it's the carbonara's fault

I just had another trip to the toilet AGAIN.

You see, I am off from work this morning because of the carbonara I had. Okay... Okay... I had a lot. But what can I do? We enjoyed it! It's creaminess must be the culprit.

Initially, our plan was to prepare the carbonara after we had dinner last night. But being persons of low EQ (as we always call ourselves), we had it for dinner. And for this breakfast, too! And despite that thing it caused me, we're still having if for lunch... but this time it will be served with fried chicken. Hmmm... yummylicious!

Thanks to Angeli for the title. See it here how I came upon it. :)

second take on carbonara

Last Sunday night while Husband and I were driving back to our apartment from their place, he requested that I cook carbonara – following the same recipe as one of my girl friends did that he liked a lot. I told him that I will cook on Tuesday night.

Since he goes out of work earlier than I do, I tasked him to do the grocery for the carbonara ingredients. I listed down everything I need to make the carbonara.

Around 4:00PM, he has been calling me already. First call was to ask what he can buy as an alternative for basil leaves because he can't find any (basil leaves). I told him none (none, because I don't know what to replace basil leaves with). He asked if rosemary leaves will do, I said NO (because again, I don't know what rosemary leaves are for, and I don't know if it can actually replace basil leaves in my carbonara). Then after a couple of minutes, he called again to ask if I'm sure that it's really all-purpose cream that I want him to buy (seeing pictures of breads and fresh fruits on the packaging confused him a bit. LOL) and whether I only need 3 of those 250mL packs. And he ended our conversation with a sigh of "hirap talagang mag-grocery." ("It's really hard to do the grocery.")

Well, no pain, no gain! :) But he has to worry not because tonight, he is assured to feast on sumptuous carbonara. Hopefully, that is! :)

to craft or not to craft...

While I was searching my pile of bags for something that I can use as my make-up kit, I accidentally found the cross-stitch project I had long been looking for!

This is my orangutan project, some ten years ago, I think. And I guess, this will be my biggest cross stitch project for now. Remember, I am still not done with that tiny Tweety bird I was so excited finishing few months back. And it made me realize that I am no longer as patient nor as passionate with this craft as I thought I was. :(

Perhaps, I should go for crafts that would not be too time-demanding... something that I can see the output in less time... something like... cooking? :)

Oooppsss... photo of the orangutan project to be posted tomorrow, I promise! :)

Pork Siomai Recipe

As requested in my previous post, here is our recipe of pork siomai.  This is the simplest one can make.

• Ingredients:
  • Pork Siomai
    1/2 kilo ground lean pork
    1 bulb of garlic (minced)
    2 eggs
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    ground black pepper
    280 grams siomai or molo wrapper (this pack usually contains 30 pieces of 3"x3" wrappers)
    
    
  • Sauce:
    soy sauce
    calamansi or lemon extract
    1 bulb of garlic (minced)

• Directions:
  
  • Pork Siomai

1. In a large bowl, mix the pork, minced garlic, eggs (need not be beaten), salt and pepper.
2. Put a teaspoon of the mixed ingredient onto the center of a siomai wrapper.
3. Pull up the edges of the wrapper towards the center, making sure the meat mixture is being covered.
4. Steam the siomai for 15-20 minutes.

• Sauce

1. In a pan, bring to a boil 1/4 cup of cooking oil.
2. Put the bulb of minced garlic, stirring continuously until golden brown.
3. Drain the garlic from oil. Set aside.
4. In a sauce bowl, mix soy sauce and calamansi extract (lemon will be good too).

Serve the steamed siomai, soy sauce and lemon mixture, and browned garlic separately. Others may not want garlic on their sauce. If you prefer, you may also add chilli sauce to your soy sauce and lemon mixture for added spice.

Happy cooking!!! :)

Christmas Eve Menu

Mama and I have finalized our menu for the Christmas Eve. As earlier planned, we shall have fettuccine carbonara, macaroni salad, and instead of chicken lollipops, we shall have drumsticks. And because it is quite cold here due to our close proximity to Tagaytay City, we shall also have pancit molo, and pork siomai to match it. And for dessert on Christmas Day, we shall have fruit salad.  However, we decided to forego the traditional ham and queso de bola, since we are not really big fans of those.

We are set to prepare the salads tomorrow, and I'm just hoping we won't finish eating them before the Christmas Eve. *lol*  As for the other food, we'll cook them on the night of the 24th.

I'm so excited already!  :)

Vacation Day 2: a couch potato looking forward to the Christmas Eve

We're home in my mom's place and I have a 24/7 access to the Internet. But why don't I feel so excited about using it? I just check my mails every now and then, log on to my blogger account to see if any blogs I'm following has anything new, if none, I scroll to the older posts. It's the reader-not-a-writer in me, I guess.

Anyway, this is my second day of vacation, and I haven't done anything productive nor interesting. I've been sleeping the whole day, eating as soon as I wake up. I'm having a slight headache, and I'm thinking "have I overslept already?" *lol*

But of course, looking forward to the Christmas Eve, Mama and I have been planning for the menu.  We're only five in the house, and we're not really expecting any guests, not until the Christmas day that is, so we are just thinking of preparing something we will all love: fettucini carbonara, macaroni salad, chicken lollipops.  That's what we have in mind right now.  But I'm still thinking of something else that I would love to feast on during the Christmas Day.  Suggestions, anyone?  :)

my life as a wife... for now.

I have been "angel-less" for four weeks and 2 days now. No, not that guardian angel sort of thing, but an angel as I call household helpers.

And despite the fact that nobody else takes care of our household chores but us, Husband and I feel that we are more relaxed coming home, enjoying our meals and helping each other out with chores that need to be done.

And here is a list of the things I certainly enjoy doing at home even if it means having less rest time:

• Preparing our meals. I need to get up 30 minutes earlier to prepare our first meal of the day. And even at times I still feel very sleepy and the thought of myself snugging in bed seems to pull me back to sleep, I get up and do some cooking. And at night, when I come home after work, I still prepare food for dinner. Sometimes I cook, other times I just re-heat left-overs. It is rewarding to see that Husband enjoys the meal so much so that he ends up doing the dishes. ;)


• Taking care of our clothes. Having been brought up by my Mama to wear clean and well-pressed clothes no matter how old the clothes may be, I kind of imbibed that obsession in me. Without a helper to do the ironing, I can meticulously press our clothes, making sure that we both look neat wearing them.


• Cleaning the house. I used to avoid cleaning the house because I am very much allergic to dust. Even if I use mask to cover my nose, or I use vacuum cleaner to dust off the entire house, I would still have my allergic attacks. Fortunately, I have discovered using the mop to clean the floor and everything else that can be mopped. :) The house is clean, and I don't have to worry about rashes or swollen eyes because of allergies. It feels good to come home when everything around is clean and orderly.


• Movie marathon. And who says I need to spend all my time doing the chores? Well, it's not really a movie marathon, we just watch one movie every night on poqui. And it's a great feeling after a day of work and some household chores to cuddle up in bed sharing laughter over some comedy films. :)

And last night, due to my insistent demand, we installed the red and green Christmas lights on our door. Christmas spirit is in the house, at last! :)

i should cook

Eating is something Husband and I really enjoying doing together. Be it dining out, or feasting on food prepared at our very own kitchen, as long as it is good, we will enjoy as much.

But last night was different...

Wanting to eat as soon as we get home from office, I just instructed our Angel (household helper) to do the cooking. She would just fry the chicken that she marinated the day before anyway. But to my disappointment the fried chicken I was so looking forward to at dinner tasted so bland. I know I should be grateful that we have food to eat, but that's exactly my point... we should make the most out of our available supply and not waste it by cooking tastelessly, after all it is not that hard to prepare a savoury fried chicken!

It is frustrating to know that I cannot delegate our Angel to prepare even the simplest of meals... I just thought that with her around I can simply pass on my recipes to her and she can prepare it the way I could. But then, just like what I always tell myself "If you want things done, do it yourself." But hey! What is the word delegation for then??? Well, maybe not for cooking. And come to think of it, Husband enjoys more when I'm the one preparing his meal. So as agreed upon, I will still be the one to cook for us.