Recharging

          Burn-out in a very demanding career or ministry is a reality.  Most often this happens in careers where there is a great deal of emotional, psychological and physical stress. Being a doctor makes me prone to burn out. There are days when I have to drag myself to go to the clinic, see an emergency, attend another meeting  or answer another urgent phone call. This is why there is always a need for me to recharge. How does one come to a point of being energized again after being sapped of one's enthusiasm, motivation and strength? There are a few things I remind myself when I am feeling weary and weak:

1. God is the source of my strength.
            God enables and provides us with the energy to do what He has purposed us to do. Prayer and bible reflections is the quickest and the most powerful form of recharge for me. Connecting to our Power Source is the most logical thing to do when suffering burn out. It's also what the world calls "finding your Center". Often, my feelings of exhaustion and exasperation arise when I do not regularly do a Quiet Time. I have a habit of doing a regular Quiet Time when I wake up - I pray, read a short Bible passage, meditate on it, work on my schedule for the day mentally, then pray again. I usually have a clearer perspective and priorities for the day, my anxieties and worries are cast upon God through prayer and I get a boost to do what it good and right for the day.
 
2. Be kind to yourself.
            I am human, fallen and broken. My strength is not limitless, therefore I should create boundaries. Learn to say NO to the things God has not called you to do. Make sure you are getting enough water for the day, you are eating healthy and on time, you are getting enough sleep and regular exercise. Headaches and muscle fatigue set in easily when I am dehydrated. I make sure I have a bottle in my clinic and my car. Hypoglycemia or hunger can make your mind cloudy, your temper short and your head ache. Make time for a short but good meal in the middle of a busy day. Get enough sleep. Turn off the gadgets at night. Sleep deprivation can make you irritable, mar your judgments and cause you to feel always tired. There is such a thing a sleep debt - caused by weeks or months of sleep loss. When this happens, it takes several days or week of restful sleep before you can recover.
           As I get older, I feel my body being more sensitive to these effects. I feel more aches and pains and tire more easily. I realize I am no longer a spring chicken. I don't work myself up to doing more. I have learned to adjust my workload, my pace and my schedule according to my age.
         I have also noticed that although " taking mini vacations" sometimes give me a second wind, it does not last long and I am back to a blah-state within a day or two.This became more noticeable as I entered my late 40's. There are physical, hormonal and psychological things that happen in the different phases of our lives and we have to learn to live with them.

3. Pre-plan regular me-times, personal retreats and long vacations.
           A lot of people feel guilty scheduling a me-time. They think it is a selfish practice. A lot of people also think taking regular vacations a luxurious whim, a waste of time and money. But researches abound to prove that rest and recreation is beneficial to one's health. If it is truly important, then we should make time for it in our lives.
          Very often, we take vacations when we have hit rock bottom or when there are storm signals or national holidays. you don't,  other people's clamor for your time will gobble up your schedules leaving you with an imbalanced use of your time.

6. Connect
             Nurturing human interactions give you a powerful energy boost....lift the soul very quickly- an enjoyable and intimate  conversation with a friend, laughing with your children and students, sharing a glass of wine  or a quiet evening with your partner...



                                                                         

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galatians 6:9, 10 NIV)

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch ir a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is the meaning of success."   Ralph Waldo Emerson

End-of-the-Year Get-Away at Balai Indang

          It has always been a personal practice for me to take the rest of the days after Christmas and into the New Year off. Aside from allowing me to get on with the tasks of preparing a million things for the Season ( from parties, shopping, gift wrapping and cooking), it also allows me to have some time later for reconnecting,recharging, rejuvenation and reflection, especially after the festivities are over.
           I always like to spend the last two days of the year for a personal retreat - to take stock of the year that was, to set my goals/vision for the coming year, to take time to listen to what God wants me to do, to pray and to soak in God's word. And usually I do it in a new environment and with my whole family in tow. They get to have a holiday, I don't have to cook and I am free and licensed to do my own thing. Staying at home does not do the job as the sight of clutter and long-neglected chores rob me of my focus. I need to go somewhere where the referral calls can temporarily be denied or muted. This year we decided to go to Balai Indang - a very tranquil get away just a few minutes from the maddening Tagaytay road.
        The place is so relaxing, the staff are so helpful, attentive and soft spoken and the meals are not so fancy, it feels like you're eating at home. You can sleep, nap or meditate in the very many corners of your room, the lanai or the gardens which always have a seat or two, a cushioned lounging chair or sofa and just dream away, until at mealtimes, a courteous staff comes around to say, "Ma'am, dinner is ready na po." What a life !  It's like living in a hacienda. I brought along my 84 yr old stressed out Mom, and she said, " Can you leave me here for a week? ".  And why not, look.....

       

Paella Valenciana

It Tastes Like Christmas

CANALONES MONTANER

This is a recipe that comes from my mother-in-law's old recipe book. It is a dish she always served during Christmas since her children were young. When you serve this to my husband or any of his family, they say, " it tastes like Christmas". Once you take a bite of the soft thin crepe swimming in the Bechamel sauce, the flavors of the meat filling- made up of grounds meats, liver paste and Majestic ham scraps- burst in your mouth and according to them," triggers loads of many memories of Christmases past" . When Canalones  is on the table, it must be a very very special occasion ! Now, even the next generation– Enzo, Iya, Jan,Jovi and Jack - look forward to having it every Christmas morning.
It is a definite family favorite, but Lola Nanay's recipe note says," A favorite of the Gutierrezes and President JFK", making me wonder where the origins are of this recipe.

 Filling :

½ kg ground lean pork

½ kg boiled ground chicken   (save the broth!)

¼ kg ground ham (Majestic scrap ham)

1 large onion chopped fine

liquid seasoning (Maggi) 

½ cup milk

¼ cup flour

½ cup broth or water

¼ cup chopped parsley

½ cup liver spread

Saute onion with pork, chicken and ham.

(Nanay puts the chicken and ham in a food processor so the filling turns out very fine.)

Season with a little Maggi seasoning.

Add flour, mix then add milk and broth, parsley and liver spread.

Savory Crepe Wrapper:

1 cup APF

½ tsp salt

2 TBSP Knorr seasoning

½ cup milk

½ cup water

3 eggs

Mix until well blended using a wire whisk.

For fine crepes, pass thru a sieve.

Cook in a Teflon pan as you would crepes using about ¼ cup batter per crepe.

Makes 8-12 crepes. May need to double the recipe if using a Pyrex rectangular dish.

Bechamel Sauce:

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ block Magnolia or Anchor butter

½ block Queso or Magnolia Cheddar cheese

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 250 ml carton Nestle cream

¾ cup milk + ¾ cup water or chicken broth

½ Knorr beef cube

Melt butter in a saucepan over low medium fire.

Stir in flour. (Actually I’ve seen Nanay toast or brown the flour a bit in the dry saucepan before she put the butter.)

Mix with wire whisk. Add in water/broth and rest of the liquids. Mix well.

Add Nestle cream, grated cheese and beef cube. Stir until thick.

To assemble: 

Put 2 TBSP meat filling in the middle of a crepe. Roll tightly. Lay out filled crepes in a glass baking dish. Pour Bechamel sauce over the crepes.

Top with thin slices of Quickmelt cheese.

Bake at 275 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

  

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Bars

My family loves desserts. Every meal has to be capped by dessert. And it cannot just be a banana or a slice of fruit. It has to be scrumptious because we all have a sweet tooth.

This chocolate chip bar is yummy and my kids love it, especially with cold milk. I have learned to cook a big batch of it because we eat it for snacks and dessert. Here is the recipe I use:

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 block Magnolia Gold butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 packages or 12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat over to 375 degrees ( but since my oven is hotter than usual, I put it at level 2 or 325 degrees).
Grease and flour a large rectangular pan ( around 16 x 10 x 3  inches).
Mix sugars, butter and vanilla. Beat in egg. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Spread the thick and heavy dough in a pan making sure it is even all throughout.
Bake until light brown ( around 25-35 mins). Cool; cut into bars , about 2 x 11/2 inches.
Makes around 30-36 bars.

I have been having some baking mishaps lately. Some of my cakes rise too much in the center creating a dome. The centers would often be undercooked while the edges of the cake were already brown and crisp. When I studied what the possible cause was, it was often due too an oven that is too hot. So when I tried this recipe lately, I put my oven temperature one level lower. I had to adjust my cooking time though, because it needed more time to cook. But yes, it turned out even and flat, well cooked all around - center and edges - and there was no dome! Finally. I should remember to do this until I get my new dream convection oven.

Pasta Alegria

1 whole breast of chicken , boiled, shred into chunks
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small head garlic , minced
2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
12 pcs capers
1 large can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1/8 tsp oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves

Spaghetti or fettucini noodles cooked al dente

Instructions
Saute garlic and shallots in olive oil. Be careful not to burn garlic.
Stir in chunks of chicken, olives, capers, basil, oregano and season with salt and pepper. You may add 1tbsp sugar if you want it sweet.
Simmer in low fire and sauce is well blended and cooked.

Pour over cooked noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 

In my Garden

   

  

Pink Ginger

 I can think of very few tasks which bring me closer to the earth and so in tune with God than tilling my garden. Under the early morning sun, with a fresh breeze every now and then, and a symphony of different birdcalls, I dig. This is always a happy time for me...I am in a world of my own..I relish digging the soil, sweating it out, feeling the warm moist dirt with my hands, amazed that these dark brown crumbs can actually sustain life. And how can you describe the smell of earth? With my little shovel I plow and peer, and marvel at the unrecognized realm of life that exists underneath (yes, the roots coming from nowhere and everywhere, the fat earthworms, the little bugs and ants that live subterranea). I study every leaf and petal, much like the doctor that I am, doing my daily bedside patient rounds, watchful of every nuance of decay and growth.

Gardening can be a very spiritual experience. If I am sensitive, each act of poking and digging, pruning and repotting can become an act of spiritual meditation.There are many universal laws that can be gleaned from a garden: laws that govern personal growth and how to handle people  are very similar to laws that govern plants and gardens.

I am not surprised. God is the creator of gardens; he is the Supreme Gardener.

 Jesus said,"I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener." 

Yellow vine

Look at these pretty flowers below. I did not put them there. I woke up one morning and found a sturdy seedling 4 inches high jutting from the ground. Before long, it has grown into this wonderful bouquet. Who planted them? I didn't. Maybe the birds did.  Or the butterflies. Or God. Who fed them? watered them? I don't know. But they are there and they are beautiful, and I enjoy them...it happened without my planning or my planting. Sometimes good things or great things just come about without me planning them and working for them.
These are called "blessings" or gifts. And life is like that, sometimes.
I don't always have to be in control.

 Another precious lesson I learned is each plant is unique and will grow best and bloom where the soil, sunlight and water suit them the best. "Bloom where you are planted" as some pop
motivational psychologists declare just does NOT work for plants in a garden. 

I was an amateur gardener wanting to grow an English cottage garden in my backyard in Sta. Rosa. I wanted roses, vines, impatiens and hydrangeas to surround me. I wanted bursts of colors from flower boxes and baskets. So I started planting impatiens in flower boxes and hung them by my windows which happened to face the scorching afternoon sun. They grew lanky and tall, bloomed scarcely and then wilted. Even if I fertilized them. They didn't look happy at all. I told my landscaper friend about this and he laughed at me like I did the most stupid thing.  English cottage garden, hah ! In the Philippines? So, I have learned to study plants and their specific needs for soil, sunlight and water and the times of the year when they bloom the best. Much like people, there are sensitive plants that you need to handle with care and just need the exact amount of water or sun, while there are also plants that can withstand days without watering or can be left to the mercy of the hot tropical sun in summer. If you want people to bloom, put them in an environment which will be conducive to their growth. You cannot go against nature, force them in a place where they struggle with their survival or worse, make them do things which they are not gifted to do and expect them to excel.

Now, let's go to deadheading. In gardening, deadheading is the removing dead flower heads from a plant to encourage further blooming, i.e. pruning.. Do you know that deadheading is a Jesus principle? In the Book of John chapter 15, Jesus says "He cuts off every brach in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

Bougainvilla 

I
In the beginning, I loved the sight of flowers so much I didn't have the heart to deadhead. In the Philippines, some old folks even advise against pruning because plants may feel slighted and stop growing or blooming ("baka magtampo").  I did not want to touch my plants with pruning shears until I talked to my gardener friend who advised that the more I cut dead flowers, the more the plant will bloom. I don't know why or how deadheading works but it really works. Maybe pruning streamlines the plant's use of nutrients and water, redirecting them to producing flowers and fruits instead of being wasted nourishing dried up stems and petals.

Golden Crossandra (photo taken by Patrick Gutierrez)

When God starts using his pruning shears in my life, I don't readily welcome it. Pruning can be painful! But Paul in Hebrews 12 says, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of rigtheousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
Do I want my life to bear fruit? I should be willing to be pruned.
So many aspects of my life steal my joy and productivity. It may be pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, envy, sloth, addictions, procastination, excessive ambition or materialism. Deadheading or pruning is cutting away these parts of my life so that all my energies go into bearing fruit.

          

Love and Devotion from my garden

                 

Crab's Claw

Lantana camara or Verbena

The other important thing I learned from my garden is, just like with seemingly hopeless people, you just don't give up on your plants. There have been so many occasions in my garden when a plant looked so sick or so completely infested their leaves and stems have fallen off or dried up, I condemned them as goners. Then I took a second thought and started cutting away all the dead and infected parts of the plant, invested in bit more care than the usual, tended
them daily, put them in the gentle shade with enough moisture, and the plant came back to life.

Love and Devotion- the other color.
I took this picture from Taal Vista Lodge along Tagaytay,not from my garden. 

 

Christmas Family Traditions

December 18,2011

       Christmas preparations for my family start right after Halloween's Trick or Treat. As soon as the last horror mask and artificial pumpkin is packed ( artificial, of course, we're in the Philippines), our house transforms into Christmasland with the Christmas tree in the center and the twinkling star lanterns or parol outside the windows. Then, there are the fairy lights. We can never have enough of fairy lights.

        For the celebrations on Christmas eve and day itself, I must tell you, we really get goin' in my family. I belong to a very big family on both my mother's and father's sides. Mommy and Daddy both have 10 brothers and sisters on their sides,so I have 20 uncles and aunts... and with an average of 3-6 children per uncle and aunt,I must have around 100-120 cousins, who in  their generation, have 2-3 children each. Our family is also extended : my dad and his sibs, having been orphaned early, were taken into families of their aunties and uncles and grew up, dormed and studied in the city with their cousins and so are sibling-close with them, to that effect. How many guests do we have in the house for Christmas? You do the maths and you better be good at permutations.

        And then I married into a family with nine children. You can do the maths again. You can imagine how much shopping, gift giving, eating and partying happens during Christmas for me and my family.

      On Christmas eve, my sister Vicky has made it a tradition for the past few years to invite our immediate family to her home. She cooks up a feast but that doesn't stop us from bringing our favorite foods. So we have a table groaning with food, glorious food. Until now, there are still no staples. Each year is experimental. We love trying new recipes in the family, and Christmas justifies buying all these expensive ingredients. One time it was a New England Dinner with pot roast, potato salad, mashed potatoes and classic apple pie.The only thing missing was the Yorkshire pudding, a trifle or a plum pudding and snow.

        For breakfast on Christmas Day, we  wake up at 4 am and start packing for what we call a Christmas marathon, for indeed we will show up in three family parties for the day, from breakfast to dinner, in three different locations.

        Breakfast with the Gutierrezes in Cavite is a pot luck affair. Lola Nanay prepares pans of Canalones Montaner, a savory canneloni casserole made from ground pork and Majestic scrap ham and livers, wrapped in very light, homemade crepes and topped with cream and melted cheese.This goes well with warm pan de sal or the sweet moist raisin bread a la Baguio Country Club which Patrick and Annie bring from Marikina. There is also Lola Nanay's homemade ham, rich in flavor and aroma, cured lovingly for 3 weeks and then baked with cloves, pineapple juice and brown sugar. Nothing is like it, not Majestic nor Purefoods nor Adelina's Christmas ham. Christmas is not Christmas without Marca Pina queso de bola, grapes and apples, potato/fruit/macaroni salad on the table. Lola's apple-walnut cake and lemon poppy seed cake recipes  have been perfected by daughter-in-law, Maricor, and caps the delicious homey breakfast.

        The lunch menu with my mother's relatives at Quezon City or Alabang is very traditional Filipino. The main star is always Lola Andeng's Karekare, tripe and oxtail, fastidiously cleaned and tenderized, then stewed in a thick orange sauce made from garlic, onions, achuete, real ground peanuts and thickened with ground rice. No peanut butter for the karekare in this family. Everyone scoops around the dish looking for that thickest soft slice of 'tuwalya', best eaten with a sweetish bagoong, hot rice and bites of pechay and talong from the karekare. The sauce is so good we pour it over our rice, or even sip it (horrors) from our cups.

         Everyone also looks forward to a good sized, crispy lechon during Christmas. And if some Titas are up to it, we have hot Dinuguan too. Having more aunts and uncles with strokes and hypertension, seafoods are served more often now- fried sugpo, steamed oysters from Tito Nick. The younger generation is lazier and just order pasta or Pansit Malabon, Red Ribbon cakes and ice cream for their contributions. It is understood that we  also bring out our noche buena leftovers of ham, macaroni salad, grapes, apples and castanas(chestnuts) to share with the rest who are having leaner Christmases. Children line up for their Aguinaldos given in small, red ampaw envelopes. For the grown ups, gifts are shared and there is a lot of updating,gossip, chatting and picture taking for the rest of the afternoon.

            There is some time for a nap in my family's house after this. My dad being the eldest son, hosts the family party for the Casanovas in the evening. The big family starts trooping in at 7 pm. With roots in Romblon, and intermarriages with people from the North, the evening menu is a mishmash of urban, Visayan and Ilocano cuisine.  Staples on the table are Lechon funded by dollars from our US based relatives (we look at the lechon's head and voila, they are with us in spirit every Christmas), Tita Munding's  tart and spicy dinuguan (my favorite), my mom's karekare, Julet's Kalderetang Kambing, Reggie's Papaitan, Lolet's excellent tasty balut from Sta. Maria, Bulacan cooked in a flavorful seasoned broth, Tita Au's Buko salad with a “secret” or her refrigerator cakes. Tita Abel and Tita Cely are sure to bring in special pastries or pansit. And my mom makes sure there is lots of fresh fruits like mangoes, ponkans and bananas to balance the heavy meal. Young aunts and cousins bring in Red ribbon cakes. There is always a cousin who emcees the games and talent shows for the  children, and then the litany of names and gifts over the sound system until midnight. You think people would have given up on food by this time, but after the fun games and raucous laughter, the family is again hungry and hovers around the long dinner table, checking out newly served dishes or desserts.

          It is a indeed a Christmas marathon, but a pleasurable and fun filled one. Food, laughter, stories, gossip and gifts shared make it all worthwhile. The daily grind can be lonely and predictable and can sap our life of memories, of joy and laughter, of sense of belonging to  big warm families.  I'm glad there is Christmas to bring it all back, even for just a day.

Chicken Wings, Gangnam Style

We love chicken wings at home although i know it's not the healthiest part of the chicken we should be eating. Tonight, I tried to do it Gangnam style, err.... I mean Korean style with the soy garlic glaze and it was good!
1-1.5 kg chicken wings or about 20 pieces. My kids eat an average of 4-5 pieces each
marinated in :
Juice from 3 pieces kalamansi
4 pcs garlic, minced
1 very small onion, minced
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Flour to coat chicken
Deep fry chicken in medium heat. Takes 15-20 minutes frying to make chicken golden brown. Once cooked allow to drip and cool in paper towels. Meanwhile...prepare the glaze.

Glaze:
3 Tbsp soy sauce, premium Lee Kum Kee
4 pcs minced garlic
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp rice wine or mirin
4 Tbsp brown sugar
2/3 cup water

Boil everything in low to medium heat in small sauce pan. Stir constantly until thick like the consistency of syrup.

Put in a large deep bowl. Glaze the chicken pieces one by one. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

This is a hit with my son.  He will walk the ends of the earth for this. Raving reviews. The first time I made this, he said , "make the sauce your own".... and so I did. Tell me what you think about it.  Again pictures to follow. ; )

20 chicken wings

2 TBSP vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1/2 cup Hunt's hickory BBQ sauce

1/2 cup Del Monte Sweet Tomato Ketchup

2-3 TBSP honey

2-3 TBSP brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 TBSP chili sauce

Ranch Dressing:

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

can choose to flavor this with chopped chives or garlic powder

pinch of dill or parsley or paprika

Marinate chicken wings in vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic powder for at least 30 mins.

Heat oil a deep pan using medium fire. Dredge wings in flour and shake off excess just before frying.

Fry chicken until golden brown ( 15 mins). Drain in paper towels. Then coat chicken pieces with sauce in a bowl  taking care to put enough sauce only to glaze or coat the wings.

Serve with Ranch dressing as dip, lots of french fries and a cool cucumber salad.

Potato Omelet

Lola 'Ba used to cook this nice tight potato omelet (tortang patatas) for us for breakfast. I loved it as palaman (filling) in hot pandesal. This morning I had a craving for it, something I never had for a long long time.

Tortang Patatas

1 large potato cut in small cubes

1 medium sized white onion, chopped.

Saute the 2 above ingredients in canola oil until onions are transparent and potates are softish. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and let cool. 

Meanwhile, beat 3 large eggs until frothy. Put in 3 pinches of salt. Mix cooked potates. Cook as in omelets. 

Nice to eat with hot pan de sal and mug of strong black coffee for a lazy breakfast. 

(Pictures to follow ? Somebody buy me a more efficient camera to link with my laptop !) 

Spicy Eggplant Recipe ni Sarah

After cooking for the family for several years, things can get boring. So many times I have heard housewives lament how they are running of ideas of what to cook for for their families. Lately I have felt that way too. It was always the reliable adobo, sinigang, fried chicken, spaghetti, bistek filipino, chicken curry, etc.

To challenge myself, I will try to find something new to cook for my family every so often. This week I tried the spicy eggplant recipe as taught to me by a churchmate named Sarah, a fantastic cook. Here it is:

SPICY EGGPLANT

8 pcs eggplant, cut lengthwise in bite sized pieces

canola oil

200 gm ground pork

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium sized onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 pcs green finger sized chilies, each sliced diagonally in 4-5 pcs

4 TBSP oyster sauce

2 TBSP brown sugar

Cut eggplant lengthwise in bite sized pieces. Fry lightly in oil until tender. Set aside.

In another pan, saute onions and garlic. Add ground pork. Season mildly with salt and pepper when brown.

Add chilies. Toss lightly. Add cooked eggplants.

Then add oyster sauce and brown sugar.

Pictures to follow.

Going Solo in Tagaytay

The public commute from Dasmarinas, where I work, to Sta Rosa, where I live, is long and not very convenient. It will take me 2-3 changes rides. My family driver has been absent for days. My husband is on an out-of-town speaking engagement and my children are both in the city for college studies. I was left to my own devices on this Monday. After work, I had no choice but to take the aircon bus from Dasmarinas to Tagaytay, and then supposedly, hop on to another FX van from Tagaytay to Sta. Rosa to get home after my clinics.

I already had a thought yesterday to spend the night in Tagaytay to make my commute more convenient. I brought a change of clothes to work, just in case I decided to do so. On the bus going home this Monday afternoon, I was torn whether I should just go home or take a solo overnight vacation in Tagaytay. On the spur of the moment, I decided to alight halfway in Tagaytay, and check in at Windy Ridge Hotel just right around the Rotonda. Convenient for me to get to work tomorrow since Dasmarinas aircon buses pass this way a lot. And the added bonus of enjoying a new place, the better to give me some thinking and writing time.

Sitting at the balcony after a painless check-in, I enjoyed the foggy landscape of the Taal Lake and volcano right across me.The small reception area cum coffee shop is quiet and without customers. Down below is a small country road with the sounds of a busy metal grass cutter and a yakking street dog. Behind me, ah… the constant roar of motor from tricycles and cars. From the ominous grey skies, a hint of rumble of thunder, every now and then. These are hardly the meditative sounds for relaxation and rejuvenation that I expected. I hope things quiet down soon. It’s 5:00 pm on a Monday. Students and employees are on the rush to get home to a warm family dinner.

A few tall slim pine trees jut out from the deep green slopes of Tagaytay. Newly painted, well-maintained weekend homes are scattered along the landscape. From my vantage point it is mostly trees, trees and more trees. And a thin fog. It’s comfortable but not cold. I hope the view is better tomorrow.

What does one do when alone? It is supposed to be a busy week for me. Doing all I must and need to do before I leave for Rome for a series of meetings and a medical conference. I was tentative in proceeding with this solo vacation. I could’ve just stayed home and done the same things I am doing here –writing, eating dinner, sleeping. But then, I will be doing the same things again, in the same place, and that is dreadful. This is a change that I need.

Staying here is a luxury, I know, because I could have the same amenities at home and not have to pay a cent. The amenities are not, in any way, luxurious,though. They are just basic. This room is cheap by Tagaytay standards. At P2,800 per night, I shouldn’t be asking for too many things.

However, the thrill I got from checking-in alone in Tagaytay is like what I experience when I write, or when one falls in love with somebody in secret. The exhilaration is so intimate and personal, you don’t like any one to know, even the ones you love. I don’t know why there is such a perverse delight in keeping a secret, especially one that involves yourself ? It's like eating a big slice of chocolate cake when no one is home. Or finishing a bag of chips inside your bedroom when no one is there.

I wish I were more daring though. I could have taken a tricycle down the road and explored the eating places by myself. But rain forebade and I did not have an umbrella.

Solitude. At times we need it, just to keep sane and regain perspective. And there does not have to be an agenda. When alone, you can eat what you want or not eat at all. Sleep or not sleep or sleep when you want to. When alone it’s so nice to reorganize your life. Fix the bagful of clutter. Re-schedule things in the appointment book. Free the mind full of cares.Yes, my life is chaotic. Preparing for multiple medical conferences and advocacy events in three weeks time can be crazy. Last week, I felt like I was stirring ten boiling cauldrons all at the same time.

In the lobby are many books. And a nook for breakfast. That is the only meal that they serve here. Even if the brochures say food is not allowed inside the rooms, the receptionist allowed me to get my drinks and dinner from the fast foods nearby. ( grilled chicken from Mang Inasal from across the road in the Tagaytay Rotonda, what else?)

The bedroom is fairly sized but it reeked of some cheap floral air freshener when the air con was turned on. The bed sheets were not very white and looked like seconds from a hospital or a hotel that has gone bankrupt. I was always checking if there were mosquitoes or ants underneath because the sheets felt itchy. The usual amenities of complimentary mineral water, soap, shampoo and towels were there. I was surprised there was even a hair dryer. At midnight I woke up to go to the bathroom and found two centipedes inching their way across my floor.

After a good night’s sleep with my cable TV on all the night, I was served breakfast in the porch overlooking Taal Lake the following morning. It seems I was the only customer around. The staff was kind and unobtrusive.Breakfast was Kapeng barako, slices of watermelon and bananas, toast, butter, hotdogs and fried egg. Fair enough.

I spent the morning pounding away on my laptop in the balcony, enjoying the expansive view and the cool Tagaytay breeze. I took pictures of the view from the balcony and of the rows of plant vendors across the road - colorful under the cheery sun, with an array of brightly colored impatiens, bromeliads and petunias. If only the roar of the motorcycles would disappear…..It was lunch time when I finished typing some modules and articles. Time to do some clinic work again in Dasmarinas. I hailed an air con bus across the road. That was easy and painless.

Shrimp Pasta like Cibo's

Today I had time to experiment in my kitchen. A bunch of old friends came together for dinner and it was the best time to improvise or "oido" a recipe of one of my favorite dishes.. This is the shrimp pasta from Cibo of Margarita Fores. It turned out very good and close to the original. Success !

Shrimp Pasta
1 box Penne or Rigatoni Pasta, 500 gm, boiled al dente

1 kg fresh ripe tomatoes,blanched 5 minutes in boiling water, then seeded and chopped, saving all the juices
4 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP tomato paste
1-2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 dashes black pepper
1 TBSP chopped fresh or dried basil leaves
1 TBSP dried pepper flakes (crushed pepper flakes in a sachet from Yellow Cab pizza!)

Saute ingredients and cook until thick and tomatoes are tender.

In a separate pan under low fire, cook
4 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP minced garlic
600-700 gm medium sized shrimps, peeled
* may include heads of shrimps in sauteing for added flavor but remove them after this cream sauce has simmered.
1 TBSP butter
1 can sliced button mushrooms
1 box Nestle cream
5 TBSP parmesan cheese
1 TBSP salt
3 dashes pepper (optional)

Simmer gently. Allow sauce to thicken.

When done, may add sprinkling of parsley and choppped chives. Then pour in drained Penne pasta and mix well in pan while hot.  Add cooked tomato sauce. May adjust salt and pepper to taste.

The plate was left clean. This one is really good. My daughter says the best part is the chunky bits of tomatoes. I personally love the subtle garlic flavor blending with the shrimps and cream... and the very mild brief zing of the crushed peppers. Best with toasted foccacia bread dipped in balsalmic vinegar and fine olive oil.
Crude picture below.... using my iPad camera.

Weekend in Bali

Bali, Indonesia

Day 1

March 14, 2009

 

When I got invited to spend a weekend in Bali with friends, I couldn't pass up the chance. Bali in my mind meant volc anoes, the sea, tropical gardens, wood and stone carvings, exotic food and culture.

We were billeted at the Laguna Nusa Dua Resort which is part of a big complex of international-chain resorts (Four Seasons, Hilton, Westin). There is a long approach by a common road at the entrance with neatly landscaped gardens all around. Nusa Dua Resort is Westin-hotel managed so the interiors were impeccable and the service, excellent. The resort complex was very large with all hotel rooms having wooden balconies overlooking meandering, turquoise colored, manmade lagoons that swerved and turned amongst palm and frangipani trees. Small cabanas, draped with gauze-like white muslin which swayed with the breeze, stood invitingly under the trees. In the early morning, it was such bliss to sit in the balcony, sip your Java coffee, take in the view and enjoy the cacophony of bird calls, reptile hoots and the crisp swishing of palm brooms by the early hotel cleaners.

On our first night, we had dinner at Bali Nikmat, a Chinese seafood Restaurant which was located a good 30 minutes drive away from our hotel. The scenery along the way was a bit uninteresting because Bali looked just like any regular rural village in the Philippines: small makeshift/native houses, vendors pushing "kariton" or food carts containing spicy fried chicken and brightly colored hard boiled eggs.

The Chinese restaurant looked ordinary with very cheaply made Asian decors, table covers and aluminum chairs.
The food, however, was tasty and excellently cooked. Indonesian cuisine is full of flavor and spices. I sensed a lot of salt and well-calculated amounts of MSG went into the dishes. A platter of very fresh pink shrimps, quickly blanched with hardly any seasoning except natural brine – was succulent and refreshing! Their fried noodles was something new because it was perfectly seasoned with a dark sweet sauce, which I presume is Kecap Manis, and had with lots of vegetables in it. Another flavorful dish was the string beans fried in garlic and some spice (again that sweetish-salty-spicy combination typical of Indonesian cuisine) which had the nice balance of of crunchiness on the outside, and tenderness when you chew it. The Fish (Lapu-lapu) in Soy Sauce was perfectly steamed, fresh, tender, succulent and again, very tasty. The most unforgettable dish during dinner that night however was the oyster fritters. It was deep fried, melt in your mouth and light as a feather, and so very scrumptious. I was trying to figure out what seasoning went into it and I concluded they must have put a lot if MSG or fried it in pork lard because it reminded me very much of eating our very own chicharon, only it was smaller, lighter,tastier and it was oysters!

We went to the city center after dinner. Is was quite humid even if it was beside the sea. Tourists were everywhere. Music blared from the bars and restaurants. Souvenir shops were brightly lit up to the late hours. This was where the Bali bombing happened. The shops were open until 10 pm so it gave us enough time to pick up gifts for family and friends . We dropped by a small mall with a Batk Keris shop - a sort of one-stop-shop, where all kinds of Balinese souvenirs can be found. Good things to get are the quality wood decors and carvings, Balinese dolls, Javanese coffee or tea bags which are already packaged for gift giving, Batik clothing and linen, very nicely packaged massage oils which come in various exotic scents like frangipani, lavender, ylang-ylang, champaca, lemon grass and jasmin. Leather slippers,bags and shoes are made well locally too.I did not forget to buy myself loads of Kropok of various flavors, and lots of Kecap Manis ( that thick dark caramelized soy sauce that is their secret to Indonesian cooking.

Even though I had a very filling and satisfying dinner before shopping, I started salivating when I smelled roasted coffee and the buttery aroma of Roti Boy ( coffee buns) in the mall. The large brown buns, sticky outside and soft and within were so irresistible and cost only 6,500 Rupiah each ( about $0.50). I took some to our tour bus and shared it with my friends, Perry and Anna. The bun was fluffy and still warm and when you break it, and this lovely, warm,mellow butter drips from within. Ah. what a way to end the day. I am an unrepentant foodie, I must confess.

Bali is beautiful. However, the grey and black,coarsely sanded beaches jar your senses as you drink in the ethereal views of seas and skies. Their beaches are not at all impressive comparing it to the kind of beaches we have in the Philippines. Westin, however, does a really good job of buying location and views (think Bali Hai –like views from the beachfront) and keeping their landscapes immaculate. Overall, I love Bali because it feels like home. Bali's cuisine is right for my taste buds. The shopping is great. It is like a bigger and luxurious version of Boracay. And since I am a garden and food person, I was happy as a duck there.

Looking for Naschmarket in Vienna

Sept.25,2008

This was taken in front of Handel's Academy somewhere near Kartnerring. Nelson Malilin, Ana Javelosa and I took a lunch break from the Stroke Congress to try the great Greek(or Turkish?) restaurant in Naschmarket which specializes in grilled lamb chops, as well as to enjoy the smells and sights of the fresh food market. Great meal, great time, great company. After we finished our succulent, tender grilled lamb, we went all the way and ended the meal with a befitting finale of Baklava and Turkish coffee,.... in leisure. One memorable day in Vienna.

My Kids are fun !

My children are really my best travel companions. They have an unlimited sense of wonder and are willing to try anything. It was a culture shock being in Xiamen having no one there understand English or speak it. Simple things like dining out or going to a shopping area has to be implemented with much detail. But they enjoyed being there and being surrounded by new things.

Getting lost going to Jiali seafood restaurant because taxi drivers don't understand our english nor the hotel calligraphy...the panorama of impressive buildings, towers and skyways lit up in different colored lights...."Dragon by the sea" that's what they call it....sights.smells and sounds in the Nanputuo temple....incense, giant buddha statues, bells and gongs, chants, ....why so many beggars with rotting or amputated limbs, burnt bodies or faces.... a faceless man playing haunting strains with his lute at the corner of the temple.... the quaintness of Gulangyu island... the piano museum, the beautiful gardens, the cobblestone paths, the old mansions with so much history...shopping along Zhongsan Road...eating alley ham-egg pancakes for Y3 each....tasting the famous peanut soup and nice cheap dimsum along zhongsan road... beijing olympics mascot.... fine dining at The House, Italian cuisine in an old house along Baihe Lu.... 

XIAMEN HOLIDAY

It was a rare time to be together as a family without any of the demands of our work or vocations. While waiting in the predeparture area, we were offered an extra room for free. God is really good.