the kitchen masochist

Rose Apple Spinach Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Beauty deprived of its proper foils and adjuncts ceases to be enjoyed as beauty, just as light deprived of all shadows ceases to be enjoyed as light.

John Ruskin

A rose isn't a rose isn't a rose...at least when it's a rose apple anyway...

Asian Style Barley Pilaf

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 06:54:00 +0000

Nothing makes a woman realize the consequences of the gluttony she committed during the recent festivities like a pair of tight-fitting jeans. You know, those pair of jeans with zippers that glided smoothly when you zipped them up or down prior to December of the previous year. Then comes January and all of sudden, that zipper on those same pair of jeans experiences a bumpy ride as it travels up and down. The zipper simply does not glide as smoothly as it did just a few months ago. As much as I she would like to think that she's experiencing a wardrobe malfunction (it's Superbowl season, I'm allowed to borrow that term) or think it's simply because of defective zippers, that bumpy ride is a storage of leftover gluttony in the form of fat.

Meringue-Making On A Manic Monday: Silvanas

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:32:00 +0000

BlogCritics: my first article submission, Confessions Of A Chocolate Chaser, has been chosen as Editors' Picks. You can read it here if you're interested.

I just discovered my own personal Bible, The Idiot's Guide To Managing Your Time. To date, it has truly been a revelation in that I was able to write and submit my long overdue first article for Blog Critics, complete another article for a client after my regular office hours and managed to bake a batch of silvanas and meet up with a friend for a cup of coffee. All this accomplished on a manic Manila Monday!

New Year's Eve 2010

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:33:00 +0000

Unlike in the West, New Year's Eve is a family affair here in the Philippines. It really is just a continuation of Christmas Eve with a few differences. Being a "holiday orphan," my friend invited me to spend Christmas Eve with her family, which was very generous of her to do so. Now imagine my surprise when her parents invited me again to spend New Year's Eve with them! A repeat invitation in a short space of a week is a good sign that I didn't repulse my hosts during Christmas Eve.

Local Christmas Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 16:37:00 +0000

With the over-the-top, paranoid-like security measures that every high-traffic US airports employ, I have decided to stay put for the holidays instead of going home as I usually do. After working for around fourteen hours almost everyday for the past six months, I simply do not have the energy to queue for two to three hours and subject myself to have my luggage scanned and turned upside down after hours of meticulous packing in the hopes of finding any explosive devices.

Loomi Luvin'

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 10:48:00 +0000

My palm reader said I'm going to hold
something old and withered in the palm of my hand.
Perhaps this was what she meant?!

Unless you are familiar with Persian and khaleeji cuisines, most likely, you have never seen nor heard of lumi (pronounced as "loomi"). They are preserved limes boiled in salt water and dried out in the sun until they become brittle and reach that tan or black color. Sometimes, they're called "black limes" or "black lemons," which is a misnomer.

Papaya Fried Rice

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:25:00 +0000

With Christmas just a little over two weeks away, I am starting to feel the pressure to finish everything work-related before the break. It doesn't help either when you hear "Only 'X' days till Christmas!" on TV every night. As soon as September arrives, the entire Christian population in this country start the count down.

Thai Pumpkin Coconut Custard (Sang Kaya Fuk Thong)

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:18:00 +0000

From about 2003 to 2007, I spent Thanksgiving Day in Thailand on business trips. I have done away with turkey but Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without any kind of pumpkin. I used to order this Thai pumpkin coconut custard at the hotels I stayed at on all the Thanksgiving Days I was in Bangkok. It became my own personal tradition as a way of celebrating the holiday the best way I could away from home.

Kotlet (Persian Burgers) For Thanksgiving Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:25:00 +0000

For Americans living overseas, many of us do not celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day. Since it isn't an international holiday the way Christmas is, most of us are usually working on Thursday and usually celebrate it on a Friday or a Saturday. Because it's a holiday that's exclusive to North America (just celebrated on different dates), it is quite easy to miss as there are no images of orange pumpkins or any icons associated with the holiday.

A Retort On A Tort Of A Torte

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:19:00 +0000

I learned how to bake first before I learned how to cook. When I moved out of my parents' home to go off to university, my mother worried about my lack of cooking skills. She used to say: "You can't live on cookies, brownies, instant noodles and Shirazi salad." And Marlboro Lights for dessert. Of course, she and Dad never knew that! As a side note, I quit when I was 28 and haven't touched a cigarette ever since. My parents still don't know to this day that I belched smoke for ten years.

A Threesome and The Best BJ For My Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 20:10:00 +0000

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."

W. Somerset Maugham

I have, unintentionally, let my 35th birthday (a month ago) pass me by. I have been skating between my "conventional" yuppie day job and my word whoring, er...I mean...ghostwriting gigs, which I work on between breaks and in the evenings. On my birthdays, I usually treat myself to something I don't permit myself to indulge in. This year, I told myself: "I'll take care of it (my birthday)next week." "Next week" turned into "7 weeks later."

Since my birthday also happens to be close to my ten-year anniversary as an expatriate, I have been swept over by this insidious bastard of an emotion, the bane of every expatriate's existence called homesickness. It seems to strike a lot of longtime expats during the ten-year mark. I definitely was not exempted. After a decade of living overseas as an adult, I can safely sum it up as something like this: homesickness is as elusive as the horizon. Just when you think you have come close to grasping and mastering its essence, you realize, sooner or later, that you are nowhere near it as you had initially thought. It is during this moment of realization where you begin to entertain the thought that perhaps, Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe had you, instead of Faust, in mind when he wrote these words:

"And here, poor fool, with all my lore I stand no wiser than before."

For those of us who choose the expatriate life, we find ways to handle our bouts of homesickness. A friend of mine, a fellow expat from New York, deals with her bouts of homesickness by watching her DVD set of Friends, Seinfeld and Woody Allen films. So how did a recently-turned-35-year-old expat woman treat herself for homesickness and her birthday? She binges on classic American junk food. Let's just say that my hips, thighs and waistline's girth are directly proportional to the intensity of my homesickness. The formula would be something like this:

Let h=hips, t=thighs, w=waistline, H=homesickness;

H=thwk, where k is constant

Phew! I still remember my algebra at the ripe old age of 35!

For the longest time, I have been lusting after the smoothest, richest, milkiest and creamiest BJ to go with a threesome-me, Ben and Jerry.

Chicken Macaroni In Milk Broth

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:34:00 +0000

I would like to apologize for failing to deliver my once regular weekly posts to those of you who look or looked forward to them. After an 11-month depressing dry spell, my freelance work has been picking up quite a bit for the last six or so weeks. After months of countless rejections of my writing samples since the year began, I was starting to think that I'd never sell an article in 2010. I have even been entertaining the idea that I was finally an eligible candidate to have a landfill named after me for quite sometime now. Luckily, the landfill idea has been staved off since I finally sold a few articles and have managed to snag a few clients here and there. I have been taking advantage of this momentum. Hence, my absence from the blogosphere. It has been quite a juggling act (an enjoyable one though) between the day job and the writing assignments.

Outside The Box Sessions: Lemongrass-Skewered Prawns With Curry Sauce In Tofu Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:20:00 +0000

After a few technical glitches, this long overdue post has finally come into public view. thanks to Lazaro, of Lazaro Cooks, who informed me that there was a problem with this post when it wasn't showing up the way it should be.

This was the last dish I prepared and the post I was working on back in May before I fell ill.

4th Of July-Mom's California Pasta Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:10:00 +0000

As an American living overseas for close to a decade now, I've come to the stunning conclusion that the prevailing perception of American cuisine, thanks to the global proliferation of the likes of McDonald's, KFC and Burger King, has been written off as a diet of dry, bland hamburgers blanketed with orange glob that eerily bears a striking resemblance to a piece of melted orange vinyl instead of cheese, fries bathed in salt and ketchup that we happily consume in all their artery-clogging glory.

Shiraz Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:11:00 +0000

As promised in the previous post, here's the recipe for the Shiraz salad that I prepared for Father's Day. This is probably the easiest and quickest Persian recipe you'll ever encounter. This was the very first Persian dish my mom learned to make. I used to watch her prepare this when I was little. Years later, when I went off to college/university, I would prepare this every week when I got tired of the usual North American college student 's staple diet of instant mac and cheese, two-dollar pizzas and instant noodles. Needless to say, this was the first "real" and nutritious food I ever learned to put together.

Father's Day-A Persian Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:26:00 +0000

Herbed Fish Stew (Khoresh-e ghalieh mahi)

This is one of my favorite Persian dishes and my Dad's as well..

It may not look too appealing, but it's just teeming with flavor and aroma.

For those of you wondering where I've been, I've had a series of medical problems that I had to take care of, hence my absence from the blogosphere. To those of you (and you know who you are) who took the time to express your concern(s), I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your gesture.

Mother's Day Special: Prawn Mango Curry

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:29:00 +0000

With a hectic week at work, it's been a consistent diet of takeout food and I've obviously been lagging on both my blog posts and visits to my favorite blogs. So, to those blogs/bloggers that I visit regularly (and you know who you are), I have not forgotten any of you. Life just sort of has been getting in the way lately.

Thai Minced Chicken Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:58:00 +0000

Minced chicken salad in red cabbage cups.

With the unrelenting hotter-than-normally-hot weather that currently seems to be sweeping most of the Southeast Asian region, coming up with light dishes that require a minimal amount of time in front of the stove has been quite a challege.

Mack Attack

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Mackerel Ceviche

Although it's hot and humid throughout most of the year here in the Philippines, this month of April has been unusually so. In all the nine years that I've been living in this country, this was the first time I have ever experienced any kind of heat rash. Although my rashes have mostly disappeared, I still have been avoiding any kind of kitchen work and have been eating out quite a bit lately. The same thing seems to be happening to Denise in Singapore, the author of the food blog Quickies On The Dinner Table.

All These Head-Inflating Awards

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:57:00 +0000

With the month of April drawing to a close, overall, inspite of a few mishaps I've told you about in my previous post, I'd have to say it's been a wonderful month. With all these awards I've been bestowed, I can't help but feel my head swell up to the same size as Alaska.

Batik Corn

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:10:00 +0000

Dear loyal readers,

I have been suffering from heat rash for the past two weeks and most of my body is covered with red rashes including my hands and fingers. To say that it's uncomfortably itchy would be an understatement. This is a common disorder in hot and humid tropical climates. I have been advised by my dermatologist to avoid engaging in activities that cause perspiration since it leads to heat rash. So that means no cooking since I live in a small place that heats up rather quickly when I work in the kitchen.

Local Snacks And Delicacies

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

For my last installment of the Lenten foods that I consumed, here are some Filipino snacks and delicacies that my friend and her very hospitable family offered.

Grape Seaweed Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:08:00 +0000

Before moving to the Philippines, the only type of seaweeds I knew of in existence were those nori sheets used in sushi and kelp. Being an island nation with a coastline double that of the United States, I suppose it's only natural to have such a large variety of seaweeds available for consumption.

Holy Thursday-Freshwater Prawns In Sour Soup

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:55:00 +0000

Even though my mother is Catholic, we never obsereved Lent or Easter when I was growing up. Since I spent the first 12 years of my life in the Middle East where Islam is the dominant religion, I am much more familiar with Ramadan's rules of fasting. It's quite straightforward. It's a complete abstinence from all forms of pleasure of the body including eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to sunset.

Holy Week In The Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (The Kitchen Masochist) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:55:00 +0000

Being the sole predominantly Catholic/Christian country in Southeast Asia, as in all former colonies of Spain, Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is observed throughout the Philippines. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays. All offices and most business establishments cease operations. Manila's population temporarily decreases by 80-90% as her inhabitants return to their provincial homes to visit their families and relatives for the long weekend.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by a friend of mine to spend the Holy Week with her and her family at their farm in Bataan, a provincial town 77 miles (124 km) away from Manila.

Here are some of the photos that I took on that trip. Please join me on my trip for a glimpse of a rural Philippine town and its way of observing the Lenten season.

On The Road

On the road. A view of rice paddies from my car window.