La cocinera amateur.. Bizcocho de Chocolate con Naranja y Almendrales/nueces

Esta receta mi niño me lo ha pedido. La ha visto de una revista infantil.
He seguido las instrucciones al pie de la letra aunque por disponibilidad de ingredientes, he optado por los nueces ya que no tenemos almendrales y que quitado la sal ya que procuro no utilizat mucho sal en mi cocina.  Gracias. 
Espero que os guste! 


Complejidad:  Facil 
Tiempo de Preparacion y Coccion:  1 hora 

Ingredientes: 

1 naranja mediana - exprimir el zumo y rallar la piel 
175g de mantenquilla 100 g de chocolate negro 
4 huevos 
100 g de azucar muy fino
1 cucharadita de esencia de vanilla
75g de harina 
75g de almendra molida - Lo he reemplazado con nueces picaditos 
1/2 cucharadita de levadura extrafina
1 pizca de sal - no lo he puesto ya que procuro minimizar el uso de sal en mi cocina 
Un molde redondo 

Pasos a seguir:
1.  Exprime el zumo de naranja y ralla la piel. 
2.  Derrite la mantequilla y el chocolate en un cazo a fuego medio removiendo constantamente y deja enfriar.
3. Precalentar el horno a 180º y engrasa el molde.
4. Bate los huevos, el acuzar, vanilla.
5.  Añade la preparacion a base de chocolate y el zumo de naranja. 
6.  Tamiza la harina, la levadura y agregarles a la mezcla.
7.  Añade las almendrales/nueces y la ralladura de naranja y remueve.
8.  Echa la masa al molde y hornea durante 40 minutos. 

Limited Space.. Making it Work...

I always say that I live in a small but beautiful mansionette, hahaha. During the time that we were seriously considering buying a property, I had it very clear that I want it to be in city center.  I like the cosmo vibe. As a foreigner (I am a Filipino living here in Spain), as a non-driver, meaning I move around using the public transport, I was very pragmatic in esuring that I had everything handy and nearby.  Plus, I like the fact that when I want to, I can go to museums, to parks, to shopping centers, to libraries and just be surrounded by people even if we are all strangers.  

We were lucky to find this property with all the specifications that I wanted especially that we can afford it (housing is absolutely expensive here in Spain!!!), plus its near the church,hospital, health center, playgrounds, markets and public school (we already had the vision of our future family hehehe).  It is beautiful, it has natural light, the neighbors are fantastic.  We are relatively near some of the well known beautiful landmarks and tourist spots and we are close to an area where there is a family night life atmosphere!!! The ONLY DOWNSIDE IS WE DO NOT HAVE BIG SPACE which at some point is also subjective/relative. But... GOD has answered our prayers!! We now have our MANSIONETTE! And that´s all that matters.  Hahahahaha

In the process of maximzing our space, I applied the concepts of minimalism and 5S, a Japanese work organization methodology that talks about the importance of organizing your workspace to achieve efficiency and productivity.  I learned about 5S sometime mid 2000 in my stint as a Continuous Improvement team lead in the leading multinational consulting in my country.  5S stands for Sort, Set in order, Sweep, Standardize and Sustain.

Minimalism aside from being a concept, is a lifestyle which promotes the usage of only the essentials in your life and in the process, decluttering.  There are extreme minimalism approaches such as 0 car, 0 tv etc.  But in my case, I chose the essentials in my life as a wife, homemaker, mother, professional and an individual with hobbies (which means that I have a TV because I am a couch potato! Hahaha).  In the process of organizing our things and our properties as a family, I make sure that I apply the 5S to organize them and ease process of locating them.  

1.  We ensured that we know the dimensions, floor area, corners of our house to ensure that the furniture that we bought fit in. Case in point, we have a foldable dining table.   On regular days, it can fit it a family of 4, ideal for us as we are a family of 3.  But on days that we organize parties, we extend our dining table and it can fit in 8 people, but.. we do not have a lot of space to move around hahahaha. That´s why it is folded on regular days. Hahahaha.. We also have a beautiful round center table.. Having a square shaped or a rectangle center table is not pragmatic in our case as we do not have a lot of space.  

2. We made space for the things that our important to us as a family such as books, toys, sports/hobbies and personal effects crucial as working parents.  

3. We limited our electrical appliances.  Although I am seriously considering buying a kitchen aid or a thermomix, at the moment, my busy kitchen can only boast of the essentials in cooking.. I do not have any sophisticated kitchen robot.. My most sophisticated tools are the pressure cooker and the oven. Hahahahah. 

4.  We always organize.  It´s like working in a restaurant.. We follow clean as you go policy.  After using the kitchen, we make sure that the utensils, kitchen tools are clean, washed and are place in the proper cupboard.  This ensures that our space is tidy almost always. Hehehee.  Towels must be hung.  Clothes upin drying must be folded and stored in the proper drawer.  

5.  We have beautiful, sophisticated drawers which also function as decorative furniture.  

6.  We invested in our built in cabinets, sort of had them customized to ensure that we have the compartments, drawers and the storage functionality fit to our needs.  

With these mindset, we are able to make our small space, really functional! Even if we have a small space, the important thing is to make it work, make it really functional!! Thank you. 

(photo courtesy of the gadgeflow.com.  Thank you) 

(photo courtesy of banakimporta.com.  Thank you) 

(photo courtesy of laoca.com.  Thank you.) 

(photo courtesy of importmania.es Thank you)

Delicious Chicken Adobo.. A Filipino Classic...

Today, I would like to share with you a classic Filipino dish, a staple in every Filipino dining table.. presenting. ADOBO... we usually prepare CPA - Chicken, Pork Adobo.. But because we need to cut down on fats, today, I just prepared Chicken Adobo.

This is just a 3 step procedure, but the result is a selfhood and very tasty concoction of flavours thanks to the mixture of the soy sauce and the vinegar... 

This dish is best served with steamed white ride. 

Complexity: Easy

Preparation and Coking time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken

Garlic

Peppercorn

Bayleaf

Soysauce

Vinegar

Brown sugar 

Boiled egg, optional

Procedure: 

1. Put the chicken in a pot and season it with: garlic, soysauce, peppercorn, vinegar, bayleaf, Brownsugar and water. 

2. Bring to a boil and let it summer until chicken is cooked and tender. 

3. Pour the chicken and its sauce in a bowl. Please remove the bayleaf.

4. Pour 2 teaspoons of oliveoil in the pot and sauté the garlic. Put the chicken and sauce.

5. Reduce the sauce. 

6. Ready to serve. Enjoy!!

Top 10: Favorite Movies :)

Hello All!! One of the sections that I am hopeful to share with you is the top 10 section.   This will itemize my personal favorites on topics, subjects that make us tick as humans.  Even if I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a professional, at the end of it all, I am still human being with hobbies. 

I would like to start by sharing with you my Top 10 Favorite Movies and in no particular order.  This list contains a wide variety of movie genres. 

Hope you enjoy reading this! Thank you!!

1.      The Godfather Trilogy:  This movie tackles the rise to success of the Corleone Family.  Al Pacino was amazing here as an actor.  Actually the acting of the cast here was awesome!! James Caan as Santino, Robert Duvall and of course the late Marlon Brando as the patriarch was cool.  And also, this movie amazed me on how the characters, the Corleone alpha males were able to “disguise” their livelihood. 

2.      The Lord of the Rings Trilogy:  This movie to me is breakthrough in terms of visual effects and technology advancements.  The script was a genius! I did not read any of the books but the storyline is straightforward that you are able to follow the movie plot right away.  My heart immediately feel for Lord Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen).  Elijah Wood (Frodo) was amazing especially on the scenes that he was trying to resist the temptation of the ring of power. 

3.      The Harry Potter Series: Who wouldn´t want to watch this movie?  We saw the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione grew from wizard kids to adolescents.  The cinematography was excellent!! I hope one day I get to travel to the Studio where this was filmed.  The storyline ad script were great!  It was a roller coaster ride of emotions for Snake, considering that he was strict and rigid when after all, he was just being protective of Harry. 

4.      While You Were Sleeping:  My favorite chich flick movie of all time.  Shot in the beautiful city centre of Chicago with the flawless acting of Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman.  It was so touching when the character of Sandra Bullock was talking to the unconscious Peter Callaghan in his hospital bed and she blurted “Have you ever been so sad and lonely that you do not mind speaking alone to a man in come?” (well something like that… And also, the way Jack (Bill Pullman) and Lucy (Sandra Bullock) looked at each other was just love.  This makes me all giddy!!! 

5.      Serendipity:  Love will find its way.  I love this movie because of its soundtrack, the emotions associated with it that makes you glue tied in your seat and of course! This movie was shot in New York during winter.  Beautiful!!

6.      The Prince of Egypt:  A religious animated movie that tackles the life of Joseph, the Dreamer.  This movie is beautiful because it talked about faith, prayers and the love and power of God.  Nothing is indeed impossible with God.  The scene where Joseph (Ben Affleck) was detained, he had to grow a plant and he sang “For you Lord, know better than I, you know the way.. I can´t know the reasons why, I´ll take the answers you will supply, for You know better than I” was very emotional. 

7.      Elsa y Fred: A Spanish movie that talks about finding love almost at your twilight stage. It showed the city center of Madrid and Rome.  The banters/exchange of dialogues between the 2 lead actors was funny, witty and also touching. 

8.      Love Actually: an ultimate feel good love story that took place during my favorite time of the year Christmas!!! 

9.      Cinema Paradiso: An Italian movie that talks about the friendship between Alfredo and Toto, a man and a young boy, who eventually became like father and son.  This is no love story at all but the pure love between Alfredo and Toto is just commendable.  The soundtrack is to die for!!!

10.   Ever After:  This is a Cinderella story. Jejejeje

Peach Apple Pie

This simple snack received a thumbs up seal of approval from my little one. 

Complexity: easy

Prep and Cooking time: approx. 1 hr

Ingredients:

1 pastry dough ( you can get this from the supermarket)

1 medium sized apple, diced

Brown sugar

1 can, peach

Cinnamon powder

Procedure:

1. Caramelize the apple  by heating a pan, adding the apple, brownsugar and cinnamon powder.

2. Drain the canned peach and slice the peach. Mix it with the caramelised apple. 

3. Put the parchment paper on the mold. Lay down the pastry dough and put in the apple and peach as filling. 

4. Cook in the oven for approx. 35 minutes. 

5. Enjoy!!! 

Parenting Journey: The Power of Positive Reinforcement

Parenting Journey:  The Power of Positive Reinforcement

I love my son! He is my life! He is my life´s greatest blessing.  But the reality is there are days that I am dealing with a challenging 2^nd grader who is developing his personality, insisting on his wants, doing things his way and in the process is oblivious to my pleas.  Has this ever happened to you?  That blood just wanted to come out of your eyes, ears and nose or you wanted to slam your head into the four corners of your beautiful home because you have been repeating yourself, saying the same things over and over again? Hahahahaha If not, I am happy for you and please share your tips. Because I am pretty sure in our community/circle of moms, we can all learn from one another!  Thank you in advance.  And in the process that you have faced, are facing a similar challenge, how did you deal with it?  

In this post, I want to share with you a classic, old school method that our children really appreciate – The Power of Positive Reinforcement.  This is a technique that is not only applicable in dealing with our children but also in dealing with our colleagues at work or adults in general.  This is a non-conflictive approach, but it takes a lot of patience and practice to develop it as a habit especially if we are just so exhausted and just wanted things done right away (Ahora Mismo en Español) or my way (A mi manera en Español).  This is a collaborative and a humble approach. 

These are some tips that will help us develop habits and help us solicit attention and action from our little ones: 

1.  When the little one is not paying attention or is ignoring our requests, before we explode or lose our temper, let us:  close our eyes and take a deep breath. This kind of breathing that you actually hear yourself breathing. This will help you to be more tranquil and be clearer when talking to  your little one. This will help us to speak and “give orders” in a calm manner that they don’t sound like orders.  Speaking in a calm, clear manner solicits positive action from the child, as opposed to loud/screaming orders.  Children are very perceptive, if they sense that we are getting nervous  - we start talking fast, our voice tone is increasing we are almost shouting, they become nervous and have the tendency to be loud leading to a cycle of repetition instead of immediate action. 

2.   When talking to your little one, ensure that you keep an eye to eye contact; it must be a loving eye to eye contact not a threatening eye contact hahahaha.  It does not make perfect sense that you are telling the little one to organize his toys while you are in the kitchen.  The eye to eye contact enables us to tell the little one that this is a serious business and that you are with him.  This is paying attention to each other.  Also looking into the child´s eyes will enable you to give him a loving gaze encouraging and empowering him to do the task.  

3.   Use catchy and super polite phrases that reinforce appreciation and feelings of love and letting them believe of their capability to do the task!   I think I already told you that I am polite, right? Hahahaha Even if we are dealing with children, they have feelings which must be addressed.  Thus, we should speak to them with love.  

a.      Examples:

                                                    i.     This is going to be a busy weekend. You brought home a couple of homeworks.  As a big boy who is learning so much from school, you finish your homework first and then will enjoy the weekend to the max! What do you think of that? 

                                                   ii.     Wow! I love the trains and the comics and books that you have published!! But what is this? Why is the study table messy?  Please organize your toys.  As a growing big boy, you need to store your things that way, you will know where they are and refrain from asking me to look for them.  I don´t ask you where my bags are, right?

4.  Focus on the positive outcome that is expected of the situation; of the collaboration of the little one. 

a.      Example:  Son, mama needs to organize the living room.  And because we need to go the park, you like to go to the park right? Please tidy up you room.  We will leave to go to the park as soon as you are done organizing your room, okay? – it may sound redundant, but we are selling the idea. 

5.  Be insistent.  Children will sometimes try to circumvent by running/jumping around, pretending to be sleeping or ust simply pretend not hearing you.  We must be insistent in a pleasant manner and look them in the eyes. A no is always a no.  Sometimes, our NO answer falls into their deaf ears and what must be done? Insist that it is a NO but in a positive way: 

a.      Example: 

                                                    i.     Son:  Mom, can you please buy me this toy?  Mom:  No, son, we have already bought you a toy for your birthday.  Son: But mom, I do not have this model yet. Please mom, I have been a good boy so please buy me this toy.  Mom:  Yes son, you are always a good boy but we did not talk about buying the toy today.  Take a look at the toy, enjoy looking at it and when you are finished, let´s go home.  We can buy it next time, maybe after your judo tournament, but today No. 

                                                   ii.     Mom:  Ei, it´s time to take a shower, please close the tv.  Son:  No! I still want to watch the program.  Mom:  Ei, please close the tv.  It´s time to take a shower.  (and imagine no reply).  Now, the parent should approach the little kid, look him or her in the eye and say  I understand that you love the program.  And I love seeing you enjoying the program.  But now, it´s time to take a shower.  So please listen to me and help me.  Please close the tv and get ready for your shower.  Thank you. 

6.  Set the limits. As we are helping them build skills and  develop the discipline to own up to a task and finish the task, we should set limits.  They cannot be doing a simple task of organizing their toys for 2 hours.  The same thing, to help them concentrate, it is not advisable to tell them to finish their assignment or seatworks when the study table is cluttered with toys.  They will be distracted instead of focused. 

7.  Coming up with a To Do List, in chronological order, will help them develop the habit and visually, if they are not yet able to read, will help remind them on what needs to be done. – I actually have this at home.  There are days that my son is grumpy and I will ask him, oh you are grumpy, you are screaming aloud, where is that behavior in this list? Hehehehe

8.  Celebrate big time all the milestones! Go flamboyant, go all out with your praises when the little one successfully collaborates (Great Job!! Good Job!!! You are the best!! Oh your room is spic and span! Thank you for cleaning it up! This is the most beautiful train or drawing that I have seen!! I am so proud of you!!).  They our children, we need to do our part in affirming their self esteem.  Also, a little rewarding will help (such as extra 15 minutes of their favorite cartoon, a new but inexpensive toy or book, etc). 

Thank you for reading this post and  please share your tips on positive parenting.  

And lastly, thank you my son for being a kind, obedient, loving and sensible boy.  Mom and Dad always love you!!! 

Have a good day to all!! 

Never Stop Believing. Faith.. Hope.. Love..

Have you ever felt left out just because you look and act different?  Have you ever been in a situation where you encounter ambitious/egoistic/self centered people that only know their way?  

If you have, then do not despair.  Just continue believing in yourself and continue being the good person that you are. It is very important to remain confident and optimistic when you come across these type of people because your confidence is your security blanket. We should be armed with Faith, Hope and Love...  Faith in Yourself, Hope that Things will get Better and Love for yourself and your neighbors.  I think these things still occur 

These self-centered people, maybe they are not really bad people at all, but they are just blinded by their ambitions or they are just so competitive that they cannot accept that in most cases, teams work rather than just being an individual contributor or that sometimes, they just find it too difficult that in this world, we may be different races, have different looks and different ways but in the end, we are all humans.  They will try to crush you down, belittle you and be condescending.  But our humility and faith in ourselves with keep us going.  It is also very important to have a strong support system who can egg us on to just shrug it off and take it one day at a time. 

I am speaking from personal experiences.  I have dealt many situations where: 

1.  I was looked down not taken seriously because I dress differently.  I maybe a mom already and now on my early 40s  but I still love color coordinates and still wwear mini skits even in the cold winter! Hahaha I have stockings though... Hehehehe Just because I talk (with my tagalog spanish accent) and I dress up differently, some felt that I do not belong to their league... 

2. I was belittled, looked down and somewhat treated condescendingly because I am very polite.  I always have a ready smile on my face. I greet everyone including the security guards and the cleaning ladies. Even if I am senior manager level, some do not think of me as middle management level because I talk to all team members.  I greet everyone.  I am not a conflictive person.  I am not the type that will say cuss nor foul words during team meetings.  The comic in me comes naturally.  I remember having management meetings with the big boss/managing director and everyone is just laughing because of my banter.  My attitude or my behavior does not change because I am with someone who has a higher or lower position.  At one point, this was considered as a liability in my corporate career.  I remember my client account manager and director who considered me for a Project Manager role for a client.  They talked to me in a private meeting and asked me about my capabilities - how will I defend myself to clients considering that I am short, I am always smiling and that I am not Spanish?? Like what?  I was speechless for a while.  I cannot believe what I heard.  I responded telling them that I always let my credentials show my capabilities.  This happened approx 10 years ago, June 2009 but I always remember it as I learned a lot from it. No way will I change myself just to fit in to a job description or to a mold that someone wanted.  

3.  As a Filipino living and working here in Spain, I have received comments stating that okay, we Filipinos speak better English than most Spanish but still we are inferior. Hahaha Like where did that come from? We were just talking about work and getting the task done.. hahaha hahaha. the important thing is to take things at stride. 

I can go on and on.  But what I would like to say is keep you head up high but still remain humble and prayerful.  We should know our battles so we win in the important ones.  One of the things that people cannot take away from us regardless of our situation and the place where we are is our faith and our innate values.  

1.  Our faith in God will enlighten us during the trying moments in our lives.  I remember when I was starting life anew here in Spain, I was rock bottom mentally.  I had a boss who was really difficult to handle and too control freak, too much of a micro manager that it was getting too draining to argue over a period or a comma.  I prayed and I prayed plus of course, I also had to remain positive and do the work.  And true enough, when man prays, God works.  God turned around the situation and saved me from that very unhealthy situation.  

2.  Having a great support system counts.  My one man support group hahahaha my ever dearest loving husband, who is smart, intelligent and not biased at all also helps.  This support system who is there to listen to our woes and help us to understand our situation really matters.  Thanks sweetie for your kind words!! As the years go by, I have built an intimate circle of friends who understand my situation and have been very generous in helping me as well.  

3.  Keep believing in yourself.  I always believe that in this lifetime, we all have our respective places.  (In spanish; siempre digo que en esta vida soy muy creyente que hay sitio para todos).  If you feel that one job, one situation is not working well for you, then be composed, map out your strategy to rise above the challenge and eventually get out of that situation.  You must make calculated risks to protect yourself and your family´s interests.  

4.  Keep honing your talents and skills.  Never stop improving yourself but do not be blinded by competition, The important thing is that we continuously increase our capabilities.  Let your accomplishments do the advertisements of your capabilities.  Work hard in silence and let your success do the noise!  (I read this somewhere).  

5.  And lastly, continue to be a good, grateful and humble person.  Because in our life, even if it is not a fairytale, the good always triumph over evil. And besides, others will always remember the genuine goodness that we shared with them. 

Have meaningful and blessed Sunday!! Take care!!  

The Amateur Cook in Me.. Chickpeas with Seacod

Es una receta facil aunque requiere tiempo.  Es muy apto para estos dias de frio pero mucho frio! 
Espero que sea util! Un abrazo!! 

Chickpeas with Seacod/Garbanzos con Bacalao 
Complexity: Easy/Complejidad:  Facil 
Preparation and Cooking Time:  120 minutes/Tiempo de Preparacion y Coccion:  120 minutos 

Ingredients: 

1.  Chickpeas - must be soaked in water for at least 12 hours 
2.  Seacod 
3.  Paprika 
4.  Onion
5.  Laurel Bay Leaf
6.  Water and Olive oil 
7.  Garlic 
8. Boiled Egg (optional) 

Ingredientes: 
1.  Garbanzos - tenia que estar en remojo previamente, por lo menos 12 horas 
2.  Bacalao 
3. Pimenton Dulce
4. Cebolla 
5. Hoja de Laurel
6. Agua y aceite de oliva 
7. Ajo
8.  Huevo duro (opcional) 

1.  Drain the soaked chickpeas and set aside/Quitar el agua del garbanzos. 
2.  To cook the chickpeas, you have 2 options: cook using pressure cooker - put abundant water, one onion, bayleaf, and chickpeas and cook in the pressure cooker for approx 50 minutes.  Or you may boil them the regular way, in a pot for approx 90 minutes/Para cocinar los garbanzos se puede utilizar una olla express; hay que poner alli la hoja de laurel, una cebolla y los garbanzos y deja que cocinen por unos 50 minutos o cocinarlos en la manera tradicional en una olla por unos 90 minutos. 
3. Pour olive oil and the sliced onions in the pot and saute until onion is cooked.  Add the paprika and stir quickly to avoid getting burned/Vierte aceite de oliva en una olla y hay que añadir la cebolla gratinada. Una vez cocida, hay que añadir el pimenton dulce y mezclar lo rapido para evitar que se queme. 
4.  Pour the cooked chickpeas, add water and bring to a boil/Añade los garbanzos, agua y deja que hierva. 
5.  Add the crushed garlic and the seacod and bring to a boil and then let it simmer for the next 15 minutes/Añade el ajo bien picadito, el bacalao y deja que hierva y despues cocinar en fuego lento/bajo por unos 15 minutos. 
6.  Ready! Ya esta listo... 

My Family in the Philippines..

This blog post is dedicated to my family in the Philippines.  Lately, I have been thinking a lot about them and how much I miss them.  We always do our best to communicate everytime our schedule allows it but with our time difference and other commitments such as work, our family business and other priorities, we perfectly understand if there are days that we cannot talk a lot.  

I take inspiration in my parenting, motherhood and homemaker journey from my growing up years.  My papa and my mama are my Idols.  I am very thankful to Lord God for blessing me with my parents.  Their words, advices and love have helped mold me and my siblings to become good people.  

I grew up in the Philippines, in the residence of my mother and father, together with my 5 brothers and sisters.  My father was a military officer.  And my mother in spite of her University Degree in English language, opted to dedicate her full time to our family.  I am the second to the eldest in a family of 6 and I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers.  We are a middle, working class family in the Philippines. 

As part of my father´s military duties and commitments, there was a time that we had to relocate.  2 of my brothers were actually born in the beautiful city of Zamboanga, in the south of the Philippines.  There was a time that as we already started schooling and my father had to fulfill his military duties, he was not with us physically. We would see him at least once every two months (if my memory serves me right). And even if my father at one point in our lives, was physically far, he was always a present parent. I remember having him around during my preschool graduation, 1st holy communion, recognition days in the school year end, college graduation.  It pained me so much that my youngest brother did not get to enjoy that. My father died when my youngest brother was only starting on the 6th grade. My father never had the chance to attend my youngest brother´s any graduation rites (elementary, middle school nor university).  

My father was a good provider. But as the lone source of family income, I credit my mother for being able to make ends meet.  My parents prioritized our needs versus our wants.  We always have food on our table even if I never had a Barbie doll during my childhood years. I never really felt that something was missing just because I never had a Barbie doll.  I never really asked for a Barbie doll.  As I am part of a big family, my brothers and I played a lot.  We played retail store games, we played outdoor games together, cards, charades, hide and seek.  Maybe we lacked many types of toys when we were kids, but our bonding and playtime as a family, all made up for that.  

My parents also made sure that we get educated.  My father came from a poor family in the northern part of the Philippines.  He lost his father (my grandfather) when he was barely 11 years old.  And as the eldest in the family, my father took the lead in providing for my grandmother and my aunts and uncles.  My father sent himself to school. As a teenager he worked menial jobs to send himself to school and it stuck to my mind, to my heart, to my being what my father told us once: That he works hard because he does not want his family, his children to experience the difficult childhood that he went through.  My father was the 1st one to graduate in his family. So from then on, he instilled among us the importance of education.  Education will pave the way for opportunities.  This very same principle, I am teaching and passing on to my son.. I am very strict with school because I want my son to appreciate the education that he is receiving and because I want him to develop the discipline that will be necessary to pursue his education. 

My mother is always family oriented, hard working, selfless and is an epitome of unconditional love.  My mother is living her life for us (her family which now includes her grandchildren).  My mother lovingly took care of my father when he was lying in sick for the last 4 months of his life.  My mother was devastated when my father passed away and until now, I see sadness in her eyes. But she is a strong woman.  She rebuilt our family even if my father died early.  No amount of words of gratitude and of love will be sufficient to tell my mom how thankful I am for her.  

As I look back in my growing up years, it was filled with so much love, so much understanding, so much support from my grandparents and my parents.  Even if it was not an easy childhood, the guidance and the love of our parents lit our ways.  It was typical that my siblings and I would have our "fighting moments", I guess it is part of growing up. And now we look back will laughter and with love.  

How I miss my mom, my dad, Ate Paz, my eldest sister who is now a bank manager, Adeng Jon rey, who is now the Operations Manager of our Family business Pintsik Pintsik ChefRey´s Filipino Chinese Cuisine;  he is ChefRey as he is working as the head chef in a 3 star hotel in Makati, he also served as a cook in the Costa Cruise for more than 5 years, Adeng Ryedel who followed our Papa´s footsteps and is now a military officer, a PMAer and is a new dad! Congratulations Adeng.  Adeng Joy Marie, who is the Financial Manager of Pintsik and an experienced Call Center Specialist and of course the youngest, Rexieboy who is now cruising in the Carribean as he prepares to be a seasoned photographer. I also miss my in laws (Kuya Ronald, Joyce and Joy), Analyn who is part of our family and is a committed and faithful help to my mother and of course my nieces Abigail and Hannahdelle and my nephews Pio and Grey!!! 

Writing this made me teary eyed, well, it made me cry hahaha But I know in God´s perfect time, we will get to see each other again and be complete again.  In the meantime, I will continue to relive in heart all the fun memories that I have with all of you. Love you Mudra and mga kapatid ko!! mwuah!!! 

The Amateur Cook in Me.. Chicken Soup

This is my easy, go to dish whenever my hubby is down with colds or with fever.  This is fresh, healthy and budget friendly.  This dish is super appropriate for winter, to combat the cold weather! 

Complexity: Easy
Preparation and Cooking time:  45 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1. 1 medium sized carrot, 
2. 3-4 celery stalks 
3. fish sauce 
4.  1/4 chicken breast, without skin, in slices 
5. boiled egg (optional) 
6.  onion and olive oil 
7.  water 

Procedure: 
1. Pour olive oil and saute onion. 
2. Add the chicken and mix until slightly cooked 
3. Add the carrots,celery and mix all together
4, Add fish sauce to taste (this substitutes the use of salt.  In cases that I use salt for cooking, I use himalaya salt). 
5. Add water and bring them to a boil. 
6  Put to medium heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. 
7. Slice the hard boiled egg and include it prior to serving. 

The Amateur Cook in Me.. Vietnamese Spring Rolls

This is a delish, fresh, super easy and super light meal!! Perfect for a light dinner meal!! 

Complexity: Easy 
Preparation Time:  20 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1.  Vietnamese Spring Roll Wrapper 
2.  Bean Sprouts
3. Spring Onion
4. Peppermint 
5. Fried Onion Flakes (optional) 
6.  Cooked/Boiled Shrimps 

For the sauce: 
1.  Vinegar 
2.  3 cloves of garlic
3.  Chili flakes 

Procedure: 

1.  Peel off and devein the shrimps. Set aside. 
2.  Soak in water the spring roll wrapper for 15 seconds. It should soften. 
3.  Gently put the softened spring roll wrapper on a plate and put 2-3 slices of cooked shrimp, then top it with bean sprouts and then the peppermint and the spring onion.  Add the onion flakes if you want to. 
4.  Wrap the filling with the spring roll wrapper. 
5.  For the sauce, put all the ingredients together.  Put more chili flakes if you want it more spicy. 
6. Ready! Enjoy your meal.

The Amateur Cook in Me... Salmon con Salsa de Naranja

Quick, healthy, fresh and light lunch or dinner.  

Complexity:  Easy 

Preparation and Cooking Time:  approx 45 minutes 

Ingredients: 

2-4 slices of salmon 

orange juice 

1/2 teaspoon sugar 

Procedure: 

1. Pre-heat oven 

2. Wash the salmon and put them on the oven tray

3.  Squeeze juice from 1 big orange or 2 medium sized oranges

4.  Add minimal brown sugar on the squeezed orange juice and mix 

5.  Pour the orange juice on the salmon

6. Cook in the oven at 160º for 30 minutes. 

7.  Ready to serve and eat!! Enjoy!!