Food is the Fabric of our Lives

2012

2012-01-01T10:19:00.000-06:00

Woke up to snow, clouds and cold. Did a few errands and had to bring some stuff to the Bells.
Amazing....as I drove west, the dark clouds were being pushed away by winds and by the time I got to Bambi's it was blue skies, white clouds, sunshine so bright....I thought to myself...how beautiful....dark clouds being chased away, brightness...almost like a beautiful fall(or spring) morning, crisp, clear....
but the clouds did not leave my thoughts....this is Chicago January 1st...where snow and storms are the norm....so the earth did shift again with the earthquakes felt far away from here....where adverse weather and tectonic plates moved slightly and put us away from the path of regular weather.....and that same weather now falls on places not normally in the snow paths.

Still I am thankful for the beauty, the brightness and the hopefulness this brings. So even as the clouds are now taking over again...that moment of sunshine lifted my spirits.
May 2012 be fruitful, healthy and prosperous for all of us. Thank you Lord.

2012 is upon us

2011-12-28T18:46:00.000-06:00

Challenges aplenty this 2011. Too many to mention and too much to say...I know I am not whiny nor a cry baby so the innermost thoughts in my mind's kitchen are best left to sit in the sink of ugly thoughts.
But through it all, I realize there is a God who listens, who answers. Sometimes, my faith waivers and then a simple whisper to Mama Mary or the Sto. Nino, and my BFF St. Anthony works many little miracles that I can only wonder and and bow to the fact that I am a Catholic by beliefs and choice, a Catholic who supports the living church but not the church governed by gold and commands that are man made. How about that!!!
I continue to pray for good health, freedom from sickness of any kind, accidents of any sort, and the evil that men do.....I ask the Lord to continue to hear my prayers for my family and those around us, to keep us safe from bullets in the air, mad men and amucks, deadly dangerous diseases, accidents, serious injuries of any sort. To keep us in light of His love. Lord, to embrace us with Your peace, love,safety and protection. And to know I thank you from my heart and soul.
For every time I am fearful, anxious and frustrated about many mundane things, I hear about the greater challenges faced by others and know I should not and cannot complain. So THANK YOU Lord for all that You have sent my way.
May 2012 be a lift of spirits for all of us, and most of all, give us the ability to help others.

Feasting to welcome 2012

2011-12-28T18:45:00.000-06:00

As always, we open the year with lots of food, fun and family. It has been (MY) our tradition to hold our Xmas party (although we had a good one Dec. 25th as we were all present and accounted for) on January 1st...because I know there are no lame excuses about having to be with an in law or out law....and that we can bring out our prayers and wishes for what we hope for in the coming months of the new year.
It has always been private..because ...it should.
But food wise.....hmm, we try to keep traditions alive. Food comes in form of Spanish fiesta party fare, the ubiquitous Cocido Espanol(puchero, pochero whatever one wants to call the dish) that boasts of a strip of pork belly, a small chicken and beef shank with the marrow staring out at you, some sliced chorizo de bilbao and then a medley of vegetables from cabbage, potatoes and carrots with the addition of garbanzos. Add to that a side of roasted eggplant salad, redolent with garlic, onions and olive oil (which I used to burn my fingers with stove top till I see the skins blacken and shrivel then the light bulb lit and I now use the danged broiler), a sauteed in garlic, spanish style tomato sauce (which should really be dumped into the broth). Daughter Bambi has gotten this down pat.
Truly a celebration of Plenty.
Then I ambition to make lengua with mushroom sauce and a Paella Valenciana complete with sea food, chicken , pork, chorizo and pinoy saffron with toppings of boiled eggs, green peas and pimiento strips. Two dishes I had to learn or rather teach myself to make otherwise....Cafe Babareeba would never be in my budget and all the others I have tasted are nowhere near authentic. Kylie has nailed the Filipino fruit salad to an anticipated wait each time we push her to make it. I bought a Virginia Ham over the summer...I massacred the first one I ever got from my Virginia cousin, so this time I hope I cook it right...making it almost hamonado with the pineapple juice and brown sugar might do the trick.
So far, that's the plan, let me see what happens next. abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

Hummingbird

2011-08-29T07:36:00.000-05:00

Went to a party yesterday in a beautiful home. Walked with the owner and we complimented the beautiful garden, plants and flowers. He proudly showed a huge butterfly he snapped a picture of early that morning. And then he said he also had hummingbirds. I have never seen a hummingbird other than in pictures or tv. I look around so many times in hopes to see one but never in my 25 years here. So I said a little prayer, Lord if I could see a hummingbird then I know my prayers will be answered. Just a thought prayer sent out there.
Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw a little creature flitting in and out of the bell shaped flowers. The it was gone. I saw a hummingbird!!!! But not close enough, still, a prayer answered was the sense of being I felt.
So we walked on and I didn't say anything because it was too far and too fast. As we neared the bellflower plant, with its attractive orange blossoms, I saw it again, it's as if God said, here, to prove to you I answer your prayers, here's an encore and sure enough there it was, the green little hummingbird hungrily sipping nectar and honey from each blossom,flitting in and out of each bell, disappearing into the flower and coming out heading to the next.After taking my quiet feel of the wonder of prayer, of the hummingbird, I shared with my companions that the little one was there. So we watched silently as little hummingbird took its fill of the abundant food until it flitted away into the dusky evening.
The impact of this leaves me in awe of the Lord, He listens and answers, even for what one may think is a trivial matter, seeing a hummingbird. But He answered to let me know that He is there should I need Him through this challenging times. That as we try to salvage an account we are losing, I can pray for His help. That with my wanting resources to open the MACC, He will hear my prayers. And most of all, to take care and blanket my family with His love and protection, He is there for me. Thank you Lord, thank you hummingbird for bringing me His message of love and hope.

Three Years, mom

2011-08-24T17:25:00.004-05:00

How fast time flies and suddenly you've been gone 3 years. Yet each day I see you
in pictures and memories. Yesterday, the latest dream I had of you, I woke up happy and feeling your love, just like I did when I was a little girl. It was a darkly dream, but I felt your presence and the love. The happy loved feeling kept me going through out the day.
The kids miss you, I miss you.

So, my little vignette for this deathday anniversary: the enjoyment of spooks, occult, afterlife, horror movies, ghost stories, the macabre, not too many will believe that you actually exposed us to this since we can remember. My interest in vampires, led by the Drac, the Arthur Ford and Jane Roberts, behind the door, etc...plus (hey JB you have my collection) my books that have everything from ectoplasmic emanations and ghostly pics, getting scared of Fright Night and other REAL vampire and Hammer films, mom, this I owe to you.

Primanti Brothers maridel vs food

2011-07-29T20:50:00.002-05:00

So after watching so many food shows on tv, here I was at the Primanti Brothers restaurant, filled to capacity due to the ballgame. No plates, just heavy duty wax paper for their 2nd most famous item on the menu (beer being number one), the heart attack cheese steak served on thick challah type bread with a vinegar based cole slaw and lots of fresh fries all piled up into the sandwich and a picture of the guy in Man vs Food hanging on the wall. Ok, so how does one eat this contraption? I ate the first half without a problem but tackling the second half was easier, took out the fries and the other half of the bread, there! But I was so stuffed that i was reeling...tums anyone?
I have to admit it was pretty good but......Chicago's Italian Beef still rocks, and maybe Max's of Chicago's gyros layered over cheese and burger on a giant bun still wins the award of heart attack burger.

ships passing in the night Baltimore-Washington DC

2011-07-29T20:40:00.002-05:00

After a harrowing experience going through the GPS convoluted route of driving through
30th (kind of really notorious like Mission in LA) where gleeful son-in-law excitedly took cel photos of what the WIRE show features in their weekly grisly murder filled town, I finally bit the bullet for an acela two stop train as against a stop every stop local train. And there's this polite kid who also was a bit lost in his trying to get to the same place I was. And a lady who was traveling the same route so we tag teamed on the train. The kid is a Saudi high school senior taking advanced classes here to gear him towards what he may want to do for college. After making sure he got his return ticket at the amtrak counter, she and I ran for the blue line to transfer to the orange line, she to the Courthouse and me all the way to Vienna. And along the way she was excited to meet up with her cousin who finally,after two harrowing assignments to Afghanistan as press attache, they allowed him to come home and study some more and take the test to press attache in Milan, he deserves it after having to deal with the bind laden thingy. She trained in from Atlantic City. She and her hubby are celebrating 25 years this year but are hesitant to go to Europe because of anti american sentiments and I said, that will always be there, but the time is now to visit those places and hopefully cousin Rick will be in Milan, so remember to wear your Blahniks...or Ferragamos, so they won't know you're an ignorant American.hahahaha. And on that note we parted...another ship passing through the night and all they will remember is the Mrs. A part or cupcakes.

Ships passing in the night Pittsburgh

2011-07-29T19:23:00.004-05:00

A comment made by daughter Bambi that I am so like my mom chatting up strangers....and so it is.
Dropped of the Bells on 6th and Pennsylvania as they walked their way across the bridge I decided not to drive off into the unknown and lose my way around the streets of Pittsburgh. So I parked and paid what $7???cheez, cheaper than Chicago. After randomly walking up and down the streets within the area in the steamy heat of a 99 degree summer afternoon, i decided to wait for a bus and do the GYN thing of getting on and letting the bus run to its end and come back hopefully on the same bus. But Pittsburgh and its many unknown to me bus lines and where they may lead made me wait for the casino bus after I realized that the couple I asked about the buses (who do not ride buses) had finished dining out and still saw me walking around stupidly. After an exchange of pleasantries, i waited and waited for the once an hour Saturday bus, looking at the Pittsburgh folks and telling myself they look the same as the Chicago folks, NOT, something about them told me there was a difference
So I finally got on the bus and asked for a round trip which the driver obliged giving me for 3.25 the little paper ticket. So off he drops me at the Rivers Casino. I got a free cup of coffee, scouted around for the food places, took a few pictures just so I can remember where I was. After losing ten bucks in the 25cent poker slots, i decided it was time to go. So i walked way out to the bus stop after chatting the security who told me many of their staff went to Chicago to open the new casino right by jaybee's. So I waited at this bus stop while listening to this man talking on the phone. So i asked when the bus was coming and he said they run every hour on a Saturday (oh great) but not to worry it it comes at 9:17 (ugh!!! until he said it was already 9:10, sigh) and I heard him say he was going to the Starbucks on 6th and Penn (yay, May I piggy back cuz that's where I have to meet my kids)...and then, you got a transfer? That doesn't work, it has to be used on another forward route but not on the same (oh no, another $3)oh well. So the bus comes and by this time, Gary has already told me about his collapsed veins on his legs and that he has had an operation putting a stent in and that his other leg was bloated (manas to us) and he was ready for another operation where he doesn't take days off because he has work in the casino as a walking supervisor...and that he was born and raised in Connecticut but has lived in Florida working casinos for the past 18 years. He had to come to Pittsburgh to care for a sick uncle who finally passed away and so he was giving himself a few more months before heading back to Florida. He missed being sent to Chicago for the new casino because he was only with the company 4 months and the requisite was 6 months. After fireworks and a bit more chitchat before Bambi, Sam and Daniel showed up, I bade Gary goodbye until the next time who knows when.

random thoughts travelling to DC

2011-07-29T19:20:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I wish I weren't lazy and relying on fading memories and thoughts as i travel the countryside. So many rich and fertile thoughts run through my mind as i catch forests, hills and rivers richly abundantly lushly growing all around, mixed with thoughts of coconut trees and wafting breezes from salt sprayed beaches. I chose to be here, di ba? So from a flat landscape of the mid west, to the hilly ups and downs of Pennsylvania, I realize the scope of the thought...ang laki-laki ng Amerika, pare!r

Another one for RSM

2011-05-21T18:33:00.004-05:00

After a slow day, I baked cookies to give Kim of Wheeling Donuts, so i could spend some time with her looking at paperwork. As I walked to my car, oops, keys, I had all my keys save for the car keys. So I walked back to the store (MACC) and started looking. Inside out my bags, up and down floors, tables, boxes and bins, NONE!!!no key. It is always in the blue thingy that is my key chain attached to my other hundred keys. But able to be separated at a moment's notice if someone else drives the car.
I walked back to the cat, up and down, sides, floors, grounds, trace my steps and all.
Meanwhile, Brian of Westfield finally came in (#1 if i left at 3 on the dot, I wouldn't have been able to talk to this very busy person ) and I was able to ask the pertinent questions of which items I could bring with us when we finally closed Mrs. A's. Then since I couldn't find the keys, i started packing boxes from my desk, in hopes of finding the keys. NONE. So Les can and picked me up, he also did the whole routine I did and even he couldn't find the danged keys. I was already whispering to RSM to help me find the keys.
I gave up. Les called the tow company after being told by Ford that they needed the car present to get the new key made (it has this chip, you see)
As I was going up the stairs, I suddenly thought of the many times dad found stuff for us, the weirdest was my losing my bridge at mom's house(searched the floors, garbage and everywhere) only to find it on my pillow at home. So the thought crossed my mind and I asked dad not to freak me out. Les had those thoughts too as he kind of worried that they would be on the door hook.
I passed by RSM's painting and said..oh so dad, you're not helping me this time, huh..!!?? a bit miffed but resigned. a fail this time.

Next day, stuck in traffic, the tow guy calls and we finally made it to the store. Kylie and i walked in while les went to get this thing going.
Twenty minutes later, too early, Les walked in with this burly cop type guy, the tow driver and they said they couldn't get the car onto the tow because I parked with the wheels askew, it kept slipping off the tow and he needed an ok from his boss to add Les' car to the tow so it would stay put. A mechanic had to be called in.$$$$$oh good grief. Then Les said, we probably don't need to go right away..and held up the KEY!!!!
While the tow guy was walking to his boss, Les spotted the Westfield janitor on his golf cart driving around cleaning the streets and lots. Les asked if he found any key by chance and the guy held up MY KEY!!! He found it at 9am (this was 9:45) during his round, not in my walk path but a few car spaces down the other way...not where I would walk or even pass.
Les said, "guess his name?" of course all of you and like me answered, Ruben???
No, ANGEL. Dad sent an angel. He knew I was upset. of course I could be making this up and it is once more serendipity, but i did chide dad about not helping. so he sent Angel. Thanks dad.

random thoughts

2011-05-21T18:30:00.001-05:00

life is one amazing on and on and on.
today is rapture day. I tell everyone that even Jesus kept mentioning
the end of the world and that you never know when you will meet the bridegroom.
etc.etc. But what HE actually means, even with his parable that sounds so unfair (about the workers who came in at different times but got paid the same wages) is that the hour or YOUR death is the end of the world (YOURS) and that it doesn't matter if you came in first or last, wages(death) are the same, we all DIE.
Hasn't anyone figured this out yet?

Serendipity

2011-05-13T20:10:00.003-05:00

When one door closes, another opens, and with God's grace, two.
Around the second week of April, we got the dreaded call that someone wants our
little Mrs. A's Cupcakes & Cookies store at Westfield in Old Orchard. Our home since February of 2008 after closing our first location at Northbrook Court.

This was devastating to us, all four of us work the store as our only source of income and we had no intentions of going anywhere. We weathered the downturn in economy, struggling but slowly building our name, and this year, as we started seeing an uptrend, comes this tension causing news. The chipper leasing manager whom we hardly knew showed her corporate claws and played it as an everyday thing. Meanwhile we were grieving and worrying.

But the Lord has His ways. A guy came in asking how our cupcakes were compared to Georgetown Cupcakes, a place we've heard of many times from customers who've been there saying the lines were out the door at that place, and we deprecatingly always say ours would probably be just as good. We noticed his jacket and immediately noted it as he mentioned it was a company his family owned. A few days later he came and said we had good cupcakes. Whew. Would we be interested in checking out their place? At that point, we had not gotten the news. So we went for a look see and called for an appointment to check it out.

A few weeks beforehand, Les who has always patronized the donut place on his way to work, befriended the new owner from last year, and gave her tips, advice and gave her new vendors to try. Jason from Bear Stewart thanked Les for the new business and said, hey she wants to sell the place to you.

Yesterday, Thursday May 12th, the Pickwick Theater management team of 2 brothers-in-law allowed Mrs. A to sign a lease and anent weeks of working with Park Ridge, we look forward to an August opening.

Today, Friday the 13th, we signed papers to take over an owner financed Wheeling Donuts, because Kim Hok Chong believed in us.

Thank you Lord, thank You for loving us and opening two doors to the one that was taken away from us. Each of this was serendipity. Thank You for your love.

Easter2011

2011-04-24T21:47:00.003-05:00

On our way to Bambi's for our Easter meal, we reflected on the fact that, we who own a bakery of sorts, did not have any Easter Lamb Cake or cookies to serve the kids. Also,as we saw lines of cars in chocolate shops, we realized that we also worked in these stores (Long Grove, Fannie May, See's) and sold tons of marshmallow eggs,caramel and peanut butter eggs, solid chocolate Easter Bunnies ; we did not have any to eat. hahaha.
Our menu this year was Roasted Lamb with a balsamic mint sauce courtesy of Sam , Bambi made the sides of lemon baked asparagus, petite french beans casseroles style, Baked Ham,mac and cheese, and my lengua in a mushroom cream sauce. Mary Bell brought the scalloped potatoes and fresh fruits, Kylie made her fruit salad and we made do with a store bought flan. Ate many times throughout the day and watched 2 movies. We missed one family who drove to Indiana, and Migay came before her road trip to Los Angeles.

The weather was cool to cold but not rainy or snowy. My mind's eye brought me back to Easter Eggs hunts at our home in San Juan, dainty baskets with us looking for painted boiled eggs with gumpaste hand painted eggs filled with imported candy from Rolling Pin. Holy Week was the time for visita Iglesia, and we mapped out 14 churches, choosing at least 2 new ones each year and ending with a trip to Aristocrat or Magnolia before heading home after a 7 to 8 hour trip. We got sophisticated one year and made 14 churches as we drove up to Baguio for Good Friday.
One Holy Week end was spent with the Bulakena clan in Baguio, another time in Cielito Lindo in Laguna, then there were times in Botolan or Nalinac.
But here we are in America, where Holy Week is not recognized, where people work even harder on Good Friday, where church is put on the back burner and we can't even find Jesus movies to watch and feel the Lenten quiet.
But it is the belief in Easter and the hope He brings plus the food, traditions and camaraderie and a bit of relaxation that makes it an event worth looking forward to, plus seeing the kids and apos. No pictures this year, we were not complete. Here's to the next one.

Gloria Y. Nichols/me vs Arlington Rehab/Carter Korey

2011-02-23T21:47:00.005-06:00

When mom was in the ICU, hardly breathing because of pneumonia, and we knew it was only a matter of time, there was a moment of lucidity and she said to me, "be prepared".
When she passed, we were unable to give her the funeral service she deserved, with a grand Ruby plan from Funeraria Paz, but too far away to let it matter, we had a private cremation and a memorial service 40 days later.

But the "be prepared" did not mean her passing. It was what happened next. Arlington Rehab sent me a bill which I belieeived to be wrong. When we brought mom to the rehab center, Tricare was paying only the first 60 days and Patty and I said we would have to take her out if her Medicaid was not approved. Thankfully, it was and the way it works is, medicaid pays the rehab any amount after mom's pension is deducted. Which means that regardless of the rehab cost, the payment would only be her pension check minus any amounts paid for her insurance and personal needs.
The amount in the bill was too much. I told the accounts person that there was a mistake and to please check. With arrogance she said everything was correct.
From this came a series of calls and counter calls and then a sub poena as instead of calling me in to settle and check it out, they hired the services of a seeming ambulance chaser, a lawyer who also did not want to check my request. After two years of wrangling and threats from the lawyer, and my pleas for checking with medicaid, I had many sleepless nights and payments to my lawyer whose forte is not this kind of ridiculousness where he could not get the other lawyer to give me the billing. Instead there was a series of statements from the rehab and each time I questioned the bill, another came with a change of the bill when I pointed out there were errors in that they did not acknowledge the payments I had made. It became a series of changed statements and each one still reflected the wrong amounts.
The lawyer did not want to check why I was asking for the Medicaid statements. Sleepless nights and threats and requests to now look into patty's income status and her entire life aside from mine made me do what I should ahve done from the beginning, go to Medicaid.
Surprise, the woman said no one ever checked with them for the past 2 years....and that there was an error and it was corrected. And that why were we being charged for the month of GYN's death when Medicaid paid it in full knowing that her pension check would not be paid for that month.And then another round of statements again changed each time I pointed out the error. i still lost the case but for the correct amount. That was so exhausting and scary as the ambulance chasing lawyer continued to bully me and instead of writing me for payment plans went on to shut down my personal account and then file an arrest through the cook county sheriff. Finally, with the grace of God and as we celebrate GYN's 94th birthday, it is over.
Now I wonder if justice can really be served. They wanted to bill me the wrong amount and did not want to check. And billing me for when they were paid in full, stinks of fraud. And that if they checked my request from the beginning, I did not need to pay court fees nor lawyers fees. Smart lawyer, each time he re sets this, he got paid. I would have had to pay his fees if I did not show that the bill was wrong.
Sigh.
Anyway, after two years of stress, thank goodness its over. And we are celebrating GYN's 94th at a Polish Buffet, having decided to choose a cuisine from a place she has visited. She enjoyed her trip to Poland, just when Pope John Paul II was named Pope and Poland was still a communist country.

Mom in church

2011-02-07T08:32:00.003-06:00

It is February, superbowl Sunday and no one is at mass. Frank is one of a few in the choir who showed up and was given a chance to sing a solo for the first time. Frank who has known mom, GYN since we first started going to St. Mike's. Frank who has always looked young, vibrant, happy. Frank sang and I started to tear up, mom would ahve been so proud. As I looked to the left of the pew, I realized why i never sat there by the aisle, because I always reserve that place for her and know she must be there. Tonight, she definitely was there. I had to tell Frank and it was amazing that even he knew that mom was there, he also felt her. She would have been so proud and so was I. When I went to him, he already knew....he also felt her.

February Blues Superbowl Sunday at mass

2011-02-07T08:21:00.004-06:00

Not even 50 were at mass last night but Father Tom gave a homily that struck a chord in me. I keep telling this story of going to a charismatic bible reading group with my late MIL Leonor, to please her and to bond. Being Catholic, but in a non-religious school, I knew the bible stories but not the books. Besides, at this time I was already infected by Johnny Midnight's question of WHO WROTE THE BIBLE???
Anyway, Father Tom gave this excerpt from a book where all the religious, good guys, holy guys were all waiting to get into the pearly gates, then a rumor wafted through that HE was going to let everybody in. This drew anger and indignation amongst the group and they got angry because they have been good all their lives and then when it came to entering heaven HE was allowing everyone in......so in that moment of anger, they damned themselves. They did not recognize God. So in that little seminar where I behaved like the good daughter in law eager to embrace the Lord, my MIL introduced me to the head of the group. I enthused that it was interesting and that I was also inspired by the fact that Jeanne Young, a bad girl turned Charismatic, spreading the word of the Lord, was so prominent in this movement and I was touched by her ability to reach both Catholic and Christian groups. The dude then said, " Yes, BUT we want her to focus on the Catholic groups and not the Christian groups" DING DING DING, I kids you not, I felt a curtain falling in front of me and heard a big THUD, I can still remember it after all these years, with goosebumps, too. And a voice yelling GET OUT OF HERE. I blinked and smiled , went back to the afternoon session struggling to renew my interest, left and never went back.
And here comes Father Tom and his amazing story. An answer to my search. Of course, bible readers will note that the Prodigal Son and the workers in the vineyard all have that same theme, Love. And that the Lord will forgive and let everyone in because He is Love. But if you are really deeply into anger, have taken a life, then the universal TIME OUT is in place until you can get in there. But in the end, we all have to die, there is no great leveler than this, it is an equalizer. It is in our hands where we go after. Right?

Another red neck moment

2010-09-14T21:56:00.004-05:00

The grandstand filled up with people from all over. Eager Boy Scouts peddled pop, popcorn and earplugs. EarPlugs?????

And over the muddied grounds of the inner tracks, those farm trucks I keep seeing across fields all over Illinois, were polished and sputting, ready to compete. There were these huge flatbeds called Iron Man, the purple had a 5000 LB weight that would swing from one end to the other as eager tractor racers tried to pull the flatbed towards the 300 yard line. Often times, the hapless tractor would get bogged down at the 250 yard line and the racers (who woulda thunk these huge heavy tractors could fly with their front wheels in the air like a motorcycle instead of the monsterheavy weight, like the hippo dancing in fantasia) were competing like crazy to top the one before them. Ear plugs??? OMG, the next set of races were these Hot Rod exposed fire breathing black smoke spewing NOISE RIDDEN tractors with aggressive names roaring to the point of sonic boom each trip. The ear plugs were definitely needed. i used the old fashioned two fingers in my ear trick because it wasn't worth a dollar to get two pieces of plastic to cover my ears for a few seconds at a time.

Another bit of Americana for me.

A bit of Sandwich

2010-09-14T21:23:00.005-05:00

I always heard of Sandwich from daughter in law Dawn as she has been there with Anamite and kids for a few years in a row. So I finally took the trek to Sandwich, getting lost along the way with that stupid GPS, aughh.

Sandwich is a little town like most little towns with history. Old buildings and historic homes mingling with the new ugly box like homes. The Sandwich Fair is held in a dedicated fairground structure, that i gathered from the mini railroad that went around and around, plus the barn type permanent buildings interspersed with gaudily loud food booths.
But it is the food that was the draw for me. Huge mobile food booths with steaks grilling right in front of you with the accoutrement of onions, peppers, mushrooms, cheese along side the steaks, brats, dogs, ribs, corn dogs etc. My mouth watered with every wafting scent of the different fair ground foodstuff. There were corndogs, waffles, mini donuts from a mini fryer dropper, funnel cakes, elephant ears dusted with powdered sugar, cinnamon and other mouthwatering dusts. You name it, it was there. Interestingly enough, no Chinese or Asian food booth, no spring rolls, rangoons, noodles.

My top faves? It was my first time to have an apple dumpling. There was this one dedicated booth for Hot Apple Dumplings, topped with vanilla icing and a slathering of caramel sauce, piping hot from the convection oven that continuously baked the dumplings. The pie pastry was a bit gooey with a taste of cinnamon, but the apple was perfectly round, peeled, scored, must be granny smith as it held its form and had a tartish sweet taste. Along with the vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, it was one of the best Americana food I have had in ages.

Dawn and Anamite told me the Pork Chop place was a must. The lines were long at Fay's but moving fast. Around and back were charcoal grills that were filled from end to end with huge thick pork chops, and the other side had grilled chicken just being flipped over (imagine your barbecue griller but in gigantic proportions) by eager young Caucasian boys, must be generations of them going through this summer ritual as a rite of passage working the grills for this destination Pork Chop stop. Undaunted by the long line, $12 got me a combo of a pork chop and quarter chicken, a small drink (coffee of course) and sides like the ubiquitous sliced bread, cole slaw, baked beans , applesauce and cottage cheese. Augh ...saan ang kanin at banana ketchup? Sa uulitin nga...magdadala ako. Of course, the food was good, chicken moist, pork chops just right, not raw. Wish it had a thicker layer of fat, sometimes lean pork chops can be too much....But these were finger licking good. My inner oink wanted to get ribs and totally stuffed potatoes but, this was it.

Until I saw the home made pies made by the Christian Church ladies, berry, apple and peach. Going back was the promise. Until doing so, later after walking off the over eating tummy, berry pies were gone, suddenly, pie was not that interesting anymore.

After the tractor pull show in the grandstand area, of which another short blog dedicated to this is next, found the Rollin Pin Bakery mobile that bragged of the Wisconsin State Fair staple, Chocolate Eclairs and Whipped Cream Puffs. And of course, Maridel had to have these. And man, were they good although I could've enjoyed the eclair better slightly thawed more. But understandable that with that home made custard, and in the quantities they were selling, these had to keep frozen. The whipped cream cream puff was already overkill but I did have many bites till I almost burst like the puff.

I need to plan the next fair better. Eat slowly and gradually. Spend the whole day there instead of the few hours. And of course, lose 4 pounds before going to the fair.Advice to all, it is a must to go to the Sandwich Fair at least once (or twice or all the time as this man, who probably belongs to one of the founding families of Sandwich boasted of not having missed the fair since he was 8 and he sure looks like he was a bit over 80). Oh and I did forget to mention all the other exhibits, antiques, competitions, livestock and fair rides...I overwhelmed myself with the food.

GYN gone 2 years.

2010-08-23T21:53:00.002-05:00

Has it really been two years ma? My mind blanks at the thought. But you are never far from my thoughts, regardless of what these are. As an amazing accomplished woman, whose childhood was a wild ride up the mountains of Baguio, ahead of your time in many things that became trendy way after you already created it....
Missing you and celebrating your life.

Another year RSM

2010-07-01T22:34:00.002-05:00

Hey dad, it's been 22 years. Seems like yesterday. Yet the fond memories and the funny stuff become a great topic for table talk, specially tonight's Thursday Night Dinner.
We had Mexican food, ground beef tacos (with that la preferida mix the grandkids enjoy) and chicken fajitas from the little mexican grocer down the street. I also made black beans and rice, I sauteed a sofrito with the beans and added rice, along with onions. I hand made my tomatoes, cilantro and onion side, had whole wheat, corn and flour tortillas, sour cream and quesadilla cheese and shredded lettuce for the mixings and fixings. I should've had shrimps, crabs, inihaw na baboy or lechon kawali in your honor, hmm, maybe next week.
Here's to missing you dad, but you'd have been 90 by now.

Italian Beef

2010-05-28T07:38:00.002-05:00

It was a quiet Thursday Night Dinner, no Bells, No JB and chinoys. But fun none the less with just the Dawnamites. Even Miggy decided to dance the night away after work.But, food goes on. I learned by just listening a quick way to do Italian Beef. The last time I made it for TND, I cooked it stove top and finished it oven, with lots of this and that. I heard from a friend I hang out with that a bottle of pepperoncini peppers and juice on beef in slow cooker would work. Skeptical, I added a head of sliced onion, salt and pepper but used the pepperoncini water and only half the peppers in a tall bottle. Wow. Place smelled tantalizing when we came home. With freshly baked italian bread, a quick pasta with meatballs, and some arugula for greens since I didn't want to use my asparagus, we enjoyed the meal. I still have to Julie and Julia challenge myself to cook everything in Kulinarya as is. With my penchant for tweaking, to follow it to the letter will really be a challenge. But.....we'll see and I will also blog it.

GYN at the apartment

2010-05-27T00:14:00.002-05:00

Finally took mom's cremains home after months of whining and prodding by sister Patty who claims she cannot move or do anything because mom's cremains comfortably settled in her blue and white room whose doors are always closed made her feel creeped out. So we have her on the top shelf facing all of us at the dinner table, with Santo Nino and two iconic prints the baker/cook and fish (mom's known to be a baker of course and fish is good luck but she's also pisces) and a pretty stained glass something with purple flowers and a small votive candle holder. Hope you're ok with that mom until i can take you home and have a beautiful memorial mass for you at our old church in San Juan. Until then, welcome home.

Julie and Julia

2010-05-27T00:06:00.004-05:00

I missed watching this when it came out on the big screen. But watching it on TV wasn't bad. I enjoyed Meryl Streep's rendition of Julia Child and the passion of this blogger who challenged herself to cooking everything in Child's cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It got me thinking. So maybe I won't kill myself with trying all the recipes within one year, but I want to challenge myself to cooking everything in the Kulinarya cookbook collaborated by a group of gourmets and great imaginative cooks who decided to try a book of Filipino dishes to as close as standards as it can get. With the Pinoy penchant for tweaking and pinching this and that and adding this and that and secret this and that, plus our remembered memories of various food palates challenged by what we eat on a daily basis....hmmmmm.

Of course, I have to push myself to start. hahaha that would be the challenge in itself. So I may start tomorrow or next week and then blog it. Remember, I was known to be a good cook, but the mistake was not learning the kitchen food. Regrets weigh me down when I could have learned the secrets of mang Lucio and mang Emo, and I was lucky enough to have the baking recipes of Rolling Pin written down and usable, including secrets of mang Ernesto for his Vienna Cake icing. But truth is, tamad lang ako. i was known for spaghetti sauce, lasagna, Turkey and trimmings, etc. But I had to learn to make lengua and paella and still struggle with the perfect pancits.

Time will tell. Here I go again.

JB and TND

2010-03-15T20:37:00.002-05:00

So TND had 2 types of pasta in honor of JB's 34th birthday. I made the clam pasta and a sausage and beef marinara for a baked penne with asiago and mozzarella cheese. He enjoyed this and that's all that matters. Come to think of it, 34????I can feel my bones (with osteoporiosis) creaking with the memories. Now he's a dad, with two kids and a wife, an obsession for baseball cards and blogging.....sigh. where did that little boy go? somewhere deep in the hulking frame is still the pasta monster!

Quandary

2010-03-15T20:29:00.002-05:00

So I made lambing my eldest apo Hunter last Thursday night dinner and he said "ow, ow" and of course I said =, after I was poking him on his arm, what do you mean Ow? I am making you lambing! Next day i find out that there's a big huge pasa on his arm. So of course I asked. Seems like an over zealous church elder, a pillar of that church community they go to, decided to take it upon himself to force Hunter to go to the church service since he was outside standing around. Au contraire, his folks allowed him out because he was getting antsy. forcing a 10 year old who sasses back is really a challenge. But I do not see any reason why there would be deep painful bruises on his arm from the zealot. And the quandary is that his dad didn't react nor does his mother want to face the guy since he is a higher up, popular and revered person. Unfortunately, the only witness, just like in any bad movie where the only credible witness is a prostitute whose words hold no water, the only one who saw the incident is a person whose stature is somehow the lowest in the totem pole of the community. But there is a pasa, and that's a form of abuse. no amount of apology (and the person did not apologize or acknowledge to the parents) will erase the suddent break of trust. Sure, my kids do not want to destroy this man's good name in the community. but for goodness sake, take the kids away from the program he is heading until he gracefully retires from the program. the kid said that if he had a kid and this happened, he would call the cops. spoken like a 10 year old of today who has been taught that no one should take abuse from either parents, relatives much less a stranger. and to keep him in the program is like living next to an offender, you're always going to fear a break down, or retaliation or, even the kid's emotional scar. do something or i will.

Good Bye Julius

2010-02-01T20:56:00.002-06:00

Patty has had Julius long before even Hunter was born. Smart little sheltie who adored her and was her constant companion all these years. But at age 13, it was downhill all the way after he ingested rat poison which made his inner lining bleed. Came the prognosis of cancer, and poor Julius. But such a brave dog, no whining, no moaning. When Patty went down that fateful Saturday, when she came to the store, she was pale, sweaty, out of breath and enough to make me ask dawn to take her to the emergency room which became a 3 day stay in the critical care unit because she lost a lot of blood and they had to pump 4 units of blood into her, Julius had to stay with Dawn and kids. By the time she got out, her concern was for him and not for herself. I told him not to leave her, to hang in there for her.And so he did. The mag-amo were both bleeding and losing blood together. He did wait for her. Allowed her a week more of his presence but he was fading fast. She made the ultimate gamble of chemo for him but this was the final straw. on Friday, January 22nd, when Kylie and I got to the vet hospital, Patty and he were in a visitation room. He perked up and looked so alert that I had that little queasy feeling that we could be making a mistake. But after our petting hands lifted off him, he immediately slumped into Patty's chest. He just waited for all of us. He was gone even before the 2nd shot was done. I'm outta here. He looked like he was fast asleep. I remembered mom when she sneezed twice and was gone. The crying came, and the sadness. Hunter. Maddie, Kylie, Dawn, Anamite and I wailed along with Patty. But I know Julius was glad to rest, he knew Patty was ok, and now he's out there with Mom.
I know it will take Patty many months to heal. She came for dinner and the moment I heard his little collar ringing, i thought he was in the room. I feel the sadness of loneliness settling in on my sister. but she knows we are here for her. But we cannot have the same effect as Julius did with her.

Lasagna & Pizza

2010-02-01T20:47:00.003-06:00

One Thursday night dinner, I made pizzas for everyone. Rigo made the dough and I got all the accoutrement , from freshly sliced mozzarella, mushrooms, sliced pepperoni, spinach leaves, basil, fresh plum tomatoes, shredded junk cheese aka pizza cheese by the bag, italian sausage. Each pizza was different and I had them in sheet pans aside from the required 13" rounds. You'd think this would be easy but instead, what a mess, and to bring them in and out of the oven so they were freshly hot.

The next week, I continued my Italian streak and this time got Ricotta and shredded mozzarella/provolone to make lasagna. And yes, I used diced tomatoes, ground beef and Italian sausage for my sauce, Oh and sam, I did make the bechamel sauce, it does make a difference. Layering the cooked lasagna, sauce, cheeses, bechamel sauce and spreading the ricotta was a bit tiring but I did end up making 5 assorted trays. Kudos to me, I still had it in me to come out with a decent lasagna. I usually get lazy and buy the GFS or Stouffer brand of lasagna because I almost think there's no difference, oh wait, mine's not that salty!!! And richer with the amount of stuff I put in it. Another TND done.

Holidays

2010-01-06T20:41:00.002-06:00

Wow, that came too fast, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's eve and New Year's day. Suddenly it's 2010.
And the eating was non-stop. We did all traditionals although maybe I will try other stuff next year...the only changes made were the lengua done with tomato sauce estofada style instead of the cream of mushrooms, no long noodle, just ravioli.
Let's see, ham and pork loin rib roast for Xmas eve, Prime Roast Beef bone-in for Xmas day with the accoutrement mashed potatoes etc. and Yule Log (Buche de Noel) from the MACC. Migay turned 26 and disappeared as usual. But January 1st was Cocido with the eggplant side, Lengua and Paella and Kylie's signature fruit salad. Kudos to Sam for the much improved leche flan, )probably because he used the correct llanera .
All in all, a good time was had by all. And another year begins.

Thursday Night again

2009-12-03T22:53:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving, but today is another week, and it is December. I did a beef brisket that I put in the oven overnight at 220 degrees, threw in onions, garlic, liquid smoke, soy sauce, left over bbq oven pit, honey mustard, lawry's, salt, pepper and covered it. So when I was worried about dinner, I remembered the french beans I had so that got nuked with olive oil, then I did egg noodles with butter and parmesan with meatballs. There was LO of yukon gold potatoes and pork. Whew, another night of food, kids, apos, laughter, buzzing. So much to thank the Lord for.

Florida trip bits and pieces

2009-11-26T22:06:00.002-06:00

The space launch was amazing, a streak of gold slashed through the sky and a cloud of smoke trailed the shuttle's path. of course, you have 12 minutes to run back into the bus just in case acid rain blew our way off the causeway.

Where are the oranges? ooops, as we drove down towards Ft Lauderdale, every side of the 27 had orange orchards ....wish I could have stopped.

Tamiami Trail is also the 41 which if followed through would have led back to Chicago. But Tamiami trail is also Alligator land....soon, alligator spotting was the sport.

But the birds ...didn;t get to see flamingos nor pelicans but lots of egrets, cormorants, eagles and so many more...forgot to buy a book so check off which ones I saw.

And imagine that, no Disney when I was in Orlando. But got to swim briefly in salt water.

2009 Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:02:00.002-06:00

It's one of those off years, Kylie went to Zion, Bambi to Wauwatosa and JB to somewhere in Indiana. So we had a quiet but enjoyable turkey dinner at Anamite's. Dawn had a good turkey, great side including a green bean and mushroom side, Migay's famous smashed potatoes, some brussel sprouts which i tried to eat (finished one) and Ina's orange cranberry relish. Hunter played the cello with a lot a prodding, and pumpkin pie was had. Thankful for another year, missed GYN and remembered all the turkey days back home. Capped the evening with a George Clooney movie, Men Who Stare At Goats.

Another Thursday Night Dinner

2009-09-17T23:21:00.002-05:00

So tonight, we had a pork butt crock pot roast I made earlier this morning. But I decided to add shrimp fried rice which all the apos enjoyed. And I am still trying to re-create the pancit sotanghon that we used to have at the Rolling Pin MH Del Pilar restaurant. Another regret I have for not spending more tim,e with mang Lucio and mang Emong. I sauteed garlic and red onion, added boneless, skinless chicken breast with a bit of Knorr ginisa mix, black pepper, patis and powdered atsuete. Then I added sliced green beans, sliced baby bok choy and chicken broth. I remembered to add last minute garlic oil which picked up the flavors a lot. Came close, but I should have used a firmer fatter sotanghon. And should have used an oil based atsuete (annatto seed powder). Another dinner done. And hey, this time the apos ate both pancit and shrimp fried rice which was simply stir fried eggs, garlic, peas and carrots with baby shrimps and rice. Oh, and a bit of soy sauce. Lynn said she liked it and it tasted better than the ones from the Chinese restaurant, that was a great compliment from my pihikan na apo.

Cupcakes for c Cause

2009-09-17T23:17:00.002-05:00

Mrs. A's Cupcakes & Cookies is once more participating in Cupcakes for a Cause which supports Cancer Care for Kids. From September 21 to 27, 50 cents will be donated to the organization from every cupcake sold at our little shop. To find out more about this worthwhile fund raiser, please check out their website and create a cupcake on-line at http://www.cupcakesforacause.org/.

Thursday Night Dinner 9/03/09

2009-09-03T18:58:00.003-05:00

Sigh, the weeks go really fast. So I got lazy. Went to the fresh market of ASSI, got some big shucked clams....there's the linguine pasta with garlic, basil and curly/flat leaf parsleys....irish garlic herbed butter...(don't have any olive oil, need to buy), then the inihaw na baboy...marinated in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic with salt and pepper, last night's left over binagoongang baboy will now become binagoongang kang kong for the veggies, and since fresh shrimp is as cheap as beef or pork, hilabos na hipon again. Really lazy of me but hey, it's fresh. Am now just wiaiting for family to arrive...and I am planning next week in my mind again....when it gets cooler, back to casseroles stuffed in the oven...too hot right now to do that.

Time Flies Faster Than We think

2009-09-03T08:59:00.003-05:00

August 25th marked a year since mom died. And yesterday marked the day we cremated her.
And what did we do? Celebrated like she would, eat and feast and remember. So on the day itself, I shopped for shrimps and blue crabs and had pancit as a side. She missed all the other sea food from home, but these we can get here, so that's what we did.

We had Sundays inviting friends over for a feast of hilabos na hipon, alimango and not the paltry blue crabs, inihaw na baboy and lost of side relishes like tomatoes with onions and red eggs. It was non stop lamon...hahaha. There would be Sundays too with all the breakfast foods, longganiza, tapa and tocino, with eggs anyway you want them.
And GYN set a pretty table, always with a theme, pinks, greens, blues, with flowers cut from our kalachuchi tree. Kamias in our Pinoy version of bruschetta/pico de gallo. Lots of dipping sauces: soy sauce with vinegar and siling labuyo, vinegar with garlic, mashed kamias with shallots, etc.. Those were the days my friends.....

One cannot regret her life, she rose from the mountains of Baguio, ran up the trees with the Igorots, had a very romantic life with Clinton H. Nichols, survived the bombings of Manila during Liberation, visited the US as a young widow, cam back home to a romance with the handsome rogue Ruben S. Menguito, allowed him his foibles as a second string QB, but led him to the path of fine dining with the HRAP and IFSEA.
Accolades, society weddings, her creativity knew no bounds. She knew the taste of what is should be, she set the prettiest tables, she was a fountain of knowledge, the best Ann Landers or Tia Dely when giving advice to the love lorn, the antsy brides and families of the weds to be, everyday conundrums.

She also opened my eyes to the other world, often leading to weird experiences that we embraced.....so my apo Daniel was singing about ghosts at last Sunday's mass, "ghosts are people too" he marveled. Pshew pshaw says the parents but the one single sentence that we challenge his folks to deny was when he said, "Ghosts have no feet". So mom taught us this not by what she would also say but with the books we read on the paranormal. So we have never been skeptics, and in fact enjoyed our joy rides with her following hearses, going to weird cemeteries, visiting old churches from around town to way up north, adventures.

This is remembering you mom, Gloria Y.Nichols, a giant who stood only 4 feet 10 inches or shorter, but with the name of a mega star in her hey days.

Luau Time

2009-06-24T20:02:00.000-05:00

For Bambi's graduation party it will be a luau. What is a Luau? For many of us, we see a roasted pig (but the hawaiianos roast it underground), lots of pineapple and spam. Hahaha. So we will have lechon, the ubiquitous Filipino fiesta feasting food, macaroni salad with pineapple (chicken or tuna? with pickled relish and a bit of this and that, spicy chicken wings (from a Korean grocery)two kids of fruit salad courtesy of Kylie, pineapple upside down cake, mango and strawberry trifle cake, lots of fruit and veggies. Wanted to do a spam sushi but don't have time. Wanted to do this and that but ultimately, we'll just go with the flow, including a chinese pancit. remember, hawaii is a melting pot of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and so many other little ethnicities. we'll see how it goes.

Another Jeff Foxworthy adventure

2009-06-24T07:17:00.002-05:00

So I went to this out in the wilderness flatlands area where there were three gigantic bleacher buildings called the Joliet Speedway, three tracks for different races. Underneath were food stalls of americana foodstuff catered by Levy brothers. Funnel cakes, lemonade, corn dogs, Beer, twisted fries, beer, popcorn, beer, burger, dogs, beer. Young and old were there.
Looking down into a muddy track with four giant giant tires as markers, drove in 2 sets of 4 cars, each garishly decorated each team with a single standout color.
Object of the game and bloodlust of the crowd which included boys and girls as young as ...wha???year olds? strollers of infants? fat little 7 year old girls, skinny 4 year old boys, was to see whose lead car could go around the track at least 5 times and survive the onslaught of being mangled, battered and beaten by the other cars. Like quidditch. Protecting the seeker with chasers and beaters. Only the cheers for each banged up and demolished car was like being in a Roman arena.
Interestingly enough, I picked each winning team including the final ones. Cheez, there were no betting booths because, mind you, this was a Family Event!!!

And the kids behind me were yelling loudly, Hey Mr. Popcorn Man, thinking we were all deaf..I whispered an aside, ermmm, they surely teach them young, don't they? And the chubby, red faced little girl (who probably will grow up to be a butangera na taga bayan ng pulang leeg) muttered a "I'll get you for that" when my thrilled companion blurted out that he almost touched the danged beach ball that was making the rounds up and down the stands. She and her little sibling were the loudest in yelling FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT when a scuffled ensued down the pit place. Bloodlust at this early age!

So Foxworthy, I'm earning brownie points for adventuring into the land of your brilliant spiels, and I'm not even a red neck! Still, this is part of americana I never knew existed beyond listening to someone else's stories. Chuck it down to being a tourist in my own back yard. And on to the next red neck adventure.

Thursday Night Dinners

2009-06-08T22:25:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, on a whim I made paella, then I had a pork roast and some other stuff. I was rushing as usual, and as I was boiling pasta, watching the paella simmer, and doing multiple tasks, i asked myself why i was doing this. And I realized that it's because I want to push myself to see if I can do it! Get a meal for 17 persons done every Thursday, within a certain amount of time (one hour to 2 tops) as I get home late, and still serve hot meals to my kids and their families. And to test recipes and flavors. I saw Bobby Flay do a paella throwdown, and that's what made me decide on paella for dinner. Came out pretty good even if I only had chicken, chorizo de bilbao and shrimps. Now on to the next Thursday....sotanghon anyone?

Jeff Foxworthy Would Be So Proud

2009-05-31T08:59:00.002-05:00

It was a surreal experience. I went to what i thought was a traditional American Pig Roast, as opposed to our Lechon frenzies, and I was expecting a big pig like our lechon and American sides, the American sides were there,bbq sauces, mustard, hot peppers, cole slaw, potato salad, pickles,a yummy cool whip with cherries, walnuts and coconut thingamaglob which I actually liked (2 servings since no one was touching it, maybe cuz it's a usual fare for them) lots of sweet roasted corn, right off the grill (sanay ako sa corn naka tatlo pa nga ako). But where's the pig? Why are there crockpots with some shredded gunk? Alas, poor pig, you became pulled pork...

But....looking around the 150 or so people, er, was I the only Asian? Oh hey, there's a token black dude (security guard for the venue) and 3 sets of sheriffs with barely concealed vests....and tons of loaded, well kept shiny big monster Harleys, and lots of tattooed men of all ages in various shades of black, harley t shirts with too many sayings I cannot remember any sa dami, and women in all shapes and sizes, all of them holding red plastic beer filled cups (there was a beer station, they ran out of bottled water but not beer). Two sun darkened men probably in their late 50s dancing all over the place shirtless (and I am ready to barf or die laughing) even getting onto the stage just to jiggle their fat bellies and let the alcohol make them believe they were still in their early twenties....I stuck a stoic look on my face so as not to draw attention to me....
tattoos, studs, girls with their jelly bellies peeping from their short blouses and tees, where was I????

To get there, it was a dirt road hidden away from the well paved highways of the area.
Brooooom brooms went the bikes as they showed off their rides....hey, was that my lawyer there with a bad ass expensive harley? hide hide maridel.

The bands were playing a mix of electrified country and some stones, hey there's achy breaky heart....but unlike pinoys who jump up and dance, only a few were bellying their dance moves aside from the two over grown teeners.

I've seen scenes like this before, on TV and movies, but here I was gob smack in the midst of the whole surreal party. But for a good cause, MomsCookies.org raised over 4 grand to fund cookie baskets for our troops out there (bring them home).

and as the light grew dimmer, and the mosquitoes were out in full force, it was a great relief to leave this magical(?) americana, thank goodness we were in Illinois and not somewhere else where I could've been part of the Pig roast.....

another thursday night dinner

2009-04-03T18:30:00.002-05:00

one daughter decided not to relieve me from work till too late. and then while trying to figure out what to feed the hungry horde, she calls and says the car seat is in her car, another set of minutes i have to use....so i grabbed 3 pounds of shrimp, 3 pounds of longganiza, and chicken breast, then cheated by buying marinated bulgogi and adding another few pounds of thinly sliced beef to extend this, and baby bok choy for last minute veggies...clearly not remembering there are 5 kids who may need soup or pasta or pancit...
so I get home at 6:49 pm and they are all expected within minutes. thank goodness Kylie cooked rice.. Hilabos the hipon, start the longganiza, and then wow, I have time pala! Then I started the bulgogi, nuked the bok choy with oyster sauce...then they tell me James is coming....OMG, so I bring down the pasta pot and slice the boneless chicken breast, garlic, onion and crushed tomatoes with a jar of Bertollis' marinara.
Whew...and we ate and ate and ate...and the kids ate the rice and meat, then pasta.
And of course, they came and ate, and all's well that ends well, whew...

bits and pieces

2009-03-24T17:42:00.004-05:00

So St. Patrick's Day has come and gone.
But I remember my first St. pat's Corned Beef dinner, really promdi..I didn't know their corned beef came in those weird slabs with spice packets....akala ko I'd have to cook at least 8 cans of carne norte....hahahah. Years later, each kids mastered the art of corned beef for St. pat's JB topping it off with wilted cabbage leaves for effect when he served his masterpiece. Bambi does a good one but this year, she followed her mom's advice and had 2 roasted and one boiled for flavoring the cabbage and potatoes, her entire sibling group bravoed the end result. (Note to Sam, boil the root crops to near tender before adding the rest, then your Irish Stew which everyone enjoyed immensely would be more stew instead of pulled meat)
But on St. Pat's itself, on the prodding of sister Patricia, I did one better, had the boiled corned beef with potatoes and cabbage (and I had to pressure cook this because I was short on time and it really worked!!! It would've been 50 minutes per pound so a 4-5 pounder would've been done by 10pm, and instead, I got it to 80minutes and tender) I pulled out the meat and added the potatoes and cabbage to the cooker and then put back the meat..But I did the pinoy version, guisadong corned beef (garlic,tomatoes, onions with corned beef, diced potatoes and shredded cabbage. Came out a good side dish to the dinner and of course...freshly cooked white rice, didn't know which we liked better...hahaha.

Manang Estella

2009-02-26T19:47:00.003-06:00

A thin woman, dark skinned but, with a bit of lipstick, one could see the beauty she hid behind toothless cackling smiles. She had always been with GYNichols as far back as I could remember househelp, Estella our labandera.
Mom spent a fortune every few years getting Estella Custodio y Campos, pustisos, and each time after a few uses, she would conveniently hide the beautifully expensive bridges and lose them complaining they were painful. So she was toothless most of the time. Estella had a hard life. Her baby Danny was only a few months old, she lost her husband in a drunken knife fight somewhere. But memorable is that during the funeral, as people were crying and were hovering around her, she felt claustrophobic with all the mourners trying to comfort her, and she also couldn't cry, she was one of those who laughed at a time of crisis. So she leaned on a tombstone cross and of course fell into the newly dug grave. All the while laughing instead of crying, she laughed harder as people were reaching in for her begging her not to follow suit...it made for many a laughing moment whenever we would recall this incident. Bony, skinny, black beauty trying to follow her dead husband to the grave, NOT!

And who does she hook up with? One of mom's bread bakers, the complete opposite of black, he came from a mestizo (as in white) family. He must've loved her, bones and all, because they had beautiful children, I cannot remember the count as I know only 4 of them, and happily, or sadly, I have just hooked up with two of them, Linda, always the caring one, meant to watch over the whole brood, and Apple, of her father's eyes, as we used to tease. I thought Estella was pregnant every year..so i know I am missing kids other than Danny and Bobot.
But she was always there, come rain, shine or flood. Doing the laundry, chatting every body up. She also had a nervous tension when we bought our first washing machine, she thought it would take away her job, hahahaha.Once she got the hang of it, did she enjoy it! If she ever found out that here in the esta-te I wore underwear that weren't ironed, she would flip. Towels, dresses, undies and all were washed and pressed every day! She would freak out to know that I hang my clothes instead of doing laundry on them till the chocolate stains were visible and then needed washing. Or that I tried washing and bleached out the kids' clothes, which made the older kids run for the basement to do laundry whenever I said I would do laundry....She would have loved that story.

Estella was always with mom, she held court inviting everyone to our New Year's Day party for the kids in her neighborhood. She loved Fernando Poe Jr and Joseph Estrada, the two main stars of Philippine politics at one time or another. But I am happy to note, that her daughters and sons all were touched by mom's baking empire. Each of them passed through the walls of Rolling Pin learning a trade. Which kept everyone working long after we were gone from Manila. And which kept them in relative comfort so they could take care of Estella. Years of smoking and drinking (was that why she was always happy?) took its toll on her and she developed cirrhosis of the liver. I already warned each daughter to be prepared.

So Estella was waiting for GYN's cremains to come home. But we were not able to do that this year, so the day after GYN's 92nd birthday, I guess, Estella decided to follow mom and report to work, just like old times at 527 Mariano Marcos (159 Ortega). This is my tribute to someone who was a major part of my life, with her funny personality, her trials and travails, and friendship, Manang Estella.

remembering GYN and my MIL

2009-02-24T19:31:00.003-06:00

Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, King's Cakes and Paczis, eat and be gluttons. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.
But it is February 24 and 25. My MIL Leonor's birthday and GYN's 92nd.
Kylie had a crying jag at mass last Sunday remembering her Lola.
But for GYN, it's all about celebration, commemoration, remembrances. So, in honor of her 92nd birthday, my sister and I will EAT crabs and shrimps, mom's favorite food (it's meatless Wednesday) and share with whomsoever wants to come over.

Our original plan was that Feb 25 would be the day we hold a memorial service and inter her ashes at Manila Memorial Cemetery, have all Rolling Pin employees and friends and family hold a memorial service right before.
But, as it is, maybe mom wants me to go home with Patty to do this.

Mom, as a kudos to you, I have been able to find and reconnect with Menguitos, yes, Eric's kids and Tibol's son, and have been able to share with them memories of dad.
And give my kids a sense of family, having actual first cousins (albeit half).
Miss you mama, and love you. You lived a rich and wonderful life, from the mountains of Baguio to the kitchen cabinets of the Bagatsings and Macapagals, from a vendor of handicrafts to the cake maker to Manila's 500, from being so loved by Clinton Nichols, to being a life-long companion of RSM, I thank you for my being here, for forming most of my philosophies and liberal lifestyle. Wherever you are, happy birthday with love.

what's in your pantry?

2009-02-02T18:13:00.003-06:00

For many of us Filipinos, our pantry is a maze of food that in a pinch can help us survive any calamity.
What's in yours? I usually have a few cans of SPAM, CORNED BEEF, VIENNA SAUSAGE, some bottles of tuyo (preserved in oil), cans of tomato sauce, tomato paste, crushed and whole tomatoes for quick pastas, artichoke hearts (AHA a new dish as in boneless skinless chicken breast, the artichoke hearts, lemon juice, some cream, spinach)
some assorted pastas from linguini, fettuccini, elbow macs, rotini, egg noddles, then cream of mushroom soup, refried beans, and a whole assortment of mama sita mixes, and of course, toyo, patis, suka, lea and perrins, sesame oil. There's also rock salt, peppercorns and ground pepper, crushed red peppers, dried and canned mushrooms, sotanghon and bijon noodles, some jambalaya and red beans and rice mixes, turmeric, pinoy saffron or casubha, barbecue sauces, red wine and balsamic vinegars, capers, etc.

The spam, corned beef and vienna sausages come very handy for hungry apos, corned beef rice and spam with whatevers. I also have canned pimento, anchovies, bits and pieces of spices and soup mixes, for just in case, miso paste etc.

Have you checked your pantry (larder) lately? In these tough economic times, or when it's hard to get to the local grocery, a complete meal can be had by all with what's in your pantry.

In a way, I'm proud to note that Anamite, JB and Bambi all have pantries that can make a meal ASAP. I guess the many years of being in Forest Knoll having to forage for merienda food have taught them how to create their own pantry wish lists.

Pizza

2009-01-16T22:05:00.003-06:00

I enjoy pizza but only when it's hot and fresh from the oven. Years ago, we'd drive to south side Connie's and bring guests over for their pizzas, until they started popping up everywhere and we lost interest. Just like Pizzeria Uno now it's everywhere. Lou Malnati's was another favorite and then Giordano's and gino's East (because they take IMS Trade) only after I got over the gaak factor when I saw a vat of pizza sauce fall onto their matting during Taste of Chicago and they scooped it out again back into the auuurgh vat. Took me a long long long long time to try them again. But they do ahve good pizza. Tonnelli's and JP MCCarthy's are dreams of the past as both wonderful places have closed down (JP is still around but not like when it was still JP who run it).
My dream pizza comes from memories of old D'Marks back home, and Cucina Italiana. Every now and then I do get a whiff of that long imagined taste left lingering in my memory's taste buds. So I try searching for that particular pizza. Sliced mozzarella with basil and tomatoes, maybe a bit of olive or sardines or anchovies....

Last night was pizza thursday night dinner. Baker Rigo made me 6 full 16" fresh pizza dough. Kylie stretched it and started making 1/2 sheet pizzas. Her first had sliced mozzarella with italian sausage I browned, pepperoni, shredded pizza cheese, and i snipped basil onto it. Parts of it had mushrooms, some had black olives, some had all components. The next pizza had a garlic and olive oil base before the cheese slices, sliced plum tomatoes with basil(ok a margherita). And the pizza sauce was dei fratelli , used sparingly.

It was a pizza orgy as we all wanted a bit of this and that. Nothing beats fresh pizza dough! So we might do this again and start adding more adventurous toppings (I didn't want to bring out my artichokes, anchovies and whatnots) as I wanted us to start with the basics. Even the kids ate the pizzas specially made for them. Who would think that all of us with our picky tastes could have a slice of whatever we want on the same pizza
Of course, there was the chunky meat sauce served with cavatappi and ziti combined as the other dish. I forgot the salad but we were too into the pizza to care.

And today, at work, we had the last piece of dough with just onions, tomatoes, pizza sauce and cheese, oh and lotsa pepperoni. Still as good as the night before!
With all the trepidation I had in doing pizza at home other than the fast food stuff, 450 degrees and 15 minutes does the trick for a bubbly golden pizza. Amazing.

Comfort Food and cook books

2009-01-09T20:29:00.003-06:00

Different weather, different comfort food. Last night I made guisadong monggo with fried pork chops. I never cooked monggo back home, but here, wow, i get to tweak monggo with spinach, smoked pork chops , salt pork at times. I keep reading and re-reading the Maya Mix and Match cookbooks that have weekly menus with our regular Filipino viands and wonder when I will actually cook some of them. In my mind's kitchen I already tweaked most of them. I read about Kulinarya, and am hoping to get someone to buy it for me, but the good old standards I have that are dogeared and worn out are Enriqueta David Perez' cook book (I remember meeting her at one time or another with GYN), Pat Dayrit's Cookbook and of course, Nora Daza's Cooking with Nora and the repro Galing Galing. I hunger for these cook books but find no time to really work on each dish, oh wait, that's what Thursday night dinners are for. Mechado is the next dish. Am still looking for the perfect adobo but have had success with some of the tweaked recipes. Sent the cocido recipe to my BFF Beng V.

But I miss the Mamonluk noodles and siopao during rainy days, and shudder at the thought of crispy pata clogging my arteries but longing for it, tapsilog is just a road trip away. Haven't had kare-kare since auntie porse left, but will find time to get this on the table really soon. Dinuguan is a favorite and have had many versions, am too queasy to cook my own. Palabok, luglug or malabon, whatever, I like them all, but cannot seem to cook these with Mama Sita. Until the next hunger pang and food epiphany, eat well and hearty, as I look forward to seing what is on the potluck table of tomorrow's pinoy party!

migay at 25

2009-01-03T23:22:00.003-06:00

parttime vampire, 4 of 5, lotsa pride for things rainbow, menguito streak even in this netherworld, Ligaya Maria (hey, Ligay is the right name, not our ever present Maria) turned 25 on December 31st. years ago, doctora divina gracia while dancing with les in the delivery room, told me to hurry up and give birth because she was partying that night. and out she came. and into my arms being the only kid in the nursery while the fireworks exploded in the rooftops of rich chinese merchants abounding Banawe. Migz earned a day off, and boy did she party!

another year

2009-01-03T22:59:00.003-06:00

as i have always said, from thanksgiving to xmas day, we are never complete because of one or another kid being with an in-law. so January 1st, is my day, our xmas, our gift giving and our tradition.
the Sam and Bambi bells have hosted this event for us since we left forest knoll, and for this we are grateful. cocido, paella, lengua, turkey, baked potato salad (dawn) spinach dip (zebeda) fruit salad (Kylie) assorted chips and dips, drinks, banana cake, leche flan (Bambi) and a ravioli selection (new this year!) stuffed all of us silly. We had standing rib roast for xmas dinner and turkey and ham for xmas eve at the dawn anamas. Jb and Zeb provided the turkey I put in an apple sage brine.

this is our first new year's day without GYN. She, who started this tradition when we were back home. patty and i hosted cake and balloons for the neighborhood slum kids each January 1st. as the word grew, kids lined up in front of our green gate at mariano marcos in san juan as early as 5am hoping to come into our enclave and partake of refreshments, each one scrubbed clean in worn and hand me down clothes, but eager to be inside the "Nichols" residence. as the crowds grew, so did the fare, cake, soft drinks, balloons, games. Then there was Anamite hosting, followed by JB, Bambi and Migay, and this time, the kids from when we started were still there but with their own kids. I can imagine the sense of loss of tradition they felt when mom left Manila for good. Gone was the thrill of having a once a year festivity most specially for these kids who had nothing the whole year and looked forward to a Rolling Pin cake and the toys and games we provided.
So for our US born Kylie, and those who have been added to our growing family, this is why January 1st is important to me and Patty.
As we eat ourselves indecently gluttonously each January 1st, is is really part of the ritual asking for plenty on the table for the whole year. Prayers are said and thank yous and what we look forward tos are verbalized (but we passed this year because it is a private family matter and there were others there and we would have felt like goldfish in a bowl with them cooing "how cute" and listening to our deepest thoughts and petitions)
new year's day looks back at the past, and looks forward to the new year and what it may bring, in hopes that good health and prosperity for all is our most important prayer, we remember our lost loved ones with a moment of silence and then the new year's feasting begins. as i swing back and forth with various verbal tenses, i realize the errors and know my teachers would be rolling their eyes, but hey, this is rambling from my mind's kitchen.

Joel Tesoro

2008-12-22T22:45:00.003-06:00

During our last few years in San Juan, we became very close to Tito and Patis Tesoro. Week-ends found us traipsing around many provinces, most specially Quezon where we were frequent guests at Villa Escudero. Week-days were either work or dinners out. There were 4 Tesoro kids and 4 of the Anamas. Each within age range. One stood out amongst the group, a brilliant lad, Joel. Always with nose in books, thinking deep thoughts even at that young age when the other kids were busy getting into each others' nerves, or rough housing or just plain goofing around. For everytime Raffy had a tutor for whatever he was struggling with, Joel came home with more and more accolades.

Years later, Joel made it to Regis in New York, a very exclusive school that only the best of the best got in, and he did. He spent a summer with us in our cramped little apartment, but enjoyed downtime with us. We took a road trip to join Tito and Patis for his high school graduation. And then again, to New Haven where he prepared an itinerary so meticulous that the only set backs were our Filipino timing (you know what that means). It was my first time to have Ethiopian food. What was interesting was his cryptic hint about which top award he was going to get. He was the flag bearer during Yale's commencement exercise where Sargent Shriver gave the speech in a hurried tone as Jackie K. had just passed away and he had to leave. So all of us were poring through the program which had no names but a list of awards. We waited and heard each announcement of the top awards, crossing off each one. And then became antsy as there were only 3 awards left, and then the 2nd to the last award was read and it wasn't Joel, because the last award, Citizen of the World, the highest honor bestowed upon a graduate, was his. With tears and cheers and screaming from all of us (when he said don't embarass me!) it was an event I have never forgotten. Through the years, intermitently getting newsbits about his comings and goings, marriage invitation done so beautifully, and then the shock of knowing he, of Catholic training and upbringing, fully embraced Islam to marry the girl of his dreams. But Joel being Joel, he definitely knew.
Today, I am speechless as once again, I am faced with not knowing how to comfort grief of losing a child. Joel's freak accident leading to his death a few weeks after turning 36, is mind boggling. A very close friend of mine lost his son in a freak accident last June. The pain is unimaginable. Is ruthless, is just on going and there are no words that can assuage this loss. I cannot even fathom to think or understand or say the right words to Patis and Tito . And my fears for my own has reared its ugly head.
And the why's will endlessly go on and on until the numbing starts.
Joel, know our family loves you. We are privileged to have been a part of your life.

Kylie is 21!

2008-12-15T19:03:00.003-06:00

Weather is cold, business has not improved but had a bit of a spike Sunday the 14th.
Kylie turned 21 and that's a milestone! Me? Had a baby at 21, would I do it over? hmmm, as long as it is Noel Angelo, ok, I really wouldn't trade time warps for my 5 great kids. Kylie was a bit down knowing none of her siblings save Migz was going to be there for her 21st. It didn't matter that her BF and folks were also with her, her family orientation deep inside her wanted her brothers too, but they had other plans. So, after a lazy day at home, a first real day off for her, we headed off to famous Dave's, she had a yen for it but didn't want to go if she didn't have everyone. Lo and behold, they came through, including an extra brother, that made her day. Who would think this little brat was sentimental about family ties when her everyday life is spent arguing with her siblings and griping about them, yet, on her milestone day, she wanted Anamite and Jb there. And, Bambi couldn't make it, but sent her emissary, to Kylie's delight, Daniel. And the 4 other kids did their gig when it came to singing happy birthday and eating a cake made with love, artistically decorated by sister Migz, the cat to her dog. Thanks to sis in law Dawn who guilted the brothers out of their guys' night out.
Amidst the noise, the eating, lip smacking and kids oreo high, the gossip and the voice overs, it was a fun night, that's what family is all about, and Kylie is really into family (Todd, you understanding this?[sic]).

Born during Chicago's first big snow storm and a Bears traumatic loss 41 to 0 vs 49ers, Kathleen Beatrice (ok so I was zonked and couldn't remember it should've been z)
was born natural normal, my first since each kids came with either a demerol high or epidural numbness, doc, hindi ko kaya, o, kaya mo yan!) and big baby too, 9.3 oz!
Her first birthday had Anamite in deep depression, remembering his birthday parties of 100 or more people and huge buffets of barbecue, mini finger sandwiches, spaghetti, calesa rides around the block, themed cakes like Chips and Power Rangers, games galore, and here, the little one had only them and a somewhat bare Xmas tree (hey, 5 kids with a joint income of under 30K). But she had the traditional Merry Go Round sent by Lola from Rolling Pin and a Let Them Eat Cake dessert.

Naughty or nice, and through Kylie's challenging moments in life, here's to life, adventure and lots of laughter and love (and fights and whatnots) to Kylie!

bits of here and there

2008-12-02T20:54:00.003-06:00

nothing much is going on, not at the shop where no one walks the mall during 30 degree slushy weather save a few brave shoppers, will Christmas be good this year? November sucked.
kids are fine, that's the bright spot. Kylie turns 21, OMG. And Migay? 25!!! And Hunter has a birthday coming, 9??? That fast?
There is so much I want to do and am only stymied slowed down by my own wandering mind, visions of what I would like to bake, cook and market out there. But the slowness of it all makes me hesitate to do more.
caught Dan Rad in the Actor's Studio, really, truly meets all expectations, amazing!
Saw Twilight twice, the second time, really much better without the giggling and laughing at the wrong times, cheez, but oh, it's really for tweens, so deal with it. Maybe once more and then I'll wait for the DVD.Don't really know why I keep looking at the websites, sure Rob looks great but, hmmm, talagang walang ibang magawa, so diyan na lang muna hanggang lumabas ang Half Blood Prince.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, ate early for once and didn't know what to do with ourselves after, movie time for the kids but none interested me enough so I opted to watch the little one, Dandan Bell.
Todd bought the biggest baddest microwave floor model, should've been $300 but got it for $99+tax. Thanks ToddyBoy.

Barefoot Contessa & Book Signings

2008-11-11T22:14:00.004-06:00

Ina Garten had a book signing at the Barnes & Noble bookstore two doors from Mrs. A's Cupcakes&Cookies. I have always admired her and have watched many segments of her TV show on FoodNetwork. Very gracious and always cheerful, her new kitchen/entertainment barn is drool-worthy. I got to the bookstore early but couldn't make up my mind whether to do this or not. Buy a book, get a number and then wait. So I went back to the bakery but Kylie said, GO MOM!!! So I went and OMG, lines all over the place, my number was 321! I calculated that would mean 50 numbers etc, roughly around 1:30. I took a peek and there she was signing. So I went back to work and then at 12:30ish, I told Kylie I was going to check, and voila, they let me through to almost near the stairs, It went so fast and I realized I wouldn't have any photos so I tapped the shoulders of the two guys ahead of me and bribed them with a cupcake or cookie if they would take my picture and email it to me. Thanks Eric Jahn, (he did come across and after meeting),after greeting and getting the book signed(while wearing my icing stained apron), he and his friend got their cookies.
I remember Nancy Silverton of La Brea being a bit snooty and impatient. I remember Debbi Fields in her 4 inch heels, left handed that she is, standing for 4 hours straight without let up, signing her cook books at the downtown Mrs. Field's stores with lines waiting, but each book signed with a name, a little note and the flourish of Debbi with hearts. The book store signing of Ina Garten was strictly just her name, no personalizing and if it wasn't the current book, a book plate was given in lieu of the autograph. I wonder now, if I had only known then, I could've met JK Rowling at the Bookstall in Winnetka during her book signing stint when she was just getting known. (I still kick myself when I remembered seeing the news vans and wondering who she was!!!aurghhhh) For sure I passed up Rick Tramonto signing his Osteria book because I have actually met him at Panera in Deerfield where I had a stint as assistant manager and found him buying his sandwich for lunch and seeing him there with his kid on week-ends. So much for having foie gras daily, sometimes you need to eat tuyo (ok, I mean regular people food). I remember getting Martin Yan's autograph during a book signing at Cook's Catalog's warehouse sale where I bought my first mixer years and years ago. I am waiting for Anthony Bourdain and line up once more for that quick signature amidst a sea of faces and be proud of the squiggle that makes the book more important to me. ha!

bits and pieces

2008-11-07T23:28:00.004-06:00

escape from realities serves a purpose, that of relaxing one's mind during what could be stressful depressing times. I have chosen a few bits of happiness.
Cooking, mentioned this time and time and again. so, on to the next.
DandanBell: watching him grow smarter each day curls and all. Times with Maddie strolling to the bookstore and just wandering through magazines and books while she takes quick reads in the kiddie section until I shout it's time to go. Ooops, I forgot all about her today as I was too busy gabbing on the phone with my VBF Beng. Suddenly, I realized she wasn't around when I got to the store and voila, there she was puffing and panting saying " Lola, you left me!!!" OMG. Freaked out a bit and then made sure she was with me the whole time afterwards. With a snide aside from Sam, you aren't going to forget Daniel while I go check out some coats, right? Smirk.

Hunter and his anghit hair, Lynne with her wistful Hi Lola and my little whisper, do good in school so your dad doesn't freak out (but seeing so much of me in her at that age, huh? what's that on the board? Where did those numbers come from????) Taylor and his always perky self until he gets tired and cranky.

And then there's Twilight. With a drought of Harry Potter and the movie not till next year, Cedric Diggory died to become Edward Cullen, the vampire. The posters are all over the place, got some magazines and surf the net (after reading about HP stuff). Robert Pattinson will be at Hot Topic in La Grange sometime next week or this week, or today, whatever. Told Migay I wasn't going to line up like a teeny bopper for that. But, I did cajole another VBF to take me to Equus and I did wrangle a trip to New York just to see Dan Rad play Alan Strang. So there, that tells you that the wizard beats phantom and vampire any time. LOL. If it were DanRad, I definitely would camp out and be in line to say hi. But I can wait even if I am mesmerized by the Cullens and the entire Twilight phenomena. No midnight showing for me, but definitely yes for HP.

So am relaxed now as I just finished some fried rice for Les as a pale exchange for a sumptuous dinner with my sister tonight. Cooking again, Leveriza (leftover rice and whatever can be chopped and tossed into it for fried rice). Back to where I started.

turkey time again

2008-11-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

As I face a bit of depressing downturn at Mrs. A's along with every other business in the US, getting a lift from the election results, and counting my blessings even as the coins are not dropping in fast enough, I realize that cooking is the way to cope.
As always. And tonight is the first turkey night. Got a turkey breast 7 pounder for Thursday night dinner. Threw in a spaghetti squash now that I know how to work on it (butter and paprika), some great longganiza from a private sausage maker, rice and hmm, what to do with the potatoes? Turkey is not the Thanksgiving type of flavoring. I opted for the PuertoRican Goya adobo salt mix taught to me by the wife of an aunt's brother. Made life easier feeding the five kids when they accepted the non-thanksgiving flavor of turkey. Phewwww.

So it takes me away from the realities of business being so slow, it's scary. I just finished making my first (canned) pink salmon patties, checking out the ingredient list from the can's label and then tweaking it to my own liking, as in using mustard panko instead of bread crumbs, adding more lemon and fresh parsley, onion and a hint of garlic. Last night was beef stew night but it came out like a non spicy caldereta. What's next? Maybe mechado or morcon, and a run at the chicken breast stuffed with spinach, greek style.

Hoping of course that we could all be here for dinner. It really is a bit of stretch to cook meals daily to fit everyone's schedules, so I decided to cook when I know I have time and can plan rather than cook uu-rada each time and not have enough.

Come to think of it, I have to force myself to bake once more if I can get over my mental OCD about getting my ingredients into the mise en place I am used to, as I want to make sans rival, chocolate crinkles, food for the gods and some other cookies to add to the store's repertoire.

Letter to Father Ken

2008-10-12T07:33:00.003-05:00

Hi Father Ken:

We are honored to have you as the mass officiant for First Friday mass and that our mom, Gloria Y.Nichols will be remembered in that mass.
The novena prayers are actually prayers for the dead.

We would appreciate an after mass set of prayers for the dead and blessing of the cremains and hopefully have time for a set of eulogies from members of the family.

You may remember her as the little old lady who sat on the 2nd pew Sunday 7pm mass while her boisterous family sat beside her . She enjoyed sewing lace tablecloths that she gave Father Jim Keena for the altar tables.

She gave up a high profile life in the Philippines to come live here sans househelp and the amenities in life that she was used to, to be with her 2 daughters and five grandkids. She was the pioneer of the Philippine baking Industry and set trends in both baking, table settings, and restaurant service. Move over Martha Stewart. She touched many people's lives with her wit, wisdom and courage. She always had time to sit with friends and family to listen to their problems and help them find solutions. She was pro-life and has saved many children whose mother's almost did not have them, she being a prime example of a brave woman who kept me and my sister Patricia in a time when children out of wedlock were a no-no. She was an independent, hard working,creative individual who became, inspite of her dimunitive size and high school education, president of various organizations, such as The Alll Nations Women's Group, The Zonta, International Food Service Executives Association, Hotel & Restaurant Association of the Philippines, to name a few, that helped send many young Filipinos to school through innovative fund raising activities. At the HRAP, she was credited as moving spirit behind the Chefs On Parade, which had an Iron Chef competition, table settings, food competitions way before these became popular here in the US, again, ahead of her time. She also baked and decorated the wedding cakes of many high profile society couples including the sitting president of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Mayor of Manila Ramon Bagatsing's entire family, and it was said that President Marcos, her neighbor for so many years till he moved to Malacanan Palace, always made sure that the cakes from her Rolling Pin Bake Shop , was brought to the inner family rooms for him to eat, all the other grand cakes were sent to charities or staff.

Grumbling like most old people do, she out lived most if not all her closest friends and colleagues, very healthy for a 91 year old until pneumonia hit and she was gone in 2 1/2 days. She lived a full life, went through World War 2 where she lost her husband Clinton Homer Nichols from Binghampton, New York and where she met her long time companion Ruben S.Menguito. Had 2 daughters Maria Delia and Patricia Menguito and was blessed with 5 grandchildren Noel Angelo, James Bernard, Patricia Nicole, Maria Ligaya and Kathleen Beatrice. She enjoyed her great grandchildren Hunter Noel, Lynn Faye, Taylor Ryne, Maddelyne Grace and Daniel Thomas all of whom will always remember their LolaLola with the myriad pictures taken of her with each of them. This is a microcosm of her life, not even touching her colorful youth growing up in the mountains of Baguio where her family migrated being the caterers of Americans who built the winding roads up the mountain, her escape from death during the bombing of Manila during the liberation and so much more. But hopefully, this will give you an insight of this woman we call mom.

Not too many people who have met her here know that she had this alter-ego. They saw her as grandma, mother of Patty or Delia, etc. But back home, her former staff are waiting to give her a proper burial at her memorial plot, rouding up all those who knew her for the caring employer and one who made sure that when we left Manila for good, that they all had jobs that would see them through.

Hope this long spiel will help you know her a bit more.
Thank again Father Ken, she would probably like the Ashes to ashes, dust to dust prayer that they say over the deads during All Saint's Day. I remember our yearly sojourns to the cemetery and wait for the Priest to say blessings over the graves of my grandparents. But whatever blessing and prayers you have for the dead will be appreciated as her gold coin from Charon to heaven.

Daniel in Equus

2008-10-06T21:38:00.003-05:00

And here's my little wizard hero, all grown and the star of a play whose so many themes are just too frenzied to focus on one particular aspect. Each facet of the play needs to be dissected and debated. But then, it's not daniel but Alan Strang that we would be discussing. When it comes to Daniel, the first most stark image is that of an actor, not Harry Potter. The strength of his portrayal erases every pre-conceived notion of the heroic wizard. Sure, slyly, I would admit to being interested in that part of the play where he is touted to be totally naked. And yes, i did glimpse what i was there for, but if you asked me if that's all i saw or remember, i cannot even remember THAT. The play was too all consuming, his acting too amazing that the nudity is forgotten. The frenzied imagery in those last 7 minutes was too breathtaking and stunning that I got caught up in the hysteria of it all.
Kudos to Daniel Radcliffe, my baby's grown up. And Kate Mulgrew was amazing, Richard Griffith totally believable in his angst, and Daniel, the consumate performer.

40th Day Memorial for GYNichols

2008-10-06T21:31:00.002-05:00

Time flies and the heart starts to heal. The mornings are still a bit iffy for me as I drive to work, sometimes with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that on the parallel raod not taken, mom used to wait for me as I would pass by each morning to look in on her and know she's okay.
But it's now 40 days, a busy first Friday, and a long drive through traffic for most of us, even i didn't make it on time for the mass. But Father Ken Sedlak finished the mass, went out to greet his parishioners and came back in for the final service for Gloria Y. Nichols. We weren't complete as some of the kids were stuck in the Firday traffic.

Friends, acquaintances and family were all there as Patty and i talked about mom. I regret not having seen my cousin Bing earlier because I would have wanted him to share his thoughts on mom who cared for him like a son, nor did I think of calling Leslie but I gave as much as I could , stories of the life of Gloria Y.Nichols, and Patricia said her piece, confirming my earlier tales of mom's creativity, wanderlust and life.
At the Social Hall, we shared pictures and albums of mom as we moved the Angel Urn with her cremains from chapel to the party.

We thank everyone who came to share and celebrate the life of GY Nichols and for those who helped us make this happen. Mom, here's your going away party, all in shades of lavender and violets, kids, grandkids and great grandkids around you once more.

Of floods and men

2008-09-21T00:07:00.004-05:00

The rains poured and as I was driving to work that Saturday, I thought I was back home driving through tire high waters after missing out on a right turn through the mall's first entrance. It was a non stop rain which flooded many main streets and of course, Des Plaines where son JB kept watch as flood waters rose with the river.

He sent pictures of his street and back yard. Flooding in the basement was nil from floor upwards but the insidious water came through the basement windows causing a waterfall down his walls. Lynn and JB had fun sand bagging the windows . A few years back, when faced with the first flood threat where all his in-laws were calling him asking if they were OK or if they needed help, he asked me why he wasn't panicking like everyone else, just like this time. That's because back home at 527 mariano marcos in San Juan (once 159 Ortega St,) floods came and went at least 3 times a year in our one story house. As far back as I can remember, floods were common place. We were lucky if it was a Yoling type typhoon where strong winds gusted ( I remember the eerie yellow light during a calm moment when we were in the eye of the typhoon and the following blast as it moved away) rather than the Sening typhoon where mom woke up to go bathroom and stepped into knee deep waters. Sometimes, we were able to put our beds on wooden horses, but most of the time, we had to dry out moldy mildewed beds the next sunny day. Patty and I would swim to the gate and watch bancas and motor boats ply the streets. When the kids were born, the riverside became a bit murkier and darker so we had to palm them off to friends up the street. In our unassuming quiet neighborhood street,big name people lived like the Robert Ocas, Ibazetas, and finally up the street, the official residence of Ferdinand Marcos before he moved to malacanang palace where the joke was that when the Marcos pool overflowed, we'd get flooded.
A few weeks before JB, Bambi and Migay flew over to join us, the house flooded and a picture was taken of that particular time. Which is why JB, used to all the flooding, never panicked or felt any fear or concern. Was proud of Lynn enjoying wading through the cleaner flood waters of their street. People were invited into their little house to wait for tow trucks as they floundered in the unsuspecting depths of the street rivers.
I told JB that I couldn't understand why people were so upset that first big Des Plaines flood in the late 80s, when I had just come from a land of floods oh oops, heaters, washers, dryers, fully loaded basements, duh... So a bit more sympathy there, maridel.
Anyway, until the next Chicago monsoon, here's to floods and men.

Grace under Fire, with apologies to Liz.

2008-09-08T18:38:00.004-05:00

In the haze of grief, where surreality overlaps reality, losing mom, Gloria Y.Nichols, to a short bout of pneumonia, and figuring out where to come up with an up front fee of 8 grand for one night of wake, daughter in law Dawn came up with a few names for crematory services.
So we sat down with Liz, a smartly dressed, soft spoken woman who runs a cremation service. As she explained what the $650 fee entailed, (as in pick up the body, bring to crematorium, return the ashes with 2 death certificates), my sister Patricia and I asked a few more questions and then decided to look no further.

With her patience and ability to be emphatetic, Liz gave us a bright spot in an otherwise really depressing duty. At the back of our minds, mom had a first class, top of the line funeral plan with all the trimmings from a premier funeral home in the Philippines. And here, we end up with a bare bones package, pardon the pun.

But here are snippets of why we were comfortable with Liz.

Can we dress her up in her favorite color (lavender/purple) dress? Sure, and she agreed to pick the dress up from us. No make up, no embalming. After all, it's cremation, right?

A day later, oh, by the way, my cousin cannot make it to the cremation service, can we come over so he can see mom? And Liz patiently waited for us (3 hours late) as we comfortably lost our way and drove further west than east. Typical of GYN, in her heyday. We used to go to wakes and funerals, as far away as Ilocos Sur at night where a giant bat like figure followed us during our midnight drive to a place I am sure only had a few homes with electricity, and others around towns where we had no names of either deceased, family or place but still found it. So here's to mom again, even in death are we following the principles of her adventures in attending wakes and funerals. It actually made us laugh.

And, Liz did a great job with mom's remains. She looked even better than when we last saw her at the hospital. Like she was sleeping, no artifice, and beautiful in her lavender outfit, made for her by a society dressmaker Inang Paras, one of the women she played mah-jong with and who'd gone ahead of her. See mom? You outlived them all.

Oh by the way, can we have her cremated next week instead? After Labor Day? So our kids can come and say their good byes and we can get a priest to do the final blessings? Again, she said sure. Are we staying the entire time? It may cost a bit. Nope, just us traipsing to a place 2 hours away from our regular route and seeing GYN one last time.

It was almost a party being in a huge warehouse where two ovens (one fired up for GYN) and they brought mom out, a bit sunken in the eyes but otherwise, still as beautiful that not one of the kids, or Mercy or her kids blanched. I think the visiting Pinoy priest was a bit weirded out. We listened to the prayers, talked around mom as if she were only sleeping, I put sugar flowers on her hands instead of getting fresh, after all, she started the hand made sugar flower industry years ago where it is now a common place home industry. Again, a pioneer.

So Liz patiently waited for us. Being there was the formal acknowledgement of the body and the go signal for cremation.

Oh, and can you wait till Saturday? Patty wasn't ready to bring mom home. As usual. And so GYN , like in life, also in death, went around town and travelled to places here and there on the back of Liz' van, so typical of her itchy wandering feet, which is what we all have, thanks to her. Poor Liz, even if she were the msot professional of professionals, I am sure we really took the cake in some of the things she did for us, as we thanked her profusely for taking mom for a ride.

This piece, as garbled as it is, is to thank Liz and acknowledge her patience and service for GYNichols and her dysfunctional family. Thanks Liz for being the way you are. (How did you get into this business? My mom was a funeral director. Bingo!)

On a quieter note, thank goodness for dedicated people Like Liz and her Cremations by Grace Company. A life saver for those who cannot afford the wakes and funeral services. And a bonus to have someone like her, patient, understanding, and thorough.
Patient above all. Thanks again Liz for taking care of mom.

Birthday Blues

2008-09-08T18:33:00.002-05:00

It's raining. Store's really slow, scares me.
I should be hyped turning the big 55, but, two weeks ago, I lost my mom.
Mornings are the hardest, when I realize I don't need to rush to work because I don't have to run to the nursing home and say I love you to mom. Sigh.

I'll wait for Thursday night dinner to get the kids and grandkids over, have a paella and hopefully, either crispy pata and lechon kawali cholesterol high dinner.
Throw in some binagoongan pork or veggies to the mix and maybe a pancit or noodles the grandkids will eat.

Still there's a lot to be thankful for, being alive at 55 because a woman, ahead of her time, chose to have me, braving scandalous stares, outrage and keeping the courage to have what she wanted, children! Even if it meant being the scarlet woman of a dashing handsome young and ambitious teacher turned politician.

Gloria Y.Nichols (2)

2008-08-28T07:14:00.003-05:00

These next few days will be trying times for my family as we are set to work on mom's physical remains.
But life goes on and I have a wedding cake to make for the granddaughter or a friend of hers. Interestingly, GYN made the wedding cake of her daughter while I am making the wedding cake of her grand-daughter.
Way back when wedding cakes were mom's choice of canvas, creating cakes with themes, following bridal gown patterns and re-creating them in cake, the traditional way of sharing the cake was putting them in a mini cake box. GYN did not leave this plain.Pieces of freshly baked Rolling Pin famous pound cake were carefully sliced, and double wrapped in glassine and parchment. The box was further personalized with tiny hand-made royal icing flowers with tulle & ribbons of the box matching the bridal party theme. These were then layered in outer rings surrounding the main cake. The image one sees is a frothy gossamer image of confection.
But GYN started getting ideas as usual. She then tapped her friend in our little town of San Juan who had a ceramic factory and ordered ceramic swans for another society wedding. Again with the Pound cake, tulle, ribbons and tiny flowers, this made waves. Clayburn Ceramics owner Mrs. Aranaz and GYn then moved on to making a ceramic dish with hand painted flowers and names of the bride and groom. Thus boomed the new trend in wedding give-aways.Pirate Chests, typewriter typeset balls, candy dishes, their ideas were endless.
GYN went on to add capiz jewelry boxes, tampipis, wicker baskets. Each time one new item debuted, other bakeries followed and copied.
Today, the list is endless as to the choices of wedding give-aways. Brides and planners come out with seemingly unique ideas of quaintness. Bakeries have found alternative sources for the ceramics.
But who started it? Where did this boldness come from? Gloria Y.Nichols, of course.
And the once simple pull-away ribbons with the wedding version of a chinese fortune cookie saying also went haute when GYN slipped a one carat diamond solitaire from the groom's mother's jewelry store into one of the pull-out ribbons. The next wedding had one each solitaire of the year's birthstones plus a bigger carat diamond. I heard even the men folk lined up to pull the ribbons. Our Rolling Pin staff were sweating bullets delivering the cake because the jewelry cost more than the cake. I do have pictures and names of the society weddings from newspaper clippings of Manila's Society pages where the news columnists waxed poetic about each of mom's creations. As these are getting brittle and yellowed with page, it is now my goal to scan and save these and hopefully share them with all. Maybe some of the couples will remember GYN this way.

Gloria Y. Nichols part 1

2008-08-26T06:47:00.003-05:00

How does one start when writing about a woman who's life was filled with many interesting chapters through the years, facets so varied that so many lives have been touched in some way or another, enriching them with gems of wisdom GYN loved to share?

We start by working backwards. I would like to chronicle and share her life one decade at a time. If you have met GYN anytime this past decade, you would have met a small, frail looking, white haired (sometimes hennaed brown) woman with wide eyes, almost unwrinkled skin.

Yesterday,Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 5:05pm CST, she passed away peacefully after a short struggle with pneumonia. Patricia and I, along with number one grandson Anamite (Noel Angelo), Kylie (her granddaughter she left Manila for) Mite's wife Dawn, grandneice Lita Rebodos, watched as she fought the ventilator mask which at her frailness seemed to be a fear instead of an aid to keep her breathing. The decision to change to care, comfort and dignity came when no improvement showed with the treatments made as the pneumonia was far too rabid and invaded her whole lung system. She would not have wanted to be intubated and be a "living vegetable".

In the surreality of it all, it has been her teachings and being exposed to her quirky thoughts as we were growing up that helped me and Patty deal with her final moments. All the afterlife, near death and death bed lore and readings and paranormal genre that she shared with us, helped us deal with this particular moment.
That she was hanging on, I was driving back from work with Kylie, and was thinking"who is holding on to her?" and at that moment, Patty called me frantically asking to give the go signal to change from ventilator to the oxygen thingy and that mom was having an episode struggling and asking "Help me, I don;t know what to do!" and then said Kylie's name. KYLIE! I turned to my daughter and realized that it was baby Kylie who did not want to let go, more strongly than me, as I just wanted some more time to think. But Kylie was adamant and she was holding on to her Lola in her heart and mind. Through tears and chiding, I kept telling her, say good bye Kylie, look at her, she wants to go! I also wanted to wait for the evening when the other "apos" Bambi, JB and Migay got there to make this change but mom's struggles with the mask were too painful to watch. Within 10 minutes of the change from mask to regular oxygen, after readings of Psalm 23 both by Dawn and Lita, and with Kylie reluctantly letting go, mom sneezed twice and we all chorused "Bless You!" each time, she looked around and then was gone, asleep, smooth faced, at peace. Anamite was choking as he read Be Not Afraid.

Gone was this frail looking but actually, strong woman with a mighty interesting and colorful life.
A woman who raised two kids in an unorthodox way, raised 5 grandkids as if they were hers, and "lambinged" and held 5 great-grandkids with pride and love.
A woman who was ahead of her time when she was trend setting cakes, food and lifestyle in the Philippines.
She came with nothing and left with nothing but touched many lives with a richness of gems of wisdom, lifestyle, thought forms and philosophies.
Gloria Yandoc Galang Nichols, February 25, 1917 to August 25, 2008.

Sauces, Mixes, Marinades

2008-08-06T21:47:00.002-05:00

I am a fan of sauces, mixes, marinades, packaged rice. OK, lets qualify, the ones you have to cook like Vigo, Near East, Louisiana Purchase and some others. Not the rice a roni or uncle ben although they should be good but too american for my taste.
But I tweak the instructions by adding regular jasmine rice and cooking these in the rice cooker, oh, and no butter, shudder and cringe especially when grand daughter Lynn uses "I can't believe its not butter" stuff with dried dill, yeccch.

Barbecue sauces, marinades you name it and I may have it in my pantry. Right now, I just raided a food show and have Iron Chef, Jack Daniels, Sweet baby Ray, Open Pit, Kraft and whatever is on sale, preferably under a dollar. And again, tweak with soy sauce, banana ketchup lea and perrins or whatever I can grab, garlic, paprika, turmeric, lemon to name a few.
Of the Philippine mixes, I think Mama Sita rules. Not because I knew her personally, and have known her daughter when they first started Marigold in a small facility In San Juan, but because through the years, they have really come up with an awesome product line that I am never without. There are other companies but sooo pale in comparison. The only one I have along with mama Sita is the Knorr tamarind sinigang mix. I tried others, but really, quality and taste wise, Mama Sita and Knorr rule.
I recently started with Lee Kum Kee's new line of sauces and I still have to get it right but they really are good. I try odd companies for the Bulgogi marinades. Can't think of one that jumps out.
I must be a snob too for there are so much more out there but I don;t use them because they sniff too commercially for me, but I will use Goya's sofrito and adobo seasonings over Preferida et al.
No matter what it is, by the time I use these, they would have undergone a lot of tweaking as I never follow the recipes, which makes them mine!
Do you want recipes? Coming soon!

wizard or vampire?

2008-07-29T21:13:00.004-05:00

I am a Harry Potter maniac, admitting to reading and re-reading, watching and re-watching the movies. But I also enjoy vampire lore and have just picked up Twilight. Stephenie Meyer created her own vampire mythology so different from the known vamp rotes. It doesn't matter that I think she's a bit naive in creating a different lore but she writes really well. Albeit I wasn't too keen on reading teen-age romance which pervades the book, (duh, it's for tweens and teens) but her vamp lore kept me reading. Then there's the movie coming out and a JK Rolwingesque launch for her final book, where the heroine decides which way she is going after having a glimpse of having kids and a normal life with werewolf Jacob. So naturally the shippers. Will she or will she not end up with Edward? And if she does, oh well, for me, she better choose the vampire over the werewolf.(note: as in most of the lore, take Underworld 1 & 2, rather a vampire than werewolf for me)
Still the writing is intriguing although the teen-age angst that permeates does keep me skipping pages only to have to re-read because I missed a part.
But as a successor to HP? These are two diverse areas .Twilight will always have its following, and I browsed other vampire books only to shrug them off as none of them jumped at me the way Anne Rice's books called me, or even St. Germain, cheez I cannot remember the author's name right now. I even got the so many pages long the Historian, enjoyed it and even got chilled by the chapters.

Harry Potter is a universe unto its own. I can say accio and those around know I want something, or dementor, wingardium leviosa, reparo etc. and there are sniggers. Gone are historical and mythological allusions in my life, now there are Potter allusions and to the chagrin of even my children, they understand what I mean when I Potterspeak. Something Twilight will not be able to do as there are no new words like muggles or disapparate to use.

But my movie dates are filled. Half Blood Prince is almost here and Twilight follows soon. i am glad they got Robert Pattinson (AKA Cedric Diggory) to play Edward, he fits the bill and those die-hards who don;t think he's Edward are like those who didn't think Daniel Radcliffe was Harry. Oh well.
Me? The inner teeny bopper is alive and kicking.

Cakes That I Have Known part 1

2008-07-27T09:03:00.001-05:00

Cakes that I have known. I have more when I randomly remember but this is part 1.
I think back of all the wedding cakes that I have designed back when I worked for Gloria Y. Nichols of the Rolling Pin, aka mom . She was cake maker to the presidents and Manila's then elite 500, and cake maker to the cake bakers. So I treaded carefully and followed her path.
The last two big cakes I made before leaving home for good were those of Irene Marcos married to Greggy Araneta and Martin Nievera to Pops.
I remember asking Patty Araneta to allow me to re-design the family cake stand which was a two tiered masterpiece of hand carved antique gold leaf church pillar used in all the weddings. I added a third tier chosen from their vast collection of antique pieces. The cake had more than 10,000 tiny flowers, tulle, ribbon and leaves in ecru. It flew in its own airplane to Sarrat and we set it up at 4 in the morning. I remember riding the shuttle to the reception site watching so many women and children tying white crepe paper flowers on bouganvilla plants which had pink flowers instead of the white ones promised by Gen Ver to the bride.
Martin's cake was simple but full of orchids . Traditional white boxes with pound cake tied with ribbon and tiny flowers were the giveaways. If I remember rightly, the theme was pink and lavender. I could be wrong because it's been too long ago.
I did a lot of designing personalized cakes then. Now? I have to be careful because I no longer have a staff of 30 to make the tiny flowers, to plaster cast and paint specialized cupids, brides and grooms to make an entourage on sprawling cakes. I now have to do everything on my own which is why I now do stacked cakes. I still have to work on the new styles like fondant cakes, but I still believe a good meringue butter cream and a great combination of cakes and fillings make for a beautiful centerpiece and practical dessert cake.
Mom made the personal birthday cakes of Ferdinand Marcos, he would thank everyone for the many cakes he got on his birthdays but had the pound cake birthday cakes designed by mom and sent by Mayor Bagatsing (whose entire family's cakes were made by Rolling Pin) brought to the private quarters for him and the family to eat.
She also did the cakes of Presidents Garcia, Magsaysay and Macapagal. In fact, she made the wedding cake of Gloria Macapagal to Mike Arroyo. Come to think of it, she also made the cake of Susan Roces to Fernando Poe. Can't forget it cuz I thought it was crazy to have Xmas day as a wedding date. Oh well.
My only claim to fame to date is making the wedding cake of Congressman Mark Kirk. Oh, and a Tiffany colored wedding cake made to look like stacks of beribboned tiffany gift boxes with that particular robin's egg colored hues.

Oldie Blog Post

2008-07-27T08:59:00.002-05:00

Food is the fabric of our lives part 1

Have you ever wondered what happens when you sit at the table with a new group of people? date? first meal at your potential girl or guy friends home?

Sweat it out because where we are concerned, how you eat the food, join the conversation and hold yourself up to burns and what not will be the measure of how long you'll last with the person you're with.

Like an initiation of sorts.
Can you take me eating with my bare hands? Uncle Bing too.
Can you stomach foods you probably have never eaten much less heard about till now?
oh my goodness, all that yelling, screaming and please pass the this and that.

hey you, give me that.
aughhh eating pasta with rice. scuse me, that's pancit and rice, needs be.
was that spaghetti with adobo beside it?
what it that thing? cow tongue, cow or pig feet, tail????
hey osso bucco is what??? so kari kare should be a cinch to eat. what? peanut in it? hey, what about mole? so don't say you can't handle it.

Chances are that you won't last if you are a picky non adventurous eater. we gauge friendships and how they last at the dinner table.
I already ate....LAME!!!!
I am allergic to......hmmmm, good excuse, but....NOT.
Try it at least once is what I say.
really Mrs. A, that chocolate soup tastes funny....hahahahah food fit for the cannibal in me.
You are what you eat...hey pigs...how baboy the pig. what? pork chops and ribs again?
you're lucky you aren't in the I want to marry your daughter phase....balut for sure, hey sam, you still have to eat that balut.
crabs? barbaric. yes, you only know crabs legs. dainty pincers and all. we eat the whole thing. watch kylie anamite and bambi dissect the poor thing inch by inch. makes me so proud. butter????euuuaw. gimme vinegar, garlic and lotsa rice. and please, use your hands only... more later.

Wish I could really cook

2008-07-22T21:38:00.003-05:00

I am a cook wannabe. My biggest regret was not surreptitiously watching Mang Lucio and Mang Emo when they were cooking what would be Rolling Pin's signature dishes at the old MH Del Pilar restaurant of GY Nichols. I did catch one for the asado. Let's see, lea and perrins, soy sauce, onions and a bit of brown sugar. But the others were secretly made so that remembered memories of caldereta, beef with green peppers, adobo, bistek pilipino, binagoongan are frustrations to me.
I ordered my paella and lengua from Libby for all my parties, and suddenly, here in the US of A, I had to learn how to do this for our family gatherings. Of course, I did seem to ace the paella and lengua. I even managed to make a better chicken tinga than my Mexican staff who introduced me to this wonderful dish that I submitted it to lutongbahay.com so it is part of their recipe file. Just a few days ago, I finally managed to make adobo of one of my remembered memories. The type you get at the cafeteria or in some one's house during fiesta time. I actually enjoyed it and was thrilled I remembered the taste. So I've added another to my list of adobo recipes. And pancit is another of my downfalls. I still cannot make the pancit they serve at the food stores although the family says each pancit I make is pretty good. I love palabok/luglog/malabon and heck, without Mama Sita, for sure, I cannot make this the way I like it to pig out with. Shoulda coulda learned our cooks' secrets if I weren't so intent of being the hostess that can roast a turkey with all the sides, make imported style spaghetti, roast beef, etc. Aughhh. So ordinary here, seemed great there. And all the while regretting being unable to really hold my Head high when it comes to Filipino cooking. Sure, I can make bistek pilipino, but morcon? Relleno from Nora Daza, and with the help of Pat Dayrit and Enriqueta David Perez, I can actually cook some without being apologetic. Still, being the lazy apology laden cook, I thank Mama Sita for helping me bluff the rest.

About Mrs. A's

2008-07-09T20:44:00.002-05:00

A gentleman walked in and bought a cookie. As usual the "you're no longer Mrs. fields?" query came out and we immediately went into our spiel. He was thrilled about knowing we were just us and told us we should write a story About Mrs. A’s. So here it is and it's in our website as well as our summer flyer.

Mrs. A’s Cupcakes & Cookies is a small independent, mom and pop, micro-bakery. Operated by Mrs. A and her two daughters but with 3 other older kids pitching in along with Mr. A, in-laws and grandkids getting into the picture either doing cookie runs, providing cookies, grandkids opening doors for guests and helping stock and eat cookies from 8 year olds to a year old toddler, all welcoming and inviting passersby to take a peek into the busy bustling bakery.
Cookies are baked throughout the day, chocolate chips, chocolate chippies , oatmeal raisin walnut, triple fudge, peanut butter, white chip macadamia, snickerdoodles, Sugar butter M&Ms, and decorated (like the Smileys, butterflies, flower powers, fishies) in front of everyone. Cupcakes are iced to order, and those in the case are replaced each time a cupcake is sold.
After a ten year run in a North Shore bakery, we opted for the baker and recipes of the Bakery from Elm. Many North Shore kids jump up and down when they see their favorite SMILEY and Winnetka’s Frosted Ginger staring at them from the windows of Mrs. A’s.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes are decorated within minutes of ordering, Mrs. A’s expertise after attending Mrs. Field’s Cookie boot camp in Salt Lake City during Debbi’s heyday of wanting to sell the perfect cookie. Migz went the bakery café path, Kylie, the chocolate candy store. So each of us has that food sense of wanting to provide the best cupcakes and cookies, with some family drama for a bit of comedy club flair.

Asked if we want to open up other stores, can you clone us? So enjoy our cupcakes, cookies, birthday cakes, cookie cakes, wedding cakes, bubble shakes and camaraderie at our little store which includes service with a smile!

cussing here

2008-07-08T20:19:00.005-05:00

Mr. A is sooo against swearing in English. Kids take note , no -effing in front of him. But this peculiarity is negated by the fact that he does not mind my cussing in Filipino. tang ina, hindot, anak ng ____, ay, puki... oh well. But if I just said FiretrUCK the right way, does he get miffed.

Years ago, on our first trip to the US, jet lagged from the long flight and dozing off, we ended up in Chicago's red line and after a harrowing first time El ride, (waking up in the south side) we got back on the right track and ended up on Madison and Wells. By the garage were two African American guys (later we learned these were homeless men) fighting and in my sleepy hazy sleep deprived scared mind, I thought I heard them yell at each other MADAPAKA!!!! I told Mr. A, ay naku sabi niya madapaka, madapaka rin!!!(Good grief, he said madapaka (you fall down, you there, fall down, fall down, you!) . Years later, I would be in that same area, unafraid at 5 in the morning and used to the whole scenario. but MADAPAKA (m-effing is taboo)stayed. And now I am free to say MADAPAKA! Manigas ka is not as emphatic.

I am writing this because I read another blog that had WATDAPAK. So I remembered this little tidbit. Also the running joke of Mr. A, titi-lik mo ba? i-fak mo na lang.
Okay, so much is lost in translation but i like the new WATDAPAK.

Meeting a real live HERO

2008-07-06T09:35:00.003-05:00

Last night was the gala of Ateneo Alumni's convention aimed at helping those Arrneeow
grads to deal with life in the US and of course many more tidbits of net working.

But the guest speaker , Antonio Meloto, was the draw for me. Tall, silver haired, and mild mannered but with the power to change the world. Three years ago, Gawad Kalinga was brought to Chicago through an informational meet. My ignorance labeled it like Habitat for Humanity. But boy, was I wrong. It goes way beyond building a house for those in need, it goes way beyond wild expectations. And it is working.

So I gushed and told Tony Meloto that he was my hero, that I believe inhis life's work and project even if I am one short of the three T's needed. (treasure, cheez, I probably would be one of those building and then hoping to live in one of those houses built).

Following Tony Meloto's work, listening to the critics jealous of his success, wondering why, if they claim to be Catholic, they persecute him the way Jesus was persecuted, hey, I am not likening him to Jesus, but he is following the foot path of Jesus in serving the people. His method of reachin out to people is not threatening but rather, makes one wistful in wanting to be a part of this building futures and giving hope for many destitute Filipinos. Give them an out from the depths of their poverty, house them and then give them the tools to educate themselves, find a livelihood they can master and have them police themsleves to lower the crime rate, keep them from going back to the drudgery of petty thievery, drunkenness and hopelessness. And for this Tony is being branded as not being a good Catholic.

Now, there are groups from all over the world studying Gawad Kalinga and working to bring it to their countries. It would be disappointing to find out later on that they ran with the ball and would surpass the Philippines in this just because the stumbling blocks that Catholic Filipinos and clergy are wont to create.

But for whatever it is, Tony Meloto is my hero. He believes we are all heroes in our own way when we help GK. May the Lord always be with him and guide him, and protect him from the crabs in the basket.

Harry Potter

2008-07-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

Why do i enjoy reading and re-reading Harry Potter endlessly? Don't I have better reads to do? But JK Rowling's magical wizard has captured my inner child.

Many years ago, as a day dreaming teenager (14 to my 55) I used to write poetry and stories, mini novelas of Odine Odette Odelle, Melalee and other heroines. But one thought form found its way into my writing, a magical black haired green eyed boy of about 8 or 10 who showed up in a magic garden, often as a friend of one of my heroines. I named him James Bernard which became my pen name and then named son #2 and I guiltily admit it came from Paul McCartney's name (James Paul and Bernard Webb).
But I was too young to create a better venue for him, too many distractions and I let him go. And here we are years later. This thought form found its way into the fertile mind of JK Rowling who ran with the ball with her creative, focused and wildly imaginative mind. I thank her for giving life to this thought form. Many of us know the mythology of how Harry came about during JK's sojourn. But I do believe he existed in the other world just waiting for the right person and the right time. I am sure there are many more out there who saw this black haired green eyed magical kid but didn't do anything to bring him to life.

it also helps to have Daniel Radcliffe bringing Harry to life on the big screen giving a face to this wizard. And each book delivers an escape to every day life, adds on to my vocabulary driving my kids crazy when I always allude and refer to passages, incidents, characters and what nots to drive a point, and hey, they understand me when I use Potterisms,tsk tsk.

I speed read and have read the books when they first come out within 4 to 6 hours tops. That's because I hunger to know the entire story. Then I start rereading at a leisurely pace enjoying each chapter and picking out tidmits in hopes of foretelling the next book. JK Rowling ended the series wonderfully, critics notwithstanding. Tied up loose ends, had me shed a tear or two for the sacrificed characters. In hopes that she will be forgiving of the universe she created and tell more stories of those around Harry. Hope springs eternal, right?
Until she does, I will continue reading and re-reading Harry Potter, watch all the movies, (once twice , thrice and more times) listen to John Williams' HP music and those who did the following soundtracks. And drive my kids crazy when I use Harry Potter allusions.

Ruben S. Menguito

2008-07-01T23:15:00.005-05:00

Remembering daddy. Handsome, suave, ladies' man and how. Man for everyone, great friend to many (but as a father, hmmm, let's sit on this)
He would always say he'd die happy if his dream of" I want to be mayor of Pasig", the town he loved, his birthplace, his hood, would come to be after being a councilor there and many failed sojourns into bokal and con-con elections. He also wanted to make a million bucks in commissions for the kitchen equipment he brokered for Allied International. One day, he got both and the next day, he died.
He was appointed interim Mayor of Pasig, the town he loved, now a city. He used to argue with his eldest son, my half brother Cesar, "Would you rather be the son of the mayor? Or the Nephew of the mayor?" At the same time, he landed one of the biggest (and last) accounts ever, that of providing the new Asian Development Bank that just moved to Ortigas (thereabouts, how should I know, places have changed so much) and actually would have made a million in commissions outfitting the kitchen and the tableware for this project.

Father of 21 (at last count) from myriad women who fell prey to his suave good looks (and he actually wanted to re-incarnate as a doberman pinscher because "they get paid to mate"). He genuinely loved GY, not as beautiful as probably the others he had, but one who brought him into the world of glitz from his meek and mild teacher's life, to wine and dine in the restaurant and hotel industry. Most romantic moment: he came home and shut the lights and GY thought he was coming home drunk again, as she started to rant and rail, he opened a jar and released hundreds of fireflies he took the time to catch and save for that moment.

Never mind the other times I would rather not remember, but that I was the first daughter to walk down the aisle and he actually haad tears in his eyes, so there!

I could go on and on about daddy, all the ups and downs, the fights and the good timesand finally the acceptance that he was who he was and just have fun with it.

After he died, I had one dream , in a light blue striped shirt, youngish probably
30ish, at his handsomest, he did say, "I have always loved you, even if you didn't believe it".

The summer I was 8

2008-07-01T23:00:00.002-05:00

I can remember being in the kitchen of Tia Fe Palma every afternoon for 2 weeks, being taught how to bake brownies and make cookies. I didn't know why until I was brought to the studio where Nora Daza's Cooking Show was shot. This was live TV, no cuts nor takes. I was being touted as the baking daughter of Gloria Y.Nichols of the Rolling Pin Bake Shop. At 8 years old at that! And during the show, I must have impressed Nora Daza as I did everything I could remember, but twas really hazy as I remember resenting time in the kitchen when I could have been out playing with cousins.Impressed that she told everyone I was going to enrol at the Manila Gas Cooking School for the summer. And before you know it, the next youngest one to me was a 16 year old. Everyone else was way older. In what I still believe was the best type of layout for a cooking school. But what does an 8 year old know?

Again, I did so well that they created a children's cooking class for the next year. Of course, I couldn't join my peers as I was put into an advanced class.
All I can remember was putting sardines on a pizza, the flavors I still cannot re-make, boiling salt instead of sugar to sweeten kaong, and , the most traumatic that made me unable to decorate cakes for many years, her assistant said in a loud aside when we were decorating cakes, I was trying to do a butterfly shaped cake "ganyan ba ang gawa ng anak ng may ari ng Rolliing Pin?"(Is that the work of the owner of Rolling Pin?)
Scarred me almost for life. I didn't decorate cakes until I got here. Even now, I never think I make great looking cakes even if I get compliments. Lesson to all, don't ever denigrate a child's efforts. It can damage them for life. It's a good thing I overcame this trauma and can actually really decorate a cake. (Although I am one of those free flow persons, always out of the box, out of the line, nothing perfect, nothing the same...AHA, one of a kind, masterpieces each one!)

Gloria Y. Nichols at 90 MS

2008-06-30T18:05:00.004-05:00

Food is still the fabric of our lives.
Gloria Y. Nichols, a legend in her time, is turning 90.
We will take her to brunch at La Mirage, a Russian banquet hall that serves awesome food.
It is sad to see her mind deteriorate due to wrong medication. What was good for her one way, totally destroyed her in another.
Once upon a time, she was one of Manila's trendsetters. She fought her way to the top and everyone bowed to her prowess as a baking queen. She brought new ideas into the wedding cake industry with touches of flair. She made wedding give aways the crazy variety they are today. From a simple box of cake tied with ribbon and hand made sugar flowers, she evolved these into capiz jewelry cases, then hand sewn native mat boxes. She ventured into ceramic containers of various shapes and sizes all with her signature pound cake and sugar flowers.
Her cakes were works of art culled from looking at any edifice, fountain or sihlouette to come up with cherub ringed cakes. It was outre to have a pink wedding cake or to have a driftwood washed and painted in icing as the cake centerpiece. But that she did. She also was the first to have the bride's parents put a diamond solitaire in the ribbon pull, inches of satin ribbon with a cutesy saying and the accompanying charm. Even men lined up to pull a ribbon which is traditionally for single girls. Getting the ring means you're the next one in line to get married.
Mom's life is colorful. Wait for the next few chapters.

Update:

Mom is now 91 and in the Arlington Rehab a few minutes from our home.

All My Kids Cook MS

2008-06-30T18:05:00.002-05:00

When the kids were growing up, each had a rite of passage, learning how to cook rice in the rice cooker was a chore for those who turned 12 or was it ten? Everyone had to work on the dishwasher, clearing the rack and all.
Cooking became the next thing. Corned Beef rice was a staple, Spaghetti sauce, nilaga, sinigang. etc. Two boys and 2 girls because baby Kylie was not interested.
I worried about Kylie not ever learning to cook. She could do the rice but that was it.
Today, Friday night dinner features her lasagna, she made the meat sauce from scratch by herself and she painstakingly layered the noodles, riccotta , mozarella and parmesan. She actually cooked caldereta a few weeks ago and brought home a quiche that she made herself. She can also cook salmon.
Kylie can prep but didn't really cook. When Migay decides to cook, she makes Kylie prep all the veggies and whatever else that goes in the menu she prepares. It is a skill to prep. Kylie knows how to make the best Filipino Fruit salad, carefuly draining the mixtures of kaong, nata, fruit cocktail and whatever catches her fancy, and just like Sarah Michelle Gellar's character in Simply Irresistible(sic), stirs her creams and milks in a dreamy manner. She's the fruit salad maker for all family gatherings. Just like Migay does the meanest mashed potatoes. Migay, lazy as she is, every now and then gets the inspiration to cook and when she does, it is marvelous, flavors and textures all come together.

Bambi cooks up a storm, following in my footsteps in entertaining friends and family at the drop of a hat. She has mastered Filipino dishes (her adobo getting better each and every time) and Rachel Ray type dishes but allows Sam to cook and experiment.
Anamite is a grill master and Jaybee, what else, a pasta king although he makes the best crockpot roast pork dinner. Even my daughters in law Dawn and Zebeda can hold themselves proud in the kitchen. Dawn has mastered some Filipino dishes and is the Thanksgiving Queen while Zebeda makes the best spinach dip.
With Kylie now unafriad to work the kitchen, I feel satisfied that I have been able to impart to my children the fact that food is the fabric of our lives.
Now, I look at the grandkids in hopes that one day I can work with them in the kitchen and share with them the love of cooking (and eating, a baking etc)

My Apos (grandkids)

2008-06-29T09:14:00.003-05:00

Funny how my life includes five little ones with different personas, but each have a bit of me in them.
Hunter at certain angles looks like Leslie when he was that age, glimpses. But looking at him, he is all American boy, no hint of the Filipino genes. Lola, why do you talk to me in Filipino when you're angry with me? Did you understand me? I ask. No, he says, so why do you know I'm scoldiing you? Why do you respond and obey? Oh!
And did you want me to scold you in English? Nope, he shakes his head.

Lynn is my China Doll. very thin, pretty, almond eyes, pert. Takes after Migay, slow molasses. But when she smiles, that one dimple only found in Leslie's face shows up.

Taylor and his ruddy Chinese face, we got him one of those winter hats and I thought I was looking at a picture of Chinese kids in winter, thoser red cheeks are real! And he is smart. When it comes to money. At mass, I handed out singles for the kids and 5's to my kids. He looked and said, hey this one is different!

Maddie the pretty princess that we want to bring home and hawk for ads....as per lola Portia. I remember when she was born, eyes wide open and almost knowing and I realise now that the soul who came back was there at that moment. And true to form, as the new persona takes over, that one moment is over, lost in the life and living of this incarnation.

But here comes Daniel Bell. Long awaited, saw him in my dreams. Curly haired, bright eyes knowing, curious and all over the place. Am I putting wonders in place or is he really a wonder? He is a wonder. I choose to speak to him in Pilipino whenever I can. And at this point, he understands the language. In fact, there are some words he won't immediately respond to in English but will immediately follow in Pilipino. Sayaw! Palakpak! Saan ang ilaw? Bababa ba? Gusto mo pa? karga. kain na. Naspu na.
I love all my apos and I want to make sure each of them have some great memories of me and my loving them. And the kitchen will be the main point of remembering. Teaching them how to cook and bake and sell cookies at Mrs. A's Cupcakes and Cookies, stealing cookies from lolo's former bakery on elm. These kids are comfortable in a bakery, just like mine.

More later on my apos

Xmas eve and Xmas Night dinners Standing Rib Roast MS

2008-06-25T21:25:00.001-05:00

So here's another round of eating for the holidays.
Dawn picked up Xmas eve as always because we are all too tired to cook, just want to eat and crash being up all night working the ovens and cakes, cookies and coffeecakes for the past ten years. Turkey and ham with mashed potatoes were just right.
Xmas day started out with longaniza and sinangag, garlic fried rice with fried eggs, totally filipino.
A quick trip to the movies for a breather.
Then dinner at the Bells. An 8 rib standing rib roast which was cooked really right, kudos to Bambi who always faces these challeneges to add to her repertoire. A caper and anchovy pasta, twice baked potatoes, the green bean casserole and Sam's made from scratch Caesar salad.
Something the two brothers weren't about to miss.
It makes me thankful to the Lord for times like these, seeing kids, grandkids and immediate family gathered round a table eating, jokes, food and would you believe, not that much drink save a few bottles of red wine?

By the way, prime rib is a standing rib roast but from PRIME USDA beef, eveyrthing else is a standing rib roast. An olive oil based tapenade smeared all over the roast and set to age overnight in the cooler, and a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes to sear the meat and 325 till it is done does the trick. Congratulations to Bambi for pulling it off.

New Year's Day 2008 MS

2008-06-25T21:24:00.002-05:00

It didn't help that we were all sick over the few days before (and after) Jan 1st.
Hope it doesn't mean anything for the year, but then again, what's cough colds and flu compared to Kylie's in 2006 and mine in 2007? This is a cake walk.

Having had to work a few hours at Mrs. A's also cut back my cooking time.
Exhange gifts and eats were at the Bell's, just a week after the scrumptious Roast beef dinner for Xmas.

This time, the ubiquitous paella and lengua plus Kylie's Filipino fruit salad joined Bambi's turkey(courtesy of JB) and mashed potatoes, and a really tasty cocido, pork, beef, chicken and chorizo with garbanzos, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes with the eggplant salad side dish. The spaghetti was a great dish to add for kids and folks alike.
Bambi made a birthday cake for Migay whose 24th birthday fizzled as she was down with the flu with a bad dose of coughing and hacking.
It was a banana cake with fresh bana filling and our winnetka buttercream.
Poor Miggie, we always forget her brithday cake, and we own what? a bakery??? oh oops.
I vow next year I won't forget.

Hope everyone had a fun day on January 1st, I know I did, seeing and being with all the people, (kids, grandkids, sis, mom, les, close friends allowed into our intimate circle) I love in the same room, laughing talking and being there just fills my heart with so much love. This is what I am thankful to the Lord for. And this is what makes me look forward to each and every New Year.

thirty minute mealsMS

2008-06-25T21:24:00.001-05:00

I realized today that having such a hectic life, working 7 days a week almost always 10 hour days, with 5 kids and 5 grandkids to feed every Thursday, a daughter with boyfriend on Wednesdays plus grandson and son-in law, it takes a real super human effort to ge that meal done. Sometimes, I have time to prep the night before, more often than not, I am ambitious enough to think I can go to the store, get the fresh veggies and meats and get a meal done, that’s if I don’t hit traffic on the way home.
So I find the challenge of having a good meal done within 30 minutes a challenge. I sometimes pull it off. Tonight, I ambitioned buying the ingredients before coming home and to my shock it was seven . Kylie and Todd pulled in as I got home. Aurghhh. Usually, they come home at 8. And as I hurriedly got the rice pot going and the pork marinated in the char siu mix, the door bell rang and Bambi with Sam walked in. Horrors. But, hey, slice the meat, etc nuke the chinese broc, get the fishballs and tofu sliced, and there I was, stir frying my first chow mein dish ever and the charsiu merrily roasted in the oven and got a good last minute broil. Oh well, another day in the life.
I truthfully admitted to Anamite that having a lack of friends around, and the serious work schedule, even if I am strapped for time, I find comfort in cooking that meal, whether it’s a lazy corned beef rice (that’s the canned corned beef for those who don’t know that this is a staple in a Filipino cupboard) or something chicken with cream of mushroom kicked up a notch by turmeric and either spinach or artichokes or asparagus, even after baking 100 cookies, cooking a meal at home is strangely relaxing .

Paella MS

2008-06-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

i only learned to cook paella here in the USA challenged because no one made the paella i was accustomed to,because at home, i ordered it from libby. through the years i have refined the paella and found a comfort zone of what i put in my paella. i used reciped combined from pat dayrit, nora daza and enruiqueta david perez and have come up with one uniquely my own. i wish i could afford the seafood so easily available back home but are ridiculously expensive here. so i settled for a mix of boneless skinless chicken breast with boneless pork cubes, the ubiquitous chorizo de bilbao, thankfully available here, casubha (our saffron wannabee) red peppers, a choice of tomatoes (whole, crushed, puree, sauce) i just use whatever I have on hand, bouillon cubes for added flavor, shrimps, seafood mix and when i remember, mussels on the half shell, boiled eggs, and petite pois (peas). have come to the point that i can whip this up in minutes (kidding, hour and a half minimum)

so coming home after a hectic grab and go from the supermarket, freaking out that there was no chorizo de bilbao (thank goodness my hoarding nature left me with one pack in the freezer, have to get more) got me to prepare everything for Roel who asked for the paella. why should i take the time? Roel is younger than us but had a total body failure and from a once hale and hearty fellow, is now bed ridden with dialysis every other day, waiting for a triple bypass, and trying to get better. but he sorta kinda cajoled us to bring him some, so we did. but he couldn't even eat the portions given, his diet has been restricted, thoughts of lechon are wishful thinking for him and from a once gourmand, he is now given a painfully spare and sparse diet.

i am humbled by the fact that he asked for my paella, if I didn't do this for him and he suddenly disappeared, i would be forever feeling guilty, but i delivered and i hope roel enjoyed even the visuals of the paella.

life is short and the festive paella is a small offering to a friend who is facing his life's mortality.

Need to cook cook cook MS

2008-06-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

need to cook cook cook

cooking relaxes me. this week has flown so fast that i don't remember when i last cooked in the kitchen other than thursday night dinner.

went crazy at the supermarket, onions, shallots, asparagus, spinach, green onions, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms etc. then i saw a big slab of brisket for 1.99 a pound..hmmm that will be thursday night dinner. i already put the chicken out for tonight's dinner. i also cooked bear creek soup but boiled broccoli with the water before the mix, then sauteed garlic onions to go with the handful of asparagus and mushrooms for our side. the chicken i just marinated in salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic powder and lemon. into my trusty favorite cast iron pan, i stuck the pork chops for tomorrow night's dinner in the remaining marinade and added a bit more stuff in it.

i've been going to the chinese supermarket and the carniceria guzman almost daily to get fresh meats and veggie, haven't been in caputo's for a bit so i went with cherries on my mind. ended up with stuff, well, i've been forgetting the grand kids so i got cheese and bread for their favorite american cheese sandwich, grilled of course, and i have browned gorund beef in the fridge i can convert into spaghetti sauce or picadillo at a drop of a hat. so that's that.

Beef Brisket my space blog

2008-06-25T21:21:00.000-05:00

Haven't really found a brisket recipe I truly like. Cousins Mabel and Sofie have given me theirs but the only thing I remember is to roast this overnight. I have been using all kinds of recipes but haven't gotten one I really like. so this time, onions, garlic, soysauce, bbq sauce and caldereta mix. Not bad but still....

Sauteed asparagus in garlic and butter, decent. Another lazy pasta, sauteed ground beef with garlic and onions poured bottled marinara with can of tomato sauce, threw in bay leaf and cooked this with egg noodles instead of penne.

I cannot remember what I did with the spaetzle, I did the preliminary saute with garlic onions and beef but threw in parsley flakes, bay leaf and fresh basil (from my poor dying plant) and cream of mushroom soup and out of code sour cream (we're still alive) then the spaetlze, really came out good, cannot remember if i threw in thyme or what. hmmmph.

moody blues

2008-06-25T20:50:00.003-05:00

With my many years of attending funerals, close friends, relatives, acquaintances, it never fails to cross my mind that I should plan my own. Lord, that my family bury me and not me bury them, please.
But should I go, then I do want the following:
Simple pine (go green) because I want to be cremated after whatever bit of me can be used to save another life. Cremains to be in a JADE urn, and some peices into lockets for each of my kids and grandkids, whether they want to wear me or not is up to them, but hopefully they will want me around. I got this idea from Patis and sisters when their dad died.
Music and food during the wake. Of course, mass and eulogies. And pics of me and all that I enjoyed. I also want to be made up the way I look and not some unknown entity posing as me. Hopefully that would be the case.
Music: Harry Potter John Williams , On Eagle's Wings, Till the Angels close my eyes. etc. Definitely a number of Beatles tunes. I have other songs in mind, so I'll leave this open.
And I want Chinese Lauriat after the interment or something, I forgot, I get to burn.
And lots of love and kitchen tales.
I think about this as I have just been to a young man's wake. And I see my mom slowly fading and I know I have to be ready for the when.
Okay already, morbid enough but at least I got this off my chest, since I talk about it every now and then along with ghost tales and me asking for signs.
When they talk about living wills, let this be a part of it.

Sometimes I wonder

2008-06-25T17:22:00.002-05:00

I have been thoroughly gutsy opening a new store with the girls to take the place of the closed and failed bakery. I know that I have been making goals and sales for the other companies I have worked for through the years and it's now time to See if I can pull off the same success on my own. Truth to tell, without working capital, with no equity and a bankruptcy on my records, it really is a struggle.
and to position myself in a high rent area in hopes that even with this oncoming recession (hoping we can ride it out) I can still pull it off.

But when the bills pile up and there are no other sources of income other than what comes in daily, sometimes, the fear sets in and I just have to draw on my strength of faith and leave it to the Lord.

What stops me from really going for it and pushing? Some inner fear of failing? Or making excuses that I have no time to knock on doors because I am stuck in a position, baking and making sure we don't run out of product, not being able to afford other help, and relying on daughters who run late for me to do anything productive by the time they come in. Am I making all these excuses?

But I am committed to see this through and I will make sure to succeed as our future depends on this.
Go go go Mrs. A, you can do it.

DPI food show

2008-06-24T22:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, so I now am baking cupcakes and cookies, but that inner caterer and foodie in me always appreciates going to DPI Midwest's one day food show featuring their many vendors and new accounts. Some old some new, and the one I use wasn't there. Still, so many dessert and cookie shops, all upscale, all wanting a piece of that elusive (to me) market.

Ham off the bone from a new company, loads of cheese from all over the world, from Irish to Italian to goat cheese, and Danish butters.
Didn't see my duck friends either, nor the pate group, or did I miss them?
Didn't meat up either (known as scoping out and stalking meat booths and grabbing as much as I can when all is said and done).

But my weakness has always been sauces and marinades, Asian and what nots.
More for personal use, of course but who knows? One day I will cater again, or create a menu for orders only catering using these. Or one day, do Kylie's wedding like I did Bambi's and maybe Migz will also want one for her own. And grandkids will definitely benefit from me should I still be up and running when they get married. Or graduate.

The meal after was excellent but after grazing like a cow in almost every booth, aughhh, couldn't eat as well as I wanted to. Thanks DPI Midwest, this makes up for not going to the National Restaurant Show this year.

Diary

2008-06-24T07:35:00.001-05:00

I've joined the vast millions of bloggers who take time to write their thoughts in an open diary. Seems like only yesterday I used to scribble and write my diary but with the fast paced world spent on the computer instead of those Leeds hard bound $60 tomes, I am now typing away my thoughts and daily events for someone out there to actually read and almost know me through my writings. Wow, blows me away.