Cooking for Dummies: Not so rotten tomatoes.

I suppose I am not hopeless after all. For the past 2 days, I have spent time in the kitchen probably more than I have ever had in the past year. But it went great! And I pretty much entertained myself in making the food a little more interesting for the house. Breakfasts for my older siblings, and dinners with my dad. I’ve already shared to you my first breakfast session for my older siblings (click here). I get to spend home dinners with dad when I’m here — basically because he gets back from work earlier than my siblings (they go home very late after work). For the past two nights, he’s been looking pretty beat. And I’m wondering why I only noticed now how exhausted and old he’s getting. I figured making sure he had great dinners to go home to after a tiring day for the past two days is the best thing I could do (I will go back to university tomorrow).

– DAY 1: Power of Recycling –

For the first dinner, I practically just heated food. Lol. Thanks to my sister’s tomato-based chicken casserole. It’s by far the best she’s made. She used tomato paste, some spices she wouldn’t tell me (or I didn’t bother to ask lol). But I made extra effort in making garlic bread (again!), since my dad hasn’t tried them yet. Before this, I probably already have made three batches of garlic bread and yet he hasn’t tasted one. So, voila! A whole new set for sharing between him and I!

Dad loves his lettuce and begins every single meal with it so I already put some on his plate before I called him down for dinner. NOTE: That Korean roasted nuts dressing is so good it made me eat salad. This is me. I almost NEVER eat veggies. Try it on your kids or your rebellious teenagers lol

So yes, THAT was dinner number 1. I added Parmesan cheese to my chicken sauce — ala chicken parmigiana. Ha ha!

– DAY 2: You Name It–

Day 2 was a totally different experience. I had to cook from scrap! Our house help did come in but she was busy trying to put our house back together (lol) so I didn’t want to bother her by demanding food. I then  took out stuff from the ref that looked appealing to me: cubed pork from the freezer, bag of potatoes from the chiller, tomato paste, and butter. The help served as my guide while I did the whole thing. It was pretty nice of her, actually. Since she was just a temporary replacement for our actual house help who just gave birth, I must say she was pretty patient with me.

I fried the potatoes in butter (my mom’s gonna KILL me for this) after having them boiled into edible pieces. While I was doing that, the cubed pork were boiling in another pot. It took forever to do that. Then I added pepper, garlic powder, onions, tomato paste, basil, and salt to the pork. I wish I could give you a more adequate description of what I did but you do get the general idea, right?

Now THAT was dinner number 2. Ha ha I was surprised with how it turned out. ‘Cos I seriously had no idea what I was doing. I don’t even know what to call that. Maybe you can help me name it!  But it does taste good — not to mention pretty edible. Lol. My dad was very pleased, we had a good post dinner conversation.

—–

Yes, the past two nights have been full of tomato based viands. Ha ha! And quite happily, I’m glad the dishes I put together (since technically I didn’t “cook” the viand for Day 1 dinner), didn’t turn out to be so rotten to the palette. I’m also relieved I didn’t blow up our kitchen. *wink*

Dummy out!

Thoughts and Shadows: Loosening grip.

I will always remember you, and you will remember me, just as we will remember the evening, the rain on the windows, and all the things we’ll always have because we cannot possess them.

[ B R I D A  C O E L H O ]

I had a dream yesterday. My subconscious playing with me in a not-so-nice way. It was and felt  so real to the point that the moment I opened my eyes, I burst into tears. The dream painted a very clear picture of what I have been dreading the most. And although I have conditioned myself to the possibility of eventually losing someone I’d rather not, I wasn’t able to help myself but feel fear and sadness. The only thing that stopped my bawling was this simple reminder: that nothing of this world is fully in our hands.

It is the one universal rule I try to live up to. Nothing in this world is permanent, and it is pointless to give our all in keeping everything we can within our reach. It was a reminder that my life does not belong to me but to God and He will do as He please with it for me to see, know, and love Him better. In truth,  the rest is up to Him, and the best we mortals can do is to live our lives in ultimate appreciation for every single second we are given the chance to live it. To grab every single opportunity to see Him through the people he sends us, to know Him from the trials we go through, and love Him by giving back every bit of ourselves to Him and the people He loves. Whatever happens, I should always have a grateful heart for what He gives me and ALSO for what He rightfully takes away.

If our paths completely separate soon, remember that you are one of the lighthouses God built for me. Perfectly designed to be there in my darkest hour, feet planted on the ground, unconsciously waiting for me to eventually come your way. When I did get to where He put you, you picked me up and carried me far away from the storm wreck. Without questions or hesitations, you did. You are my lighthouse. But I have always been His and He will take me wherever He plans to put me. You were meant to play a significant role in my life. That counts for a lot.

I love you.