the milestone in my life

grabe. eto na. im so proud. i was able to cook the PERFECT omelette for the second time! which means, im now a master PERFECT omelette cooker. grabe no. this is a milestone. im so happy :)



ingredients: 2 eggs beaten, onion, garlic and tomatoes. best served with ketchup.

the recipe is from my ati elaine. she cooks me omelette for breakfast whenever there's nothing good to eat sa umaga. she shares her bedroom with me when i come to stay at their place and i always tell her pagkagising, "atiiii! anong kakainin natin?" :) if wala sya, magkakape na lang ako at magbubukas ng reno liver spread -- which is also not that bad. pero when she's around, bongga ang breakfast namin: she cooks me either omelette or fried tokwa which i both love.

hmmm... i love breakfast. i really do. i can eat breakfast any time of the day. sarap :)

cooking it up with pong and i

Nagc-crave ako for chopsuey and carbonara so i thought i'd buy some ingredients kanina at the grocery so i can cook them to satisfy my craving. From the recipies below, parang di naman complicated, kaya i'm excited to complete the list of ingredients and get on to the actual cooking. Kulang ako ng oyster sauce and cornstarch for the chopsuey tapos, pasta and parmesan cheese for the carbonara. I want to learn one dish per week while I'm in Chicago. Para pagbalik ko sa Pilipinas, lulutuan ko sina Mama at Lola. Magugulat sila at marunong na ako, hah!

Pasta Carbonara

4-6 bacon slices, diced
3 tbsp. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. heavy cream
8 oz. thin spaghetti or fettuccine
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
Optional additions: Sauteed boneless chicken, mushrooms

In large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon about 3 minutes or until limp. Add onion; cook 3-5 minutes longer or until bacon is browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from skillet. Stir in cream; bring just to boiling point. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 minutes. Keep warm.

Add cooked spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, pepper and parsley to cream mixture. Toss to coat spaghetti well.

Serves 4-6. Prep time: about 10 minutes. Cooking time: 10-15 minutes.

-ooo-

Chopsuey with Quail Eggs

2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil, as needed
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 kilo (about 1/2 pound or 9 ounces) pork, cubed
Salt and pepper, as needed
1/2 cup water
1/4 kilo shrimp, (8 to 10 medium shrimp), boiled and peeled
1 dozen quail eggs, boiled and shelled
1 medium carrot, sliced thinly
12 pieces baby corn, sliced diagonally in half
100 grams ( ounces) snow peas
Sauce:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar

In a pan, pour the cooking oil, and heat on medium heat. Saute the garlic and onion. Add the pork. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Pan-fry the pork until it is slightly brown. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and bring to a boil.While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame seed oil, cornstarch and sugar.When the pork is tender, add the shrimp, then the quail eggs.Add the carrot and baby corn. Add the snow peas. Add the sauce, stirring until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with steamed rice.

one art by elizabeth bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

---Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

I heard this poem from the movie, "In Her Shoes" which I saw on the plane ride from Manila to Chicago. It's a beautiful movie (sige na nga, chick flick) about two sisters who are opposites of each other in many aspects and yet loved one another in the most dearest way. It stars Cameron Diaz and Toni Collete who was also in the movie, "About a Boy".

Grabe, I cried so much during the movie even when people near me could see me wiping my tears or hear me sniff. Hehe, kebs! We were over the Pacific Ocean at that time and the sun has almost risen. I haven't cried this much since "The Stepmom" which I saw 6 or 7 years ago when I was still in college. Now, I wonder if I was crying over the movie or over something else... Ha,ha! Anyway, I hope to get the DVD copy soon.

-ooo-

Because the movie is about sisterhood, I thought I'd greet my one and only Ati Elaine -- Hello, Ati Elaine! You are my peborit Ati in the whole wide world! Stay cool! :)

change of address

Actually more than a change in address :) Now that I'm back here in Chicago, I also have to change my wardrobe to something much warmer naturally and to change my lifestyle -- which means I have to do my own cooking, laundry and groceries again. At nights, sa TV, Friendster at MSN IM na naman iikot ang buhay ko. Aside from these, nothing much will change. I am still my old weird self who loves to drink coffee, take hot showers and hates cold weather :)

By the way, I brought a webcam with me, so my family and friends can see me when they talk to me. Masaya sya. I bought the webcam for 700 pesos sa may Compex, Park Square 1 sa Makati. It's very cheap but it works okay. Here's a photo which I took a couple of minutes ago:




It's almost 10am. I have two immediate problems to take care of at this point: 1) how to go to McDonald's so I can buy a breakfast meal and have my first decent kain since I got here almost 16 hours ago and 2) where to buy detergent, para malabhan ko ang mga pamasok ko this week. After that, I'd have to start unpacking and cooking dinner. Yep, I will cook tonight. Will let you know how it goes. Hehe.

-ooo-

I wonder what's going on back home...I left the Philippines yesterday, just a day after PGMA declared the country in a state of emergency allegedly due to some evidences of coup plot. Nakakalungkot, ang chaotic pa rin ng Pilipinas. A friend just told me that there's a prayer vigil at the Fort Bonifacio. Kamusta na kaya? Balitaan nyo ako, ha. :)