The Many Ways to Cook Adobo

Speaking of comfort food, for those who know me well, I am not very enthusiastic in showing my kitchen prowess. Sure, I have learned how to whip up some dishes for my family, but if I could avoid it, I would do something else, if you please.

UK Blouse,
Loalde Skirt
Feud Maryjanes

In the Cindrella house I grew up in, the four sisters were assigned by Mama to do household tasks every summer. One was to wash clothes, while another was to iron them. One could take up cleaning the yard and the house, while the other had to do the cooking. I was never designated to be the cook, er.. correction: I usually ducked the pitiful task of cooking. Why? First, my hands would smell of garlic and onions hours afterwards (so how could I have held hands with the BF when he came over, di bah?). Second, I still had to wash all the pots and pans and utensils even after I was done (the wicked sister assigned to washing the dishes insisted that she was ONLY to wash the plates). Third, this old saying of “don’t sing while cooking, or else you will be an old maid”, confounded the idea that cooking was never fun. And lastly, I had to look at everybody’s faces while eating to see if they liked my food or if I had to call the ambulance, in case they had been poisoned. Tsk, tsk...too much pressure.

Monik's gift to me.
Sorry, girl, i haven't tried
everything in it yet!

So when I got married, that’s when the ghost of Mama Maya caught up on me. There was one time when we didn’t have a helper, I painstakingly whipped up humba, a pork dish with a thick, sweet soy sauce. On the table, the Hubby and the kids commented, “Mom, your adobo tastes different!” My reaction? I cried and told them that it’s not adobo, but humba. I walked out on them and vowed never to cook for my family again. Of course, I reluctantly returned to the kitchen come evening (after much apologizing from the Fam!)--I could only buy a few minutes of drama. That’s why I marvel at people who have the passion for cooking (Here’s a toast to you, Chef Menoy!)  For me, they are the most amazing people on the planet. Okay, I’m exaggerating.

That's why every holidays, I don't cook . I buy our Noche Buena from our local restaurants who are willing to provide for families with cooking-challenged mothers like me. On New Year's Eve, we eat out. My Hubby understands, and he is always willing to pay. Now, I wonder why?

One of my Ginebra friends, Monik Gatbonton, gave me a book on adobo as a Christmas present years ago. Maybe she knew I wasn’t the best cook in town? But really, how many ways can someone cook adobo? Can I just let my helper count the ways?        

 

 

Shame on us Pinays who can't cook

a decent adowboh! Hehehe!!!

P.S. Day 7 in Shingles Prison...Has it been only a week since my first day of quarantine? Sorry, but looking at my unwanted facial and leg hair and long toenails and greasy scalp, why, it must be 7 years! Now I know how Rizal must have felt. Shoot me now at Bagumbayan!!!

My Comfort Food

Now that I'm sick and the Hubby, the Daughter, and the Youngest have hopped out of Bacolod, all I can do is eat, sleep, and face my computer. But mostly, I want to eat. Not only because I need to get all the nutrients to recover from shingles, but also because I crave for scrumptious food that remind me of happiness and comfort and childhood. So here are some of the stuffs I want to put in my belly while I suffer in silence in my Shingles Prison.

1.       Tocino – Specifically the tocino my mom’s sister, Tita Sally, used to make. Oh, she could concoct a mean tocino which when cooked produced a sweet oily sauce. Then, the sisters would put the tocino on our steaming rice. Sauce pa lang, ulam na!

2.       Dencia’s Lugaw – It’s a sick person’s must-go-to (get it? GOTO? er, never mind!) food. Although Dencia’s Lugaw with tokwa’t baboy puts it up on a higher level and makes even healthy people’s mouth water. Now who would fly to Davao to buy me a bowl of lugaw?

When I go back to Davao,
my first meal would be at Dencia's

What's in this simple bowl of congee
that makes anyone feel better?

3.      Indian Mango – We have a big mango tree in Las Pinas which bears this sweet Indian mangoes, especially during summer. When we were small, we used to climb this mango tree and harvest as many as we could eat, and share them with our friends.

      Last April, I was able to taste again our mangoes while I was chatting up with my sisters. Sarap ng kwentuhan!!!

4.       Bangkok Santol – My Daughter will be quick to snap, “My mom can eat 10 Bangkok santols in one sitting!” Yup, my favourite fruit of all time--the large, sweet seeds of this fruit.

5.       Krispy Kreme–If I were to break my diet forever, I would happily do it by wallowing in a sugar-induced dessert in the form of Krispy Kreme. Nothing beats its original glazed melt-in-your-mouth doughnut. The other flavors are a delight on the taste buds too.

krispykreme.com.ph

6.       Bob’s New York Cheesecake or Bob’s chocolate cake – Cakes are a gift to a woman’s emotional rollercoaster. It usually brings me up to my peak—no question about that. And at this point, I need it everyday in this Shingles Prison.

If in Bacolod, anything Bob's is good enough

7.       Pringles – Those thin, crunchy strips of potatoes can never go wrong for a shingled, blog addict like me. Not checking the weighing scale whatsoever this time.

Bought from S&R Cebu, and left for me to devour 'em all. Mwahahaha!!! 

8.       Sharyn’s Kansi  – If you are in Bacolod, you should try Sharyn’s famous bulalo. Its clear soup is flavored with batuan, a local pampaasim, and the beef is boiled all day to produce that soft meat. God knows how much cholesterol goes with this cardiac bone marrow delight--but no one in Bacolod is counting nor complaining.

rinabanana.wordpress.com

9.       Lord Byron’s Baby Back Ribs – So far, the best baby back ribs I’ve ever tasted. Last Friday, this smoky-flavored sauce-filled baby was my dinner. Yum!

10.   Twining’s Peppermint Tea – I don’t drink coffee, so tea is it for me. But my favourite is peppermint tea. Yeah, I think I’m one of those few weird people who love peppermint-flavored chocolates as well.

Yup, I'm covered for the whole Shingles season

So I have had lugaw (although only from Chow King), Bob’s chocolate cake, Pringles, Sharyn’s kansi, Lord Byron’s ribs, santol, and the peppermint tea. 7 out of 10. Not bad. I still have a week to wait for the others to come. Ohmmmmm….

Day 6 in Shingles Prison...Now I don't know how I would lose the poundage I've gain eating all these food, but who cares? I've the best excuse to eat up, right?

Letting Go of My Babies

Braided pigtail moments,
Issa at 6

I cried silently today. Not only because I'm stuck in a room for I don't know how many more days, but more so because I'm letting go of the Daughter.

Issa and the Hubby just left for Cebu today. The Daughter is going to college at UP Cebu and will be majoring in Fine Arts Product Design. Like any other mother, I am a bit jittery of the prospect of letting her go. Ever since we moved to Bacolod, the Mom-Daughter relationship has gotten stronger. Sure, we had spats and fights in the way (no teenager’s mom can escape that!), but they have only made us understand and respect each other better. Now we talk about anything until we fall asleep. We finish each other’s sentences. We laugh at the same stupid jokes, and we both cry on cue while watching mushy movies (four words: The Time Traveller’s Wife). Those tender moments will be put on hold, now that she will be living far from me.

Can I hold you a little longer, babe?

For the moment, I will be staying in Bacolod with the Second Son, the Daughter will be staying in Cebu with her Dad in a 2-room condo, and the Youngest will continue boarding in PhilSci Iloilo. The family relationship will only be held up by our cellular phones. This year, life will be confusing for us, not to mention expensive, because of the living expenses in three different places and the expected exorbitant phone bill we will be getting from Globe.

Last year, it was Luis Carlo I cried over. Now, it's Issa Maria. The inevitable thing for an aging mother  is happening.



Sigh, is it sem break yet?

P.S. Day 5 in Shingles Prison...I would miss the Daughter more than ever because she was the only one who had the guts to 'visit' me in my cell. Never mind if I was wearing a mask and my right arm was wrapped in a bandage. A perfect daughter, you are to me... 

10 Things I Learned About Shingles

I miss my shingles-less hand!
Mossimo Polo
Promod Inner Spag
Maldita Leggings

Aaah..shingles.

Normally, when I go to the doctor for whatever reason it may be, I am well-prepared for the symptoms he’s going to ask, and the questions I’m going to ask back. I research first, if I can, so that I won’t be as ignorant to the illness I’m consulting the doctor with. I’m usually equipped with the scientific terms so I won’t get lost in translation when they utter latin-sounding words. It’s a way of not being afraid of what he is about to tell me. There was even one time when I brought my son to a pediatrician about some swelling, and in the course of our consultation, he asked me if I was a nurse. I sheepishly replied that I’m not, just a concerned eager beaver mother.

Anyway, before I went to the dermatologist last Wednesday, I researched again on what skin disease I have. I must have missed the shingles, because I was really taken aback when the doctor said that what I have is contagious and needs at least two weeks of isolation. W-w-what, Doctor? T-t-two weeks of no going out? WTH!!

So this is my post-consultation discovery of this pesky disease called The Shingles.

1.       Shingles is very painful, as in non-stop throbbing and pulsing on the blisters and rashes. The varicella zoster virus attacks on the nerves, so it aches from the inside of the skin, and itches from the outside. Perfectly irritating. Like I told my sister Ben, I wouldn’t want to wish it to anyone I know, not even to my worst enemy.

2.      Shingles is the older sister of chickenpox. The chickenpox virus which can lay inactive in our nerves for years, can be awakened when the immunity in our body is compromised and becomes weak, like too much stress, trauma, old age, or if you are under drugs which suppress your immunosystem. I’m guessing my immune system became weak with too strenuous exercise, travelling, plus lack of sleep.

3.      Only those who had chickenpox when they were young are susceptible to have shingles. And I thought I was free of the chickenpox since I had it when I was 8 years old. Was I wrong.

4.      The shingles virus is NOT airborne, unlike chickenpox. One can only get the virus if he has come in direct contact with the fluid draining from the sores, which is on its third stage. It is important not to scratch the rashes and blisters so as not to spread it. Eeew, I know! So I cover my arm with gauze so as not to unknowingly spread the ‘love’.

My shingled hand

5.      It is only contagious to people who have not had chickenpox, or do not have immunization against chickenpox. If they get it, they will not be sick of shingles, but of chickenpox. Thank God my kids had vaccine when they were kids. Oops, the Youngest just had his vaccine last year before going to PhilSci. Buti na lang!

6.      So someone who previously had chickenpox CANNOT contract shingles  easily from a person who is infected. Unless, of course you insist to be intimate with that person! No kissing the Hubby and the Kiddos…that's  makes it so sad for me!

7.      Shingles only manifests on one side of the body in a band-like area or stripes. Unlike its sister, it does not spread to other parts of the body. I’m luckier in a way because I just got it on my right arm. Others were not as fortunate because they got it on their faces and body. My sister’s friend Maryrose got it on her left eye too. It’s good that she has recovered with no complications.

8.     There is no cure for shingles. Like chickenpox, you just have to wait for it to take its own course. But of course, conventional treatments like antiviral drugs, painkillers, and antibiotic topical medicine are prescribed to shorten its life span, relieve the pain that goes with it, and prevent more pain and complications post-shingles. May I say that the antiviral drug prescribed to me was expensive! Php110 per tablet of 800mg, times 35 tablets.  And that’s just one medicine. Plus the ibuprofen, vitamin supplements, and topical ointment that I should religiously take--I don’t want to think about how much I spent in just a few days.

9.      Although the shingles rash can heal in two to four weeks, postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) or persistent pain in the nerves can linger months or even years after the shingles has gone. Studies show that starting the antiviral therapy within 48 to 72 hours reduces the risk of lasting pain or PHN. I went to my doctor on the 4th day that I had the symptoms so I’m a little bit worried here. Hopefully, I won’t experience the nerve pain after every wretched rash has left my skin.

10.  Two out of ten people who had chickenpox is prone to have shingles. The good news is that once you had it, that’s the last time you will ever see it again. Yay for me?



Day 4 in my Shingles Prison



Mother Dearest

It's Mama's birthday today. She turns 73 and I still want to think of her as young and invincible.

I'm a mother too, but I don't think I have given as much sacrifice to my family as my mother had done for us, five kids. She's what you call a traditional housewife. She did almost everything by herself in keeping the house and tending to us kids. My father never allowed her to find a job, although he knew he couldn't well afford to pay for all our needs, let alone send us all to college. So my mother tried to help out in our daily expenses by selling everything and anything. Direct selling was invented by my mother. You name it, she had peddled it house-to-house--from AVON, RTW clothes, tocino, alahas, life insurance, educational and memorial plan, even pork meat. I cannot forget that image of her going to Pasay market at 4:00 am on weekends, buying about 20 kilos of pork, and knocking on our neighbors' doors, balancing the heavy meat on both her hands to sell and profit a measly income. Now, whenever she feels her arthritis pulling her joints and muscles, she blames those ol' days of selling.

She has survived almost everything. A rocky marriage. Financial rock bottom. Breast cancer. In spite of all these challenges, she has remained steadfast in her belief in God and in her family. Now she is a picture of wisdom, contentment, and purity. Oh yes, she complains once in a while, but you know she does that because she knows she has still a lot to offer to her family—her presence, her counsel, her love.

We love you so much, Mother! Gift to follow;-) Mwah!

I will forever be her baby

P.S. Day 3 in Shingles Prison..pain..pain..itch...itch..pain:-(  

 How come my dermatologist forgot to mention

that it would be THIS excruciatingly painful?

The Shingles

Ohemgee! I have shingles, my friends. And my doctor advised me to take a two-week sick leave in isolation because apparently, I am highly contagious.

Shingles, or herpes zoster (okay, it’s different from the herpes simplex that we call cold sores), is a painful skin rash due to the same virus that causes chickenpox. It comes with blisters on the skin usually limited to only one part of the body. If you had chickenpox when you were a child, the virus can become dormant in certain nerves in the body, but decades later, it can become active for reasons that experts haven’t figured out yet.

When I was in Cebu last weekend, I started feeling the numbness and the “pins and needles” tingling from my right forearm down to my fingers. I was thinking, maybe it was Carpal Tunnel Syndrome because the Hubby has it, and the numbness was similar. But when the rashes and red, big blisters came out, and no amount of Dermovate or Triderm could contain its spread, I was alarmed. I was even having a hard time driving already. My forefinger was the one really suffering—it’s like a needle was perpetually stuck on it. So today I went to my son’s dermatologist during my lunch break. Thus, her prognosis—shingles, or tikos in Ilonggo.

So I’m now trapped in one room in our house, with minimal contact with my family, with only my loyal laptop beside me.

What a sad, sad two-week ‘vacation’ this is going to be.

My Best Friend's Wedding

With the brouhaha of Prince William and Kate’s wedding over, everybody focused on their flower girl who seemed to be upset at all the fuss. According to reports, she has had a lot of experience as a flower girl to royal brides. But the chaos was maybe too much for her--a wedding wasn’t supposed to be like this, right?

I had also my share of being a flower girl too often when I was small. I’m not sure whether because I was cute, or because my mother had a lot of relatives and friends who were getting married, and she shamelessly volunteered me. But I enjoyed being dolled up, because after all, a little girl needs to feel what it’s like to be a princess once in a while. So I always primly played the part of a perfect flower girl, thinking that one day, I would be that beautiful bride walking down the aisle.

Me at 5 years old

Movie Review:   My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

The Story:


Julianne and her best friend Michael made a pact in college that if they were not married by the time they reach 28 years old, they would marry each other instead. To her surprise, she received a call from Michael a few days before her 28th birthday telling her that he is to get married to some girl he met. Julianne willingly accepted Michael's offer to be their bridesmaid, in the hope that she could break off the wedding and make him fall in love with her again.

My Review:

Julia Roberts wasn’t the queen of romantic comedy for nothing. She was at her funniest (and bitchiest!) here. But although she’s the antagonist, I couldn’t help but side with her and pray that she would end up happily ever after with her best friend.

Trivia:

Julia Roberts hand-picked both Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz for this film.

Sarah Jessica Parker was originally offered the role of Julianne Potter, but was not able to take the role because she was committed to HBO in order to play Carrie Bradshaw in the TV series "Sex and the City" (1998).

In the original ending, after watching Michael and Kimberly leave the wedding reception, Julianne meets a man (played by John Corbett). This ending did not test well and audiences wanted to see more of George, so a new ending was filmed.

 I wish we could group sing like this in restaurants...