a cool idea for summer: frozen mint tea

Summers here in the Philippines are scalding, so surviving one means having to think of clever ways to beat the heat.  Frozen mint tea is one of the smartest ideas ever.

Mint has a sweet taste that delivers a cooling sensation, and it's real nice when it's ice-cold.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

1. Make mint tea.
   (Boil water, pour over fresh mint leaves; cover for 3 minutes, strain.)
   
   
2. Freeze.
   
   
3. Stick in blender for a refreshing drink.

Sometimes I like to turn it into a sorbet of sorts.  I don't have an ice cream maker, so I have to do things the creative way:

1. Make mint tea.  Pour into a container with a cover.
   
   
2. Add sugar.  Maybe milk too, and/ or a tiny bit of citrus.
   
   
3. Cover and place in freezer.  Break it up with a spoon every 30 minutes or so to keep it from completely solidifying.

It's a really divine treat for a scorching afternoon. Mint tea cools and refreshes, and it also relaxes, so it's perfect for when you're winding down in the evening.  It aids sleep, lifts your mood, clears the sinuses and promotes healthier skin, too.

breakfast for dinner

Remember how your parents told you not to play with your food, but you kept on doing it anyway?  We love having fun with the stuff we eat, don't we?  So much that we have to be told not to do it.  Come on, admit it - even as adult, you can't resist the temptation sometimes.  ^_^

I'm not really fond of blogging about food and food places, but as this week's happy thawts are hinged on dinner, this'll sort of be about a food place.  But no, it's not quite a review.

For years now, my cousin C has been egging me on about how we should meet up outside of family gatherings.  We agreed it would be nice to go out like how we used to when we were younger, except not for teenagery stuff this time.  Anyway, we were finally able to set aside some time to do it this week.  And that's happy thawt number one:  Seeing one of my favorite cousins on a workday. It was nice getting together like that. I'd almost forgotten how fun it could be to just hang out with her.

So here's an awful phone-cam photo of us, after-work eyebags and all.
Photoshopping this would take a lot of work, so forget that.

Now here comes happy thawt number two. 

We agreed to meet in Eastwood City, since it was a midpoint of sorts after work (both for her and myself, and for the Hubby, who was joining us).  We walked around a bit and decided on a place called Slappy Cakes.

We were quite drawn to Slappy Cakes because of two things: the thought of having breakfast for dinner (i love pancakes), and the thought of having some fun with our food.  Each table had this griddle in the middle, where diners can cook pancakes just how they want them. The menu even offers several different kinds of batter, and a gamut of sweet and savory fillings and toppings.  How fun is that for a pancake-lover, right?

You can make yourself something comforting like a  a blueberry-strawberry buttermilk pancake...

Or attempt a designer banana-walnut-peanut butter-salted chocolate pancake with Nutella, or a crazy bacon and cheese and mushroom pancake with mango syrup.  Or not.  ^_^

The batter comes in these nifty squeeze bottles that minimize the mess...

... so you could also make your pancakes into any shape you want to.  Hearts or stars or letters and stuff. In fact, the  folks in the other booth were spelling words out with their batter.

As for our table, we wondered ...

So here's the Hubby on flipping duty ...

... and our mini vegan-batter pancake with banana and bacon, just about getting bubbly.  There's nothing vegan about this pancake anymore though.  We're not trying to be vegan, but we went for the vegan batter because the food server said it tasted good with bacon.  Who would've thought, right?  It was pretty tasty, actually.

It's the sort of place kids and non-boring adult pancake fans would like.  I'd probably come back, but with a couple of nephews or a nieces next time.

salt

Image and sloppy Photoshopping by me.
My Mom's got a collection of these things here.

I love this version of this popular verse; it's taken from The Message Bible.

I've lately had a renewed appreciation for salt on food.  For a few years I've skipped placing salt in my cooking, reckoning it was the wise thing to do after my Dad had a stroke and and my Mom had an open heart surgery.  Their doctors had recommended low-sodium diets for them, and I thought maybe I should start early and avoid salt as much as possible.  :p  Of course that was a drastic move, so last year I decided that a tiny bit of salt is fine, as long as I make it a habit to eat more fresh food.

Anyway, I felt like I rediscovered what salt does for food, and my oh my, salt is ah-mazing.  Lemme say that again: AH-MAZING.  Now I like to put a tiny bit of salt on most of the stuff I eat (not everything. I'd still like to watch the sodium).  ^_^  Trust me, salt even makes cornflakes taste better.  

In the Gospels, Jesus likens his followers to salt, calling us the salt of the earth.  In The Message version, it says You're here to bring out the God-flavors of the earth.  

I've read it over and over, but it stills strikes me as profound.  When Christ's followers do their thing, it makes the world more flavorful, more palatable (?), and a generally better place.

Making this my personal mantra,  I'm here to bring out the God-flavors of the earth.  I've got it in me to give the people around me a dash of what makes them closer to God.  I can touch lives, a tiny bit at a time.  

I suppose I need to "rediscover" myself as the salt of the earth to see just how ah-mazing things are being a child of God.  Not that life is dull.  I guess I'm just getting less starry-eyed now that I'm older (and boy, do I feel older!)  I've settled down considerably, and that's a good thing; but I want to realize something new and dynamic about my existence on earth, i.e., something I haven't experienced before.  Is it too much to hope I feel about myself the way I feel about salt on food?  (Dang.  Awkward sentence.  Anyway ...)

I can actually write a detailed Bible study on this scripture, complete with cross-referencing, suggested worship songs and homework, but I'm not doing that.  That kind of reflection has lots of merit, but I think I'll pass for now.  Stripping things down to the basics also has much benefit too.

30 helpful hints

From a friend's blog.  Click to enlarge.

hello, january

(Also posted in my other blog,  irreverendmar.blogspot.com)

The past several weeks have been full of stuff  for me, and since I've never considered blogging to be anywhere at the top of my list of priorities, all my blogs have been fairly silent through last December.  I hadn't made any heartwarming Christmassy posts, or thought-provoking New Year-related ones, tsk tsk.  It's still January though, and I reckon I can still blog about my thoughts on the start of the year.


I'm not a New Year's Resolution sort of person.  Never believed in resolutions.  I'm more into setting goals for myself, with specified target dates and target numbers. Having goals instead of resolutions, i.m.h.o., is more conducive to productivity and affords a sense of accomplishment when reached.  But ha ha, here I am this year with some resolutions instead of goals this time.

I've mostly set and reached similar goals every year (it's usually along the lines of Get x ministry rolling by y quarter of year, Read z number of books by December 31, Lose n pounds by m month), and though they are all good, life-enriching goals, I've gotten quite tired of them.  I usually have them written out  at the start of each year, but I haven't gotten to doing that just yet.  I probably will in the next few days, knowing that  my obsessive self will never forgive the lapse.  But in the meantime, I find myself having a of list things that seem more like silly resolutions.  Whaddyaknow.

 Those resolution thingies were sparked some wekends ago while I was having a late lunch/ early dinner with an old friend from high school.  As we were bound to do, we mused about our early teenage years and laughed about how old and ricketty we've become and yadda.  It was just a few days after Christmas, so we naturally went into our thoughts on how to make 2014 a better year.  One of the things we brought up was the fact that we're both just a few years to forty, and it's about time we invest in better quality stuff.  i.e., it's fine to wear a ratty top or tote a cheap bag when you're in your twenties, but when you still do it past thirty, it has a vibe of being irresponsible.  And it's just plain ugly.  Besides, why go for cheap, low-quality stuff when you can afford something better now? Go for well-made stuff, high-quality, the real deal.  It isn't just about comfort or excess; it has more to do with being respectable and responsible.

So anyway, we spewed out some good ideas that day so we decided to write things down (she in her smartphone, and I in my handy dandy, low-tech notepad).  This isn't the kind of thing I can easily write in goal form, so I settled with sticking to a resoltion-type to-do list. It kinda started out with getting better stuff (i.e., buy a smartphone), but things eventually rolled toward being a better person.  Such as, learning new skills, seeing new places, and basically leveling up as a human being - but that's just basic yearly stuff.  One of the more "special" things we agreed on is that we ought to become more visible to our godchilren, because yes, that's what respectable, responsible people do.

Margaret is my first-ever goddaughter.  I think she's graduating.
Her mom had her when she was quite young, now she makes us feel real old.

I had my list pretty much down pat when I wnet home that evening, and I re-wrote it on a clean sheet of paper that I taped to my desk.  I thought my list ended at "Be a better godmother", but I added the most important thing a few days later.

At the bottom of my list, I had added Be A Blessing.  I'd like to try my best at purposely being a living, breathing, walking, talking, blessing. I know, Iknow, it's something that the Christianity Clause sort of implies.  But I've been following Christ for some time now, and I can't really say I consistently provide a positive experience for everyone I encounter.  Since I'm doing resolutions this year, I might as well have it in there.  Be someone who makes people feel blessed, loved, or just plain happy.  Because that's what respectable, responsible Christians do.

Oh dear, that's a lot of work.  I feel like scratching it out already.

The decisive moment came one afternoon, after an encounter with a particularly unpleasant cab driver.  I had reacted to his cantankerousness by going on b*tch-mode, pretty much ruining his day.  Other people would likely affirm  me by saying that the guy had it coming, but I'm pretty sure Jesus would tell me to turn the other cheek.  Tsk tsk.  Besides, they guy was a cab driver.  He's apparently less fortunate than I am; shame on me for not being more sympathetic toward a guy who's trying to make an honest living but is probably just on the 22nd straight hour of a bad day.

As I sat at home alone, I went into full-on remorse for being such a pathetic excuse for a social being. It's more or less socially acceptable these days to get all aggressive when someone offers you bad service (and it's even applauded in some circles), but being demanding is one thing, being b*tchy is a whole other. B*tchy doesn't really help anyone involved. It certainly didn't help the possibly-tired cab driver, and it didn't make me a better person.

Not immediately anyway.  But I hope to make something out of the remorse and the realizations that came after the experience.  Like what they say about life giving you lemons ...

So I resolved to Be A Blessing.  I'm not just talking about "doing random good deeds"; I mean more like "be less of a b8tch" and "be more intentionally refreshing". Ayown. It's not natural for me; it's the sort of thing I have to remind myself about.  It's always been easier for me to be a bitchessa than a blessing.  MUCH easier.  Believe me, I've tried my best, but at some point in the past several years, I decided to give up altogether because I'm just not good at being likable.  But being a blessing has less to do with being likable and more to do with what's doing right and proper.  I just want to be it because it's life-affirming, inspiring, nurturing; not just for myself but for the lives around me.

So this year, on top of acquiring better things for myself, I'm acquiring a better "blessing persona" - well-made stuff, high-quality, the real deal.  Because that's what respectable, responsible Christians do.   Why go for low-quality when you can afford better, right?

2013 bookwormery

At the beginning of 2013, I made it a goal to read at least 50 books before the end of the year, and whoopee! I made it. I don't think I'll be doing it again this year; I'll probably just revert to my usual goal of 40.   Like usual, I wanted to make a more-or-less even amount of fiction and non-fiction.

So anyway, here are my 2013 friends (and the possibly the reason why nothing seemed to have happened in 2013).  I've already read some of them previously, but I enjoyed them enough to read them again.

My ratings:
-- ***** Awesome; a fave for the year;
-- ****- Great fun.
-- *** -- OK.  Cool.
-- ** --- Meh.
-- * -----Rubbish.


I. Nonfiction

Memoirs
1 Boy: Tales From Childhood [ROALD DAHL] *****
2 Going Solo [ROALD DAHL] *****
3 Eat Pray Love [ELIZABETH GILBERT] ** (Oh, why oh why is this a bestseller?) 
4 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [JOHN BERENDT] ****
5 Summer At Tiffany [MARJORIE HART] ****

Christian Inspirational
6 Blue Like Jazz [DON MILLER] (Re-read it for the second time) *****
7 The Heart of a God-Chaser [TOMMY TENNEY] ***
8 In the Grip of Grace [MAX LUCADO] ***
9 Re-Church [STEPHEN MANSFIELD] ****
10 Searching For God Knows What [DON MILLER] ****
11 The Spirit of Loveliness [EMILIE BARNES] *** (Re-read; somehow it seemed much nicer the first time I read it)

Humanities
12 Coffee With Michelangelo [JAMES HALL] **** (Re-read)
13 Michelangelo and Raphael In the Vatican ***** (Featured awesome full-color fold-outs of the paintings)
14 Seeing Salvation:  Images of Christ In Art **
15 The Story of Art [E.H. GOMBRICH] ***** (Re-read)
16 Van Gogh [JOSEPHINE CUTTS, JAMES SMITH] ****
17 The World of Delacroix [TOM PRIDEUX] *****

Other
18 An Inconvenient Truth [AL GORE] *****
19 Epicenter:  Why Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future [JOEL C. ROSENBERG] *****
20 Purple Cow [SETH GODIN] *****
21 Speeches That Changed The World *****


II.  Fiction-Nonfiction Hybrids

22 The Bell Jar [SYLVIA PLATH] *****
23 The Te of Piglet [BENJAMIN HOFF] **
24 Roald Dahl's Incredible Chocolate Box ****
25 The Villain's Guide to Better Living [NEIL ZAWACKI] ****


III. Fiction

Science Fiction and Fantasy
26 The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure [WILLIAM GOLDMAN] *****
27 Dune [FRANK HERBERT] ****
28 Foundation [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****
29 Foundation and Empire [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****
30 Second Foundation [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****

Chick Lit
31 How To Make an American Quilt [WHITNEY OTTO] ****
32 The Kitchen God's Wife [AMY TAN] *****
33 Paint It Black [JANET FITCH] **
34 Morrigan's Cross [NORA ROBERTS] *
35 Dance of the Gods [NORA ROBERTS] *
36 Valley of Silence [NORA ROBERTS] *

Thrillers / Mysteries
37 Children of the Furor [ROGER ELWOOD] *
38 The Girl Who Played With Fire [STIEG LARSSON] **** (Would have given it *****if it wasn't so dragging.  Imho, not as enjoyable as "Dragon Tattoo", but still a good read).

39 Interview With the Vampire [ANNE RICE] *****
40 John Dies At the End [DAVID WONG] ****
41 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children [RANSOM RIGGS] ** (Almost rubbish.  What can you expect from a story driven by found vintage photographs? Paradoxically, it was those photos that saved the book for me.  Without them, this would be just another crap story).

Children's Fiction and Easy Reading
42 Giant Treasury of Beatrix Potter *****
43 The Phantom Tollbooth [NORTON JUSTER] *****
44 The Roald Dahl Treasury *****
45 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing [JUDY BLUME] ***

Other
46 The Count of Monte Cristo [ALEXANDRE DUMAS, Pere] *** (Re-read. It was immensely enjoyable the first time I read it years ago.  This time, it wasn't so.  The one I read this year is an abridged edition without some of the delicious nitty-gritties; i.e., a different, duller translation).
47 The Kite Runner [KHALED HOSSEINI]  *****
48 The Namesake [JHUMPA LAHIRI] ****
49 The Orange Girl [JOSTEIN GAARDER] *****
50 Skipping Christmas [JOHN GRISHAM] *****
51 Veronika Decides To Die [PAOLO COELHO] ***

my 2013 in a nutshell

The Year in a Word: Blah

My 2013 was rather drab compared to all the color of the past few years.  I thought 2012 was steady, but it's got a lot of drama and excitement compared to 2013.  I wouldn't say the year was entirely uneventful, but when I reviewed my year through my Facebook posts, I didn't find much to review. :p  I actually thought of nixing this yearly practice of summing up the year in a blog post, because I feel like I won't have anything interesting to say about 2013.  But yeah.  For the sake of personal tradition, and for the sake of keeping this blog alive, voici.

My Hugest Joy

Hmmm.  This is a hard one.  I'll come back to it later on. Not that the year was an unhappy one.  In fact, I was rarely sad or depressed.  It's just that nothing stands out.

I suppose that's the biggest joy of the year - not having any deep or prolonged depressive episodes.  

My Biggest Blessing 

Gaining regular, decent-paying clients for my ghostwriting stint.  

My Largest Frustration

The results of the 2013 elections.  Most of the people I voted for didn't make it, and some of those candidates I hoped wouldn't win did. I'm pretty sure it was an immense frustration for a lot of Filipinos too.

Spiritual Principle for the Year

Abraham moments:

1 -  Allowing a promised dream to die and continuing to trust in the Lord, whether He chooses to resurrect it or not.

2 - Trusting in what God has previously said, despite not having constant affirmation.  

Nicest Place Visited

Las Vegas, Nevada

Best Personal Project

Repainting and rearranging our room.  It's so nice and clean now, and we were able to make it look like a studio flat. =D  I love it.  That alone alleviates a lot of stress and frustration.

Best Personal Accomplishment

Learning to cook various kinds of sinigang from scratch, using different natural souring agents and absolutely no flavor mixes.

And reaching my goal of reading 50 books.

I told you it was a boring year.

Worthwhile Contribution to Society 

Repacking relief goods and volunteering as a stress debriefing counselor for survivors of Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan.

Best Decision Made

To go for better-quality stuff.

Best Find

A small, nameless church of sorts with lots of potential.  Thinking of it makes me real happy.  ^_^

Warmest Fuzzy

Reconnecting with old friends from high school and college.  And meeting some new ones.  That was really nice.

Prettiest Thing I Made

A painting requested by Mama.  It now hangs on her wall. 20 x 23.  Acrylics on canvas.

Greatest Encouragement

Painting again.  It made me want to keep making pretty things, but for other people, not for myself.

My Best Reads for 2013

Nonfiction:
Epicenter: Why Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future by Joel C. Rosenberg

Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl

Fiction:  

The Kite Runner by Kaled Hosseini

My Fave Movies for 2013

Les Miserables.  It's really a 2012 movie, and I watched it in Vegas in 2012.  But it was released in Manila in January 2013, and I watched it again then.

Man Of Steel.  Best Superman movie ever. 

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Now You See Me

Fave TV Shows

Downton Abbey

Doctor Who

Fave Gifts Received

- A bunch of amazing make-up, from ate Wing. 

- A cool souvenir coin from the Louvre, from Tita G.  A personal reminder that I will visit there someday.  Soon, I hope.

- A good-quality leather bag and a special Starbucks tumbler that I bought for myself.

Fave Food for the Year

Odd.  Monggo soup.  0_o  I haven't eaten monggo in a long while, but I started cooking it when I realized how cheap it was for something so filling, nutritious, and easy to prepare. And I've come to love it so much that I make some every other week.  But it's not the traditional monggo guisado.  Rather, it's a flavorful, chunky vegetable soup with lots of tomato, sometimes celery or carrots, then an abundance of rosemary, cumin, and a hint of cayenne.  No pork or fish or anything.  Just the veggies.  And instead of kangkong or ampalaya leaves, I use fresh basil.

Worst Month:  Can't say there was one.

Best Month:   December. That's when we repainted our room, joined a non-stuffy life group, and we got to see some cousins over the holidays.

.

heartwarming haiyan images

So yes, Haiyan.  In the midst of all the turmoil and the drama, there are a lot of things that made us smile.  I know everyone's probably seen all these by now, but I still want to compile them and re-share them.

* None of these images are mine; they've mostly been nicked off social media sites.

Relief goods with notes of inspiration. 

(Image: Bianca Gonzales)

Some 400 tourists stranded in Coron, Palawan who decided to help out and pack relief goods. 

(Image: CNN iReporter Arnold BillSo)

The story of the poor old lady who donated the only thing she could afford - a half-full packet of Bear Brand powdered milk.
(From Talk.ph) 

As told by her neighbor:  Naiyak ako sa kapitbahay naming matanda (byuda, labandera, pobre). Kahapon nag-house to house ako hingi tulong pangdagdag para sa koleksyon namin ngayong sabado...  Tinawag niya ako...  Meron siyang inabot nakabalot sa plastic. Pagbukas ko, isang pack ng gatas na naka-open na. Sabi nya: "Pasensya na yan lang talaga maitulong ko sa taga Leyte. Walang wala talaga ako ngayon. Pero pwde mo yan itimpla sa mga bata doon. Magugustohan nila yan dahil BER BRAN yan". Di ako nakaimik. Tumulo luha ko sa harap nya. (From Talk.ph) 

Students from Sendai (survivors of the 2011 earthquake + tsunami) send their love.

Two American girls raising funds by selling lemonade. They made $200, which they gave to UNICEF.

Six-year-old Shoichi Kodoh giving his piggy-bank savings to the Philippine Embassy in Japan.

P. Diddy's kids setting aside some of their clothes to donate to the survivors 

(Image: TMZ)

The colors of the Philippine flag in New York.

And in Houston.

JL8 Comic.

The first baby born in the Israeli Defense Forces field hospital after the storm. His mother named him "Israel".

Anderson Cooper keeping it real in Tacloban. 

Japanese rescue worker Shihegiro Matsuda, who speaks impressively fluent Tagalog. 

(Rappler.com)

US Marine Maj. John Orio came to Manicani Island, Eastern Samar to distribute relief goods, and he was welcomed with local treats - fresh crab and coconut.  That's Pinoy hospitality for you.  

(Photo: Philippine Star)

A rainbow over Tacloban, some days after the storm. 

(Image: Dr. Greg Suarez)

And another in Ormoc. 

(Image: ABS-CBN / Chiara Zambrano)

And a rare double rainbow in Eastern Samar.  

(Image: Abdel Elecho)

Survivors in Tacloban take their mind off their troubles by building a basketball "court" from the rubble. 

(Image: David Guttenfelder)

And these guys made a boat out of salvaged refrigerator parts so they could go out and catch fish.

Staying strong. 

(Image: Ernie Penaredondo)

To everyone who helped out or are still helping out, a big thank you.

get over the hate - donate!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already know about Supertyphoon Yolanda/ Haiyan - so I won't waste time reiterating everything other people have already said about it.  Days after we were visited by the strongest typhoon to ever hit land, we're still in a storm of sorts.  For one thing, there are still a lot of people in need of help.  And for another, social media is swirling with controversies, criticisms, gossip, and myriad opinions on what should be done, how things should be done, and so on.  It's quite tiring actually, to have to see all that, especially when people are craving for something to lift their spirits.

Anyway, I promised that this was going to be a purely-good-vibes blog, so I won't go into that.

I'm quite thankful for the positive memes and photos going around - testaments of hope and resilience and a general sense of love for fellow man.  To people spreading the positivity - thanks, cheers to you, you are a breath of fresh air.

I know we're not supposed to ignore the not-so-nice realities, but truth be told, I already feel so exhausted.  Exhausted physically and emotionally.  So I'd really like to take a break from all the negativity, thank you very much.

If the problem is so big that you can't offer a solution, just don't be a part of the problem.  i.e., Instead of wasting your time speculating, use your energies doing something good and helpful na lang.  Instead of hating, go donating.  ^_^

So here I am repacking rice for those relief packages.  It's a tiring and muscle-numbing task, especially after midnight (that's the time The Hubby and I, together with The Sister, decided to help out, figuring there will be less people then).  But really, it's fun.  It's like playing in a sandbox! Only with rice instead of sand, and adults instead of kids.

Some naysayers are forecasting that all that hard work will come to naught since a lot of DSWD relief packages don't get to their destinations.  But I don't care.  I will just do what I can in good faith, and trust the system.  If someone drops the ball somewhere along the line, I can be sure that it isn't me.

My family and I also volunteered to do some stress-debriefing / psychological first aid with the newly-arrived evacuees, but there was a surplus of counselors that night, so we eventually went back to repacking.

Right now there's this whole brouhaha over the operations.  So sad when politics get in the way of good things.  I have some opinions about that too, but I'll shut up now.

I'm no one important, and I honestly feel mostly useless - I mean, I'm not a rescue worker, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a media person, and I have just about no influence.  But I can still help in my own way.  Like the proverb goes, walang piso kung walang isang sentimo. 

I intend to keep volunteering and giving and praying in the weeks that come.  This is far from over, and I won't sit in the sidelines.

no-bake blueberry cheesecake

I haven't made this in a while, and I thought of making a batch as a housewarming gift of sorts .  No-bake cheesecake is one of the easiest desserts to assemble; I learned it when I was a teenager. I love sharing this trick with cheesecake-loving friends, because it's so amazingly simple.



You Will Need:

• butter, softened
• graham crackers
• cream cheese
• blueberry preserves

Here's How You Make It:

1. Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs.  The easy, mess-free way to do this is to place them in a resealable bag and roll a rolling pin over, but any which way will do.
   
   How much crumbs do you need?  It depends on how big you want it to be, or how thick/ thin you want your crust.  I normally use a little less than a cup of crumbs for a 9-inch pie pan.
   
2. In a bowl, combine crumbs and butter.  Add about a pat of butter at a time so you can control the consistency.  Your goal is a putty-like consistency, moldable like clay, but a bit crumblier.
   
3. Place the crumbs-and-butter mixture onto your pie pan and spread it until it covers the entire base of the pan.  This will be your crust.  I personally prefer a thin crust, about one-fourth thick, but hey, it's your cake.  Press it down with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
   
4. Soften your cream cheese.  It would be nice to have an electric mixer, but a bowl-and-wooden-spoon works fine too.  Like it much sweeter? You can stir in some sugar or all-purpose cream.
   
5. Lay the cream cheese right over your pie crust.  Stick it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
   
6. Slather blueberry preserves (or any other fruit jam you like) over the layer of cream cheese.  voila!
   

Get Creative! 

• Don't like blueberries?  Make it a cherry cheesecake! Or a strawberry one.
• Make your own fruit jam for topping: Combine one part each of canned or fresh fruit, sugar and water; bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until gooey. 
• You can even use this trick to make an Oreo cheesecake.  Just use Oreos instead of Graham Crackers - be sure to scrape off the filling first.  Take the filling and some more crumbs, and mix it all into the cream cheese layer.  Top with crushed cookies.

making sinigang from scratch - with santol ^_^

When cooking, I try as much as possible not to use those "artificial flavor enhancers" that happen to be outrageously high in sodium.  I only resort to them when I'm in a hurry, or when there's a particular flavor that I have a hard time capturing - like the mouth-watering asim of sinigang.

One of my goals this year is to experience cooking different kinds of sinigang from scratch, using the various natural sour ingredients, or "pampa-asim". That means no short-cuts, no flavor packets, no MSG. The easiest natural "pampa-asim" to use is fresh calamansi juice, and I've even tried using lemon juice when I visited my mom in the 'States.  I have yet to experience making traditional sampaloc broth - I have it scheduled for the week after next.

My latest triumph has been sinigang sa santol from scratch.  I hardly see santol fruits these days, and I was quite happy that someone gave me a bunch.  After snacking on a fruit or two, I decided what to do with the remainder:  Use the santol for sinigang.

Santol broth is quite easy to make:

1.  Peel the fruit, discard the peel. Cut the fruit into wedges, careful not to break the seeds (any broken seeds must be removed).  Use 1 fruit for every 2 cups of water.

2.  Place in a pot and cover with water.  Boil for 30 to 45 minutes.

3.  Remove the santol wedges using a slotted spoon. Discard the seeds and mash the flesh.  Put the mashed santol back into the broth; cover and simmer for 3-3 minutes.


Ta-dah! Santo lbroth from scratch!  No need for those high-sodium flavor powders.  It's all natural and  sooooooo divinely flavorful.



To make the rest of the sinigang:

1.  Boil cubes of pork in the broth until sufficiently cooked.  Don't forget to add a bit of salt.

2.  In a separate pot, boil slices of gabi (taro root) until soft.  Remove from water and add to the broth when cooked.

3.  Add 2-3 banana-peppers.

4.  Meanwhile, boil more water in another pot.  When boiling, dunk kangkong and slices of eggplant and okra.  Add the veggies to your stew just before you remove it from the heat.

5.  Season, and serve hot.

i did WHAT with milk?

My Dad gave me two cartons of milk the other day, saying he noticed I like drinking it.  I actually prefer almond milk, or sometimes low-fat milk when I need to stretch the budget - but I just received two liters of the full-fat variety.

I'm not exactly willing to drink full-fat milk, but I decided to accept the gift because it was a sweet gesture (minus my Dad's story about how he can't properly digest the stuff anymore, hee hee).  So I did a web search for recipes I could use milk in.  Just then I remembered a snippette I read in a teen magazine several years ago, about using milk as a homemade hair mask.  I remembering trying it out back then and that I was very happy with the result.

Image from yahoo.lifestyle.co.nz

So this is one of the things I did with the milk:

milk as a hair treatment

• After shampooing, apply milk to hair.  A spray bottle makes it easier.
• Work it into your hair.  Leave it on for a few minutes. For even better results, leave it on for thirty.  A shower cap is a good idea.
• Rinse well.

The result:  soft, silky tresses.  I find it more effective in taming my hair than store-bought straightening conditioners.

I was surprised to find a lot of beauty blogs discussing  the wonders that milk does for hair. I've read that it helps to remove product residue accumulated through the years, and it provides nourishment.  I also learned that the creamy beverage was used as a hair and skin treatment way before commercial shampoos were available.  This practice goes back all the way to Cleopatra, who bathed in milk because she believed in its healing and beautifying properties.

A lot of women are opting for traditional hair treatments nowadays, and milk is one of the ingredients in some homemade shampoo recipes.  This method of washing hair in milk is an all-natural, sulfate-free alternative to conditioner.

refreshing rosewater

I bought myself a small spray-bottle of rosewater when I stopped by a charming country store in Tagaytay.  I love the clean, delicate scent of rosewater, and I thought it would make a lovely linen spray.  I looked around and found that aside from its fragrance, there's so much more rosewater can be used for.

the many (other) uses of rosewater

1. Rosewater is a mild disinfectant.

Who knew, right?  (Well, I sure didn't) In effect,  it can be used as a non-drying, sweet-smelling alternative to hand sanitizer.

2.  It can be used as a facial toner.

Given its antiseptic properties, rosewater is also an effective moisturizing toner.  It's a non-toxic, alcohol-free alternative to commercially-bought toners or astringents.  Simply dab on with a cotton ball.

3. It de-frizzes and moisturizes hair.

This was another pleasant surprise.  I swear, a few spritzes of rosewater into my hair made it softer and more manageable.  It's lighter and a lot less sticky than leave-on conditioners.

4. The scent of rose helps you get a more restful sleep.

Known to be relaxing, rose fragrances can help people (like myself) who have trouble sleeping at night.  So it's an absolutely clever idea to use it a linen spray!

Food-grade rosewater can also be used in recipes, but I've never tried that yet.  I have no experiences to share about cooking with rosewater ... but that's a thought for a future blog entry.

no-cook fruity oatmeal

Here's a clever way to enjoy oatmeal - without any cooking required.  This really works for me, since there are so many things to do at the start of the day, and I really appreciate a nutritious breakfast that spares me the unnecessary hassle. All I have to do is prepare it the night before and refrigerate it so I can eat it in the morning.

"Why opt for this when there are instant flavored oatmeal packets available from the supermarket?,"  you might ask.  Good question.  My answer is that those instant thingies are often loaded with sugar and preservatives, and they have much less nutrition than good old classic oats.  Furthermore, their oat bits are near-pulverized, so they don't provide the same satisfying texture.  More importantly, no brand carries the delicious flavor of fresh, succulent, Philippine mango - which is waaaay different from what imported products try to pass as "mango".


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup fruit juice or milk
• slices of fresh or dried fruit  of your choice

Optional:

• a little bit of cinnamon, honey or brown sugar, or whichever sweetener you prefer
• whichever nuts or seeds you like
• 6 tbsps plain yogurt.

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix together.
2. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

That's it! No cooking required - soaking the oatmeal in milk or juice will make it nice and soft by breakfast time.  In the morning, you could stick it in the microwave for a minute or two if you want it hot; but it's nice as a cold treat too, especially on scalding summer days.

Suggestions:

• Apple-cinnamon oatmeal:  apple juice + bits of apple + a pinch of cinnamon + a pinch of brown sugar
• Mangoes and cream:  milk + mango slices.
• Banana-walnut:  slices of banana + milk + honey or brown sugar + crushed walnuts
• Honey-almond:  almond milk + honey + slices of almond
• If you're watching your weight, pass on the sugar and dried fruits (which often have a lot of sugar).  You could ditch dairy milk for almond milk (or your preferred substitute), or choose all-natural fruit juice with no added sugar.  

newspaper seedling pots

Here's a brilliant recycling idea, which is particularly handy if you have a garden at home: seedling pots made of old newspaper.   It's an eco-friendlier, biodegradable option to the usual material  (e.g. plastic cups, tin cans, or the often-used plastic seedling bag).  It's pretty convenient too - you can drop a "potted" seedling right into the soil.

It's surprisingly sturdy, and once you fill it with soil, it's stable.  And it's real easy to make, so voici --

How To Make Newspaper Seedling Pots

You will need:

• old newspaper
• a can or bottle

Procedure:

step 1.  

Open up your newspaper and separate it into sheets.  Tear a sheet in half along the crease, then tear in half again, like so:

All you need is half a page, or one-fourth of a sheet to make one pot.

step 2.
Fold this lengthwise, leaving a margin of about 1-2 inches from the ragged edge.

step 3.
At the folded edge, and make another fold to create a "lip" about half an inch wide.  La la la ...

step 4. 
Next, roll the folded newspaper snugly around a can or bottle.

It doesn't really matter whether the "lip" faces, just make sure the folded edge of the newspaper is parallel to the rim of the can.


step 5.
Holding the newspaper in place with your fingers, turn your can (or bottle) so the ragged edge of the paper faces upward.

step 6.
Fold the ragged edge in, like you would a parcel.

Keep folding.  As tightly as you can.

step 7.
Now, slip the can out, and flip your little newspaper cylinder over.

step 8.
Remember the half-inch lip you made earlier?  Simply tuck your newspaper into itself to lock your pot in place.

Ta-dah!  It's ready to use.

Repeat the process to make several paper pots.

Pepper Potts

er, paper pots!

Fill with dirt and plant your seedlings.   ^_^ Here are the ones we have at home, poised right where they will be transplanted soon: