Episode 5 Cooking Down the Drain

it's been 193 days since my last post.

what happened?

in a genetically mutated nutshell, here's what happened:

april 7
left baguio city, my home for a decade :(

months in between that dreaded day and today
(not in chronological nor sane manner)
went to bolinao, celebrated lola's 3rd death anniversary (is such event appropriate to be celebrated??), several birthdays of family members, applied for an office job, quit office job after 6 days due to insufferable commuting, filed LOA for MA, applied for passport, went to an indie film fest where we're supposedly to watch a film participated by one of our friends but ended up going to MOA 'cause the tickets were sold out (as our great artista friend thought we didn't need to reserve tickets ahead), went to a despedida party for a friend now editorial-photo-shooting in cambodia, dressed-to-kill for a wedding (unfortunately, not mine)

dishes served within those agonizing months
ref cakes (measly graham crackers, cream & fresh mangoes/canned peaches/powdered strawberry juice, oh yes, POWDERED juice) for cousins, sister and partner's sister, pasta in red sauce (ONCE), japanese eggplant omelette or what we call in Filipino, tortang talong (five times, give or take)




bottom line
see title

:(

Episode 4 Procrastinate Later

I was too busy being frantic yesterday* on how to start my thesis proposal. The result, I'm only starting today.I deserve a slap.

But come weekend, undescribably fabulous meals would be served!

*it's already the 26th, Friday here in the Philippines.

Episode 3 Procrastination = More Dishes

Unfinished writing task - four 500-word articles on buying land and home mortgages

Master's thesis proposal progress - none

Pasta dishes - one new experiment

Penne with Fresh Tomatoes, Mushroom

and Mussels sauteed in Cayenne, Herbs and Garlic

= Am I getting somewhere? Hell YEAH. :D

Episode 1.5 Still Riggin My Brain If I'm Sure With This

Of course, I'm finding this new perspective a healthy venue for me to seriously dedicate the rest of my twenteen life to cooking, lest vent out just anything I believe I deeply thought about. But I'm still not sure how long I can keep up with this thing. Sure, it is still exciting. Duh, it's my second day to blog! Fuck. Pessimism never got anybody anywhere.

Then again, the confusion has once again sprung because I have deliberately procrastinated other so-called important things, i.e. my master's thesis proposal and brain-stumping work (web article writing on utterly redundant real estate topics, which by the way, I can never find purpose for except I get paid second-rate sufficient income). I used to succumb to the idea that for a person to be treated as a financially stable professional, you have to finish a Master's degree and get a high paying job. To fulfill such quest, I enrolled in a Master's Program for Development Communication while employed. Now, I feel burned out, constantly questioning myself, "What the fuck did I get myself into???" I can no longer keep up with this societal bullshit.


And so, to hell with these socially dictated requisites for adulthood! Off to the kitchen.. Cooked dinner for Trish, Marsh and Aga:

Bruschetta with Tomato Salsa and Cheese
and Pan-Seared Chicken with Thyme and Basil Flakes

Then, I was happy again.


The question though still begs. Happiness over obligations?!

Episode 2 The Vow to Feasting

Once the year ends, people scramble to find at least one decent promise to make to themselves. What's your New Year's Resolution, people would often ask once the last day of December says goodbye to give way to the first day of January. I never believed in making such resolution. You can make it anytime of the year.


But as doing this activity can seemingly motivate people to really accomplish what they vowed to achieve for the new year, Trish and I joined the wagon. Our first resolution together was to cook special dishes from one country every weekend. So far, we did:

MEXICAN - January 10, 2010


(sorry, couldn't rotate the pic. dunno how.. hehe)
from Top, clockwise - Homemade Flour Tortillas, Fresh Mangoes and Oranges with Cinnamon-Orange Syrup for Bunuelos, Fajitas Platter, Spicy Chicken Breast with Chipotle Hash and Center - Chipotle Salsa

***

ITALIAN - January 17, 2010

Strawberry Bellini

Insalata di Fruti di Mare

Homemade Gnocchi in Pomodoro Sauce

Cinnamon Zeppoles with Fresh Strawberries

***

INDIAN - January 24, 2010


from Top, clockwise - Mango Lassi, Aloo Tikki, Tandoori Murghi,
Prawn Kofta, Homemade Curry Sauce
and Center - Mashed Potatoes with Garam Masala

***

INTERNATIONAL - January 31, 2010

(with special participation from my dear friends Aga Posadas and Angelo Guison who are great cooks as well. Aga for Thai and Gelo for European dessert.)

from Top, clockwise - Homemade Flour Tortillas,
Spicy Meat with Chipotle Hash, Veggie Fillings, English Pudding,
Mashed Potatoes with Garam Masala,
Loads of Romaine Lettuce and Pad Thai


Our plates! :) plus Strawberry Lassi

***

CLASSIC AMERICAN - February 7, 2010


from Top, clockwise - Mashed Potatoes, Corn on a Cob and Butter, Veggie Salad with Ranch Dressing, Onion Rings, Fried Chicken
and Buffalo Style Spicy Chicken Neck and Strawberry Milkshake


Classic American Plate

We didn't get to cook the past two weekends because of our trip back home. I have researched for other recipes already and the debate between these cuisines - Korean and Filipino is yet to close. (My housemates, June L., Hendrix, Marsh my cousin and of course, Trish can't decide which cuisine is cheaper. Damn we're poor! plus the fact El Nino has once again struck most places here in the country.. Poor water supply, especially here in Baguio. Fuck Drought!)

P.S. A plate per cuisine costs only 100-200 Pesos (that's only around $2-4), plus second to third servings.. :) ain't that cheap? :)

Episode 1 Am I sure of This?

Julie & Julia - I've watched this movie only for three times. Yeah, only three times, compared to the other movies I've weirdly obsessed about and watched over twenty times. Anyway, the latest Julie & Julia watching exploit was a few hours earlier when we (my partner Trish and cousin Marsh) just came home from a week long 'vacation' down in our respective permanent abodes. Read: Parents' house. We've been renting here in Baguio City, the so-called summer capital of the Philippines for several years now. I guess it would be fair to say that I was the Brain of living here thousand miles away from our home towns.

Back in college, I reluctantly accepted my fate to study in the University of the Philippines Baguio. Hell, the ultimate dream was to walk the walk, talk the talk University of the Philippines Diliman style. Like other birdbrains, I honestly thought other UP units were mere second-rates. And surely, I was wrong. I fell in love with the UP constituent unit in Baguio in less than a week I resided in a crappy dorm. Long histories past, rented houses, come and go roommates, I'm still here.. now with my loving partner Trish (FYI the one who 'pushed' me to do this blogging thing..)

Am I sure of this? telling all the world (hopefully, followers would come aflow soon.. haha) my innermost thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams? What the fuck is my dream, are my dreams, anyway? I wanna have kids and own a restaurant. Simple? Daunting? Fuck. I'm scared. Why? 'Cause I've been a coward to face, pursue what I really want.

Wait, what do I really want? Arrggghh!! If you're confused, so am I.

For now, I've started this blog so I can HOPEFULLY gain DIRECTION for my cooking endeavor. This sounds so Julie Powell but I guess everyone has that hidden desire to pursue something so different from our pathetic boring lives. (to my defense, mine is not so boring because, as cheesy as this sounds, of my partner.. ;D plus my Julia Child is Ina Garten.. haha)

And so for this day, I hereby swear on my bags, yup, I'm a bag lady too, that I will try my best to fulfill these tasks:

1. Blog about food.
2. Feed Trish, family and friends heavenly dishes.
3. Profess my love for food.
4. Not gain weight throughout the process. (I don't think I need more lbs! I'm overweight!!!)
5. Attempt to collate my Lola Tina's and Trish's Mommy Lyr's recipes and turn it into a wonderful cookbook.
6. Enjoy.

Would you be interested to follow my quest?