A Grey, Rainy Day

Today was a wet, drizzly rainy day. I love rainy days. The coolness in the air, the pat-pat-patter of rain on the window pane. All of these makes it perfect for a bowl of hot, comforting soup, a good book to read and of course, an excuse to take a nap.


One thing I hate about rainy days is the humidity. The warm, damp air wraps around you like a wet flannel blanket. Yuck... . Even getting in front of an electric fan won't help. Only a blast from cold air from the air conditioner would provide respite from the clammy feeling of humid air.

I love/hate rainy days.

To all the Dads out there... Happy Father's Day!

It's Father's Day for fathers all over the world. I greeted my beloved Hubby yesterday with one of his favorite breakfast - Biscuits with Sausage and Hotel Scrambled Eggs. (For homemade biscuits check out my recipe in this post: Biscuits to start the day.)

Hubby likes his biscuits fresh, hot from the oven and slathered with butter and jully. I like mine plain with butter. I decided I, too, wanted to have freshly baked biscuits but instead of a sausage patty, I opted for bacon. You can never go wrong with bacon.

Since we had a late breakfast (that could technically qualify it as lunch), we both decided that we would have an early dinner, say 6:00 pm. For supper, I planned to serve grilled filet mignon steaks with baked potatoes for my men, while I have a traditional Filipino pork barbeque with vegetable kebabs on the side.


Here's what our grill looked like. My veggie kabobs flanked the meat and you can see the bacon wrapped filet mignons in the right center. Hubby likes his steak between medium rare and medium well. His ideal baked potato would have a generous helping of butter plus sauteed onions and bell peppers. Billy, on the other hand, likes his steak medium well and his baked potato DROWNING in melted butter.


Well as they say, there's no better way to say "I love you" to a man than through his tummy. And here is the proof.



Happy Father's Day, Bill!

(and to John, Jonas, Bay and all the other fathers out there).

Banananana Bread*

*borrowed heavily from from Terry Pratchet's Discworld books with its banananana daquiri references


I cleaned out my fridge yesterday. It looked a lot worse but this is how it looks now. I was sick and tired of having frozen stuff fall out and bruising my noggin and toes. Plus, there were a lot of stuff in there that needed to be thrown out (like half eaten popsicle sticks - Billy's). There were mysterious food stuff there from God-knows-when but then I just stuffed it back in. I might chuck them out later. And then I spied this. A lot of it.



It's not what you think. That mass of black stuff used to be bananas, old bananas that were too mushy to eat. I used to chuck them into the trash bin until somebody told me it was great for banana bread, just stuff it in the freezer and thaw until I was ready to use it for baking. Only this time, I think I had about two bunches of bananas, all stocked up.

So I took down a batch (there were enough there for 4 batches), thawed it. And took out my handy, dandy recipe book. Here's my very own recipe of Banana Bread.

Banananana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups unsifted flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups ripe, mashed bananas
1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn oil is the best)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped chocolate pieces

1. Lightly grease the bottom of a bread loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine the first dry ingredients in a large, mixing bowl.

3. In another bowl, add banans, oil, eggs and milk. Blend with a handheld immersion blender until everything looks like creamy porridge.

4. Mix the wet and dry indredients together.


5. Add the chocolate pieces to the batter. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center, comes out clean.


*Note: If you have too much batter like I did, just get out your muffin cups and make banana muffins.


And you would know if you did a good job. Because you will get scenes like this.

Happy baking!

Paksiw na Bangus (Boiled Pickled Milkfish)

When I was little, this was my least favorite lunch food. It was like eating sour fish in very little sauce. Usually, paksiw means stewed or to stew in Filipino. Paksiw na Isda is stewed fish. The fish I used is Bangus or what you call milkfish in English. It has a gazillion bones in it and it annoys the heck out of my hubby when he sees me try to eat it. LOL

But the bangus belly, with its cm of glistening fat, is one of the most scrumptious things in the world. And paksiw na isda is best served after 2 days in the fridge. Letting it sit for awhile enhances and brings out the best flavor in the dish. One guilty luxury of eating paksiw is that after you pour some sauce over rice, add a smidgen of oil rendered from pork fried in it. Not too much, you just want to add a sheen of goodness in your rice. And to eat it, just have a saucer of fish sauce ready to dip pieces/chunks in it.

Here's the recipe to make Paksiw na Bangus. Note: you can substitute sardines or any firm, white fleshed fish for the dish.

Paksiw na Isda

1 kilo Bangus (milkfish) or any white-fleshed fish, scaled, gutted and cleaned
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 inch ginger, sliced
2 pieces banana peppers or any green, mild chili peppers
1 asian eggplant, sliced diagonally

1. Cut the bangus fish into 4 slices. Place fish in a non-reactive pan such as a teflon or porcelain coated skillet. I used my Vision glass pan for this. Add all other ingredients, except the water and the eggplant.

2. Cover and bring to a boil. When the vinegar starts boiling, add the water. Let simmer about 10 minutes, turning fish once to cook evenly.

3. Transfer to a covered dish and store in the refrigerator to "age" for 2 days. After that, once again bring the paksiw to a simmer and then add the eggplant slices and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked.

Serve with rice and fish sauce for dipping.

I need sleep...

more cat pictures

It was another 5:00 am morning wake-up for me. It wasn't my internal clock this time (that was yesterday), it was the sound of Billy crying because his feet hurt. Growing pains that's what hubby calls them. Billy and I were already up last night several times, with me rubbing his feet to make them feel better. I even tried the tying a loose sock/towel over the ankles technique (perfected by Meemaw [HubbyMom] on Hubby's knees and foot when he had the growing pains when he was a kid).

Nothing worked.

Until I remembered my Mom telling me that my brother had growing pains too when he was little and soaking the achy feet in warm water until it cooled help lessen the pain. I made Billy come down from his bed and heated up some water. He sat in the sofa and when the water was ready, poured it in a basin and let him soak it while I brewed myself some decaf coffee.



Five minutes later... this happened -> It worked. Moms really do know what's best.

So when the water cooled I made Billy climb back into bed to get more sleep. It was still 5:30 am. I am still up with my big mug of decaf coffee.

Now if I can only go back to doing this.

Paksiw na Isda (Pickled Fish Stew)

The photo may not look appetizing but Paksiw na Isda or Pickled Fish stew is a comfort dish for a lot of Filipinos. It is usually made with bangus or milkfish or any firm white-fleshed fish like sardines. I used to be really not fond of dish. I only like the sauce mixed with pork fat oil and drizzled over rice. Oh, it may not sound good but it tastes divine.

I got a couple of bangus fish from my friend, Elena, who's selling Filipino products here in Korea. I was wondering what to do with the fish until I remembered about paksiw. So I went on a search on the internet and found the recipe that sounded like how my mom would do it. I found one and tried it out. I had my pork fat oil too and the first taste was heaven. It brough back a flood of memories, of lunches with long gone elderly relatives.

In my family, there is usually fried pork chops or pork slices that accompany a paksiw meal. Sometimes, my mom would buy chicharon or pork cracklings and we would eat them with the paksiw. It goes like this, take a piece of fish, put on top of a spoonful of rice, load it in your mouth and then take a bite of chicharon. Everything comes together in a wonderful mixture of texture and taste. So if you're adventurous enough to try this very Filipino dish, here's the recipe.

Paksiw na Isda

1 whole milkfish, gutted, scaled and sliced into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 whole cloves of garlic
1 japanese eggplant, cut into 2-inch diagonal slices
1 bitter melon, cut like the eggplant (OPTIONAL: I don't really like bitter melon so I leave this out.
2 tbsp. of pork fat oil
2 banana chili peppers (Optional if you don't want the heat)

1. In a non-reactive pot, place the ginger slices and garlic cloves on the bottom of the pan. Add the fish pieces on top. Add the vinegar and turn on the heat. Cover and wait for it to boil.

2. When the vinegar starts to boil, add the salt and the water. Lower down the heat and simmer. After 10 minutes, add the eggplant, banana peppers and bitter melon. Simmer until the veggies are cooked. When done, add the pork oil on top.

Note: This dish is best enjoyed after a day or two in the fridge. Usually my mother would make this a day before she plans to serve it to us. The time in the fridge makes all the flavors meld and the dish takes one a different level.

Diniguan (Filipino Chocolate Stew)

No, it is not the Philippines' version of the Mexican dish Mole, but a blood stew. Some would say that Diniguan or Pork Offal in Blood Stew would be a dish fit for the Fear Factor Show. But I would say, they shouldn't diss the dish until they tried it. When done right, Diniguan is a savory stew with tender bits of offal and pork cubes in it. Different regions of the Philippines have different recipes for it. Some even add coconut milk to the stew.


Here's my easy version of the stew. I cheat using cooked offal that you can buy with the Korean Sundae sausages (pictured on top). Sundae sausages are blood sausages stuffed with potato noodles and some chopped veggies. They're usually dipped in salt mixed with red pepper powder (gochukaroo). When served the sliced sausages have sliced lung, liver, pigs head/ear and other offal with it.

Diniguan is usually made when we Filipinos cook lechon (Roasted Pig on a spit). When the pig is killed, cleaned and gutted for the lechon, the various innards are not wasted but cooked in savory stews like Diniguan, Menudo (Offal Stew in Tomato Sauce) or the Ilocano soup called Pinapaitan (Bitter Soup).


For the Diniguan, here's the ingredients you would need. Note: all the offal here are of piggy origin. You may substitute chicken innards or beef innards, if you have them.
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked liver, cubed
1 cup cooked lung, cubed
1 cup cooked intestines, cubed
1 cup cooked stomach, cubed
2 cups cooked pork with some fat on it, cubed
2 cups of pig's blood
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 small, onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a knob of ginger, sliced
1 small package of Filipino Sinigang mix (or a spoonful of tamarind paste)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup of pork stock or water
2 banana chilis or any mild-flavored chili pepper that you have
salt and pepper

1. In a large bowl, dump the blood and vinegar and maserate (mash) with your hands. This is to prevent the blood from coagulating.
2. In a large wok or pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the ginger pieces and stirfry until golden-brown. (You can actually smell the aroma of the ginger when it is done). Add the minced garlic and do the same. Now add the diced onion and stir-fry until it changed color.
3. Dumped all the cooked meat (offal and pork cubes) into the pot. Stir-fry everything for 5 minutes. This is important as the little bits of meat gets caramelized and will make the stew taste better.
4. When everything has bits of toasty brown bits all over it, add the pork blood. Stir everything and then add the pork stock or water. Let simmer.
5. When it starts to simmer, add your Sinigang mix. If you're using tamarind paste, mix some hot water to it in a little bowl so that it will dissolve first.
6. Add your chili peppers now. Let the stew simmer, not boil as you don't want the blood sauce to curdle.
7. After 10 minutes of simmering, take the pot off the heat and serve the diniguan stew with fresh, hot rice.

Shaving with Daddy

There's nothing that tugs your heartstrings than seeing your little one imitate Daddy during shaving time. Billy always wanted to shave like his Daddy. Hubby figured out a way how he could do this, take out the blade from the razor and let him shave with the razor holder.


First order of business is the lathering of the face with whipped cream. Oops! I meant shaving cream. LOL. Billy loves this part.



Hubby watches on as Billy imitates how he shaves his face.


And how he contorts his face when tries to get an even, close shave.


The two Bills busy with their facial hygiene. After shaving, Hubby slaps on some skin bracer on Billy and on himself. Billy usually runs up to me and ask me to feel his cheek to see how smooth he has shaved it. I usually do and give him a kiss and tell him how manly he smells. LOL

Soon enough, my little boy would be shaving for real. And I can't wait to see him shave with his son in the distant future. Sigh.

You bet, Pinakbet! (Sauteed Veggies in Shrimp Sauce)

This veggie dish originates in the province of Ilocos in the Philippines. The climate and terrain is harsh and rugged. The simplicity and versatility of this dish is suited for this region as vegetables grown from one's garden is usually used. One can use a wide variety like: eggplant, yard beans, bitter melon, tomato, ginger, okra, string beans, lima beans, chili peppers and various Filipino vegetables like parda, winged beans. I come from a region that includes squash in the pinakbet.

The sauce added to the dish can be fermented shrimp or fermented fish sauce. It is essential to the dish. Some cook their pinakbet dry almost to the point of no sauce left at all. Others, like me cook their pinakbet saucy.


It was a rainy day and I wanted a simple, comforting dish. All I had in the fridge were eggplants, garlic scapes and some zucchini. There was a half a bottle of fermented fish sauce called bagoong, too. I decided to make pinakbet. Billy decided to help me. Here he is cutting up my veggies for me.

I cut up two japanese eggplants into thirds and then into halves. The garlic scapes, about a small handful, I cut the ends and tops off and cut them up into 2-inch pieces. The zucchini was sliced into rounds and then cut into half. I also added minced garlic, about a teaspoon and half an onion sliced. I used about 1/4 cup of fish sauce and 1 cup of pork stock (or water if you don't have any). Oh, a cup of cooked sliced pork is also great for the dish, if you have roasted pork, so much the better. It adds a lot of flavor to the dish.

First, cook the pork in a little oil until it is slightly golden brown. Drain off oil if the pork exuded a lot of fat. Leave about 1 tablespoon of oil behind with the pork. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown. Add the onions and cook them until they change color.

The rule in cooking the pinakbet is to add the veggies that need to cook the longest first. So I added the garlic scapes first, then after 5 minutes, I added the eggplant. After 5 minutes the zucchini was dumped into the wok and the fish sauce. Stir everything until the sauce covers all the veggies. Add a pinch of MSG if you are not MSG-phobic. Add the cup of stock and cover the wok and let simmer until the eggplant is done.

Serve the dish hot with freshly cooked rice. Watch as you can't help but eat more than two servings of everything. :)

Good News in the End

more cat pictures

Well, Hubby went to see his doctor yesterday for another x-ray and check-up. The doctor looked at his x-ray and slowly smiled. He declared that Hubby didn't have to surgery at all. There was no migration or movement of the fractured humerus bone. In fact, a couple of nights ago hubby popped his injured shoulder (accidentally) and it felt good. I guess the the bone moved back from its dislocated place.

Everything was looking good and all was needed was the immobilization of Hubby's shoulder and a lot of PT exercises after 2-3 weeks. Hubby and I are so happy.

The awful day last Monday at THAT hospital turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Thanks to the Big Guy upstairs. And if people tell you prayers don't work, tell them to read my blog. Prayers work!

Hospital From H3ll and the DWTHG*

Question: What's the difference between God and a doctor?
Answer: God doesn't think he is a doctor.

*The Doctor who thinks he's God


Hubby's back home with no surgery. Yup, you read that right, it was a long day yesterday. First the scheduled operation for 10:00am. (as updated to us by one of the senior male nurses last Sunday) NEVER HAPPENED. Hubby fasted the night before and the morning in preparation for it. And nothing happened. I was out and about town running errands and he called me to report the non-existence of his surgery.


I came back around lunchtime and asked the nurses at the admittance and accounting section about what happened and what time is the surgery re-scheduled. I already know the korean word for it and for some time they scrambled about and came back with an answer. It will be for 1:00pm this time. Okay, I told hubby about the new schedule and gave him a kiss and left for work.


1:00 passed and then 2:00, nothing happened. Hubby called me again (thank goodness I had an hour's break between my first and last class). I rushed to the hospital, this time exasperated and stressed to the nurses that WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING? The nurse made some calls and said that the doctor was having lunch. I gave her the eveil eye. She changed her tune. No wait, the doctor is here and Hubby needs to come down from his room (on the 3rd floor) and see the doctor in his office in the 1st floor. What the hey?


So, I ran up the hospital steps (for the ninth time today) and dragged Hubby out of bed to see his doctor. We came down and had to wait several minutes before we were let in. Hubby this time was fatigued, stressed and weak with hunger. The DWTHG motioned for him to sit down on the stool and asked us some questions in Korean. We told him we couldn't speak korean and we were foreigners (duh?). Doctor turned around, raised an eyebrow and asked in English "How long have you been in Korea?" Hubby said over 5 years. Doctor insultingly said "AMAZING (long sneering drawl here). You've been in Korea for over 5 years and you haven't learned korean."

Hubby exploded and said that we weren't there to be scolded for not learning korean and that we just wanted to know what the hell was going to happen to him. Will he have surgery or not? Is there going to be any surgery at all? DWTHG yelled at Hubby that he didn't have the right to get angry. And made it look like it was our fault and miscommunication between us and the nurses about the schedule of the surgery. Here's where the bombshell landed, DWTHG even mentioned there was no surgery scheduled. WHAT??!!

This time Hubby got mad, I got mad and we fussed at the doctor. Doctor fussed back and said that Hubby should find another hospital because HE WILL NOT OPERATE ON HUBBY. He also said we should leave immediately and he doesn't care where and which hospital we would go. I told him what I thought about him and his mother. He told the same thing to me. We stormed out of his office and I had to rush back to my school to tell them I couldn't teach my last class. I broke down to the teachers there and gave them some idea of what happened.



Then I rushed back at the hospital where Hubby told me that the DWTHG said that they will do the surgery anyway and scheduled it for 3:00pm. I was adamant we check out of the hospital and find another one. Who knows what that doctor would decide to do to Hubby's operation (it's a delicate operation, cutting ligaments and one wrong stroke can leave Hubby with permanent nerve damage). Hubby finally agreed with me. We called his boss who found another doctor and our taxi driver friend who helped us packed up our stuff. We went to the new doctor who said that there were other options aside from surgery. Like just immobilization maintenance and physical therapy after several months. Hubby opted for that. (Hubby's sister had the same accident and broke her shoulder too, she didn't have surgery either).

By this time, I rushed to Hubby's training school and subbed for his last several classes. A good friend dropped by the hospital and brought Hubby and Billy home. It was a long day and we were all emotionally and physically exhausted.

So, if any of you find yourself in a sleepy little town called Janghowon, don't ever go to a hospital called Saehan. I beg of you, don't go there. It's a hospital from hell and the doctor in there thinks he's from heaven and a gift to all.