OMNOMNOMNOMNOM

Life

2011-11-25T16:03:00.000+08:00

I had a fun Brigada gig last night. It makes me miss them already and waiting for Sunday to see the guys again feels like it's taking eons.

Chloe is in the other house which means I'm all alone and free to write and finish work but again, I am waiting for inspiration. There should be a magic pill to take. Coffee is taking too long. Or maybe my coffee this morning wasn't as strong. Or maybe I'm hungry? Excuses, excuses. Hehehe.

I'm also waiting for the pork shoulder and back fat I took out from the freezer to thaw a bit so I can grind it and make chorizo. I finally trekked to faraway land to get all that I needed and today is the day I finally test the behemoth of a machine my dad sent me. Oh no, wait. I still can't use the real grinder till I get an electrician to make me a 110v outlet (tomorrow, yay!!), so today I'll have to settle for the Kitchenaid with the food processing attachment thing my dad sent as well. Yay for my Papa who loves food as much as I do!

My mom on the other hand, revealed to me last night that she wanted to try the Master Cleanse diet not to lose weight, but to avoid having to eat. Oh the perils of having to chew food! In high school, she'd take one bite from her sandwich and throw the rest away just so she could say that she ate. Although in hindsight, if I had the same sandwich for 4 years, I'd probably do the same. I'd buy food instead. Or at least tell the help to make me something else. Geez. I do not understand how you can just not care for food. My mom will eat a lot at a buffet, she'll taste everything (that isn't gross looking or black or made of fish), mostly feast on sweets, but if there's nothing, she wouldn't care. She'd eat a bowl of cereal or a couple crackers just for survival's sake. Strange. I spend most of my money on food. Maybe I should go over my spending and rethink priorities.

Tags: writing, eating, stalling

Powered by Qumana

Road Block

2011-11-12T22:28:00.001+08:00

I had several hours all to myself to write and finish work stuff but I ended up staring at worksheets and blank pages instead. I surmised it was due to the fact that I didn't fix myself coffee for breakfast thus the inactive brain. I settled for an ice cold latte to try and beat the heat and wake myself up at the same time. Here I am, waiting for the caffeine to work its magic.

I am now pondering on my life and how I think I am still spreading myself too thinly. I am still the queen of procrastination. Is it a gene I cannot escape from? Ack. I should delete my Facebook account. Too much time is wasted on it. Damn you, social network. It's not like I want to make more friends anyway, more so virtual ones.

Those two paragraphs started with "I". Perhaps I think of myself too much? Hmm...coffee is kicking in. Now to try and do some real work.

Powered by Qumana

The Pathological Dreamer

2011-03-03T17:19:00.001+08:00

Since early 2000 something I've always thought of myself as such. I keep forgetting how much of an escapist I am and now more than ever, it's taking up most of me, my time, and potential to be productive. My mind is always in overdrive thinking about the future, the past, fake conversations, conversations I wish I had with people in the past, conversations that I will have in the future, everything but real life. Sometimes I am online and click on wiki links and whatnot to learn more about whatever I am currently daydreaming about.

Seriously. Couldn't I get paid to do that in real life? Pro-imaginator? Or perhaps I really should just go pursue what I was set to do since I was 5 and let my imagination run wild on canvas? A few years back I got this all under control. I think it was the painting and my writing. But now that I have no time for either, I waste the time I should be spending on working on just imagining all sorts of things. I can't be the only one with this problem, right?

Anyway, I'm just trying to keep my mind off my future (or fake future). Maybe that's why I like doing work that involves me creating something with my hands - it's therapeutic and helps me relax. Things that require me to come up with plans get my mind started and immediately gets off-track.

FYI, this took me 2 hours to write. I keep getting side tracked. I should delete my Facebook.

Powered by Qumana

SURPRISE!!!

2010-07-08T01:51:00.002+08:00

Look at what was waiting for me when I got home!!!

Wheeee! Thank you thank youuuuuuz to my loving husband! I think he's most excited about all the goodies I'll be making with it. So much so that he "dropped" the accompanying recipe book beside me to get me going. :)

***

Last week I mentioned to some folks that I wanted to try making Baja Fish Tacos and after researching a bit, finally did it yesterday. Aside from me burning it a bit ("frying till golden" isn't my strength), it was pretty good. Most recipes I found called for cod, was going to but I had to fillet it myself. Ended up using sole fillets cos I didn't want to bother with too much preparation. Also, a lot of them have this white sauce thing requiring mayo or a yogurt-mayo mix. I don't care for mayo at all and love Crema Mexicana so I used that instead. Although I have to note that one recipe I saw combined dill and a whole lot of wonderful spices and it seemed awesome. I also wanted to use purple cabbage for more bite and color but alas, the supermart was all out. Will do all those next time.

Baja Fish Tacos

Cod fillets cut into 1" strips
corn flour
1 bottle beer
1 cup all purpose flour
salt
flour tortillas
Crema Mexicana
shredded cabbage
Lime

Mix in flour with beer to get a batter that resembles heavy cream. Season with salt. Don't be shy with the salt, I used about a tablespoon I think. Dust fish with corn flour, dip in batter and drop into about an inch of oil hot enough to fry it till golden but not too hot that you end up burning it in a minute (like me). 350 I think with a thermometer which I didn't bother to use (but have. Lesson learned). Drain in a colander, not on paper towels.

Heat tortillas, spread a generous spoonful of Crema Mexicana, layer on a bit of cabbage, a few pieces of fish, and squeeze a bit of lime. Feel free to devour. BTW, you can also mix in a bit of hot sauce (I like Cholula, the husband likes Tapatio...but we ended up using Ortega taco sauce. HAHA!) and chopped cilantro to your Crema. Yum.

Now I want some.

Powered by Qumana

Making a Comeback

2010-07-07T15:20:00.000+08:00

Hurrraaaaahhh! I'm back! I've been gone for some time, busy with things like moving into a new apartment, giving birth, and my son going to school for the first time. Don't get me wrong, I've been cooking a lot, just not taking photos or taking down notes of what I make. A lot of things I've probably forgotten how to make already (like my Moroccan Chicken with Olives experiment).

In about a month, I'll have more time to document the mess I make in my tiny kitchen, whine about my need for an oven and a bigger range, and muse about the newest addition to our little family. I can't wait till she starts on solids so I can finally cook for her as well (and perhaps influence my son to eat healthier). For now, it's just my husband gaining all the extra pounds. Hehe.

I have also come to terms with the fact that I cannot blog about food alone. I have too many projects to do that I have to rant/rave about as well and have to pour it out here. Too hard for me to keep up one blog, what more two? So yeah, be prepared for a little revamp.

BTW, this is what we had for lunch a few days back.

Will write a new post on in since this is getting pretty long.

Powered by Qumana

Breakfast is For Champs

2010-01-30T18:11:00.001+08:00

I never really liked breakfast. I like breakfast buffets in good hotels though cos I can't ever stop myself from chowing down cold cuts and cheese. Otherwise, breakfast isn't something I really look forward to. It has been more like a chore for me -- having to eat quickly before I have to rush to school and now to work. I like being able to make the most out of the time I have to be suffocated by a mountain of pillows (the biggest and softest out of the lot being my husband), but I have to admit there are days when I *gasp* actually want to make an effort and wake up at 9:30. Yes, that's the earliest you can get me to start moving -- and it's always because I was craving for something the night before.

There are conditions though for me to actually be excited to jump out of bed. The most important being that I don't have to be at work by 11 and the next, I have to be making something pretty like Croque Monsieur/Madame, Eggs Benedict, Belgian Waffles or whatever. The only exception are pancakes.

Pancakes were the first thing I learned to make on my own. I was too short to reach the stove or sink so I always needed a chair to stand on. I must've been five or six. Looking back, I don't know why my mom and grandma let me work in the kitchen alone at that age. I think I even ignited the stove myself. I wouldn't dare do that with my son now but I do encourage him to stay with me and participate when I cook. Anyway, he's only turning four, let's see how good he gets in two more years. Hehe.

This is a recipe I got from my paternal grandmother's cookbook called, Barbecue Book by I think Reader's Digest or Better Homes and Living. It's a really old copy and I seriously doubt if it's still in print. Come to think of it, I don't even know if I have it right cos I've been making these from memory for so long. They're still good anyway. There was an even better recipe in that book that called for whipped cream but I hardly ever did it so till I find the book again, this basic one will have to do.

Golden Pancakes

1 egg
1 c. whole milk
1 tbs. melted butter
1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tbs. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

> Whisk egg, butter and 3/4 of milk together. Sift dry ingredients and combine with milk mixture, beat well till lumps disappear. Thin with more milk till right consistency. I like em kinda thin so I usually use up all the milk. Pour from 1/4 c. measure into a very hot and lightly oiled griddle, flip when bubbly and sides start to set, cook a minute more or till done.

Sometimes I like to replace milk with buttermilk or half and half. When I have chocolate chips on hand, I sprinkle a spoonful onto batter as it starts to bubble on griddle, same thing with blueberries. I like to serve it with a fancier maple syrup which is really easy to make. There's a real recipe in the book I mentioned where I think you really do everything from scratch but an alternative could be to just heat up maple syrup, butter, a bit of sugar, a bit of fresh orange juice and orange rind till sugar just melts and pour everything in a little jug. I especially love that with chocolate-chip pancakes. Yum!

Sorry for the poor image quality. This was taken a few days ago using my phone's not so fantastic camera. :D

Moving On

2010-01-29T15:17:00.000+08:00

Since around 2008 when LJ finally died for me, I've been constantly searching for a replacement. Let's hope that this one lasts longer than my Wordpress blog (with the grand total of perhaps 4 or 5 posts spread over 2 years). I'll probably repost recipes and whatnot from there to start this off. At least this one seems a little more user-friendly.

The past few weeks I've been busying myself with preparations for my upcoming baby shower. I know, I know friends are supposed to throw it for me. But I wanted to join in on the fun and take care of the menu myself. How can I NOT bother about food? Okay, honestly, I've just been looking for an excuse to make petit fours. Hehe. So now my head is filled with images of scones, lemon tarts, cucumber sandwiches and macarons and can't wait till next month to gobble them all up! Yum!

Yes, I've liked cucumber, tomato, and asparagus sandwiches since the time I was still learning how to spell all three correctly. I have yet to find another person in Manila that loves them as much. My grandmother was the one who introduced me to such delights and it frustrates me now that my son won't eat anything grown from the ground aside from rice, wheat and sugar. I've tried every trick in the book, trust me, he just won't. If you have any ideas on how to go about that (best if you've actually tried it), please leave a comment. I'm desperate to get him out of his sausage, bacon, chicken nuggets diet.

Anyway, here's a recipe I'm trying out for our little afternoon tea party next month. If any of you try it ahead of me, let me know how it turns out.

Cucumber-Mint Tea Sandwiches

1/4 c. loosely packed mint leaves, chopped fine
2 tbs. unsalted butter
2 tbs. cream cheese
6 slices white bread
3" length cucumber, cut into thin slices

> Combine mint, butter, cream cheese into a small bowl and spread on bread slices. Top 3 slices with a layer of cucumber, season with salt. Top with remaining bread slices, cut off crusts, slice diagonally into quarters.

Now to finish my lunch -- greens with chicken, strawberries, peaches, grapes, candied nuts and poppyseed dressing. Yum.