Once upon a time i cooked

Yes. Decently enough, i must say i learned to cook. But i stopped. I don't know when, i almost forgot. I stopped cooking coz for every weekends i started to crave for husband's cookings. So weekends from then on means HE is the cook and am the dish washer :)

I learned to cook some filipino food nervously to please husband and to grant my all time wish to at least know how to cook. But i guess, i have to let hubby do the cooking coz i know he cooks well more than i do. It's not yet giving up time, i know someday i will cook again. I still have my recipe book ready! Yay.

he loves me that much!

for every night upon arriving home at 10pm, husband would cook our dinner while am playing with yena. so after our dinner means my time to clean the dishes while he puts yena to sleep.

last night, as i was not feeling so well i lie down with yena right after dinner to put her to sleep. i told husband i don't feel well and that my monthly period and UTI were attacking me. my tummy again felt so painful.

around 4am i woke up with yena beside me, i forgot what happened before i fell to sleep. little did i realized everything has been worked on by my husband while am resting already. my house chores last night were all done by hubby. i know he is so tired from work like me but i really am grateful that he is the caring husband that he is.

and he prepared our breakfast this morning just before going to work. i know, am spoiled. i know he loves me that much to pamper me when sick or not sick. and am thankful. very thankful. ;)

Attack of the Weird Cravings

I have been experiencing weird cravings monthly. I know that is the sign i am having my bloody visitor again. My husband would always give in to whatever i asked of him, though at times he would be puzzled but often times he looks so excited thinking i might be pregnant again!

I cannot focus on work yesterday while thinking of chippy and bulalo noodles. What a combination! But i have a full and satisfied stomach after this fill. If only husband knew how hard it is for women to crave!

He is uniquely Him

Last night before going to the grocery, i passed through a jewelry shop and decided to window shop. One elegant watch caught my attention and i knew that i have to get it. Husband's birthday is two weeks away, so with my eyes closed i bought it and planned my little surprise.

Should i put it on top of his clothes in the cabinet? (No originality, He already did that to surprise me on my birthday!) By 30 minutes he will follow me at the mall and would see that little paper bag and would have an idea, that would spoil my surprise. Should i leave it to the store and get it before the 28th? Nah, i carried it out of the mall and waited for him.

In my imagination, he is beaming while holding the little surprise but that did not happened. I gave him the paper bag with a whisper of 'happy birthday, baby' and he was stunned. Told me it looked so expensive, he doesnt need another watch, can he return it and worst asked me how much does it cost?! I was expecting for a teary thank you or at least a hug. Told him, he had to thank me first and no matter how he resist it, i want the best for him!

Am laughing now while recalling, But that is my husband!! He is very very frugal in every way, even for himself. I am learning to be frugal but told him that for him and yena all i want to give is best. Am glad he lets me be! :)

Advance Happy Birthday! I love you more each day, Baby!

Yummy Pork Adobo

My first time to cook chicken adobo was quiet sour.. so now for another version here is my pork adobo which made husband smiled the whole time during dinner! Am nearing the farthest end of perfecting it, but when hubby is enjoying my cooking already, i think am reaching my goal and am thankful, thanks GOD! :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds pork belly or spare ribs, chopped to 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:
1. In a big sauce pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil then sauté the minced garlic and onions.
2. Add the pork to the pan. Add water, soy sauce, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.
3. Add vinegar and black pepper. Best serve with plain rice! :)

Heavenly Chicken Tinola

The wifey me missed the saturday bonding with my mushroom family (oh SQL training really means sacrifice and am glad tonight will be the last session - relief!!). I was thinking of cooking tinola for saturday's lunch so i grabbed the chance to cook it sunday lunch! :)

Ingredients
* 1 kilo whole chicken (cut into parts or choice cuts of breast, thighs of wings).
* 2 1/2 cups young papaya or sayote
* 1/2 cup dahon ng sili
* 5 cups water
* 2 tablespoons ginger (roughly chopped)
* 1/2 head garlic (minced)
* 1 medium onion (diced)
* 3 tablespoons oil
* 2 tablespoons patis
* pinch of salt and pepper

Procedure
1. In a casserole, heat oil and saute' garlic, onion and ginger.
2. Add the chicken and water.
3. Bring to a boil and lower fire, let simmer until chicken is cooked.
4. Pour in patis, salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add in papaya or sayote, allow to cook.
6. When ready to serve, put in dahon ng sili.
7. Serve hot.

I don't know if hubby is just making feel good everytime i served him the food i prepared sweat and all.. or he's making me believe that i am really the queen of the kitchen now, coz whatever i cooked for him, he keeps on praising me and telling me he is totally forgetting about his diet.. :)

I love hearing his praises and side comments on what seasoning to use and not to use (he hates magic real sarap seasoning, sorry claudine!). And prefers MSG! Oh well, atleast i know what to ignore in the kitchen.. heheh

Now am actually looking forward to cooking without peeking at my recipe notebook!! :) Ive been cooking from the heart.. and cooking from the mind is very very thing ive been dreaming. Best of luck on my memory, yeeebah!

Change

No, you're not getting lost, this is still the lover mushroom's blog! :) Just want to change it to a new look.. oh well i might be changing it again sooner when i have much time, but for the moment i think this new template will do! :) Am still looking for three column templates and i can't find any that suits my taste.. Hahah

Anyway, husband has a new job already and he seems to be enjoying in his new company. Which is a good sign, really. The job came right in time when we are on the end line of our hope :) The company is just a walk away from my job (good!), with same work time schedule (very good!) and is a petroleum company ( very very good!) meaning it might be out of danger in this time of recession.. I just hope so.

Yena, our little mushroom, is with her grandma while we are at work. So we left her when she is still sleeping and surprisingly she is still awake when we get home at night. Night time would mean cooking for dinner and playing with Yena who is making lots of silly tricks already. That leave me sleeping like 12am everyday! Well hubby wakes up when Yena asks for her milks, relief! :)

The wifey me, wakes up at 445am. Cook breakfast and do my home cooked meal for my lunchbox! :) Wakes hubby up at 530am and eat our breakfast together. And we end up running after the bus before 630am!

Lots of changes actually after our house moving, aside from me cooking which is the biggest change so far, hahah. But we are embracing all the changes no matter how good or not good it is, there is no contant in this world but change, anyway!

Try my Pork Afritada

I hurried home last night, my mind has been running wild on what will be for our dinner?! I thought about cooking Menudo, but there was no pork liver available so i settled on cooking Afritada instead. You have to know am always nervous cooking, seems like its always a first time. So last night, was like the rest of first times for me, my first time to cook afritada and my first time to cook for six persons - Yobib plus his three nephews, plus me and Yena! Record breaking people to feed for me! and it makes me more nervous..

Cook-It-Easy Afritada

Ingredients
1 pack Knorr Cook-It-Easy Afritada-Menudo Recipe Mix
3/4 kg pork or chicken meat, cut into serving pieces
2 medium potatoes, pared and quartered
2 small red and green bell peppers, sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 cups (about 500 ml) water

3 Easy Steps
1. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the meat until slightly brown, then remove excess oil.
2. In the same pan, add the water, then completely dissolve Knorr Cook-It-Easy Afritada-Menudo Recipe Mix. Bring to boil and simmer with cover until meat is tender (30-45 minutes).
3. Add potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes (I added extra carrots!! feel ko lang :) heheh) . Add bell peppers in the last few minutes of cooking. Serve.

I dont know if my nervousness gets in the way of my cooking; The three kids loved my afritada, Yena had her two servings while hubby told me it was way too salty for him :(. He was still happy though.. I told him i can do better the next time for his taste :)

Oh my! Chicken Curry!

As an amateur cook, i know i will cook Chicken Curry in the near future! It is a must for me, coz i really love eating it, so i must know how to cook it when my crazy cravings come up. So when i did our grocery a week ago, i included in the list the Del MOnte Quick N Easy Curry Mix.

Quick n Easy Chicken Curry

1 pack Del Monte Quick n’ Easy Curry Mix, combined with 3/4 cup water and milk
4 pc medium potatoes, cut into chunks
2 pc medium carrots, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pc medium onion, sliced
1 kg chicken, cut up
1/3 cup evaporated milk (or 1 cup thick coconut milk)
1 pc small red bell pepper, cut into cubes


Just 3 Easy Steps!

1. Fry potatoes and carrots. Set aside.
2. Saute garlic, onion and chicken in 2 tbsp oil. Pour in Del Monte Quick n Easy Curry Mix mixture.
3. Simmer until chicken is done. Add fried potatoes, carrots and bell pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Makes 8 servings.

I really wish, first impression lasts. Coz hubby could not believe how i did it near perfection! :) He just loved the taste! He was not a fan of chicken curry before until he tasted my curry! I know i will have to cook it again and he will be drooling just the thought of it! :) So i have my DM Curry Mix a Must in my grocery shopping list! Wink

En Route for - - Quick N Easy Menudo! (I must try it out one of this days... hmmm)

Cooking happily ever after

I would definitely enjoy staying at home BUT the kitchen! I use to say that before, i do not know how to cook and i wont try until i have my own home, my own kitchen that is. Since our first day at our new mini house, i found myself kitchen-bound, by choice! Or else we would die of hunger, we don't have somebody to cook for us! :)

So for the first timer like me, i search the net every now and then for recipe's. Print all the menu i can cook home from my kumareng liz website and read every little instructions at the back of every home cook meal package from the groceries. I cannot be more happier when husband smiles at me and said how yummy my cooking was, well except for that chicken adobo which he said was quiet sour. Well, is it really me cooking?? i cannot believe myself too!


Over the weekends i cooked, pork sinigang (pork sour soup), sinabawang tahong (mussels soup), chicken adobo and fried rice. Fried every fish, chicken, hot dogs and eggs i can get. And boila! I can no longer say to my friends that i don't know how, now i can say that i am learning! And loving cooking for my little family.. :)

Novice Cook in the Making

I was so busy last night with the fixing and organizing when i received husband's text of 'what's for dinner?'. I'd like to scream at the top of my lungs a "WHAT?" Do my cooking time starts really now?? Am not yet done with the fixing!!

So without further hesitation, i managed to pull myself together and dare to try to cook rice! It may not be my first time but it seems so first to me coz i cant remember a time i cook rice and perfecting it. Since that day i burned our rice cooker i stayed away from the kitchen (for the chosen few who knows the story of that poor rice cooker of ours, please keep quiet! LOL)

Am happy that he said my rice seems so perfect! (Gosh, rice pa lang tumataas presyon ko sa nerbyos!! Kilig ako right after hearing his compliments though)

I was really nervous, i do not like to please everyone (my husband included!!) with cooking coz i really do not know how to cook. But i really wanted to learn - for my husband, i feel its such a shame that he knows how to cook while i dont! But because, it was 1030pm already and i don't have anything to cook yet ( i forgot to buy something to cook for dinner) hubby said we can eat canned goods for the moment just like we used to before in our apartment in manila. :) I guess he didnt saw the big grin in my face - i was saved for a tragedy in the kitchen! LOL

My first ever meatloaf omelet!! I woke up early this morning just so hubby can have this for breakfast.

And i have some for my breakfast at office too!! :)

Looks like a child is in charge of the kitchen with the way i write my post here. Forgive me. This is really my first encounter with my little kitchen. And i loved it!! i think i will love to cook some more! From the easiest to the hardest ones! Am ready.. Bring it on!! :)

Grocery Plastic Bag Origami

I found Kikamz being OC with her grocery plastic bags so amazing.. I wanted to try doing mine as soon as i saw them! :) I wanted everything in order too, i just hate mess and clutters! So i kept on bugging her to teach me how!

Before: A paperbag full of my plastic bags

She gave me the link and as soon as i hit home i tried making one! Kikamz was so right, doing lots of them were very easy and therapeutic, hahaha! Thanks a lot dear! :)

After: My share of plastic bag origami :)

How do you fold your underwears?? I will post how i do mine next.. :)

Recession on Heart's Day

Hubby's last day of work on the 15th of this month was moved monday this week. Yes, unfortunately just days before the heart's day my husband now officially belongs to the unemployed cause by recession.

Well instead of crying out loud and questioning God for what is happening to us, i just shrug shoulders, get nancy my laptop and search the web for possible employment.. It is another hand and hand journey hubby and i have to face bravely and positively.. not for ourselves now but for yena!

We've been laughing about going out on valentine's day, since it falls on a saturday, yeah one of my favorite day aside from sunday hahah. He was teasing me to watch movie, but i declined, i don't want crowded movie house! Since we both want to be with yena on weekends am thinking of staying somewhere, where we would not be spending much (the question lies to if we have still something to spend! haha)

So a place where there is a minimal spending would be a park! And am thinking of going back to La Salette at Silang! Hubby and i had been there before and it was also the place where he promised to bring me and our kids for a picnic! :)

We might be heartbroken for that very upsetting out of work situation but am looking forward to the fulfillment of that one promise on the heart's day!

Confirmed!

After days of unusual cravings, i have to confirm now that i am - actually only PMSing or pre menstrual period sydrome'ing Hahah. Now i have to clear my thoughts on things i have been imagining like future playmate for yena, another 9 months of pregnancy and the likes. :)

Now i have to warn hubby to stay away from my sight and stop procrastinating coz that would lead to one thing he would not like! I have the worst mood swings when i have my period so it is better to stay away an inch from each other..

I don't know if other woman experience PMSing just like me, But everytime i have my period i just don't have the proper moods to stay alert. I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep. (it's lunch break now and i will be taking a nap, yahoo!)

How about you? How do you handle PMSing??

I didn't start the year right

I admit i am not a perfect wife, or even close to it!. 2008 has been a year of being a neophyte wife and a mom so for a first timer like me i think i failed. Well yena do not know yet - to comment on what kind of mom i am. But being a wife - i have husband to tell me what i am all the time.

Worst is, i am a very crazy wife! yeah - back to starting year 2009. I locked myself up the whole day of the 31st. Did not even peek outside on 12midnight, while the family prays before media noche, watch fireworks outside and catch up some bonding time - I tried myself to sleep. I did not want to go out. I did not eat the whole day. I hated myself.

Could not helped it, i went to my mother's house morning of january 1st and just EAT! While i bond with my family and relatives, i think of my husband and child back at home and i felt sorry for them. Though i spent time at my mother's, my hubby and my baby, my very family needs me most. And i need them too!

Though i didn't start the year right, hubby and I ended it BEST. We kissed while tears pouring! Prayed together. I know it is gonna be a great year!