I was raised NOT to be a brat. My father made sure of that. But on days when I am sick, I love being a brat. And being fawned over. And babied. :P Feels nice.
oOo
My good friend Gino, a composer/arranger for a living, is not one to promote himself. I keep telling him it's not bad to do so especially in his career. I'm just so aliw kasi I really enjoyed this latest project of his. :) Kids automatically like it. Which means he's done a pretty good job. For people like me raised on Sesame Street and NOT Barney, they will understand why I love Jippy.
ANYWAY, in my quest to eat healthier, was looking for edamame everywhere and found my way to Hatchin Japanese Grocery at 7602 Sacred Heart St., Cor. Metropolitan Avenue San Antonio Village. Just turn left along Metropolitan after Total Gas Station before going to mass at Sacred Heart or shopping for ceramics at Cardinal Ceramics. It will be in front of BDO and beside Booma. If you get lost, call 8977207, 8905038 and 8901649.
They sell a varied line of Japanese food products: dairy products, homemade breads, selected produce, a well stocked deli, meats, wide variety of Japanese food grocery products, some wines, frozen foods, restaurant kitchenwares, utensils and household necessities, plates, cooking oil.....the list goes on.
They have shipments twice a week from Japan and provide free consultation of Japanese cuisine to those interested to learn from their own chefs!
So I got my edamame, my firm tofu, a stove top mini grill (for P150!) and thongs fom Hatchin. They had a nice teapot range but they only had one in brown. I was looking for a delicate white and blue one. Will definitely come back.
I have yet to check Sakura Grocery along Pasay Road, near New World Renaissance Hotel, Makati but the cooking implement displayed in their shop window looks interesting. Check that maybe tomorrow.
oOo
Meanwhile, I've joined the Facebook bandwagon. Kainis. My friends are in it I couldn't resist.
oOo
Am still dizzy of sorts. But antibiotics, 500 mg mefenamic acid and rest has helped a lot.
Suddenly, I wanna listen to Ennio Morricone more , less of Arctic Monkeys. I forgot how beautiful his music is. We are lucky, Gino, to live in a time with Ennio in it.
Entrepreneurs and start-up owners inspire me. I met Belle through Gino last weekend, and it was fascinating listening to how she started it all and made her company grow. And with three kids to boot. Damn, how can she do all that?!
Then again, I figured it only entailed one thing: diving in and just DOING it, making it up along the way. Am still too much of a scaredy cat, want everything planned out to the last letter. When really, things often don't go as planned. It's how you deal with changes that matters.
It's nice to absorb all that input and info from people outside my industry. It makes me learn about a lot of things I would otherwise have not known.
No Reservations starring the luminous Catherine Zeta Jones and that cute girl from Little Miss Sunshine is simple, a bit predictable but sweet. I cried twice buset.
Thanks to Kris, I scored two free premiere tickets to this one. But what I really enjoyed watching was all the food! Pucha got so hungry, Eric and I went to Recipes after pa.
0Oo
Personal record. Satuday night, I drank 4.5 bottles of Strong Ice AND I got tipsy, but I didn't get drunk. Wow tumataas ang tolerance ko.
Got fired up over the food stuff I bought over the weekend, I prepared a lot of food this morning. Pan-fried lemon butter chicken breast with malunggay pesto. Squash blossoms boiled in alamang and chicken broth. And arugula and suha salad. I shared the loot in the office pantry over lunch kanina. Am so full shucks. Burp.
Can't mention who the celeb is 'di pa lumalabas yung commercial eh pero hihi kilig ako kasi he kissed me goodbye twice. Syempre ahensya ako and showbiz sya, natural. Pero it doesn't lessen the kilig. Ang cute nya eh hehe.
No, not that kind of stool. I technically have only one chair (plus two ottomans but those don't really count cause they're too low for the dining table). So I was happy to find this at the Ikea showroom in Palanan. Mga ahensya people, it's beside Adphoto! Aylavet.
The upside of not having enough time to get the laundry delivered is I have had to make odd clothing combinations from the clothes left in my cabinet.
Like today, I ended up with a kooky look of Proenza Schouler tissue-thin long sleeved striped shirt layered under my black H&M shirt dress. Wore it with Express jersey knit pants with ribbon ties on the bottom. I hiked the pants up so they look more like capris. And since masyado namang black and white, I automatically wore my green suede open-toe Zara heels with the silver heels. I dashed off to work and looked at myself at the elevator this morning and realized the mish-mash didn't look bad.
Yesterday, under my black drop-waist knit dress (Mossimo from Target), I wore the first thing I pulled out from the cabinet: my leaf green Urban Outfitters tailored capris. And the matte silver open toe flats I got from a little store in Greenwich Village.
A shot of color ain't bad sometimes.
On a normal day, I'd end up with the usual black and/or gray ensemble. Hm. Maybe I should wear my lilac asymmetric t-shirt tomorrow?
'Di na ako nakakapag-makeup or blowdry! I wake up with a start, clean up apartment, cook breakfast and lunch, make phone calls, throw trash, shower and dash to work. Should stop doing this.
Hay sleepy. Still at work. Time check: it's 12:31 pm. Okay lang.
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Naku we're shooting a commercial with......P! Photo op!
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All's well again, thanks to friends who tell me I did the right thing.
But how come I still feel a bit sad after doing supposedly 'the right thing'?
Had our usual family dinner at The Block yesterday and finally checked out Makeup for Ever. I've been eyeing these but never got around to buying them.
I didn't know you're not supposed to keep cream eyeliners exposed to air because they dry up and turn out crumbly. The nice lady at Makeup for Ever made sure I knew this, bless her soul, and reminded me to keep the little pot covered as much as possible. She even got my cell so she'd give me a copy of their catalogue.
Aqua Creamliner is a 2 in 1 cream-gel for extra long-lasting, waterproof eye make-up that can be used in two ways: as an eyeliner (easy to apply, it is unique with its unusual, smooth texture that draws a clear, precise line;).
And unlike Shmashbox cream eyeliner, this can also be used as an eye shadow (once applied as an eyeliner, it can be easily smudged for a smoky effect). I tested it this morning. The creamy consistency of it is a dream! It doesn't drag the eyelid yet dries fast; won't budge once dry but can be smudged slightly to soften it. Love it!
I also got the famous Eye Seal Waterproof Liquid converter , a great little bottle that transform all forms of eyes make up into waterproof make up! Now that's maximizing all the eyeshadow you have in stock. It also increases the number of waterproof products in your beauty arsenal by transforming the texture of any current eye product into waterproof texture. Its innovative formula can change powders, shadows, eyeliner cake, pigments, glitters and, yes, even pencils into waterproof products. Awesome.
Little joys :)
Wth just the help of a brush, it helps create long-lasting, intense and resistant colors and shimmer. Its alcohol-free formula won’t irritate skin and can be applied close to the eye. It can be combined with cake eyeliner to make your look more intense or to waterproof it.
Fun, fun, fun. Can't wait to use them for practice.
I have loved. I thought I still loved him. And now he reappears, and funny how in five minutes of conversaton, it hits me: "I don't love him anymore."
I repeat it over and over in my head. "I don't love him anymore." I am jumping for joy.
I was in love with the happy moments and the good times. And now, I know him too much and I know myself too much to slide back. I can say no. I am stronger than I was before. I deserve better than this. Chapter is closed. Goodbye. Good riddance.
Wow, felt good to write that. But naman Lord, isa isa lang. Ba't sabay sabay lahat. :(
This is amusing 'cause I understand the Capampangan being spoken. The crucifixion was done in Bgy. Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga. I've watched this bizarre spectacle while I was in grade school. Actually, it wasn't bizarre to me then. It was a normal part of holy week.
Went there with my parents while my dad toured his South African white boss and the wife. She fainted from the heat.
'I don't believe in God and I don't like Him either,' he says. 'I think you are born and I think you die. I have a pragmatic nature, but I yearn to believe. I'm from Hull. Real life was never enough for me. My grandfather was a practising Quaker. My father was a nihilist. But nihilism, if you like, is the beginning of faith anyway. For Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, any of those people, you have to go down the road of despair to come up with anything.
'My theory is that the way you cope with the depths will ascertain the heights that you reach - they are intimately connected - and if you have a lust for life you are also going to have a lust for death. It is not that I want to die, it is just that nothing gives life such vitality and intensity as the acute knowledge of one's demise into nothingness." - Sebastian Horsley
Hey check this out. It's my friend Marc Gaba's brainchild. Awesome concept. Visit spacephilippines.com, opening in October. Features everything fun like architecture, writing, fashion, art, music, ideas...anything creative and pop culture-ish.
Friday, worked till around 11 p.m. for a Monday deadline. Had Tapa King delivered at work and wolfed it down, tried to work again. We decided to end it and continue early Monday, our brains were just plain fried.
Bede, one of our AEs, was spinning at nearby Fig and Olive (formerly Chef Ed's), so to show our support, we dropped by. Turns out, this quiet bistro is a rocking dance place at night. As usual, there was lots of camwhoring. Multiply....attack! The usual suspects: Ige, Waya, Paolo, Julia, Julette, Rap, Kaye and Iya. Ainee was there with her Javellana officemates. Bede was with his usual posse and of course, JC.
Didn't dance much, as my ankle is still swollen. The girls, of course, worked up a storm. I can walk better now though, the pain is less than 2 days ago.
Today, met up early for a 930 am brunch with Marc. Marc and I are becoming fast friends, thanks to Gino. Too bad Gino had to finish some of his music stuff, he couldn't join us. Marc and I like the same things---like Paul Smith! He showed me the Paul Smith stuff he bought on sale: a spiffy turquoise leather belt and a printed shirt with the trademark Paul Smith contrasting lining and cuff. Get this: the lining of the shirt's cuff is a funky polka dot print! Neat-o.
For Saturday Market brunch, I had Nasi Goreng washed down with pineapple juice. He had the beef rendang. I did a bit of groceries: organic eggs, baby arugula, singkamas pods (they look like edamame), eggplant, onions, ginger, spring onions and lettuce from the Herbana Farms table (Gil Carandang: 0920 445439); some fruit (bananas, pineapple and grapes); and beautiful bottles of healthy malunggay pesto and milkfish pate from the Pinoy Or-durvz table (Tel 809 1426). Let's see how good these are with pasta and bread. I also bought Mom powdered calamansi for her cooking.
Pinoy Or-durvz also sells Air Dried Beef Tapa, bottles of Chili Con Carne, Organic Bagoong (without salitre, MSG, food coloring or too much salt), Garlic Mushrooms, Dulong in olive oil. Tamban in olive oil and Bangus Belly in Olive Oil.
Satiated with food and kwento, we drove over to the Ikea showroom in the San Antono area to check out anything we might find nice (and cheap!).
We got awesome Lampan lamps in black (for him) and white (for me and Gino). They're so cool, I can't stand it. I also got a cutlery set and the nice light bent wood stool that I first saw at the Urban Bazaar.
They have new stock arriving next week so I can't wait to go back, this time with Gino in tow.
We dropped by Shopwise first to get the appropriate bulbs before Marc dropped me off at Blanco again.
After fixing up the apartment and the groceries in the ref, Andrew and I met up for coffee and a chat to catch up. Felt sleepy, so went home to get an at home massage and mani/pedi at home as it's hard to drive with my ankle. Took a nap after and then woke up, tried to finish this writing thing I need to submit tomorrow. I still haven't finished, so now I woke up to try to fix it.
You can tell I'm stalling. :)
The accounts girls are having fun at Warehouse, but I opted to stay in tonight as the doctor says to keep movement of my ankle at the minimum, which I haven't been doing for the past 2 days teehee. The pain has lessened, though it's still swollen and can't move it around too much without feeling some pain but the swelling has definitely subsided.
I'm strangely happy right now. I had a relatively fun weekend so far and I wish I could bottle the feeling and get some of it at moments when I need it.
When I feel down, I read Sebastian Horsly's words. Am strangely drawn to his blog. Why wouldn't you after reading this?!
"Sebastian Horsley is a dandy and artist manqué who was briefly famous a few years ago for getting himself crucified in the Philippines. “I’ve suffered for my art,” he forewarns us, “now it’s your turn.” A sexual and intellectual pessimist who lives “poised between Savile Row and Death Row”, or, more prosaically, between narcissism and boredom, he isn’t easy to comprehend. Maybe it has to do with seeing too much too young.
Certainly his upbringing was unorthodox. His mother tried to abort him but failed. “Had she known I would turn out like this she would have taken cyanide.” He was born in 1962, in Hull, “so appalled I couldn’t talk for two years”. The Horsleys were proprietors of the vast Northern Foods empire, and lived in a sprawling Yorkshire fortress. His father was “a drunk and a cripple”, his mother drunk and manic-depressive. She tried driving to the off-licence on a motorised lawn mower when her car keys were confiscated, and when her father died she ate his ashes sprinkled on her porridge. A family photo from little Sebastian’s early years shows his mother “on the floor face down in a pool of her own vomit. On the sofa sits Gogo [his granny], her wig awry, her lipstick skid-marked across her face. Next to her sits Father, his drink in one hand and his cock in the other. Home sweet home”.
I've been cooking a lot lately. It's easy if you put your mind to it. I got a Tuscan-Style Peppered Chicken recipe and modified it a bit.
Get some chicken . Breasts, thighs, your choice. Rub each chicken half all over with 2 tablespoons oil, then1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Sprinkle generously with salt.Let stand at room temperature 1 hour but you can also do this overnight. I added a bit of chili flakes the next morning to up the heat a bit.
Instead of turbo broiling, I grilled it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the skin turned golden brown.
As an accompaniment, insead of lemon wedges, I mixed chopped cilantro (wansoy) and tomato (de-seeded) to eat with the chicken. Simple.
It turned out a bit dry. Next time, I'll keep the pan on so the chicken can stay moist and cook in its own drippings. Yum.
Anyone who showed up on time for the Marc Jacobs show is now cooling their heels. The latest word from his PR is that things won't get underway until 11—at the earliest."
oOo
I still remember what the fortune teller told me.
"(Pregnant pause) Alam mo...you don't need him."
Of all the things he said, that stood out 'cause I tried hard to ignore it, push it at the back of mind.
Erap affects our lives whether we want him to or not. I bet traffic will get snarled again around Makati what with the scheduled rally of his supporters along Paseo de Roxas and Ayala.
Oh, and I just found out it hailed in QC where my parents are. Astig.
Boutique hotels are a dime a dozen in New York, and even in Manila. You know that a trend is over when it's celebrated as something new in Manila. Remember Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel? This is how it looks like now.
Julian Schnabel, of the dark, neo-expressionist paintings, did the romantic interiors, a totally different direction on the modernist trend Schrager started years ago when he started hiring Philippe Starcke to design his hotels. The Starcke look is so mainstrem, even local motels are designing their rooms this way (guess which ! ok, I was just told ok, haha). Are we saying goodbye to white-on-white, plastic and modern?
From the New York Times:
"Is the designer boutique hotel over? Ian Schrager, the hotelier who spawned a nightclubby style that aged into a cliché, is banking on it. Teaming this time with Julian Schnabel, the artist and filmmaker, he gutted the old Gramercy Park — a musty throwback to the Jazz Age — and unveiled a wildly rococo style in August that he unironically calls “the ultimate antibrand and antidesign hotel.” Anti-Philippe Starck would have sufficed. There are chandeliers instead of disco lights, rustic hardwoods instead of space-age plastics, personal assistants instead of burly bouncers. Oodles of Schnabels and Warhols provide instant cachet. The eclectic new look self-consciously avoids anything hip, though you can almost sense the built-in expiration date." More here.
My friend Marc (not Jacobs, but Gaba hehe) and I were discussing this sudden shift to this eclectic romantic style and not too soon after, I remembered that Schrager was doing it already.
It was bound to happen sooner or later, what with the wide availability of Scandinavian furniture (Ikea, anyone?), it was a matter of time before people got tired of having their homes looking like everyone else's. Is this the end of Philippe Starck's career? It will be exciting to see what happens.
As Schrager explains it, slick-and-spiffy is so 5 minutes ago. "Now everybody is doing it. Even Marriott. You know when Marriott is doing it that it's time to move on."
"Amid the many vagaries of marketing research, one thing is clear: Consumers lie. About what they want. About what they need. Sometimes they do it purposely. Most often they simply don't seem to realize what they're doing at all. Mr. Pradeep and his peers in the field of neuromarketing say they have the solution."
...but I don't think bagay sya as model for Agent Provocateur. I love the way she dresses up. She has one of the more unique style sensibilities in Hollywood. But in this case, may mali eh.
Had dinner with Gino and Marc in QC. Marc suggested Sushi Katsu off Morato along Sct. Rallos which, I have to admit, I haven't heard of at all. I googled a bit and found some good reviews.
Finding my way to it was easy though I am not surprised that given that I always eat in the Morato resto row area, people easily overlook or miss it altogether. Apparently, it's been around for years but I haven't ventured into that side of Morato. The sign outside didn't promise anything exciting. Tacky is the word. But sometimes, you find treasures amidst the tacky. The Germans invented a better word to describe such things: kitsch. But that's another story.
I ordered salmon, edamame and miso soup. Marc ordered the same. Gino ordered a pork dish he wasn't happy about though I think he should've ordered something else. The edamame was boiled just right. The miso pretty much okay. Then again, my order wasn't that adventurous. But I definitely am going back to try the other stuff they have on the menu.
Sushi Katsu has native interiors (think bahay kubo), Japanese lamps and plays American swing music hahaha. The plates are a mish-mash of Mexican stoneware, Japanese and Chinese. PLUS our orders had a side serving of......American mashed potato!
There was a group of Japanese businessmen behind my table and I could hear a lot of soo desu nes and arimasus mentioned loudly. And amidst the native Filipino walls, it was a jarring juxtaposition of elements. It was so unpretentious, I loved it.
For all its clashing elements, I loved my salmon: soft, moist and very tasty and according to Marc, prepared by the Japanese chef-owner who operated a Japanese restaurant in Shibuya before he came to Manila.
SUSHI KATSU AUTHENTIC JAPANESE CUISINE is located n 61 Scout Rallos near corner T. Morato Ave., Q.C. It's the first corner on the right from the Timog circle coming from ABS-CBN. Tel. No. 4138693 .
Yesterday, on my way to Shopwise, V. Cruz, I dropped by Cardinal Ceramics for the first time. Yes, it was open! Most of the items were white, which suited me fine.
I looked for shallow serving bowls to serve ulam or salad in and found a nice, sturdy oval-shaped ones that would work with my white Gourdo plates. Got two--only P300+ thereabouts each.
Aha! An inspection at the bottom shows the label of....well, what do you know, good old American houseware lifestyle brand Crate and Barrel! Apparently, Cardinal Ceramics makes stuff for them. :P Now, there's globalization for you. The world is flat indeed.
"MTV to Launch "Meet or Delete" Internationally on Multiple Platforms
MTV Networks has greenlit a show called "Meet or Delete," which it says will be its first series to premiere to a global audience and roll out on every platform on which it currently offers programming. The show, which was developed in collaboration with HP's PC business as a core component of the latter's new global marketing campaign, will feature college students trying to decide if they want to meet one another, based solely on the contents of their hard drives. It will launch internationally on mtvU (an MTV channel targeted at college campuses), mtvU.com, MTV.com, linear channels MTV and MTV2, broadband channels mtvU Uber and MTV Overdrive, MTV Wireless, the MTV Store and the MTV high-definition TV display in Times Square. The first episode will premiere on mtvU and mtvU Uber (located on mtvU.com) on May 10th, and subsequently air on local MTV channels in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. Five more episodes will follow in the fall. In addition, each of MTV's local channels outside the US will air another four locally produced episodes of "Meet or Delete" on linear TV, the Internet and wireless handsets. As a complement to the show and the HP marketing campaign that it supports, MTV and mtvU are launching 14 regionalized "Meet or Delete" online "hubs" containing episodes of the various regional versions of the show, unseen footage, games, free music downloads, updates on previous cast members, and casting calls. The hubs will also launch on May 10th, and will be available at www.meetorgreet.com. "PC's have become the emotional hard drive of our global audience, making the premise of 'Meet or Delete' relevant everywhere in the world," Michael Wolf, president and COO of MTV Networks, said in a prepared statement. "We're thrilled to collaborate with HP on this groundbreaking project--a milestone in our drive to deliver great content, worldwide, on every device--and it's a prime example of the innovative programs we're developing for top global companies."
Emil and wife are flying back to Toronto tonight. We had quick dinner for the last time in Manila at Shang last night then transferred to Haiku in Greenbelt and talked and talked and talked. Then coffee with her colleagues at Starbucks 6750. It was really nice to spend time with them without my parents and uncles around so we didn't have to censor anything we said or did. We talked about *toot toot* and *toot toot* and this relative who we think is *toot*. Haha it was fun. Am gonna miss Rhoda she is fun to shop with.
Emil promised that if I fly to Maryland and won't be able to go to Toronto, he would drive off with Charles from Toronto to meet up with us. And Rhoda promised to go with me to Vancouver if I decide to visit it for the first time. I've only been to Montreal and Alberta aside from Toronto and I really want to see how it looks like. Most people I meet say they like Vancouver better than Toronto as Toronto is all concrete jungle and not much else. Vancouver has mountains and a bit of green which makes it a little bit more fun. That's something to look forward to. :)
oOo
It's confirmed. Am going to the East Coast in February. Man it's gonna be cold. I need to file my vacation leave. Or not even that.
Monday morning, pickup time for the shoot was at 5 a.m. Woke up at 4 am to make sure I downed a cup of coffee to wake me up. Oh god my head! Morning person I am not.
Location was at Mall of Asia and man, the sunrise from there at that time of day is just fantastic! Pink and red and blue! I have a pic in my digicam but it doesn't do justice to the real thing. It made it even more fun that we had an adorably cute baby for a talent who was just SO good natured and smiling all the time.
I did the styling again with Joan, Lisa and Irene, our makeup artist. And I enjoyed it a lot, glitches and all. Nag-chikahan pa kami with Irene about makeup. Saya.
Of course, we had a bit of a problem initially because we didn't have a pre-fitting of the clothes we pulled out from SM with the talents before the shoot. May ibang outfits were nice on the hanger pero 'di pala bagay sa talent. Eeeks sorry po, copywriter lang. Well, I know better now and should do that next time. Mas kakaririn ko yung next one. :)
The one project I styled that came out the way I liked it was with our ICT account. That was easy 'cause we just generally asked the talents to bring their own clothes with specific directions on what to bring. Plus Ige was with me to help and we basically agree on a lot of the style decisions. Not to mention, his layout was really young and informal and edgy so I had the freedom to be a little more risky than usual. Like cut-up stockings as leggings and cut-up fishnets for the arms of the girls. And at that time, a longer top for the girls than usual, the silhouette that was just starting to get picked up. I don't think our bank clients would ever let me do that hehe.
We just brought our own stuff and bought just a few key pieces to build around to mix and match so we didn't have major fitting problems. But you learn each time, right? It CAN take a lot of the time away from my real job which is to write but multitasking is never a bad thing because you learn a lot in doing and making mistakes.
So now I know, you never really know how some outfits will look on a talent from a picture and even a list of vital stats until you make them wear the clothes. Like some have big hips pala. A narrow shoulder. Big boobs. Too long legs pala in proportion to the torso.
Other factors include the color of the layout's background, client's taboo colors (black for some Chinese clients or they might prefer red kasi lucky; competitor's colors, etc), the lighting to be used. So many other variables to consider.
Anyway, the second one in the studio was a bit better but had the same issue. Otherwise, it all turned out okay.
Next time, I want to assert myself more during the shoots because there can be all sorts of different opinions on the set. Sometimes contrast is important. But sometimes, a tone-on-tone color palette CAN look classy and won't really make the talent disappear into the background naman. I've seen it done in Bazaar or Vogue and wala namang na-wash out.
Recording
This morning, finished some TVCs then off to recording at 3 pm with actress G and her hubby with cute kulit kids in tow. It was easy, breezy fun though had to contend with some personal matters outside work in between. Bilis mag pickup ni actress syempre actress :) Nag-kodakan moment pa kami afterwards haha.
Last minute, of course, we had some lines changed so we're recording a new line tomorrow. All's well that ends well.
Healthy Veggie Dinner
And since I vowed to eat out less to save money and eat healthier, I looked at my ref and realized the veggies I bought the weekend, as usual, were in danger of getting spoiled again.
The problem with cooking for one is when it comes to fresh items, you can't 'stock up' cause you only cook a little at a time. If you stock up naman, they get bulok. But considering how busy work can be, I can't do the 'grocery' everyday thing naman.
I looked at my squash flowers which I bought at Saturday Market last Saturday and cooked that. Took out the mushrooms. And my salad. It was quick and easy and healthy. Happy, happy.
For the squash flowers, which I absolutely love but can be hard to come by at the supermarket unless I went to the wet market, cooked all four stalks. Mukhang madami but when you cut off the stems, konti lang pala hahaha.
I relished eating and cooking this. It's my absolute favorite: simple, tasty and well, relatively healthy (minus the chemicals in the bouillon--next time, I'll use organic chicken stock).
I learned this recipe from mom and manang at home. It's a modified version of diningding, but you can add fish or other meat of your choice or none at all.
In a sauce pan, pour water enough to cover about an inch of the pan, chopped onions, pepper, a bagoong balayan (I use Fiesta Anchovy Sauce) and a chicken bouillon (you can use beef or seafood or whatever, your choice). Let this come to a boil. Toss in the squash flowers. Remove the stalks cause they taste bitter. Cover pot and let flowers cook for about 5 minutes or until they wilt a bit and voila! Eat ka na.
Of course, I needed protein, so I transferred the squash flowers into a bowl with a bit of the broth and left some in the pan. I looked in the ref and cooked 2 Chicken Breasts with 4 large mushrooms and a teaspoon of oyster sauce into the sauce pan filled with the broth. Brought that to a boil and tapos! I had a complete meal with some brown rice. On the side, I had a bit of arugula, lettuce and grapes pa.
Too bad I don't have any squash flowers left for the rest of the week. Rats. But then again, at least I know how to cook it na.:) I'll bring some at work next time.
Oh try this sawsawan! Mom did this last weekend and I recreated it for lunch to eat with my Chicken Kebabs kasi ang sarap. I LOVE cilantro!:
Mix chopped wansoy (cilantro), sliced tomatos (seeded) and a bit of patis. Eat with your ulam. Whooohoooo kahit anong meat dish, sumasarap. Suma-salsa sya pero with the patis, may ibang kick. YUm.
oOo
I often don't care what other people think of me. I just do what I have to do short of hurting people. I sometimes feel it's not good. Sometimes. But for the most part, I see this is a good way to be authentic and real.
When it comes to food, like love, you have your flings, one night stands and exciting short-lived love affairs. You try the newly opened, the novelty resto, the supposedly hip and trendy, the uber-expensive, the far-and-away hole-in-the-wall (insert all manner of cliches here). But there are often restos you come back to over and over again. It may not have the same gloss but you go there because you are SURE you will find something you love.
Which is why I brought my cousins from Toronto to Recipes Saturday night at the Greenbelt 3 branch, and Dad brought us to Recipes at Trinoma for dinner Sunday night naman. Yes, and it didn't bother me one bit that we ate in the same resto two days in a row for dinner.
I remember the first time we tried Recipes. I think it was 3 years ago. It was my cousin, Atty. Jay dela Cruz's birthday, and he reserved a long table at the 2nd level of the loft-style branch in Eastwood.
If you were into flash and gloss, walking past Recipes, it wouldn't stand out from the rest of the modern minimalist plastic, glass and metal-style restos in the area. With its beige-y, minimalist interiors, its interiors border on the European cafeteria look. Pretty bland, really.
But the food is something you wouldn't ignore.Their recipe it seems, pardon the pun, is to serve different 'recipes' of tried and tested old favorites. In the menu, you'll find a decent Thai Catfish Salad and a tender and so tasty Korean Beef Stew listed together with our perennial favorites: General's Chicken (slightly breaded chicken nuggets in a sweet and tangy sauce), Gising Gising (their tasty, stripped-down version of Bicol Express) and of course, their famous Crispy Tilapa (deep fried, slightly breaded Tilapia pieces served fillet-like). The lowly Tilapia, turned into something special and delightful! Who would have thought?!
For dessert, we automatically order the turon with ice cream, though lately, it hasn't tasted the same, with the banana a bit dry and too miniscule the amount of jackfruit in it for our taste. Our manang at home can do a better version.
Sad turon aside, this is comfort food at its simplest. No complicated herbs and spices, odd combinations or sad, over-arching failed attempts at fusion. Just simple, tasty comfort food you'll come back to again and again.
Oh, you'll have your usual forays to the new restos at Serendra or the new resto opened by that celebrated chef which will close down in a few months. But judging from the years of steady operation of Recipes, it is here to stay. For the long haul.
oOo
And speaking of food, I think this is the reason why I love Anthony Bourdain:
"I'm never a reliable narrator, unbiased or objective. I set up ludicrous goals, unreasonably over-romantic objectives, in the hope that by leaving myself open to misadventure, disaster, and the happy accident, good things will happen. I brought a lot of prejudices to the table. I like to remind the reader of that, just as I try to be aware of those prejudices myself because one of my principle pleasures is being proven wrong. I'm not afraid to look like an idiot. That feels good sometimes, to have it demonstrated that no, it's not like that at all."
And this:
"What I’m proudest of the show is that it’s schizophrenic from week to week. There are happy shows, snarky shows, completely self indulgent, gee, let’s go and remake Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas shows. They’re very different and even when we’re playing film students on the road and redoing our favorite movies and doing dream sequences, that is how I feel about these places. It’s always honest. If I think a place sucks, you pretty much see it. If I’m having a miserable time, or even if it’s a great country and I should be making a great show, I think that’s reflected, too. It’s not going to be that “Here we are! Honolulu! The best of!”
And he loves Vietnamese food.
"Perfect meal? A bowl of pho in the street in Saigon." Damn. :)
"You’re thinking you better suck up every moment, every bit of pleasure, as much of that experience as you can because you’re there, no one else is. It’s nice to try to describe it or shoot it the best I can. I’m well aware of the fact while it’s happening that the really good moments… it’s maddening. You can never get close to describing it. You can’t take a picture or describe what it feels like to stand there. I try. The minute that you learn to stop for a second, breathe deep and take it into yourself, that is a very selfish moment. It is a betrayal of everything you were and worked for. There is a sense of doom.
I think it fits in very well with my Graham Greene worldview. If you’re lucky enough to live in a fantastic place in fantastic times and see incredible things, then you’re also doomed to be there, trapped in some terrible penance-like situation. To me The Quiet American is a happy book. I read it every year. It nails Vietnam. It’s still there, that Vietnam. It’s a perfect metaphor, he loves a woman who can never fully love him back. It is a perfect metaphor for colonialism and Western adventurism in the East. I don’t care, I just want to be there."
Vietnam. He fell in love with or in Vietnam. It shows.
"His own personal life began to fall apart not long ago. You could blame the success of the book only in part: it was because of one physical place that success got him, and that was Vietnam.
'I'd read Greene. Conrad. Maugham. And Vietnam was just like the books, just like the movies, only better. The guileless generosity of strangers, waking up smelling those smells, seeing those sights. And having, once, one perfect meal, a confluence of everything good, a source of perfect happiness; I was almost ready to believe in God.
'But there was quite a big downside to all of that.' His eyes are intently on me now, the background chatter receding. 'I knew that my whole previous life was doomed. It was no longer going to be normal. I had seen that ... colour ... http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifand I knew that that had changed me, altered the way I would look at things. And the first time I went back to America, I found I was right. Everything was flat. Everything.' He doesn't go into too many details, but his marriage to Nancy broke up shortly afterwards. 'She was the love of my life. But everything changed.'
There are vague mentions of girlfriends , but he is quite sure that the one regret he doesn't have is not having children. 'I would have been a shit parent. I'm a very good uncle. The evil uncle who lets them do everything. But a parent? Up until very recently I could hardly take care of myself.
'But ... look ... yes, there are regrets. But, also, and never mind this extraordinary change in life, the book - I have had so many things. So many other things. I have loved with all my heart, and I have been loved. I knew better people than I deserved. I had more fun than I deserved."
He's an asshole. He's cool. But hmm hasn't been to Manila it seems. Lemme research...
girl ako.
my online porn is food, bags, clothes, interior design, design, design, design.... and make-up.
i'd rather go antique hunting than go to a mall.
i love men not boys.
fags are drawn to me.
i love my job.
i like doing many things all at once.
i can kick your butt in boxing (kick lang...if i ever get to the gym which is never).
i pee my pants watching project runway, reading the sartorialist's blog and eating at some far-off restaurant serving good food.
when i'm depressed, i drive on and on.
i once wanted to be a scientist. but i sucked at math.
when i was a kid, i had dozens of handbags with wire, light bulbs, batteries and foil. i liked creating electrical circuits.
i am a closet geek.
i will try anything once.
i love videoke and laura mercier. my comfort food is a big bowl of seafood pho.
i hate judgmental, narrow-minded people. i love free spirits.
