My Love for Cooking + Pork Stir-Fry Recipe

I am an above-average cook. So fab moms who can't, forgive me for bragging a bit. Your kids will still love you if you choose delivery or take-outs. But this is my take.

Cooking kalderetang kambing at my husband's camp

A way to a hungry man's heart is definitely through his rumbling stomach. I'm one of the gifted wives who has kitchen skills. Modesty aside, I can definitely cook & it tastes good, actually. But I do have days when what I prepared didn't even look like food. Cuisine-wise, I'm still in the beginner's level. Conceptualizing on what to prepare for the family is one big task, considering that my husband comes home only on special occasions and that my daughter is a little picky-eater. So reading a magazine's food section helps me a lot. It has tips on how to prepare food for kids; should be healthy and visually-enticing at the same time; like what I have written in my previous post about the Sotanghon Bunny. It also has sample dining table setting or proper food plating, that I try all my best to copy. You know, the feeling of being an "expert". The reason why I love watching Top Chef and other cooking-related TV shows.

Orange Away the Colds at Bay

One of the most "natural" ways for colds to go away!

Philippines has only two weather conditions --- rainy & sunny. Yes, right? A smart 5th-grader can disagree if typhoon is another type of weather. But whatever it is that the country has, we are prone to having colds due to allergens (which are due to pollutants that are in default settings with our lovely Republic). No, I am not here to advertise any non-drowsy allergy-relief medicine. Though I will if they will ask me to do it. Of course, let's talk if the medium is Php. Hahaha. As if. Well, I may be a modern mom, but I make sure that we will not depend on drugs whenever we feel sick. I have this sort of "barrio lass" inside me, going organic. Like, I used to try on boiling oregano leaves and making my little daughter drink its juice when she has cough. But I just can't make her get used to it. 'Cause I can't even drink it myself! So I concede, I just make her take a Lagundi-based cough syrup, a lesser evil than something so drug-ish. So when she has colds, her usual sickness (thank God!) aside from bruises & burns (LB is a little Parkour athlete), I just tell her to drink lots of water and I encourage her to do her own OJ. Mmm, yes, I finish all the tasks of doing so but I make her feel she did it all by herself. Fellow parents, Nido Milk is true to their words that the time you say YES to your children is the time they start learning. 

LB posing with her almost-full glass of fresh OJ
(which is actually a sunkist. ;p)

So here, even if it's a bit messy and there's more juice that'd gone to waste than what she actually poured in the glass, I'm proud of LB. That means, she really wanted to get well the soonest and that she trusts me. When I tell her to finish her milk so she'll become taller, she does. So when I told her to drink her OJ so she'd get well immediately and that I won't be there to take care of her 'cause I'll be at the office, she drank it in one count. I couldn't utter a better phrase to praise her, but a modest & uncool "Great job Pia!". Oh shucks, perks of motherhood. How about you?

Sotanghon Bunny

Based on the magazine articles I read, like ones I see in Smart Parenting, it's advisable to prepare food that are enticing to the kids' eyes. I once served the family buttered veggies, in which I told my little foodie, three-year-old Sophia, that the broccoli is a tree and baby potatoes are mountains. She didn't like the baby potatoes. Maybe it looks dirty. But she really did impress me with broccoli. So to enhance her palate, I'm slowly introducing her to different viands that a usual adult eats. I think we have the "Ground Pork in Tomato Sauce with Potatoes, Carrots, Green Peas & Raisins", like, every week. So yesterday, while doing my grocery-shopping in Rustan's Supermarket in Gateway, I found a really cute fish cake used in Shabu-Shabu. So because I know Shabu-Shabu won't be appealing to my daughter, I made a SOTANGHON BUNNY instead!

You basically saute garlic, onion and carrots. Put in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Salt & pepper to taste (Yeah, it sounds I know a lot!) then drop the bunnies! Once the bunnies are cooked, you can put in the sotanghon (aka Chinese Vermicelli; blanch it first in water). Voila, you made a Sotanghon Bunny! Best served hot. Indulge.

P.S. I apologize for my instructions. I'm not really good in recipe-writing.

Sophia Ballerina

Today is my daughter's 2nd session of ballet class in Primemont Science School. And well, because I have to go to the office and can't file a leave all the time, she was accompanied by her nanny and nanny's cousin (who is my mother-in-law's go girl). Before I left for work earlier, I made sure that the nanny (N) understood all my instructions. But lo and behold! When I called them up at 12 noon, my little ballerina (LB) was already dressed up. The ballet class starts at 2 pm! Didn't she think LB would have gotten dirty before going to school?! Ugh. So instead of getting more frustrated (which I already was, by the way), I told all my instructions to the nanny's cousin (NC). When I texted NC by the time they were done, she said they were already home. So I called them up and N answered. N said LB was more well-behaved than when she attended her 1st session. I'm happy to know about that but it sort of pinch my heart a bit, that I was not there to witness it. Sigh. I just thought that it's a stepping stone to eventually making her go on her own. Shucks. She's only turning four and she can now do well without me. Sniff-sniff. Ohh-kaay, cut the drama.

My Little Ballerina a.k.a. Little Bebeng

I Will Be Mrs. Matilda Mouseling

Now that my daughter's soon be turning four, her being in school is the family's top priority, and one of the many things that causes me sleepless nights. Not that I don't want to spend much but I'm still unsure if my little popstar is ready. So to test, I enrolled her in a once-a-week session of ballet class in Primemont Science School, just-a-trike-away from our place. I haven't read reviews over the net from other moms about it but seeing from the photos in their Facebook page, I think it's a good school. What my worry is if their curriculum would match my little girl's attitude. You see, she's a mini-me, somewhat hard to handle, but generally sweet.

Adamant as to where to buy ballet paraphernalia, I posted in FB asking my friends about it but to no avail. Getting hopeless and scared that I might not be able to buy come my daughter's first ballet session, I texted my mom. I asked where she used to buy us ballet shoes when we used to dance for church. She said it was in COD, a department store in Cubao, Quezon City which is now unfortunately closed. Another she mentioned was Yvonne's, which can be see seen in SM Department Stores nationwide.

You can check their Facebook page here

Trusting her faithfully, that's where Sophia and I went to yesterday. Some sales ladies made me a bit annoyed but that did not stop me for looking for Yvonne's. Lo and behold! They have all what we need - leotards, tights, wrap-around skirts and even dancing shoes! All comes in different colors: black, nude, navy blue and well, PINK. My own Angelina Ballerina won't be complete without pink leotard and pink dancing shoes. ♥

I will be posting soon about her first day at her ballet class on the 28th. As a working mom, having a preschooler isn't an easy feat. I have to file a leave and instruct the nanny on what to prepare prior the d-day. Nevertheless, I'm super excited about this new experience for both of us.

Are You a Cookie Monster?

A staple in my food budget.
Left: Oreo's Copycat, perfect to pair with a glass of milk
Right: My Daughter's Favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since my daughter started eating solids, cookies and biscuits have been a steady resident of our fridge. We stock up on the traditional and culturally-famous Marie. And since then tried out other variants such as animal-shaped biscuits, graham crackers, and even iced gem. But nothing beats the classic chocolate chip cookies. My husband loves monster-izing on it, too, after having a hearty lunch or heavy dinner. As the budget manager of the family, we need to cut down on some expenses as we already have a preschooler (she'll be taking ballet classes this summer!). Yes, including food. So instead of buying Chips Ahoy or Chips Delight, we buy the "rejected-but-still-great" version. The vendor said that they got it from a dealer who has a connection with a biscuit factory in Laguna.

I ♥ Hello Kitty

I gasped & giggled like a 10-year-old when I saw the Downy Innocence Hello Kitty Limited Edition TVC. My love for anything Hello Kitty started when I was in 5th Grade. Yes, a lot of first encounters happened during that time. Maybe because I was transferred from a private Christian Academy in Quezon City to a public school in a semi-suburbs part of Marikina City. Oh dear, I knew that I did some sort of reflection at age 10. So much soul, isn't it? It slightly contributed to my being a drama queen and makes my daughter a drama princess.