Busy as a bee..

I've been running around and giving out orders to my hubby and even my two kids just like a general would before an important parade or activity. i started preparing for christmas about a week ago since i'm a self-confessed OC.. i want everything in order and just like clockwork it has to be done at the exact time i want to.. I have already made a gameplan on how i would go about everything from the 20th until today, the 24th. i did my shopping first and wrapped everything so i can take that off my back and go ahead with the meal preparation. to think am not really preparing too much because we'll be going to our family's reunion the following day so there's no need to be stocking up on too much food.. we'd even be bringing home tons of food from the reunion since we always bring more than enough so we can all have something as "balot" afterwards.. hahaha!!

me and hubby went to liana's near the market first to check the availability of the stuff that i would be needing but the grocery lacked some major ingridients so we decided we'd just go to crossings the following day for the lacking ingridients but it turned out the things i need are all out of stock already.. we then decided to go to sm hypermart near tiendesitas since we haven't really visited it yet. guess it's not really my luck coz i wasn't really impressed by the grocery. it lacked on a lot of things and there are just a few choices to choose from. i was so dismayed that i told my hubby i won't be doing my grocery there ever even if it's soo close to where we live. i still prefer to go to megamall for my bi-monthly grocery shopping since everything i need is there! i just realized that i've been walking around like a drill sergeant and cooking like a drone for the past several days! even my kids are complaining that am always cooking! hahaha!!

aside from the preparation am doing am still obliged to prepare our daily meals so that means am in the kitchen most of my waking hours. i started baking my gifts for my family and other relatives last december 21st.. december 22nd me and hubby went to sm hypermart for the stuff i'd be needing for our noche buena.. december 23rd we again went to the market for last minute shopping of things that i forgot to buy or wasn't available at the grocery. also bought some gold ribbons i would use to tie the banana cake i would give to my relatives. when i arrived home i prepared the chicken i would be roasting for our christmas dinner and then went on to prepare the macaroni salad.

i had fun preparing this since hubby and kids all helped out. my hubby did most of the dicing while i prepped the chicken. my eldest was looking after the macaroni boiling and my youngest was trying to do her stuff with the carrots my hubby was dicing.. hahaha!! i would post the procedure on my next blog. eversince i started preparing stuff since the 21st i've been slaving in the kitchen and me and my hubby are always off to bed after the sun has risen. our schedule is totally weird!! and there's new year still.. hope i can still manage to prepare another meal for media noche! happy holidays to everybody!!

Gifts!

i especially love this time of the year aside from september because of my birthday (which is actually two days after my hubby's birthday and 6 days after our anniversary, galeng no?hehehe!)because it's filled with the christmas spirit of giving, sharing, forgiving, remembering and of course the spirit of shopping!! hahahaha! i also look forward to wrapping tons of gifts for those on my "had-been-nice" list and be santa to them.. i've bought my "special" gifts (read: not pricey but it's the thought that counts right? hehehe!)

yesterday and with that i purchased several pieces of giftwrappers. there are actually a lot to choose from nowadays and they're better from the past giftwrappers they offered. these are the glossy and thick ones as compared to the onion-skin like giftwrapper they sold last year which i totally disliked. that pushed me to buy my giftwrappers at the mall. i am not really particular on the amount of the wrapper though i still believe that a beautifully-wrapped gift catches attention and lessens the expectation of the receiver of how much the gift is.. (hahaha!)but the price of the wrapper doesn't have to be half of the amount of the gift, much better to use the money to buy a much better gift right? i was also able to purchase these wrappers which is like recycled paper(they're colored brown and it gave the effect of country wrapper) so i felt i was also doing something good for mother nature.. teehee!!

i did my wrapping on the dining table since i would be needing lots of space for the task and i really had a hard time shooing the kids to just play ps2 at the livingroom instead of watching me lest they see what i would be giving them. i asked help from my hubby who also enjoyed the bonding moment.. aaaw! sweet! hahaha! we did several styles instead of the usual box-like wrapping style.. am glad hubby helped coz i was able to finish wrapping just after a few hours. now comes the hardest part of hiding the gifts coz my kids would surely open them once they see they're names on it!! i can't avoid placing the gift card already coz i might forget what each package contains.. (just one of the ill-effects of epidural anesthesia used during caesarian section childbirth..) anyway, i am sure i'd love the sparkle in the eyes of the kids after getting these gifts.. their true innocence revealed beneath the wide smiles and large eyes and am hoping that same goes after they open my gifts.. hahaha!! am pretty sure they will.. me and hubby had a hard time scouring the aisles of tutuban for the right gift for each kid.. haay! wonder what i'll be getting from santa this christmas.. hehehe! i admit, am still a child at heart, and so is everybody.. let's just hope we'll all have a happy, joyous and memorable christmas to add to our memory banks.. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

Shopping Galore!

i have never been sooo tired shopping til today.. me and hubby went to tutuban to buy gifts for loved ones and godchildren and there was a lot of shoppers!! to think today is a monday! wheew! it's great finding things you would normally buy for a high price and be able to haggle and pay cheaper at tutuban.. who would believe that i was able to buy gifts for all of my godchildren including my hubby's and lots of nephews and nieces and total bill was only about 1,300 pesos!! i even had a few things for myself and the kids.. if i opted to shop at a nearby mall then that thousand bucks would surely fit only 4-5 kids.. these tiangges are surely heaven-sent.. you just have to learn how to haggle and search for the cheapest bargains.. not saying that the quality of some items in tutuban are not questionable, it's just a matter of choosing and lots of patience.. hehehe! i also learned that the stuff being sold in greenhills also came from divisoria or from the same suppliers of the stores in tutuban..
same goes for 168 though i wasn't able to go there awhile ago.. there wasn't enough time for that, maybe on the next visit i can go directly to 168 since it houses more stalls and it's more convenient sans the people traffic.. nevertheless, its airconditioned so you won't really have a hassle goin' around.. we were able to finish buying stuff around 9pm and people are still flocking there, maybe they're waiting for the night market.. i've also tried shopping at the night market and it's really fun as well.. all the cheap stuff you can buy and the air is cooler and there's no traffic going home. i was able to purchase before a tote bag made of curdoroy for only 120 pesos!! i am still using it until now and it's sooo durable even after stuffing it with almost everything i can til i nearly can't zip it anymore.. my hubby calls it my favorite everyday bag.. well, girls do pack a lot of things even if they're only doing their grocery, right? hehehe! am planning to go back and buy personal stuff coz my mind was set for gifts awhile ago so i wasn't really paying attention to goods i would normally buy for myself, my hubby, the kids or for the home though i was able to check the prices of some stuff.. i saw these jade figurine of a dragon and it usually sells inside malls for 1,500-2,500 pesos and they're selling it there for 800 pesos!! great find & bargain! too bad i don't usually bring extra cash except for my budget.. don't want to hurt my wallet for unplanned purchases! but am going to go back for that and the frosted glass figurine of a man holding a girl in a ballet pose for 380 pesos.. haay! these tiangges are getting to be soooo addictive!! got to get some sleep and plan for my next attack!! hehehe!

Lumpiang Shanghai

I was talking to my sister in Vegas and we both love cooking for our family. She's a nurse and am continuing my course to be a nurse as well.. hehehe.. anyway, one time we were talking about how we prepare meals for the whole week since both our husbands know very minimal when it comes to cooking.. basically, our husbands know how to use a microwave-safe dish and reheat meals! So I told her a secret i do when preparing lumpiang shanghai which is very easy to prepare and hubby just needs to heat some oil and fry them for a nice meal when am not yet home.. I pre-cook the meat and wrap them!!! hehehe!! She never thought doing it that way she said and said it was a good idea. cooking it also allows you to tuck the sides of the wrapper inside instead of letting the ends of the shanghai open so when you cook it the meat won't come out of the open sides. HA! smart right? hehehe!!

Lumpiang shanghai is usually prepared and wrapped raw and is fried just before serving or eating them so it stays crunchy and hot but since what am after is ease of preparation for my husband since i come home late from school and he usually is home already during dinnertime so he's the one who prepares the meals for the 2 kids. If i would fry these before i leave for school and they reheat it inside the microwave it would turn gummy and hard, not the usual crunchy which is why shanghai should be cooked before eating them. And not even our dog would enjoy eating it.. I know and am sure about it, I've tried giving her some before and she turned her back to it when my daughter said it doesn't taste good!! hahaha!! smart dog!

What you need is your basic recipe for lumpiang shanghai and there are actually several variations including my own recipe:

1/2 K ground pork
1/2 K potatoes peeled and diced
1/4 K white onions peeled and diced
1/4 K garlic peeled and diced
1/4 K carrots peeled and diced
salt & pepper
oyster sauce
kinchay
lumpia wrapper ( was able to use 50 medium wrappers for this recipe)

Saute the garlic and onions til the garlic turns slightly brown and the onions soft and translucent. Add the ground pork and let it cook til the juices turns clear and then add the potatoes and carrots. When the meat and veggies are nearly cooked add some salt and pepper to taste and the oyster sauce. let it cook for a few more minutes then turn off the heat. drain the cooked meat in a colander and make sure to save the drippings for an easy dipping afterwards. While the meat is cooling down ( you can't wrap them in lumpia wrappers while hot since the wrappers would break, it should be room temperature!) chop the kinchay and add to the meat before you start wrapping them. These would prevent the kinchay from being cooked from the heat of the meat since it would give a fresher taste if added fresh. Prepare your wrappers and make sure to place them in between moistened towels so it won't get hard. After wrapping one piece I place them in a deep plastic container which I placed inside a plastic bag that fits the container to prevent the air from turning the wrappers hard since it would take some time for you to finish wrapping everything and the plastic bag would allow easy access for you to put the shanghai without exposing the made ones to the air. It takes some time though for you to learn how to wrap the shanghai tightly so it won't break and open when fried. As they say, Practice makes perfect! hehehe!! I normally use the 50 pcs. of wrappers so i won't have to store the meat in one container and the wrappers into another. This way i save up on space in my refrigerator. It also comes in handy to my hubby when he needs to cook dinner if am still not home. The sauce you can place in a small boiler and add some tomato catsup, sugar and thickening agent like water mixed with some cornstarch to make it thick and then adjust the taste of the drippings and you have a wonderful dipping sauce for the shanghai that is flavorful and free..

Shrimp in coconut milk and vegetables

I don't know anybody who doesn't like shrimps.. everybody loves shrimps.. especially the large ones.. they're great even if cooked by themselves.. you can taste the saltiness of the sea and the freshness of seawater.. guys do have this private joke about "shrimps" and they're referring to women.. particularly those who do have the body but doesn't have the face to go with it.. mean joke, i know.. but it's men were mentioning.. we just have to dismiss the fact that there are also "shrimps" at their side of the the fence, hehehe!!



i made these awfully easy dish of shrimp and coconut milk.. my kids loved it!! my eldest even said that i am the greatest cook she knows.. aaaw! that's so heart-warming! my husband who is actually a picky eater if not for my prodding to try new things loved it.. he doesn't eat any marine animal cooked with any liquid but this dish he loves..

i simply wash the shrimps and i snip of the hairs and the pointed shell on the head ( whatever it's called! it does give a mean prick so watch out!) i place them first in a colander so the excess water would drip off.. i then saute garlic, onions and some oil.. after which i place the coconut milk ( depends on how much you want!) and let it cook for a while.. i love it when they start to sort of coagulate and give off fat.. yummy!! that's what "guinataan" is all about.. it's supposed to render oil since all the flavors come from it.. add some salt and pepper and i love finger chilies with it.. after the coconut milk has cooked and rendered fat and the finger chilies had been softened a bit you can now place the shrimps and just watch til it changes color from pale to bright orange.. turn of the heat at once and just allow the flavors to marry..

when am in the mood i either put some halved bokchoy while the coconut milk is boiling so it wouldn't be all soggy after cooking the shrimps or sometimes when it's available i add sliced green papaya so it would be more healthy.. but the bokchoy is what the kids and the hubby wants so that usually is the veggie of choice.. these dish paired with some fish sauce and several pieces of the finger chilies with a tall glass of iced cold coke is more satisfying for me as compared to a cheeseburger meal at any fast food chain..haay.. i think i want these for lunch tomorrow.. hehehe.. well, that would really depend on the availability of FRESH and LIVE shrimps at the market tomorrow.. it's really different when you buy them still jumping out of the bag.. hehehe!!

moist banana bundt cake

i had been wanting to make this post since it's been ages since i last made an entry so now that i have the time might as well do it. my uncle who's an American shared with me this very delicious recipe which i had been making for friends and family. it needs bananas, sugar, butter, flour, eggs, nuts, some hot water and baking soda. after mixing everything together i grease a bundt pan and pour the mixture in it. a bake it for several minutes and later on the kitchen would be smelling of sweet bananas! i love to sprinkle the cake when it's cooled with powdered sugar for the snow-effect! hehehe!! all of my friends and family loves it!
i did some for my youngest birthday and ever since, she would always say that the cake am making is hers!! must've thought that every time i make banana bundt cake it's her birthday! i might be making this in a rush since am already sleepy after studying all night for my prelims, i just realized again how hard it is to study for an exam! oh well, am bouncing to my bed already. will make another post next time!