Category Archives: food

Homely activities

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I feel stronger today, like my old energy is back so I tackled home cooking today. Or rather I taught my daughter, Twin I, how to make omurice and miso soup.

First she cooked leftover rice that was in the fridge overnight with some leftover tocino and leeks. Normally you put dollops of ketchup in the rice but my kids don’t like ketchup. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.
Then I taught her how to make a plain and thin omelette. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
We assembled the rice first then covered it with the omelette and shaped it like this. Topped with slivers of leeks. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.

I also taught her how to make miso soup using soybean paste and kombu or dried kelp. Omurice and and miso soup for brunch today.

Then I felt more energetic than I expected so I tackled my container garden that was already so neglected that it looked like a forest full of detritus and detritus feeders.

First, I tried to save my birds of paradise plant from falling over because it was being pushed down by the neighbor’s trash. Then I’m teaching it to lean the other way. This is already the daughter plant (that grew from a sucker). The mother plant that I bought from my hometown in December died as it was not able to acclimatize in the city. Good thing the daughter survived and is growing another leaf. Tonight I transferred it to a more shady part of the courtyard so the leaves won’t be burned by the noon sun. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Then I tackled the dried leaves that kept falling from the old mango tree and the soil that was dug up by neighborhood stray cats. I took out the neighbor’s trash that they stuffed between their motorbike and my pots. Annoying really, because there was a lot. I pulled out the dead plants that I neglected and some weeds. The big one at the back is a taro plant. I tried pulling it out to check if there’s already taro but that damned thing was stubborn. The bigger plants at the back are fruit trees that I learned to be lanzones, kaimito and rambutan. And they will all go to my cousin who has a garden. I don’t have a place to transfer my fruit trees from my pot. The wire shelving was pulled out from my laundry area and it was just languishing there. It used to hold my pots and pans in the cooking area. Some survivors are my birdseye chilis. I will be sowing some vegetable seeds in the empty pots tomorrow. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Here are some of the surviving birdseye chilis that I quarantined as some of the other surviving siblings are being attacked by some kind of pest, maybe aphids. At the back planted in some old upside down plastic Coke bottles are some Sansivieria bacularis that I started to propagate. The ones in the water are the other bacularis that I separated from the mother plant that will be transferred to other pots when I have the chance to buy potting soil.
These are the mother Sansivieria bacularis. They started as small plants in small Japanese cups that we bought from Quezon City Circle gardens for PHP 35 each in 2018. They were dying indoors probably because of lack of light so I took them out and transferred them to bigger pots. Look at how they have thrived outdoors. I think this unruly mother plant would have to be thinned out and I propagate the daughters.
I planted seeds of ornamental flowers in these recycled mineral water bottles. These are next to my front windows so when they start to flower, I will be looking at my flowers through my window every morning when I have my breakfast.
Since everyone is stuck at home, my neighbors in the apartment compound also started growing plants in pots and plant boxes. Yup, that’s my bike that I haven’t folded yet. I’ll probably clean and oil that tomorrow.
My neighbors also are growing papaya trees, some Malabar spinach (that vine) and moringa tree. They said I can freely gather the leaves if I want to use them for cooking.

Tomorrow I will be composting some rotten guyabano fruits and cantaloupe that I wasn’t able to eat. I will gather the seeds first and let’s see if I can grow them. My squash died during the non-stop monsoon rains in July and August. Also some neighborhood stray cats started digging into my pots. Next time I will make some trellises so my squash would have somewhere to crawl or attach to.

Later tonight I will be ordering 20 meters of solar-powered fairy lights from Lazada that I will twirl around the mango tree then hang across the container garden towards my apartment’s overhang and hang it loosely there. It would be very pretty every night so my girls and I can sit outside while we grill or just hang out since the heavy rains have already stopped. Plus Christmas is coming soon. I will be ordering more curtain fairy lights to hang against my curtains in my living room window.

Self-love. I’m almost there.

I lost weight

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I now have somewhat sunken cheeks or my cheekbones became more prominent and my face more pointed. I did not weigh myself because it’s too exhausting to excavate my weighing scale under my bed. Not being able to eat well for two weeks will do that to you.

I call it the Covid weight-loss program.

But then–kapoof! I celebrated today with food because I was able to publish again today and edit three stories. It got out of hand though…

No meat. Vegetable salad, pinangat (taro leaves in coconut milk and chilis), noodles and a bit of omurice. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

To celebrate the fact that I can already taste some food, I wanted something spicy and so I had pinangat that some Bicolano friends of mine sent me when I was in the middle of my Covid-induced sleep marathon. I ate a lot tonight so I have to refrain from doing that if I want to keep my current post-Covid weight.

I am now used to not having breakfast and only a shot of Berocca to start my day. I should keep my Covid appetite.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll try some crunches, if I am not going to chase my breath. But fixing my dinner tonight took a lot of effort on my part and it kind of left me breathless so let’s see.

Burnout

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I just found a gem hidden somewhere on Youtube. I first fell in love with this song when 3D (Dancel, Dumas, Danao) did an acoustic live version of this, which felt like…burnout. Or the middle of a burnout. This version, on the other hand, feels like a breeze caressing your cheek after a meltdown. Especially the part where Clara Benin sang, “tinatawag kita/sinusuyo kita/di mo man marinig/di mo man madama…” I felt that.

Unfortunately for me this is not available on Spotify so I can’t add this to my playlist. So I always have to hunt this down on Youtube.

…Tinatawag kita, sinusuyo kita
Di mo man marinig, di mo man madama
O kay tagal din kitang mamahalin
O kay tagal din kitang mamahalin…”

Hanggang kelan? Hindi ko alam pero ang alam ko lang ay pagod na ako.

I went food shopping this evening and I bought slabs of steak for me to grill tomorrow because my very good friend, K, will be coming over. Must have heard that I got sick.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

But I wouldn’t eat this after my tests came back and indicated that I am a walking heart attack. I will have grilled salmon instead. Made potato salad tonight to go with these and some steamed veggies. No alcohol, as the doctor ordered so I just bought sparkling grape juice for me while K will have red wine. I also bought brie cheese to go with the wine.

And yeah, no caffeine for me either.

I now only have flower teas or milk for breakfast. Then lunch and light dinner. Can’t wait for this lockdown to end so I can bike and burn calories.

Stop with this inanity

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This does not merit any column inch. The swaying of his helicopter and “near-death” experience is obviously a pre-campaign propaganda. It has been done by presidential aspirants through the years. So sue me! I had been in media for too long to know a skunk when I smell one. The TV5 news desk can argue that the order to publish this kind of inane news item came from the principals because the franchise of Maynilad Water Services (a sister company) has already been granted by Congress so they need to put grease on it to make sure everything runs smooth.

The political economy of media at play. Or the desk is just stupid (as sometimes is the case).

This. This is the type of news that we should not let go of. Eyes on the ball, people!

Meanwhile, I count myself lucky that we could still eat well despite the widespread hardships across the globe. Sometimes I feel guilty. That’s why I do my best to help and teach my children the same. I have yet to send the packs of powdered milk I bought to the orphanage in Manila. Because the capacity to collect donations by the nuns has been diminished by this pandemic. They’re taking care of abandoned elderly and orphans.

To alleviate the anxiety and anger building within me, my daughters and I had a cheeseboard. But I don’t have the actual cheeseboard, just the cheese and charcuterie. And Italian red wine. Because it’s Monday. And it sucks normally.

And there are food items that should be treated with respect. Like this steak. I didn’t have the heart to grill this on the gas-fired grill last weekend. I had to use the charcoal grill because I want the smokiness. My daughter, Twin I, and I made mashed potatoes from scratch to go with the steak.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

My emotions are running high. Anger, anxiety, pain, what-have-you. I no longer know. I’m just limited to Twitter; I cannot write what I want to write to expose all that is wrong with the world right now. I no longer have a platform.

But then, that’s the reason why I walked away from local media in the first place. Because I cared too much that it drained me. I think this internal conflict will stay with me until I fade away.

It’s the 14th of August

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And we have 14,000 new infections today. Very apt.

To make myself feel better, I tried again the oven and grill feature of my new stove top. Less oily food for us today.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I received some packs of Quorn products from its parent company as part of their relaunch in the Philippines. So for today I baked the vegetarian nuggets while i cooked tamagoyaki on top of the oven.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

After this I removed the pan and replaced it with a wire mesh to grill okra.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I haven’t tried grilling steaks on this gas griller and I don’t want to ruin a perfectly seasoned steak. Not yet anyway. But I tried grilling burgers on it last week.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

It has been quite a while since my meals have become irregular. Too much work. But it was last week when I realized that I had consistently been eating less in terms of serving and frequency. Only twice a day. I tried fasting yesterday with only milk as my source of nutrition (breakfast). By 4 pm I gave up. I couldn’t go without food. I needed to eat, especially after writing a 1,500-word article.

So if I should attempt again to fast, I should do it on a weekend and not when I am pressured to write epics. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I am distracting myself with cooking because right now I want to kill the DOH secretary. I don’t want to be stressed today with news about him and the COA report. And the mass resignation of healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, the lockdown may be extended given the steady rise in the number of new cases and hospitals operating at maximum capacity. A lot of people are going hungry again. I am in touch with one of the community pantry organizers here and they are now distributing food packs to jeep and tricycle drivers. I’ll see if I can give them a hand during my work leave.

Quit

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I just want to quit. Quit this company. All I can say is you cannot make yourself small for somebody who refuses to grow up.

As I told a friend, I just do my job, keep my head low, get my salary, then jump when the opportunity comes.

I’ve been looking at openings but so far none stirred excitement inside me. I mean, none tugged at my insides yet.

Pita bread and curry. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Beef strips with enoki mushrooms that I made myself. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Since we’re stuck indoors again, I have been trying to cheer ourselves by cooking yummy food (and yes I am forcing my girls to eat Indian food). I no longer know how to make things better for the four of us (the other househelp already went home to her hometown and got married the other day) because…we are all tired of all of these.

I have already asked for a leave of absence for a few days this month before they announced the lockdown. I was initially planning to go to my hometown for a mini-break (bike to nearby towns and just chill) but I guess that won’t be happening anytime soon. So I will be stuck with nothing else to do.

I don’t want to live inside my head again.