Expanding my Menu Repertoire

I make kick-ass pasta and taco sauce. I claim bragging rights because I've cooked these forever, but that about covers my kitchen expertise. Shame on me, I could not even cook rice!

That was the case -- until a couple of weeks ago.

One weekend morning, my bestfriend Cielo tagged me along on an Asian Cuisine Cooking Demo Class at the International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management in Makati. I gladly went! I love watching people cook on TV, that's where I get tips to further improve my kick-ass pasta. Although admittedly, I am scared to try complicated stuff for fear that I might end up wasting food.

Then again, years of tiptoeing around the stove makes you want to explore more, get creative with ingredients and just discover where your palate takes you. That morning, I opened my mind to endless possibilities. If I can make kick-ass pasta, I could probably make kick-ass ulam!

The class was held in the FEU Makati Campus, in a semi-circular cooking auditorium where the stage was a kitchen. We were about seventy attendees, some were obvious cooking experts (read: mothers).

 Notes, notes, notes! But really, I was mostly jotting down silly, funny pieces from Chef Toby  like 

"nothing is more fulfilling that having perfectly cooked rice."

Chef Toby Co and his pristine, steel and marble kitchen was a sight. And when he started cooking and throwing tips, he was inspiring. When he showed us how to properly fry tempura (let it swim in oil and then let it go), I wanted to come down to the kitchen and try for myself. 

 Jerson's (the Kitchen Assistant) perfectly cooked tempura

I finally had my moment when he asked for volunteers to do shrimps for Yang Chow. I raised my hand, thinking I would probably slice or dice. When I came down, he told me I would de-vein. My face was one big question mark. I've never held raw seafood, not even to clean fish. I bought them in the supermarket in those plastic containers – all but ready to cook. But hey, this was a day of challenge, so I did it. 

 Sige, chef, tawanan mo lang ako! I was soooo out of my comfort zone.

De-veining was difficult at first, finding the vein and then not knowing for sure the level of hand pressure the shrimp can take. Chef laughingly told me at one point that my hands were not meant for delicate work, “ang bigat ng kamay!” My mother told me as much when I was growing up. But I enjoyed de-veining so much that after the class, I went to the supermarket, bought half a kilo of prawns, de-veined and cooked them that night. My reward was the awe in my family's and friends' faces when they had their first taste of my Shrimp recipe.

We were taught to properly do sushi, shao-mai, glazed pork and a couple other dishes. I plan to try all, and to learn more recipes. 

 Cielo and moi, with Chef Toby and the Superkitchen assistants!

I think that with the techniques I learned, I can build up my confidence to try more grand cuisines!

Greening my Greens

It is true that life is infinitely more relaxing with more plants in the environment. And as it turns out, my love for the greens is well-reciprocated.  

 

Gorgeous flowers of Indie, my Indian Beads Plant from my best friend Cielo

 
Indie with new stalks, which are those with lighter green leaves and stems

From a couple of collections, my plants are now thriving and diverse. I guess word of my plant-love-affair got around and I started receiving pots of them for Christmas, New Year and , well, in general. Even my favorite “garden man”Kuya Tony gave me a couple of pretty seedlings for free. They are all living harmoniously and healthily in our apartment veranda, just like old times. 

Cali, my young calamansi plant, with fresh new leaves

My still unnamed bougainvillea (paper flower) plant

 E, one of my Chinese Fortune Plant collection, has grown so much. 

When I got it in September last year, it only had four leaves. I had to re-pot it twice already.

 

My boyfriend, glad of my “relatively safe” diversion, bought me a gardening book for my reader. I read this during morning coffee, so that I can immediately implement tips during my “gardening minutes” after I have had my caffeine fill.

My heart glows when I see them grow. Sometimes new leaves form overnight; stalks I haven't noticed before seem to have sprung – even fresh blooms seem to bloom even bigger in just hours. Every now and then I get the urge to just look. See if anything changed since I last did.

D, the oldest of my Chinese Fortune Plant collection, is now sporting a new “offspring” 

(see that small stalk between?)

Maybe it helps that I sing to them sometimes.

Conquering Banahaw on a Budget

I was happy to discover another set of travel barkada that's fun, street-smart and hassle-free. 

The Banahaw Team on the way to their trekking adventure!

We bonded so much in Boracay and succeeding “concert sessions,” that we just HAD to have another getaway. This time, we went easy on the budget (breakdown below).

The Banahaw overnight package of Nature Villa was another shotgun-purchase, much like how we decided for Boracay. But as usual, the excitement of the getaway erased all doubts. Our package, bought from an online discount voucher merchant, was sulit! It was for an overnight accommodation, inclusive of breakfast and mountain appreciation tour. The more we talked about it, the more it sounded like a real adventure. 

At 4:00 am one Sunday morning, we boarded a bus going to San Pablo, where we were supposed to catch a jeepney going to Dolores. 

We slept most of the trip and at 7:00 am, hesitantly got off at a junction a few kilometers off Dolores Town, which was where the jeepneys stopped, the bus driver told us. We waited for a while, unsure if we were in the right place. After several plan-B sessions, our prayers were heard and we boarded a Dolores-bound jeep along with the day's catch, several bayongs of vegetables and smiling locals.

We mentioned sa Nature Villa po, sa Dolores mismo, and they all seemed to know where we were going. It was a relief. We were in the right jeep. And so went the uphill journey to Dolores Town.

A fellow passenger who lived in the area offered to walk us to Nature Villa's gates. We got off at a dirt road, went through a couple of streets with people cooking in wooden fires. They seemed accustomed to people with backpacks passing by, so we said magandang umaga po as we exchanged nods and smiles.

We were quite early and had time for breakfast, which was a good thing. The mountain tour, which involved several hours of trekking, required steady muscles, strong disposition and, consequently, a happy tummy. 

Nature Villa's stylishly Pinoy Facade

 Our sun-shiny and camera-ready friend, Lani, 

while walking along the foothills

Together with our assigned tour guide, we explored the foothills of Banahaw the whole morning. We went through the “Kalbaryo” path, went to four “prayer” caves and offered lighted candles. Kalbaryo really lived up to its name. We had to climb our way into mostly steep, large, mossy rocks. At intervals, we stopped at clearings to catch our breath and get a feel of the mountain.

On the way to Kalbaryo

Finally, we went up to the entrance of the fifth cave, which was the famous “Husgado,” the most mystic of the caves. They say that those with impure hearts and impure intentions get hurt inside, or worse, get trapped. Our tour guide warned that we had to crawl a few kilometers all the way out because the passage is small. We hesitated.

Alas, we decided that it was not time to cross this path. I expressed my regrets because I am claustrophobic and that my thighs were killing me already, which was echoed by a couple of our friends.

We had lunch at a nearby karinderia. Food never tasted so good. We had sauteed canned tuna, some menudo-ish viand, fish and tons of rice. We finished lunch in ten minutes flat.

After the full and hearty lunch, we chilled for a bit at the inn and went on our way to the Sta. Lucia waterfalls. I did not know what to expect and was totally unprepared for about ten stories worth of mossy and mostly slippery staircase descending to a glorious stream of freshwater.

The downward journey was killer, especially in the last three flights of stairs, where each step was about only four inches wide. On top of it all, the rails were wobbly and the concrete steps were slippery from the trails of river water left by those coming up from the falls. We all made it slowly but safely.

Oh, but the moment we stepped into the water, we forgot all about the slippery steps and wobbly railings. Never mind that we had to make our way back the same flights.

View from our little cove

We were lucky that nobody else was in the semi-secluded cove somewhere upstream. We stayed there for a bit and reveled in the heavenly water, which was said to have healing qualities. We were also looking for the falls, but were told that it was way upstream. And anyway, we were too tired to do more trekking so we just stayed in our cove.

The way back was more manageable, except for the tight thigh muscles. But we survived the day and it's a giddy thought. We were all feeling fulfilled – and just a bit hungry. We took much-needed showers and went back to the same karinderia for dinner. Chicken adobo, rice and ten-peso-per-liter juice were, again, gone in ten minutes. Maybe the hungry part was underrated.

I slept so well that night. It was such a shame we left so early in the morning of Monday.

I was staring into the retreating dirt road as we left and I thought that I would like to come back someday.


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Banahaw Budget

Php 160.00 Bus to San Pablo (DLTB)
Php 25.00 Jeep to Dolores
Php 575.00 Accommodations & Breakfast at Nature Villa
Php 130.00 Breakfast (Day 1)
Php 70.00 Lunch (Day 1)
Php 80.00 Dinner (Day 1)
Php 150.00 Pasalubong
Php 30.00 Jeep to San Pablo
Php 160.00 Bus to Manila
Php 50.00 Tip to Tour Guide and Hotel Staff

Total: Php 1,430.00