Love Makes My Cooking Tasty and Satisfying

Yummy Beef Caldereta (Photo courtesy by akire serrano from Flickr)

Last April 16 was my late father’s 12th death anniversary. I planned to cook something special on that particular but because of work and more work, the plan completely went out of my head.

However, I did manage to cook a meat dish that day. It’s pork caldereta. The real recipe calls for beef round or beef kenchi but we’re saving money for the coming school year. Oh, and we also plan to have a sort of family outing before the summer’s gone.

So, how did I cook the faux caldereta to make it taste like a real one? First, I boiled the 3/4 kilo meat cuts. I chose to buy meat with bones because they are cheaper–but tastier. When the bony meat cuts were tender, I heated oil in a wok over low fire. While I was mincing the garlic, my husband was lounging on a chair while watching me. And so I recalled a hub that I just read about garlic. I told him that my habit of crushing garlic cloves first before chopping them is actually a good one. Crushing released a special  enzyme in garlic that is beneficial to the heart so it is better to waste a few drops of garlic juice than just slicing the cloves neatly.

I sauteed the minced garlic in a very small of oil, not waiting for it to get hot. Burnt garlic gives bitter after taste to food. While it is slowly turning golden over low heat, I chopped 1 big onion and 3 pieces of long green pepper. Peppers are good for the heart, too. They also help the body burn more fat.

The pre-boiled meat joined the garlic, onion, and pepper but without the stock. Following closely are a dash of finely ground pepper, a pinch of salt, a splash of soy sauce (just enough to add color to meat), a sprinkle of sugar, and a beef boullion cube. After pouring a can of tomato sauce, I blend them all using a wooden spoon before putting on the glass cover. While my husband were having an easy chit-chat, I started peeling the skin off a couple of potatoes and carrots. I cut these into cubes, along with the large green bell pepper. These joined the others in the wok quite unceremoniously, too.

After cleaning the mess on the kitchen table and the sink, I stirred in the meat stock and covered the wok once again. We went back inside the room to watch television. My caldereta will be safe to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes over low heat. But before the 15 minutes had passed, I remembered to add the chunk of cheese left-over from our homemade pizza the last weekend. No, I didn’t forget the liver spread and the small hot chili pepper. They do not belong to my pork caldereta.

Cheesy Mini Pizza (Photo courtesy by Melinda ^..^ from Flickr)

After 5 minutes, I switched off the gas stove. The dish is done. Did I taste it while cooking? Nah. I didn’t have to ‘coz I cook with my heart and my mind. haha. Yup, I’m bragging a bit. The reason why I seldom taste my cooking is because I am oftentimes capable of imagining what will be the taste of it when cooked. I don’t measure anything but I follow the general rule of adding little ‘coz you can always add a little bit more later just like with salt. I’m not saying that I’m an excellent cook. It’s just a case of “love my cooking or go hungry.” LOL.

P.S. I started cooking at age 7. We were left alone a lot as children and, as the eldest, I had to take charge of the kitchen or starve. I mostly boil water for milk and coffee, and fry scrambled eggs, dried or smoked fish, and left-over rice. The first dish I cooked was the bangus steak. It was no big deal. I just sauteed garlic, onions, soy sauce, and vinegar; then I add left-over fried bangus slices. At age 19, I was left in charge of our mini-food store. I cooked about 10 dishes per day, after I got back from buying all the ingredients in a wet market. In those days, cooking was a race against time. Everything (assorted viands: vegetables, fish, meat, and boiled rice) should be cooked and displayed before lunch time so that we could sell more. I added this bit of my faraway past, just in case you’re wondering how can I cook without tasting.

Food for the Braces

Chinese Congee - soupy and very soft rice topped with: fried tofu cubes, crisped-browned-minced garlic, onion leaf rings, and sliced century eggs (Photo by tednmiki at flickr)

Are you wondering what food to feed someone, who just had her teeth tortured by a monster dentist? I shall recommend a bowl of warm Chinese Congee. Actually, the idea is courtesy of my eldest daughter. She made the special request for the popular Chinese dish right after we got out of the dentist’s clinic.

We were both busted due to lack of sleep the night before so we made a beeline towards the nearest Chinese fastfood restaurant. Much to our dismay, the famous Congee is not available anymore even though it’s still early evening yet. Maybe because it was the Sunday before Holy Week officially starts.

That morning, my whole family went to church to attend mass. We seldom do this kind of ‘together’ thing so we’re all excited even when the budget is very tight. We just walked the short distance to save money so that we could afford to eat ‘out.’ We had wanton noodle soup, sauteed canton noodle, chao fan, and a big glass of sweet preserved fruits on milky shaved ice.

The appointment to the dentist later that day had completely gone out of my mind so I’m not prepared. Usually, I buy ingredients for homemade chao fan or macaroni soup. I always try to cook soft foods that my daughter’s braced teeth can tolerate after a dental visit.

Due to Congee’s unavailability, we ended in another eating place where foods are cheaper. Thankfully, we were able to buy a dish that resembles Congee. I knew it didn’t taste delicious but my daughter ate it with gusto. She’s always like this when stressed.

Dental braces are pure torture but they are necessary for personality improvement. About 8 weeks ago, her teeth look monstrous so she seldom smiles. Lately, even when it’s sometimes painful, my daughter was smiling a lot. Thanks to our monster dentist.

A Busy Homebody’s Online Jobs

Whoa! It has been almost 2 months since I last visited my personal blog. I said to myself: I’m really sorry for neglecting personal stuff. But these past several weeks had been making my head whirl with so much things to get done – for other people.

Yes, I am still buried under a lot of writing projects. Officially, they are re-writing assignments but I couldn’t force myself to just rephrase and re-shuffle sentences to pass my work as original content. Oftentimes, I have to read and research for the related topics so that I can contribute something new to the articles.

One project lasted for 3 weeks. Omg, those were the most boring weeks of my working life. I was expected to write about topics that I have done before (just this January) for 60 times. I accepted the assignment so I have to do it with all my best. Thankfully, those hairy days – and nights – were all behind me. You might expect that I won’t do that thing again. Nah, I just accepted a similar project this February. The topics are different but still repetitive. So I’ll have more white hairs by mid-May of 2009.

Alright, enough of my rants about my online jobs. It’s not my clients’ problem that I am so meticulous. And please, don’t misinterpret me but I have no angst against my current busy situation. Homebodies are supposed to be busy, aren’t they? At least, I’m busy – and earning extra money to supplement the family income.

I even compounded my busy-ness with helping my eldest daughter do (edit and rewrite) her very first blog. I didn’t have the heart to refuse her because she was so excited about it. So I haven’t slept a wink last night to finish her online project. And you know what? I got infected with her young excitement because I found enough energy to create 2 more hubs in our hubpages’ account! Astounding.

Hopefully, my other 2 kids will also get infected by the blogging fever of my eldest. The looming school’s summer vacation days have officially started yesterday – the first Monday. When the kids are busy with their computers, I wouldn’t have to worry about them getting bored. We’re planning a family beach outing by mid-April but it’ll be only for a day or two.

Lasagna and Spaghetti for the Birthday Boy (Photos by creampuffsinvenice and The Queen of No from Flickr)

Oh, last March 6 was my only son’s birthday. He’s a tall and lanky 17-year-old teenager now but his favorite foods are still the same: lasagna and spaghetti. I also baked chocolate cake with cherries and almonds. Three days before the red-letter day, we already have a gallon of ice cream in the freezer and more uncooked pasta ingredients. I never knew what to expect with my son. One minute he’s saying there are guests; then another moment, none. Since we are his official guests – and we’d surely gonna be present, I cooked all the planned dishes on the night of March 5th. Two-and-a-half trays of lasagna, two trays of chocolate cake, three bowls of spaghetti, one small bowl of beef stew with veggies and cheese, and a pot of milky pasta soup for breakfast.

Our birthday gift for him is a new CPU. Just a CPU because the old one is not upgradeable anymore. Yes, you guess it right. We buy second-hand units. They are cheaper and oftentimes as lasting as the brand new ones. The youngest kid will ‘inherit’ the old CPU so we have to buy another LCD monitor, too.

Back to my eldest – I forgot  to mention that she just bought the handycam of her dreams. It’s a Sony and very expensive. To some people, it is moderately priced but we used cash so it’s categorized as a major purchase. We’re still learning how to operate it so the photos we’re using are still ‘borrowed’ from other sites. Hopefully, we’ll be using our own images in a month or two.

So, that’s all about the life of a busy-busy-busy mom and wife for the past 2 months. Hope to be here again very soon.

Almost forgot – I had to ping all my blogs here.

Starting a Personal Blog at 42

Siomai is a popular Chinese pork dish, served with chili soy sauce and calamansi juice. (Photo courtesy by Skela from Flickr.)

On January 28, 2009 — I just turned 42. So how do I feel about it? I sighed as I looked at myself on the mirror. I didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 am so the husband and the kids were able to greet me ‘happy birthday!’.

Well, am I happy now that I am 42? Why not? So what if I got more wrinkles and freckles now? I have a husband who loves them. Even my flabs and bulges, believe it or not. Maybe because he has them, too.

I tend to be casual on my birthdays. It’s not that I dislike celebrating mine. I just treat it as one of those ordinary days, except for a special dish or two that I cook for lunch or dinner.

When I was still single, I would just go some place where I can be alone for a while. Sometimes, I’d visit the church and meditate there. I prefer talking to God without a mass. It seemed more peaceful and more effective — but a bit lonely.

After 41 boring birthdays, I decided to do something special on my 42nd. That is, start a personal blog. It’s been 15 months since I discovered the Internet — and blogging is the first online stuff that fascinated me. But I couldn’t get to doing it at once because of other duties.

So here I am now. And I almost didn’t make it again. On the 28th, I woke up late. I had to do something before going to the market. It was so hot that day so I was tired when we got home. I was able to cook one ‘experimental’ dish only. I called it experimental because I used a new ingredient and it didn’t taste well. (No, I didn’t throw it away. I just put the large bowl of dried miki with stir-fried vegetables inside the refrigerator. It will be ‘repaired’ later.)

There were three unusual — and ‘first-time’ — happenings on that day:

• my eldest daughter had to go to the dentist for her braces,
• my husband insisted on buying new clothes for me, and
• my mother ‘jumped in’ when she heard we’re going to the nearby mall.

My husband thought that latter development would destroy the evening but I saw it as an opportunity to dovetail on our errands. I left my mother with my daughter at the clinic so that we could shop — and inquire about a DSL connection to our landline phone. This last one was disappointing because we had to wait for 52 minutes just to hear the customer service representative say: ‘Your area is not feasible.’

My husband was grumbling when we left there.

But my mother was all smiles. She seemed enjoying herself. She’s 73 and my other siblings didn’t want having an outing with her. She walks slowly and she talks too much. Unfortunately for her listeners, her favorite topics are often irritating.

Finding myself able to listen without reacting was a bit surprising on my part. In my youth, I was always quick to react on anything negative my mother says. But that night, I just made a comment here and there. Maybe because my attention was divided. I knew that my husband was never comfortable when my mother was around.

She’s also quick to criticize the food and the people around her. Though she seemed impressed with the fresh egg roll and the chopped roasted pig (because they came from a well-known restaurant); but disliked the steamed siomai. My daughter commented that the mixture had a lot of flour. I wasn’t able to taste it but I noticed that it looked starchy. My version of the dish has a lot of finely chopped vegetables like turnip, carrots, and young onion leaves mixed with lean ground pork.

My youngest daughter joined us from school. I stopped computing the amount of money I’m spending for an impromptu dinner. I bought fried chicken for her and for my son, who opted to play computer games at home. I also ordered a plate each of the Canton and Sotanghon Guisado from the only vegetarian restaurant there. Since we were all full, these two joined the take-out bag. We’re in the food court so we could choose different dishes from various food stalls that surrounded the area.

It was like having a weird dream. My husband was quiet most of the time. We were only able to talk when we’re alone. He’s in his ‘observing’ mode. My mother did not like him from the beginning so he had never trusted her. So it’s a good thing that I’m not the favorite daughter even though I’m the eldest.

Our eldest requested to buy a new bag so the weird dream continued. Mother decided to buy a new blouse, too. It never entered my mind to offer her the money to pay for her stuff. I’m kind of ‘burned off’ when giving monetary assistance to her. Once I gave her a hundred bucks as a birthday gift and she exclaimed: ‘Just this?!’ That time, a hundred bucks could buy 3 cans of formula milk for my first baby. I almost took back that money then.

Her age was fifty-plus years old then. After about twenty years, I still couldn’t forget it. I should but I really couldn’t. Having a long memory can be unpleasant.

Going back to the shopping mall, we ended up buying two backpacks and a pink stuff toy called ‘Lucky Cow.’

Well, I hope it will bring more luck to us. Our 2008 had been good and productive. We were able to buy a twin-tub washing machine, an oven gas range, a two-door refrigerator, and 32-inch LCD television with home theater. Plus one extra computer and two LCD monitors. All these major purchases while our three kids are all studying — with two of them in college.

How were we able to accomplish these? I’ll blog about them in future. That’s a promise.

That night ended when we got home and went in to our separate quarters. Mother lives on the second floor while my family of five are squeezed in a two-room place, which is about three meters wide and fourteen meters long. It is very small but it is a happy home.

More than two years ago, we were living in a two-storey house and a large yard. We had to leave it behind, together with the dogs, cows, and goats…

So there goes my birthday. It was sort of a happy, distracted, and tired day.

I thanked my hubby for his gifts with a warm cuddle and quick peck on the cheek. We couldn’t do more than that with the kids around.