I Am Mother

I cannot say this often enough about parents... we love them, we hate them then we become them.

My Father's Day gift to Tats was a balloon twisting workshop in UP Diliman last Sunday. It was a seven hour session yet he still wanted the entire household to be around so I prepared for a Sunken Garden picnic for Nacho, Riza and me. Alas, parking is no longer allowed along the oval rim and it was mighty inconvenient to lug Nacho with his stuff, the banig, food and drinks from the car. Given my very limited navigational skills, I drove around the campus once and decided to go back to the ISSI Building where we deposited Tats.

The workshop was at the third floor so I was delighted that on the second floor was a very spacious hallway. There we laid out our picnic paraphernalia complete with iPod and speakers spewing Mother Goose and Filipino nursery rhymes. Nacho quickly went exploring his tiled new playground down on all fours - kids on Bible study break came over to play with him. Tats came down with his first creations; 2 balloons inside a big clear one and a balloon bouquet that really did look like a flower.

We took a quick snack of the sandwiches and pasta dish we brought. Then one look at Nacho's dusty limbs told me that a wet towel just wont do so I whisked him to the Ladies' Room and gave him a quick bath over one sink. Refreshed, we laid on his cot and a momentary latch rendered him knocked out! Riza fell asleep on a bench too when torrential rains poured complete with thunderclaps and lightnings but the two were unfazed.

Seeing my contingent in deep sleep despite the refugee-camp set-up, I could not help but remember my mom. She always brought baon (packed food) wherever we went... and although it always seemed like she carried too much classified into appetizer, main course, dessert and chichiriya, the containers were always empty by the time we got home.I particularly remember the millenium countdown (2000) event at The Fort -it was just a vacant lot back then and the commute was inconvenient enough that my mom still had me and my sisters carry food baskets and a picnic mat. Seeing people our age in full gimik gear, we three girls wished the ground would crack open and swallow us unseen. But true enough, when fireworks lit up the midnight sky, we were comfortably spread out on the mat with yummy food within reach while the rest had to crane their necks to witness the pyro extravaganza that remains unparalled to this day.

When Nacho woke up, I read him a book while Riza packed up and loaded most of our stuff in the car. Then Tats came down with balloons on his head, around his arms and in his hands. The seven hour wait was not as grueling as I feared it would be. But perhaps I've become more patient for my family... just like my mother was to me.

Mrs. Gump

Now I totally get it... Mrs.Gump on her deathbed saying, "God put me on this earth to become your mother". Back when I saw the movie I thought, how sad for a woman to base the significance of her existence on the child she bore... sure Forrest was a wonderful human being but he's still a separate person... was she not important on her own? It was also the same year when Sushmita Sen uttered her response that the "essense of a woman" is in her ability for childbirth bagging her the crown of Ms.Universe 1994.

I am scared shitless that I might screw up as a mom. My son is turning a year old in August and it bothers me that he's temperamental and intensely stubborn. When he wants to be carried and I don't want to give in, he can cry for what seem like hours while throwing an accusing look at me. I've had some success with setting his feeding habits, making him comfortable in water and introducing him to nursery rhymes but the systems I build would easily fall apart in one unsupervised day. I fervently pray that he grows up to be a good, healthy and happy person but I have no idea excatly how I can make it happen.

I understand now that Mrs. Gump was not referring to her significance in the eyes of other people but rather to herself. She was able to raise an incredible human being which to a mother... trumps a successful career or even marriage.

Nacho Lakwatsero

Last weekend was crazy!
FRIDAY
8am Bank (Mkti)
10am – 3pm Work (QC)
4pm Grocery (Mkti)
7pm The Ultimate Taste Test (Taguig)

SATURDAY
5:30am Pilipino Star Ngayon Fun Run (Pasay)
8am – 1:30pm Car Tune-up (Mandaluyong)
3pm – 5:30pm Aqui’s 1st Bday (QC)
SUNDAY
8am – 1pm DragonBoat Regatta (Mla)
1pm – 6pm Lechon Fiesta (la Loma)

Nacho was a social butterfly and he loved being everywhere!
We’re off to Nasugbu, Batangas tomorrow so we’ll see how this weekend measures up!

The Single Girl's Kitchen

This is for career girl/ sports enthusiast Sumi who recently moved out of the Motherhouse and into her very own place… a woman cannot live by tuna sandwich alone!
Invest in the Basics
Living on your own is COSTLY! You begin stressing over the utility bills and start to actually read the labels on your grocery items (price, weight, content etc.). You can only consume so much canned goods until processed meat start coming out of your ears and eating out no matter how cheap the restaurant will add up to be more expensive than when you do your own cooking. You don’t have to transform into Martha Stewart to be able to feed yourself but you do need to have the basic equipment.
• Plates, Cutlery and Drinking Glasses – at least 6 sets
• Refrigerator – can anyone live without one?
• Two-burner Gas Stove – it consumes less energy than electric stove
• Cookware – start off with the basic 3: a stock pot, sauce pan and skillet all with covers and preferably non-stick ones
• Cutlery Set – kitchen knives in different sizes will prove very useful
• Accessories: long-handled utensils, tongs, chopping board, strainer

Primary Stock
If you have these in stock then you’re guaranteed to be able to whip up something to feed yourself until you have ample time and money to get all that you want from the grocery.
• Seasoning, Condiment etc: salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, cooking oil, garlic and onion
• Dairy: cheese, butter, milk, cream, mayo
• Carbs: rice, pasta, bread
• Protein: eggs, canned tuna or sardines, processed or frozen meat -fish/ chicken fillet, ham, sausage etc.
• Veggies: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper

Quick Recipes
I’ve come to terms with my limitations when it comes to cooking – if it’s too darn tedious then I’ll just eat it somewhere else… thus I may never cook my beloved Kare-kare in this lifetime, thankfully they serve it fantastically in my mother-in-law’s house and in Dencio’s.

If you’ve never cooked a day in your life then don’t be intimidated, nobody’s going to judge you but yourself. To the very least, you can always just put together a sandwich, no rocket science there.

Cooking for yourself will mean that there will most likely be leftovers so your food should store well and must still be appetizing when reheated. So Sumi, go over my Excel file with an open mind. I’m pretty sure you’ll take to cooking like you do with sports – methodical at first then you just let go and have fun!

(cute photo from www.crazy4me.com)

Spiced Chocolate Covered Cookies

I recently attended the "Jumpstart Your Freelance Writing Career" workshop at Powerbooks in GB4 which was very substantial and entertaining - I hope to eventually write about it but for now this is about the wonderful dessert they served courtesy of Dessert Bar. The variety was wide but the simplest one tickled both my fancy and my tastebuds, Chocolate Covered Oreos with a hint of sea salt and chilies!

I figured, how hard can it be? So last weekend I bought Jack & Jill's Cream-O and Presto Peanut Butter Cookies, chili powder and a block of chocolate bar from Cook's Exchange. I chopped up the block and steamed it using the fondue bowl I got for a wedding present. After adding salt and chili powder until the mixture tasted just right to me then one by one I dipped the Cream-Os first followed by the Prestos and laid them on plates. The mixture was getting too thick as I was going along so I blended in a little chocolate milk which darkened it significantly. I refrigerated the covered cookies and after about 15 minutes, scrapped them off the plates - lesson learned, line the plates with wax paper so it's easier to remove the cookies, most of mine cracked apart.

Oh well, they don't look much but they taste pretty yummy! =)

Pork Belly Cuapao

Picked this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Market Manila but tweaked it a bit for simpler preparations.

Ingredients:
1/2kg Pork Belly (cut into 0.5" thick strips)
6pcs. Cuapao
Hoisin Sauce
Spring Onions (diced)

1)Marinade Pork Belly in Soy Sauce, Pepper and 3pcs. Calamansi for 1hr.
2)Pre-heat oven for 15mins. Roast meat for 30 minutes over medium heat.
3)Steam cuapao buns until warm.
4)Slice Cuapao Buns in half and spread Hoisin Sauce over one side.
5)Place Pork belly slices and Spring Onions in the middle.

Makes for a filling snack or meal.

Happy eating!

herb & spice girl

I made Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes for the first time and it turned out quite tasty. I'm glad it was the "pacham" recipe of the day Lana came over for dinner. Much to my delight, she and Tats seemed to enjoy every morsel that I totally forgot to take pictures.

My mouth waters every time I see Jamie Oliver pulling fresh leaves right off his little garden to whip up the most delicious-looking dishes. I've always been threatened of using herbs and spices for cooking, sure I like them in my food but I'm not one to religiously study culinary alchemy and there are just so many species out there that I may never be able to figure out which one should be used for what.But deep inside I know I want a garden too.

Inspired by the success of my Rosemary Chicken, earlier I went into one of the many greenhouses that line the streets of BF Homes and asked if they sell racks on which they place their potted plants. The owner happened to be there, Mrs. Fajardo said she had them custom-made about 15years ago but she didn't mind me taking pictures and so I did. She also told me about her herb garden at home, how boiled Tarragon leaves aid digestion and that the Nim plant is more effective in warding off mosquitoes than Citronella. I take it as a sign... I am meant to have a garden of my own!

Afterall, I did help out my grandfather tend to his vegetable farm, it's one of my most cherished childhood memories. I remember taking some dried seeds, planting them in our backyard and they thrived every time. I also smoked our mango tree in the afternoon to drive away pests and to this day, it never fails to bear fruits that are more succulent than the usual.

I'm giddy with excitement for my new project, i hope to actually get it off the ground!