The Christmas Story - For Nothing is Impossible with God

No, this is not a rehash of the gospels' first chapters...

Went to Dallas area two Sundays ago and attended the Stonebriar Church in Frisco. Chuck Swindoll preached about the Christmas Story. He emphasized Gabriel as the messenger of God's message and Mary as the recipient of God's message. Yes, Mary was going to conceive a baby even without knowing a man. For as Gabriel said, "for nothing is impossible with God."

And for all practical purposes, we are either the recipient or the messenger of God's messages, too. As messengers, are we bringing the message? As receivers, are we receptive to the message? Regardless, what encourages me most is that "with God, all things are possible"!

Meanwhile, the church has moved to the its new building which is adjacent to the old one. It's already decorated with the Christmas theme, so we took the photo opportunity. Wouldn't miss that, of course! (The Manigsaca's chatted and took a picture with CS, too...)


After church, we visited Jeff, Leanne and the kids. As usual Leanne whipped up a special meal for the 8 members of the Baranggay Manigsaca - Shrimp in Thai Red Curry and Sinigang na Bangus. And then they researched the directions to the X mark - where JFK was assassinated - but we ended up not going there since our chauffer was feeling sleepy and tired already.

Thanks again, Li! And just drive down south anytime... like when you feel like watching at Rockbox :)

PS. The photos at your house was with Joey/Shiela's camera - I will post it once I get copies from them.

Read more...

Cannoli Joe's

For a year now, we have been planning to dine at Cannoli Joe's in South Austin, but somehow, Buffet Palace always wins out. I see it often when I go through Ben White Blvd/290/71. Al has dined there a couple of times courtesy of the big company (or is it from the boss' wallet?) and says he likes it, but not for everyday meals. So, I was intrigued...

So finally, we have an excuse to check it out (Hi, Tita Rory!).

After church last Sunday, we all met up at Cannoli Joe's and here is my "review":

FOOD
It was buffet style, aka smorgasbord...

Anyway, food was okay - the different pasta dishes were tasty, the grilled vegetables were good, the salads were okay,too. Different from our everyday fare, but nothing really spectacular. Lots of oil - olive oil, I guess, since Italian cuisine is known for that.

I tried the cannoli for dessert because that's what the place is named after... and was disappointed. I really do not know what a good cannoli tastes like but that did not taste great by any standard.

On the other hand, I may not be reviewing the food fairly because I avoided the meat section because of the meat-heavy meal on Saturday night. I didn't see any shrimp, fish or any seafood though. Maybe that means, I have to go back and try them once more :)

And we are not wine people, so I have nothing to say regarding that.

The good thing is that you don't have to order and wait long for your food to arrive.

AMBIANCE
Very nice place... the waiting area was large, warm and interesting. The bar was near the entrance and there were plenty of partitioned dining areas which made the place feel cozy.

The dishes are displayed in what looked like street stands. (It reminded me of Street Life in Glorietta - is that place still there?)

Got this clip from YouTube to give you an idea what it looks like inside...

STAFF
The Front person, the Waitress and even the Accordionist were friendly and accomodating.


PRICE
Sunday Brunch costs $13.99 for adults and $5.99 for kids under 12 years old. Not cheap.

Tita Rory and Tristan said that for the food we ate, it would have been probably less expensive to eat at Buca Di Beppo because they serve family-style. Hmmm... maybe next time, we'll try that place :)



Heard of either Italian restaurants? Care to share your experience?

Read more...

The Greatest Turkey Recipe on Earth

Due to persistent public demand (ahem...), here is the greatest turkey recipe on earth!

Thanks to John Dawson, aka Patio Daddio of Boise, Idaho...

...who unselfishly shared his brine recipe, answered all my "stupid" questions about how to roast a turkey and pointing me to a step-by-step process in the web.

The turkey was soft, moist and very, very tasty. Some of the comments were "tastes like Andoks/Baliwags", "I normally don't like turkey, but this I love", "we don't need gravy for the turkey", etc, etc. There was barely meat left over the bones! Success!!! I am pleased that everyone seem to have loved the turkey. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Anyway, I could have rewrote and integrated all the recipes together. However, I would miss a lot of John's tips and pointers if I do that, so I am giving you the raw IM conversation with all the links ...

John: FYI
http://www.utahbbq.org/viewtopic.php?t=1631

me: yo John! you sure you use ziploc with that rock?

John: That's how I roll, girl!
How art thou?

me: pls be patient with this ignoramus...

John: LOL

me: brine means keep it submerged?

John: Brine means a salt/sugar solution.

me: yup and keep it submerged?
the verb you know

John: It causes a complicated chemical reaction in the meat.
Yes
Submerged is key

me: alright...I was wondering if that meant I have to massage a bird...

John: No, this is not a spa recipe.
You don't have to wax it either.

me: hahahaha!!!so what is Chinese five spice and where to get it?

John: Let me Google it...
Seriously, you can get it at Albertson's or any store with an Asian section.

me: why does it have to be in the ice bucket?
why not just refrigerate it?

John: Ice = cold = bacteria die = you don't get sick.
It takes a five gallon bucket to hold it all.

me: alright... but the "keep it outside does not work here in TX!!!
ice will melt!

John: 2 1/2 gal water + 12-15 lb. bird
Use a cooler instead of the bucket.

me: okei...
so obviously, I do not cook a lot...

John: You will be happy with the results.

me: how long should I cook it at what temp?

John: If you take it to church you will be known as "The Turkey People".

me: hahahahahaha!!!!

John: Serious
I'll be doing one again this year for the church dinner.
Just drain and roast it as you normally would.

me: duh... I don't know what normal is!
roast=bake or broil?
we don't do this in the Philippines you know

John: Hang on...

me: the last time I "supervised" the turkey, we microwaved it to thaw it!
with the wire on the feet
am I hopeless?

John: Use this process, but substitute my brine.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
You will be very, very happy.

me: whoa! 500 deg!
I did not even know that they go that high!

John: For the first 30 minutes only

me: Recipe is too confident: Level= Easy
yes, sure...

John: "Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes."
That's just to brown the skin
"Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees."
"A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting."
Or, if you are adventurous...

me: interesting... you brown the skin first then let the inside cook...

John: http://orionoutdoors.com/products/holiday-turkey-cooker-smoker/
Yep

me: the last time, I baked it then browned it by leaving the bird after I turned the oven off. I ended up with a dried bird

John: You can get the Orion cooker at Home Depot. It's outstanding!
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100402905&N=3658+90401&marketID=401&locStoreNum=8125

me: interesting! no oil on the Orion

John: It was on sale for $89 like two weeks ago.
Nope. It's worth its weight in gold.

me: darn... missed the sale...

John: Even my competition BBQ buddies couldn't believe what it can do.

me: just charcoal...

John: Very, very versatile.
Yep.
One bag of Match Light and a turkey

me: how do you clean it?

John: It's 100% stainless steel and cleans like a huge pan.
No rust and compact.
You can even do brisket and spare ribs in it.
Get one and thank me later.
They sponsored me in BBQ in 2007.

me:
alright...

John: Great cooker for those that want the grub with little fuss.

me: I think I'm cooking turkey this year...

John: You go girl!

me: I need that... turkey, here I come!

John: I'm always on-call if you need help.

me: thanks!!!

John: You will be the Turkey Queen soon.

.....

Am I Turkey Queen now? Probably not yet :) - once does not make you a queen, you gotta show reproducibility and repeatability of results. Hahaha... that's R&R for you stats!

Anyway, there you have it... Christmas is coming soon so follow this and you, too, can have soft, moist and ultra-delicious turkey courtesy of Patio Daddio!

Dare challenge the greatest turkey recipe on earth? :)

Read more...

Thanksgiving 2008

On Thanksgiving day itself, Al and I really had no special plans. We just wanted to finish the painting the walls ...

Joey called before noon though and invited us to have dinner at their house. And go we did and were greeted with tableful of food that Shiela and Mamang cooked

- Turkey lettuce wrap, Sliced turkey, Pancit, Grilled salmon, Fresh veggies, chips and dip. I brought Chicken Teriyaki (and ingredients for Vietnamese noodles - which remained off the table since there was plenty of food already).

The "real" Thanksgiving celebration happened last Saturday though. We had friends and family over. They wrote out what they were grateful about in their lives. Then Tristan spoke about "The True Meaning of Thanksgiving".

Then it was chow-time! Since it was a pot-luck, we had plenty of gooood food! The only thing I regretted was that I was not able to truly taste the rest of the food too much because I stuck with the turkey :). I have to say I was mightly pleased with the turkey! (I will share you the greatest turkey recipe on earth on tomorrow's post!) I also concocted the cranberry (etc) iced tea and the gulaman (sans sago) drink which the guests loved :)

And of course, we had games! The kids enjoyed upstairs (courtesy of Ann and Shiela) while the adults laughed through 20 Questions and screamed lots during the 1, 2, 3 Pass card game.

And so, lest we forget what thanksgiving is really all about in the midst of all the food, games, fun and celebration... here's my list of what I am thankful for:

I am thankful for being alive, for having all my senses and my body is complete.

I am thankful for having lived a full life and seen a lot in this world.

I am thankful for family and friends who have colored my life.

But most of all, I am thankful to God who loves me, who is faithful even if I am not and who is always more than enough for me!


I know this post is a week late for Thanksgiving but Scripture does say to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18) - not just on Thanksgiving day!

So, what are YOU thankful about?

Read more...

Unbelievable!!!

I don't know how these guys make money out of this but apparently they do. Otherwise, they would have been out of business a long time ago! (Also, I rarely blog about this (and 2 in a row, too!) but I am compelled to share this.

Alright, do the math...
$25 gift certificate for $10.
Further discount that...
$25 gift certificate for $2... (jaw drop)!!! How, oh how???

How much gain does Restarant.com get?
How much gain does the actual restaurant get?

Maybe I should quit asking those questions... the advantage is mine, anyway :)

Last Friday, I updated the Restaurant.com coupon for the 70% discount which meant that the $25 gift certificate costs $3 only.

I just updated it again with the new coupon for the 80% discount! This means that the $25 gift certificate now costs only $2!!! But only for 36 hours from midnight today Tuesday to noon Wednesday.

So do not tarry, go get your $25 gift certificate for $2 at Restaurant.com! (See right sidebar for the Coupon Code to avail of this promo!)

Will they ever get to 90% ($1) ??? Greedy, greedy...


RELATED LINK:
How To Use the Restaurant.com Coupon Code
A Break From Home-Cooked Meals

Read more...

How To Use the Restaurant.com Coupon Code

The Restaurant.com $25 gift certificate is sold regularly at $10.

The Coupon Codes I add in the right sidebar though will further reduce that. The Coupon Codes are further discounted by:
50% - $5 for the $25 certificate
60% - $4 for the $25 certificate
70% - $3 for the $25 certificate

Actually, the same Coupon Code can be used for their Dinner of the Month Club. The Dinner of the Month Club is a way to receive $25 certificate monthly for the selected period - 3, 6 and 12-months.

The Dinner of the Month which is valued at $300 ($25 * 12 months for the longest option) regularly costs $120. With the Coupon Codes, they are typically discounted in a similar rate above:
50% - $60 for the $300 value
60% - $48 for the $300 value
70% - $36 for the $300 value

When I get new information on a Coupon Code, I revise the right sidebar on this blog. I add in the appropriate price, Coupon Code and applicable date.

So when you see a Coupon Code that is still within the applicable dates, you can use it to get the deeply discounted gift certificates! Otherwise, you get the gift certificates at their regular prices!

So when you are ready to try and take advantage of these discounts, just click on Restaurant.com and you will enjoy these:

• A great savings to you
• An easy way to discover new dining experiences from one of more than 8,500 restaurants nationwide
• The perfect gift anytime

RELATED LINK:
A Break From Home-Cooked Meals

Read more...

Mango Poblano Chile Quesadillas

Yvonne and I ate at Hula Hut a couple of weeks back. I ordered the Mango Poblano Chile Quesadillas based on her recommendation. Here's a photo of that:

Her cousin thought that the item was odd tasting and that "You Austinites are really weird" or something to that effect. Well, I'm just a transplant but I think it was quite interesting - in a good way. I thought it was like a crepe.

So, I tried it at home and I still liked it. Here is the recipe to make 3 large servings (about 300 calories each)...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Fresh mango, diced
1/2 Poblano chile, diced
Cream cheese - 2tbsp per wrap
Tortilla wrap (I used the Jalapeno Cheddar (yellow) and the Garden Spinach Herb (green) flavors)



DIRECTIONS:
• Just spread the cream cheese on the tortilla wrap.
• Add a third of the diced fresh mango and a third of the poblano chile. Press down the mango and chile gently just enough for them to "embed" to the cream cheese.
• You can eat it directly without all of those other preparations!
- If you want a crispy wrap, you can put the wrap on flat pan and heat it up for a few minutes. (Spray oil optional.)
- If you want the poblano chile to be softer, you can cook pan fry it first before using them.

If you want it to be more savory, use the yellow Jalapeno Cheddar wrap. If you want it to be more neutral-tasting, use the Green Spinach Herb. You can also use the plain tortillas, too!

Try it and let me know how yours went!

Read more...

I Voted for the Winner!

Hey, remember the recipe contest about a week and a half ago? Justine who submitted Garlic Spinach Bowtie Pasta won!

I voted for her recipe in the Finals because it sounded easy to prepare and it is meatless too!

So I tried it last Sunday, and here is what it looks like:


The photo does not do justice to it!

It was sooo yummy... it's officially a 2-thumbs up, husband-approved recipe! And since I put a lot of garlic powder on my plate, I still had garlic breath till the next day! That's the only drawback :(

The modifications I did to Justine's recipe are to use:
- 2 tbsp canola oil (instead of 1 cup olive oil)
- canned mushroom (instead of fresh), and it still was watery. I also sauted it first before the spinach.
- 1 pound (!!!) of spinach, and we still have extra pasta even after finishing all the spinach!

Try it, it's soooo gooooddd!

Read more...

Another Reason to Visit San Antonio!

Yes...we found another reason to go to San Antonio. And that is...


Mekeni is a Filipino restaurant in Universal City, 18 miles northeast from San Antonio and very accessible from the highway I-35. It is owned by a Filipina lady married to a Korean man. The restaurant used to be in the same building as their grocery store - MY Chock Dee - near the Randolph Air Force Base. The restaurant just recently opened in their current bigger location.

We arrived at the restaurant on Friday 6pm and we were the only party in there. The restaurant looks okay, nothing fancy. It smelled good, actually too good. I prefer the smell of food rather than the perfumy. Maybe we arrived
(Although I think they were cleaning it too extremely because the interior smelled too nicely.)

The food was still hot and freshly cooked (we came at the right time!). They were delicious - uhmm, uhmm!!! Specially the sinigang and the shrimp halabos and the laing...everything!

Everyone working there were Filipinos. Based on the way they spoke Tagalog, they seem to be first generation here in the US. So the cooking and the hospitality was genuinely Filipino. They even had pan-de-sal for taking out - $2 for 12 pieces!

When we were finished at 6:30, there was a group of Filipina elderly ladies in one table, a Caucasian family of about 10 in another table and a group of 4 young military-looking folks (just basing on their haircut) in another table.

The place gets packed on Saturday and Sunday with the peak on Sunday lunch. The variety of food is also wider on the weekends, so we heard, and as yummy as ever. So... we just found another reason to visit San Antonio!


Our main reason, however, was to attend Beth Moore's Living Proof Live event for the ladies at Alamodome. Beth Moore talked about us being heiresses of God. We forget that easily when we are enmeshed with the daily challenges of life. We got reminded that it is God who assigns our portion, that our lot is secure, and that we have a beautiful inheritance. We were urged then to go fight the beautiful fight!

Travis Cottrel led the singing. I closed my eyes and I thought this must be how it sounds in heaven when everyone praises the Lord! Wow! And here is the sound of 10,000 voices singing.


It was our first time for us in-laws (MIL, 2 SILs, moi) and a good friend Marisa to go to such an event together. It was fun inasmuch as it was refreshing.


Meanwhile, what is a trip to San Antonio without going to Sea World? The men and the boys were there since it opened at 10am. We just joined them at noontime after the event.

I got to see Shamu again but missed the Beluga whale because it just gave birth. So I finally went and saw the world famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses and got to see Busch, Bud and Diamond who were in the front stalls while the rest were behind the cordoned area. They are biiig and beautiful!!!


There was heavy rains for about 20 minutes in the middle of the afternoon. Other than that, the day was perfect - not too hot because of the cloudy skies.

Then it was time go home.

Read more...

Crank That Lumpia!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who voted for the delicious, crispy Lumpia!

However, Lumpia was a few votes shy of the top 3. It was #4 at 166 votes versus Cauliflower with 175. It's still a great experience though - I did not imagine having this many votes at the end of the week because there were only about 50 votes by Friday. And there were a hundred more in the last 2 days! Awesome!!!

So, even if lumpia did not make it to the Finals, I leave this Soulja Boy-inspired Crank That Lumpia song I found. Go groove with it!



Funny where the song starts with this Tagalog statement (translated) - "You are eating all the lumpia, those are for the visitors." Just goes to show how special lumpia is in the Philippine household - it's typically reserved for the visitors!

Once again...My many, many thanks to all of you who voted because every vote counted. And those who forwarded the "cry for help" to others.

Special thanks to Gladys for tirelessly campaigning (disturbing? :) ) all her relatives, friends and IM-mates to vote for the Lumpia.

For Joey too for the opportunity to make an error of judgement :) I've learned and have come to know myself better for that.

I can't say thank you enough... but again, THANK YOU!!!

PS. I researched the "movie" beyond that song and I had high hopes for it ... but I was disappointed. So don't bother googling it - it is amateur and juvenile. Sorry if that hurts, but that's my opinion.

Read more...

Pancit de Miki

Al and his officemates planned to have a pot luck lunch last Tuesday. He asked me (I think perfunctorily) if I could make pancit. Sure, I said, I will make the pancit bihon (rice noodles) because I have been successful with it recently.

Then he said, how about the pancit canton (yellow egg noodles)? Well... I have had no success on that so far. So, it was Mamang Luisa who "got the job".

Here's her recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1/2# chicken breast or pork
1/2# shrimp
salt to taste (if needed)

1/4 cup oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup soy sauce
6 cups water or chicken broth
/4 tsp pepper powder

1# yellow egg noodles or miki (TTC brand. Made in the Philippines!)

1 cup carrot strips (matchsticks)
1 bokchoy/pechay or 1/4 head cabbage
1/4 cup red or green bell pepper

green onions


DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil chicken breast (remove all fats) and shrimp for 10 minutes in 6 cups of water. Add a pinch of salt.

2. Cut chicken into cubes or strips. Save the broth for later.

3. Heat the oil. Saute the onion and garlic with the chicken and shrimp.

4. Add the soy sauce, water/broth and powdered pepper. Boil for 5 minutes.

5. Add the carrots. Cook for 2 minutes.

6. Add the yellow noodles, bokchoy/pechay, or cabbage, bell pepper. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.

7. Stir. Cook for another 3 minutes without cover.

8. Garnish with green onions.


Anyhow, Al also brought biko (sweet rice).


His officemates brought a lot of food also so lunch turned out to be an international food-fest! Yummy!!!

UPDATE: I entered this recipe to the same contest I entered the Lumpia - The Saucy Eats. I hope either the Pancit or the Lumpia gets to the "finals". Hehehe.
Saucy Eats:

Read more...

A Break From Home-cooked Meal

I love eating at home. But I also love exploring different restaurants. And with all the increasing prices of good and services and recent expenses, it is more prudent to stay home more. However, I can't resist sharing this great deal I saw which could give us a break from home-cooked meal and indulge a bit!

Just quickly then, Restaurant.com is running a wow promotion from today 8/12 to Saturday 8/17. You can buy a $25 gift certificates of participating restaurants for only $5!!! Use this coupon code to make sure you get it for $5 only!

COUPON CODE: GOODBUY

These $25 gift certificates are usually worth $10 which is already a good deal as shown below. So getting it at $5 is even a much better deal, don't you agree?



You can search for by state, city, neighborhood, zip code and cuisine type. Nothing for Boise, Idaho though. Sorry, Boise boys and girls! Also, make sure you read the fine print, as a lot of them have some form of minimum or another.

After I do this post, I'm going over there and buy me some! I now have a "secret weapon" for our date night. Hahahah!!! (Our date night's rule is to plan for no cost or low cost dates.)

Go get your secret weapon too at Restaurant.com and enjoy the break without breaking the bank!

Read more...

The Art of Lumpia

UPDATE: Wheeeeee!!!! The Lumpia recipe is a semifinalist at the Saucy Eats contest. So I brushed up this article a bit...

Vote for the Lumpia!!!


Lumpiang Shanghai (or Lumpia for short) is a crunchy Filipino dish that always delight friends who are introduced to it. Some have asked for the recipe and I thought that was funny because I'm not really a good cook :) (right, Beth?). If my mother could only see me now, she would be proud that her daughter has mastered at least one recipe.


Anyhow, I thought it would be good to post it in this blog as well so anyone interested can use it as well. Here goes:

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 150 pieces.)
Lumpia wrappers (Use TYJ Spring Roll Pastry - 2 packs of the biggest size 25 pcs each)

1 pound ground meat (I use turkey but you can use any kind of meat. If you use beef, suggest to mix it with any of the white meats because beef is hard when it is fried.)
2 fist size carrots (I use baby carrots)
1 fist size garlic
1 fist size onion (any color but red onion is strongest)
2 eggs (beaten)
3/4-1 cup soy sauce (use Silver Swan brand. Reduce according to taste.)
1-2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup water
cooking oil (for frying)
Sweet and Sour Sauce

DIRECTIONS:
A. Thaw the wrapper either by leaving it outside the ref for about 30 minutes or in the microwave for a few seconds.

You can separate the wrappers individually even before you start wrapping. Just make sure that you cover it with damp cloth/napkin to keep it moist. Otherwise, you can just separate them as you go through "D" below.

B. Prepare the mixture
1. Chop the carrots, garlic and onion. (I typically use food processor.) Add the soy sauce and sugar, stir. Taste and adjust, if necessary.
2. Add ground meat and egg. Mix thoroughly.

C. Prepare the "sealant" by mixing 1 tbsp flour in 1/3 cup water.

D. Wrap the lumpia (I picked up this faster method from Charmaine. (Thanks, Charmaine!) It was 3x faster than what I used to be doing which was the fine and fancy way. :) So, it was a no-brainer for me to adopt the faster way.)
1. place about 2 tbsp mixture parallel to any of the edges. Distribute mixture from end to end so that it is about 1cm thick.
2. roll the wrapper over the meat and continue to roll until about only 1 inch is left.
3. apply the flour/water sealant and complete the roll.


E. Taste test by wrapping 1-3 pieces first.
1. Cut the lumpia into 3 pieces.
2. Fry and taste. (You can deep fry but I usually just shallow fry.)
3. Adjust mixture, if necessary.
4. Proceed to wrap the rest of the meat mixture.

F. Fry the lumpia.
Remember, for every 1 lumpia, you can cut them into 3 pieces. Typically, if eaten with rice and the sweet and sour sauce, I can eat 10 pieces.

G. Freeze the raw lumpia. You can then just thaw, cut and fry later.
1. Store the lumpia in separate freezer bags so that you can use just what you need at a time.
2. You can thaw the raw lumpia before frying. Or you can dunk it in straight (but be careful of oil splatters!)
3. Cut the raw lumpia into 3 or your desired size.


That's it! Have fun making the lumpia.

For me, I usually eat the lumpia with rice, cucumber and the sweet and sour sauce. Yummy!!!

I would love to know how yours went, so let me know!

And remember to...
Vote for the Lumpia!!!

Read more...

It's a Crazy Week-end!

Last week-end was one of those jampacked ones!

On Friday night, we celebrated Josh's 5th birthday at home. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH!!!) Each of the Manigsaca ladies prepared her own recipes. I, of course, prepared the now famous Lumpia (ehem, ehem) and my own version of Sago't Gulaman (thanks Beth for your recipe!). The inflatables were up only for at least an hour because then it was time for games and facepainting. (I should call it arm painting because everyone wanted it on their arms instead of their faces!) The birthday celebrant was not in the mood (he didn't join the games) and before we knew it, it was already getting dark.

The kids went to play, play, play inside while the adults looked at Jupiter through the telescope for a while. Later inside, the adults played "guess my drawing" and got a lot of Mexicans, 1 American, an ice and even a "tsinelas". That was fun! The drawings eventually run out, so we settled for Pictionary. It was almost midnight when we bid adieu to our last guests.

The "official" pictures of Josh's birthday are not out yet, but will post later when I get a link to them from his parents. (They're busy with closing on their house and preparing to move!) Meanwhile, here are some photos from Karen's camera (Thanks Karen!).


Saturday night was when our subgroup at church were meeting at home. This was the subgroup that was assigned to discuss Chapter 6 (Movement) of the Simple Church's book. I baked the ultra-black and ultra-soft bananas in the ref as banana bread (as muffins). (Our pastor's wife, D'Lynda, said the blacker the bananas, the better flavor they would give out. So, everyone in the house must have given out a sigh of relief that they no longer have to see them in the ref!). I cooked another batch of the lumpia which were made together with Josh's birthday. (Good thing you can just freeze them and cook them in batches when you need to.). And I cooked my own version of pancit.

After the meal, we had a great discussion on how our church out to strategically and sequentially arrange our programs so as to intentionally move members through the spiritual maturity continuum. Hmmm... that sounds high-falluting...

Let me try it simpler: People's lives must not remain stagnant or stalled. People must not stay the same, unchanged or unmoved. The believer's life need to be transformed more and more, becoming more like Christ. It is the church's responsibility to design its process and programs to facilitate this growth, this movement.

We had great discussions and we think we are ready with our outline and example for our 25-minute presentation next Sunday.

Of course, Sunday Morning was reserved for church. And this weekend was our turn to set up the C.O.W. signs. And this was the weekend (in 6-7 weeks) that I was teaching the toddler's Sunday School. I missed the Wycliffe missionaries' presentation about their bible "translation" work in Thailand's Sonu tribe. Actually, it is more than translation. It is creating a written "alphabet" for the Sonu language so that they can use it to translate the written Word.

On Sunday afternoon, we "went to the city" to attend Hannah's 5th birthday. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!!) (The invite was actually for noon, but of course, we went there after church.) The kids were already playing games when we got there. They were having lots of fun with the Pin the Clown's Nose, Trip to Jerusalem, Pass the Ball. And the adults had fun cheering them on, too! More food again! I stuck to the pork inihaw since I have had no pork in my diet for the past few weeks. (Remember Daddy is cooking healthy fish-based vegetable meals!) Yummy, yummy, specially with the vinegar and sili! Ayayay!!! (And to think that we ate after church before going over at Hannah's!.

Here are the pictures of Hannah's birthday. See someone you know? :)


Then on Sunday evening, the church had "The Big Party". (Again, it started on Sunday afternoon but of course we signed up for the evening shift (7-9pm) to avoid the heat. Apparently though, there were still plenty of people who came in starting at 4pm!)

It was an event in lieu of the Vacation Bible School which the subdivision and the school did not approve the use of their grounds. There were inflatables - dry and the ones with water were a big hit because of the heat. There were crafts - beads and bears. There was music and dancing crazy dances. And did I mention there was food??? Yes... delicious barbeque chicken galore! And my, my... I discovered the big dill pickles. They were delish! Just the thought of it makes my mouth taste vinegary...Good thing, I got to bring home one bottle!

The Big Party was very fun, but the more important part was that we were able to meet a lot of people in the community who are unchurched. Lots of opportunities there! Meanwhile, I have no pictures of The Big Party but if someone at church sends out a link, I'll try to post it here.

That's it! That was our crazy weekend! Phew!!! Tiring but fun, fun, fun!!!

Tell me about your busy weekend as well! You are most welcome to the comments section!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Read more...

It's A Southern Thing

The America I knew from most of my times and travels to the West and East coasts is any of the following: stew-loving, potato-loving, healthy food-loving or even fastfood-loving America.

I was pleasantly surprised that there is part of America that likes the deep-fried stuff. Check out the not-too-healthy Fish Fry get-together for the C.O.W. set-up group.


Recall also that our July 4 meal in Dallas was cholesterol-laden but yummy, yummy Seafood Boil! Must be a Southern thing to eat to your heart's delight!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Read more...

I Now Know the Secret...

Twice while in Seattle in 2005 and 2007, we went to Crab Pot at the pier and ate SeaFest for Two or More! The menu copy is so effective - "Our specialty. We take a variety of fresh seafood, steamed with mouthwatering spices, we pour it out on the table on butcher paper, give you a mallet, bibs and let you go at it!"

Frankly, the taste was okay but it was more of the novel experience that I liked. Good to experience it once (or twice) only since it costs major dollar$ at $24 per person for the mid-option (with crabs).

Anyhow, I always wondered how they cooked it - it's supposed to be "steamed with mouthwatering spices". But steaming takes a very long time...so do they really steam it?

Well, I now know the secret! But before I reveal it, let me tell you about our July 4 long weekend where and when I "discovered" this secret! We went to Dallas for a mini-reunion cum despedida.

The mini-reunion was with Li and Tin, 2 of my high-schoolmates from eons ago. Yeah, we're old... but age is in the mind and heart, not the face :) We agree in chorus - "40 is the new 30" :) The last time we probably got together was in 2000 back in the Philippines. With the internet though, we "saw" the children grow up and "knew" what was up with one another on a, more or less, real-time basis - I imagine much more than if we did not have the technology! Nothing replaces getting together face-to-face though - even if we did not have karaoke this time :)

The despedida was for Tito Ben and Tita Andrea, Li's parents who were here on a visit. They are our wedding "godparents". Anyway, they said that returning to the Philippines feels bittersweet. Sweet because they are going home, yet "bitter" because they will be missing their grandchildren. Not sure when they will be back to visit here in the US. We hope to visit them in Kidapawan in the future though.

Photos are available here: Mine, Tin, Li

Anyway, going back to the SECRET!!! (Actually, Li still owes me the recipe. Hehehe...) But, let me try to recall it:

• Basic Ingredients:


• tiger prawns
• crabs
• baby carrots
• corn
• red potatoes
• mushroom


• Magic Ingredient: Crawfish, Crab and Shrimp Boil spice. (I really do not remember the brand. I went to the grocery and got me Zatarain's but I know what we used was a different brand. Warning - 213% sodium!!!)


• Instructions: BOIL!!! (It is not steamed!)

There are more details to that but let's leave this here for now. I will write the blow-by-blow instructions once I have actually done it successfully myself or whenever Li sends me the recipe, whichever comes first.

Deal???

Read more...