The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
I would have commented earlier but the controversial “Kulo” art exhibit was closed before I could go and see it. Sam happened to be at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) — for an entirely different reason — when the brouhaha was at its height and she witnessed a religious group of religious protesters ... (more)
Six to seven in the evening is usually the hour of the day when I cook dinner. While waiting for the food to cook, I watch a little TV. If I’m cooking a stew which can take up to two hours, I can finish a whole movie. Otherwise, a half-hour program on the Food Network ... (more)
Before I put up that section that Sam wants, the family conversations “too hilarious not to be shared with the entire world,” I want to say something about Speedy. And I want to say it now because once the section that Sam wants is up (it’s mostly about her father’s booboos), Speedy might not talk ... (more)
Speedy and I watched “The Rite” last night. For those of you who are not familiar with the film, it is about demonic possession and exorcism. It says at the beginning that it is based on true events. A seminarian, Michael Kovak, who wants to quit the seminary for lack of real religious faith was ... (more)
Former Defense Chief Angelo Reyes died from a gunshot wound to the heart, no one knows what gun was used, autopsy has not been performed but media have already concluded it’s suicide. The most jaw-dropping headline, I read in the Philippine Daily Inquirer — “Angelo Reyes commits suicide.” Despite the headline, the body of the ... (more)
A couple of days ago, I was chatting with a fellow lawyer who was on his last day in Geneva for a conference. The chat that started with Swiss chocolates took a serious and contemplative turn when I said Switzerland sounds like a good place to retire in. Stable economy, neutral politics, efficient government and ... (more)
The average churchgoer may not be aware of it but The Vatican owns a very profitable bank called the Institute for Works of Religion or more popularly known as the Vatican Bank. It has been the subject of lawsuits — one accusing the bank of profiting from gold looted by Nazi puppets during World War ... (more)
So, Carlos Celdran of the Intramuros walking tour fame is in jail. Wearing a Jose Rizal costume, he walked up to the church altar during a mass holding a placard that says, “Damaso.” The message is clear. He is calling the Catholic clergy tyrants for its anti-reproductive health bill stance. I agree with Celdran’s message. ... (more)
When the Gabriela Women’s Party filed House Bill No. 1799 (Divorce Bill, for brevity), the long dormant debate over the legalization of divorce in the Philippines was revived. Since the effectivity of the Family Code in the late 1980s with its provision for marriage annulment, the divorce issue has taken a back seat with most ... (more)
Post-Apocalyptic films don’t really interest me. Believe it or not, I have not seen any of the Mad Max movies in their entirety despite being loco (at least, for a time) over Mel Gibson. But if I’m a fan of Mel Gibson, I’m a bigger fan of Denzel Washington although his films that I like ... (more)
In a predominantly Catholic country, it takes guts to go around flower shops and give away free condoms on Valentine’s Day – even if it’s part of a campaign of the Department of Health. But Secretary Esperanza Cabral did it anyway and she’s now under fire from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) ... (more)
According to the news, the price of Christmas ham will probably go up by another seven per cent next week. The announcement was made by the president of the supermarket association who did not clarify whether the organization was imposing the price increase arbitrarily to mercilessly jack up its members’ profits or whether it is ... (more)
Casa is Spanish for house. CASA is also an acronym for Connie, Antonio, Sam and Alex. We are all surnamed Veneracion. We all love to take photos -- of anything that catches our fancy. It's a family obsession.
This is a journal of how we live, eat, learn, play and have fun. Work? Work is part of playing and having fun. Seriously.
In 2003, a time when I hadn't heard of the term "blog", I started a recipe website at cooking.houseonahill.net using a now defunct content management system that ran on ASP. Ok, never mind the geek talk, I'm sure you're not interested in that. The contents easily multiplied and, in 2004, I moved the food site to pinoycook.net. Always unhappy with the fact that the dot com … »»
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