Foot and Fire

In 2009, I raised a birthday fund to buy a desktop personal computer, printer and prepaid globe tattoo for my local elementary school. For every gift given to me, I complimented with a collection of my essays and poems. The collection is called, Framed Words. It was a fun and productive birthday made possible by friends and relatives. In fact, I recalled that some belatedly given fund were used to pay the tuition of some children.  I came across this note of one of the essays in the collection. Hope you'll enjoy this too. Forgive that these were screenshots only. 

WARNING: This is not about what I think about the book because I always love the collected PDI columns of Ambeth Ocampo because they leave morsels of some historical facts. Nevermind all of his side thoughts on them. Thus,  Rizal Without Overcoat by same author will be my next reading companion after this book and I think I need some time to breathe in between and this includes expressing my thoughts on Rizal while reading Ambeth Ocampo's lectures.  A lot has been said about Rizal which praised him as our national hero and demeaned him because he should not be our national hero, but of course, both extreme polars left me to decide for myself why Rizal deserves to lead our rooster of national heroes, and does not deserve to be demeaned or doubted or compared to others.  My own measure was my take on When Rizal was exiled in Dapitan where he lived a fruitful life. I likened his exile to our present quarantine and isolation. During his exile, Rizal did not spend his time w

This post is long overdue. I practiced this last October as I have no glassware to use inorder to showcase the beautiful layering that is the highlight of this cake. I called it no-bake because I am fortunate to find that the chiffon cake of Merci Bakeshop is the right one to use for this  recipe. Find some chiffon cake or bake one. I liked this chiffon because it is fluffy and has soft texture when it touches my tongue.  I used fresh and canned as well as bottled strawberry, and canned peach during my practice but feel free to use fresh ones. Luckily, on the birthday of my nephew, I had fresh strawberries to top my trifle.  This christmas, I will be using canned blueberries. This was a hit because of the ice-creamy filling. Recipe: The cake: Chiffon cake Slice cakes, thinly and in uniform sizes if possible The Toppings: Fruits, fresh, canned or jam Granola, if desired Slice fruits flat and thin. Set aside imperfect ones. Reserve the fruity jam or juice from can

Two years ago, I set out to make my four wishes to come true. I am indebted to all friends who contributed for making my wishes a reality. The projects evolved and took shape and life of its own. Here is my inventory: Our laptop and accessories gifted to Panay Bukidnon is now being used to encode the soon-to-be book of Daddy Caballero. Previously, they also used the same to run the software for their "panubok." I am happy and proud of our collective intent to give PB a vehicle to facilitate the cultural documentation. SPECKsyal thanks to you my friends. Our bookshelf which envisions an open honest shelf  did not take a permanent spot but I was happy that your SPECKtacular gift brought me to a shopping spree at the BIG BAD WOLF BOOK FAIR in Cebu in 2018. Book readings at my garden, ongoing book loans, donation of children's book for Brgy Ayungon Elem. Sch. were achieved. I believe this will be a perpetual project you can enjoy with me... Flower

Well, well. One has to do something what's on hand. As I always say, hunger is the mother of kitchen inventions. It is not only the hunger or that physical pang that I refer here but that wish to create something because it satisfies your creativity or your real desire for good food that any commercial products can easily give but can't provide. One of them is is Christmas Cake. I LOVE nuts and berries that when I travelled in China and in Thailand as well as Cambodia and Singapore, I brought home dried fruits and nuts to match my teas. But since online shopping makes it easier now to find them, I have a constant supply. So I'm turning them into Christmas Cake. Well, I used my Syrah Red Wine here, thus a big tweak from the traditional recipe which calls for rum.  Preparations: Cashew Nuts Cranberries Almonds, whole or slivered Raisins Apricot, sliced Goji berries Mix all nuts and dried fruits in a jar and add Syrah Wine or any red wine

Chives is one rewarding plant I have. I had them for at least 5 years already and it started from a small number of stalks given by a friend. I think I have 3 varieties basing from their tiny stalk-like leaves.  I saw and tasted this in vietnamese pancakes as well as in the sidewalks of Hutong in Beijing as well aa markets in Xi'an. It got my attention and I instantly loved it. For neophyte gardeners who wants to have a go-to herbs, I recommend chives. I saw vids that this can be grown hydrophonically and in shallow planters as well. I have not successfully sown Seeds of Chives but I must try again. Sunflower Oil Chives, chopped Carrots, grated Eggs, scrambled Scramble eggs, add salt and pepper. Set aside. In an iron pan, spray a little oil or use no oil at all. Add the chives and carrots just until wilted. Add scrambled eggs just thin enough to cover the omellette pan (About 8-inch pan). Using a bamboo or silicon spatula, gently roll the cooked portion. Repeat until al

One of my instant fancy food fare is chili con carne next to sushi, of course. I said so because if we want something different from rice + viand combination which we have for the whole week, I cook something special and almost staple to our table. This time  I departed a bit and added vegemeat flakes, a dried vegetable protein. Vegemeat flakes is like ground beef in size and cheaper than the Vegemeat cutlets or the chunks in size. NEW TIPS: When sauteing, I now do not wait for the oil to get hot. I might not use oil in sauteeing in the future but use water only. We are in a month now in not using oil in frying after using an airfryer. Heated oil is not healthy, so I minimize using the same now. SPICE TIPS: Stacking up Spices is a good idea but only stack a few portions at a time. My paprika and taco seasoning are almost depleted. I use it to spice up our potato fries or fried rice. And of course, the comforting Chili con carne and its derivative. 1 C vegemeat f

Do you like it? He did not answer but extended his tongue inside the glass to reach the foamy residue of our pineapple cooler which has a new pair, lettuce from our garden.  I already made pineapple and some mint from our garden and that is the staple in our table, but yesterday, we had an extra special juice. The second batch I made for the day was still a hit, and I asked the boy if he liked it. He said, medyo (a bit).  I instructed him to harvest a tray of lettuce today and I want to hear a 5-star rating from him next time we make the cooler. Let's see if he can give it five stars if he harvested the lettuce himself.  Fresh Pineapple chunks Pineapple Juice in can or water Bunch of Lettuce Mint Honey Ice cubes In a blender, blend first the pineapple slices and add the juice. Add the lettuce and mint, and blend again. Add honey and ice cubes then blend for the last time. Serve cold and foamy.