Happy 63rd Birthday Lolo Ben!

Father's Day
Lolo's Day
Your Birthday...

Actually there are plenty of special days to wish you a happy one but this special day is the dearest of all. 

Every year you add to your young age, every white hair you accumulate (its impressing its not that much yet), every rimple line you add on your forehead means extra wisdom acquired, extra calmness possessed, extra love you give and get.

Tatay, you turned 63 but it seems like your heart gets younger every day.  Worries and problems...they are always there since the birth of time so they are actually a common factor in life.  But to be able to see the light and the strength from God.  Not everyone has the gift to realize that.  The ability to trust and succumb to Him, not everyone has the gift to admit that.  But you do.

Tatay you have come a long way from how I see you before when I still live with you and everyone else there in Las Pinas to how I hear you now.

And this all goes with yearly celebrating your birthday and not forgetting it!  Being reminded every year how old you get makes you turn and say, hey I should be wiser now that I'm 63...and be proud of it!

We are proud of you! Tatay, once again, Happy Happy Happy 63rd Birthday!!!

All the love and kisses,

Neri, Nico, Bambino (Niels) and Ninja (Nina)

Bon Apetito!

Could you guess now what cuisine was next after the Tinola and Molo?  Yes, Italian.  Tatay's second favorite.  "Lidia's Family Table" is a book given as a gift for our Philippine wedding last Oct 2006 by Lola Kaye and Gus.  Its quite an interesting book written by Lidia...an Italian chef living in America with her family.

So while reading the book I just imagine her talking in english with her italian accent.  Its a book full of family tradition and an easy one to read because she is just talking to you.

So here is the result of our Italian weekend last week:

Friday Dinner: Mixed Veggies eaten with Beef Asado (Filipino dish) cooked slow for +/- 3hrs (the night before). 

As you can see, Italian cuisine can be perfectly combined with Filipino food! Potato slices, apple slices, carrot slices, Onion sprout, onion, garlic, basil and parsley with olive oil, pepper and salt.  The beef asado was cooked with just soy sauce, a little bit water, brown sugar, garlic, onion, pepper and salt.  It was all finished that night! Very successful!

Saturday Lunch: Fresh Pasta with my spaghetti sauce

After we ate breakfast that morning, we were going to bike to Klitsberg for a peep on the mountain bike race for kids.  We want to show Niels, a real speed addict, how fast kids can race with their bikes.  But before we left, I have to make the fresh pasta first to have it rest while we are out...so when we get back later we just have to cut it and boil it.  So Niels and I made the dough, he was kneading it with his small hands while I sweat. Like what I said in my previous blog, he loves kneading dough with me and cutting it into shapes.

So we went off to Klitsberg.  We were there for about an hour and headed back home, nothing much to see except the cute little kids trying to act like adult professional bikers.

When we got home, I started boiling water, kneading out the dough into thin slice possible so it wont be too heavy for the kids.  Niels helped me cut the shapes.  And when the water was boiling, dropped it one portion at a time into the boiling water with a little bit of salt.

At the same time, I heated up a portion of the spaghetti sauce I made the previous week...Handy isnt it?

After lunch, I made this special Gnudi balls cause we will be having visitors in the afternoon around 5pm.  Gnudi is the filling of ravioli made in balls, boiled and served with Sugo (a special tomato sauce from Italy - given by Meerten family from one of their trips to Italy).

The Italian sphere went on until Monday dinner.  We had Pasta Carbonara. With dried (not fresh anymore) spaghetti pasta boiled of course, mushrooms, Onion, garlic, cheese, cream and bacon slices.

I was planning of making Gnocci but didnt have the time to make it the night before.  So, that would be for next time.

And Im loving this!

Till then!

Neri

Weekend Sarap!

About 4 weeks ago I finished reading the book "Social History of Tea".  Nico and I bought this book in Greenwich, UK back in 2005 during our visit to Lukasz in London.  It is my second time to read the book and same with the first time, I have observed that my tea consumption at home and at work increased. Books are quite influential if you are really into it.

A week after that, so about 3 weeks ago, I started reading the "Authentic Recipes from the Philippines" I bought this book during our stopover in Malaysian Airport on the way back to Belgium from our Philippine trip back in 2005.  I know there are a lot in National Bookstore but I didnt find anything this nice so I said I will buy the one I saw in Malaysian Airport and I didnt have any regrets. After I read it that week, our weekend resulted to Filipino Lunch Treats!

Saturday: Tinolang Manok made with substitute ingredients due to lack of time to get the authentic ones at the Asian store.  Sayote was substituted by zucchini (as delicious but not as sweet).  Dahon ng sili substituted by spinach (cant tell the difference).  Ginger and Chicken stayed authentic, no subs!

Sunday: Pansit Molo.  And this with a fresh home made dough!  All ingredients authentic!

My stove was cooking the whole saturday and sunday morning since I also prepared four portions of vegetable soup using fridge veggies and some of the herbs we have in our garden.

Vegetable Soup: Ingredients from our own garden are paksoi and a looots of parsley.  Ingredients from the fridge: Tomatoes, onion, leek (from Oma's garden) and carrots.

After the soup, the next one I made were also four good portions of spaghetti sauce.  I always make sure I have spaghetti sauce in my freezer for those days that I dont know what to cook or have no time to cook. 

It was quite intensive but it was fun.  Nina and Niels were helping as well once in a while.  Nina wants too look into the pots and the pans to see what Im cooking.  She asks, "Mama, wat doen? (Mama, what are you doing?)" or "Mama, kijken! (Mama I want to look)" 

Niels likes to help kneading the dough or beating the egg or taking the wrapper off of the Knorr cubes (and I see him sometimes licking the wrapper off of the pieces that's sticking on it!)  Haha, oh well I did it also when I was a kid.  And I know its delicious hahaha.  Just have to make sure he doesnt go far into biting on the cube! Haha

And after everything else, it was too late when I thought of...PICTURES!!!  I forgot to take pictures of my creation!  Anyways, its the taste that counts!  I just have to think about taking the picture earlier next time when none of them is eaten yet or stored in the freezer. So for now, you just have to use your imagination.

Feeling-like-a-chef!

Neri