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My Philippines

Our maternal house is just some meters away from a very big mall. We would go there almost everyday because of the air-conditioned facility plus you can see a lot of things and restaurants to choose from. Filipinos loves to go malling and eat, eat, eat, eat. It was fun because you can choose from so many different kinds of restaurant. I was also a movie addict and one of the first one who would watched a movie on the very first day of showing. Almost every week I have watched a new movie alone or with friends and relatives. ahhhhh memories.

Quote of the Day

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Quote of the Day

After a day of cloud and wind and rain Sometimes the setting sun breaks out again, And touching all the darksome woods with light, Smiles on the fields until they laugh and sing, Then like a ruby from the horizon's ring, Drops down into the night. Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Quote of the Day

"If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others." -Haim Ginott.

Allow me to introduce to you Cristina and Nicole. Two lovely children of two of my filipina acquaintances.

Studio Friday: All round things

I hope I am not having a relapse of my "not feeling well" state of my body. I've been sick for days since Saturday evening and was okay yesterday but, now I am feeling a little weak again. Maybe because I am a little afraid of the days work since we're also having guests tonight. "Big duck" today.

I am submitting my entry for this week as some kind of installment because it is not finished yet. I always bake some cookies or muffins or buy some chocolates to put into hand made design square boxes during Christmas. I am kind of late this year and have not finished even one. This year I have thought about buying round wooden boxes instead of making them but paint something on the cover (remember what I did with my retangular box earlier?) I have started this one last night. I altered the real colors of the picture so that it will be a surprise when I finished it later. But, I guess you can see what am I painting on it. This is it for now and I am excited also to see the other round things entries later. Thanks Tine for choosing my suggested topic for this week.

and now this is almost finished!

Quote of the Day

"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." -Blaise Pascal
The picture on the left was taken while I was riding in a car two weeks ago. The unstable impact on the camera while taking the picture created a swaying effect-which reminded me of how i felt or some kind of emotions building up during a flood scene that took place somewhere in my past. Bad weather conditions and calamities were frequent enough in my growing years and yet, I never get used to it. Experience have thought me to be prepared and aware all the time.

Quote of the Day

The best advice on the art of being happy is about as easy to follow as advice to be well when one is sick. Anne Sophie Swetchine

tagged

I was tagged by Bea.

Name five foods, dishes or otherwise, that were a part of your childhood, and that you sometimes miss when nostalgia gets to you..."

I have written a very long post about this topic but unluckily, I was not able to save it and I lost everything. It is also good because I have spared you all of the long story. The pictures are from postcards.

I don’t remember having eaten a different kind of food because I was a child. Everybody eats the same food being served in the dining table. My mother would say, be grateful and thank God that we have food to partake today-and then we'll all say Amen. I am not saying this as a joke but it's really true. One good thing, there was vegetables in most of the dishes my mother cooked that is why, I don’t think my siblings and myself have hated eating vegetables when we were children.

First of all, I would like to mention that rice is very much a part of every filipino’s dining table whatever time of the day. We eat our viand together with rice during meals. Being far away from my homeland- I really have a long list of food that I miss but I am sharing with you five that are also my favorites.

1. ADOBONG PUSIT-Squids cooked in a saucepan with vinegar, crushed garlic, salt and pepper, onion and tomatoes and chili(optional). It can also be cooked with coconut milk minus the vinegar and tomatoes.

2. SINAMPALUKANG MANOK-Chicken in Tamarind soup. Stir fry chicken in oil, garlic, onion, ginger and add boiled tamarind fruit or tamarind soup base like knorr in water plus the tamarind leaves. Salt and pepper or fish sauce is used as seasoning Chili, Malunggay or Spinach leaves are added just before the heat was turned off.
3. UKOY- Sweet Potato Fritters with Shrimp and Bean Sprouts-A mixture of shrimps, sweet potatoes (sliced in julienne style) and egg white, diluted cornstarch with pepper and salt to taste and fried in oil until golden brown.

4. FRESH LUMPIA- this is hard to explain so I’ll just post the recipe.
1 lb ground pork, browned and fat drained
1/2 lb Shrimp, shelled (save the
-shells!)



3 tofu, fried and cut into cubes
1 large Onion, sliced
3 each Cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb Turnips, cut into strips
1 lb Potatoes, cut into cubes
2 lb Pole beans, cleaned and cut
-crosswise
1 bunch Lettuce (not iceberg)
2 tbsp Soy sauce
4 tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp Fish sauce ("patis"),
-optional
2 tbsp Accent salt, optional
Lumpia wrappers

For the stock, boil the shrimp shells in 1 1/2 cups water. Saute thegarlic, onions, ground port, shrimp, and tofu. Add the potatoes and1/2 cup stock. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add thebeans and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. Then add turnips, soysauce, vegetable oil, salt and pepper (to taste), and fish sauce.Continue to stir and cook for 5 more minutes. Drain and save thebroth for the dipping sauce. Allow the mixture to cool. Separate the lumpia wrappers carefully. Line one end of the wrapper with a smallpiece of lettuce so that the lettuce pokes out a little bit - this isthe top of the roll. Use 2 tbsp. of the mixture for filling (thiswill be a fatter roll than for fried lumpia) on top of the lettuceand roll the wrapper. Close the bottom end of the roll by folding itand securing it with a little water. Wrap each roll with wax paper.Makes 2 dozen, depending on size of roll. Spread garlic sauce over lumpia.

5. Pesang Dalag- (Pesang) Dalag is a mudfish or any most white and fleshy fish is just as good..This is a fish soup dish with vegetable like pechay(bakchoy)or lettuce and round cabbage. The fish is mixed in a boiling rice water, ginger and peppercorns and then add the vegetables. The fish should not be overcooked. It is served with miso(crumbles soy bean curd) sauce.