This profound gesture, sealed Julia's decision to go back to the Catholic faith and realizes that she can never marry Charles Ryder nor have anything to do with that kind of relationship again.

6- Cordelia- The only child who seemed to have a calling to serve God and others. She remains single and devotes herself serving those who were affected by the war. She is the last moral fiber left in the family, but does not come in as a scourge to them. She is sensible to matters of faith and together with Julia decides that the priest is what their father need in the last moments of his life. After their father dies, she and Julia serve in some sort of a Red Cross to attend to wounded soldiers engaged in World War I.

According to Evelyn Waugh, the book "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by which God continually calls souls to Himself"'/ This is achieved by an examination of the Roman Catholic aristocratic Marchmain family, as seen by the narrator, Charles Ryder.

Who cannot relate to this kind of family now? We cannot judge any book by its cover. In any race, it's the final stretch that counts: who makes it to the finish line or not. Many members of a family can fall into immoral lives, but if grace has been planted by one, or two,or three persons in the family (their nanny has the daily norm of praying the rosary beads), God can save each one of them in the end.

I strongly recommend this book to individuals who think that a filthy world where we live now is still sanctifiable because of the love of God for us and above all by people who pray for us.

Do Your Own Natural Footspa

2012-02-23T04:12:00.004-08:00

Today was another excursion day within the seminar and we went to a nice beach in Nasugbu, Batangas. The water was calm, cool and relaxing, and the sky was just beautiful. On the way home, we saw the sunset on the horizon. Like other beach outings, I believe the sea air removes our respiratory problems, as well as the cobwebs in our mind. But today, I learned that we can do more than swim and sun bathe in the beach. We could do our own FOOT SPA!

Foot Spa is a treatment done to remove callouses and dried skin on our feet. The treatment in the parlor involved soaking the feet in a warm solution with a chemical, and then scrubbing with a pumice like stone. Sounds so natural right, except for the chemical.

In the beach today, some of did our own foot spa by soaking our feet on the water by the shore, and then rubbing sand on the bottom of our feet. We also rubbed our darkened knees to remove the dead skin. After just about 30 minutes of soaking and rubbing, vallah! Our feet our now soft like the skin of a baby.

So, if you think that the beach is just for swimming and gettting warm, think of having your own foot spa too.

Photocopy your Official ID's

2012-02-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

We only realized yesterday that a small, sleepy town like Sto. Tomas, Batangas also has original sin. We went to the funeral of Lola Chabeng and parked our big van in one of the side streets since the church and main road was already filled with cars. Lo and behold, when we went back to take our lunch before proceeding to the cemetery, 1 bag was gone, and 2 others were robbed of their wallets. (In the first place, maybe they should not have left their bags inside the van.) Of course inside their wallets were their official identification cards like their driver's license, SSS cards, and one had her ATM card.

Just a few days before going to Lipa, a friend told me that she photocopies her official IDs and keeps them in a clear file. They are the ff:

1. Birth certificate

2. Driver's License

3. SSS card

4. Philhealth Card: HMO cards

4. Passport

5. Residence Certificate (Cedula)

Truly words of wisdom, don't you think?

The photocopied driver's license will prove very useful while one does not have yet the time to get a new one from the Land Transportation Office (LTO). The photocopied passports, SSS cards, HMO cards will greatly facilitate applying for new ones since we hardly memorize these numbers. Before travelling out of the country, make sure you have at least 2 photocopy of your passports and keep them in separate places aside from your original one. When there is a safety deposit box in the place you are staying, keep the original passport there, and bring only a photocopy when you go out, just in case your identity is needed.

Lastly, we have to know the emergency numbers of our banks aside from knowing our account numbers, and the numbers of our credit cards so we can easily report them by phone right away. Yesterday, I remembered easily the 89-100 emergency number of BPI, since one of those who were robbed lost her BPI ATM card. But 89-100 is only for Manila area, so we went to the website of BPI and found out the 1-800....toll free number for provincial calls.

Again, as I always say, it's always to be safe than sorry. Don't leave any valuables inside the car and photocopy those official IDs now.

Going Away for a While

2012-02-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Lipa, Batangas at Latag Study Camp--"Sharpening the Saw" (7th Habit of Steven Covey) again this time in an extremely "bucolic" (provincial) setting. The last time I was here was 4-5 years ago which makes me think I'm going for vacation in a little barrio more than going to attend a 3-weeks study seminar.... When I saw the list of participants, I finally gave in. Why not? It's a cosmopolitan crowd and I felt the excitement of being with them. Some people will make the seminar fun by simply being there. My subjects this year are Mariology (study of Mary, as the Mother of God), and Greek, and many other little ones. Imagine studying Greek in a camp in the middle of a rice field with coconut and tomato plantations on the left and right.

Do we really need to go through all these? Yes indeed. And the fact is, we have to get away from our usual set-up to give us a different perspective of of our lives and to give us a bigger push on how to be better in our jobs and occupations. Sure we can achieve this in the little quiet moments, or meetings and seminars in our usual busy set-up, but it won't be as effective as "going away for a while"...even to a camp meant for younger people.

Here we are at the steps before the "Largest Church in Asia". The Basilica of St Martin of Tours in Taal, Batangas which has withstood volcanic eruptions in the last 200 years...Cultural trips will always be included in the plan.

Further down the town is Taal lake, which is seen even in Cavite, particularly in Tagaytay where TCC is.

Here we are like a pack of wolves sheltering under a make-shift store when the rains started to come. Even within Latag, we are like a pack of wolves brushing our teeth together in the same common bathrooms.

And right here, our guide explains to us some portions of a church, where the old Spanish friars used to swim.

Then in another town at Sto. Tomas, Batangas, we attended a wake of its oldest citizen, Lola Chabeng who died at 102 years old. She was the keeper of the letters from Harvard (cf. November 2010 posting, Letters from a youth) which carved a new history in the life of so many people. Her burial will be on Sunday which we expect to be a major event of the province. The Archbishop, no less, we celebrate the mass.

More of these bucolic experiences in the coming weeks aside from study, study, study.

Sanitizing the Lettuce

2012-02-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

It's the season for lettuce ....and fruits. In Tagaytay, the price of green ice lettuce, batavia, romaine and lollo rosa has gone down to as low as Php80-90/kilo from the usual Php100-120. Now is the best time to serve salads galore.

Too bad I contracted amoeba virus around 4 years ago and have not been taking fresh greens since then. I must have gotten it from the greens themselves which was served when I was in an out-of-town seminar in another venue. This calls to mind that the greens always have to be washed well and sanitized as soon as they are bought from the market and before they are kept in the ref.

To sanitize, simply dilute 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar in 1 liter of water. Then dip the lettuce leaves per batches for 3-5 minutes. Then dry on a salad spinner or dip dry on a colander or aluminum rack until they are completely dry.

Summer is just around the corner. Enjoy those cool salads.

The More, the Merrier: Senior Citizen Cards

2012-02-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

A colleague of ours recently got her senior citizen card from the municipal hall which was a cause of jubilation. She is actually way passsed the age of 60, but due to her assignment of many years abroad, it was only recently when she got back that it became a concern for us. Who wouldn't want a senior citizen card? As someone I met in the check out lane of the grocery said, it is a privilege and a right we should exercise. Imagine, the big discount 20% discount on medicines, and 25% on restaurants; and also not to mention free movies in major theaters in Manila, and many more....

This event reminded me of something I did last year before leaving for my new assignment in Tagaytay. I used to give Virtues and Catholic Doctrine classes to some 15 ladies in Makati, at the finance district of Manila every Wednesday noontime. While most of them are working ladies, 5 of them are actually retired working ladies who are already senior citizens. One of them had the fate of getting on the onset of Alzheimer's disease at the ripe age of 75. She began forgetting names and events, but surprisingly, not the schedule of our classes on Wednesdays. Then she always had the misfortune of not knowing where to look for her Senior Citizen card, so one day we set a date on having her card photocopied. Yes, photocopied and laminated.

I thought the idea ,which I learned from my mother, was unique. My parents both have 3-4 senior citizen cards which are photocopied. Then I learned that one of the ladies in my group had 12 laminated cards! They are distributed in her house, cars, and purses, and the others for safekeeping. So this is exactly what I did with this lady of mine. We went to a book store and had her senior citizen card photocopied and laminated. She had 6 all in all, which was later on distributed in her purses and in her car.

Believe me, the greatest relief you could give to your senior citizen friends is to volunteer to photocopy in multiple copies their senior citizen cards. They will surely come in handy when they need them most when buying their medicines, paying their hospital bills, eating in restaurants and watching free movies.

Let us remember our elderly citizens and do something for them today.

Pretty Salads and Dressings

2012-01-31T21:33:00.000-08:00

This is the best season for lettuce of all kinds. We have been buying a great assortment of green ice, batavia, lollo rosa, and romaine at very cheap prices these days. The secret to making them pretty is to put all of them together. A number of guests commented that the lettuce at TCC looks so fresh and different from those of Manila. We owe it all to the nice weather in Tagaytay.
Here's our famous Mimosa Salad. Very easy to do. Assorted lettuce, harb boiled eggs- yolk and white separated, yolk grated, white, sliced; tomatoes cut into strips. Then the dressing is the famous Tomato French Dressing, a derivation from the French Gourmet Dressing. Recipe below.

The French Gourmet Dressing. Very pleasing to the eyes and tongue. A number have asked for the recipe.

Our very own TCC Gourmet Salad which we just baptized last month. Assorted lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, chopped cucumbers. Dressing: French Gourmet.

FRENCH GOURMET DRESSING

for 34 to 40 pax

4 cups corn oil

2 cups white wine vinegar

3 cups white sugar

2 T pepper

4 T prepared mustard

3 T iodized salt

4 pcs big grated white onion

1/3 cup lemon juice

Mix all.

TOMATO FRENCH DRESSING

Simply add 2 T tomato catsup to the Gourmet French Dressing

Light and easy salads!

How Coughing Hard Could Save You from Heart Attack

2012-01-26T23:47:00.000-08:00

Again there are many good pages in Facebook. This one is "Info for U". A friend posted this on her wall which I think is excellent information for those who fear heart attack. Yes... the simple first aid solution is to deep breath and cough hardly to bring in oxygen to the lungs and to be able to pump the heart, until help arrives.

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE

Let's say it's 6.15pm and you're going home (alone of course),
after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself..!!

NOW HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE..

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.
However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

Rather than sharing jokes please.. contribute by Sharing this which can save a person's life!!!!
By: Info for u

300 and 30,000

2012-01-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

One thing I learned from St Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei is his love for the number 3 and its multiples like 6 and 9. It reminded him of the Blessed Trinity- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. In an uncanny way, my laundry number which identifies my clothes that are sent to any laundry bears the number 913. I interpret it as "Three in One God". This week finds me looking in an awesome way at the number 3 again. This time it is 300 and 30,000.

After a complete month after the release of the "Family Festive Menu", 300 cookbooks have been sold so far. ; 150 more are in circulation (majority good as sold but not yet in cash) and 254 copies remain in my stock room. Not bad at all. Thank you Lord. I was eagerly looking for the number 300 and we reached it this week. Ladies continue to buy and get re-orders.

Remember this book? Released and sold around December 18, 2011.

It gives a different kind of euphoria when I learn that people have been using the recipes. A good number have used them for the holidays including the last early feastdays of January. I got this photo on top from facebook from my good friends, husband & wife, Norma and Louie who tried the beef tenderloin and loved it. I guess this is how authors feel when they come across people who identify themselves with his/her work. Awesome!

Another good news is that this blog is already reaching 30,000 hits since it started recording the pageviews on May 2009. As of yesterday, it already reached 29,960. The daily hits range from 50 to 300 per day, with an average of 2,500 hits per month. Honestly, I do not know the people who are following the blog, but I thank you just the same.

My only wish is I could continue to share good things to others. Whether it be in the form of a cookbook or entries in this blog. Thank you also for technology for stretching the reach of books, articles and blog items.

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Positive Outlooks and Prayer

2012-01-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Emotions and feelings are transitory, so we cannot make major decisions and judgments based on them alone. If we do, we often commit the biggest blunders. As a human being, I acknowledge I have those ups and downs. We can be happy and sad; joyful and angry; feel appreciated or feel neglected or betrayed. Take note, these are all transient and cannot last forever. When we feel down, we have to try our best to get out of the situation.

Believe it or not, there are lots of good prayers and encouragements we can get from Facebook. Here's a list of pages that could get you out of the blues:

1- Positive Outlooks

2- Mama Mary

3- Just Feeling Good

4- All Famous Quotes

5- Facebook Apostles

6- Simple Steps to Enjoying Life

7- Be Happy Now

8- Mother Teresa

9- Remember Me: John Paul II

Here's a beautiful prayer I got from Mama Mary this week. For those who feel uncertain with life, or simply have the blues, try this Serenity Prayer. It came to me at a time when I needed it most....

The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.

But God is so good. Other encouragements came our way with these thank you notes. Thank You Lord for treating us as your own children... a broken reed you will not break. Prayer, if we feel down, many times this is the best remedy. God will meet us half way...

Oops! Christmas is Just Not Over Yet!

2012-01-06T19:09:00.001-08:00

Yup, Christmas isn't over yet. Tomorrow is the feast of the Epiphany of our Lord, where Jesus manifested himself as God, not to the whole world but to the Three Kings. We remember the gifts given by the 3 kings of the east to Jesus--gold, frankincense and myrrh. In many countries in Europe, the Christmas gift giving actually happens on this feast.

The 3 kings or the 3 wise men from the east, presented the gifts to Jesus after searching for him and finally being led by a star to the stable at Bethlehem.

And, this is also a good day to come up with more gimmicks on the table like the one above. I recovered this picture from my collection of the years 2003-05. We made use of 3 different sizes of wine bottles and covered them with different colors of napkins and put a ball on top of each of them. They obviously looked like 3 kings. We also gave some little knick-knacks as give aways...as if from the three kings. Some Disney ballpens, pad papers for little kids and old alike.

So, Happy Three Kings. Enjoy the last days of Christmas!

How to Make Easy Sun-Dried Tomatoes

2012-01-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is what we served on New Year's Eve with the two-sausage pasta. It's actually a fake sun-dried process, because we bake the tomatoes in an "indeliberate way". After turning the oven off after baking our breads, we put in our sliced tomatoes drizzled in olive oil to cook it. . They end up flat and exactly like those you buy in the groceries which could be a bit expensive.

Sun-dried tomatoes give a new character to your pasta and salads which makes it more attractive. I hope you try making them for this new year!

New Year Countdown: Counting our Blessings

2011-12-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

We just wrapped up our food shopping for the New Year.... Being the first day of a long holiday in the Philippines, the streets of Tagaytay were clogged again. Tagaytay is now the second summer capital of the country. Thank God we made it back home by 11am. Now it's practically waiting for the New Year, 2012 to arrive.

Most of us have heard in a Christmas song by the Ray Conniff singers that "we should count our blessings instead of sheep". Tomorrow is the last day of the year 2011, and we're somehow faced with a reckoning about the year that just ended. Maybe we could take the advice of that song "to count our blessings" and tell God, "Thank You Lord for the all the graces you have given us this year, even those that we were not aware of". This is also the advice of a modern day saint, St. Josemaria Escriva, whenever he was faced with saying good-bye to the old year-- "Thank You Lord".

Now about our New Year's eve menu. It's actually quite simple. Only 3 main dishes that are easy to do.

Sausage pasta with olive oil and basil...

Herb bread....

...and chocolate fondue with fruits & sponge cake.

For sure, we will be watching year-ender shows on TV, and just having this simple but filling New Year's eve meal is enough to thank God that we made it to another year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Spirit and Matter for Christmas

2011-12-23T17:28:00.001-08:00

Matter...

This is the spiritual preparation. Looking and praying at the Belen.

So we’re finally at the brink of Christmas, December 24. It’s not yet late too contemplate the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus Christ, our savior. Today especially, I wish to put myself in the scene of Bethelehem, which like in the previous years was represented with the Belen or the creche. I am accompanying Mary and Joseph looking for the cave now, where the child is to be born, and I anticipate the bursting of joy of the couple and the host of angels who will say “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”—“Glory to God in the highest!”. Two marvelous creatures, Mary and Joseph were entrusted to take care of the birth and upbringing of Jesus. How much they must have prepared themselves materially and spiritually for his birth. I wish to do the same thing now, with just hours before Christmas eve.

This is the material preparation: Stuffed Chicken for Lunch tomorrow. Take note: they're jumbo chicken with bread and apple stuffing.

The Menu for Christmas Eve: Bam-I noodles, a little ham, butterscotch (like brownies), polvoron, chips, nuts, beer

The Menu for Christmas Lunch: Canapes, Pringles, Sparkling Grape Juice

Mixed Greens with Shrimps and Mangoes and Strawberry

Vinaigrette

Stuffed Chicken

Chocolate Christmas Log

All the recipes for Christmas Lunch is in this blog posted last year (Tested Christmas Recipes 2010), and also in my book.

A Blessed Christmas to everyone!

Yes, the books have arrived!

2011-12-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

Some people are wondering if the books have arrived--especially those who have not bought their copies. Yes, they have last December 15 evening in my parents' house.

We started packing the orders until midnight as I was to go back to Tagaytay early morning after.

It was very moving to finally see them fresh and hot from the printers. Honestly, my expectations fell short. I didn't expect the outcome to be this beautiful.

Dear God, I hope they all get sold. More than 200 pieces have been sold before they were even launched. Thank you to friends and those who believed in this project. Many, many more to go.

And for the first time in history, I felt like a celebrity signing some books for those who asked for a dedication.

So there they are, the "magnum opus of Anne" according to a very prayerful aunt who vowed to pray for the book project. Dreams do come true especially when we work hard for them to happen and we ask God for help. But this is just the beginning. Hope many, many more people will get to know and buy this book. It's only Php250/copy, full color, with around 60 tried and tested recipes. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.

I can finally set my eyes on Christmas.

Unwinding with Clean Fun Christmas Games

2011-12-14T03:56:00.000-08:00

It's the season for Christmas parties and gimmicks. We've had two parties so far: one with our workers with their families, and another one with the young girls who attend our girls' club from our little barrio. Here are sure fire Christmas party games that will surely make you roll with laughter and make everyone forget their problems.

Make sure you organize Christmas parties for those who work with you and their families. You do not know how much happiness this brings them during this joyous season... give awards to the 1) oldest guest, 2) youngest guest and 3) the first to arrive. Give them homemade gifts of bread and jam; and simple baskets of biscuits, pasta, and some canned goods.

Of course, do not forget to organize funny games... like "Threading the Needle" by our gardeners, handymen and security guards. This is a good time to see them unwind all at the same time.

Threading of a needle by the fathers of our students. This was done in the Christmas party with the families of our students last year. The guys really looked funny, and each family was cheering for their own dads.

Santa Claus goes to town. The men dress up as Santa Claus and go around the chair. So much laughter from the contestants and the audience.

Newspaper dance with the little girls. Take note: for little girls only. The girls dance around the newspaper and jump onto them when the music stops. The newspaper is folded little by little. The partner who remains in the smallest newspaper wins.

Animal Game. The girls were grouped according to the animals: bird, cow, cat, dog. They are blind folded and mixed together and they produce the sound of their animal until they find all of their group mates. Again, laughter, laughter, laughter from the spectators.

"How well do you know your mother/daughter?". There will be funny revelations about how much each one knows their kin.

We ourselves unwinded today by eating ice cream out and simply dropping everything we're doing in the conference center. Good Christmas fun to prepare us for the coming of Jesus....

The Wonders of God

2011-12-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

All I can say is that, God did it all. Only a few people knew the big hitches and glitches of this book, but God makes use of them to make it clear that the project is his. The book could have been launched easily 6 or even 2 months ago, but he chose to harass people, including myself that it becomes clear that he will do things, sooner, more and better in this merry month of December. Now I know what people mean when they say that they suffer blood, sweat and tears for something. I experienced all this with this book which makes it even more special.

The book (in full color, with around 60 recipes) will be out on December 16 and will be sold at Php250 per copy. It's a good gift for Christmas to friends and relatives. Hope you get your copy soon. It will help guide you with what to serve in this special season of Christmas.

Signs of Christmas

2011-11-25T18:57:00.001-08:00

Look what greeted me the other day. Twenty wooden stick reindeer which came from a lady who has a farm in a nearby province. I saw two of them 6 years ago and she knew I liked them. Now she donated 20 to the conference center. Truly a season of giving.

Our advent wreath is now in the living room. The youngest of us will light the first candle tomorrow evening, the fist Sunday of advent. Four Sundays to go before Christmas!

The reindeer are now distributed in the different parts of the conference center. They look like candidates of a beauty pageant. Just looking at them amuses the people and make them smile.

Best of all the Christmas tree is up! It looks very beautiful in the evening with the electric lights.

Oh no! Four more Sundays before Christmas. We are now in the final editing of my book. I hope we could launch it on December 8 or 12 just in time for Christmas. Readers, please continue praying. I have been avoiding looking at the calendar until the book is finally out but all the signs of Christmas are here: Christmas tree, advent wreath, reindeer, all the Christmas decors. I feel like the character of Jimmy Stewart, who played the father in the 1950's Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". Christmas will have more meaning when things fall into place. This time, the book. I have lots of stories, anecdotes and favors to share with you once it's finally out. It would really be a miracle. I hope you could read it soon. So, please pray.

Buffet Party Ideas

2011-11-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

There always has to be a high center like a tall flower vase and shorter elements like other flowerv vases. Notice the beehive juice dispenser with iced tea. Then you have the 3 layered plate holders on the left and right which had the appetizers. Then notice that the platters each had two chopping boards underneath as risers, and the stainless steel holders for the serving spoons.

Now the buffet table was moved to the middle of the dining room. The same 3 layered plate holder became bowl holders for ice cream cups with crushed ice. We also put wine containers which had softdrinks instead. Notice that there are lots and lots of ice as centerpiece which gives a refreshing look. We also hanged paper lanterns on the ceiling which could have names attached to them of any theme the party is all about.

Here we went native using fresh flowers and bamboo sticks amidst the native cakes for breakfast.

Then here we used the beehive juice dispenser again which now contained natural fruit juice. It can hold 8 liters of juice and looks very pretty.

In all these buffet tables, just make sure you develop a unified theme like native, sandwiches, Asian, Mediterranean and whatever, and make sure your props match them. Then make sure there is a centerpiece for the main table and all the accessories like the ones on top.

Have a nice party!

How to Avoid Ugly Pancakes

2011-11-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

We sometimes end up having smudgy panacakes.

This is the perfect one. Light brown color all throughout.

The trick is quite simple. Do not use too much oil on your griddle. Just use oil spray, or really just a drop of oil on your non stick pan for each pancake. And the way to make it fluffy is to use egg whites that have been chilled in the freezer overnight. Hope this advice helps.

Update on my book (cf. 10/6/11 posting) . I hope it would be out on December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion) or December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Wedding Anniversary of my parents). Please continue praying. I will meet my editor in Manila today.

Being Objective and the Funny Punches at Facebook

2011-11-14T01:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the whole Philippines watched another victorious match of our "National Fist", Manny Paquiao. But this time, not everyone was happy.

Manny Pacquiao is the Philippines' Muhammad Ali. He is the "Pound for Pound King of Boxing" , having been rated and practically winning in all the boxing categories: lightweight, welterweight, light welterweight, lightweight, super feather weight, feather weight, super bantam feather weight, fly weight. Obviously, boxing has made him one of the richest men of the country.

Yesterday, he defended his welterweight title against the formidable Mexican, Juan Manual Marquez. With my untrained eyes, I thought either one could be a winner but the judges voted 2-1, in favor of Paquiao which majority respected. Facebook users feasted on the issue, and today I had the best laughs in my life reading the comments of 2 former male classmates ! Here goes:

Pro-Marquez (works at the Supreme Court) : .... (angry words vs. Pacquiao because he was never a fan)... Marquez was definitely cheated. The game was rigged.

(Then many comments of his friends/colleagues wondering why he's so mad against Pacquiao).

Pro-Paquiao (an I.T. Person):

Pacquiao has thrown 578 punches connecting 176 while Marquez had it 436 connecting 138. Pacquiao threw 304 jabs connecting 59 to Marquez's 182 with 38 connects. Pacquiao threw 274 power punches connecting 117 while Marquez threw 254 with 100 connecting.

....since you work in the Supreme Court, you might as well file protest there. You can also go into boxing, so you could be a judge and rig a fight yourself. You're too affected. Chill out.

Pro Marquez: Pacquiao had a deep cut on the right eye, while Marquez came out unscathed. Should I say more?

Pro Pacquiao: The cut on his eye is part of the drama and the game after winning US$22 million dollars.....If you can't stand seeing Pacquiao win, just watch the SEA GAMES (South East Asian Games) [currently ongoing] where there are better looking athletes.

Up to now, I'm still laughing at these banters. But the point is, the judges were objective. What appears in the eyes of common men is not necessarily the reality. Marquez acted as a winner, but was not really one. Let's just stick to the facts, and everything will be in peace. This is a good article to read by Mr. Michael Sellers. Click here.

Peace to all!

More House Recipes

2011-11-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

The Korean Beef Barbecue Steak. The secret to the super tender beef is to pressure cook it for 30 minutes. The feedback was surprisingly overwhelming.

Ube Jalaya (Purple Yam) with Tuiles (pronounced like tul) and vanilla sauce. The vanilla sauce is optional. The flower and mint leaf are edible. They came from our garden.

It's easy to determine which dishes could be house recipes. You are given the immediate feedback that the diners like it. They have become favorites in any crowd. Here they are: the Korean Beef Barbecue Steak, which I have written in a notebook 20 years ago, and the Ube Jalaya with Tuiles and vanilla sauce. The tuiles acts as a beautiful accessory.

You'd be surprise how easy it is to cook the Korean Beef BBQ steak. I hope you try it!

KOREAN BEEF BARBECUE STEAK

2 recipes Yield: 20 persons

2 kilos sirloin steak (onion thin slices)

5 heads garlic, minced

¼ k spring onions, chopped

2/3 cup kikkoman soy sauce

2/3 cup white sugar, dissolved in 1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tablespoon rock salt

1/3 bottle hot sauce

Tenderize the beef in pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Mix all the ingredients and let stand for about 3 hours. Cook in butter like steak. Serve hot with seasoned grilled mongo sprouts and julienned carrots.

UBE JALAYA (PURPLE YAM)

1 kilo purple yam (ube)

1 ¼ cup/ 250 grams sugar

3 cups/ 750 ml coconut milk

½ can/ 150 ml condensed milk

½ bar/ 125 grams butter

Boil the yam until tender. Peel and cut into cubes, then grind in a food processor with the sugar and coconut milk.

Transfer to a heavy pan, add the condensed milk and butter and cook on low heat stirring continuously until the mixture holds together and starts separating from the pan. Transfer to a shallow pan lined with plastic film and allow to cool.

TUILES

100 grams all purpose flour

100 grams eggwhites

100 powdered sugar

Mix all the ingredients and spread batter thinly about 2 inches long. Bake about seven minutes and roll immediately while still hot.

Decorate on the side of the purple yam.

VANILLA SAUCE

8 egg yolks

½ can (225 ml) condensed milk

¼ tsp vanilla essence

1 lemon zest

In a double boiler, combine the egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon zest and vanilla essence. Over medium heat stir continuously until the mixture thickens.

Good Tidings with Those Cards Again

2011-11-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

The annual fees for the BPI Express Credit was waived again!

Now together with my friend Earl, I belong to the Prestige Club of SM (Shoe Mart) which allows me to use the Prestige Lounge for free whenever I need to rest and relax during a tiring day at the mall.

Good things actually come out with the use of credit cards when used wisely. Last month, two blessings came my way again. My BPI Express Credit Annual Fee was waived for the 4th year, and my SM Advantage Card was elevated to Prestige. Moreover, I am waiting for my rebate of Php1,000 for groceries from my BPI Express Rewards. This must be the 6th rebate I have had in 4 years. The secret... pay all your dues in full, and on time!

I'm not a shopaholic but I'm a sucker for rewards and rebates . I basically shop for food and total the accumulated returns I have reaped must amount to a big figure by now, and not to mention the free lunches and cakes . I have treated many friends to lunches at Jollibee, and have brought home many cheese rolls from Red Ribbon, just by using my credit cards. Again the secret... keep track of all your expenses and pay everything on time. Remember my famous notebook for credit balances (cf. 9/10/10 posting)?

When Earl invited me for a free rest and drink at the SM Prestige Lounge last summer, my goal has been to be able to achieve that as well. We enjoyed our free drinks, water and newspaper and magazines while resting at their sofas at the lounge.

So, go ahead, shop wisely using those cards and enjoy the rewards in store for you!

Happy weekend to all!

Ripening Your Papaya Fast

2011-11-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have made the word "ripe" a verb because we can actually hasten the papaya's ripeness. It's very simple. Just slash the semi-ripe papaya with the prongs of a fork like in the picture above. Then, wallah! It could already be taken for breakfast in the morning. But notice that the papaya is seating on rice grains? Yes, to foolproof the ripeness, simply put your papayas inside the rice bin.

Papaya being a dark colored fruit indicates that it is good. It has lots of fiber which acts like a stomach sweeper like pineapple. It's good to take it first thing for breakfast to ease your morning duties.

Good morning to all!

Making your Non-Stick Pans Last

2011-10-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is actually very simple. Aside from not using sharp aluminum or steel turners, just spread some oil on the pan after every use before keeping it. It's like applying moisturizer or lotion on the surface so that it doesn't get brittle and dry. The more you treat it with oil after use, the more ageless it becomes.