I ♥ Food

When somebody introduces herself and says she is a Capampangan, unang itatanong nila "So magaling ka pala magluto?". Hindi iyon applicable sa lahat ng babaeng Capampangan. Take for example me, hindi ako marunong magluto not until I came to New Zealand. My mom was even questioning my ability to cook and how could I feed my husband when we migrate here.

Actually, kahit hindi ako nakapagpractice masyado magluto sa Pilipinas,pero mahilig akong manood ng food channel dahil gusto ko na matikman ko yung mga iba't ibang masasarap na pagkain. Ang mga una kong niluto dito, sinigang, nilaga, adobo... Yung adobo, dito ko na sa New Zealand first time ko maluto sa tanang buhay ko. Madalas din akong magluto ng mga imbentong pagkain. Kagaya kunwari, gagayahin yung lasa ng korean beef barbeque na nakain ko sa Kimchi (SM foodcourt), beef steak with gravy and mash potatoes and spicy beef strips with capsicum. My husband is the judge, he definitely tells kung masarap o hindi masarap, and says whats wrong with it in a nice way. Hanggang sa nasabi ko na sa sarili ko na marunong na pala ako magluto.

August 2008, my daughter started going to kindy. Sa kanya ako nahilig mag-bake, because almost everyday they bake something at the kindy. I started with baking muffins, scones and cookies. Then came the hard part, which is making ensaymada na request ng husband ko. It uses yeast which is really unpredictable, because you don't know if it will rise or not. Two times akong pumalpak sa ensaymada ko. But at the third time, I said to my self, pag hindi pa rin umalsa, hindi na talaga ako gagawa ng ensaymada. I had asked help from a blogger who loves cooking and baking and she is from the US, salamat at naging successful. And up to now, every week I bake and try some new stuff. Just today, I tried baking garlic naan bread. I paired it with my imbentong Indian food kuno, which is ginisang kalabasa and brocolli with curry and coconut sauce. I didn't expect my 5 year old son to like it kasi as Filipinos hindi natin masyadong ginagamit yung curry. Pero himala, nagustuhan nya.

And how could I say that I really love food? My dream is to travel to many places, and in travelling these places, I dream of eating the specialties of these places. In Italy,authentic pizza and truffles ; Maine,USA, lobsters cooked in different ways; USA, popular ice cream places and hotdogs; China, chicken cooked inside a clay; Singapore, chili crabs and more.....

Sana nga matupad, kasi nakakagutom mag-imagine... :-)

Maala-ala Mo Pa Kaya

Nung magpunta kami sa New Zealand ng hubby ko, we left the kids in the Philippines. I would like to reminisce the stories that my in-laws told me about the kids nung time na wala kami... Ben was 4 years old and Ann was 3 years old at that time...

Story no. 1. We decided not to bring my kids to the airport with us instead they were brought to SM, baka kasi hindi kumawala sa amin. We thought it was much better, pero hindi pala. When they went back home na wala kami, simula nun, ayaw na ni Ben umalis ng bahay, ayaw ng gumala, kasi daw baka bumalik daw kami, at wala sya sa bahay... Grabe, nadurog ang puso ko...

Story no. 2. At the pc, may screen saver which is a collection of our photos. One time my mother-in-law caught my son, kissing my photos on the monitor.

Story no. 3. Ben and Ann talking. Ann: Kuya, nami-miss mo ba si mommy at daddy? Ben: Oo. Ikaw nami-miss mo din sila? Ann: Oo miss ko din.

Story no. 4. Ben and Ann talking again. Ann: Kuya, love mo ba ako? Ben: Hindi, kasi miss kita... (Huh, gulo ng usapan nilang magkapatid no?)

Parang kailan lang yun, and I'm so glad, nadala na namin sila dito... I hope when they grow up, they still love us the way they do right now... They are such sweet children.... Thank you Lord for my kids...

Hahei and Thames Photos

Te Mata

At Cathedral Cove lookout

Ann with a huge tahong

Hot Water Beach

Waitangi Day

It's a long weekend again to celebrate Waitangi day, they say this is the first migration policy that was made in New Zealand, tama ba ako?:-) We grab the very rare opportunity again to enjoy the beach... Since my husband and I have a crazy work schedule. He works 4 days on and 4 days off, his days off I have work. But whenever there is a holiday on his days on, the company lets the employees really take the holiday, which means he has no work... yehey... This schedule works for us, since at any given day, one of us could take care of the kids...
Getting back to enjoying the holiday, we head off to Orewa Beach. Kids upon arriving at the beach straight away, went swimming... After a little while, gutom na ang mga kids, ayun kainan na... I've cooked Filipino style spaghetti and baked vanilla cake with buttercream icing for my friends birthday which was today also... My other friends cooked pancit and bistek... Hmmm, sarap. Then we went to Wenderholm Regional Park/Beach... Hala sige, ligo na naman ang mga kids...
We had a really good time... We finished the trip with taking alot of pictures together. Kaso lang hindi pa ako marunong maglagay ng pictures sa blog na ito. Pag-aaralan ko pa... So tired already now, but tried to write something in my blog...
Happy Waitangi Day to all...

Ben Loves Mom

We've just been to Hahei Beach, Whitianga on the 28th of January, but still I can't forget what my son Benedict said to me... He was swimming at the beach with his Dad, I wen't at the upper side of the beach to cool off. He came up to me crying "Mom why aren't you at the beach with me?" And I replied "I'm sorry anak but its too hot there, may gusto ka ba?"and he said "Hungry ako mommy"So I grabbed some chips,went down the beach and look for a shady spot. As we were eating, we were both looking at the waves, suddenly he said "Mommy I love you". And I said"I love you too Ben". Such lovely words to come from a 5-year old boy, when you least expect them, I almost wanted to cry. As I think this is a good opportunity for me to tell him something that hopefully he won't forget until he grows up. I said "Ben, pagmalaki ka na, sana good boy ka pa rin ha? Atsaka love mo pa rin si Mom". And he replied with his mouth full of chips"Yes mom".