I have utang. I still haven’t posted the rest of the restaurant reviews from our Tagaytay trip last month. See, my intention was to write a full article about the Tagaytay trip—where to eat, where to go, that kind of thing—and submit it to Manila Standard Today. But because of the delay in the publication ... (more)
My recipes in Shanghai
Posted on December 14, 2006 · 30 Comments
Yesterday, I posted an entry in my other weblog about requests for my baked macaroni. One is from my daughter’s best friend who is celebrating her birthday today (the party will be tomorrow though). The other is from Sam’s classmates who have voted to include my baked macaroni in the class party’s menu. You might want to read the original entry for better context.
Phynkee posted a comment about having made the baked macaroni twice (her two daughter’s birthday parties, respectively) and that she would be making it again for their Pinoy Christmas party in Shanghai. Well, she e-mailed me some photos from her daughter’s birthday party and… I really feel like Christmas, you know?
Lasang Pinoy 16: Chocolate Polvoron
Posted on December 13, 2006 · 76 Comments
It was during a trip to Los Baños, Laguna last year when we first sampled chocolate coated polvoron. I bought a pack, just to try, and handed the package to the kids in the backseat. We made another stop to check out some potted herbs. Because it was drizzling, we left the kids in the car with instructions to lock the doors. I went ahead and inspected the potted herbs. After a few minutes, my husband went back to the car to check up on the kids. He came back for me with the news that the kids couldn’t talk — their mouths were full and with every word spoken out came the powdery milk of the polvoron. In short, they liked it. Too bad that we couldn’t find chocolate coated polvoron in our area, not even in Metro Manila. Until last night…
Pasta, a birthday, a Christmas party and a book
Posted on December 13, 2006 · 7 Comments
It’s going to be a busy weekend. But I feel energized. Actually, I feel great. For the first time in so many months, I’m writing the way I always wanted to. I finally acknowledged what had been staring at me in the face for a long time. Not following the political news — not paying ... (more)
Braised pork spare ribs
Posted on December 12, 2006 · 53 Comments
Cut the pork spare ribs; brown in hot cooking oil; add finely chopped garlic and onions, and ginger; season with salt, light soy sauce, hot sauce and brown sugar; pour in about three cups of water; bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer for an hour and a half. Serve with mashed potatoes with some grated parmesan cheese stirred in. If that’s not easy, I don’t know what is. 
Heavenly lemon – orange cheesecake
Posted on December 11, 2006 · 33 Comments
The original recipe is from Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries. The man isn’t prone to superlatives. So when one comes across a superlative in his book, one notices. And when he described this lemon-orange cheesecake as “one of those perfect recipes that you have been after all your life”, he wasn’t overstating it. It is ... (more)
Dumb Smart Schools (do NOT Text 2622)
Posted on December 11, 2006 · 2 Comments
Smart Schools Program is otherwise known as Text 2622: A Smart Way to text DepEd. The program’s official site boasts that: Dubbed DETxt 2622, the service lets public school faculty, staff, students, parents and the general public automatically receive advisories such as announcements on test schedules, press releases, holiday announcements, and cancellation of classes. We ... (more)
Snap it!
Posted on December 10, 2006 · 14 Comments
I’m hoping that posting will be back to its normal pace by tomorrow as we wind up fixing some technical problems. I won’t bore you with the details save to say that I believe, now more than ever, that it isn’t a good idea to make decisions — especially major ones — in a fit ... (more)
French toast in 3 steps
Posted on December 9, 2006 · 13 Comments
When I made some French toasts for breakfast a few days ago and took so much pain taking photos, I did wonder what I was going to do with all the photos. I was sure I have more than one French toast entry in my blog but I took the photos just the same. I’m glad I did. I scanned my archives and it turned out that although I have three French toast recipes, I don’t have any entry with the basic recipe. What I do have are the cinnamon-flavored French toast and two rather fancy variations — the ones stuffed with cheese and ham and another which is a variation of the classic Monte Cristo sandwich.
Chicken, chicharo and quail eggs stir fry
Posted on December 8, 2006 · 17 Comments
Chicharo, those sweet crunchy peas in a pod, happens to be my 14-year-old daughter’s favorite non-leafy vegetable — the top favorite leafy vegetables among my kids being cabbage and kangkong (water or swamp spinach). The legume chicharo is known as snow peas in some countries, and snap peas in others. Some say that snow peas and snap peas are actually two different varieties of peas. Sitsaro or chicharo come in different sizes. When you buy some, choose the smallest pods — they are crunchier and sweeter. They are easier to prepare too. No need to cut them into smaller pieces. You just snap off both ends and pull off the fibrous threads that run along the edges and they’re ready to cook.
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