seaside and singing
last wednesday, we were in for a treat from KJL who just received his pay increase (congrats kuya!) it was the second time that the group was doin this seaside thing (i was absent the first time). seaside is ortigas' version of Dampa dining.
after class, we hurriedly went to seaside because, one, we were starving already and two, we didn't want to go home late since it was a working day. the girls were in charge of marketing and the boys went to secure a place for us. we bought crabs, shrimps, squid, lapu-lapu and tuna belly. (huling hapunan na ba to? ;0)
we had the head of the lapu-lapu for the sinigang sa misu (yummy nito!) and the body for the sweet and sour. We grilled the tuna belly, calamares for the squid, the shrimp with garlic and margarine, and the crabs with oyster sauce. (grrr! i am getting hungry doing this blog!!!) it was a sumptuous meal, (at lahat nakakamay kumain!) everything was perfectly cooked. we ravished the food in less than an hour. (we had to occasionally stop to breathe)
while eating, kjl requested the duo to play a song by his new found love kitchie nadal (her mom works in our office, and kitchi interviewed kjl for a school project... and the rest was history!) but i guess we were not impressed by how they sang the song, and so we decided to do our own version of the song by checking in a videoke place called contessa.
the initial plan was to have an hour for singing (just enough time to digest that dinner!) one picked out a song to be sung my another. rhoda picked my immortal for mia, mia picked wag na wag mong sasabihin for jimmi, jimmi picked we could be in love for rocel , rocel picked the glory of love for brye, brye picked i need you for me, and i picked maybe for rhoda. there were also some duets done. brye and i did cruisin, rhoda and jimmi did endless love (aruy!) we had so much fun singing the one hour plan turned to 3 hours of concert! ;0)
We went home at around 2:00am and i reached home at 2:30 since i was designated as the school bus driver (which i really don't mind at all) The following day, everybody was still ecstatic about the blast we had the night before, but there were minor complaints of voice not functioning very well (ayan kasi, ayaw tumigil sa kakanta last night!), two hours of sleep (that's me!!!! grrr that color coding!) and consciousness floating somewhere out there ;0) til our next pig out, i mean dine out and concert! ;0)
going back to cooking
i started early in the kitchen. i remember since grade 3, i stay in the kitchen to see how my father cooks (yup, may father is the cook of the family, and he cooks better, far better than my mother, no pun intended mama!) i am usually given the task to saute or to mix the food being cooked. I also watched cooking shows, i remember the Cooking it up with Nora show ( i think it was aired during Saturdays) that later became Cooking it up with the Daza's. I also grew up watching that amazing Chinese woman who has a cooking show at Channel 9 (does anybody remember that show?). Though i did not understand anything she says, i enjoyed watching her cook, especially seeing that hot wok she was cooking on and how she mixes water with constarch to make the sauce thick. i also remember watching Del Monte Kitchenomics at Eat Bulaga hosted by Chiqui Hollman, and later Coney Reyes and still later Maricel Laxa. i am just not sure if the show still has this segment. now, i still enjoy watching cooking shows (thanks to the lifestyle channel)- the Iron Chef America, Everyday Italian, 30 Minutes Meal with Rachel Ray, Food 911, Boy meets Grill, Wolfgang Puck's Cooking Class, Tyler's Ultimate, Molto Mario, and on local channel, the Katogue on Qtv. by grade 5, i was cooking already. i remember cooking basic dishes like sauted vegetables, anything fried - chicken, fish, pork. as i grew older, i tried to cook more "complicated" menu, with the help of my father.
During college, I am the usual cook everytime we have activities that require food. This is not because i am a good cook but because of budget constraints (and there was no one who wants to take on this task). It's much cheaper to prepare food by yourself. (it's tiring nga lang) So i cooked during our org's anniversary, bar operations for the bar ops team, etc. sometimes, my orgmates go to our house and i cook food for them. When i started working, i seldom cook, because my father usually cooks and at the that time,we have household help who prepare food for us.
i regained interest in cooking when i became active in the blogosphere. I came across food bloggers (c/o candice's awesome foodies link, like
market manila . btw, candice too has some nice foodies on her entries ) who share recipes, put on some pictures (which usually make me starve!) review and rate food. from appetizers to main courses to desserts, you name it, and they have it. it just interests me to read their entries (though i had to suffer from starving and salivating while reading them)
Since my father moved to the province, it's only me and my mother at home. Somethimes she doesn't cook anymore because it'll only be for the two of us (thank God for take outs!) and/or sometimes, she's too tired from work to cook. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to go back to cooking. so last weekend, armed with ideas from food bloggers, i planned our menu for one week. i listed down the ingredients i will need and my mother went to the market to get them for me. i designed the menu in such a way that it can be cooked the night before and be reheated the next day for dinner, without spoiling of course. So sunday night, i prepared some food. i cooked adobo (for monday, so that when my mom comes home after work, she doesn't need to cook anymore, and all she has to do is to reheat it) i also marinated the pork steak (i got so inspired by the pork steak of market man so i thought i had to make one) On tuesday, I cooked fried rice for dinner (the one with egg, shrimp and luncheon meat). Since i had some left overs, i brought it to work yesterday and my friend Rhoda, sampled it, and she liked it (Yipee!) Last night's dinner was Paksiw na Bangus, c/o my mother. For tonight, we will have the pork steak. I cooked it last night and brought some today to work to let my friends taste it. again they liked it (they really are my friends!, hehehe!) Now that's some inspiration to cook some more! Tomorrow, i will be preparing fried chicken, and now i have to prepare extra for Brye, Rocel and Rhoda (because of Brye's insistence). What I usually do with the chicken is to steam it with butter, garlic and other herbs after marinating them. after steaming, i let it cool for while, quote with some flour and then fry it. (well, i shall see the verdict for this tomorrow).
i am just thankful for the food bloggers for writing so passionately about food and cooking that it inspired me to cook. Next time, i will try to post pics too of the food i prepared. You just have to bear with my pics as i am only armed with 2 megapixel celfone camera. Bon Appetit! ;0)
changing lifestyle
since i got my babies, there has been changes in my lifestyle, (actually including my mother's). i really thought that taking care of two pups is not a joke, it's a huge responsibility. i knew it will require time, effort and yes, money. that's why a lot of contemplation was done before i decided to become a mother to these two angels.
i used to not care what time i'm going home. i didn't mind accommodating requests from friends for dinner, badminton games, drink or coffee after office or during weekends. i used to just eat and watch endless tv (til i fall asleep) everytime i come home from work, class. i used to not clean the house, at least on a regular basis, but i do, i really do!) in short, i had the time of my life! ;0) i did what i wanted to do at my own time and pace. but something happened when Yada and Obi became part of the family.
i used to sleep at around 2 or 3am. now, i am knocked down at 1 or 12 or even early. now, there are nights i miss the news because i fell asleep na (this is the only thing i do religiously, watch the news before i sleep) i am not sure if this is because i am tired (of cleaning the house and playing with Yada and Obi) or i am just anticipating the early wake up call the next day. and speaking of early , now i wake up earlier than i used to, since i have to give them breakfast and prepare their lunch. i also have to clean the mess they did during the night.
now, i easily say no to some invites after work (sometimes i asked them to go to my place na lang) so i can be home early for their dinner and to bring Obi out to poop. (Yada doesn't like the streets, so everytime we go out with Obi, I carry her) now, i clean the house almost everyday to make sure it doesn't stink with their pees and poops. (i think they are too young to be pressured to toilet training ;0) now, rags and domex are my best friends! i became more patient because of their playfullness (i tell you, they can really tear the house down and yes! they are now officially playmates! i'll try to make another entry on this) they tear up newspapers, pull the rug from one place to another. now, i make sure that everything is in order.
i welcome these changes with a smile. It is indeed tiring sometimes, doing all these chores and adjustments for them. But it's nothing compared to the joy these two babies bring to my heart (*wink)
