playing catch up

It’s a relatively light day at work and this is when I steal a couple minutes to catch up on today’s news or look up anything random that’s been lingering in my mind the past couple of days. Today is no exception, I was reading about the newly elected president of Maldives, the Immortal Beloved Letters and checking out my guilty pleasure of various entertainment websites. This day, however is one of the few days that I checked out news that’s going on in the Philippines. Ok, its not as if I’m trying to distance myself from the Philippines, but to be brutally honest I HAVE been away for over 8 years and whatever news that’s going on in the RP unfortunately doesn’t affect me as much.

So I googled Philippines to see what interesting websites come up and 2 glaring headlines popped-up. One was about the return of Undersecretary Joc-Joc and another is about the kyboshed Spain-RP labour plans.

It’s so interesting to have these 2 headlines side by side because the return of Joc-joc was heralded as a triumph of the judiciary process and the truth about the multi-million peso scam of transferring agricultural funds to the campaign war chest of President Macapagal will finally be revealed. And surprise, surprise yet another step in the impeachment of a sitting president. (Really people, when did we ever have a time since President Marcos when there wasn’t a call for impeachment for a sitting president… I know it’s the whole 2 minutes after a new president gets sworn in and after that it’s a free for all.. It’s getting old and frankly boring!)

So anyway I was reading through the article and both sides of the parties are shouting from the rooftops that the truth will finally be revealed. (Like I said, same old stuff!) Then I switched to the business news about the labour migration pact of Spain and RP being halted that led to the interesting news of the visit of UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon for an economic summit. He was talking about the risk of having only labour migration as the only means of an economic survival. Since labour migration is the biggest asset of the Philippines, raking in millions of dollars, euro, pound, yen, Riyadh, etc etc for the country due to the blood, sweat and tears of the millions of overseas workers sent abroad each year, it’s worth asking that with the global financial crisis affecting every country in the world including those that import “professionals” from the Philippines, how is it going to affect the country when this demands slow down or God forbid, stops.

While I was reading this, I had the sudden urge to write Baguio’s congressman and mayor and ask them which is more important for their political career. Really finding out the “truth” behind what Joc-joc has to say that may or may not lead to an impeachment case against President Macapagal (yawn!) or what steps are they going to do to protect the citizens of Baguio and what are they going to do if the demand stops for cheap labour, what plans do they have to make sure people eat at night? Sheesh, do they even care.. ( geez i'm sooo incensed right now.. maybe its the UP in me) But whatever!!


On a side note, the one thing that I did learn today is that we have the Order of Sikatuna, from the Ancient Order of Sikatuna created by President Quirino. The order was derived from the sandugo between Datu Lakan and his Spanish conquistador. It was so interesting because they use really deep tagalong words that nobody uses today like Maringal na Lakan, Katangiang Ginto. I know random, but then again that what I was really looking for.

The Cupcake Shoppe

When you’re hit with a craving, there are only two things you can do. Either ignore it and do something else until that craving pasts and you forget about it. Or you throw caution to the wind and just say yes and allow yourself to enjoy the moment. Hmm but then again it depends on the craving..

I had this ridiculous need for some cupcakes yesterday, and not just any kind of cupcake but it had to be the uber-moist, crumbly, with real butter cream kind of cupcake. And what does any logical, intelligent girl do when hit with an intense food craving but go hunting for the real thing, wherever it may take her.

So I did my research and scoured through countless websites until I found “the one”. The cupcake shoppe at Yonge and Eglinton (www.thecupcakeshoppe.ca) This was no ordinary trek to satisfy a food craving. Yonge and Eglinton is more than an hour’s drive east from where I work in the peak of rush hour traffic and another 20 minutes north of where I live. Driving almost 2 hours to satisfy an urge is admittedly absurd but no one could talk me out of it, I just had to have it..



And boy oh boy I’m soo glad I did.. The Cupcake Shoppe knows their cupcakes and it was one of the most yummilicious cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. It was moist, it was crumbly and it did what it needed to do, satisfy an illogical craving. They had such appetizing flavours like “Yonge and Eligible”, Creamsicle, and “Naughty n’ Spice”. Think chocolate and/or vanilla cake with either vanilla, orange, nutmeg and cinnamon spiced and of course chocolate icing.

And I saved the best for last.. luscious dark chocolate cake topped with frosty peppermint icing, what a way to end a “healthy” lunch.. sigh! I want some more.. maybe on my next cupcake hit.

Cough.. Cough... Blech!!!!

Argh this has been one of the worst weeks ever. I’ve been hit with all kinds of nasty germ-like substance the past days.. My eyes are red and watery, my nose is reminiscent of Rudolf the Reindeer, my throat feels like sand paper, my chest has this 10ton something stuck in it and every part of my body has some sort of ache emanating from it.

I’m a walking junkie with 10 different cough, cold, throat, allergy medicines in my system. I’ve waded through boxes of Kleenex, Puffs with lotion, Puffs with Vicks and I’m still not better AND IT SNOWED YESTERDAY!!! I hate this feeling….i hate this weather.. I want my bed.

Cooking 101

I wanted to tell a story about my progression into being infatuated with food. Don't get me wrong, the eating part has always been there. I'm talking about loving the entire process from buying raw produce to creating scrumptious dishes ready to be devoured at the dinner table.

Throughout my university years and with the exception of the couple of months being fed at my relatives' respective homes in the US, I've lived off frozen entrees, canned food, ramen noodles, and my all time favorite takeout/delivery. It served its purpose of me being full at the end of every meal. But I wouldn't call it an obsession with food. When I took it up a notch and started being adventurous with food, I would keep it within the cookie cutter chain restaurants. I ventured into the Applebees, Cheesecake Factory and Moxies of the world, where you can get a decent meal for $20, $30 if you throw in a cocktail or two. Call me a neophyte foodie but at that time I thought that was the be all and end all of the food experience. As the years progresses I tried a couple of restaurants where it was easily a $100/person for a gourmet six course meal. It was amazing to say the least and really heightened my appreciation for good food but certainly not ignite a passion.

It was a little over a year ago when I fully experienced a true gastronomic experience, it was when Chris treated me to Susur, this is Toronto's premier restaurant and from the time you walk in to the time you leave it's a food adventure to say the least. The sound of glasses clinking and cutlery being moved around the table, the military style and precision of the servers walking around the restaurant and the great Chef Susur Lee himself walking out of his kitchen and gazing across his mini-kingdom to check on his guests was a delight to watch. But the food, OMG.. The presentation was a delight, the smells divine and I've never, never tasted any dishes like that in my life. Deliciously orgasmic doesn't even justify each bite that I took. I had to savour each delectable taste as best as I could to prolong the experience. One of the best experiences in my life hands down. $350/person is no joke but it was totally and completely worth it.

I fell in love with food, I wanted to experience the sensation of pure contentment when you bite into a delicious dish. I doubt I'll be going back to Susur anytime soon, unless I want to be walking to work for a year, but I wanted to take that same palatable sensation and bring it to my own dinner table. Yes I know, it will never be as grandiose, or as elegant, or as divine but to be inspired to create something deliciously beautiful is simply lovely.

So I started cooking. It sounds so simple but I'm one who's always dreaded the kitchen. It was such an alienated place in my apartment. I had all the basic pots and pans but that was more for show than being actually used. After Susur, I started reading about food, learning about different recipes, experimented with different flavours and using Chris as my guinea pig to do the taste test. I’d go to the farmers market and started picking unknown veggies, various fruits and different cuts of meat. I started filling my shelves with different spices and I even planted a tiny garden in my balcony filled with basil, dill and mint. (Sadly the mint never grew). So I cooked one disastrous dish after another, until finally success the dishes started looking palatable, the flavours came together and Chris doesn’t have the look of death every time I call out that dinner is ready.

We'd still go out once in a while and venture into the many different cuisine that our city has to offer but more often than not we find so much happiness in sitting down with a glass of wine and eating a good home cooked meal.

Here's one of the simple yet yummy dishes that I modified and tweaked until I was completely happy with. I call it Sweetpea's Alfredo Sauce.


Sweetpea's Alfredo Sauce

2 cups heavy cream. (Usually says, "heavy whipping cream")
1 can cream of mushroom
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks) (DON'T USE MARGARINE!!!!!)
3 Tablespoons cream cheese
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese
(GOOD QUALITY CHEESE, not the Kraft kind of cheeses)
3 cloves freshly minced garlic
2 cups chopped button mushrooms (or try baby bella's for a more earthier flavour)
Bacon (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In saucepan combine butter, heavy cream and cream cheese
Simmer until melted (do not boil), mix well. Add the Parmesan cheese and garlic.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes on very low heat
Add mushrooms on the last 10 minutes of cooking
Season with salt & pepper, if desired
Fry Bacon in a separate pan to desired crunchiness and crumble bacon on top of hot pasta and sauce.

Serve with garlic bread.

Dinner is served

Ode to Raven

I drive a 1994 Honda.. not by choice but because of necessity, if I had my way I’ll still be zipping around Toronto on my ever reliable, first love 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer. Damn that winter and season of frozen roads that ruined my beloved car.

I really did love that car, it was my first big purchase all by my lonesome self, no help from my parents, no relatives acting like a guarantor when I applied for the loan. I did the research, filled up the paper work and test drove what seemed like a gazillion cars until I couldn’t resist the lure of a shiny black Lancer. My love affair with Raven lasted 5 years, I took it everywhere, I saw the entire state of New Jersey, I drove around NYC, the 5 Boroughs and upstate NY with it. It got me to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., Connecticut, and even the Poconos Mountains of PA. Most importantly it drove me to my new home in Ontario, Canada and the surrounding cities of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Aside from the regular wear and tear of any vehicle, I never had a problem with Raven until that one fateful day when it was taken away from me by the insurance company after the accident and I was left with the practical Honda.

Car enthusiasts will argue the value and reliability of Honda’s and I’m not going to dispute their claim. It does last and it drives like you’d expect any 14 year old Honda’s to perform. But it doesn’t have that same tantalizing hold that Raven had on me, maybe because it doesn’t feel like it is mine. The Honda is merely this thing that gets me from point A to point B. It keeps me warm during the winter and cools me down during the summer. It’s great on gas mileage and I’m comfortable enough sitting in the drivers seat when I’m stuck in rush hour traffic, but its not the same. I can create a T chart listing the pros and cons of surrendering to my impulse of getting another car this weekend. I don’t have to worry about car payments and sky rocketing insurance prices, the car still has a lot of kilometers in it that it will last me a couple more years and yes it is reliable and I’m pretty sure with proper care it will last forever.

The negative side of it is that it’s a 14 year old car, wear and tear will come at me more often than not (thus the new radiator that I had to spend a couple hundred bucks last weekend to replace), I’m apprehensive on taking last minute road trips because of the fear that it might break down on me in the middle of nowhere (although my mechanic swore that it would never happen.. but still..) and call it a pure emotional reaction but I’m probably the 3rd or 4th owner of the car.. and did I mention it’s a 14 year old car. It doesn’t hold any value to me. Ok, maybe I’m a converted hedonist but it can also be argued that what may be valuable to me may be not be to others.

Sigh… but after everything is said and done and I look at the T-chart, it will as always boil down to one thing.. Getting a brand new shiny car is not financially feasible right now and it would probably be the worst idea to do so. (hmm is this a sign of maturity?!!? Lol) I do need to look at the bigger picture and accept that there are other things that I need to prioritize and a lot of bills that need to be paid. If I stick to the plan and banning any fortuitous events, next summer for sure is the right time to give in.


I won’t be able to replace my lancer, rest assured Raven will always have that special place as my first, but if my finances work out next year, I’ll be in a better position to drive around in a brand new ride. I’m eyeing a 2009 Mazda 6 fully loaded.. I’ve always been a sucker for product/brand marketing.. zoom zoom forever!! =P