The Sassy Lawyer & Pinoy Cook on food, family and home.
After almost two decades of being a mother, my daughters still manage to surprise me. Last week, the day that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 opened in cinemas, Sam started texting me about when we would go and see it. I told her I had asked her father to buy tickets a ... (more)
Last night. Me: “I’m ovulating… Do you want another baby?” Speedy: “Go to sleep.” Me: “But it’s CSI night!” Speedy: “After CSI, go to sleep.” Okay, he definitely doesn’t want another baby.
Sunday evening. Sam, Speedy and I were chatting while watching TV. Sam was asking about the boat shoes that I was supposed to buy Speedy for his birthday earlier this month but which we ended up not buying because the ones we found were too narrow. Don’t ask anymore why “boat shoes.” That’s what Speedy ... (more)
If you’re familiar with the 1986 film About Last Night, there’s a part where the lead female character Deborah describes to her friend, Joan, the dining arrangement she has with her live-in partner, Danny. Two nights a week, I cook. Two nights a week, he cooks. Two nights, we go out. And then, there’s sandwich ... (more)
Yesterday was Speedy’s birthday. Last night was also the last performance of a shadow play (another production of Spot, CSB‘s theater group) for which Alex was one of the two people who designed the lighting. Of course, we went. We always go to her plays. The plan was to see the play then have a ... (more)
Three weeks ago, the world was supposed to have ended. At least, according to some theories. Of course, I didn’t believe any of it. We had a small lunch party scheduled for the following day so Sam and I spent end-of-the-world-day, May 21, 2011, shopping for food stuff for the party. Driving home with her ... (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)
I know some parents who feel threatened and insecure when they realize that their children know things that they don’t. I don’t feel that way about my children. In fact, I enjoy learning from them. For instance. We were at Cape Bojeador and we were killing time because we wanted to still be there when ... (more)
The girls and I were watching the rerun of Junior Masterchef Australia and one of the earliest episodes was on. The 50 qualifiers were being trimmed down to 12 and a batch was asked to cook a dish that they felt they cooked the best — “the dish that you cook better than anyone else ... (more)
The original plan was to drive up to Baguio, spend a couple of nights there, drive north to Vigan, spend a night there, drive north to Laoag, spend a night there, drive south to La Union, spend a night at a beach resort then go back to Manila. For non-Filipinos and Filipinos living abroad who ... (more)
Rumor has it that I'm pregnant. I'm not. I just get cravings at times. Two … »»
When does your weekend start? Like most Filipino families, ours used to … »»
The day I cooked the lechon kawali with Pad Thai sauce, I cooked a second … »»
A couple of days ago, in another attempt to acquire a taste for ampalaya, I … »»
No, I've never been to P.F. Chang's although I read that the U.S. food … »»
The most serious reason I missed my pressure cooker was because I love, … »»
The last time I heard the word batotoy, I was buying longganisa (native … »»
After a quick trip to the market, Speedy checked his Facebook account, … »»
Still experimenting with alternative methods of cooking, after using the … »»
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 versions of houseonahill and pinoycook weren't … (click here to read all »)
The avocado was supposed to go into sushi but I cooked all the Japanese … (more...)
Sam likes buying those frozen seafood balls in the grocery -- fish balls, … (more...)
It has a graham cracker crust and it is baked but at a lower temperature … (more...)
If you Google "melon cocktail", you'll find that there are two categories. … (more...)
According to Tastefully Done, age means deep fried and dashi, of course, is … (more...)
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