Convert

I'll have to "blame" Mr. M for this.

Constant conversations with Mr. M. about dogs suddenly proselytized me into the world of these wonderful four-legged creatures. I suddenly found myself wanting to have and cuddle cute little puppies! Too bad, because of my severe allergy to fur, dog / cat hair, dust, and other particles, not to mention the fact that none from this family would want a canine within our backyard, I just have to content myself with these pics :

Belat!!! Hehehehe

Can I have one of these?

Adorable white beauties

Hahahaha!!! This cutie gets a cameo appearance at a couple's engagement shoot

Awwww :-)

She looks fierce but still cute.

I want to bring you home!

Talk about getting kissed in the cheek!
Doggie plays with the baby.

Seryoso masyado

Nice wedding detail ---- a bride and groom pug (or bulldog?)

Are you sad?

I guess I'm happy to have been converted into a dog lover ;-)

From Scribbling Angel to the new Kitchen Princess

I've always wanted to learn how to cook but our househelp Aning is just too impatient to teach me how to. So when her brother announced his marriage plans for Saturday, May 9, I immediately grabbed the opportunity to whip up meals for one week ---- solo! Yes, nobody was there to coach me as I boiled, pan-grilled, sauteed and fried all week!

Day one was a breeze. I just practically boiled water and the sinigang mix and came up with sigang na bangus. The next night, I was high because I cooked chicken afritada (chicken happens to be my favorite). My mom and brother asked me to cook another sinigang dish, and so voila, I prepared sinigang na manok. I did the marketing last Saturday, and when I came home, I immediately prepared sigang na baka for lunch (sigang is a regular stape in this household) and chicken curry for dinner. Mom developed allergies and was not allowed to eat fish or seafoods for one week, and so I just prepared bistek na tagalog yesterday. And oh, tonight I'm cooking pinakbet. Whew!

This whole episode of cooking on my own was a revelation. First, I found cooking to be a therapeutic, enjoyable activity. I loved every single bit of the experience! In fact, I'm so excited now to see the finishing touches of our current house renovation so that I can finally use the new gas range my mom bought last last week. Second, it isn't scary at all to cook, as it had been for me in the past. Years ago, when ate and I were boiling beef in the pressure cooker, the whole thing just suddenly exploded. The next time we peeked at what the scene after all the screaming and running, all the cubed beef pieces were hanging from the ceiling! Third, I found out that I am also a bit adventurous when it comes to preparing gastronomic delights. To add some twist to the bistek tagalog, I marinated the sirloin in pineapple chunks syrup, and later on included the marinade in the mixture. We had a fun time discussing over dinner the merits of mixing and matching ingredients to spice up classic dishes. Maybe next time I should post some of the dishes that have been well-received by my family.

Well, what do you know? My classmate Enchie maintains a blogspot exclusively for her own dishes. The Scribbling Angel might soon be a Kitchen Princess :-)