Gift-Giving Day 4: Prayers, Birthday Greetings & Wishes

10/15/10 Fri

I've been wondering about V's health the past few days but kept forgetting to call or text her. Today I ym her. Sad to hear, she's lost 5 kgs.since I saw her last which was about a month ago. That's a lot esp. because she's not excatly heavy, just "healthy." Not at all healthy now, they don't know yet what's her disease is exactly. I really hope it's not MS. I composed a prayer text for her, she was grateful.

I was able to send our family's late birthday wishes to Auntie Yolly, who is in Italia via my Uncle Tony, her husband's Facebook account. I sent the same to each of her kids,Ken's and Kristel's FB acct. just in case doesn't check as often. I also sent a birthday wish for my good friend Ginger as requested by Nila, her CG-mate for their surprise party for her this coming Sunday. Asked our other friends Rhei & Jesson to do the same. I doubt if Rhei did, she's in HK this weekend.


Gifts received? Satisfaction of having warmed the hearts of people I care about today. I rewarded myself a nice fried chicken (not burnt), mushroom soup (Knorr, the only brand I know when it comes to soup(naks, plugging!)and Dan Eric's Choco Vanilla ice cream cone. Thanks to my good friend Monic for introducing this to me and to the store in our bldg. carrying it. Yummy!!!

look who's cooking & not just eating ;p

does it look appetizing? i've to learn foodphotography ;p

tapang beefsteak with a twist anyone? yes, i cooked this mucho deliciosso dish today. really yummy! you can't argue with me. you didn't taste in the first place. in the second place, this is my blog ;p


the name? the 1st time i tried my hand on this chow was just last week. it came out a bit dry & salty. i had to mix vinegar & pepper for dip. that's why i'm calling it tapa ;p this one i cooked today is not dry anymore but still a bit salty but very tasty ;p i've to learn to mix soy sauce & vinegar next time. good thing, there's still uncooked meat to experiment with.


i didn't do it on my own, by the way. i got help from 2 experts, my dad & my good friend donch thru mobile texting. i got good sense enough to ask.otherwise, i wouldn't have put vinegar at all & stirred it a lot. i never would've guessed there's vinegar in it. take note, i sent my query simultaneously to them thinking i'll choose whoever gives me the easier way. good thing, i did for if only asked dad, i would still have missed the vinegar.


here's his text: marinate the beef then fry with onions. he forgets his daughter is a nincompoop in the kitchen. instructions should be clear & detailed.


donch's is detailed, knowing her, & with commentary pa ;p
thaw the meat first then marinate in soy sauce, chopped garlic & calamansi.
what i did: rubbed salt on the beef thinking that's how you clean it. &maybe i didn't rinseenough so that explains the salty taste. the 2nd time i did it, no more rubbing salt so it came out less salty.

fry the meat slices until brown & set aside. you may need to do this in batches depending on qty. some people addthe marinade but i don't dothis because it's contaminated with raw meat. (another long sentence of commentary but for katamaran, i won't type anymore.)
what i actually did: i threw away the marinade, i think it's dirty too. the frying was easy.

put everything back in the pan & for sauce, put soy sauce& vinegar.
my say: ah, there's vinegar ;p

it's important not to stir the dish at this point.
what i thought: no stirring???!! my idea of cooking is stirring. think witches stirring their thick porridge ;p so i didn't.we have to abide by the expert, so i texted. wrong decision. continue reading.



you will have to wait until the vinegar is cooked. you can tell if it is if it doesn't smell too sour anymore. it takles 5-10mins.



my advice: don't text while cooking. give your attention to what's on the stove.sending one message is ok but what if your textmate replies right away? before you know it, your meat is burned. that's what happened to my 1st. it wasn't really burned but dried up completely. where'd the sauce go?

cut onions into rings. place on top of the dish.remove from fire.
what i did: i forgot & sliced the onion in half. so i had half-rings the 1st time. i got it correctly the 2nd time. she didn't clarify if the black pepper is powdered or whole. no time to make a call. i had to make a fast decision. i tried recalling the beef steaksthat i've eaten, whole or powdered? can't remember, so i put my favorite, powdered.


the twist by the way, is eggplant. starting about last year, i consciously added fruits & vegetables to my diet for a healthier me. i should at least eat 5 different fruits & veggies daily. it's the only one i had the fridge that seemed puede. i don't think okra & tomatoes would make a good match.


i'm really new in this cooking thing. i only started this april. before that, my idea of cooking involved the microwave. if i used the stove, it meant frying hotdog, preparing instant noodles & knorr soup...just add 1 egg ;p.


well, if you'd like to know, about 2 years ago, i started really cooking. i taught myself by asking
& observing those who i know are good cooks. i think a lot of my watching cooking shows helped condition me. so now, when i cook. i explain what i'mdoing to an imaginary camera ;p


i learned how to make tortang talong & chicken sotanghon pepper soup & my special fried rice. special ingredient: small cubed carrots & egg. my godson matti, 6, liked it & was quite amused with the carrot bits.


yes, i invited friends over to try my cooking. i'd prepare green salad & buy dressing in the grocery, knorr soup, special fried rice or just plain rice, main dish limited to 3. the third one is actually daya. i'd buy roasted chicken from rustan's & claim it as mine. i bought it so it's mine. good thing, nobody bothered asking how i did it. (maybe they were just happy they're eating something edible.) because frankly, i don't have a clue ;p

we'd have red wine (jinj likes bringing a bottle) & chocolates (sunny's fave dala) or cake (gen's) or ice cream (mine). my guestlist is limited to 3. my place is small & i'd get stressed preparing for more than that.


my experimenting in the kitchen was cut short when my cousin got backfrom his sabbatical. my kitchen is apparently his turf.

why bother when he's willing. it's much more convenient to come home with food ready on the dinner table.


but when les left for good this april, i started learning adobo (thanks, zen!), sinigang na baboy (i did this on my own, not asking anyone. wrong move. i've learned to ask since then. long story short, genna thought i cooked nilaga. haha!) sinigang na hipon (one of my favorite dishes. i did this on my own.), sinigang nacorned beef (i copied from genna's.), sardines with sotangon soup, steamed chicken with ginger, pinakbet (i'm an ilocana, i should know how to cook one. it was easy, common sense lang, naks!), arroz caldo (my comfort food), & spaghetti (favorito!!!) in red (i use real tomatoes, c/o of manel) or white sauce or olive oil & top it add basil or parsley. for meat, i'd use ground pork or beef, longganissa, tuna or sardines, whatever's available. with carrot bits or eggplant, all good! i now have quite a variety of dishes i can cook.


this is quite a big leap for me. bru & i are now thinking of taking short courses. rhea is more advanced, she's into baking already. i realized, cooking is a cinch! if you know how hehe. as donch puts it, it's just a matter of experimenting. & let me add, finding people willing to eat it.


keep in mind, presentation helps. visualfor adults like table presentation. more of audio for kids. at least in my family that's how it worked. my dad, i remember when we were kids, he'd bring in his dish, while we're all seated & excitedly awaiting his surprise. he would exclaim while putting the dish down on the table, wow, ang sarap nito! champion to! in a booming voice, then we would all agree & eagerly dig in ;p